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Title: The History of Java, v. 1-2

Author: Thomas Stamford Raffles

Release Date: September 1, 2015 [EBook #49843]

Language: English

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[Vol I Pg i]


THE
HISTORY
OF
JAVA.

BY THE LATE

SIR THOMAS STAMFORD RAFFLES, F.R.S.

FORMERLY LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR OF THAT ISLAND AND ITS DEPENDENCIES, AND PRESIDENT OF THE SOCIETY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES AT BATAVIA.

IN TWO VOLUMES.

VOL. I.

SECOND EDITION.

LONDON:
JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE-STREET.

MDCCCXXX.

[Vol I Pg ii]

GILBERT AND RIVINGTON, PRINTERS,
ST. JOHN'S SQUARE, LONDON. [Vol I Pg iii]


TO
HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS
THE PRINCE REGENT.

SIR,

The gracious permission which I have received to dedicate these volumes to your Royal Highness, affords me an opportunity of interesting your Royal Highness in favour of the amiable and ingenuous people whose country they describe. The high respect they entertain for British valour and justice, and the lively gratitude they retain for the generous system of British Legislation, will, I am sure, give them a strong claim upon your Royal Highness's good opinion.[Vol I Pg iv]

To uphold the weak, to put down lawless force, to lighten the chain of the slave, to sustain the honour of the British arms and British good faith; to promote the arts, sciences, and literature, to establish humane institutions, are duties of government which have been most conspicuously performed during your Royal Highness's regency. For a period of nearly five years, in which I have had the honour, as a servant of the East India Company, to preside over a mild and simple people, it has been my pride and my ambition to make known to them the justice and benevolence of my Prince, whose intentions towards them I could only fulfil by acting up to the principles of the Authority which I represented, and by doing every thing in my power to make them happy.


To those who judge that the right to express their sentiments requires no more than sincerity, or that their praise is of a value to overbalance the disrespect of offering it, I shall leave the usual language of dedications. Conscious that the assurances of respect and of loyal attach[Vol I Pg v]ment can never be offered to your Royal Highness by the humblest British subject, without meeting a gracious reception,

I have the honour to be,

With profound veneration and respect,

SIR,

YOUR ROYAL HIGHNESS'S

Most faithful and most dutiful servant,

THOMAS STAMFORD RAFFLES.

London, June 1, 1817.
[Vol I Pg vi]

[Vol I Pg vii]

PREFACE

As it is possible that, in the many severe strictures passed, in the course of this work, upon the Dutch Administration in Java, some of the observations may, for want of a careful restriction in the words employed, appear to extend to the Dutch nation and character generally, I think it proper explicitly to declare, that such observations are intended exclusively to apply to the Colonial Government and its Officers. The orders of the Dutch Government in Holland to the Authorities at Batavia, as far as my information extends, breathe a spirit of liberality and benevolence; and I have reason to believe, that the tyranny and rapacity of its colonial officers, created no less indignation in Holland than in other countries of Europe.

For such, and all other inaccuracies, as well as for the defects of style and arrangement which may appear in this work, an apology is necessary; and in the circumstances under which it has been prepared, it is hoped that an admissible one will be found. While in the active discharge of the severe and responsible duties of an extensive government, it was not in my power to devote much time to the subject: the most that I could do, was to encourage the exertions of others, and to collect in a crude state such new or interesting matter as fell under my personal observation. I quitted Java in the month of March in last year: in the twelve months that have since elapsed, illness during the voyage to Europe and subsequently, added to the demands on my time arising out of my late office, and the duties of private friendship after an absence of many years, have made great encroachments; but engaged as I am in public life, and about to proceed to a distant quarter of the globe, I have been induced, by the interest which the subject of these volumes has excited, and the precarious state of my health, rather to rely on the indulgence of the public than on the attainment of leisure, for which I must wait certainly long and, possibly, in vain.

Most sincerely and deeply do I regret, that this task did not fall into hands more able to do it justice. There was one[1], dear to me in private friendship and esteem, who, had he lived, was of all men best calculated to have supplied those deficiencies which will be apparent in the very imperfect work now presented to the Public. From his profound acquaintance with eastern languages and Indian history, from the unceasing activity of his great talents, his other prodigious [Vol I Pg viii]acquirements, his extensive views, and his confident hope of illustrating national migrations from the scenes which he was approaching, much might have been expected; but just as he reached those shores on which he hoped to slake his ardent thirst for knowledge, he fell a victim to excessive exertion, deeply deplored by all, and by none more truly than myself.

My acknowledgments are due to the Right Honourable Sir Joseph Banks, Bart., the venerable President of the Royal Society, for his kindness and encouragement; and particularly so to Mr. Charles Wilkins, Librarian to the East-India Company, as well as to Mr. William Marsden, for many suggestions, of which I regret that I have not been enabled to avail myself so much as I could wish, in consequence of the haste with which the work has been got up. I am also indebted to Mr. Thomas Murdoch, not only for access to his valuable library, but for illustrations from Portuguese authors, which the reader will find in the Introduction and Appendix.

For all that relates to the Natural History of Java, I am indebted to the communications of Dr. Thomas Horsfield. Though sufficient for my purpose, it forms but a scanty portion of the result of his long and diligent researches on this subject. Of this, however, I am happy to say, that the Public will shortly be able to judge for themselves.[Vol I Pg ix]

In sketching the state of the Dutch East-India Company, and the measures adopted by the Dutch government respecting Java, subsequently to the year 1780, I have availed myself of much very valuable information communicated to me by Mr. H. W. Muntinghe, President of the Supreme Court of Justice at Batavia; and as, in the course of this work, I have often been obliged to condemn the principles and conduct of the Dutch colonists, I am anxious to acknowledge the distinguished merit of this excellent magistrate, and that of Mr. J. C. Cranssen, President of the Bench of Schepenen, both selected by the late Earl of Minto to be members of the British Council in Java.

The English came to Java as friends. Holland had ceased to be an independent nation, and for the time there could be but two parties, the one English, the other French. The emissaries of the late ruler of France had perverted the minds of the majority: many were doubtful on which side they should rally. At this critical juncture these two gentlemen declared for England and the ancient order of things; and to the influence of their decision and conduct is to be ascribed, not only the cordiality and good understanding which soon prevailed between the English and Dutch, but in a great measure also that general tranquillity of the country, without which the re-transfer[Vol I Pg x] of it to the rule of its former masters might have been impracticable.

Of the wisdom and benevolence which determined the late Earl of Minto to place two members of the Dutch nation at the Board of the British Council in Java, it is unnecessary to speak. The measure was in the same spirit which uniformly actuated that enlightened and virtuous statesman, my revered patron and ever lamented friend. The selection of the two gentlemen whom I have mentioned, was no less advantageous. To their countrymen it was peculiarly so, and I am happy to have this opportunity of publicly expressing my acknowledgments to them for the good counsel, firm support, and unwearied exertions, by which they were distinguished while members of the Board.

ORTHOGRAPHY.

The principles of Orthography, recommended by Sir William Jones, and adopted by the Asiatic Society at Calcutta, have been adopted in this work, with some slight modifications. The consonants preserve the same sounds generally as the same letters in the English alphabet: the vowels are used as in Italian. To avoid confusion, the emphatic syllables are alone accented, and the inherent vowel a has invariably been adopted.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Dr. J. C. Leyden, the bard of Tiviotdale, who accompanied the expedition to Batavia in 1811, and expired in my arms a few days after the landing of the troops.[Vol I Pg xi]


ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR.

In reprinting the History of Java in its present form, the Editor feels it necessary to say a few words. Though the first edition of this work has been honored with extraordinary success, and has long been exhausted, so that copies have become rare, yet Sir Stamford Raffles always considered it as a hasty production, requiring great alteration and improvement; and if it had pleased God to prolong his course of usefulness in this world, he would have bestowed upon it those corrections and additions which he thought it required.

The present Editor has only ventured to add a few short notes which she found prepared by Sir Stamford, and to omit, according to his intention, the larger part of the comparative vocabularies, retaining only a hundred words in each language.

The additional plates were prepared some years ago, for a second quarto edition: they are now published, with those belonging to the first edition, in a separate quarto volume, detached entirely from the present work.[Vol I Pg xii]

For the drawings from which the engravings of the antiquities are made, Sir Stamford was indebted to Lieut.-Colonel Baker, of the East India Company's service; and the present Editor is happy to have this opportunity of acknowledging the obligation, as well as her thanks, for many kind intentions to aid her in reprinting this history.

On the subject of the plates which originally accompanied the quarto edition, Sir Stamford stated in the Preface to that edition, p. ix, as follows: "The plates which accompany this work, not otherwise distinguished, are from the graver, and many of the designs from the pencil of Mr. William Daniell, who has devoted his undivided attention in forming a proper conception of his subject, and spared neither time nor exertion in the execution."

The Editor has only to add, that the size of the map of Java rendered it impossible to unite it with the present edition of the History, it is therefore added to the engravings; and it is also prepared for separate circulation.

SOPHIA RAFFLES.

High Wood,
Dec. 31, 1829.
[Vol I Pg xiii]


INTRODUCTION.

The first arrival of the Portuguese in the Eastern Islands was in the year 1510, when Alphonzo de Albuquerque first visited Sumatra. In the following year, Albuquerque conquered the city of Malacca, and sent to announce that event to those countries and islands which had traded thither, inviting them to continue their intercourse, and promising them protection and encouragement[2]. To Java and the Moluccas he sent Antonio de Abrew, having, however, previously prepared the way by a Moor or Mahomedan, of the name of Nakoda Ismael, who was trading in a merchant vessel. Antonio de Abrew sailed on his mission with three vessels, and took with him several Javans and Malayus who had been accustomed to trade with Malacca. The first port on Java at which he arrived was the city of Agacai[3], and from thence he sailed to Amboina, one of the Moluccas, where[4] he set up his padroes, or pillars of discovery and possession, as he had done at every port at which he had touched. One of the vessels was lost in a storm, but the people were saved and [Vol I Pg xiv]carried by Abrew to a port in Banda to which vessels then resorted for trade, and whither it was that the Javan vessels used to go for cloves, nutmegs, and mace, which were carried to that port by the natives of the Moluccas in their own vessels.

Nakoda Ismael returning from the Moluccas with a cargo of nutmegs, his vessel was wrecked on the coast of Java, near Tuban. The cargo of the Nakoda's vessel having been saved, Joam Lopez Alvrin was sent (A. D. 1513) by the governor of Malacca with four vessels to receive it. Alvrin was well received in all the ports of Java where he touched, but particularly at Sidayu belonging to Páteh Unrug, a prince who had been defeated at Malacca by Fernan Peres.

The straits of Sínga púra[5] being infested by the cruisers of the former king of Malacca, who had been expelled from his dominions by the Portuguese in 1511, the straits of Sában were the usual route of the Portuguese vessels from Malacca to the Spice Islands, and in this voyage they generally touched at the ports of Java.

About the year 1520 or 1521, Antonio de Britto, with six vessels under his command, bound to the Moluccas, touched first at Túban and proceeded afterwards to Agacai, where he remained seventeen days, during which time he sent a boat to the island of Madúra, for the purpose of exploring it; but the men landing incautiously were surprised and made prisoners, and were not ransomed without much difficulty, and the friendly intervention of the governor of Agacai.

Antonio de Britto had scarcely accomplished the ransom of his men, when he was joined by Don Garcia Henriquez with four vessels bound to Banda for spices, and at the same time a Javan vessel arrived from Banda. This vessel had been furnished with a pass from the Spaniards, under Fernan de Megalhaen, who having passed by the straits which bear[Vol I Pg xv] his name, had arrived at the Spice Islands. This was the first intelligence which the Portuguese received of Megalhaen's discovery of the route round the southern extremity of the American continent, and they were the more mortified at it, as he had left his own country in disgust, and was then in the service of Spain[6].[Vol I Pg xvi]

The first voyage made by the Dutch was in 1595, in which year their first fleet, under the command of Houtman (who [Vol I Pg xvii]had been previously employed by the Portuguese in the East India service), sailed direct to Bantam. At this period th[Vol I Pg xviii]e Portuguese were at war with the king of Bantam, to whom Houtman offered assistance, in return for which he obtained [Vol I Pg xix]permission to build a factory at Bantam, which was the first settlement formed by the Dutch in the East Indies.

[Vol I Pg xx]

Following the example of the Dutch, the English East India Company, immediately after their incorporation by [Vol I Pg xxi]Queen Elizabeth in 1601, fitted out a fleet of four ships, the command of which was entrusted to Captain Lancaster, who [Vol I Pg xxii]sailed from London in 1602, first to Acheen (Aché) on Sumatra, where he procured part of his cargo, and entered into a treaty with the king, of which a copy is yet in existence. From Acheen he went to Bantam, and settled a factory there, which was the first possession of the English in the East Indies. Captain Lancaster brought home a letter from the king of Bantam to Queen Elizabeth in 1602, which is still in the state paper office.

In 1610, the first Dutch governor general, Bolt, arrived at Bantam, and finding the situation of his countrymen in that province not favourable to the establishment of a permanent settlement, removed to Jákatra. On the 4th of March, 1621, the name of Batavia was conferred upon the new establishment of the Dutch in Jákatra, which from that period became the capital of their East Indian empire.

In 1683, the English, who had hitherto maintained a successful rivalry with the Dutch, withdrew their establishment from Bantam.

In the year 1811, Holland having become a province of [Vol I Pg xxiii]France, the French flag was hoisted at Batavia; and on the 11th September, in the same year, the British government was declared supreme on Java, by a proclamation of that date signed by the Earl of Minto, Governor General of Bengal. On the 17th of the same month, a capitulation was entered into, by which all the dependencies fell into the hands of Great Britain.

On the 13th August, 1814, a convention was entered into by viscount Castlereagh, on the part of his Britannic Majesty, restoring to the Dutch the whole of their former possessions in the Eastern Islands; and on the 19th August, 1816, the flag of the Netherlands was again hoisted at Batavia.

Without adverting to the political importance to Great Britain of the conquest of Java, or to the great commercial advantages which both countries might eventually have derived from its remaining in our hands, I shall merely notice that the loss of it was no immediate or positive evil to the Dutch. For many years prior to the British expedition, Holland had derived little or no advantage from the nominal sovereignty which she continued to exercise over its internal affairs. All trade and intercourse between Java and Europe was interrupted and nearly destroyed; it added nothing to the commercial wealth or the naval means of the mother country: the controul of the latter over the agents she employed had proportionally diminished; she continued to send out governors, counsellors, and commissioners, but she gained from their inquiries little information on the causes of her failure, and no aid from their exertions in improving her resources, or retarding the approach of ruin. The colony became a burden on the mother country instead of assisting her, and the Company which had so long governed it being ruined, threw the load of its debts and obligations on the rest of the nation.

It might have been some consolation for the loss of immediate profit, or the contraction of immediate debt, to know, that such unfavourable circumstances were merely temporary;[Vol I Pg xxiv] that they arose out of a state of political relations which affected internal improvement, and that the resources of the colony were progressively increasing, and would become available when peace or political changes should allow trade to flow in its former channels. Whether the Dutch could not indulge such prospects, or whether the system on which the internal government of their eastern dominion was conducted was in itself ruinous under any circumstances, a view of the financial and commercial state of Java before the conquest, and of the causes which led to the losses and dissolution of the Dutch East India Company, will assist the reader in determining.

In tracing these causes, it is hardly necessary to go further back than the period of the Company's history immediately preceding the war of 1780. The accidental calamities of that war brought it to the brink of ruin, and its importance in the past transactions of the country being borne in mind, a general concern existed in Holland for its preservation, and for the restoration and maintenance of its credit. With the view of affording it the most effective and beneficial assistance, inquiries were set on foot, not only to discover some temporary means of relief, but to provide a more permanent remedy for threatened decline. It is impossible to ascertain what might have been the result of the measures which were then in contemplation, as the convulsed state of Europe, and especially of Holland, subsequently to this period, left no room for their operation, and did not even admit of making the experiment of their efficiency. The free intercourse of the mother country with her colonies was interrupted; the trade was thrown into the hands of neutrals; several possessions were lost for the want of due protection, and those which remained were left to support or defend themselves in the best way they could, without any assistance or reinforcement from home.

For ten years preceding the year 1780, the average annual sales of the Company amounted to upwards of twenty millions[Vol I Pg xxv] of guilders, which was considerably more than in former years, and the prices of the different articles were nearly the same as they had been from the years 1648 to 1657, when the sales only amounted on an average to about eight millions a year; it was therefore clear, that the decline of the Company was not to be attributed to the decrease of trade.

On an examination of the Indian books, it was found, that from the year 1613 to 1696, the profits in India, though moderate, had always kept equal pace with the profits in Europe.

From 1613 To 1653. To 1663. To 1673. To 1683. To 1693.
Guilders. Guilders. Guilders. Guilders. Guilders.
The total profits were 101,704,417 142,663,776 206,072,335 259,250,969 322,735,312
Expences 76,177,755 117,616,961 161,271,745 212,282,020 274,416,306
Nett Profits 25,526,662 25,046,315 44,330,590 46,968,949 48,319,506
Thus, on an average of forty years till 1653, the annual profits were about 640,000 guilders a year;
Of fifty years to 1663 about 500,000 do.
Of sixty do. to 1673 750,000 do.
Of seventy do to 1683 670,000 do.
Of eighty do to 1693 600,000 do.

In the year 1696, the nett profit from the same year (1613) amounted to only 40,206,789 guilders, being full eight millions less than it had been in 1693, only three years preceding; and the average nett annual profit from 1613 was reduced to 484,371 guilders. But from 1697 to 1779, comprehending a like period of eighty-three years, the losses were so exorbitant as to overbalance and absorb, not only the contemporary, but all the preceding profits in Europe, and even a large amount[Vol I Pg xxvi] of fictitious profit stimulated to screen the government in India.

The nett amount of profits calculated from 1613, amounted

Guilders.
In 1697 to only 38,696,527
In 1703 31,674,645
In 1713 16,805,598
In 1723 4,838,925
In 1724 1,037,777

In 1730 there was already a total loss of 7,737,610, and in the year 1779 this loss amounted to 84,985,425.

The Company used to send yearly to India, before the commencement of the war of 1780, twenty ships of about nine hundred tons each, and eight or ten of about eight hundred tons each, which, to the number of twenty-two or twenty-three, returned with cargoes: four from China, three from Ceylon, three from Bengal, one from Coromandel, and twelve or thirteen from Batavia. They annually exported to India provisions and other articles of trade to the amount of two millions six or eight thousand florins, and in cash from four to six millions, and sold yearly to an amount generally of twenty or twenty-one millions; and it was estimated that the Indian trade maintained, directly and indirectly, all the external commerce of Holland, employing a capital of about two hundred and sixty millions of florins.

From the inquiries of a commission appointed by the government of Holland, in the year 1780, to ascertain the real state of the Company's finances, and to report how far the nation would be warranted in giving its further support to the credit of an institution which had so rapidly declined, it appeared that in 1789, the arrears of the Company amounted to seventy-four millions of florins, and that this amount had since increased to eighty-four or eighty-five millions, of which sum no less than 67,707,583 florins had been advanced by the nation.[Vol I Pg xxvii]

The Commissioners, however, being of opinion, that the affairs of the Company were not irretrievable, recommended a further loan of seven millions of florins.

A meritorious servant of the Company, Mr. C. Tetsingh, had offered to the Commissioners a memorial, in which he proposed that the Company should abandon the trade to private merchants under certain restrictions; but on this proposal the Commissioners stated that they were not then prepared to offer an opinion.

This Commission, in reporting upon the manner in which the Company's affairs had been managed in India, declared that "they could not conceal the deep impression which the same had made upon their minds, and that they could not fix their thoughts upon it, without being affected with sentiments of horror and detestation...." "When," said they, "we take a view of our chief possession and establishment, and when we attend to the real situation of the internal trade of India, the still increasing and exorbitant rate of the expenses, the incessant want of cash, the mass of paper money in circulation, the unrestrained peculations and faithlessness of many of the Company's servants, the consequent clandestine trade of foreign nations, the perfidy of the native princes, the weakness and connivance of the Indian government, the excessive expenses in the military department and for the public defence; in a word, when we take a view of all this collectively, we should almost despair of being able to fulfil our task, if some persons of great talents and ability among the directors had not stepped forward to devise means by which, if not to eradicate, at least to stop the further progress of corruption, and to prevent the total ruin of the Company."

The improvements proposed by the directors extended to every branch of the administration abroad. They proposed, first, with regard to the Cape of Good Hope, the yearly arrears of which settlement had latterly amounted to a million and a half of florins, that the same should be reduced to one[Vol I Pg xxviii] half of that sum. With regard to the further eastern possessions, the measures proposed for consideration were chiefly the following.

To confine the Company's future trade to opium, spices, pepper, Japan copper, tin, and sugar, as far as the European and Japan markets would require. To abandon the trade to Western India to the Company's servants and free merchants, under payment of a certain recognition. To abandon several factories in that quarter, and to reduce the rest to mere residencies. To make considerable reductions in the establishment on the coast of Malabar and in Bengal. To reduce the establishments on the coast of Coromandel to three factories. To abandon the establishments on the West coast of Sumatra, and to leave it open to a free trade. To diminish the expenses at Ceylon by a reduction of the military force, and by every other possible means to animate the cultivation and importation of rice into that settlement. To open a free trade and navigation to Bengal and Coromandel, under the superintendence of the Company, on paying a certain recognition. To encourage, by every means, the cultivation of rice in the easternmost possessions, and especially at Amboina and Banda, for the sake of preventing the inducements of a clandestine trade, which the importation of rice to those places might afford. To abandon several small factories to the eastward. To adopt a plan for the trade of Malacca proposed by Governor De Bruem. To introduce a general reduction of establishment at Batavia and elsewhere. To introduce new regulations with regard to the sale of opium at Batavia. To improve the Company's revenue, by a tax upon salaries and a duty upon collateral successions. And finally, to send out commissioners to India, with full powers to introduce a general reform in the administration.

In a memorial subsequently submitted by the Commissioners, which formed the basis of all the measures recommended and adopted at this time, for the better administration of affairs in India, after shewing that, from the year 1770 to[Vol I Pg xxix] 1780, the Company had on the whole of its trade and establishments on the coast of Coromandel, Bengal, Malabar, Surat, and the western coast of Sumatra, averaged a profit of only 119,554 florins a year, they recommended the introduction at Batavia of a public sale of the spices, Japan copper, and sugar, wanted for the consumption of Western India, and the establishment of a recognition of ten per cent. on the piece goods from Bengal, and of fifteen per cent. on the piece goods from Coromandel. Under such a plan of free trade, they calculated that, after the diminution of the Company's establishments in Western India, and the abolition of several small forts and factories to the eastward, it was highly probable that the administration in India would, in future, cover its own expenses, and thereby save the Company from utter ruin.

It was on these calculations that the Commissioners appointed by the States of Holland founded their hopes of the future relief of the Company, and with these prospects they closed their report, the care and future fate of the Company devolving from that time chiefly on the Commissioners appointed at their recommendation to proceed to India, in order to carry into effect, on the spot, the reforms proposed. Of these new Commissioners, Mr. Nederburg, then first advocate to the Company, was appointed the chief.

The Indian Commissioners sailed from Europe in the year 1791. At the Cape of Good Hope they made such changes and reforms as may be said to have fully effected the object of their commission. The importance, however, of the Cape being comparatively small, it is not necessary to enter into any detail of the measures adopted there. The more momentous part of their trust was undoubtedly to be discharged in India, where they arrived in 1793.

If the talents of these Commissioners were to be estimated by the benefits which resulted from their labours, we may safely pronounce them to have been incompetent to the task they had undertaken; but such a criterion cannot with any[Vol I Pg xxx] justice be applied. A continuance of peace with Great Britain was of course reckoned upon in all their calculations, and war with that power broke out almost immediately afterwards.

With regard to the abandonment of several forts and factories to the eastward, to which their attention had been particularly directed, the result of their deliberation and inquiry was, that the continuance of the Company's establishment on Celebes was indispensable for the protection of the Moluccas; that at Timor reductions had been made, in consequence of which the revenues covered the expenses; that after mature investigation the Japan trade was shewn to yield a nett profit of 200,000 florins; that with regard to the West Coast of Sumatra the revenues had been made to exceed the expenses, and the pepper collected in that neighbourhood left still some profit to the Company.

With respect to the institution of public sales at Batavia for Japan copper, spices, and sugar, on the introduction of which it was supposed the establishments in Western India might be for the most part reduced, they were of opinion, after deliberating with the Council of India, and after a personal inquiry into the actual state of the private trade at Batavia, that chiefly for the want of an adequate means among the purchasers such sales were entirely impracticable, and that it would therefore be preferable, after making some partial reductions in the expense, to continue the establishment in Bengal and the coast of Coromandel, but that Cochin on the Malabar coast might, perhaps, be advantageously abandoned[7].

To determine the mode in which the trade with India should in future be conducted, these Commissioners assumed a general calculation of the receipts and disbursements which would occur at home and abroad, on the supposition that the Company should, in future, navigate with hired vessels only,[Vol I Pg xxxi] and that all marine establishments should be abolished. The result of this calculation was in abstract as follows. The estimate may be considered as affording an interesting view of the hopes and prospects which were at that time entertained of the resources of the Eastern Islands.

The whole estimate was framed on the principles of monopoly, and with a view to an increase of the trade on the one hand, and a reduction of expenses on the other. The quantity of coffee stated at eighteen million pounds, was calculated upon the produce which might be expected after two years. In the calculation of the quantity of pepper, an augmentation of 1,500,000 pounds beyond the produce of the preceding year was anticipated, from the encouragement given to the growth of that article in Bantam and other parts of Java. With regard to the sugar, calculated at 8,000,000 of pounds for the home cargoes, it is stated, that the actual deliveries

From Batavia at that time amounted to 6,000,000 lbs.
From Chéribon 500,000
From other ports in Java 1,000,000
7,500,000 lbs.
Supposing therefore the home cargoes 8,000,000 lbs.
The demand for Surat 3,500,000
For Japan 900,000
For the consumption of the Company's own establishments 200,000
The quantity required would be 12,600,000 lbs.

Or 5,100,000 pounds more than the actual produce. The whole of that quantity, however, the Commissioners felt confident might be produced in three years, by encouraging the manufacture in the Eastern Districts of Java. Among the retrenchments was a tax upon the salaries of all civil servants, which reduced the average salary of each to the sum of fifteen Spanish dollars per month.[Vol I Pg xxxii]

ESTIMATED ACCOUNT OF THE COMPANY'S RECEIPTS AND DISBURSEMENTS AT HOME AND IN INDIA,
Exclusively of the direct Trade to China, upon the Plan of the Commissioners of Inquiry, A. D. 1795.
RECEIPTS. DISBURSEMENTS.
Florins. Florins.
Public Duties 2,350,000 For the Surplus Expenses at the Cape of Good Hope 150,000
Freight on Company's vessels 50,000 For the same in Bengal 33,120
Additional public revenues 400,000 For the same at Surat 40,000
Profits on Trade in India:​— For the Military Expenses in India 2,571,314
Profit on opium 1,250,000 For Salaries to Civil Servants 1,000,000
Ditto on 12,880 pikuls tin, at 26 rix-dollars per pikul 228,000 For Ammunition, &c., 100,000
Ditto on 5,000 lbs. Mace 43,000 For Fortifications and Repairs 400,000
Ditto on 15,000 lbs. Nutmegs 90,000 For Sloops and minor Vessel 200,000
Ditto on 120,000 lbs. Cloves 420,000 For Hospital Expenses 100,000
Ditto on 730,000 lbs. Japan Copper 292,000 On Account of Confiscations 18,000
Total on Spices and Copper 845,000 For Presents to Native Princes 32,000
At Surat:​— Interest on Sums lent in India 100,000
On Sugar 190,000 For Stores and Goods shipped in India 200,000
On Camphor 10,000 For eventual Losses 100,000
On Tin 18,000 For the Purchase of the Produce in India 4,519,400
218,000 For Insurance at five per cent. on the Money sent to India 212,700
In Japan, on divers Europe and Indian articles 76,000 For Freight on Returns of Homeward-bound Cargoes 3,300,000
2,617,000 Insurance and Risk of the Sea in India 200,000
And for Sundries at the coast of Coromandel 33,000 For Freight of Tonnage in India 699,030
2,650,000 For Freight for 2,320 Men, to complete the Military and Civil Establishment in India 219,240
For the produce of the Indian Returns in Europe:​— For the Passage home of 450 men 28,350
Coffee, 18,000,000 lbs., deduct Wastage, &c. is 16,000,000 lbs. at 8½ stivers per lb. 6,813,281 Bounty Money to 2,020 military men 303,000
Pepper, 3,765,000 lbs., deducting Wastage, &c. is 3,263,789 lbs. at 12 stivers per lb. 1,958,273 Premiums to 300 civil servants 60,000
Tin, 530,000 lbs. deducting Wastage, &c. is 490,913 lbs. at 40 florins per cwt. 196,365 Recognition to the Admiralty 360,000[Vol I Pg xxxiii]
Cotton Yarn, 60,000 lbs., or nett 57,000 lbs., at 35 stivers per lb. 99,750 Contribution to the same 500,000
Indigo, 30,750 lbs. deducting Wastage, &c. is 27,645 lbs. at 80 stivers per lb. 110,580 Total Expenses of the Company's Establishments at home 1,000,000
Sugar, 8,000,000 lbs. deducting Wastage, &c. is 7,068,000 lbs. at 10 stivers per lb. 1,767,000 Yearly Interest to be paid 4,758,000
Saltpetre, 1,650,000 lbs. deducting Wastage, &c. is 1,285,350 lbs. at 30 florins per cwt. is 385,605 Dividends at 12½ per cent. to the Holders of Stock 831,000
Sappan Wood, 600,000 lbs. or nett 513,000 lbs. at 12 florins per cwt. 61,560 22,035,154
Cowries, 160,000 lbs. or nett 101,460 lbs. at 8 stivers per lb. 40,584 Balance 1,052,379
Camphor, 64,000 lbs. or nett 56,344 lbs. at 23 stivers per lb. 65,025 |
Cardamons, Java, 22,000 lbs. or nett 18,810 lbs. at 20 stivers per lb. 18,810 |
Tamarinds, 115,000 lbs. 43,700 |
Arrack, 140 leagers 46,000 |
Cinnamon, 400,000 lbs. at 5 florins per lb. 2,000,000 |
Cloves, 250,000 lbs. at 65 stivers per lb. 812,500 |
Mace, 110,000 lbs. 937,500 |
Nutmegs, 320,000 lbs. 561,000 |
Bengal Piece Goods 970,000 |
Surat do. do. 550,000 |
17,437,533 |
For Freight and Recognition on Private Trade 200,000 |
Total Florins 23,087,533 Total Florins 23,087,533
[Vol I Pg xxxiv]

These Commissioners seemed to entertain no very favourable ideas of the benefits which would arise to private trade from the license it already enjoyed. As a measure much more beneficial to the general trade of Europe and to the Company, they proposed, in lieu of it, to throw open to individuals, under certain restrictions, the trade and navigation from Europe to Bengal and Coromandel.

Thus we see these Commissioners sent out with the view of introducing something like free trade on Java, coming to a resolution to take away from it even the little private trade which it had previously been allowed to enjoy.

The Company's trade with continental India had already been so much encroached upon by foreigners, that it was judged expedient no longer to exclude the Dutch free trader from his share in the spoil; but it was hoped, by increased strictness, to preserve entire to the Company the exclusive trade in spices, Javan coffee, pepper as far as it was the produce of her own possessions, Japan copper, the opium which was consumed in Java and in the Moluccas, and Javan sugar.

The trade of the Dutch Company has thus been brought to the period, when its monopoly was proposed to be almost exclusively confined to Java and the Eastern Islands, including Japan. The causes which operated to destroy the Dutch influence on the continent of India, are too well known to require any particular description.

The Dutch had long maintained a decisive superiority, as well on the continent of Asia, as among the Indian islands, until the active exertions of their competitors in trade succeeded in undermining and overturning their monopoly; and as it was natural their weak side should suffer first, it was on the continent, where their establishments were far removed from the chief seat of government, and where they had not been able to insure to themselves those exclusive privileges from the princes of the country which they had exacted from the weaker princes of the Eastern Islands, that other nations,[Vol I Pg xxxv] chiefly the French and English, first endeavoured to introduce themselves.

After reciprocal jealousies had for some time prevented both nations from making any considerable progress, a successful war at last turned the scale entirely in favour of the English, whose influence, from that period, has been paramount in continental India, and the Dutch East India Company was no longer able to enforce its system of exclusive trade there.

Without inquiring into the practicability of realizing the flattering estimate made out by the Indian Commissioners, or the policy which dictated a still more rigorous monopoly of the produce of the Eastern Islands, it ought to be remarked, although it seems never to have been adverted to by the Commissioners, whose calculations and plans were exclusively of a commercial nature, that the original situation of the Company as a mere mercantile body, looking out for trade and not dominion, had undergone a material alteration, by the acquisition it had made from the middle of the last century of considerable territorial possessions, especially on the island of Java.

To use the words of one of the most enlightened men who now adorns his country, and is prepared to give energy to a better state of things[8], "these territorial acquisitions became to the Company a source of new relations. In consequence of them, new rights were acquired and obligations of a novel kind were contracted, as well with regard to the territories themselves as the population upon them. The nature of these rights and duties might have been deemed worth inquiry; and as all these territorial acquisitions were made by a delegated authority derived from the government at home, it was further worthy of investigation how far the government itself was entitled to a direct share in the acquisitions made, and how far it was bound to controul [Vol I Pg xxxvi]and superintend the exercise of those duties which were newly contracted. A consideration of these points would have led to the important question, how far, on a renewal of the Company's charter, it would be requisite to alter and modify its conditions according to existing circumstances, and especially how far it would have been expedient, in future, to leave the Company the exclusive trade, and at the same time the uncontrolled sovereignty over the same country."

But however natural it may be, at the present moment, to consider questions of this kind, it was perhaps at that time beyond the common course of human thought to entertain doubts on the subject. From an honourable regard for ancient institutions, the mercantile system of the Company was still considered with reverence and respect; it had been at all times the boast and pride of the nation; the services which the Company had rendered to the state in its earlier days, and the immense benefits which the government had been enabled, by its means, to spread among the community at large, had rendered the East India Company and all its privileges, objects of peculiar care and tenderness. The rights of sovereignty which the Company afterwards acquired, were obtained by degrees and almost imperceptibly. Every acquisition of the kind had been considered, at the time, merely as the means of increasing its mercantile profits, and all its territorial rights were looked upon as subservient to its mercantile system.

In consequence of these ideas, after the whole of the northern and eastern coast of Java had been added to the Company's territorial dominions, by a cession in the year 1749, no step seems to have been taken for improving these acquisitions, by any direct use of the supremacy obtained. Some contracts were instituted with the native chiefs, for delivering gratis, or at the lowest possible price, such articles as would serve the Company's investments at home; but[Vol I Pg xxxvii] taxation, the levy of produce, and the management of police and justice in the inferior courts, were left to the care and conscience of the natives themselves.

Arguments in favour of this system may perhaps be drawn from the respect due to the native usages and institutions, and from a supposed want of power, on the part of the Company, to assume any direct controul over the native population. But whatever influence these ideas may have had on the conduct of the Company, it may be affirmed that an European government, aiming only to see right and justice administered to every class of the population, might and ought to have maintained all the native usages and institutions, not inconsistent with those principles; and that the power, for want of which it withheld its interference, would have been supplied and confirmed by the act of exercising the power which it possessed, and by the resources it might have been the means of drawing from the country.

Considering, therefore, the propensity inherent in every native authority to abuse its influence, and to render it oppressive to the population at large; the ascendancy of Europeans in general, even over the class of native chieftains; the scantiness of many of the establishments proposed in the plan of the Indian Commissioners; the manifest inadequacy of the remuneration of the civil servants which it recommended, and the narrow scale on which all expenses were calculated; no very durable benefits could have been reasonably expected from it. The discretionary power being left in the hands of the native chieftains, the whole of the lower class of the population would have remained at their disposal; the ascendancy of the European servants would have subjected both to peculations, which the insufficiency of their salaries would constantly have tempted them to practice; the administration of justice not meeting with a proper remuneration would have been ineffectual, perhaps corrupt; the reduction of the[Vol I Pg xxxviii] military establishment would have left the possessions an easy prey to the first invader; and the original sources of the Company's revenues in India remaining the same, it seems probable, that in a short time, the same scenes which had hitherto met with so much reprobation, would have been acted over again, and to a still more disgraceful extent.

But of whatever merit might have been the plans suggested by the Commissioners in India on the 4th July, 1795, the calamities which had already befallen the mother country were followed by an event, which it seems the Commissioners had hardly dared to suspect, and which, in every case, would have frustrated all their designs. This was the dissolution of the Company, in consequence of a resolution taken to that effect on the 24th December, by the body then representing the government of the United States of Holland.

New views of policy were of course suggested by this important change. In the year 1800 there appeared a small volume, entitled "A Description of Java and of its principal Productions, shewing the Advantages to be derived therefrom under a better Administration, by Mr. Dirk Van Hogendorp," in which the writer, after observing that the true state of Java and its importance to the mother country had hitherto been little known, or at least that no correct ideas had yet been formed in Holland with regard to its value, fertility, population, and advantageous situation for trade, establishes,

"1. That the system on which the trade in India had hitherto been conducted and the possessions administered, was no longer good under present circumstances, but contained in itself the seeds of decline and ruin.

"2. That the exclusive trade was in its nature injurious, and naturally caused the ruin of the colonies.

"3. That under a different system, those colonies would flourish, and yield much greater advantages than ever.[Vol I Pg xxxix]

"4. That a revenue, founded on the principles of freedom of trade, property in the soil, and equality of imposts, could be easily introduced.

"5. And finally, that all the benefits which would thereby accrue to the mother country, from the territorial revenue, the duties on trade, the industry and wealth for which that trade would furnish employment, and the treasures which the distribution of produce throughout Europe must bring into the mother country, would greatly exceed the highest advantages that could be calculated upon, even under the most favourable prospects, by the means of the fallen Company or a continuation of its former system."

Many parts of this pamphlet abound in violence and invective, and others are too highly coloured; but with these exceptions, it may be safely asserted that it contains a more correct view of the state of society, and of the resources of the country, than any paper which had preceded it, and the author is most justly entitled to all the credit of having chalked out to his countrymen the road to honour and prosperity, in the future administration of the Dutch East-Indian colonies.

Having, in the course of the foregoing sketch of the decline and fall of the Dutch East-India Company, exhibited a statement of these resources, under the mercantile system of the Company, it may be interesting also to state what, in the opinion of Mr. Hogendorp, the island of Java alone was capable of affording eventually, under a system founded on the principles of property in the soil, freedom of cultivation and trade, and the impartial administration of justice according to equal rights. "When the exclusive and oppressive trade of the Company, the forced deliveries, the feudal services, in short, the whole system of feudal government, is done away with, and when the effects of this important revolution are felt in the certain increase of cultivation and trade, then," observes Mr. Hogendorp, "the limits of pro[Vol I Pg xl]bability will by no means be exceeded, in estimating the aggregate of the revenues of Java, in progress of time, at twelve millions of rix-dollars, or twenty-four millions of guilders, annually."

This statement, calculated with reference to the comparative produce of the West India Islands, has been generally considered by the colonists as exhibiting a very exaggerated view, of what the island could, under any circumstances, afford, and by many as too wild a speculation to deserve attention; but to this it should be added, that the plan on which it was founded, viz. an entire change in the internal management of the country, was considered as equally wild and romantic by those who declaimed the loudest against the possibility of these advantages accruing, and that notwithstanding the doubts then entertained of its practicability, that measure has been actually carried into effect, without producing any one of the consequences depicted by the advocates of the old system, and as far as a judgment can yet be formed, with all the advantages anticipated by Mr. Hogendorp.

It is not surprising to find, that the enlightened views of this writer were never acted upon, when we find it asserted by a commission, who sat at the Hague in 1803, composed of the highest, and perhaps best qualified persons in the state of Holland, and of which he was himself a member (of course a dissenting one), that "it appeared to them to have been admitted generally, and without contradiction, that according to ancient regulations, of which the first institution was lost even among the Javans themselves, the manner in which that people are used to live rests on principles, with which a free and unlimited disposition of the ground and its productions is absolutely inconsistent; that they were, for their parts, convinced that such a change could not be effected, without causing a general fermentation among all classes of people; that though, in this case, violent mea[Vol I Pg xli]sures might suppress an insurrection, they would rather advise to bid an eternal farewell to Java, than to resort to such means; that if they adverted to the question in a commercial point of view, the same uncertainty, the same dangers presented themselves. These arose from the natural disinclination of the Javan to work, which has been observed by many eminent persons; the danger of new monopolies, which would fall heavier upon the common people than the present forced deliveries; the exorbitant charges to support a great number of native chiefs and priests, who are at present provided for and ought to be supported; an undoubted deficiency in the revenues, and a considerable expenditure during the first years, without the probability of a remedy. All this," say they, "seems to forebode a neglect of the cultivation; and after long and laborious researches, we are compelled to lay it down as a general principle, that property, of the soil among the common Javans, and the abolition of public services, cannot be adopted as the basis of an improvement, of which the internal management of Java would be susceptible. The contingents and forced deliveries ought therefore to be continued and received on account of the state, which has succeeded to the prerogatives of the former Company[9]."

Marshal Daendels, who was recalled from the government of Java only a few months before the British conquest, and who was by far the most active and energetic governor who had for a long time been at the head of the colony, has written an account of his own administration, of the state in which he found the island, of the measures he proposed and executed, of the improvements which he projected or carried into effect, of the revenues that might be expected, and of the expenditure[Vol I Pg xlii] that the public service required. Although he enters into some free and bold strictures on the conduct of the Commissioners, the estimates they formed, and the policy they recommended, he does not seem himself to have avoided many of the faults which rendered their policy objectionable, or to have entertained any hope of establishing a more liberal system. Forced services and contingents, and all the tyranny which they render necessary, still constituted the greatest part of the ways and means of the colonial treasury, and the grand source of profits for the Company.

The difficulties he had to struggle with, and the peculiar habits and character formed by his profession, seem to have determined his proceedings, more than any matured scheme of general administration, or any deliberate principles of government. He thus describes the situation of the colony on his arrival: "A powerful enemy threatened us by sea, and the Javan princes, acquiring audacity in proportion as they saw proofs of our weakness, thought the moment had arrived for prescribing the law to their former superiors. The very existence of our dominions on Java was thus in the greatest danger. Our internal resources of finance were exhausted, while a stagnation of trade, caused by the blockade of our shores, cut off all hopes of procuring assistance from without. In the midst of such disastrous circumstances, and the failure of so many attempts to introduce reform, and to maintain the dignity of government, I found it necessary to place myself above the usual formalities, and to disregard every law, but that which enjoined the preservation of the colony entrusted to my management. The verbal order which I received, at my departure from Holland, had this for its object, and the approbation bestowed upon my attempts to carry it into execution, encouraged me in the course of proceeding which I had began."

The situation in which the Marshal found the colony is justly drawn; but the result of his operations, and the condi[Vol I Pg xliii]tion in which he left the government to his successor, are described in colours by far too flattering. His partiality for his own work, and the consciousness of having made great exertions to accomplish it, seems to have influenced his mind too easily, in convincing him of the advantage and success of the measures he had adopted. "In spite," says he, "of all the obstacles I encountered, I obtained the following results. I made the general government the centre of authority, from which every inferior authority descended in a determined proportion, with a definite responsibility and a salutary controul. Into all the local and subordinate administrations, clearness and simplicity were introduced; agriculture was encouraged, protected, and extended; general industry was promoted; the administration of justice and of the police was put on a sure footing; the means of defence were increased as much as possible; many works were undertaken, both for the service of government and other useful ends; new roads were made and old ones improved; the condition of all the inhabitants, as well native as European, was ameliorated, and every cause of misunderstanding removed; the relations of the colonial government with the courts of the native princes were regulated on principles, conformable to the dignity, and conducive to the interests of the former; and, in fine, the revenues of the colony were so augmented, that after every deduction for internal expenditure, they will furnish a surplus of five millions, free of all charge, as a nett return to Holland."

Marshal Daendels, in his memoir, sufficiently showed the fallacy contained in the report of the Commissioners, concerning the estimated revenue and profits of the Company. Instead of the receipt of 1,250,000 florins, accruing from the profit of the sale of opium (as marked in the table which I have transcribed), he assures us that not one farthing was actually obtained. Many of the conclusions of the Commissioners, concerning the temper of the inhabitants, the[Vol I Pg xliv] nature of the soil of particular districts, and the general resources of the island, he satisfactorily proved to be founded on erroneous information or mistake; and it is only to be regretted, that he did not carry the same spirit of impartiality into the formation of his own reports, which he requires in those of his predecessors, or anticipates from his successors, an examination equally rigorous, and a measure of justice equally strict as that to which they were subjected. Had this been the case, we should not have been offered such financial results as make the revenue of the island amount to 10,789,000 rix-dollars, and its expenditure only 5,790,000, leaving a balance of five millions of profit. It may be interesting to compare his estimate with the table already exhibited.[Vol I Pg xlv]

ESTIMATED RECEIPTS. ESTIMATED EXPENDITURE.
Rix-dollars. Rix-dollars.
Rent of land 2,000,000 Civil appointments 1,000,000
Produce of land unfarmed 500,000 Land forces 1,227,000
Sale of opium[10] 1,120,000 Manufactory of powder, foundery of balls, and arsenals 180,000
Money 360,000 Hospitals 80,000
Coffee, 300,000 pikuls, at 20 rix-dollars 4,500,000 Marine 250,000
Pepper, 30,000 pikuls 160,000 Fortifications, &c. 200,000
Tin, 35,000 pikuls 400,000 New works 400,000
Japan Copper, 25,000 pikuls 250,000 Justice and police 150,000
Spices 1,000,000 Transports and freights 300,000
Forests 250,000 Transport of Company's servants, recruits, &c. from Europe 300,000
Sale of rice 250,000 Purchase of native articles 300,000
Package 100,000
Interest 400,000
Unforeseen charges 903,000
5,790,000
10,790,000 Which being subtracted from 10,790,000
Leaves a nett profit,
Rix-dollars
5,000,000

[Vol I Pg xlvi]

FOOTNOTES:

[2] Barros, Decada 3, chap. 6, book 3.

[3] Probably Grésik.

[4] Barros, Decada 3, book 5, chapter 6.

[5] Barros, Decada 3, book 5, chap. 7.

[6] The following is the description of Java from Jono de Barros, Decada 4, book 1, chap. 12.

"Before we treat of the expedition of Francisco de Sa, it is proper to state the occasion of the expedition, and how that was connected with the treaty of peace and friendship which, by order of Jorge de Albuquerque, governor of Malacca, Henriquez Lerne concluded with the King of Sunda, on account of the pepper produce in that kingdom.

"We must, therefore, first give an account of the voyage of Henriquez Lerne. The kingdom of Sunda being one of those of the island of Java, it will be best to begin with a general description of that island, that what follows may be understood.

"The land of Java we consider as two islands, whose position is from east to west, and nearly in the same parallel, in seven or eight degrees of south latitude. The total length of the two islands, according to the best authorities, is about one hundred and eighty leagues, although perhaps this is rather exaggerated.

"The Javans themselves do not divide the land into two islands, but consider the whole length as constituting only one; and on the west, where it approaches Sumatra, there is a channel of ten or twelve leagues wide, through which all the navigation of eastern and western India used to pass, previous to the founding of Malacca.

"A chain of very high mountains runs along the whole length of Java. Their distance from the northern coast is about twenty-five leagues. How far they are from the southern shore is not certainly known, though the natives say about as far as from the northern.

"Sunda, of which we are now to treat, is situated at about one-third of the total length of Java from the west end. The natives of Sunda consider themselves as separated from Java by a river, called Chiamo or Chenan, little known to our navigators; so that the natives, in dissecting Java, speak of it as separated by this river Chiamo from the island of Sunda on the west, and on the east by a strait from the island of Báli; as having Madura on the north, and on the south an undiscovered sea; and they think that whoever shall proceed beyond those straits, will be hurried away by strong currents, so as never to be able to return, and for this reason they never attempt to navigate it, in the same manner as the Moors on the eastern coast of Africa do not venture to pass the Cape of Currents."

The following is the substance of a note inserted in Jono de Barros, Decadas, p. 76-77, vol. 4, part 1st, 8vo. Lisbon 1777.

"The island of Java is divided into many kingdoms along the northern coast; and beginning to the eastward, those of which we have any account are​—Paneruca, Ovalle, Agasai, Paniao (whose king resides in the interior, and has a supremacy over those just mentioned), Beredam, Sodaio, Tubam, Cajoam, Japara (the capital of this kingdom is called Cheronhama, three leagues from the sea coast, near to which Japara is situated), Damo, Margam, and Matarem.

"In the mountainous interior live a numerous class of chiefs, called Gunos: they are a savage race, and eat human flesh. The first inhabitants were Siamese, who about the year 800 of the Christian era, on their passage from Siam to Macassar were driven by a great storm on the island of Báli. Their junk being wrecked they escaped in their boat, and arrived at Java, until that period undiscovered; but which, on account of its size and fertility was immediately peopled by Passara, son of the king of Siam: and the city of Passaraan, called after his own name, was founded at a very good seaport, and this was the first settlement on the island.

"The Javans are proud, brave, and treacherous, and so vindictive, that for any slight offence (and they consider as the most unpardonable the touching their forehead with your hand) they declare amok to revenge it. They navigate much to every part of the Eastern Archipelago, and say that formerly they used to navigate the ocean as far as the island of Madagascar (St. Laurence).

"The city of Bintam, or Banta, which is in the middle of the opening of the straits of Sunda, stands in the centre of a large bay, which from point to point may be about three leagues wide, the bottom good, and the depth of water from two to six fathoms. A river of sufficient depth for junks and galleys, falls into this bay, and divides the town into two parts. On one side of the town there is a fort, built of sun-dried bricks: the walls are about seven palms thick, the bulwarks of wood, well furnished with artillery.

"The island of Sunda is more mountainous than Java. It has six good sea-ports: Chiamo, at the extremity of the island; Chacatara, or Caravam; Tangaram, Cheginde, Pandang, and Bintam, which have a great traffic, on account of the trade carried on, not only with Java, but with Malacca and Sumatra.

"The principal city of this kingdom is called Daro, situated a little towards the interior, and we are assured that when Henriquez Lerne first visited it, this town had upwards of fifty thousand inhabitants, and that the kingdom had upwards of one hundred thousand fighting men.

"The soil is very rich. An inferior gold, of six carats, is found. There is abundance of butcher's meat, game and provisions, and tamarinds which serve the natives for vinegar. The inhabitants are not very warlike, much addicted to their idolatries, and hate the Mahomedans, and particularly since they were conquered by the Sangue Páti Dama.

"Here four or five thousand slaves may be purchased, on account of the numerous population, and its being lawful for the father to sell the children. The women are handsome, and those of the nobles chaste, which is not the case with those of the lower classes. There are monasteries or convents for the women, into which the nobles put their daughters, when they cannot match them in marriage according to their wishes. The married women, when their husbands die, must, as a point of honour, die with them, and if they should be afraid of death they are put into the convents.

"The kingdom descends from father to son, and not from uncle to nephew, (son of the sister), as among the Malabars and other infidels in India.

"They are fond of rich arms, ornamented with gold and inlaid work. Their krises are gilt, and also the point of their lances. Many other particulars might be added (but we reserve them for our geography[11]), concerning the productions of this island, in which upwards of thirty thousand quintals of pepper are collected annually."

Decad. iv. Chapter 13.

"In the year 1522, Jorge Albuquerque, governor of Malacca, equipped a vessel to carry Henriquez Lerne, with a competent suite and certain presents, to the king Samiam above mentioned, for the purpose of establishing a commercial intercourse. Lerne was well received by the king, who was fully sensible of the importance of such a connection, in the war in which he was then engaged with the Moors (Mahomedans); and, therefore, he requested that, for the protection of the trade, the king of Portugal should erect a fortress, and that he would load as many ships as he chose with pepper, in return for such merchandise as the country required. And further, he (the king) obliged himself, as a pledge of his friendship, to give him annually a thousand bags of pepper, from the day on which the building of the fortress should commence.


"These things being concluded and presents exchanged, Lerne returned to Malacca, where he was well received by Albuquerque, who immediately communicated the result to the king of Portugal, who approved of all that had been done.


"Francisco de Sá was in consequence dispatched with six vessels (the names of which and of their commanders are enumerated), with which he called at Malacca, and accompanied the expedition against Bintam (then in the possession of the expelled king of Malacca), on leaving which he was overtaken by a dreadful storm, and one of his vessels, commanded by Dironte Coelho, reached the port of Calapa (where the fort was to be built), where she was driven on shore, and all the crew perished by the hands of the Moors (Mahomedans), who were then masters of the country, having a few days before taken the town from the native king, who had concluded the treaty with the King of Portugal, and given him the site on which to erect the fortress.


"But although the intended establishment on Java was thus frustrated, the Portuguese continued to have intercourse with that island, at which they frequently touched on their voyage to and from the Moluccas."

Decad. iv. Book i. Chapter 14.

"In August, 1626, Antonio de Britto, on his return from Ternati to Malacca, touched at the port of Paneruca, where he found his countryman, Jono de Moreno, who had twenty Malay junks under his command. From thence he proceeded to the town of Tagasam, whose inhabitants were at war with the Portuguese, and had captured a junk laden with cloves, which he had dispatched to Malacca, and they even attempted to take the vessel in which he himself was, which occasioned his quitting that place, having however first captured a junk laden with provisions."

Decad. iv. Book i. Chapter 17.

"In July, 1528, Don Garcia Henriquez appears to have touched at the port of Paneruca, (Panarukan) for the purpose of taking in provisions on his way to Malacca; and it also appears, that the king or chief of Paneruca sent ambassadors to the Portuguese governor of Malacca in the same year 1528."

The following is the substance of a description of Java from the Decada of Diego de Couto.​—Decad. iv. Book iii. Chapter i.

Couto describes the wreck of a Portuguese vessel, and the destruction of her crew by the Moors, who had just become masters of the kingdom of Sunda, in nearly the same words as Barros. He then proceeds to state, that Francis de Sá ran before the storm along the coast of Java, and collected his scattered vessels in the port of Paneruca, and gives a general description of Java in nearly the following words.

"But it will be proper to give a concise description of this country, and to shew which were the Greater and the Lesser Java of Marco Polo, and clear up the confusion which has prevailed among modern geographers on this subject.

"The figure of the island of Java resembles a hog couched on its fore legs, with its snout to the channel of Balaberao, and its hind legs towards the mouth of the Straits of Sunda, which is much frequented by our ships. This island lies directly east and west; its length about one hundred and sixty, and its breadth about seventy leagues.

"The southern coast (hog's back) is not frequented by us, and its bays and ports are not known; but the northern coast (hog's belly) is much frequented, and has many good ports: and although there are many shoals, yet the channels and the anchorages are so well known, that but few disasters happen.

"There are many kingdoms along the maritime parts, some of them subordinate to the others; and beginning at the east (head of the hog), we will set down the names of such as are known: Ovalle, Paneruca, Agasai, Sodayo, Paniao (whose sovereign resides thirty leagues inland, and is a kind of emperor over these and others hereafter mentioned), Tabao, Berdoao, Cajoao, Japara (whose principal city or town is called Cerinhama, three leagues inland, while Japara is situated on the sea shore), Damo, Margao, Banta, Sunda, Andreguir (where there is much pepper, which is exported by a river called Jande). In the mountainous interior there are many kings, called Gunos; they live among rugged mountains, are savage and brutal, and many of them eat human flesh."

"These mountains are exceedingly high, and some of them emit flames like the island of Ternati. Every one of these kingdoms which we have named has a language of its own; yet they mutually understand each other, as we do the Spaniards and Galicians.

"The kingdom of Sunda is thriving and abundant; it lies between Java and Sumatra, having between it and the latter the Straits of Sunda. Many islands lie along the coast of this kingdom within the Straits, for nearly the space of forty leagues, which in the widest are about twenty-five, and in others only twelve leagues broad. Banta is about the middle distance. All the islands are well timbered, but have little water. A small one, called Macar, at the entrance of the Straits, is said to have much gold.

"The principal ports of the kingdom of Sunda are Banta, Aché, Chacatara (or, by another name, Caravao), to which every year resort about twenty Sommas, which are a kind of vessel belonging to Chienhec (Cochin China), out of the maritime provinces of China, to load pepper. For this kingdom produces eight thousand bahars, which are equal to thirty thousand quintals of pepper annually.

"Bantam is situated in six degrees of south latitude, in the middle of a fine bay, which is three leagues from point to point. The town in length, stretching landward, is eight hundred and fifty fathoms, and the seaport extends about four hundred. A river capable of admitting junks and galleys, flows through the middle of the town: a small branch of this river admits boats and small craft.

"There is a brick fort, the walls of which are seven palms thick, with wooden bulwarks, armed with two tiers of artillery. The anchorage is good; in some places a muddy, in others a sandy bottom, the depth from two to six fathoms.

"The King, Don John, conceiving that if he had a fortress in this situation he should be master of the Straits, and of all the pepper of those kingdoms, recommended it strongly to the lord admiral to have a fort built by Francisco de Sa; and even now it would be perhaps still more important as well for the purpose of defending the entrance against the English and the Turks, as for the general security of the trade and commerce of those parts, which is the principal value of India. And it was the opinion of our forefathers, that if the king possessed three fortresses, one in this situation, one on Acheen head, and one on the coast of Pegu, the navigation of the east would in a manner be locked by these keys, and the king would be lord of all its riches; and they gave many reasons in support of their opinions, which we forbear to repeat, and return to Java.

"The island of Java is abundantly furnished with every thing necessary to human life; so much so, that from it Malacca, Acheen, and other neighbouring countries, derive their supplies.

"The natives, who are called Jaos (Javans), are so proud that they think all mankind their inferiors; so that, if a Javan were passing along the street, and saw a native of any other country standing on any hillock or place raised higher than the ground on which he was walking, if such person did not immediately come down until he should have passed, the Javan would kill him, for he will permit no person to stand above him; nor would a Javan carry any weight or burthen on his head, even if they should threaten him with death.

"They are a brave and determined race of men, and for any slight offence will run amok to be revenged; and even if they are run through and through with a lance, they will advance until they close with their adversary.

"The men are expert navigators, in which they claim priority of all others; although many give the honour to the Chinese, insisting that they preceded the Javans. But it is certain that the Javans have sailed to the Cape of Good Hope, and have had intercourse with the island of Madagascar on the off side, where there are many people of a brown colour, and a mixed Javan race, who descend from them."

Then follows the refutation of a ridiculous story told by Nicolas Couti, the Venetian, about a tree that produced a rod of gold in its pith, at which some well informed Javans, of whom Couti inquired, laughed very heartily.

"Marco Polo mentions the greater and the lesser Java. We are of opinion, that the Java of which we are treating is the lesser, and that the island of Sumatra is the greater Java; for he says that the greater Java is two thousand miles in circumference, and that the north star is not visible, and that it has eight kingdoms, Taleh, Basma, Camara, Dragojao, Lambri Farafur, from which it is very clear that he means Sumatra, for it has nearly the dimensions which he assigns it. The north pole is not visible, as this island lies under the equinoctial line, which is not the case with any of the islands situated to the northward, on all of which the north star is seen: and it is still more evident from the names of the kingdoms, for there cannot be a doubt that Camara is the same as Camatra (the ç being soft like s). Dragojao (which is pronounced Dragojang) or Andreguir, and Lambri, still retain their names on that island."

[7] This is the factory which by the recent convention has been exchanged with England for the Island of Banka.

[8] Mr. Muntinghe.

[9] Report of a Committee appointed to investigate East India affairs made to the Government of the Batavian Republic, dated 31st of August 1803, consisting of Messrs. Murman, Sic, Ponloe, Verbuell, D. Van Hogendorp, Nederburgh, and Voute.

[10] In a note on this source of revenue, Marshal Daendels says that he is sensible of the evils arising from the use of this drug, but that the Javans are so addicted to it, that no prospect of success could be entertained from any project for reducing its consumption. Yet even while he is making this observation, he tells us that the Commissioners fixed the sale at 1,200 chests, and that he in his estimate has only taken it at 800. It was afterwards reduced to less than 300 chests, without any fear of disturbance or any danger of illicit trade.

[11] Barros often alludes to his Treatise on Geography, in which he had described particularly all the countries mentioned in his Decadas; but it never was published, having been left in an imperfect state at his death.[Vol I Pg xlvii]


CONTENTS
OF
VOLUME I.

PAGE
Dedication iii
Preface vii
Introduction xiii
CHAPTER I.
Geographical Situation of Java​—Name​—Extent and Form​—Divisions​—Harbours​—Mountains and Volcanos​—Rivers and Lakes​—General appearance of the Country​—Mineralogical Constitution​—Seasons and Climate​—Metals​—Minerals​—Soil​—Vegetable and Animal Kingdoms 1
CHAPTER II.
Origin of the Natives​—Javans compared with the Maláyus and Búgis​—Comparative Progress of the three Races​—Foreign Influence​—Persons of the Natives​—Manners​—Population​—Inequality of it accounted for​—Population Tables​—Increase of Population​—Foreign Settlers​—Chinese​—Búgis​—Maláyus​—Moors​—Arabs​—Slaves​—Gradations of rank among the Javans​—Their Habitations, Dress, and Food 62
CHAPTER III.
Importance of Agriculture to Java​—Soil​—State of the Peasantry​—Price of Rice​—Subsistence of the Peasantry​—Dwellings​—Agricultural Stock​—Implements of Farming​—Seasons​—Different kinds of Land​—Rice Cultivation​—Maize, &c.​—Sugar​—Coffee​—Pepper​—Indigo​—Cotton​—Tobacco​—Tenure of landed Property 117
CHAPTER IV.
Manufactures​—Handicrafts​—Bricks​—Thatch​—Mats​—Cotton Cloths​—Dyes​—Tanning​—Ropes​—Metals​—Boat and Ship-building​—Paper​—Salt​—Saltpetre Works​—Gunpowder, &c.​—Felling and transporting of Teak Timber​—Fisheries 182[Vol I Pg xlviii]
CHAPTER V.
Commerce​—Advantageous Situation of Java for Commercial Intercourse​—Importance of Batavia in particular​—Native Trade​—Roads and Inland Carriage​—Markets​—Influence of the Chinese​—Coasting Trade​—Exports and Imports​—Trade with the Archipelago​—China​—Kamtschatka​—Western India​—Europe, &c.​—Dutch Commercial Regulations​—State of the Eastern Islands​—Advantages which they possess​—Causes of the Depression of the Nations and Tribes which inhabit them​—Japan Trade 210
CHAPTER VI.
Character of the Inhabitants of Java​—Difference between the Súndas and the Javans​—The Lower Orders​—The Chiefs​—Nature of the Native Government​—Different Officers of State​—Judicial Establishments and Institutions​—Laws, and how administered​—Police Institutions and Regulations​—Military Establishments​—Revenue 272
CHAPTER VII.
Ceremonies of the Court​—Deference paid to superior Rank​—Regalia​—Processions​—Pomp​—Rank and Titles​—Ambassadors​—Ceremonies attending Births, Marriages, and Funerals​—Account of the People called Kálang, and of the Inhabitants of the Téng'ger Mountains​—The Bedui​—Festivals​—Amusements​—The Drama​—Wáyangs​—The Dance​—Tournaments​—The Chase​—Tiger Fights​—Combat of Criminals with Tigers​—Bull Fights, &c.​—Games of Skill and Chance​—Other Customs and Usages 343
CHAPTER VIII.
Language​—Little known to Europeans​—Different Languages or Dialects​—Those of Súnda, Madúra, and Báli, compared with that of Java Proper​—The polite Language, or Language of Honour​—The Kawi, or Sacred and Classic Language​—Numerals​—Chandra Sangkala​—Literature​—Compositions in the Kawi Language, and in the modern Javan​—Influence of Hindu Literature​—Introduction of Arabic Literature​—Poetry​—The Brata Yudha, a Poem​—Music​—Painting​—Sculpture​—Architecture​—Arithmetic​—Astronomy 396

AN ACCOUNT

OF THE

ISLAND OF JAVA.

[Vol I Pg 1]

CHAPTER I.

Geographical Situation of Java​—Name​—Extent and Form​—Divisions​—Harbours​—Mountains and Volcanos​—Rivers and Lakes​—General Appearance of the Country​—Mineralogical Constitution​—Seasons and Climate​—Metals​—Minerals​—Soil​—Vegetable and Animal Kingdoms.

The country known to Europeans under the name of Java, or Java Major, and to the natives under those of Tána (the land) Jáwa, or Núsa (the island) Jáwa, is one of the largest of what modern geographers call the Sunda Islands. It is sometimes considered one of the Malayan Islands, and forms a part of that division of the Oriental Archipelago which it has been lately proposed to designate as the Asiatic Isles. It extends eastward, with a slight deviation to the south, from 105° 11´ to 114° 33´ of longitude east of Greenwich, and lies between the latitudes 5° 52´ and 8° 46´ south. On the south and west it is washed by the Indian Ocean; on the north-west by a channel called the Straits of Súnda, which separates it from Sumatra, at a distance in one point of only fourteen miles; and on the south-east by the Straits of Báli, only two miles wide, which divide it from the island of that name. These islands, and others stretching eastward, form with Java a gentle curve of more than two thousand geographical miles, which with less regularity is continued from[Vol I Pg 2] Acheen to Pegu on one side, and from Tímor to Papúa, or New Guinea, on the other: they constitute on the west and south, as do Bánka, Bíliton, the great islands of Borneo and Celebes, and the Moluccas on the north, the barriers of the Javan Seas and the Malayan Archipelago. From the eastern peninsula of India, Java is distant about one hundred and forty leagues, from Borneo about fifty-six, and from New Holland two hundred.

To what cause the island is indebted for its present name of Java[12] (or Jáwa as it is pronounced by the natives) is uncertain. Among the traditions of the country (which are more particularly mentioned in another place) there is one, which relates, that it was so termed by the first colonists from the continent of India, in consequence of the discovery of a certain grain, called jáwa-wut,[13] on which the inhabitants are supposed to have subsisted at that early period, and that it had been known previously only under the term of Núsa hára-hára or Núsa kêndang, meaning the island of wild uncultivated waste, or in which the hills run in ridges.

In the tenth chapter of Genesis we are told, that "the isles of the Gentiles were divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in the nations:" and in the twenty-seventh chapter of Ezekiel we find among the rich merchants, those of Javan "who traded the persons of men, and vessels of brass, to the market of Tyre, and who going to and fro, occupied in her fairs, brought bright iron, cassia, and calamus." But we shall leave it to others to trace the connection between the Javan of Holy Writ and the Java of modern times. It appears, that the Arabs, who had widely extended their commercial intercourse, and established their [Vol I Pg 3]religious faith over the greatest portion of the Indian Archipelago, long before the Europeans had navigated round the Cape of Good Hope, designate the whole of the nations and tribes which inhabit those regions by the general term of the people of Jawi, as in the following passage taken from one of their religious tracts:​—"The people of Jawi do not observe with strictness the rule laid down for keeping the fast, inasmuch as they eat before the sun sets, while the Arabs continue the fast until that luminary has sunk below the horizon." Jawa or Jawi is also the name by which Borneo, Java, Sumatra, the Malayan Peninsula, and the islands lying amongst them, are known among the nations of Celebes, who apply the Búgis diminutive Jawa-Jawáka, or Java minor, to the Moluccas, Ámbon, Bánda, Tímor, and Éndé. Jabadios Insulæ, from Jaba, and dib, div or dio, has been employed in the largest sense by Europeans, and it is probable this was once generally the case among the Asiatics, with the terms Java, Jawa, Jawi, and Jaba,[14] which, as the appellations of [Vol I Pg 4]people inhabiting the countries beyond the continent or distant, some have derived from the word jaù, of very general acceptation in eastern languages, and meaning beyond, distant.[15]

It is, perhaps, in consequence of these names having embraced the whole, or at least several of the islands collectively, that the accounts given by Marco Polo, and other early European voyagers, of particular islands, as Java Major and Java Minor, are so inconsistent with one another. The country described by Marco Polo as Java Minor, seems, beyond doubt, to have been the eastern coast of Sumatra; but that expression, "or Little Java," is now applied exclusively to Báli, as "Great Java" is to the island we are now describing. It is on the latter only, if we except what has been observed of the names given to the Archipelago generally by the natives of Celebes, that the islanders themselves apply the name of Jawa, in any of its forms, to their own country. It has there even a still more confined application, being generally limited to the eastern districts of the island, which may be considered as Java proper, in contra-distinction to the western districts, which are for the most part inhabited by a people called Súnda, from whom the Straits and Isles of Sunda have been named by Europeans.

Whether Sumatra, Java, or any other island of the Archipelago, or the whole or several of them collectively, may not have formed the Taprobane of the ancients, is perhaps still an undecided question, notwithstanding the claims to this distinction which have of late years been rather admitted than proved in favour of Ceylon. The most striking fact detailed in the accounts which have reached us of this ancient country, and one which, from its nature, is least likely to have been[Vol I Pg 5] disfigured or perverted by the misrepresentations or prejudices of travellers, is, that it was bisected in nearly equal portions by the equinoctial line, and that to the southward of it the polar star was not visible. How can this statement be evaded, or in any way applied to Ceylon? Major Wilford seems inclined to consider Taprobane as derived from the Sanscrit words tapa (penance) and vana (forest or grove), a derivation equally favorable to the claims of the Javans, tapa and wana, or wono, having the like signification in their language; and if, as there is reason to believe, an extensive intercourse subsisted in very remote times between Western India and these islands, where was there a country that could more invite the retreat of holy men, than the evergreen islands which rise in endless clusters on the smooth seas of the Malayan Archipelago, where the elevation and tranquillity of devotion are fostered by all that is majestic and lovely in nature?

Although in Sumatra no traces of their residence have yet been discovered, except in the language and customs of the people; on Java, which is almost contiguous to it, it is abundantly attested by monuments still existing in stone and brass. In few countries, with which we are yet acquainted, are more extensive ruins to be found of temples dedicated to an ancient worship. If tradition may be trusted, every mountain had its tapa, or recluse, and the whole energies and resources of the country would appear to have been applied to the construction of those noble edifices, the ruins of which still strike the spectator with astonishment and veneration.

That these splendid and magnificent piles were erected under the superintendance of a foreign people, more skilled in the arts than the rude and simple natives of the islands, can scarcely be doubted; and that they were sacred to the rites of the Hindu religion, according to some persuasion or other, is equally clear, from the numerous images of deities and attributes by which they are adorned, many of which are still preserved in their original state. Further investigation may perhaps establish Java and Sumatra, or rather the Malayan ports (in which general term we may include all the islands containing the Malayan Ports) as not only the Taprobane or Tapavana of the ancients, but also the Sacred Isles of the Hindus.[Vol I Pg 6]

The map of Java which accompanies this work has been drawn principally from actual surveys, many of which were made by order of the British Government on the island. The first map of Java which was presented to the public, and from which nearly all those, which have subsequently been engraved, are copies, was published by Valentyn,[16] and consists of seven sheets. As, at that period, little more was known of the island by the Dutch than some parts of the coast, the country in the immediate vicinity of their capital, with perhaps the province of Bantam, the author had no materials for making a map of the whole island, which could pretend to much authority or value. Most of the land in the immediate vicinity of Batavia having been sold to Europeans, was of necessity surveyed, in order to ascertain the different boundaries; but it was only a short time before the arrival of Marshal Daendels, in 1808, that any steps appear to have been taken by the local authorities, to procure correct statistical and topographical information of the other more important districts of the island. Something to this effect was done during the administration of Mr. Engelhard, late Governor of the North-east Coast, but it was only during the government of the Marshal that these objects were pursued with much energy or success.

At the period of the arrival of the English, topographical surveys of Semárang and several of the eastern districts had been completed; and although somewhat deficient in accuracy of measurement and neatness of execution, yet as they appeared sufficiently correct for many valuable purposes, and as the Government was anxious to obtain, without loss of time, a better acquaintance with the geography of the country, it was determined to make some sacrifice of accuracy to the considerations of economy and expedition, and to survey the other districts upon the same plan. While these surveys were in progress, the territorial interest which the European government obtained in the central provinces, induced them to turn their attention to the improvements of which the Solo River might be susceptible. This river, the most considerable in[Vol I Pg 7] the island, passes through Súra-kérta, the capital of the Susuhúnan, or (as he is termed by Europeans) Emperor of Java, and discharges itself into the sea near Grésik. An actual survey was accordingly made by a British officer of experience, particularly instructed to ascertain how far it might be practicable to improve its navigation by the aid of artificial cuts and dams.

A greater object soon called for more extensive measures. When it was determined to introduce an entirely new system of internal management, by the abolition of feudal service, and the establishment of a more permanent property in the soil, it was deemed essential that a detailed survey should be made of the different districts successively, in which the new system was to be introduced. This was intended to form the basis of a general agricultural survey of the country, then about to be made. In several of these districts this detailed survey has been completed; and, with the exception of the provinces still under native jurisdiction, and called Native Provinces, nearly the whole of the land on Java, not in a state of absolute forest, has been measured with more or less accuracy. Of the native provinces but a very small part has been actually surveyed; with regard to the rest, the materials from which the present map is taken, were principally obtained from observation made during occasional routes through them. The southern division of Bantam being principally forest, has not been actually surveyed; neither has the island of Madura been yet surveyed by Europeans: the eastern part of it was measured by the natives, and it was principally upon their authority that the map now presented of that island was drawn. The best charts of both the north and south coast have been consulted. The three harbours of Wyn Coops Bay, Cheláchap, and Pachítan, on the latter, are laid down from actual survey, as well as the entrance to the harbour of Surabáya. On the whole, therefore, although the map now engraved is far from perfect, and of course suffers from the reduction necessary to adapt it to the rest of the work, it is presumed that it will aid the reader in most of the geographical objects to which this volume will refer, and that its superiority over those that have previously appeared is such as to justify its publication.[Vol I Pg 8]

The length of Java, in a straight line drawn between its extreme points, (Java Head, and the south-east point of the island) is five hundred and seventy-five geographical, equal to six hundred and sixty-six statute miles: its breadth varies from one hundred and seventeen geographical, or one hundred and thirty-five and a half statute miles (between the south-west point of Pachítan bay and the north point of Japára) to forty-eight geographical or fifty-six statute miles, (between the mouth of the Seráyu river and the Marabáya, five degrees east of Tegál);[17] and it is estimated to contain an area of about fifty thousand statute miles.

Numerous small islands are scattered in its immediate vicinity, particularly along the northern coast, and contribute, with the projecting points and headlands inclosing the different bays, to form harbours of various capacities. The most important of these islands is that of Madúra, which is separated from the main land of Java by a strait in one part not more than a mile broad, and serves to form the important harbour of Surabáya. This island has the appearance of being a continuation of the main land of Java, and having been long subjected to the same political authority, has generally formed one of the provinces of the Javan empire. In length Madúra is about seventy-nine geographical, or ninety-one and a half statute miles; and its narrowest part is about twenty-seven geographical, or thirty-one and a quarter statute miles. The small islands lying to the east of it are considered as its dependencies.

The form of Java is chiefly remarkable for the rectangularity of its outline, which is such that the island might be divided into five or six parts, each a rectangular parallelogram drawn by an unsteady hand. Its western and northern coasts abound with bays and inlets. The outline of Madúra is more regular, especially on the northern coast.

The coast from Bantam to the river Chi-mánok, about two degrees in length on the north, is nearly parallel to that which extends from Wyn Coops Bay to a point about twenty miles[Vol I Pg 9] west of Núsa kambúng'an, the breadth throughout being about seventy-eight geographical miles; and from the same point to the river Manchíngan, a distance of about one degree and three-quarters, the coast is nearly parallel to that which lies between Chéribon and Semárang, the breadth throughout being about fifty-seven geographical miles. From the west point of Japára to point Pángka on the north, distant from it about two degrees, and along the corresponding coast on the south, the average breadth is seventy-three geographical miles; and from Surabáya to the north-east point of the island, distant about one degree and a half, and along the south coast opposite to it, the average breadth is forty-five geographical miles.

At the time when Europeans first visited Java, the whole of the island acknowledged the supremacy of one sovereign: but there was a period in its history when it was nearly equally divided under the independent administration of two powers, one established in the eastern, and the other in the western districts; and as there is a marked distinction between the descendants of these two nations, the most general division of the country is still into the western and eastern districts, to the latter of which alone the term Java is applied by the natives. They are separated by the river Losári, which forms the boundary between Chéribon and Brébes: and all the western, the northern, with a few of the inland districts and the Island of Madúra, are under the immediate authority and administration of the European government. The rest of the island remains subject to the native princes, and on that account is designated on the map and elsewhere, with more regard to convenience than correctness of language, as the Native Provinces.

The provinces under European authority have latterly been divided into fifteen residencies, or separate administrations, exclusive of the seat of government, which, as they will be frequently referred to in the course of this work, it may be convenient to notice in this place.

Commencing from the west, the province, or as it is usually termed, the kingdom of Bantam (properly Bántan) occupies the first place. This extensive province forms a large portion of the island. It is washed on three sides by the sea. At the[Vol I Pg 10] east it joins with the environs and highlands of Batavia and the district of Chi-ánjur, and on the west it is bounded by the Straits of Sunda; and in this quarter comprises dependant islands scattered along its shore, and the two harbours of Mew and Merák, which, with other bays, deeply indent the coast. Bantam, the native capital of this province, has been latterly deserted by the European establishment for Sírang (commonly called Ceram), an elevated and healthy station about seven miles further inland.

Next in succession towards the east is the division of Batavia, which comprises what formerly constituted the native province of Jákatra or Jokárta. The northern part of this division, towards the coast, includes the city of Batavia, populous and important on account of its excellent roads for shipping, its advantageous position for European commerce, and as being the long established seat of the Dutch government, but less fertile and healthy than the more eastern provinces of the island.

South and east of the division of Batavia and its environs lie what are termed by Europeans the Preanger (Priáng'en) Regencies,[18] the central and southern districts of which, stretching from Bantam to Chéribon, are extremely mountainous. This extensive portion of the island, which now includes a large part of Chéribon, consists of the districts of Kráwang, Chiásem, Pamanúkan, Kándang-aúr, and Dramáyu or Indramáyu, along the northern coast, and of the inland and southern districts of Chi-ánjur, Bándung, Súmedang, Lim-báng'an, and Súka-púra; the southern coast, from the boundary of Bantam to that of Chéribon, being included within the subdivisions of Chi-ánjur, and Súka-púra.

To the eastward of these districts, and crossing the island from north to south, is the province of Chéribon, divided into ten principal districts. To the south is the island of Núsa-kambáng'an which forms the harbour of Cheláchap.

East of Chéribon, as before noticed, it is only the northern and some of the inland districts, that are immediately subject[Vol I Pg 11] to the European authority. These, during the British government of the island, were comprised under the administrations of Tegúl, Pakalúng'an, Semárang, Japára, and Rembáng, which under the Dutch East-India Company constituted what was termed the government of the North-east Coast, the seat of which was at Semárang; and of Grésik, Surabáya, Pasúrúan, Bisúki, and Banyuwángi, which, with Bankálang and Súmenap on Madúra, constituted, under the same authority, the division of the Oost Hook, or East Point of the island, of which Surabáya was the principal station. Inland of Semárang and Pakalúngan, and bounded by those divisions, and by the provinces of the native princes, is situated the rich and fertile district of Kedú, which, with the more eastern districts of Grobogan, Wirosári, Blóra, Jípang, Jápan, and Wírasaba, stretching inland from Semárang to Surabáya, were ceded to the British government in the year 1812.

The capitals of all the northern districts bear the same name with the districts themselves, and are generally situated on small rivers at no great distance from the sea.

The Native Provinces are divided between two native sovereigns: the Susuhúnan, or Emperor of Java, who resides at Súra-kérta,[19] on the Solo River; and the Sultan, who resides at Yúg'ya-kérta,[20] near the south coast, in the province of Matárem. These provinces comprise several of the richest districts of the island, among which are Bányumas, Rómo, Bágalen, and Matárem, to the west; and Mádion, Jagarága, Sukawáti, Pranarága, Kértasána, Blítar, and Kedíri, to the east; and with the exception of the small district of Pachítan, which has been recently ceded to the European government, occupy the whole of the southern coast from Chéribon to [Vol I Pg 12]Málang, a distance of not less than two hundred and fifty miles, and form about a fourth part of the whole island.

The districts near the coasts are generally separated from each other by rivers; those in the interior often by ranges of hills and mountains. The districts are again divided, each subdivision including numerous villages.

The principal harbour of the island is that of Surabáya in the eastern districts, formed by the approaching extremities of Java and Madúra. It is broad and spacious, secure against the violence of the sea and wind, and may be rendered impregnable to any hostile attack.

The next in importance is that of Batavia, more properly, perhaps, called the roads of Batavia, which are sheltered by several islands lying in the outer part of the bay. These roads, however, not admitting of any means of permanent defence from the attack of a superior naval force, the Dutch government, during the late war, were induced to fortify the small harbour of Merák Bay, on the north-west coast of Bantam.

Along the northern coast, there are perhaps other positions which admit of being improved into convenient harbours; but where the whole coast affords excellent anchorage at nearly all seasons of the year, and where vessels of any burthen can approach all the principal stations, at a convenient distance for the barter of their merchandize, the purposes of commerce are in that respect already sufficiently provided for. The sea being usually smooth, and the weather moderate, the native vessels and small craft always find sufficient shelter at the change of the monsoon, by running under some of the numerous islands scattered along this coast, or passing up the rivers, which, though in general difficult of entrance on account of their bars, are for the most part navigable to such vessels, as far up as the maritime capitals, through which they run.

The south coast, on account of its exposure to the open ocean, the consequent high swell or surf which breaks on it, and its general want of good anchorage, is seldom visited by shipping. But even here harbours may be found; and those of Cheláchap and Pachítan might, no doubt, be frequented with safety, were it considered desirable to attract commercial adventurers to this side of the island.[Vol I Pg 13]

Passing from the coast to the interior of the country, the stranger cannot fail to be struck with the bold outline and prominent features of its scenery. An uninterrupted series or range of large mountains, varying in their elevation above the sea from five to eleven, and even twelve thousand feet,[21] and exhibiting, by their round base or pointed tops, their volcanic origin, extend through the whole length of the island.

The first of this series, commencing from the westward, is in Bantam. This mountain (Gûnung-kárang), though of moderate elevation compared with others on the island,[22] is seen at a considerable distance from sea, and is a well known landmark to mariners. It lies due south of the town of Bantam, at a considerable distance from the sea.

The next mountain of the series is the Salák, the eastern foot of which is connected with the Gedé or Panarang'o, situated about fifty miles south of Batavia. These two mountains are seen from the roads of Batavia, and, from the appearance they exhibit, are usually termed by mariners the Blue Mountains.

From the eastern part of the Gedé, the volcanic series separates into two independent branches, one of which inclines to the south; the other proceeds almost due east, slightly verging to the north. The former breaks into an irregular transverse range, which extends across the island, till it approaches the northern branch, from whence the general series is continued in an easterly direction as far as the mountain Sindóro, the western of the two mountains known by mariners as the Two Brothers. The mountain Súmbing, or Sindári (the second of The Brothers), is somewhat further to the south.

At a short distance from the eastern foot of the mountain Súmbing are three large volcanos, in a direction almost north and south, dividing the large series transversely; these are the mountains Ung'árang, Merbábu, and Merápi. The next volcano, in an eastern direction, is that of Japára, which [Vol I Pg 14]deviates more than any other from the regular series, and forms a peculiar peninsular appendage to the island. The series is then continued in an easterly course from the Merápi as far as the mountain Telágawúrung, which is in contact with the ocean at the eastern end of the island.

The several large mountains comprised in this series, and which are in number thirty-eight, though different from each other in external figure, agree in the general attribute of volcanos, having a broad base gradually verging towards the summit in the form of a cone.

They all rise from a plain but little elevated above the level of the sea, and each must, with very few exceptions, be considered as a separate mountain, raised by a cause independent of that which produced the others. Most of them have been formed at a very remote period, and are covered by the vegetation of many ages; but the indications and remains of their former irruptions are numerous and unequivocal. The craters of several are completely extinct; those of others contain small apertures, which continually discharge sulphureous vapours or smoke. Many of them have had irruptions during late years.[23][Vol I Pg 15]

Besides the mountains of the larger series above described, there are extensive ranges of mountains of an inferior elevation, [Vol I Pg 16]sometimes connected with the larger series, and sometimes independent of them, which are also for the most part [Vol I Pg 17]volcanic. Numerous ridges of hills traverse the country in various directions, and the surface of the island in general, [Vol I Pg 18]independently of these more striking features, is in most parts undulating and uneven, except on the sea coast.

[Vol I Pg 19] A country which abounds in mountains is seldom deficient in rivers; accordingly, no region is perhaps better watered. Java is singularly favoured in the number of its streams. The size of the island does not admit of the formation of large rivers, but there are probably fifty, that in the wet season, bear down rafts charged with timber and other rough produce of the country, and not less than five or six at all times navigable to the distance of some miles from the coast. It [Vol I Pg 20]would be vain to attempt numbering those which are precious to the agriculturist; they are many hundreds, if not thousands.

The largest, and most important river on the island, is that of Sólo, or as it is termed by the natives, Beng'áwan (the great) Sólo, which takes its rise in the district of Kadáwang, and after collecting the waters of the surrounding hills, becomes a stream of considerable depth and breadth at Súra-kérta, where it is further increased by the waters collected from the adjacent districts. Its general course from the capital is in an east-north-easterly direction, till it discharges itself by two principal outlets into the sea, near Grésik and Sidáyu. After leaving Matárem, it traverses the provinces of Sukawáti, Jagarága, Mádion, Jípang, Blóra, Túban, Sidáyu, and Grésik.

At Awi, near the boundary of Mádion and Jagarága, on the eastern side of the river, a large branch from the south-eastern provinces, commonly called the river of Mádion, unites itself with that of Sólo, and from hence its course, which in various places has been rapid, and in a few places impeded with rocks, is calm, regular, and steady to its discharge. It has been estimated, that the extent of the windings of this river is not less than three hundred and fifty-six English miles, from Súra-kérta to Grésik, which in the chart only gives a straight line of one hundred and forty English miles, and during its whole course no serious impediment appears to its navigation.

This river is of great importance to the inland trade of many of the eastern provinces. During the rainy season, boats of considerable size convey the produce of an extensive tract of country to the sea; and, except during the months of August, September, and October, and in seasons uncommonly dry, it bears down boats of middling or small size during the whole year, from a considerable distance above Súra-kérta. The boats employed in the navigation of the river are of very different sizes, and of a peculiar construction: they are very long in proportion to their breadth, have flat bottoms, and draw very little water. Those generally used in conveying the produce from one village to another in the vicinity of Súra-kérta, carry only a few tons, and have a temporary covering of straw mats, or kájang; others, more carefully constructed, have a regular roof of planks and a chamber or cabin which can be closed, and convey from fifty to one[Vol I Pg 21] hundred tons. These are generally used by individuals in their adventures to Grésik and Surabáya. The largest, which are the property of the prince, load nearly two hundred tons. They are employed in transporting the produce of several of the interior provinces, consisting chiefly of pepper and coffee, to Grésik, and return laden with salt and foreign merchandize for the consumption of the interior. They require a considerable depth of water, and can only pass when the river is swollen by continued rains. They mostly depart from Súra-kérta in the month of January. Their course down the river is rapid: they generally arrive at Grésik in eight days; but they can perform but one voyage in a season, as they require nearly four months to work up the stream.

The river of Surabáya, the second in magnitude of the whole island, rises near Bátu, in the vicinity of the southern hills of the mountain Arjúna. It is near its source called Káli-brántas. Near the capital of Málang it receives two streams from the eastward. There it first takes its course through the most southern provinces of the island, when winding round the mountain Káwi it returns again to the north, receiving near its curvature numerous augmentations from the southern ridge of mountains. The chief of these is the Lésti, a considerable river coming from the east, which joins it near the boundary of Málang and Seríng'at. Continuing its course in a northern direction, it traverses the provinces of Rówo and Kedíri, being joined on the way by the river Rówo: here it attains its utmost magnitude, and is distinguished by the name of Beng'áwan Kedíri. From the capital of this district to its mouths, it is navigable for boats of very considerable size, and its course is steady and uninterrupted. Having crossed the district of Wirasába and Jápan, it enters that of Surabáya. It discharges itself into the ocean by five outlets, which form as many separate rivers. The first of them, taking an easterly course, is called the river Púnong: then follow those of Tang'goláng'ing, Sído-kéri, Kedóng, and lastly of Wóno-króno, which again subdividing sends off the branch which passes Surabáya.

Several smaller rivers, which fall into the sea between Semárang and Lásem, are highly important for the conveyance of teak timber from the central forests to the coast; and the[Vol I Pg 22] waters from some of them being directed into canals, particularly through the low district of Demák, tend considerably to increase the inland navigation of the country.

In the western districts, the principal rivers which discharge themselves into the sea on the northern coast are the Chikándi, which forms the present boundary between Bantam and the environs of Batavia; the Chi-dáni, which discharges itself below Táng'ran; the Chi-tárom, which falls into the sea below Kráwang; and the Chi-mánok, which forms the present boundary between Dramáyu and Chéribon. The principal rivers which discharge themselves by the south coast are the Chi-mandíri, which falls into the sea at Palábuan-rátu, or Wyn Coops Bay; the Chi-tándui, which disembogues near Núsa-kambáng'an; and the Seráyu, which taking its rise in the mountain Díeng or Práhu, traverses the rich districts of Bányumas, and falls into the sea a short distance to the east of Cheláchap; but these rivers, though of considerable depth, are choked up at their mouths by heavy banks or bars, and in consequence of the heavy surf which constantly breaks on the southern coast, are dangerous at their entrance.

Along the northern coast, almost every district has its principal river, and most of them are navigable up to the maritime capitals for native vessels of considerable burthen; but they all have the disadvantage of being partially blocked up at their discharge by extensive bars and mud banks, an evil which is extending with the increase of agriculture, by reason of the quantify of soil necessarily washed down in the process of irrigating the land for the rice cultivation. Most of them require the application of jetties or piers to deepen the passages at their entrance.

There are no lakes of any considerable size on Java, for that name cannot be given to the ráwas, or swamps, which though swelled to a considerable size in the wet season, are for the rest of the year either dried up or choked by vegetation. Of this description are two extensive tracts; one inland of Japára, usually termed by the Dutch the Binnen Zee, or inland sea; and another in the district of Semárang. In Báglen also (one of the native provinces on the southern side of the island) there is a lake which supplies the neighbouring[Vol I Pg 23] country with fish, and along the coast of which a traffic is carried on in boats.

Extensive swamps are also found in some parts of the native provinces, and in the mountainous districts of the Súnda country. Several very beautiful lakes, of small dimensions, are discovered among the hills, and some of them can evidently be shown to have been formed of the craters of extinct volcanos.

The general aspect of Java on the northern coast is low, in many places swampy and overgrown with mangrove trees and bushes, particularly towards the west. The southern coast, on the contrary, consists almost entirely of a series of rocks and cliffs, which rise perpendicularly to a considerable height. In the interior, stupendous mountains stretch longitudinally throughout the island, while others of an inferior elevation, and innumerable ranges of hills running in various directions, serve to form and confine plains and valleys of various elevations and extent. On the northern side, the ascent is in general very gradual, from the sea-coast to the immediate base of the mountains; particularly in the western parts of the island, where it has the greatest breadth, and where the mountains are situated far inland. In approaching the mountains, which lie at the back of Batavia, there is a gradual but almost imperceptible acclivity for about forty miles. In other parts, where the mountains and hills approach nearer to the coast, the ascent is of course more abrupt, as may be observed in the vicinity of Semárang.

Although the northern coast is in many parts flat and uninteresting, the interior and southern provinces, from the mountainous character of the country, may be reckoned amongst the most romantic and highly diversified in the world; uniting all the rich and magnificent scenery, which waving forests, never-failing streams, and constant verdure can present, heightened by a pure atmosphere and the glowing tints of a tropical sun.

The largest of the elevated plains are; in the west, that of Bándung, formed between the two ranges of volcanos which branch off from the foot of the mountain Gedé; and in the east, those usually termed the plains of Sólo and Kedíri, which extend along the central districts from the Merápi to Kedíri and the site of the ancient capital of Mejapáhit. These are of con[Vol I Pg 24]siderable magnitude, and with the exception of the valley of Kedú and the province of Bányumas, through which the beautiful river of Seráyu bends its winding and romantic course, are perhaps the richest parts of the island. The low-lands, however, are not without their claims to that distinction; especially the flats of Demák, once an extensive swamp, and the Delta of Surabáya. Large tracts, particularly in the mountainous ranges of the western districts, still remain in a state of nature, or where the ground has been once cleared of forest, are now overrun with long and rank grass. In the central and eastern districts, the country is comparatively well clothed with cultivation.

Quitting the low coast of the north, in many parts unhealthy, the traveller can hardly advance five miles inland without feeling a sensible improvement in the atmosphere and climate. As he proceeds, at every step he breathes a purer air and surveys a brighter scene. At length he reaches the highlands. Here the boldest forms of nature are tempered by the rural arts of man: stupendous mountains clothed with abundant harvest, impetuous cataracts tamed to the peasant's will. Here is perpetual verdure; here are tints of the brightest hue. In the hottest season, the air retains its freshness; in the driest, the innumerable rills and rivulets preserve much of their water. This the mountain farmer directs in endless conduits and canals to irrigate the land, which he has laid out in terraces for its reception; it then descends to the plains, and spreads fertility wherever it flows, till at last, by numerous outlets, it discharges itself into the sea.

Almost all the mountains or volcanos, in the large series before noticed, are found on examination to have the same general constitution: they are striped vertically by sharp ridges, which, as they approach the foot of the mountain, take a more winding course. These ridges alternate with valleys, whose sides are of a very various declivity. Large rocks of basaltes occasionally project, and in several instances the valleys form the beds of rivers towards the tops of the volcanos; in the rainy season they all convey large volumes of water.

Next in importance to this extensive series of primary mountains, there are various ridges of smaller mountains,[Vol I Pg 25] or hills, extending in different directions, with nearly an equal degree of elevation; sometimes originating from or connected with the primary volcanos, sometimes forming independent ranges, and arising separately and at a distance from the great series. These, which have been termed secondary mountains, though evidently of a volcanic nature, differ in many particulars of their constitution from those of the larger series. They generally extend in long narrow ridges, with but a moderate elevation, and their sides are less regularly composed of the vertical ridges above mentioned. In most cases, a stratified structure and submarine origin may be discovered. They are generally covered with large rocks of basaltes; and in some instances they consist of wacken and hornblende, which is found along their base in immense piles.

Hills of calcareous constitution, with only a moderate degree of elevation, occur in smaller ridges, often with a flat or tabular top; or in steep rocks and eminences. These are sometimes found in the centre of the island, covering the volcanic districts, but much more frequently near the northern and southern shores.

Hills of a mixed nature, partly calcareous and partly volcanic, are also found. The southern coast of the island consists almost entirely of them, rising in many places to the perpendicular height of eighty or one hundred feet, and sometimes much higher. These, as they branch inward and approach the central or higher districts, gradually disappear, and give place to the volcanic series, or alternate with huge masses of basaltic hornblende, that appears to assume a regular stratification. At the base of these, or in the beds of the rivers which proceed from them, are frequently found various silicious stones, as common flints, prase, hornstone, jasper, porphyry, agate, cornelian, &c.

Alluvial districts, evidently of recent origin, are noticed in several parts of the island. These are formed from the sediment and near the discharge of large rivers, and at the borders of the calcareous ridges, which are in many instances partially covered by them: their boundary can easily be traced, and most of them are still in a state of constant progression. Among other phenomena are mineral wells of various temperature and impregnation; wells of naphtha, or petroleum;[Vol I Pg 26] and rivers arising, in a few instances, from the craters of volcanos, impregnated with sulphureous acid[24].[Vol I Pg 27]

From these, and all other investigations yet made, the constitution of Java appears to be exclusively volcanic. From [Vol I Pg 28]the vast Asiatic chain of mountains, one branch of which terminates in Ceylon, proceeds another, which traversing Arakan, Pegu, and the Malayan peninsula, extends to Sumatra, Bánka, and Bíliton, where it may be said to disappear. On Java no granite has been discovered. In its constitution, as in its direction, it may be considered as the first of a series of volcanic islands, which extend nearly eastward from the Straits of Sunda for about twenty-five degrees.

At what period the island assumed its present shape, or whether it was once joined to Sumatra and Báli, is matter for conjecture. The violent convulsions which these islands have so often suffered, justify a conclusion that the face of the country has been frequently changed, and tradition mentions the periods when Java was separated from those islands;[25] [Vol I Pg 29]but the essential difference which has been found in the mineralogical constitution of Java and Sumatra, would seem to indicate a different origin, and to support the opinion that those two islands were never united. Whether, at a period more remote, the whole Archipelago formed part of the continent of Asia, and was divided from it and shattered into islands; whether they were originally distinct from the main land, or whether they were formed at the same time, or subsequently, are questions we cannot resolve. Yet, when we reflect on the violence of those dreadful phenomena[26] which [Vol I Pg 30]have occurred in our own times in the smaller islands of the volcanic series, and view this range, as it is now presented to [Vol I Pg 31]us on the map of the world, a conjecture might perhaps be hazarded, that the whole may have once formed but the [Vol I Pg 32]southern side of one large island or continent, within which much of the main land has fallen in, and subsequently disappeared on the influx of the sea.

[Vol I Pg 33] The constitution of the island is unfavourable to metals. All the examinations hitherto made confirm this assertion, and it may be laid down as a general position, that no metals occur, in such a quantity, or with such richness of ore, as to reward the operations of the miner. The only notice we have of the existence of gold or silver is contained in the first volume of the Transactions of the Batavian Society; and the attempts on the mountain of Párang, in 1723, and on the Mégeméndung, in 1744, were soon abandoned. Iron pyrites is found in small quantity in several districts, as well as red-ochre; which, however, often contains so little iron, as scarcely to serve for the common purpose of paint. The existence of mercury in the low lands of Démak, where it is distributed in minute particles through the clay of the rice-grounds bounding one of the principal rivers of that district, has not been considered as an indication of a mine, or of the ores of that metal.

No diamonds are found, nor other precious stones, but many minerals of the schorl, quartz, potstone, feldspar, and trap kind. They mostly exist in mountains of secondary elevation, towards the southern shores of the island, sometimes in extensive veins; but separate fragments are carried down by the rivers, and found far from their original deposition. Prase is found in very extensive veins; hornstone is also abundant in particular situations, as well as flint, chalcedony, hyalite, common jasper, jasper-agate, obsidian, and porphyry.

The soil in Java is for the most part rich, and remarkable for its depth; probably owing to the exclusively volcanic constitution [Vol I Pg 34]of the country, and the constant accession of new mould, which is washed down the side of its numerous mountains. It has the character of being in a high degree richer than the ordinary soil of the Malayan countries in general, particularly of Sumatra and the Malayan peninsula. The best soil resembles the richest garden-mould of Europe; and whenever it can be exposed to the inundation necessary for the rice crop, requires no manure, and will bear without impoverishment, one heavy and one light crop in the year: the poorest, with this advantage, will yield a liberal return to the husbandman. In an island of such extent and variety of surface, the soil is necessarily various, but its general character is that of extraordinary fertility. The red and very light soil of the western districts is generally considered inferior to the dark brown and stiffer soil which prevails in the eastern. The best soil is usually found near the beds of rivers, in the valleys, and on the slopes of the largest mountains: the worst on the ranges of low calcareous hills, which run through different parts of the island.

The seasons, in all the countries situated within about ten degrees of the equator, agree in this: that as one eternal summer prevails, they are not distinguished as hot and cold, but as wet and dry. On Java the seasons depend upon the periodical winds. The period of the setting in of these winds is not determined within a few weeks; but generally the westerly winds, which are always attended with rain, are felt in October, become more steady in November and December, and gradually subside, till in March or April they are succeeded by the easterly winds and fair weather, which continue for the remaining half year. The heaviest rains are in the months of December and January, and the driest weather is in July and August; at which latter period, also, the nights are coldest and the days hottest. The weather is most unsettled when the season is changing, particularly at the first setting in of the westerly winds: but those violent storms and hurricanes, which are so often felt in the West Indies and in higher latitudes, are here unknown. With the exception of a few days at these periods, or when the westerly winds are at their height, vessels of any description may ride in safety in most of the bays along the northern coast of the island; and on shore, the wind is never so violent as to do damage. Thunder-storms are, however, frequent, and the[Vol I Pg 35] lightning is extremely vivid. In the vicinity of the hills, and elsewhere during the dry season, seldom a day passes without thunder and lightning; and although these grand exhibitions of nature cause less consternation in general within the tropics than beyond them, it cannot be denied that they are destructive of many lives. Earthquakes are to be expected in a volcanic country, and are frequent in the vicinity of the volcanos; but the European towns have never sustained any serious injury from them.

During the rainy season there are many days free from showers. The mornings are generally clear, and although the rains sometimes continue without intermission for several days, and frequently fall in torrents, they are not marked on Java by that decided character, either of permanence or violence, which distinguishes the periodical rains of the continent of India; neither is the dry season distinguished by that excessive aridity which attends the hot seasons of that country. Even in July and August, the atmosphere is refreshed by occasional showers, and the landscape is at all times of the year covered with the brightest verdure. The thermometer of Fahrenheit has been known to rise along the northern coast as high as 90° about three in the afternoon, and even higher, particularly in the large and low capitals of Batavia, Semárang, and Surabáya; but from observations made during a course of some years at Batavia, and published under the authority of the Dutch government, it has been found usually to range between 70 and 74° in the evenings and mornings, and to stand about 83° at noon. By similar observations at Semárang, the same thermometer, placed in a spacious and open apartment, has averaged 87½° at noon.

At a distance inland of not more than thirty or forty miles, where the ascent is gradual, and of fifteen or twenty or less where it is rapid, the thermometer falls from five to ten degrees lower. At Chi-serúa, situated about 40 miles inland of Batavia, and Chi-pánas, about twelve miles further, on the opposite slope of the mountain Gedé, the thermometer ranges generally between 60 and 70°. In the morning, at six o'clock, it is sometimes as low as 57°; and in the afternoon, at three, its usual height is from 67 to 70°, but seldom rising to 72°. On some of the hills inland of Semárang, on which Europeans frequently reside during the dry season, at an elevation of about four[Vol I Pg 36] thousand feet, the thermometer is frequently seen as low as 45°, and generally, in the clear season, ranges from 50 to 62°, and on the summit of one of the mountains (Sindóro) it has been observed as low as 27°[27]. Ice, as thick as a Spanish dollar, has been found; and hoar-frost, denominated bóhon úpas, or the poisonous dew, has been observed on the trees and vegetation of some of the higher regions.

By its insular situation, the climate of Java enjoys the benefit of land and sea breezes, which in its least favoured parts subdue the fierceness of the tropical rays, while the great elevation of its interior affords the rare advantage, that from the sea-shore up to the tops of the mountains, there is, almost from one end of the island to the other, a regular diminution of the temperature, at the rate of two or three degrees of Fahrenheit for every ten miles.

The general inference which has been drawn by professional men, from the experience which the occupation of Java by the British has afforded, is, that with the exception of the town of Batavia, and some parts of the northern coast, the island of Java stands on a level, in point of salubrity, with the healthiest parts of British India, or of any tropical country in the world.

The principal stations of the British army, composed of Europeans and Sepoys, were at Weltevreden, within three miles of the town of Batavia, and at Semárang and Surabáya, spots certainly less favourable to health than the rest of the island taken generally; but detachments from it have occasionally done duty in every district of the island.

The tables included in the Appendix[28], will shew, that notwithstanding the troops laboured under many disadvantages and privations, in point of accommodation, &c. to which they would not have been subjected in a more permanent settlement, and that they were otherwise exposed to diseases unconnected with those of the climate, the average casualties were not excessive. From the 1st November, 1813, to the same month in 1814, the average number of troops is stated to have been 7,470, the deaths 504, making a proportion of 1 to 14-8: the average number of sick in the same period was 862, making [Vol I Pg 37]a proportion of sick to well as 1 to 8. From the beginning of November 1814 to the same month in 1815, out of an average number of troops stationed in different parts of the island, in corps and detachments, amounting to 7,487, there were 252 deaths, 63 of which were caused by fever, 123 by dysentery, and 65 by other diseases, making an average number of deaths of 21 per month, or in the proportion of one death to thirty men in the year, a proportion not exceeding that of some of the healthiest possessions in temperate climates.

To this general result may be added the comparative casualties in his Majesty's 78th regiment, during the period of its being stationed in India and Java. This regiment has occasionally been cantoned at each of the principal stations, and has remained on the island from the first conquest of Java. By the table will be seen the number of rank and file of which this regiment consisted at different periods, since 1797 to 1815, and the number of casualties in the same periods. It might not be proper to select the years in which it landed on the continent of India or on Java; but those in which it was stationed in either country may be brought together, as fit subjects for comparison. By calculation, upon the data of the table, it will appear, that from December 1800 to December 1801, the deaths were to the number of troops as 1 to about 20½; in 1801-2, as 1 to 12; in 1803-4, as 1 to 5¼; in 1804-5, as 1 to 8½; in 1805, as 1 to about 20; in 1806-7, as 1 to 28 nearly; in 1807-8, as 1 to 24½; in 1809-10, as 1 to about 23; in 1811-12, as 1 to 3¾; in 1813-14, as 1 to 6; and in 1814-15, as 1 to about 20 nearly. The places at which the regiment was stationed at these different periods will be seen by the table; and the cause of the unusual mortality that prevailed in 1811-12, and which exceeds any of the years on the continent, will be found in an extract from the letter of Dr. Currie, the surgeon, inclosing the return. The mortality in the last year was as 1 to 20 in the regiment, and among the whole troops, according to the data above, as 1 to about 30; a low estimate for climates, whose characters stand higher for salubrity than that of Java.

That the climate of Java, in general, is congenial to the human frame, at least to that of an Asiatic, is corroborated by the great extent of its native population, compared with that of the surrounding islands, notwithstanding the checks which[Vol I Pg 38] it experienced both from the native princes and the European government; and the convincing proof which the records of the British army now afford, are perhaps sufficient to remove the unfavourable impression which existed against the climate of the island, as affecting Europeans.

At the same time, however, that Java has to boast this general character of high salubrity, comparatively with other tropical climates, it is not to be denied that there are some spots upon it which are decidedly unhealthy. These are to be found along the low swampy marshes of the northern coast, which are mostly recent encroachments upon the sea: the principal of these is Batavia, the long established capital of the Dutch eastern empire.

The climate of this city has ever been considered as one of the most baneful in the world. It has even been designated the storehouse of disease; with how much justice, is too woefully demonstrated by the writings of those visitors who have survived its perils, and the records of the Dutch East-India Company itself. If we may credit Raynal,[29] there perished between the years 1714 and 1776, in the hospitals of Batavia, above eighty-seven thousand sailors and soldiers. From the table, No. 1, imperfect as it is, on account of the loss of many of the registers at the period of the British conquest, it will be seen what a large proportion the deaths bore to the whole population; and from the table, No. 2, of the same Appendix, discovered among the Dutch records, it appears further, that the total amount of deaths in this city, from the year 1730 to the year 1752, was in twenty-two years more than a million of souls.

To those who are acquainted with the manner in which the affairs of the Dutch East-India Company were managed abroad, there will perhaps be no difficulty in laying rather at the door of the colonists, than of the nation, the crime of maintaining a commercial monopoly, at such a dreadful expence of lives as resulted from confining the European population within the narrow walls of this unhealthy city. That the sacrifice was made for that object, or to speak more correctly, under that pretext, for the private interests of the[Vol I Pg 39] colonists who were entrusted with its details, can scarcely be doubted. From the moment the walls of the city were demolished, the draw-bridges let down, and free egress and ingress to and from the country was permitted, the population began to migrate to a more healthy spot, and they had not to go above one or two miles beyond the precincts before they found themselves in a different climate. But this indulgence, as it gave the inhabitants a purer air, so it gave them a clearer insight into the resources of the country, and notions of a freer commerce, which, of all things, it was the object of the local government and its officers to limit or suppress.

Necessity might have first determined the choice of the spot for the European capital; but a perseverance in the policy of confining the European population within its walls, after so many direful warnings of its insalubrity, cannot but lead to the inference, that either the monopoly of the trade was considered a greater object to the nation than the lives of the inhabitants, or that the more liberal views of the government were defeated by the weakness or corruption of its agents.

Of the vegetable and animal kingdoms, as of the mineral, we shall content ourselves with such an account as may be necessary to convey to the reader a general notion of the nature of the country and its resources, referring the man of science to the intended publication of Dr. Thomas Horsfield, a gentleman whose sole attention has, for the last seven years, been directed to the natural history of Java.

Java is distinguished not only by the abundance of its vegetation, but by its extraordinary variety. Upwards of a thousand plants are already contained in the herb-area of Dr. Horsfield, of which a large proportion are new to the naturalist. Between the tops of the mountains and the sea-shore, Java may be considered as possessing at least six distinct climates, each furnishing a copious indigenous botany, while the productions of every region in the world may find a congenial spot somewhere in the island.

Vegetable productions, which contribute to the food and sustenance of man, are found in great variety. Of these the most important is rice, which forms the staple grain of the country, and of which there are upwards of a hundred[Vol I Pg 40] varieties. Maize, or Indian corn, ranks next, and is principally cultivated in the higher regions, or in those tracts where the soil is unfavourable to the rice cultivation. The bean, or káchang, of which there are many varieties, is an important article of food. Of the sugar-cane, which is used by the natives only in its raw state, they distinguish eight varieties, an account of which, as well as of the cultivation of coffee, pepper, indigo, tobacco, &c. will be found in the chapter on agriculture. Aniseed, múngsi, cummin-seed, márícha (black pepper), chábi jáwa (long pepper), kumúkus (cubebs), socha dolichos, and mendéking, plants of considerable importance, may be considered as indigenous to the island, and are collected for various uses in diet and medicine.

Besides the cocoa-nut and other productions more generally known, there are many trees growing spontaneously, of which the seeds and kernels are used as food; the principal of these are the peté, jéngkol, and kómlandíngan, several species of the mimosa, and the púchang and kamíri. The bread-fruit tree grows on Java, and is of the same species (although inferior in quality) with that of the South Sea Islands: but the fruit is comparatively very little esteemed or employed as an article of food.

Of tuberous roots, besides those furnished from the principal genera, convolvulus, dioscorea, and arum, are those from the bangkwang (dolichos bulbosus), the roots of which are much esteemed by the natives, and the kéntang jáwa (ocymum tuberosum) or Java potatoe. Most of the numerous varieties of the convolvulus and dioscorea, which furnish food for the natives, have been enumerated in one of the first volumes of the Batavian Transactions. The jatropha manihot, called úwi blanda, or wúdo, has been propagated through all parts of Java, and is found growing in the hedges.

The true sago of Amboina and the Eastern Islands, is found only solitary in a few low and marshy situations, and the preparation of it from the pith of the tree is not known to the inhabitants of Java: the leaves only are employed for covering houses; but from the áren, or sagurus rumphii, which grows abundantly in every part of the island, and on account of its variously extensive uses, ranks next in importance to the cocoa-nut, a substance is prepared, similar in all respects[Vol I Pg 41] to the true sago of the Eastern Islands. The tops of various trees of the palm kind, which are sought after in other parts of the East as food, are, on account of the abundance of rice and other esculent vegetables, but little regarded in Java; but the young shoots of many varieties of the bambu are used in the diet of the natives. Wheat and potatoes, with almost every species of European vegetables, are cultivated with success. Of the oil-giving plants a particular account will be given when describing the agriculture of the country.

Java, in common with the Malayan islands in general, abounds in indigenous fruits. "No region of the earth," observes Mr. Marsden, "can boast an equal abundance and variety of indigenous fruits." The mangústin, which on account of its acknowledged pre-eminence amongst Indian fruits, has been termed the pride of these countries; the durian, or dúren, to which the natives of these islands are so passionately attached; the rámbutan, the lánseh or lánseb, with an extensive variety of the jack, the mango, the plantain, the guava, the pine-apple, the papaw, the custard-apple, the pomegranate, and almost every species of fruit which grows within the tropics, are here found in the greatest variety. The tamarind tree is general. The island also produces many kinds of oranges, citrons, lemons, and in particular the pumplemous (known in Bengal under the name of the Batavian lembu, or lime, and in the West Indies as the shaddock), besides the sáwu, klédung, pachítan, and a variety of others, not generally known to Europeans, but well calculated for the table. Of the mango, at least forty varieties are enumerated; the wild raspberry, which is found in the higher regions, is not destitute of flavour; one kind, in particular, with dark violet-coloured fruit, approaches in taste to the European species. In some of the mountainous tracts are to be found peaches, Chinese pears, and some other fruits imported from Japan, the Cape of Good Hope, and China.

Among innumerable flowers which bloom in perpetual succession throughout the year, and impregnate the air of these countries with their fragrance, those of the champáka, tán-jong, meláti, kanáng'a and nágasári, hold the first rank; they are used by the natives in the ornament of their persons, and are remarkable for their fragrance. The myrtle and rose[Vol I Pg 42] are found in the gardens of Europeans. A great variety of ornamental trees and shrubs, many of them overlooked in the catalogues of Rhumphius and Van Rheede, have been noticed, as deserving cultivation for their utility as well as beauty.

The medicinal plants of Java have been described in an account published in the Batavian Transactions: among these are many which are employed in the daily practice of the natives, of which a large proportion have not been subjects of investigation or experiment by Europeans, and others which had not previously been botanically described or classed. In a country hitherto imperfectly explored, and abounding in profuse vegetation, it was natural to calculate on the discovery of many useful medicinal plants; and among upwards of sixty, described, for the first time, by Dr. Horsfield, he particularly notices several, as likely to become most valuable articles in general medicinal practice.

Besides abundance of coir, termed sepét by the natives, prepared from the fibres which surround the cocoa-nut, and gamuti (called duk), prepared from those of the áren tree, both of which are well known, another species of palm, the gebáng, also yields valuable ropes, the fibre of which is obtained from the large petioles or stalks of the leaves by pounding and beating. Intelligent natives assert, that ropes prepared from these are particularly valuable, exceeding in strength all other kinds of equal size. The fibres and ropes are called bas. The cotton shrub (gossypium herbaceum) is universal; and hemp, though its uses are unknown to the Javans, is found in the gardens of foreign settlers. Besides these, the island affords various kinds of vegetables, the fibrous bark of which is made into thread, rope, cloth, &c.; but they are never cultivated, and when required for use are collected in their wild state. The general denomination, in the Javan language, of the internal bark of all vegetables which can be manufactured into cords, thread, &c. is lúlub. This being freed, by beating or maceration, from the adhering particles of the exterior bark, yields the fibrous substance, which is twisted by the most simple process, commonly by the hands alone. The trees which afford the lúlub are the wáru, which is very abundant, and is manufactured into ropes for all common domestic pur[Vol I Pg 43]poses; the melínju, the bark of which is called bágu; and the béndo, which affords ropes of superior strength and durability.

Of the bambusa, the pring-ápus, the stem of which may be considered arborescent, furnishes the cheapest ropes. These are made with great expedition, being split into thin strips, which are twisted on the spot into cords fit for all common purposes, although they are serviceable only for a few days. They are uniformly used, in travelling, for securing baggage, &c. Among shrubs principally employed for these purposes are the werúng, urís-urísan, dalúmpang, che-plákan and glúgo; among plants, the widúri and rámi; the fibres of the latter afford very strong and durable cords, which are chiefly employed for nets or lines, and used in fishing: they greatly resemble the sunn of western India, and would probably be found to answer the same purpose, as well in furnishing the bags called in India gunny-bags, for the transportation of goods, as for the manufacture of paper in Europe. This remark applies also to the lúlub of several of the other shrubs mentioned. Several species of písang or plantain yield the materials for ropes and cords of various fineness, according to the methods employed in preparing them. In the Manilla Islands, cables are made from these fibres; and in the first volume of the Batavian Transactions a mode is described of preparing from them a substance resembling cotton. The leaves of the 'nanas, or pine-apple, contain also abundance of useful fibres, which are easily separated in a bundle, after scraping off the coriaceous substance. It is very fine, and the separate fibres are employed by the natives in sewing without any preparation; but it may also be spun, and is made into a kind of stuff resembling silk, gauze, &c.

Mats are made from several species of pandanus, from a kind of grass called méndong, and from the leaves of various palms, particularly the gebáng. The latter affords the most common kinds, coarser and less durable than the others, as well as bags (straw sacks) resembling very coarse mats.

The paper in common use with the Javans is manufactured from the glúgo, (morus papyrifera.)

A variety of vegetable substances are used in dyeing: the principal of which, however, are the tom, or indigo, which is[Vol I Pg 44] extensively cultivated throughout the island; and the wong-kúdu, which affords a lasting scarlet. A black dye is obtained from the bark of several exotic trees, united with the rind of the mangústin fruit. A yellow dye is also obtained from an exotic wood, heightened by the addition of the bark of the nángka tree, and a variety of the mango.

Extensive forests of the játi, or teak of India[30], are found in almost all the eastern provinces; but the most valuable and important are in the central districts, situated inland, between Semárang and Sidáyu, and particularly in the districts of Blóra, Jípang, and Padáng'an.

Of the teak tree there is but one species known, the tectona grandis of Linnæus, the tekka of Van Rheede, and the jatus of Rhumphius. Its natural history has been already fully detailed, and all the kinds generally enumerated are merely varieties. These are usually distinguished among the natives of Java by names derived from the quality and colour of the wood. The principal are the játi kápur, the chalky teak, and a kind varying in colour, and on account of its excellence termed játi súng'gu, or the true teak. The former is the most common: its wood is of a whitish hue, and it sometimes contains calcareous concretions in nodules or streaks. This sort[Vol I Pg 45] is chiefly employed for common domestic purposes, and though inferior in quality to many others, from its abundance and comparative cheapness, is perhaps the most generally useful. The játi súng'gu is harder, closer, and more ponderous, and particularly selected for ship-building. The colour of the wood is of different shades, from light to intense brown, with a cast of violet verging sometimes to red or black. If the stem is covered with spines, or rather pointed scales, it is called játi dúri, but in its texture and quality it agrees with the játi súnge'gu. Besides these the natives distinguish, as játi gémbol, those excrescences or protuberances which are produced from a variety of the játi, furnishing materials for handsome cabinet-work.

The teak tree on Java grows at a moderate elevation above the level of the ocean. It is generally conceived, that the timber afforded by forests growing on a soil of which the basis is limestone, and the surface uneven, gravelly, or rocky, is the hardest, the freest from chalky concretions, and in all respects the best; but in laying out a teak plantation, a soil consisting in a great proportion of black vegetable mould, is always selected for the purpose of obtaining a rapid growth. The teak tree is slender and erect. It shoots up with considerable vigour and rapidity, but its expansion is slow. Like all other trees affording useful timber of a close grain, it is many years in arriving at maturity. Under favourable circumstances, a growth of from twenty to twenty-five years affords a tree having about twelve inches diameter at the base. It requires at least a century to attain its perfection, but for common purposes, it is usually felled when between thirty and fifty years old[31].

Notwithstanding the extent to which cultivation has been[Vol I Pg 46] carried in many districts of the island, large portions of its surface are still covered with primeval forests, affording excellent timber of various descriptions. Besides the teak, there are several kinds of wood or timber employed for various domestic purposes, as the súren (the tuna of Bengal), of which the wood is very light, stronger and more durable than all other kinds of similar weight produced on the island: as the grain is not fine, it is not employed in making furniture, but it is useful for chests, trunks, carriages, &c.; its colour is red, and its odour somewhat resembling that of the cedar. Its weight is probably inferior to that of the larch.​—The wúngú or ketángi is often used instead of teak: the grain is somewhat finer: when in full blossom it is perhaps the most beautiful tree existing.​—The wádang or báyur, a light and tolerably durable wood, is employed for masts and spars of small vessels; but the surface must be well covered with resinous substances to prevent its splitting.​—The gintúngan is employed in the same manner, but grows to a larger size; the colour of the wood and bark is red.​—The lampéan or lában is light but durable, and affords materials for the handles of the spears or pikes borne by the natives.​—The nángka abounds in several districts where teak is not found, and is almost exclusively used in the construction of houses, and other domestic purposes: the wood is more close and ponderous than the súren, which it otherwise resembles; it takes a tolerable polish, and is sometimes employed for furniture. The colour is yellow; but it is made to receive a brownish hue, by the application of the young teak-leaves in polishing: its bark is used as a yellow dye.​—The lúren resembles the nángka, but is generally of rare occurrence, though in some tracts it furnishes the only timber: its use in the neighbouring islands, particularly on Sumatra, is well known.​—The kusámbi is uncommonly heavy, hard, and close: it supplies anchors for small vessels, blocks, pestles, and numerous similar utensils.​—The sáwur is a very beautiful and useful wood; the colour resembles that of mahogany, but the grain is closer, and it is more ponderous: its chief use is for handles of tools for carpenters and other artificers, for machinery, especially for the teeth of the wheels of mills, and other purposes where a hard and durable wood is required. On account of its scarcity, it is uniformly cut down on Java before[Vol I Pg 47] it arrives at the necessary size for cabinet-work. Forests of it grow on the hills of Báli, opposite the Javan shore, whence it is brought over by boat-loads for sale.

The pílang is a very hard wood, and employed in the eastern districts, instead of lignum-vitæ, for the construction of ships'-blocks, &c.​—The pung is equally hard, and uniformly employed by the natives for pegs in constructing their prahus.​—The wáli kúkun is equal to the kusámbi in weight, and exceeds it in hardness: it is employed for anchors, naves of wheels, machinery, &c.​—The tang'gulun is a hard wood of a close grain, and employed by turners for various small works.​—The kelúmpit is a very large tree: sections are employed by the natives for cart wheels.​—The járan is a white wood taking the tool easily: the natives prefer it to all others for the construction of their saddles, which consist principally of wood.​—The demólo affords a light wood, which is made into planks, and employed where durability is not much required.​—The wood of the kedáwung is whitish and moderately hard.​—The lában is a yellowish and hard wood: it is employed for the handles of axes and various utensils.​—The jánglot is considered by the natives as the toughest wood produced in the island, and is always employed for bows when procurable: the tree is of a moderate size.​—The béndo is a light wood, useful for canoes.​—The séntul is a light close-grained wood, and easily worked: it resembles the súren.

For household furniture, cabinet-ware, &c. are employed​—the sóno kling of the Maláyus, the colour of which is a deep brown, inclining to black:​—the sóno kómbang, which has some resemblance to the lingua wood of the Moluccas:​—the war'm-lot, dark brown; and próno-sodo, resembling the walnut, both scarce:​—the wer'n, of a brown colour, of a close substance and light, abundant in some districts:​—the mentáus and júmberit, the wood of which is white and fine-grained, uniformly used for inlaying:​—the randu kúning, yellowish and close-grained:​—and the íng'as, of a brownish red colour, and very brittle.

For the hilts and sheaths of krîses, the natives make use of the timóko, of which the black and white variegated fragments are called pélet. These are of various kinds.​—The arúman,[Vol I Pg 48] variegated white and black, is also employed for canes, handles, and spears, &c. and is very heavy.​—The tiké, yellowish, closed and marble,​—the mángu,​—the áti áti,​—the kráminan,​—the púrwo-kúning and several others, are employed for the same purposes.​—The kamúning is of a brownish colour and very fine grain:​—the tayúman resembles the last and is very much esteemed:​—the wúni stelágo affords a reddish wood.

Among the most extensively useful productions ought not to be forgotten the bámbu, or príng, which abounds on Java, and seems, from the greater luxuriance and variety by which it is here distinguished, to find the soil and climate more congenial to its growth than those of any other country. It blossoms in different parts of the island. The rattans (rótan) of Java are on the whole inferior to those of Sumatra and Borneo: the improved state of cultivation is unfavourable to their growth and propagation.

Many woods afford excellent fuel. The charcoal prepared from the kusámbi is equal perhaps to that of any other wood with which we are acquainted, and is universally preferred in cooking, and in the other branches of domestic economy. Charcoal, for gunpowder, is uniformly prepared from the celtis orientalis, called áng'grung.

Among the useful trees must be noticed: the soap-tree, of which the fruit is used to a very great extent in washing linen:​—the kasémak, from the bark of which is made a varnish for umbrellas:​—the sámpang, from the resin of which the natives prepare a shining varnish for the wooden sheaths of krîses:​—the cotton-tree, from which a silky wool is obtained for stuffing pillows and beds:​—the wax-tree, which, though scarce on Java, grows abundantly on some parts of Madúra: (the kernel, by expression, produces an oil, which some time after becomes hard and bears a resemblance to wax; it may be burnt in lamps or converted into candles, and affords an agreeable odour): the bendúd, a shrub producing the substance of which the elastic gum, commonly called Indian-rubber, is prepared. The art of preparing it in this form is however unknown in Java. Torches are made of it, for the use of those who search for birds' nests in the rocks, and it serves for winding round the stick employed to strike musical instruments, as the gong, &c. to soften[Vol I Pg 49] the sound. The mínyak káwon or niátu is a very useful tree, which grows solitary in all, and abundantly in some parts of the island, and produces a kind of tallow.

Dámar, or resin, is distinguished by the inhabitants of these countries into two kinds: dámar-bátu or séla, and dámar-puti, comprising numerous varieties obtained from different trees. None of these are, however, produced on Java. Besides the rásamála, which is very limited as to its place of growth, the Canáram, and a peculiar resin employed by the natives for varnishing the wooden sheaths of their krîses, called sámpang, few odoriferous resins are found. The camphor-tree, which abounds on Sumatra and Borneo, is unknown on Java. The wood oil, distinguished among the Malays by the name of krúwing (which in Java is applied to all resinous or oily substances employed in the construction of vessels), is not a native of Java, but it grows abundantly on Banka and Sumatra.

None of what are called the finer kinds of spices, namely, the nutmeg, clove, and cinnamon, are indigenous to Java; but the few trees which have been planted in the gardens of Europeans have thriven well: and, from the nature of the soil and climate, there seems little doubt that the nutmeg and clove, in particular, might be extensively cultivated throughout the island, did it suit the policy of the European government to admit of their general introduction.

The vine was once extensively cultivated in some of the eastern provinces of the island, in which the soil and climate appear well calculated for its growth; but an apprehension, on the part of the Dutch East-India Company, that its cultivation on Java might interfere with the wine trade of the Cape of Good Hope, induced them to discourage it, and the preparation of wine from the grape was strictly prohibited. Lieutenant-Colonel Mackenzie, when noticing the vast quantities of ashes thrown up from the different volcanos, makes the following observation on the eastern part of Java. "The soil of the country is evidently enriched by the ashes and earth emitted by these eruptions, and there is reason to conclude, what persons well acquainted with the south of Europe assert, that the vines of Italy and the Cape would thrive in perfection, in a soil and climate so well adapted to them."[Vol I Pg 50]

Among the vegetable productions of Java, none has excited more interest than the celebrated úpas, or poison-tree. Mr. Marsden, in his history of Sumatra[32], has referred to various concurring authorities, in refutation of the very extraordinary tales told of this tree; and, in this general account of the productions of Java, it may perhaps be sufficient to refer the reader to the particulars contained in the subjoined note[33].[Vol I Pg 51]

Of the useful or domestic quadrupeds it may be observed, that neither the elephant nor the camel is a native of Java: [Vol I Pg 52]the former is rarely imported, the latter unknown. Neither the ass nor mule is found; but the island has a fine breed of [Vol I Pg 53]small horses (járan), strong, fleet, and well made. A still finer breed is imported from Bíma, on the neighbouring [Vol I Pg 54]island of Sumbáwa, which by competent judges has been said to resemble the Arab in every respect except size. They [Vol I Pg 55]seldom exceed thirteen hands, and in general are below this standard.

[Vol I Pg 56] The bull and cow (sápi or lémbu) are general, but much more so in the central and eastern districts than in the western. The breed has been greatly improved by the species introduced from continental India. But the animal of most essential and general use in the agriculture of the country is the buffalo (kábu, maísa, or múnding), a particular account of which will appear in the chapter on Agriculture. Goats (wedús) are numerous and of a small size: sheep (called here European goats) are scarce and small. As in other sultry climates, the latter have a coarse woollen coat, which is employed for stuffing saddles, pillows, &c. but it is in so little request that the inhabitants are rarely at the trouble of shearing for it. The hog (chéleng) is reared principally among the Chinese.

Of beasts of prey may be enumerated several species of the tiger, as the máchan lóreng (felis tigris), máchan gogor (a variety), máchan tútul (probably the small leopard of Pennant), máchan kombang and kúwuk, the smallest kind, called tiger-cats. The jackal, and several varieties of the wild-dog; as the ásu wáwar, ásu ájag, or ásu kíki; and among other wild quadrupeds, the rhinoceros, and bánteng, or wild Javan ox, the wild-hog and the stag: the last, as well as the rib-faced and axis deer, is tamed and fattened for food. The aggregate number of mammalia on Java have been estimated at about fifty. The habits and manners of the larger animals, the tiger, leopard, black tiger, rhinoceros and stag, and two species of deer, the varieties of the wild-hog, &c. are sufficiently known; but the bánteng, or Javan ox, the Javan buffalo, the varieties of the wild-dog, those of the weasel and squirrel, and most of the other smaller quadrupeds, still present curious subjects for the study of the naturalist. Next to the rhinoceros, which [Vol I Pg 57]sometimes (though rarely at present) injures plantations, the wild-hogs are the most destructive animals. They are often poisoned (or intoxicated, according to the quantity they consume) by the kálák kámbing, or by the remains from the preparation of brom. The practice of suspending rags impregnated with urine, at small distances around the plantations, is universal over the whole island. These animals are said to have so violent an aversion to this odour, that even this "feeble barrier" is useful in preserving the plantations.

Musk, called dedes, is procured from the rasé.

Although the same qualities are ascribed to them here as in other countries, bezoars are comparatively scarce in Java; and those occasionally found in the maritime capitals are uniformly brought from other countries. The hog-deer and Nicobar pigeon are not natives; and although wild-hogs, in which bezoars are said to be found, are very abundant, they are never examined or approached by the natives. Every extraordinary concretion, calculus, ossification, &c. found in any part of an animal, is called mustíka, which corresponds to the bezoar of the Arabs, Persians, &c. A concretion of feathers found in the stomach of a fowl is called mustíka áyam, and is carefully preserved. A stony concretion, discovered accidentally by the rattling of a human skull exposed for many years to the action of the sun, has been denominated mustíka órang, and the most salutary virtues ascribed to it. Analogous to the bezoars, must be considered the horns of the rhinoceros, whose virtues are highly prized.

Among the domestic fowls, or poultry, are the turkey, which is comparatively scarce, and chiefly raised for the tables of Europeans; the goose, which is very common near all the establishments of Europeans; the bébek, or duck, abundant in every part of the island; the common fowl and pigeons. Among the birds of prey, the eagle is not found; but there are several varieties of the falcon, of which the jóko wuru is the largest; also the carrion crow and the owl. Of the parrot kind, two only, the bétet and selíndit, are found on Java. The peacock (merák), is very common in large forests. The number of distinct species of birds has been estimated not greatly to exceed two hundred, of which upwards of one hundred and seventy have been described, and are already con[Vol I Pg 58]tained in the collections made on account of the English East India Company.

The dorsal feathers of the white heron, and the vent feathers of the sándang láwé, are employed, as substitutes for ostrich feathers, by the natives, for plumes, &c. It is very rarely that the feathers of geese, &c. are employed for beds or pillows, the silky cotton of the kápok being preferred on account of its coolness. For ornamenting the arrows of the natives, the feathers of some of the falcon tribe are chiefly employed.

Among the interesting subjects which still remain open for search, are the habits and constitution of the hirundo esculenta, the small swallow which forms the edible nests, annually exported in large quantities from Java and the Eastern Islands for the Chinese market. These birds not only abound among the cliffs and caverns of the south coast of the island, but inhabit the fissures and caverns of several of the mountains and hills in the interior of the country. From every observation which has been made on Java, it has been inferred, that the mucilaginous substance, of which the nests are formed, is not, as has been generally supposed, obtained from the ocean. The birds, it is true, generally inhabit the caverns in the vicinity of the sea, as agreeing best with their habits, and affording them the most convenient retreats for attaching their nests to; but several caverns are found inland, at a distance of forty or fifty miles from the sea, containing nests similar to those on the shore. From many of their retreats along the southern coast, they have been observed to take their flight in an inland direction, towards the pools, lakes, and extensive marshes covered with stagnant water, as affording them abundance of their food, which consists of flies, mosquitoes, gnats, and small insects of every description. The sea that washes the foot of the cliffs, where they most abound, is almost always in a state of the most violent agitation, and affords none of those substances which have been supposed to constitute the food of the esculent swallow. Another species of swallow on this island forms a nest, in which grass or moss, &c. are merely agglutinated by a substance, exactly similar to that of which exclusively the edible nests consist. This substance, from whatever part of these regions the nests be derived, is essentially uniform, differing only in the colour, according to the relative[Vol I Pg 59] age of the nests. It exhibits none of those diversities which might be expected, if it were collected casually (like the mud employed by the martin, and the materials commonly employed in nest-making), and applied to the rocks. If it consisted of the substances usually supposed, it would be putrescent and diversified.

Dr. Horsfield thinks that it is an animal elaboration, perhaps a kind of secretion; but to determine its nature accurately, it should be carefully analyzed, the anatomy of the bird should be investigated, and its character and habits watched.

The kayman of the Dutch, the boáya of the Malays, and the bóyo or bájul of the Javans, which abounds along the shores and in the principal rivers of the island, resembles more the crocodile of Egypt than that of the Ganges, or the American alligator. The character of the lacerta crocodiles, as given in the Systema Naturæ, applies to the Javan crocodile, with this difference, that in the latter the two crests of the tail coalesce towards the extremity, in which respect it agrees with that of the Ganges; but its head and jaws are broad, and rounded. In its manners, habits, and destructive qualities, it resembles the largest animals of this genus. Next to the crocodile in size is the béwak of the Malays, or menyáwak or selíra of the Javans. It sometimes attains the length of six or seven feet, and lives near the banks of rivers and marshes. Its character agrees with those of the lacerta monitor. It is erroneously denominated the guana by Europeans. The eggs of this animal, as well as of the crocodile, are eaten by the natives, and the fat is collected for medical purposes. A small lizard, the búnglon of the Javans, is erroneously called the chameleon, in consequence of the property of changing its colour. It has the specific characters of the guana, but is much smaller, seldom exceeding eighteen or twenty inches in length. There are various other lizards.

Two varieties of the turtle, pényu and pényu kombang, are found in the seas surrounding Java. Both yield the substance called tortoise-shell, but they are seldom taken of sufficient size to render it valuable: the flesh is excellent. Another kind, of which the species is unknown, renders a thicker shell. Kúro is the name of the common land-tortoise, which is found very abundantly in particular districts.[Vol I Pg 60]

Besides the rana esculenta, green frog (kódok íjù of the Javans) which is frequently eaten, and the kódok benju, there is the common toad, kódok, and the bánkong and kíntel. The frog-fish (rana paradosa), or a variety of it, is also found on the island, and has been exhibited in the same supposed metamorphosis as in other countries. No noxious quality of any of these animals is here known.

It is uncertain whether the boa constrictor be found on Java. The serpent usually called the úlar sáwa is a species of coluber, and has been described in one of the volumes of the Batavian Transactions; but several other species are found which arrive at a very large size. One of them, the úlar lánang, is very much dreaded by the natives, and said to be poisonous. Of the úlar sáwa there are several varieties, one of which, úlar sáwa máchan, is most beautifully variegated. Upwards of twenty serpents are enumerated as poisonous. The úlar lámpe is found at or near the discharge of large rivers into the ocean, and is more abundant in some districts than in others. This is greatly dreaded by the natives; its bite however is rarely mortal, and the effects are comparatively slow, death seldom occurring within twenty-four hours from the time of its infliction. No remedies which deserve notice are known by the natives: charms and superstitious applications are generally resorted to. The most remarkable serpent is the úlar kádut, or kárang. The úlar lánang, and some of the varieties úlar sáwa are slender, and possess considerable agility. According to the account of the natives, they frequently ascend trees, and suspending themselves by the extremity of their tail, seize upon small animals passing below; but the true úlar sáwa of the Eastern Javans is slow, thick, and unwieldy. Nothing which could illustrate its supposed power of fascination has been noticed.

Of the fish most commonly used for food by the natives, many of which are excellent and abundant, thirty-four species of river fish, seven found chiefly in pools or stagnant waters, and sixteen sea fish, are already enumerated by Dr. Horsfield. The classes of amphibia and pisces, doubtless, afford many new subjects for investigation. Valentyn enumerates five hundred and twenty-eight uncommon kinds of fish found in the waters of the Eastern Islands.[Vol I Pg 61]

Honey and wax are produced by three species of bees, inhabiting the largest forests, but they are both collected in very inconsiderable quantities. Bees are occasionally domesticated by the Arabs and Indians near the large settlements, but never by the natives. Silk-worms were once introduced by the Dutch near Batavia, but attention to them did not extend among the natives. The chrysalis of the large atlas affords a coarse silk, which is however not collected for use. To the fruit, several insects, and to the corn while in the ear, a peculiar species, generally known by the name of wálang-sángít, are most destructive. The latter has in some years destroyed the growth of whole districts, and occasioned partial scarcity. The natives attempt, in some instances, to extirpate it by burning chaff and brimstone in the fields. There are scorpions and centipedes, but their bite is considered of little consequence: the natives generally apply a cataplasm of onions to the wound. The class of insects affords many new objects; specimens of most of the genus papilio, and many of other genera have already been collected.

Java does not afford the same opportunities for beautiful collections of shells as the Moluccas, Papua, and other Islands. Along the northern coast, few shells are found of beauty or variety, and the corallines have mostly lost their integrity by attrition; but the extensive bays in the southern shore contain many of these objects in a state of beauty and perfection.

FOOTNOTES:

[12] The primitive Athenians were called Iones or Iaones (Herodotus, lib. i. &c.) This name is thought to have been given to them from Javan, which bears a great resemblance to Ιάων. This Javan was the fourth son of Japheth, and is said to have come into Greece after the confusion of Babel, and seated himself in Attica; and this report receives no small confirmation from the divine writings, where the name of Javan is in several places put for Greece. See Daniel x. 20. xi. 2. where the vulgar translations render it not Javan, as in the original, but Græcia. The Athenians afterwards named Asia the less Ionia.​—Potter's Archæologia Græca.

[13] Panicum Italicum.

[14] The term Zapagé or Zabaja seems also to have been a corruption from Jawa, and to have been used with the same latitude, according to the following notices by Major Wilford. "There was a constant intercourse, both by sea and land, between the kingdom of Magad'hi and China, on the authority of Chinese history; and they traded to an island and kingdom, called Founan, to the eastward of Siam, during the third and fourth centuries. This was probably a Malay kingdom; but we cannot ascertain its situation. It seems that the Malay emperors and kings, as those of Zapagi and Founan, did what they could to introduce trade and learning into their dominions, but their exertions proved ineffectual; at least they were not attended with much success; and their subjects soon relapsed into their former mode of life." ... "There are two countries called Maharaja, which are often confounded together; the first, at the bottom of the Green Sea, including Bengal and all the countries on the banks of the Ganges; the second comprehended the peninsula of Malacca, and some of the adjacent islands in the seas of China. In these countries the emperor, or king, always assumed the title of Maharaja, even until this day. Their country, in general, was called Zapagé or Zabaja, which is a corruption from Java or Jaba, as it was called in the west, and was also the name of Sumatra, according to Ptolemy, who calls it Jaba-diu, and to Marco Polo. In the peninsula of Malacca was the famous emporium of Zaba: Zubaja, in Sanscrit, would signify then Zaba. The empire of Zabajé was thus called, probably, from its metropolis, Zaba, as well as the principal islands near it. Zaba was a principal emporium even as early as the time of Ptolemy. It remained so till the time of the two Mussulman travellers of Renaudot, and probably much longer. It is now called Batu Sabor, upon the river Jehor, which is as large as the Euphrates, according to these travellers; who add, that the town of Calabar, on the coast of Coromandel, and ten days to the south of Madras, belonged to the Maharaja of Zabaje. The wars of this Maharaja with the king of Alkoner or countries near Cape Comorin, are mentioned by the two Mussulman travellers in the ninth century, and it seems that, at that time, the Malayan empire was in its greatest splendor."​—Asiatic Researches, vol. ix.

[15] Others again have derived the term Jawa from Yava, which in Sanscrit means barley, whence Java has occasionally been termed the land of barley.

[16] Beschryving van Groot Djawa of te Java Major door F. Valentyn.​—Amsterdam, 1726.

[17] The breadth is a few miles less between Cheribon and the south coast, occasioned by the deep bay of Cheláchap, and also in the eastern termination of the island beyond Surabáya, where it only averages forty-five geographical miles.

[18] The term regencies is adopted from the title of Regent, given by the Dutch to the chief native authority in each district.

[19] Súra-kérta or Sura-kérta di ning'rat, is the name given to the seat of empire; but as the capital was only removed to its present site about the middle of the last century, it is still frequently called Solo, the name of the village in or near which this capital was established.

[20] This capital is indifferently turned Yokya, Jokya, Juju, 'Ng'yug'ya, or Yug'ya-kerta, and is the Djojo-Carta, according to the Dutch orthography. The turn Yug'ya has been selected, on account of its nearer approximation to the supposed derivation of the word from the Na-yud-ya of the Ramayan.

[21] The height of the mountain Arjúna, in the eastern part of the island, has been determined at 10,614 feet above the level of the sea; and this mountain is by no means so lofty as those of Semíru and Tegál, the exact height of which has not yet been ascertained.

[22] The height of this mountain has been ascertained to be 5,263 English feet above the level of the sea.

[23] To the above general observations, which are made on the authority of Dr. Horsfield, it may not be uninteresting to subjoin a more particular account of two or three of the volcanos which have been examined by that gentleman; those of Tánkuban-Prahu, Papandáyang, and Gúntur are, therefore, extracted from a paper published by Dr. Horsfield in the Batavian Transactions.

"Tankuban-Prahu.​—This mountain (which has derived its name from its appearance at a distance, resembling a prahu, or boat, turned upside down) forms a vast truncated cone. Its base extends to a very great distance, and it belongs to the largest mountains of the island, forming one of its most interesting volcanos. Although it has had no violent eruption for many ages, as is evident from the progress of vegetation, and from the depth of black mould which covers its sides, its interior has continued in a state of uninterrupted activity.

"The crater is one of the largest, perhaps the largest, of the island. It has, in general, the shape of a funnel; but its sides are very irregular. The brim, or margin, which bounds it at the top, has also different degrees of elevation, rising and descending along the whole course of its circumference. The perpendicular depth at the side, where I descended (in the south), is at least two hundred and fifty feet: in the west the margin rises considerably higher. The regular circumference of the crater I estimate one English mile and nearly an half. The south side of the interior crater, near the top, is very steep. I found it impossible to descend, without the assistance of ropes tied to the shrubs at the margin. It consists here of small fragments of lava. About one-third of its depth it becomes more oblique or inclining, and the lower part consists of large piles of rocks, through which the descending streams of water have excavated a winding channel. The east side descends gradually about one-half of the depth, where it is terminated abruptly by a perpendicular pile of large rocks, which continues to the bottom. The north side is more gradually shelving than the others, and is partly covered with vegetation. The west side is one perpendicular pile of rocks. The nucleus of the mountain consists of large masses of basaltes, in which the volcanic opening is situated; and the sides exhibit piles and strata of this stone in every possible variety of configuration. In some places the rocks have the appearance of a regular wall, which is suddenly diversified by large fragments suspended apparently by a small base, and threatening to fall down every instant. Sometimes they rise in an oblique manner, and appear to have been disposed by art. But I shall not attempt a minute description of the disposition of the rocks and the strata which form the internal walls of the crater, which, without an accurate drawing, would be tedious and scarcely intelligible. The surface of the rocks which line the interior of the crater is completely calcined, generally of a white colour, sometimes inclining to grey or yellow. In many places small fragments of lava adhere to and cover the rocks of basalt: these are of different sizes, and of great variety of form and colour; but the most are calcined or burnt, or the surface like the rocks themselves. The different sides of the internal crater are excavated in many places, by furrows made by the descending water, which penetrate to a considerable depth, and expose more completely the interior basaltic composition. The bottom of the crater has a diameter of three hundred yards, but is not completely regular; its form depends on the gradual meeting of the sides below. Its surface is much diversified: it is strewed, like the sides, with immense blocks of basalt, the interstices between which are excavated, in a similar manner, by the streams of the descending water.

"Near the centre, somewhat inclining to the west side, it contains an irregular oval lake, or collection of water, whose greatest diameter is nearly one hundred yards: it dilates into several branches. The water is white, and exhibits truly the appearance of a lake of milk, boiling with a perpetual discharge of large bubbles, which rise with greatest force from the eastern side. The heat is 112° of Fahrenheit's scale: the apparent boiling arises from a constant development of fixed air. The water has a sulphureous odour; its taste is astringent, somewhat saline. Shaken in a bottle it explodes its fixed air with great violence. The sides of the lake, to some distance, are lined by a white aluminous earth, most impalpably fine, and very loose, on which account it is very difficult to approach the water. In attempting to examine its temperature, and to collect for analysis, I sunk into the earth to a considerable distance, and found it necessary to dispose large fragments of basaltes before I was able to pass over it. This earth consists of the clay (alumine) of the lavas dissolved by the sulphureous steams on the bottom of the crater; it is of the purest kind, and divided to a degree minute almost beyond conception. Large quantities have been several times thrown out of the ancient craters of the island. One eruption of this substance occurred in the year 1761 from the mountain Gedé: it was considered as an eruption of ashes.

"I was witness to a similar eruption, which occurred from the mountain of Klut, in the month of June last year. The earth very much resembled ashes, and was so impalpably fine and light, that the common breeze of the monsoon carried it from this mountain, situated in the longitude of Surabáya, to Batavia and farther westward. It possessed the properties of the purest clay, and being mixed with water became viscid and ductile. It can easily be formed into vessels, and if procurable in large quantities, might usefully be employed in the arts. All its properties indicated sufficiently that it was the alumine of the lavas, divided in an extreme degree by the causes above-mentioned. The Javanese are not wholly unacquainted with the properties of this earth. It is a custom amongst silversmiths to collect the ashes thrown out by similar eruptions, for the purpose of making moulds for the finest works.

"Towards the eastern extremity of the lake are the remaining outlets of the subterraneous fires: they consist of several apertures, from which an uninterrupted discharge of sulphureous vapours takes place. Two of these are larger than the rest; they are several feet distant from each other. The apertures are of an irregular oblong form, and covered with crystals of impure sulphur, which form from the discharged vapours, and adhere to those incrustations of the aluminous earth which have formed themselves in a great variety of configurations (hollows, tubes, &c.) near the apertures. The vapours rush out with incredible force, with violent subterraneous noises, resembling the boiling of an immense cauldron in the bowels of the mountain: their colour is white, like the concentrated vapours of boiling water. The apertures cannot be approached without the greatest danger, as their true extent cannot be discovered: they are surrounded by incrustations of sulphur adhering to delicate laminæ of the aluminous earth, which are extremely brittle. The greatest diameter of the large opening is nearly twelve inches.

"To give an adequate description of the interior of this crater would furnish matter for an able pen: the force of the impression is increased, perhaps, by the recollection of the danger which has been overcome in descending to the bottom. Every thing here contributes to fill the mind with the most awful satisfaction. It doubtless is one of the most grand and terrific scenes which nature affords; and, in the present instance, the extent of the crater, as well as the remains of the former explosions, afforded a view and enjoyment which is not in my power to describe.

"Papandayang.​—The Papandáyang, situated on the western part of the district of Cheribon, in the province of Suka-pura, was formerly one of the largest volcanos of the island; but the greatest part of it was swallowed up in the earth, after a short but very severe combustion, in the year 1772. The account which has remained of this event asserts, that near midnight, between the 11th and 12th of August, there was observed about the mountain an uncommonly luminous cloud, by which it appeared to be completely enveloped. The inhabitants, as well about the foot as on the declivities of the mountain, alarmed by this appearance, betook themselves to flight; but before they could all save themselves, the mountain began to give way, and the greatest part of it actually fell in and disappeared in the earth. At the same time, a tremendous noise was heard, resembling the discharge of the heaviest cannon. Immense quantities of volcanic substances, which were thrown out at the same time and spread in every direction, propagated the effects of the explosion through the space of many miles.

"It is estimated, that an extent of ground, of the mountain itself and its immediate environs, fifteen miles long and full six broad, was by this commotion swallowed up in the bowels of the earth. Several persons, sent to examine the condition of the neighbourhood, made report, that they found it impossible to approach the mountain, on account of the heat of the substances which covered its circumference, and which were piled on each other to the height of three feet; although this was the 24th of September, and thus full six weeks after the catastrophe. It is also mentioned, that forty villages, partly swallowed up by the ground and partly covered by the substances thrown out, were destroyed on this occasion, and that 2,957 of the inhabitants perished. A proportionate number of cattle was also destroyed, and most of the plantations of cotton, indigo, and coffee, in the adjacent districts, were buried under the volcanic matter. The effects of this explosion are still very apparent on the remains of this volcano; but I defer an account of it, till I have had an opportunity of making a more minute examination.

"Guntur.​—The whole of the eastern part of this mountain is completely naked, and exposes to view, in a striking manner, the course of the lavas of the latter eruptions: the top is a regular cone, and covered with loose fragments of lava. I shall give a very concise abstract of the observations on the mountain, and on the different streams of lava which have lately flowed from its crater. I could distinctly trace, from the base of the conical top to the roots of the mountain, five different eruptions. The latest stream of lava which I examined (the mountain has since had a later eruption) was thrown out in 1800. Its course along the top cannot be distinctly observed, being completely covered with sand and small fragments of lava, which generally rise towards the end of an eruption. At the place where the stream first appeared distinctly, it was about five yards broad and completely even on the surface: having proceeded about twenty yards further it gradually widened, and was formed into a connected stream, higher in the middle, the sides tapering or inclining towards the top, forming a ridge with a pointed or sharp back. As the stream arrived at the foot of the mountain, it spread more and more, and pursued its course to the eastward, about six hundred yards over the adjacent country. Its greatest breadth, from north to south, is about one hundred and sixty yards, and it terminates abruptly by a rounded margin, consisting of large blocks of lava piled upon each other, nearly perpendicularly, to the height of fifteen to twenty feet.

"This stream of lava, like all the others of later date which I have examined on the island, does not consist of a connected mass of fluid lava, united like a stream of melted metal; at least on the surface where it is exposed to view. It is made up of separate masses, which have an irregular (generally oblong or cubical) shape, and lie upon each other as 'loose disjointed clods,' in an immense variety of disposition. In some of these fragments I think I could observe a tendency to assume the regular basaltic figure. During its course down the steeps of the mountain, the stream, as has been observed, forms the long connected ridge (which has been described above, in the account of the volcanos, as generally covering the sides); but having arrived at the foot and spread more at large, these lumps of lava dispose themselves, in some instances, in plains, bounded by deep vallies: now they rise to a considerable height, and form a steep perpendicular eminence; then again they are piled upon each other more gradually, and appear rising by steps and divisions. But to give an accurate description of the arrangement of these fragments of lava would be unnecessarily prolix, and would require, to be clearly understood, a good drawing. In different places, the sulphureous vapours have forced their way through the interstices of the blocks of lava. The sides of their outlets (whose form is very irregular) is covered with a white calcareous crust; and the heat is so great, that small pieces of paper thrown into them are immediately singed.

"This stream of lava is bounded on the north by another, of the same nature and disposition, thrown out of the mountain (according to an estimate made from the commencement and progress of vegetation upon it) about thirty years ago. In its course along the sides of the mountain it forms the same pointed ridges above described. It affords a plain demonstration of the manner in which the surface of lava is decomposed and rendered fit for vegetation. A third district of lava bounds the new stream first described in the south: it is more extensive than the others, and consists of several distinct regions, probably thrown out during one eruption (which appears to have been more violent than the others), but in successive periods shortly following each other. It extends farther to the eastward than the others, and covers a great portion of the foot of the mountain. Vegetation has already made considerable progress upon it: in the vallies between the separate streams of lava are found not only plants but also small shrubs. At one place, near the termination of this stream, the lava is piled up in two irregular ridges to the height of twenty feet; and at a small distance from its eastern extremity, in a spot which has escaped the effects of the later eruptions, and is covered by pleasant wood, are three different hot wells, within the circumference of a quarter of a mile. In the south, this district of lava is bounded by a recent stream, which appears to have been thrown out in 1800, by the same eruption which produced the first mentioned stream. It differs from the others only in the colour of its lava, which has a reddish hue: it is less considerable in extent than any of the others, and cannot be traced far from the foot of the mountain. The fifth stream of lava which I examined is still farther towards the south, and is one of the oldest which have been discharged from the eastern part of the crater. Near the foot of the mountain, vegetation has made greater progress than in any of the other districts of lava.

"The colour of the recent lava of this mountain is jet-black or grey: one of the streams only has a reddish colour. Its texture is very loose, and its fracture very porous. The smaller fragments have much the appearance of the scoriæ of a blacksmith's forge: on being thrown against each other, they emit a sound like two bricks coming into contact. The interior crater of this mountain, as it has remained after the eruption of 1800, is less interesting than the others which I have examined. Its shape is somewhat oval, the greatest diameter being about one hundred yards: its depth is not very considerable. Its structure, in general, is similar to that of Tankuban-prahu. It has one remaining aperture, which discharges with great force hot sulphureous vapours."

Batavian Transactions, vol. ix.

[24] Mineral wells, of various qualities, are found in almost every part of the island. As an instance of the hot wells, the following account of those found in Cheribon is selected. "At the village of Bongas (situated about ten miles to the north-east of Karang-Sambong) I directed my route to the large mountain, in order to examine part of the hills along its foot, called the hills of Pana-wangan, and several hot wells which are found near their borders. On approaching these hills, after a very gentle acclivity covered entirely by calcareous stones, I very soon came to the spot of the hot wells. They are found on a gently inclining plain, about one hundred yards in circumference. This plain is perfectly white; and on approaching it, it is perceived at some distance by a sulphureous vapour, arising from the whole neighbourhood. The water springs from several apertures, but their temperatures are not equal; the hottest indicates the degree of one hundred and thirty of Fahrenheit's scale. They all contain a very large quantity of calcareous earth in solution and suspension, which coming into contact with the air, immediately separates, and adheres to the surrounding objects, or is precipitated to the ground. The branches of the shrubs in the vicinity are all enveloped by a stalactical incrustation. The water from the different wells gently descending the white calcareous plain, is collected in a rivulet below. A large number of calcareous rocks are found in the vicinity of the plains; some are covered with elegant crystals of calcareous spar, others have a coralline appearance, and some have the fracture of alabaster. On proceeding up the hills, immense irregular blocks of calcareous rocks are found strewed about in the valleys. About one hundred yards above this district are several wells of naphtha, or petroleum. It rises in small plashes of water, about twelve or eighteen inches in diameter, upon which it drives its black specks, emitting the peculiar odour of the petroleum. The earth in the circumference of these plashes is strongly impregnated with this oil: it is very tough, and from that immediately bounding apertures, the naphtha flows out on its being pressed; some portions exactly resemble asphaltum. A considerable space of ground is occupied by these wells. The stones are all calcareous. A few hundred yards above this spot, the borders of the hills become very steep. I examined them to some extent. They are composed exclusively of calcareous stones. Several extensive stalactitic caves are found at no great distance above the wells; they exhibit the usual appearances of calcareous caves and vaults. The process of incrustation is continually going on. In some places, deep perforations extend into the heart of the hills."​—Essay on the Mineralogy of Java, by Dr. Horsfield. Bat. Trans. vol. ix.

Among other objects of curiosity, which can only be illustrated by particular description, are the explosions of mud, situated between the district of Grobogan on the west, and of Blora and Jipang on the east. By the natives they are termed Blédeg, and are described by Dr. Horsfield as salt wells.

"These salt wells," he observes, "are dispersed through a district of country several miles in circumference, the base of which, like that of other parts of the island which furnish mineral and other saline waters, is limestone. They are of considerable number, and force themselves upwards, through apertures in the rocks, with some violence and ebullition. The waters are strongly impregnated with sea-salt, and yield upon evaporation very good salt for culinary purposes. (In quantity not less than two hundred tons in the year.)

"About the centre of this limestone district, is found an extraordinary volcanic phenomenon. On approaching it from a distance, it is first discovered by a large volume of smoke rising and disappearing at intervals of a few seconds, resembling the vapours arising from a violent surf: a dull noise is heard, like that of distant thunder. Having advanced so near, that the vision was no longer impeded by the smoke, a large hemispherical mass was observed, consisting of black earth, mixed with water, about sixteen feet in diameter, rising to the height of twenty or thirty feet in a perfectly regular manner, and as it were pushed up, by a force beneath; which suddenly exploded with a dull noise, and scattered about a volume of black mud in every direction. After an interval of two or three, or sometimes four or five seconds, the hemispherical body of mud or earth rose and exploded again. In the same manner this volcanic ebullition goes on without interruption, throwing up a globular body of mud, and dispersing it with violence through the neighbouring plain. The spot where the ebullition occurs is nearly circular and perfectly level, it is covered only with the earthy particles impregnated with salt water, which are thrown up from below; the circumference may be estimated at about half an English mile. In order to conduct the salt water to the circumference, small passages, or gutters, are made in the loose muddy earth, which lead it to the borders, where it is collected in holes dug in the ground for the purpose of evaporation.

"A strong, pungent, sulphureous smell, somewhat resembling that of earth-oil, is perceived on standing near the explosion; and the mud recently thrown up possesses a degree of heat greater than that of the surrounding atmosphere. During the rainy season these explosions are more violent, the mud is thrown up much higher, and the noise is heard at a greater distance.

"This volcanic phenomenon is situated near the centre of the large plain which interrupts the large series of volcanos; and owes its origin to the general cause of the numerous volcanic eruptions which occur on the island." Batavian Trans. vol. ix.

"These salt wells, as Dr. Horsfield terms them, and other phenomena connected with them, appear to be precisely of the same description as the mud volcano at Macalouba, in Sicily, and the eruptions described by Pallas, at Tainan and Kercha (the boundary of Europe to the south-east of Little Tartary) and no doubt owe their origin to similar causes​—the extrication of gas, as well described by Dallas, in his Translation of the History of Volcanos, by the Abbé Ordinaire," page 249. All the phenomenon described in this work, as well in Sicily as at Tainan and Kercha, are to be found in Java, where, on the hypothesis of the Abbé, "the vitriolic acid liberating a great quantity of fixed air from the salts with which this argillaceous and limy mass is impregnated, is observed escaping copiously, by a general bubbling on the surface of the plain, when the substances are sufficiently diluted by rain," &c.

On the hypothesis of the Abbé it may, therefore, be doubted whether the assertion "that the Blédegs owe their origin to the general cause of the numerous volcanos on the island, is correct." Pallas conceives that the phenomenon at Kercha and Tainan may be explained by supposing a deep coal mine to have been for ages on fire, that the sea broke in upon it, that the water was turned into steam, and that the expansion occasioned thereby, and the struggle of the different gases to get free, force the upper surface, &c. but there seems no necessity for admitting the action of fire; the mud he describes is only luke-warm, this is precisely the case in Java.

It is remarkable that in Java, as in Sicily, in the vicinity of these phenomena, "the country around is of calcareous earth; briny springs and salt mines are found in the neighbourhood; some beds of oil of petroleum are also observed floating on adjacent stagnant waters."

[25] The tradition is as follows:​—"It is related, that in former times the islands of Sumatra, Java, Bali, and Sumbawa were united, and afterwards separated into nine different parts; and it is also said, that when three thousand rainy seasons have passed away, they will be reunited."

The separation of the lands of Palembang (Sumatra) and Java took place in the Javan year 1114
The separation of the lands of Bali and Balembangan on Java in 1204
The separation of the lands of Giling Trawangán and Bali in 1260
The separation of the island of Selo-Parang and Sumbawa in 1280
See Chronological Table, under the head "History of Java."

[26] In order to give the reader some idea of the tremendous violence with which nature sometimes distinguishes the operations of the volcano in these regions, and enable him to form some conjecture, from the occurrences of recent experience, of the effects they may have produced in past ages, a short account of the extraordinary and wide-spread phenomena that accompanied the eruption of the Tomboro mountain, in the island of Sumbawa, in April 1815, may not be uninteresting. Almost every one is acquainted with the intermitting convulsions of Etna and Vesuvius, as they appear in the descriptions of the poet and the authentic accounts of the naturalist, but the most extraordinary of them can bear no comparison, in point of duration and force, with that of Tomboro. This eruption extended perceptible evidences of its existence over the whole of the Molucca islands, over Java, a considerable portion of Celebes, Sumatra, and Borneo, to a circumference of a thousand statute miles from its centre, by tremulous motions, and the report of explosions; while within the range of its more immediate activity, embracing a space of three hundred miles around it, it produced the most astonishing effects, and excited the most alarming apprehensions. On Java, at the distance of three hundred miles, it seemed to be awfully present. The sky was overcast at noon-day with clouds of ashes, the sun was enveloped in an atmosphere, whose "palpable" density he was unable to penetrate; showers of ashes covered the houses, the streets, and the fields to the depth of several inches; and amid this darkness explosions were heard at intervals, like the report of artillery or the noise of distant thunder. So fully did the resemblance of the noises to the report of cannon impress the minds of some officers, that from an apprehension of pirates on the coast vessels were dispatched to afford relief. Superstition, on the other hand, on the minds of the natives, was busily at work, and attributed the reports to an artillery of a different description to that of pirates. All conceived that the effects experienced might be caused by eruptions of some of the numerous volcanos on the island; but no one could have conjectured that the showers of ashes which darkened the air, and covered the ground of the eastern districts of Java, could have proceeded from a mountain in Sumbawa, at the distance of several hundred miles. Conceiving that it might be interesting and curious to preserve an authentic and detailed account of the information that could be gained of this wonderful phenomenon, while the event was still recent and fully remembered, I directed a circular to the different Residents, requiring them to transmit to the Government a statement of the facts and circumstances connected with it, which occurred within their own knowledge. From their replies, the narrative drawn up by Mr. Assey, and printed in the ninth volume of the Batavian Transactions, was collected; the following is an extract from that paper:​—

"The first explosions were heard on this island (Java) in the evening of the 5th of April: they were noticed in every quarter, and continued at intervals until the following day. The noise was, in the first instance, universally attributed to distant cannon: so much so, that a detachment of troops was marched from Djocjocarta, under the apprehension that a neighbouring post had been attacked; and along the coast boats were in two instances dispatched in quest of supposed ships in distress. On the following morning, however, a slight fall of ashes removed all doubt as to the cause of the sound; and it is worthy of remark, that as the eruption continued, the sound appeared to be so close, that in each district it seemed near at hand, and was generally attributed to an eruption either from the mountains Merapi, Klut, or Bromo. From the 6th the sun became obscured; it had every where the appearance of being enveloped in a fog. The weather was sultry and the atmosphere close, and still the sun seemed shorn of its rays, and the general stillness and pressure of the atmosphere seemed to forebode an earthquake. This lasted several days. The explosions continued occasionally, but less violently, and less frequently than at first. Volcanic ashes also began to fall, but in small quantities, and so slightly as to be hardly perceptible in the western district. This appearance of the atmosphere continued, with little variation, until the 10th of April; and till then it does not appear that the volcano attracted much observation, or was considered of greater importance than those which have occasionally burst forth in Java. But on the evening of the 10th, the eruptions were heard more loud and more frequent; from Cheribon eastward the air became darkened by the quantity of falling ashes; the sun was nearly darkened; and in some situations, particularly at Solo and Rembang, many said that they felt a tremulous motion of the earth. It was universally remarked in the more eastern districts, that the explosions were tremendous, continuing frequently during the 11th, and of such violence as to shake the houses perceptibly. An unusual thick darkness was remarked all the following night, and the greater part of the next day. At Solo candles were lighted at 4 p. m. of the 12th; at Mágelan in Kédu, objects could not be seen at three hundred yards distance. At Grésik, and other districts more eastward, it was dark as night in the greater part of the 12th April, and this saturated state of the atmosphere lessened as the cloud of ashes passed along and discharged itself on its way. Thus the ashes that were eight inches deep at Bányuwángi were but two in depth at Súmenap, and less in Grésik, and the sun does not seem to have been actually obscured in any district west of Semárang.

"All reports concur in stating, that so violent and extensive an eruption has not happened within the memory of the oldest inhabitant, nor within tradition. They speak of similar effects, in a lesser degree, when an eruption took place from the volcano of Karang Asam in Bali, about seven years ago, and it was at first supposed that this mountain was the seat of the eruption. The Balinese on Java attributed the event to a recent dispute between the two Rajahs of Bali Baliling, which terminated in the death of the younger Rajah by order of his brother.

"The haziness and heat of the atmosphere, and occasional fall of volcanic ashes, continued until the 14th, and in some parts of the island until the 17th of April. They were cleared away universally by a heavy fall of rain, after which the atmosphere became clear and more cool; and it would seem that this seasonable relief prevented much injury to the crops, and removed an appearance of epidemic disease which was beginning to prevail. This was especially the case at Batavia, where, for two or three days preceding the rain, many persons were attacked with fever. As it was, however, no material injury was felt beyond the districts of Banyuwángi. The cultivators every where took precaution to shake off the ashes from the growing paddy as they fell, and the timely rain removed an apprehension very generally entertained, that insects would have been generated by the long continuance of the ashes at the root of the plant. In Rembang, where the rain did not fall till the 17th, and the ashes had been considerable, the crops were somewhat injured; but in Banyuwángi, the part of the island on which the cloud of ashes spent its force, the injury was more extensive. A large quantity of paddy was totally destroyed, and all the plantations more or less injured. One hundred and twenty-six horses and eighty-six head of cattle also perished, chiefly for want of forage, during a month from the time of the eruption.

"From Sumbawa to the part of Sumatra where the sound was noticed, is about nine hundred and seventy geographical miles in a direct line. From Sumbawa to Ternate is a distance of about seven hundred and twenty miles. The distance also to which the cloud of ashes was carried, so quickly as to produce utter darkness, was clearly pointed out to have been the island of Celebes and the districts of Grésik on Java: the former is two hundred and seventeen nautical miles distant from the seat of the volcano; the latter, in a direct line, more than three hundred geographical miles."

The following is an extract from the reports of Lieutenant Owen Phillips, dated at Bima on the island of Sumbawa. "On my trip towards the western part of the island, I passed through nearly the whole of Dompo and a considerable part of Bima. The extreme misery to which the inhabitants have been reduced is shocking to behold. There were still on the road-side the remains of several corpses, and the marks of where many others had been interred: the villages almost entirely deserted and the houses fallen down, the surviving inhabitants having dispersed in search of food. The Rajah of Sang'ir came to wait on me at Dompo, on the 3d instant. The suffering of the people there appears, from his account, to be still greater than in Dompo. The famine has been so severe that even one of his own daughters died from hunger. I presented him with three coyangs of rice in your name, for which he appeared most truly thankful.

"As the Rajah was himself a spectator of the late eruption, the following account which he gave me is perhaps more to be depended upon than any other I can possibly obtain. About 7 p. m. on the 10th of April, three distinct columns of flame burst forth near the top of the Tomboro mountain (all of them apparently within the verge of the crater), and after ascending separately to a very great height, their tops united in the air in a troubled confused manner. In a short time, the whole mountain next Sang'ir appeared like a body of liquid fire, extending itself in every direction. The fire and columns of flame continued to rage with unabated fury, until the darkness caused by the quantity of falling matter obscured it at about 8 p. m. Stones, at this time, fell very thick at Sang'ir; some of them as large as two fists, but generally not larger than walnuts. Between 9 and 10 p. m. ashes began to fall, and soon after a violent whirlwind ensued, which blew down nearly every house in the village of Sang'ir, carrying the ataps, or roofs, and light parts away with it. In the part of Sang'ir adjoining Tomboro its effects were much more violent, tearing up by the roots the largest trees and carrying them into the air, together with men, horses, cattle, and whatever else came within its influence. (This will account for the immense number of floating trees seen at sea). The sea rose nearly twelve feet higher than it had ever been known to do before, and completely spoiled the only small spots of rice land in Sang'ir, sweeping away houses and every thing within its reach. The whirlwind lasted about an hour. No explosions were heard till the whirlwind had ceased, at about 11 a. m. From midnight till the evening of the 11th, they continued without intermission; after that time their violence moderated, and they were only heard at intervals, but the explosions did not cease entirely until the 15th of July. Of the whole villages of Tomboro, Tempo containing about forty inhabitants is the only one remaining. In Pekáté no vestige of a house is left: twenty-six of the people, who were at Sumbawa at the time, are the whole of the population who have escaped. From the most particular inquiries I have been able to make, there were certainly not fewer than twelve thousand individuals in Tomboro and Pekáté at the time of the eruption, of whom only five or six survive. The trees and herbage of every description, along the whole of the north and west sides of the peninsula, have been completely destroyed, with the exception of a high point of land near the spot where the village of Tomboro stood."

[27] Batavian Transactions, vol. viii. Introductory Discourse.

[28] See Appendix A.

[29] Raynal, vol i. page 293.

[30] It is remarkable that the teak tree, which, as far as our information yet extends, is not to be found on the peninsula of Malacca, or on Sumatra or the adjacent islands, should grow in abundance on Java and several of the islands which lie east of it: as on Madúra and its dependent islands, Báli, Sumbáwa, and others. Sumbáwa produces a considerable quantity. The whole of the hills on the north-east part of that island under Bíma are covered with it; but from the constant demand for the timber, the trees are seldom allowed to grow to more than a foot in diameter, except in the forests exclusively appropriated to the use of the sovereign. In Dómpo, which occupies the central division of the same island, the teak cannot be used by any but the sovereign, and the trees are in consequence allowed to attain their full size. The timber is here uncommonly fine, and by the natives considered superior to that of Java; but the forests being surrounded by steep hills, and the population but scanty, it cannot be transported to the sea-coast without great labour and expense. On Celebes the teak tree is only known in a few spots. The principal forest is in the district of Mario; and this does not appear to be indigenous, as the natives assert that the seed from which the forest has grown, was brought from Java about eighty years ago by one of the sovereigns of Tanété.

[31] The Dutch, apprehensive of a failure in the usual supply of teak timber, have long been in the habit of forming extensive plantations of this tree; but whether from a sufficient period not having yet elapsed for the trial, or that the plantations are generally made in soils and situations ill calculated for the purpose, experience, as far as it has yet gone, has shown, that the trees which are left to the operations of nature, attain to greater perfection, even in a comparatively barren soil, unfit for any other cultivation, than those which are with great care and trouble reared in a fertile land. Their wood is more firm, more durable, and of a less chalky substance than that of the latter.

[32] Page 176, third edit.

[33] Although a serious refutation of the gross imposition practised on the people of Europe, by the romance of Foersch on the subject of the upas, or celebrated poison-tree of Java, may at this day be in a great measure superfluous, as the world has long ceased to be the dupe of his story, and as regular series of experiments have been instituted, both in France and in England, to ascertain the nature and potency of the poison; yet it may not be altogether displeasing to the reader to see in this place an authentic account of the poison, as drawn out by Dr. Horsfield at my request, and published in the seventh volume of the Batavian Transactions. Almost every one has heard of its fabulous history, which, from its extravagant nature, its susceptibility of poetical ornament, its alliance with the cruelties of a despotic government, and the sparkling genius of Darwin, whose purpose it answered to adopt and personify it as a malignant spirit (in his Lives of the Plants), has obtained almost equal currency with the wonders of the Lerna Hydra, the Chimera, or any other of the classic fictions of antiquity.

"Although the account published by Foersch, in so far as relates to the situation of the poison-tree, to its effects on the surrounding country, and to the application said to have been made of the upas on criminals in different parts of the island, as well as the description of the poisonous substance itself, and its mode of collection, has been demonstrated to be an extravagant forgery,​—the existence of a tree on Java, from the sap of which a poison is prepared, equal in fatality, when thrown into the circulation, to the strongest animal poisons hitherto known, is a fact which is at present my object to establish and illustrate. The tree which produces this poison is the anchar, and grows in the eastern extremity of the island. The work of Rhumphius contains a long account of the upas, under the denomination of arbor toxicaria. The tree does not grow on Amboyna, and his description was made from the information he obtained from Makasar. His figure was drawn from a branch of what is called the male-tree, sent to him from the same place, and establishes the identity of the poison-tree of Makasar, and the other Eastern Islands, with the anchar of Java. The simple sap of the arbor toxicaria (according to Rhumphius) is harmless, and requires the addition of several substances, of the affinity of ginger, to render it active and mortal. In so far it agrees with the anchar, which, in its simple state, is supposed to be inert, and before being employed as a poison, is subjected to a preparation which will be described after the history of the tree. Besides the true poison-tree, the upas of the Eastern Islands, and the anchar of the Javans, this island produces a shrub, which, as far as observations have hitherto been made, is peculiar to the same, and, by a different mode of preparation, furnishes a poison far exceeding the upas in violence. Its name is chetik, and its specific description will succeed to that of the anchar: the genus has not yet been discovered or described.

"Description of the Anchar.​—The anchar belongs to the twenty-first class of Linnæus, the monoecia. The male and female flowers are produced in catkins (amenta) on the same branch, at no great distance from each other: the female flowers are in general above the male. The characters of the genus are:​—Male flower; calix, consisting of several scales, which are imbricate. Corol; none. Stamens; filaments many, very short, covered with scales at the receptacle. The receptacle, on which the filaments are placed, has a conical form, abrupt, somewhat rounded above.​—Female flower; catkins, ovate. Calix; consisting of a number of scales (generally more than in the male), containing one flower. Corol; none. Pistil; germ single, ovate. Styles; two, long, slender, and spreading. Stigmas; single and acute. Seed-vessel; an oblong drupe, covered with the calix. Seed; an ovate nut, with one cell.

"Specific Description.​—The anchar is one of the largest trees in the forests of Java. The stem is cylindrical, perpendicular, and rises completely naked to the height of sixty, seventy, or eighty feet. Near the surface of the ground it spreads obliquely, dividing into numerous broad appendages or wings, much like the canarium commune (the canary-tree), and several other of our large forest trees. It is covered with a whitish bark, slightly bursting in longitudinal furrows. Near the ground this bark is, in old trees, more than half an inch thick, and upon being wounded yields plentifully the milky juice from which the celebrated poison is prepared. A puncture or incision being made into the tree, the juice or sap appears oozing out of a yellowish colour (somewhat frothy) from old, paler or nearly white from young trees; exposed to the air, its surface becomes brown. The consistence very much resembles milk: it is more thick and viscid. This sap is contained in the true bark (or cortex), which, when punctured, yields a considerable quantity, so that in a short time a cup-full may be collected from a large tree. The inner bark (or liber) is of a close fibrous texture, like that of the morus papyrifera, and when separated from the other bark, and cleansed from the adhering particles, resembles a coarse piece of linen. It has been worked into ropes, which are very strong; and the poorer class of people employ the inner bark of the younger trees, which is more easily prepared, for the purpose of making a coarse stuff which they wear in working in the fields. But it requires much bruising, washing, and a long immersion, before it can be used, and when it appears completely purified, persons wearing this dress being exposed to rain, are affected with an intolerable itching, which renders their flimsy covering insupportable. It will appear from the account of the manner in which the poison is prepared, that the deleterious quality exists in the gum; a small portion of which still adhering, produces, when exposed to wet, this irritating effect: and it is singular, that this property of the prepared bark is known to the Javans in all places where the tree grows, while the preparation of a poison from its juice, which produces a mortal effect when introduced into the body by pointed weapons, is an exclusive art of the inhabitants of the eastern extremity of the island. The stem of the anchar having arrived at the above-mentioned height, sends off a few stout branches, which spreading nearly horizontally with several irregular curves, divide into smaller branches, and form a hemispherical, not very regular, crown. Previous to the season of flowering, about the beginning of June, the tree sheds its leaves, which reappear when the male flowers have completed the office of fecundation. It delights in a fertile, not very elevated, soil, and is only found in the largest forests. One of the experiments to be related below was made with the upas prepared by myself. In the collection of the juice I had some difficulty in inducing the inhabitants to assist me; they feared a cutaneous eruption and inflammation, resembling (according to the account they gave of it) that produced by the ingas of this island, the rhus vernix of Japan, and the rhus radicans of North America. The anchar, like the trees in its neighbourhood, is on all sides surrounded by shrubs and plants: in no instance have I observed the ground naked or barren in its immediate circumference. The largest tree I met with in Balambangan, was so closely environed by the common trees and shrubs of the forest in which it grew, that it was with difficulty I could approach it. Several vines and climbing shrubs, in complete health and vigour, adhered to it, and ascended to nearly half its height; and, at the time I visited the tree and collected the juice, I was forcibly struck with the egregious misrepresentation of Foersch. Several young trees spontaneously sprung from seeds that had fallen from the parent, put me in mind of a line in Darwin's Botanic Garden:​—

'Chain'd at his root two scion-demons dwell;'

while in recalling his beautiful description of the upas, my vicinity to the tree gave me reason to rejoice that it was founded in fiction.

"Description of the Chetik.​—The fructification of the chetik is still unknown: after all possible research in the district where it grows, I have not been able to find it in a flowering state. It is a large winding shrub. The root extends creeping a considerable distance parallel to the surface, sending off small fibres at different curves, while the main root strikes perpendicularly into the ground. The stem, which in general is shrubby, sometimes acquires the size of a small tree. The poison is prepared from the bark of the root. The chetik grows only in close, shady, almost inaccessible forests, in a deep, black, fertile vegetable mould. It is very rarely met with even in the wildernesses of Balambangan.

"Preparation of the Poison from the Anchar.​—This process was performed for me by an old Javan, who was celebrated for his superior skill in preparing the poison: about eight ounces of the juice of the anchar, which had been collected the preceding evening in the usual manner, and been preserved in the joint of a bambu, was carefully strained into a bowl. The sap of the following substances, which had been finely grated and bruised, was carefully expressed and poured into it, viz. arum (nampu), kempferia galanga (kenchur), anomum (bengli) a variety of zerumbed, common onion and garlic, of each about half a drachm. The same quantity of finely powdered black pepper was then added, and the mixture stirred. The preparer now took an entire fruit of capsicum fruticosum or Guinea pepper, and having opened it, he carefully separated a single seed, and placed it on the fluid in the middle of the bowl. It immediately began to reel round rapidly, now forming a regular circle, then darting towards the margin of the vessel, with a perceptible commotion on the surface of the liquor, which continued about one minute. Being completely at rest, the same quantity of pepper was again added, and another seed of the capsicum laid on as before. A similar commotion took place in the fluid, but in a less degree, and the seed was carried round with diminished rapidity. The addition of the same quantity of pepper was repeated a third time, when a seed of the capsicum being carefully placed in the centre of the fluid, remained quiet, forming a regular circle about itself in the fluid, resembling the halo of the moon. This is considered as a sign that the preparation of the poison is complete.

"Preparation of the Poison from the Chetik.​—The bark of the root is carefully separated and cleared of all the adherent earth, a proportionate quantity of water is poured on, and it is boiled about an hour, when the fluid is carefully filtered through a white cloth; it is then exposed to the fire again, and boiled down to nearly the consistence of an extract; in this state it much resembles a thick syrup. The following spices, having been prepared as above described, are added in the same proportion as to the anchar, viz. kempferia galanga (kenchur), (súnti), anomum zingéber (shai), common onion, garlic, and black pepper. The expressed juice of these is poured into the vessel, which is once more exposed to the fire for a few minutes, when the preparation is complete. The upas of both kinds must be preserved in very close vessels."

Dr. H. then details the particulars of twenty experiments made on different animals with these poisons, as well in their simple state as procured from the bark, powerfully prepared in the manner as above stated, in which the violence of the poison was manifested; and concludes with some general observations, from which the following are extracted:

"The operation of the two different poisons on the animal system is essentially different. The first seventeen experiments were made with the anchar. The rapidity of its effect depends in a great degree upon the size of the vessel wounded, and on the quantity of poison carried into the circulation. In the first experiment, it induced death in twenty-six minutes: in the second, which was made with the sap collected at Púgar, in thirteen minutes. The poison from different parts of the island has been found nearly equal in activity. The common train of symptoms is; a trembling and shivering of the extremities, restlessness, erection of the hair, discharges from the bowels, drooping and faintness, slight spasms and convulsions, hasty breathing, an increased flow of saliva, spasmodic contractions of the pectoral and abdominal muscles, retching, vomiting, excrementitious vomiting, frothy vomiting, great agony, laborious breathing, repeated convulsions, and death. The effects are nearly the same on quadrupeds, in whatever part of the body the wound is made. It sometimes acts with so much force, that not all the symptoms enumerated are observed. In these cases, after the premonitory symptoms (tremors, twitchings, faintness, an increased flow of saliva), the convulsions come on suddenly, and are quickly followed by death. The upas appears to affect quadrupeds with nearly equal force, proportionate in some degree to their size and disposition. To dogs it proved mortal in most experiments within an hour; a mouse died in ten minutes; a monkey in seven; a cat in fifteen; a buffalo, one of the largest quadrupeds of the island, died in two hours and ten minutes.

"If the simple or unprepared sap is mixed with the extract of tobacco, instead of the spices mentioned, it is rendered equally, perhaps more, active. Even the pure juice, unmixed and unprepared, appears to act with a force equal to that which has undergone the preparative process. Birds are very differently affected by this poison. Fowls have a peculiar capacity to resist its effects: a fowl died in twenty-four hours after the wound; others have recovered after being partially affected.

"The eighteenth and succeeding experiments were made with the poison prepared from the chetik. Its operation is far more violent and rapid than that of the anchar, and it affects the animal system in a different manner. While the anchar operates chiefly on the stomach, alimentary canal, the respiration and circulation, the chetik is determined to the brain and nervous system: a relative comparison of the appearances on dissection, demonstrates in a striking manner the peculiar operation of each. A general view of the effects of the chetik on quadrupeds is given in these experiments. After the previous symptoms of faintness, drowsiness, and slight convulsions, it acts by a sudden impulse, which like a violent apoplexy prostrates at once the whole nervous system. In two of these experiments this sudden effect took place in the sixth minute after the wound, in another in the seventh minute: the animals suddenly started, fell down head foremost, and continued in convulsions until death ensued. This poison affects fowls in a much more violent manner than that of the anchar. They are first affected by a heat and itching of the breast and wings, which they shew by violently pecking those parts; this is followed by a loose discharge from the bowels, when they are seized with tremors and fluttering of the wings, which having continued a short time, they fall down head foremost, and continue convulsed till death. In some instances, particularly young fowls, the poison acts with great rapidity; death has frequently occurred within the space of a minute after a puncture with a poisoned dart.

"Taken into the stomach of quadrupeds, the chetik acts as a most violent poison; but it requires about thrice the period to produce the same effect which a wound produces. But the stomach of fowls can resist its operation. Having mixed about double the quantity generally adhering to a dart with the food of a fowl, it consumed it without shewing any marks of indisposition. The poison of the anchar does by no means act as violently on quadrupeds as that of the chetik. I have given it to a dog: it produced at first nearly the same symptoms as a puncture; oppression of the head, twitchings, faintness, laborious respiration, violent contraction of the pectoral and abdominal muscles, &c. which continued nearly two hours; but after the complete evacuation of the stomach by vomiting, the animal gradually recovered.

"I have but little to add concerning the operation of the anchar on the human system. The only credible information on this subject is contained in the work of Rhumphius, who had an opportunity of personally observing the effect of the poisoned darts and arrows as they were used by the natives of Makasar, in their attack on Amboyna about the year 1650. They were also employed by the inhabitants of Celebes in their former wars with the Dutch. Speaking of their operation he says, 'the poison touching the warm blood, it is instantly carried through the whole body, so that it may be felt in all the veins, and causes an excessive burning, particularly in the head, which is followed by fainting and death.' This poison (according to the same author) possesses different degrees of virulence, according to its age and state of preservation. The most powerful is called upas raja, and its effects are considered as incurable; the other kinds are distributed among the soldiers on going to war. After having proved mortal to many of the Dutch soldiers in Amboyna and Makasar, they finally discovered an almost infallible remedy in the root of the radix toxicaria of Rhumphius, which, if timely applied, counteracted, by its violent emetic effect, the force of the upas. An intelligent Javan of Banyuwangi informed me, that a number of years ago an inhabitant of that district was wounded in a clandestine manner, by an arrow thrown from a blow-pipe, in the fore-arm, near the articulation of the elbow. In about fifteen minutes he became drowsy; after which he was seized with vomiting, became delirious, and in less than half an hour he died. From the experiments above related, we may form an analogous estimate of its probable effects on man." Batavian Transactions, vol. vii.[Vol I Pg 62]


CHAPTER II.

Origin of the Natives​—Javans compared with Maláyus and Búgis​—Comparative Progress of the three Races​—Foreign Influence​—Persons of the Natives​—Manners​—Population​—Inequality of it accounted for​—Population Tables​—Increase of Population​—Foreign Settlers​—Chinese​—Búgis​—Maláyus​—Moors​—Arabs​—Slaves​—Gradations of Rank among the Javans​—Their Habitations, Dress, and Food.

The inhabitants of Java seem to owe their origin to the same stock, from which most of the islands lying to the south of the eastern Peninsula of Asia appear to have been first peopled. This stock is evidently Tartar, and has, by its numerous and wide-spreading branches, not only extended itself over the Indian Archipelago, but over the neighbouring Continent. "To judge from external appearance, that is to say, from shape, size, and feature," observes Dr. Francis Buchanan, in his Notices on the Birman Empire[34], "there is one very extensive nation that inhabits the east of Asia. It includes the eastern and western Tartars of the Chinese authors, the Calmucs, the Chinese, the Japanese, and other tribes inhabiting what is called the Peninsula of India beyond the Ganges, and the islands to the south and east of this, as far at least as New Guinea."​—"This nation," adds the same author, "may be distinguished by a short, squat, robust, fleshy stature, and by features highly different from those of an European. The face is somewhat in shape of a lozenge, the forehead and chin being sharpened, whilst at the cheek bones it is very broad. The eyebrows, or superciliary ridges, in this nation, project very little, and the eyes are very narrow, and placed rather obliquely in the head, the external angles being the highest. The nose is very small, but has not, like that of the negro, the appearance of being flattened, and the apertures of the nostrils, which in the [Vol I Pg 63]European are linear and parallel, in them are nearly circular and divergent, for the septum narium being much thickest towards the face, places them entirely out of the parallel line. The mouths of this nation are in general well shaped; their hair is harsh, lank, and black. Those of them that live even in the highest climates do not obtain the deep hue of the negro or Hindu; nor do such of them as live in the coldest climates acquire the clear bloom of the European."

But although the Javans are to be included under this general description, it does not follow that they bear an exact, or very striking resemblance, in person and feature, to the Chinese or Japanese, nor even that they are liable to be confounded with the Birmans or Siamese. From the former, indeed, they are far removed by many obvious characteristics; and though more nearly resembling the latter, they possess many peculiarities, which mark them out to the most careless observer as a race distinct and separate for ages, though still retaining general traces of a common origin. As we approach the limits of savage life, and recur to that inartificial, unimproved state of society, in which the primitive divergence may be supposed to have taken place, we shall find the points of resemblance increased, and the proofs of a common descent multiplied. The less civilized of the tribes inhabiting the islands, approach so nearly, in physical appearance, to that portion of the inhabitants of the Peninsula, which has felt least of the Chinese influence on the one side, and of the Birman and Siamese on the other, and exhibit so striking an affinity in their usages and customs, as to warrant the hypothesis that the tide of population originally flowed towards the islands, from that quarter of the Continent lying between Siam and China. But at what era this migration commenced; whether, in the first instance, it was purely accidental and subsequently gradual; or whether, originally, it was undertaken from design, and accelerated, at any particular periods, by political convulsions on the Continent, we cannot at present determine with any certainty, as we have no data on which to rely with confidence. It is probable, however, that the islands were peopled at a very remote period, and long before the Birman and Siamese nations rose into notice.[Vol I Pg 64]

Whatever opinion may be formed on the identity of the tribes inhabiting these Islands and the neighbouring Peninsula, the striking resemblance in person, feature, language, and customs, which prevails throughout the whole Archipelago, justifies the conclusion, that its original population issued from the same source, and that the peculiarities which distinguish the different nations and communities into which it is at present distributed, are the result of a long separation, local circumstances, and the intercourse of foreign traders, emigrants, or settlers.

Excluding the Philippines, as distant from the scene of our present observations, it may be noticed, that of the three chief nations in these islands, occupying respectively Java, Sumatra, and Celebes, the first has, especially by its moral habits, by its superior civilization and improvements, obtained a broader and more marked characteristic than the others. Both the Malayan and Búgis nations are maritime and commercial, devoted to speculations of gain, animated by a spirit of adventure, and accustomed to distant and hazardous enterprises; while the Javans, on the contrary, are an agricultural race, attached to the soil, of quiet habits and contented dispositions, almost entirely unacquainted with navigation and foreign trade, and little inclined to engage in either. This difference of character may perhaps be accounted for, by the great superiority of the soil of Java to that of the other two islands.

It is to be regretted, that our information on the state and progress of society in these islands is scanty, as Europeans only became acquainted with them when they were on their decline. The Malayan empire, which once extended over all Sumatra[35], and the capital of which is still nominally at Menáng-kábaù on that island, had long been dismembered; but its colonies were found established on the coasts of the Peninsula and throughout the Islands, as far east as the Moluccas. The Mahometan institutions had considerably obliterated their ancient character, and had not only obstructed their improvement, but had accelerated their decline. Traditional history concurs with existing monuments, in proving them to have [Vol I Pg 65]formerly made considerable advances in those arts, to which their industry and ingenuity were particularly directed, and they still bear marks of that higher state of civilization which they once enjoyed.

What the Malayan empire was on Sumatra, in the western part of the Archipelago, that of Guah or Mengkásar, was on Celebes in the east; but the people of this latter nation, whom we may generally designate by the name of Búgis, had not been equally influenced by foreign settlers nor exposed to the inroads of the Arab missionaries, and they consequently maintained their ancient worship and their native institutions for a longer period. Like the Maláyus, they sent forth numerous colonies, and at one period extended the success of their arms as far west as Acheen on Sumatra, and Kéddah on the Malayan peninsula, and in almost every part of the Archipelago, Malayan and Búgis settlers and establishments are to be found.

The Javans, on the contrary, being an agricultural people, are seldom met with out of their native island. At one period of their history, indeed, their power seems to have been exerted in acquiring or perpetuating foreign dominion, and they seem to have sent out colonies to Borneo, the Peninsula, Sumatra, and probably Celebes: but when Europeans became acquainted with them, their external influence appears to have been contracted, and their sovereignty nearly confined within the limits of Java itself. Their foreign establishments thus receiving from them no protection, and deriving no advantage from nominal obedience, declared their independence: and, having but little communication with the mother-country, soon became assimilated to the character, and merged into the body of the Malayan nation.

The comparative advancement of these three nations in the arts of civilized life, seems to be directly as the fertility of the soil they occupied, or the inducements they held out to foreign intercourse; and inversely, as the indulgence of their own roving, adventurous spirit, and piratical habits. The arts never fix their roots but in a crowded population, and a crowded population is generally created only on a fertile territory. Egypt, from the fertility of soil and the consequent density of its population, led the way in science and refinement among ancient nations; while the sterile tracts conti[Vol I Pg 66]guous to that favoured land have been inhabited, from primeval times, by dispersed tribes of unimproved barbarians. In like manner, Java having become populous from its natural fertility, and having, by its wealth and the salubrity of its climate, invited the visits of more enlightened strangers, soon made great progress in arts and knowledge; while the Búgis, being more deficient in these advantages, have been left considerably behind in the race of improvement. They may lay claim, however, to the most originality of character.

It will be the object of another part of this work, to trace the source of that foreign influence, to which these three nations are principally indebted for their civilization: here, therefore, it may not be necessary to advert to the circumstance further, than by generally observing, that from western Asia they received the rudiments and impulse of improvement; an inference abundantly justified by the extensive remains of the arts, institutions, and languages of that country, which are still to be found throughout the Archipelago.

The inhabitants of Java and Madúra are in stature rather below the middle size, though not so short as the Búgis and many of the other islanders. They are, upon the whole, well shaped, though less remarkably so than the Maláyus, and erect in their figures. Their limbs are slender, and the wrists and ankles particularly small. In general, they allow the body to retain its natural shape. The only exceptions to this observation are, an attempt to prevent the growth, or to reduce the size of the waist, by compressing it into the narrowest limits; and the practice still more injurious to female elegance, of drawing too tightly that part of the dress which covers the bosom. Deformity is very rare among them. The forehead is high, the eyebrows 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 that of the islanders in general. The mouth is well formed, but the lips are large, and their beauty generally injured by the practice of filing and dyeing the teeth black, and by the use of tobacco, sári, &c. The cheek-bones are usually prominent; the beard very scanty; the hair of the head generally lank and black, but sometimes waving in curls, and partially tinged with a deep reddish brown colour. The countenance is mild, placid[Vol I Pg 67] and thoughtful, and easily expresses respect, gaiety, earnestness, indifference, bashfulness, or anxiety.

In complexion, the Javans, as well as the other eastern islanders, may be considered rather as a yellow than a copper-coloured or black race. Their standard of beauty, in this respect, is "a virgin-gold colour:" except perhaps in some few districts in the mountainous parts of the country, where a ruddy tinge is occasioned by the climate, they want the degree of red requisite to give them a copperish hue. It may be observed, however, that they are generally darker than the tribes of the neighbouring islands; especially the inhabitants of the eastern districts, who may indeed be considered as having more delicate features, and bearing a more distinct impression of Indian colonization, than those of the Western or Súnda districts. The Súndas exhibit many features of a mountainous race. They are shorter, stouter, hardier, and more active men, than the inhabitants of the coast and eastern districts. In some respects they resemble the Madurese, who display a more martial and independent air, and move with a bolder carriage than the natives of Java. A considerable difference exists in person and features between the higher and lower classes; more indeed than seems attributable to difference of employment and treatment. The features and limbs of the chiefs are more delicate, and approach more nearly to those of the inhabitants of Western India, while those of the common people retain more marked traces of the stock from which the islands were originally peopled. In colour there are many different shades in different families and different districts, some being much darker than others. Among many of the chiefs a strong mixture of the Chinese is clearly discernible: the Arab features are seldom found, except among the priests, and some few families of the highest rank.

The women, in general, are not so good-looking as the men: and to Europeans many of them, particularly when advanced in years, appear hideously ugly. But among the lower orders, much of this deficiency of personal comeliness is doubtless to be attributed to the severe duties which they have to perform in the field, to the hardships they have to undergo in carrying oppressive burdens, and to exposure in a sultry climate. On the neighbouring island of Báli, where the condition of the[Vol I Pg 68] women among the peasantry does not appear by any means so oppressed and degraded, they exhibit considerable personal beauty; and even on Java, the higher orders of them being kept within-doors, have a very decided superiority in this respect.

In manners the Javans are easy and courteous, and respectful even to timidity; they have a great sense of propriety, and are never rude or abrupt. In their deportment they are pliant and graceful, the people of condition carrying with them a considerable air of fashion, and receiving the gaze of the curious without being at all disconcerted. In their delivery they are in general very circumspect and even slow, though not deficient in animation when necessary.

Here, as on Sumatra, there are certain mountainous districts, in which the people are subject to those large wens in the throat, termed in Europe goitres. The cause is generally ascribed by the natives to the quality of the water; but there seems good ground for concluding, that it is rather to be traced to the atmosphere. In proof of this it may be mentioned, that there is a village near the foot of the Teng'gar mountains, in the eastern part of the island, where every family is afflicted by this malady, while in another village, situated at a greater elevation, and through which the stream descends which serves for the use of both, there exists no such deformity. These wens are considered hereditary in some families, and seem thus independent of situation. A branch of the family of the present Adipáti of Bándung is subject to them, and it is remarkable that they prevail chiefly among the women in that family. They neither produce positive suffering nor occasion early death, and may be considered rather as deformities than diseases. It is never attempted to remove them.

The population of Java is very unequally distributed, whether we consider the fertility or the extent of the districts over which it is spread. The great mass of it lies in the eastern and native districts, as will be perceived from the annexed tables.

The table No. I., is compiled from materials collected by a committee appointed on the first establishment of the British government, to enquire and report on the state of the country. It will be found to illustrate, in some degree, the proportionate numbers of the different ranks and classes of society in the island. Beyond this, however, it cannot be depended upon, as the returns of which it is an abstract were made at a period[Vol I Pg 69] when the Dutch system of administration provisionally remained in force; and every new enquiry into the state of the country being at that time considered by the people as a prelude to some new tax or oppression, it became an object with them to conceal the full extent of the population: accordingly it was found to differ essentially in amount from the results of information subsequently obtained on the introduction of the detailed land-revenue settlement, when an agreement with each individual cultivator becoming necessary to the security of his possession, he seldom failed to satisfy the necessary enquiries. The table No. II., here exhibited, at least as far as regards the European provinces, may therefore be considered as faithful a view of the population of the country as could be expected, and as such, notwithstanding the inaccuracies to which all such accounts are liable, it is presented with some confidence to the public.

It was formed in the following manner. A detailed account of the peasantry of each village was first taken, containing the name of each male inhabitant, with other particulars, and from the aggregate of these village lists a general statement was constructed of the inhabitants of each subdivision and district. An abstract was again drawn up from these provincial accounts, exhibiting the state of each residency in which the districts were respectively included, and the totals of these last, collected into one tabular view, constitute the present abstract. The labour of this detailed survey was considerable, for as each individual cultivator was to receive a lease corresponding with the register taken, it was necessary that the land he rented should be carefully measured and assessed[36].[Vol I Pg 70]

No. II.
TABLE exhibiting the POPULATION of JAVA and MADURA, according to a Census taken by the BRITISH GOVERNMENT, in the Year 1815.
DIVISIONS. Total Population. Males. Females. NATIVES. CHINESE, &c. Square statute Miles. Estimated Population to a square Mile.
Total Natives. Males. Females. Total Chinese, &c. Males. Females.
JAVA
European Provinces.
Bantam 231,604 106,100 125,504 230,976 111,988 118,988 628 352 276 3,428 67½
Batavia and its Environs 332,015 180,768 151,247 279,621 151,064 128,557 52,394 29,704 22,690 2,411 169⅓
Buitenzorg 76,312 38,926 37,386 73,679 37,334 36,345 2,633 1,591 1,042
Priángen Regencies 243,628 120,649 122,979 243,268 120,289 122,979 180 86 94 10,002 24⅓
Chéribon 216,001 105,451 110,550 213,658 99,837 113,821 2,343 1,193 1,150 1,334 162
Tégal 178,415 81,539 96,876 175,446 80,208 95,238 2,004 915 1,089 1,297 137⅓
Pakalúng'an 115,442 53,187 62,255 113,396 52,007 61,389 2,046 1,180 866 607 190⅙
Semárang 327,610 165,009 162,601 305,910 154,161 151,749 1,700 848 852 1,166 281
Kedú 197,310 97,744 99,566 196,171 97,167 99,004 1,139 577 562 826 238¾
Grobógan and Jípang 66,522 31,693 34,829 66,109 31,423 34,686 403 223 180 1,219 54⅓
Japára and Jawána 103,290 55,124 48,166 101,000 54,000 47,000 2,290 1,124 1,166 1,025 100⅔
Rémbang 158,530 75,204 83,326 154,639 73,373 81,266 3,891 1,831 2,060 1,400 113
Grésik 115,442 58,981 56,461 115,078 58,807 56,271 364 174 190 778 148
Surabáya 154,512 77,260 77,252 152,025 76,038 75,987 2,047 1,010 1,037 1,218 126¾
Pasúruan 108,812 54,177 54,635 107,752 53,665 54,087 1,070 522 548 1,952 58⅛
Probolíng'go 104,359 50,503 53,856 102,927 49,797 53,130 1,430 706 724 2,854 36½
Banyuwángi 8,873 4,463 4,410 8,554 4,297 4,257 319 166 153 1,274 7
Native Provinces.
Súra-kérta 972,727 471,505 501,222 970,292 470,220 500,072 2,435 1,285 1,150 11,313 147½
Yúgya-kérta[37] 685,207 332,241 352,966 683,005 331,141 351,864 2,202 1,201 1,001
MADURA.
Bankálang and Pamakásan 95,235 47,466 47,769 90,848 45,194 45,654 4,395 2,280 2,115 892 106¾
Súmenap 123,424 60,190 63,234 114,896 55,826 59,070 8,528 4,364 4,164 728[38] 146
Grand Total 4,615,270 2,268,180 2,347,090 4,499,250 2,207,836 2,291,414 94,441 51,332 43,109 45,794 Average Population rather exceeding 100 to a square mile
Mem.​—The Population of the principal European capitals included in the above, is estimated as follows:​—
Batavia and its immediate Suburbs 60,000
Semárang 20,000
Surabáya 25,000
The population of Súra-kérta, the principal Native capital, is estimated at 105,000.
That of Yúgya-kérta at somewhat less.

[Vol I Pg 71]

By the last table, it appears that in some districts the population is in the ratio of two hundred and eighty-one to a square mile, while in others it is not more than twenty-four and three quarters: in the districts of Banyuwángí it is even as low as seven. The soil in the eastern districts is generally considered superior to that in the western, and this circumstance, added to the superior facilities which they afford to commerce, may serve to account for their original selection as the chief seat of the native government, and consequently for their denser population at an early period.

This disproportion was also promoted by the policy of the Dutch Company. The Dutch first established themselves in the western division, and having no confidence in the natives, endeavoured to drive them from the vicinity of Batavia, with the view of establishing round their metropolis an extensive and desert barrier. The forced services and forced deliveries, which extended wherever Dutch influence could be felt, and of which more will be said hereafter, contributed to impoverish, and thereby to depopulate the country. The drain also of the surrounding districts, to supply the place of the multitudes who perished by the unhealthy climate of Batavia, must have been enormous; and if to these we add the checks to population, which were created over Bantam, the Priáng'en Regencies, and Chéribon, in the pepper and coffee cultivation, of the nature of which an account will be given when treating of the agriculture of the country, we need go no further to account for the existing disproportion. It was only about sixty years ago that the Dutch government first obtained a decided influence in the eastern districts, and from that moment, the provinces subjected to its authority ceased to improve, and extensive emigrations took place into the dominions of the native princes. Such were the effects of this desolating system, that the population of the province of Banyuwángi, which in 1750 is said to have amounted to upwards of eighty thousand souls, was in 1811 reduced to eight thousand.

The Priáng'en Regencies, from their inland situation and mountainous character, may probably have at all times been less closely peopled than other parts of the island, and their insufficient population would furnish no proofs of the oppressions of government, did we not observe extensive tracts, nay[Vol I Pg 72] whole districts, exhibiting the traces of former cultivation, now lying waste and overgrown with long rank grass. Chéribon and Bantam have shared the same fate. These provinces, according to authentic accounts, were at the period of the first establishment of the European government, among the richest and most populous of the island. In 1811 they were found in a state of extreme poverty, affording little or no revenue, and distracted by all the aggravated miseries of continued insurrections.

If we look at Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay, the capitals of the British government in India: if we look at the great cities of every nation in Europe; nay, if we even confine ourselves to the capitals of the native princes on Java, we shall find that population has always accumulated in their vicinity. And why was not this the case with the Dutch capital? The climate alone will not explain it. Bad government was the principal cause; a system of policy which secured neither person nor property​—selfish, jealous, vexatious, and tyrannical. It is no less true than remarkable, that wherever the Dutch influence has prevailed in the Eastern Seas, depopulation has followed. The Moluccas particularly have suffered at least as much as any part of Java, and the population of those Islands, reduced as it is, has been equally oppressed and degraded.

It was fortunate for the interests of humanity, and for the importance of Java, that the native governments were less oppressive than the sway of their European conquerors, and that their states afforded a retreat from a more desolating tyranny. It has been ascertained, that, on the first establishment of the Dutch in the eastern part of the Island, the inhabitants of whole districts at once migrated into the native provinces. Every new act of rigour, every unexpected exaction, occasioned a further migration, and cultivation was transferred to tracts which had previously scarcely a family on them. This state of things continued down to the latest date of the Dutch government. During the administration of Marshal Daendels, in the years 1808, 1809, and 1810, nearly all the inhabitants of the province of Demák, one of the richest in the eastern districts, fled into the native provinces; and when an order was given for the rigid enforcement of the coffee[Vol I Pg 73] monopoly, every district suffered in its population, in proportion to the extent of service levied upon it. Of the sacrifice of lives by thousands and tens of thousands, to fill the ranks of the Dutch native army, and to construct roads and public works, we shall speak more at large hereafter.

The total population of Java and Madúra appears from the Table No. II., to amount to 4,615,270, of which about four millions and a half may be considered as the indigenous population of the country, and the rest as foreign settlers. Itinerants, who are principally found along the coast in the different maritime and commercial capitals, are not included; neither is the nautical population, which cannot be estimated at less than 30,000 souls; so that the whole population of these two islands may, perhaps, be taken in round numbers at not much less than five millions. Of these not less than three millions are in the provinces immediately subject to European authority, and upwards of a million and a half in the provinces of the native princes.

While the British were in possession of Java, there is reason to believe that the population of the Island was rapidly increasing; that of the provinces immediately under the European authority was certainly augmented by the return of numerous families from emigration: but previously to that period, no such authentic registers were kept as might enable us to ascertain with precision the variations in the number of the inhabitants during the Dutch government.

Nothing can more completely shew the vague and defective information formerly attainable on this subject, than the loose and contradictory statements published by those who took most pains to be well informed, and who felt it their duty to collect all the light that could be attained. In some accounts which have met the public eye, the population of Java is placed on a level with that of the most powerful European states, and assumed as high as thirty millions, while in others, where one would expect more accuracy[39], it is rated at only a million. The most respectable authorities[40] state the population about a century ago at three millions; but the slightest reflection will convince us, that such an estimate must have proceeded upon [Vol I Pg 74]data merely conjectural, for from our knowledge of the Dutch maxims of administration we may safely say, that until very lately, they never thought it an object to prosecute statistic enquiries, and that if ever they had done so, under the old system, they could have obtained no results deserving of confidence or credit.

About the year 1750, a certain number of families were assigned by the stipulations of a treaty to one of the native princes[41]; and on his death, about thirty years afterwards, when an account was taken of this population, it appeared that the number of families had nearly doubled. But this increase cannot be taken as the average increase of the Island, for at this period the native provinces received a considerable accession to their numbers, in consequence of the emigrations from the Dutch territories.

If any inference can be drawn from this and other corresponding circumstances, it would seem, that notwithstanding the drains on the existing race, and the preventive checks to an increase, which were experienced during the latter years of the Dutch administration, the island was actually more populous in 1811, when it was surrendered to the British, than in 1750, when at the termination of a destructive war, the Dutch acquired the greatest portion of it from the natives.

To support the opinion of an increase within the last half century (which is every where asserted) we have the assurance, that during that period the greatest internal tranquillity prevailed in the provinces subject to native administration; that no years of scarcity and famine were experienced, and that the island was blessed with genial seasons and abundance of subsistence. But to place in the opposite scale, we have the government oppressions to which we formerly alluded, and which one would suppose sufficient to counteract the natural tendency of these advantages. As demonstrative of the strength of that principle of population, which could even maintain its stationary amount in conflict with political drains and discouragements, it may be proper to mention cursorily a few of them. Great demands were, at all times, made on the peasantry of the island, to recruit the ranks of the Dutch army, and to supply[Vol I Pg 75] the many other wants of the public service; the severities and consequent mortality to which the troops were liable, may be calculated, from the reluctance of the unfortunate wretches, selected as victims of military conscription, to engage in the duties of a military life. Confined in unhealthy garrisons, exposed to unnecessary hardships and privations, extraordinary casualties took place among them, and frequent new levies became necessary, while the anticipation of danger and suffering produced an aversion to the service, which was only aggravated by the subsequent measures of cruelty and oppression. The conscripts raised in the provinces were usually sent to the metropolis by water; and though the distance be but short between any two points of the island, a mortality, similar to that of a slave-ship in the middle passage, took place on board these receptacles of reluctant recruits. They were generally confined in the stocks till their arrival at Batavia, and it is calculated that for every man that entered the army and performed the duties of a soldier, several lives were lost. Besides the supply of the army, one half of the male population of the country was constantly held in readiness for other public services; and thus a great portion of the effective hands were taken from their families, and detained at a distance from home, in labours which broke their spirit and exhausted their strength. During the administration of Marshal Daendels, it has been calculated that the construction of public roads alone, destroyed the lives of at least ten thousand workmen. The transport of government stores, and the capricious requisitions of government agents of all classes, perpetually harassed, and frequently carried off numbers of the people. If to these drains we add the waste of life occasioned by insurrections, which tyranny and impolicy excited and fomented in Chéribon, the blighting effects of the coffee monopoly, and forced services in the Priáng'en Regencies, and the still more desolating operation of the policy pursued and consequent anarchy produced in the province of Bantam, we shall have some idea of the depopulating causes that existed under the Dutch administration, and the force of that tendency to increase, which could overcome obstacles so powerful.

Most of these drains and checks were removed during the short period of British administration; but it is to be regretted[Vol I Pg 76] (so far as accurate data on this subject would be desirable) that there was not time to learn satisfactorily the result of a different system, or to institute the proper registers, by which alone questions of population can be determined. The only document of that kind, to which I can venture to refer as authentic, is a statement of the births and deaths that occurred in the given general population of the Priáng'en Regencies for one year. From this account it would appear, that even in these Regencies, where, if we except Batavia, the checks to population are allowed to be greater than elsewhere, the births were to the total existing population as 1 to 39, and the deaths as 1 to 40 very nearly; that the births exceed the deaths by 618, or about 1 in 40, in a population of 232,000, and that, at that rate, the population would double itself in three hundred and seventy-five years. A slow increase, certainly, compared with England, where the births, in the three years ending 1800, were to the persons alive as 1 in 36, and the deaths as 1 to 49, and where, consequently, the nation would double itself in one hundred and sixty years (or taking the enumeration of 1811 as more correct, where the population would be doubled in eighty years): but not much slower than that of France, where, according to the statements of numbers in 1700 and 1790, about three hundred years would be required to double the inhabitants. It has been estimated that the population in some more favourable districts would double itself in fifty years. One inference cannot fail to be drawn from the register to which I have referred; that the births and deaths, though they nearly approach each other, are low, compared with the existing numbers; and that, consequently, the climate is healthy, and the marriages not very prolific, as far as this district is concerned.

In the absence of authentic documents, which would have enabled us to resolve many interesting questions regarding the population, such as the number of children to a marriage, the ordinary length of life, the proportion of children that die in infancy and at the other stages of life, the ratio between the births and deaths, and the consequent rate of increase, the effect of polygamy and multiplied divorces, the comparative healthiness of the towns and the villages, and several others,​—I shall state a few observations on some of these heads, and a[Vol I Pg 77] few facts tending to shew, that under a better system of government, or by the removal of a few of the checks that previously existed, Java might, in a short time, be expected to be better peopled.

The soil is in general extremely fertile, and can be brought to yield its produce with little labour. Many of the best spots still remain uncultivated, and several districts are almost desert and neglected, which might be the seats of a crowded and happy peasantry. In many places, the land does not require to be cleared, as in America, from the overgrown vegetation of primeval forests, but offers its services to the husbandman, almost free from every obstruction to his immediate labours. The agricultural life in which the mass of the people are engaged, is on Java, as in every other country, the most favourable to health. It not only favours the longevity of the existing race, but conduces to its more rapid renewal, by leading to early marriages and a numerous progeny. The term of life is not much shorter than in the best climates of Europe. A very considerable number of persons of both sexes attain the advanced age of seventy or eighty, and some even live to one hundred and upwards; nearly the same proportion survive forty and fifty, as in other genial climates.

While life is thus healthy and prolonged, there are no restraints upon the formation of family connexions, by the scarcity of subsistence or the labour of supporting children. Both sexes arrive at maturity very early, and the customs of the country, as well as the nature of the climate, impel them to marry young; the males at sixteen, and the females at thirteen or fourteen years of age: though frequently the women form connexions at nine or ten, and, as Montesquieu expresses it, "infancy and marriage go together." The conveniences which the married couple require are few and easily procured. The impulse of nature is seldom checked by the experience of present deficiencies, or the fear of future poverty. Subsistence is procured without difficulty, and comforts are not wanting. Children, who are for a very short period a burden to their parents, become early the means of assistance and the source of wealth. To the peasant who labours his field with his own hand, and who has more land than he can bring into cultivation, they grow up into a species of valuable property, a real[Vol I Pg 78] treasure; while, during their infancy and the season of helplessness, they take little from the fruits of his industry but bare subsistence.

Their education costs him little or nothing; scarcely any clothing is required, his hut needs very little enlargement, and no beds are used. Many of them die in infancy from the small-pox and other distempers, but never from scanty food or criminal neglect of parents. The women of all classes suckle their children, till we ascend to the wives of the regents and of the sovereign, who employ nurses.

Though women soon arrive at maturity, and enter early into the married state, they continue to bear children to an advanced age, and it is no uncommon thing to see a grandmother still making addition to her family. Great families are however rare. Though there are some women who have borne thirteen or fourteen children, the average is rather low than otherwise. A chácha, or family, is generally less numerous than in Europe, both from the circumstance that the young men and women more early leave the houses of their parents to form establishments for themselves, and from an injudicious mode of labouring among women of the lower ranks. Miscarriages among the latter are frequently caused by over-straining themselves in carrying excessive burdens, and performing oppressive field-work, during pregnancy. The average number of persons in a family does not exceed four, or four and a half. As the labour of the women is almost equally productive with that of the men, female children become as much objects of solicitude with their parents as male: they are nursed with the same care, and viewed with the same pride and tenderness. In no class of society are children of either sex considered as an incumbrance, or the addition to a family as a misfortune; marriage is therefore almost universal. An unmarried man past twenty is seldom to be met with, and an old maid is considered a curiosity. Neither custom, law, or religion, enjoins celibacy on the priesthood, or any other order of the community, and by none of them is it practised. Although no strictness of principle, nor strong sense of moral restraint, prevails in the intercourse of the sexes, prostitution is not common, except in the capitals.

As the Javans are a quiet domestic people, little given to[Vol I Pg 79] adventure, disinclined to foreign enterprise, not easily roused to violence or bloodshed, and little disposed to irregularities of any kind, there are but few families left destitute in consequence of hazards incurred or crimes committed by their natural protectors. The character of blood-thirsty revenge, which has been attributed to all the inhabitants of the Indian Archipelago, by no means applies to the people of Java; and though, in all cases where justice is badly administered or absolutely perverted, people may be expected to enforce their rights or redress their grievances, rather by their own passions than by an appeal to the magistrate, comparatively few lives are lost on the island by personal affrays or private feuds.

Such are a few of the circumstances that would appear to have encouraged an increase of population on Java. They furnish no precise data on which to estimate its rapidity, or to calculate the period within which it would be doubled, but they allow us, if tranquillity and good government were enjoyed, to anticipate a gradual progress in the augmentation of inhabitants, and the improvements of the soil for a long course of time. Suppose the quantity of land in cultivation to be to the land still in a state of nature as one to seven, which is probably near the truth, and that, in the ordinary circumstances of the country, the population would double itself in a century, it might go on increasing for three hundred years to come. Afterwards the immense tracts of unoccupied or thinly peopled territories on Sumatra, Borneo, and the numerous islands scattered over the Archipelago, may be ready to receive colonies, arts, and civilization from the metropolis of the Indian seas. Commercial intercourse, friendly relations, or political institutions, may bind these dispersed communities in one great insular commonwealth. Its trade and navigation might connect the centre of this great empire with Japan, China, and the south-western countries of Asia. New Holland, which the adventurous Búgis already frequent, and which is not so far distant from Java as Russia is from England, might be included in the circle, and colonies of Javans settled on the north, might meet with the British spreading from the south, over that immense and now uncultivated region. If we could indulge ourselves in such reveries with propriety, we might contemplate the present semi-bar[Vol I Pg 80]barous condition, ignorance, and poverty of these innumerable islands, exchanged for a state of refinement, prosperity, and happiness.

I formerly alluded to the oppressions of government, as the principal checks to the increase of population on Java. There are many others, such as the small-pox, and other diseases, which are common to that country with the rest of the world. From the scattered state of the population, any contagious distemper, such as the small-pox, was formerly less destructive on Java, than in countries where the inhabitants are more crowded into large towns, and it is hoped that, from the establishment for vaccine inoculation which the British government erected, and endeavoured to render permanent, its ravages may, in time, be entirely arrested. The diseases most peculiar to the country, and most dangerous at all ages, are fevers and dysenteries: epidemics are rare. There are two moral causes which, on their first mention, will strike every one as powerfully calculated to counteract the principle of population: I mean the facility of obtaining divorces, and the practice of polygamy. A greater weight should not, however, be given them than they deserve after a consideration of all the circumstances. It is true, that separations often take place on the slightest grounds, and new connexions are formed with equal frivolity and caprice; but in whatever light morality would view this practice, and however detrimental it would be to population in a different state of society, by leaving the children of the marriage so dissolved to neglect and want, it has no such consequences on Java. Considering the age at which marriages are usually contracted, the choice of the parties cannot be always expected to be considerate or judicious. It may be observed also that the women, although they do not appear old at twenty, as Montesquieu remarks, certainly sooner lose that influence over their husbands, which depends upon their beauty and personal attractions, than they do in colder climates. In addition to this, there is little moral restraint among many classes of the community, and the religious maxims and indulgences acted upon by the priesthood, in regulating matrimonial sanctions, have no tendency to produce constancy, or to repress inclination. Dissolutions of marriage are, therefore, very frequent, and obtained upon the[Vol I Pg 81] slightest pretences; but, as children are always valuable, and as there is very little trouble in rearing or providing for them, no change of mate, in either party, leads to their abandonment or neglect. Indeed, the ease of supporting children, which renders the practice less detrimental to the increase of population, may be one of the principal causes why it is generally followed and so little checked. No professed prostitution or promiscuous intercourse is the consequence of this weakness of the nuptial tie. It is rather brittle than loose; it is easily dissolved, but while it remains it generally insures fidelity.

Polygamy, though in all cases it must be injurious to population and happiness, so far as it goes, is permitted on Java, as in other Mahomedan countries, by religion and law, but not practiced to any great extent. Perhaps the ease of obtaining matrimonial separations, by admitting of successive changes of wives, diminishes the desire of possessing more than one at a time.

It is plain, likewise, that whatever be the law, the great body of the people must have only one wife; and that, where there is nearly an equality of number between the sexes, inequality of wealth or power alone can create an unequal distribution of women. On Java, accordingly, only the chiefs and the sovereign marry more than one wife. All the chiefs, from the regents downwards, can only, by the custom of the country, have two; the sovereign alone has four. The regents, however, have generally three or four concubines, and the sovereign eight or ten. Some of the chiefs have an extraordinary number of children; the late Regent of Túban is reputed to have been the father of no fewer than sixty-eight. Such appropriations of numerous women as wives or concubines, were owing to the political power of native authorities over the inferior classes; and as, by the new system, that power is destroyed, the evil may to a certain extent be checked. If we were to depend upon the statement of a writer whom Montesquieu refers to, that in Bantam there were ten women to one man, we should be led to conclude with him, that here was a case particularly favourable to polygamy, and that such an institution was here an appointment of nature, intended for the multiplication of the species, rather than an abuse contributing to check it. There is not the least foundation, however, for the[Vol I Pg 82] report. The proportion of males and females born in Bantam, and over the whole of Java, is nearly the same as in Europe, and as we find generally to exist, wherever accurate statements can be obtained. From the information collected in a very careful surrey of one part of the very province in question, the preponderance seemed to be on the side of male children to an extraordinary degree; the male children being about forty-two thousand, and the females only thirty-five thousand five hundred. There were formerly, it is true, great drains on the male population, to which I have before alluded, and which, in the advanced stages of life, might turn the balance on the other side; but as they were never so destructive as to render polygamy a political institution, so that institution was not carried to such an extent, as to render it a peculiar obstacle to the progress of population. Upon the whole, we may conclude that in Java, under a mild government, there is a great tendency to an increase in the number of inhabitants, and to the consequent improvement and importance of the island.

Besides the natives, whose numbers, circumstances, and character I have slightly mentioned, there is on Java a rapidly increasing race of foreigners, who have emigrated from the different surrounding countries. The most numerous and important class of these is the Chinese, who already do not fall far short of a hundred thousand; and who, with a system of free trade and free cultivation, would soon accumulate tenfold, by natural increase within the island, and gradual accessions of new settlers from home. They reside principally in the three capitals of Batavia, Samárang, and Surabáya, but they are to be found in all the smaller capitals, and scattered over most parts of the country. A great proportion of them are descended from families who have been many generations on the island. Additions are gradually making to their numbers. They arrive at Batavia from China, to the amount of a thousand and more annually, in Chinese junks, carrying three, four, and five hundred each, without money or resources; but, by dint of their industry, soon acquire comparative opulence. There are no women on Java who come directly from China; but as the Chinese often marry the daughters of their countrymen by Javan women, there results a numerous mixed race, which is often scarcely distinguishable from the native Chinese. The Chinese[Vol I Pg 83] on their arrival generally marry a Javan woman, or purchase a slave from the other islands. The progeny from this connexion, or what may be termed the cross breed between the Chinese and Javans, are called in the Dutch accounts pernákans. Many return to China annually in the junks, but by no means in the same numbers as they arrive.

The Chinese, in all matters of inheritance and minor affairs, are governed by their own laws, administered by their own chiefs, a captain and several lieutenants being appointed by government for each society of them. They are distinct from the natives, and are in a high degree more intelligent, more laborious, and more luxurious. They are the life and soul of the commerce of the country. In the native provinces they are still farmers of the revenue, having formerly been so throughout the island.

Although still numerous, they are considered to have much decreased since the civil war in 1742, during which not only a large proportion of the Chinese population was massacred by the Dutch in the town of Batavia, but a decree of extermination was proclaimed against them throughout the island.

The natives of the Coromandel and Malabar coast, who reside on Java, are usually termed Moors. They appear to be the remnant of a once extensive class of settlers; but their numbers have considerably decreased, since the establishment of the Dutch monopoly, and the absolute extinction of the native trade with India, which we have reason to believe was once very extensive. Trading vessels, in considerable numbers, still continue to proceed from the Coromandel coast to Sumatra, Penang, and Malacca, but they no longer frequent Java.

Búgis and Maláyus are established in all the maritime capitals of Java. They have their own quarter of the town allotted to them, in the same manner as the Chinese, and are subject to the immediate authority of their respective captains.

Among the Arabs are many merchants, but the majority are priests. Their principal resort is Grésik, the spot where Mahomedanism was first extensively planted on Java. They are seldom of genuine Arab birth, but mostly a mixed race, between the Arabs and the natives of the islands.

There is another class of inhabitants, either foreigners them[Vol I Pg 84]selves, or the immediate descendants of foreigners, whose peculiar situation and considerable numbers entitle them to some notice in the general sketch of the population: I mean the class of slaves. The native Javans are never reduced to this condition; or if they should happen to be seized and sold by pirates, a satisfactory proof of their origin would be sufficient to procure their enfranchisement. The slave merchants have therefore been under the necessity of resorting to the neighbouring islands for a supply, and the greatest number have been procured from Báli and Celebes. The total amount may be estimated at about thirty thousand. According to the returns obtained in 1814, it appeared that the following were the numbers in the principal divisions of the island.

At Batavia and its environs 18,972
In the Semárang division 4,488
In the Surabáya division 3,682
Total 27,142

These slaves are the property of the Europeans and Chinese alone: the native chiefs never require the services of slaves, or engage in the traffic of slavery. The Mahomedan laws, which regulate their civil condition, and permit this abomination in all its extent, are modified by the milder prejudices and more humane temper of the country. The Dutch, who, like us, valued themselves on their political liberty, are here the great promoters of civil servitude, and carried with them into their eastern empire, the Roman law regarding slavery in all its extent and rigour. But although they adopted principles that admitted of the most cruel and wanton treatment of slaves, I would not be understood to say, that they carried these principles into common practice. The contrary was almost universally the case, and the condition of slaves on Java, where they were employed principally in domestic offices, formed a complete contrast to the state of those employed in the West India plantations. It is remarked by Montesquieu, that "in despotic countries, the condition of a slave is hardly more burdensome than that of a subject," and such has been the case in Java. The grounds on which the Dutch justified the[Vol I Pg 85] practice of making slaves, was not that they could not command the services of the natives with a sway sufficiently absolute, and that they were compelled to seek, beyond the limits of the island, for unfortunate agents to perform what the natives shewed a reluctance to undertake, but that they found the class of foreigners more adroit and docile than the Javans in the conduct of household affairs, and that having reduced them to the state of property, they remained in the family for life, and saved the trouble of a new training.

Upon the conquest of the island by the British in 1811, the condition of this class of its subjects excited the attention of government; and though we could not, consistently with those rights of property which were admitted by the laws that we professed to administer, emancipate them at once from servitude, we enacted regulations, as far as we were authorized, to ameliorate their present lot, and lead to their ultimate freedom. Steps were immediately taken to check further importation, and as soon as it was known that the horrid traffic in slaves was declared a felony by the British parliament, it was not permitted for an instant to disgrace a region to which the British authority extended. The folly and perfect uselessness of slavery on Java has been often pointed out by Dutch commissioners and Dutch authors[42].[Vol I Pg 86]

Having thus attempted a brief description of the different classes of the Asiatic population of the island, I shall proceed [Vol I Pg 87]to a short detail of the habitations, dress, food, and domestic economy of the natives; but, in order to enable the reader to [Vol I Pg 88]understand some of the terms in the tables, and likewise in the subsequent observations, it may not be improper simply to state the names and titles expressive of the different gradations of rank, leaving a more particular account of the power and authority with which they are connected to another opportunity. The sovereign, who is either called Susuhúnan, Susúnan, or Sultan, is the fountain of honour and the source of all distinction. His family are called Pang'érans, his queen Rátu, the heir apparent Pangéran adipáti, and the prime minister Ráden adipáti. Governors of provinces, called by the Dutch Regents, are styled by the natives Bopátis, Tumúngungs, or Ang'abéis; and are ranked among the chief nobility of the country. All the inferior chiefs, including those termed Rádens, Mántris, Demángs, Lúras, and others, except the heads of villages, termed Kúwus, Búkuls, Patíng'gis, &c., who are elected by the common people out of their own number for the performance of specific duties, may be considered as petite noblesse.

The cottage or hut of the peasant, called úmah limásan, may be estimated to cost, in its first construction, from two to four rupees, or from five to ten shillings English money. It is invariably built on the ground, as on continental India, and in this respect differs from similar structures in the surrounding islands. The sleeping places, however, are generally a little elevated above the level of the floor, and accord in simplicity with the other parts of the dwelling. The sides or walls are generally formed of bámbus, flattened and plaited together: partitions, if any, are constructed of the same materials, and the roof is either thatched with long grass, with the leaves of the nipa, or with a kind of bámbu sirap. The form and size of these cottages, as well as the materials employed in their [Vol I Pg 89]construction, vary in the different districts of the island, and with the different circumstances of the individuals. In the eastern districts, where the population is most dense and the land most highly cultivated, a greater scarcity is felt of the requisite materials than in the western, and the dwellings of the peasantry are consequently smaller and slighter. In the latter, the frame-work of the cottages is generally made of timber, instead of bámbus, and the interior of them, as well as the front veranda, is raised about two feet from the ground. The accommodations consist of a room partitioned off for the heads of the family, and an open apartment on the opposite side for the children: there is no window either made or requisite. The light is admitted through the door alone; nor is this deficiency productive of any inconvenience in a climate, where all domestic operations can be carried on in the open air, and where shade from the sun, rather than shelter from the weather, is required. The women perform their usual occupations of spinning or weaving on an elevated veranda in front, where they are protected from the rays of a vertical sun by an extended projection of the pitch of the roof. In some of the mountainous districts, where the rains descend with most violence, the inhabitants provide against their effects, by constructing their roofs of bámbus split into halves, and applied to each other by their alternate concave and convex surfaces, all along the pitch of the roof, from the top down to the walls. On the whole, it may be affirmed that the habitations of the peasantry of Java, even those constructed in the most unfavourable situations and inhabited by the lowest of the people, admit of a considerable degree of comfort and convenience, and far exceed, in those respects, what falls to the lot of the peasant in most parts of continental India.

The class of dwellings inhabited by the petty chiefs are termed úmah chébluk or úmah jóglo. These are distinguished by having eight slopes or roofs, four superior and four secondary. Their value is from seven to eight dollars, or from thirty-five to forty shillings.

The largest class of houses, or those in which the chiefs and nobles reside, are termed úmah túmpang, and are of the same form as the preceding; they are generally distinguished from them by their greater size, which varies with the means and[Vol I Pg 90] rank of the possessor, and usually contain five or six rooms. The supports and beams are of wood. The value of such a habitation, calculated to answer the circumstances of an ordinary chief of the rank of a Páteh, or assistant to the governor of a province, may be about fifty or sixty dollars, or from ten to fifteen pounds sterling.

In the European provinces, the size and comfort of these dwellings have of late been very essentially contracted, by the rigid enforcement of the monopoly of the teak forests, which were formerly open to the natives of all classes.

Brick dwellings, which are sometimes, though rarely, occupied by the natives, are termed úmah gedóng. This kind of building is for the most part occupied by the Chinese, who invariably construct a building of brick and mortar whenever they possess the means. The Chinese kámpongs may always be thus distinguished from those of the natives.

The cottages, which I have already described, are never found detached or solitary: they always unite to form villages of greater or less extent, according to the fertility of the neighbouring plain, abundance of a stream, or other accidental circumstances. In some provinces, the usual number of inhabitants in a village is about two hundred, in others less than fifty. In the first establishment or formation of a village on new ground, the intended settlers take care to provide themselves with sufficient garden ground round their huts for their stock, and to supply the ordinary wants of their families. The produce of this plantation is the exclusive property of the peasant, and exempted from contribution or burden; and such is their number and extent in some regencies (as in Kedú for instance), that they constitute perhaps a tenth part of the area of the whole district. The spot surrounding his simple habitation, the cottager considers his peculiar patrimony, and cultivates with peculiar care. He labours to plant and to rear in it those vegetables that may be most useful to his family, and those shrubs and trees which may at once yield him their fruit and their shade: nor does he waste his efforts on a thankless soil. The cottages, or the assemblage of huts, that compose the village, become thus completely screened from the rays of a scorching sun, and are so buried amid the foliage of a luxuriant vegetation, that at a small distance no appearance of a[Vol I Pg 91] human dwelling can be discovered, and the residence of a numerous society appears only a verdant grove or a clump of ever-greens. Nothing can exceed the beauty or the interest, which such detached masses of verdure, scattered over the face of the country, and indicating each the abode of a collection of happy peasantry, add to scenery otherwise rich, whether viewed on the sides of the mountains, in the narrow vales, or on the extensive plains. In the last case, before the grain is planted, and during the season of irrigation, when the rice fields are inundated, they appear like so many small Islands, rising out of the water. As the young plant advances, their deep rich foliage contrasts pleasingly with its lighter tints; and when the full-eared grain, with a luxuriance that exceeds an European harvest, invests the earth with its richest yellow, they give a variety to the prospect, and afford a most refreshing relief to the eye. The clumps of trees, with which art attempts to diversify and adorn the most skilfully arranged park, can bear no comparison with them in rural beauty or picturesque effect.

As the population increases, the extent of individual appropriations is sometimes contracted; but when there is sufficient untenanted ground in the neighbourhood, a new village is thrown out at some distance, which during its infancy remains under the charge, and on the responsibility of the parent village. In time, however, it obtains a constitution of its own, and in its turn becomes the parent of others. These dependent villages are in the eastern districts termed dúku, and in the western or Súnda districts chántilan.

Every village forms a community within itself, having each its village officers and priest, whose habitations are as superior to those of others as their functions are more exalted. To complete the establishment in most large villages, a temple is appropriated for religious worship. Here is found that simple form of patriarchal administration, which so forcibly strikes the imagination of the civilized inhabitants of this quarter of the world, and which has so long been the theme of interest and curiosity of those who have visited the Indian continent.

In the larger villages, or chief towns of the subdivisions, in which the Kápala chútag, or division-officer, resides, a square place, corresponding with the álun álun of the capital, is re[Vol I Pg 92]served; and, in like manner, the mosque is found to occupy one side, and the dwelling of the chief another. The villages, whether large or small, are fenced in by strong hedges of bámbu, and other quick growing plants. All the large towns and capitals are formed on the same principle, each hut and dwelling being surrounded by a garden exclusively attached to it. In this respect, they are but large villages, although usually divided into separate jurisdictions. A newly-formed village contains but a few families, while in the capitals the population often amounts to several thousand souls. Súra-kérta, the capital of the chief native government, though its population is estimated to exceed one hundred thousand, may be termed an assemblage or group of numerous villages, rather than what in European countries would be called a town or city.

In the larger towns, however, and in the capitals, considerable attention is paid to the due preservation of broad streets or roads crossing in different directions. The inland capitals in the Súnda districts are distinguished by an extreme neatness and regularity in this respect; and although both these, and the greater native capitals at Sólo and Yúgy'a-kérta, may have been laid out principally at the suggestion of Europeans, it may be observed, that the same conveniences are also to be found in the extensive capital of Banyúmas, the planning of which must be ascribed entirely to the natives.

The dwelling or palace of the prince is distinguished by the terms kadáton or kráton, being contractions, the former probably from ka-datu-nan, and the latter from ka-ratu-nan, the place of the Dátu or Rátu (prince). Those of the Regents or Bopátis (nobles entrusted with the government of provinces), are styled dálam; a term which is applied to the inmost hall or chamber of both buildings; and by which also, particularly in the Súnda districts, the chiefs themselves are often distinguished.

The kráton, or palace of the prince, is an extensive square, surrounded by a high wall, without which there is generally a moat or ditch. In the front, and also sometimes in the rear, an extensive open square is reserved, surrounded by a railing, which is termed the álun álun. On the wall of the kráton, which may be considered as the rampart of a citadel, are usually planted cannon; and within it, the space is divided[Vol I Pg 93] by various smaller walls, which intersect each other, and form squares and compartments, each having a particular designation, and answering a specific purpose; separate quarters being assigned within the walls to all the families who may be considered as attached to the person of the sovereign, or that of the princes. The circumference of the wall of the kráton of Yúgy'a-kérta is not less than three miles; and it was estimated that, at the period of the assault in 1812, it did not contain fewer than from ten to fifteen thousand people. That of Súra-kérta is neither so extensive, nor so well built. After crossing the álun álun, or square in front of the kráton, the principal entrance is by a flight of steps, at the top of which it is usual for the new sovereign to be invested with his authority, and on which he is seated on those occasions in which he shews himself in public. This is termed the setingel, from seti-ingel, the high ground. On these occasions, the Pang'érans and nobles are ranged below. Proceeding into the interior of the building, and after descending a flight of steps, we find the next principal gateway or entrance is called the brójo nólo. After passing another court, the next gateway is termed kámandúngan; and beyond this again is the last passage, distinguished by the term s'rimenánti. Still farther on, in the centre of a square, is the hall, mendópo or bángsal, of the prince. On one side of the square are two small mendópos, or open sheds, called bángsal peng'ápit, where the Pang'érans assemble to wait the appearance of the sovereign in the principal mendópo; and on the opposite side is the dwelling, or úmah tumpang, of the prince, termed próbo yókso. The bángsal, or mendópo, is a large open hall, supported by a double row of pillars, and covered with shingles, the interior being richly decorated with paint and gilding. The ceiling of the mendópo of Yúgy'a-kérta is remarkable for its splendour and richness, being composed according to that peculiar style of architecture frequently observed throughout Java, in which several squares, of gradually decreasing sizes, are arranged one above and within the other; a style which is general among the Hindus, and strongly marks the architecture of the Burmans and Siamese.

In the centre of the álun álun, and in front of the setingel, are two wáringen trees (the Indian fig or banyan), called[Vol I Pg 94] wáring'en kúrung, which have been considered as the sign or mark of the royal residence from the earliest date of Javan history.

In the dwellings of the nobles and governors of provinces, the same form and order, with some slight modifications, are observed. These have likewise the álun álun front. The outer entrance corresponding with the setíngel of the kráton is however with them denominated the láwang sekéting, the second pasádong, and the third régol, within which is the mendópo, or dálam. The mosque forms one side of the álun álun.

The furniture of the houses or huts of the lower orders is very simple, and consists of but few articles. Their bed, as with the Sumatrans, is a fine mat with a number of pillows, having some party-coloured cloths generally extended over the head, in the form of a canopy or valance. They neither use tables nor chairs, but their meals are brought on large brass or wooden waiters, with smaller vessels of brass or china-ware for the different articles served up. They sit cross-legged, and, in common with other Mahomedans, only use the right hand at their meals. They usually take up their food between the finger and thumb, and throw it into their month. Spoons are used only for liquids, and knives and forks very rarely, if at all.

In the dwellings of the higher classes, the articles of furniture are more numerous and expensive. Raised beds, with many pillows piled one above the other, and mats and carpets, are common in all; but, in the European provinces, many of the rooms of the chiefs are furnished with looking-glasses, chairs, tables, &c. Most of these were at first introduced for the accommodation of European visitors, but are now gradually becoming luxuries, in which the chiefs take delight.

They are partial to illuminations, and, on days of festivity, ornament the grounds adjacent to their dwellings with much taste and design, by working the young shoots of the cocoa-nut, the bámbu, and various flowers, in festoons and other contrivances. The canopy or valance over the table, bed, or other place selected for any particular purpose, is universal. This canopy is generally of chintz, from Western India.

In all the provinces under the European government, the[Vol I Pg 95] chiefs have several rooms fitted up in the European style, for the accommodation of the officers of government, and none of them hesitate to sit down at table with their visitors, and join in the entertainment.

The natives of Java are in general better clothed than those of Western India. In many provinces of the interior, and in the elevated parts of the island, warm clothing is indispensable. They are for the most part clothed from the produce of their own soil and labour; but there are parts of their dress which they willingly derive from foreign countries. Blue cloths and chintzes, in particular, have always formed an extensive article of importation from Western India; and the chiefs consume considerable quantities of broadcloths, velvet, and other fabrics, in the jackets, pantaloons, and other articles of dress, in imitation of Europeans. Persons of condition are particular in being what they conceive well-dressed. A sloven is an object of ridicule; and, in point of expensive attire, they may be considered as restricted only by their means. Although the general character of the native costume is preserved, they seemed inclined to adopt many of the more convenient parts of the European dress; and, in proof of their having but few prejudices on this score, it may be observed, that, on occasions when the population of the country has been called out in the Native Provinces, the assemblage of the provincials presented themselves habited, many of them in cocked hats and stockings of Europeans, forming a most grotesque appearance. By the institutions of the country, a particular kind of dress is assigned to each different rank; and there are some patterns of cloth, the use of which is prohibited, except to the royal family: but these sumptuary laws are for the most part obsolete in the European provinces, and gradually becoming so in those of the native princes, particularly since those princes have engaged by treaty to discontinue their enforcement. There are also distinctions of rank expressed by the different modes of wearing the krîs, which will be treated of hereafter.

It is part of the domestic economy, that the women of the family should provide the men with the cloths necessary for their apparel, and from the first consort of the sovereign to the wife of the lowest peasant, the same rule is observed. In every cottage there is a spinning-wheel and loom, and in all[Vol I Pg 96] ranks a man is accustomed to pride himself on the beauty of a cloth woven either by his wife, mistress, or daughter.

The principal article of dress, common to all classes in the Archipelago, is the cloth or sárong, which has been described by Mr. Marsden to be "not unlike a Scots highlander's plaid in appearance, being a piece of party-coloured cloth, about six or eight feet long and three or four feet wide, sewed together at the ends, forming, as some writers have described it, a wide sack without a bottom." With the Maláyus, the sárong is either worn slung over the shoulders as a sash, or tucked round the waist and descending to the ankles, so as to enclose the legs like a petticoat. The patterns in use among the Maláyus or Búgis are universally Tartan; but besides these, the Javans pride themselves in a great variety of others, the common people only wearing the Tartan pattern, while others prefer the Javan bátek or painted cloths. On occasions of state they wear, in lieu of the sárong or járit[43] (the ordinary cloth of the country, which differs from the sárong in not being united at the ends), a cloth termed dódot, which is made either of cotton or silk and much larger. This is worn in the same way; but from its size, and the manner of its being tucked up, it falls in a kind of drapery, which is peculiar to Java.

The men of the lowest class generally wear a pair of coarse short drawers, reaching towards the knee, with the járit or cloth folded round the waist, and descending below the knees like a short petticoat. This cloth is always tucked up close round the waist, while the labourer is at work or moving abroad, but loosened, and allowed to descend to its full length, when in the presence of a superior. It is fastened round the waist by a narrow waistband or belt (sábuk). In general, the Javans are also provided with a jacket (kalámbi), having short sleeves reaching to the elbows. This is either white, or more frequently of light and dark blue stripes. A handkerchief or the (íkat) is always folded round the head. With the Maláyus this handkerchief is generally of the Tartan pattern, but among the Javans it is of the bátek cloth, and put on more in the manner of a turban than the handkerchief of a Maláyu is: the crown of the head is covered with it, and the ends are tucked[Vol I Pg 97] in. While abroad, they generally wear over it a large hat of leaves or of the split and plaited bambu, which shelters them like an umbrella from the sun and rain. A coarse handkerchief is usually tucked into the waistband, or a small bag is suspended from it, containing tobacco, síri, &c. The kris or dagger, which is universally worn by all classes, completes the dress. To that of the labourer, according to the work he may be employed upon, is superadded a large knife or hatchet for cutting wood, brushwood, or grass.

The women, in like manner, wear the cloth tucked round their loins, and descending in the form of a petticoat as low as the ankles. It is folded somewhat differently from the cloth worn by the men, and never tucked up as with them. The waistband or girdle by which they fasten it, is termed údat. Round the body, passed above the bosom and close under the arms, descending to the waistband, is rolled a body cloth called kémban. They also commonly wear a loose gown reaching to the knees, with long sleeves buttoning at the wrists. This gown is almost invariably blue, never being of any variegated pattern, and as well as the jacket of the men is usually termed kalámbi. The women do not wear any handkerchief on their head, which is ornamented by their hair fastened up in a glung or knot, and by an appendage of large studs, either of buffalo horn or brass, which they use for ear-rings. Both men and women, even of the lowest class, wear rings on their fingers. Those worn by the men are either of iron, brass, or copper; those of the women of brass or copper only. The value of a man's dress, as above described, may be estimated at about five rupees, twelve and sixpence; and that of the women at about six rupees, or fifteen shillings.

The children of the lower orders go naked, from the age of fifteen or eighteen months to six or seven years; but the children of persons of condition always wear the járit round their loins, together with a jacket.

The higher orders wear a járit, of about seven or eight cubits long and about three cubits wide, which with the men is folded once round the loins, and allowed to descend to the ankles in the form of a petticoat, but so as to admit of the leg being occasionally exposed when set forward in the act of walking.[Vol I Pg 98] The part which is folded in front commonly hangs somewhat lower than the rest of the garment. The sábuk or waistband is generally of silk of the chíndi or patólé pattern. When at leisure within-doors, the men usually wear a loose cotton gown descending as low as the knees; but when abroad, or in attendance on public service, they for the most part wear a jacket of broad cloth, silk, or velvet if procurable, frequently edged with lace and ornamented with filagree buttons. This jacket is called síkapan (from sikap ready) as it intimates, when worn, that the party is ready for duty. The jacket used by the Regents or chiefs of provinces, and other officers of distinction, closely resembles the old Friesland jacket, as worn about two centuries ago, and is probably modified, if not entirely taken from it. Under the jacket the men always wear a vest, usually of fine white cloth, with a single row of filagree buttons, buttoning close to the body and at the neck like a shirt. If the party is upon a journey or without doors in the sun, the túdang or shade, which is usually of broad cloth or velvet, is fixed over the face, having much the appearance of a large jockey cap. The petty chiefs, particularly in the western districts, instead of this shade wear a large hat, in the form of a wash-hand bason reversed, made of split bambu of various colours, and highly varnished to throw off the rain. This is fastened by a string under the chin, in the same manner as the hat of the common people.

The dress of the women of the higher classes does not in fashion differ essentially from that of the lower orders, but the articles are of finer texture and better quality, and gold studs and rings, ornamented with coloured and precious stones, are substituted for those of copper and brass. Both men and women of condition wear sandals, shoes, or slippers in the house; and in the European districts, the Regent and other chiefs, when in attendance on the public officers, on journeys or otherwise, usually superadd to the native dress tight cloth or nankeen pantaloons, with boots and spurs, according to the European fashion.

It is difficult to estimate with precision the value of the dress of the higher orders. That of an ordinary petty chief and his wife costs about fifty Spanish dollars, or between[Vol I Pg 99] twelve and thirteen pounds sterling, including the siri box, which is a necessary appendage. The siri box of the man is termed epok, that of the woman chepúri.

Neither men nor women cut their hair, but allow it to grow to its natural length: in this they differ from the Maláyus and Búgis, who always wear it short. The men, except on particular occasions, gather it up on the crown of the head, twist it round, and fasten it by means of a semicircular tortoise-shell comb fixed in front; but among the higher classes, it is considered a mark of the greatest respect to let it flow in curls in the presence of a superior. The princes and chiefs at the native courts usually confine it on the neck, and allow it to descend down the back in large curls; but in Chéribon and the Súnda districts, the chiefs, on occasions of ceremony, let their locks flow in curls and ringlets loose over their shoulders. The women confine their hair by gathering and twisting it into one large glúng or knot at the back of the head, in the manner of performing which there are several modes, distinguished by as many names. The short down encircling the forehead is sometimes cut or shaved, to give the brow a better defined appearance, when the hair is combed back, and on particular occasions the fine hair in the same place, which is too short to be combed back and gathered in the knot, is turned in small curls like a fringe. All classes, both of men and women, apply oils to their hair. The women frequently use scents in dressing it, and on state days ornament it with a great variety of flowers, diamond-headed pins, and other jewellery. Both sexes perfume their persons with different species of fragrant oils, as the láng'a chandána (sandal-wood oil), láng'a kanáng'a, láng'a gáru, láng'a gandapúra, and láng'a jerú, and adorn the skin with a variety of powders called bóré; as the bóré kúning (yellow powder), bóré érang (black), boré sárí, and boré k'lambak. To these may be added the general use of musk, termed by them dédes. In the houses of the higher orders, dúpa or incense of benjamin, and other odoriferous gums, is generally burnt.

The priests generally dress in white, and imitate the turbans of the Arabs.

Such is the ordinary costume of the bulk of the population, as it is usually seen in all that part of the island peculiarly[Vol I Pg 100] called Java. In the western or Súnda districts, the common people are by no means so well supplied with articles of dress as in the eastern. They are often seen with little or no covering, beyond a piece of very coarse cloth tied round the waist. The Regents or chiefs of provinces in these districts generally wear, when on public duty with the officers of the European government, a velvet cap ornamented with gold lace, differing in fashion in each province, but usually calculated to shade the face from the direct rays of the sun. In the eastern districts the chiefs, on similar occasions, wear the cap called kúluk, which will be more particularly mentioned as part of the court dress.

Besides what may be thus termed the ordinary dress, two grand distinctions are noticed in the costume of the Javans: these are the war dress and the court dress. The former consists of chelána or pantaloons, buttoned from the hip down to the ankles; the kátok, short kilt or petticoat of coloured silk or fine cotton, descending just below the knee; and the ámben or girth, rolled tightly round the body seven or eight times, like a military sash, and securing the whole body from below the arms to the hips: this is made either of silk or very fine cotton. Over this is drawn a tight vest without buttons, termed sángsang, and over this again the ordinary vest or kótan with buttons, buttoning close round the body and neck, the síkapan or jacket being worn over the whole. The túdung, or shade for the face, is usually worn on this occasion, as well as shoes or sandals. The ang'ger or sword belt, which goes round the waist, also forms an essential part of the war dress, in which the pedáng or sword is suspended on the left side. Three kríses are usually worn in the waist on these occasions, one on each side and the other behind. These consist of the krís which the wearer particularly calls his own, the krís which has descended to him from his ancestors, and the krís which he may have received on his marriage from his wife's father. The latter is often placed on the left side for immediate use. This dress is worn in going into the field of battle, on which occasion it is the custom to appear in the richest attire their means admit, and to wear the rings and the other valuable jewels or trinkets which they possess.

In the court or full dress, the shoulders, arms, and body,[Vol I Pg 101] down to the waist, are entirely bare; the drapery descending from the loins downwards, chelána, and what may be worn on the head, being the only covering. When a subject, whatever be his rank or family, approaches his prince, he must wear chelána or pantaloons of coloured silk or of fine cotton, without buttons; and instead of the járit or ordinary cloth, he must wear the dódot, a cloth which is of nearly double the dimensions. This is put on, however, nearly in the same manner as the járit, but so as not to descend on the right side further than just below the knee, while on the left it falls in a rich drapery, until it touches the ground in a point. The sábuk or waistband must be of gold lace, the fringed ends of which usually hang down a few inches, and the party must only wear one krís, which is tucked in the waistband on the right side behind, while on the left he wears a weapon, or rather implement, called a wédung, in the shape of a chopper, together with a small knife, indicative of his readiness to cut down trees and grass at the order of his sovereign. On his head he must wear a peculiar kind of cap (kuluk), said to have been introduced by the Sultan Pájang in imitation of the scull-cap of the Arabs; it is made of cloth, and either white or light blue, stiffened with rich starch: on more ordinary occasions, and generally, except in full dress, the chiefs prefer a cap of the same form made of black velvet, ornamented with gold, and sometimes a diamond on the crown. The part of the body which is left uncovered is generally rubbed over with white or yellow powder. The sovereign himself is usually habited in the same manner on state occasions, his body and arms being covered with a bright yellow powder. When women approach the sovereign, besides having their hair ornamented with diamonds and flowers, they must wear a sémbong or sash round the waist, which generally is of yellow silk with red at the two ends. It is brought once round the body from behind, and the long ends are allowed to descend towards the ground, one over each hip.

Since the loss of the makóta, or golden crown of Majapáhit, which disappeared on the banishment of Susúnan Mangkúrat, both the Susúnan and Sultan, on public occasions, when they have to meet the European authorities, wear a velvet hat or cap of a particular fashion, somewhat different at each[Vol I Pg 102] court; that of the Susúnan resembling what is distinguished by the term of the Madúra hat in consequence of its being still worn by the Madúra family, and that of the Sultan having a golden garúda affixed at the back, and two wings of gold extending from behind the ears. They both wear breeches, stockings, and buckles, after the European fashion.

The jámang or golden plate, which was worn over the forehead, as well as a variety of golden ornaments round the neck and arms, and which formerly formed the most splendid part of the costume, are now disused; except at marriages, or in dramatic or other entertainments, when the ancient costume of the country is exhibited in all its rich and gorgeous variety.

The following picture of a Javan beauty, taken from one of the most popular poems of the country, will serve better than any description of mine, to place before the reader the standard of female elegance and perfection in the island, and to convey an accurate idea of the personal decorations on nuptial occasions, in dances and dramatic exhibitions; it will at the same time afford a representation of what may be considered to have formed the full dress of a female of distinction, before the innovations of Mahometanism and the partial introduction of the European fashions. The extravagant genius of eastern poetry may perhaps be best employed in portraying such fantastic images, or celebrating such extraordinary tastes.

"Her face was fair and bright as the moon, and it expressed all that was lovely. The beauty of Ráden Pútri far excelled even that of the widadári Déwi Ráti: she shone bright even in the dark, and she was without defect or blemish.

"So clear and striking was her brightness, that it flashed to the sky as she was gazed at: the lustre of the sun was even dimmed in her presence, for she seemed to have stolen from him his refulgence. So much did she excel in beauty, that it is impossible to describe it.

"Her shape and form were nothing wanting, and her hair when loosened hung down to her feet, waving in dark curls: the short front hairs were turned with regularity as a fringe, her forehead resembling the chendána stone. Her eyebrows were like two leaves of the ímbo tree; the outer angle of the eye acute and slightly extended; the ball of the eye full, and the upper eyelash slightly curling upwards.[Vol I Pg 103]

"Tears seemed floating in her eye, but started not. Her nose was sharp and pointed; her teeth black as the kómbang; her lips the colour of the newly cut mangústin shell. Her teeth regular and brilliant; her cheeks in shape like the fruit of the dúren; the lower part of the cheek slightly protruding. Her ears in beauty like the giánti flowers, and her neck like unto the young and graceful gádung leaf.

"Her shoulders even, like the balance of golden scales; her chest open and full; her breasts like ivory, perfectly round and inclining to each other. Her arms ductile as a bow; her fingers long and pliant, and tapering like thorns of the forest. Her nails like pearls; her skin bright yellow; her waist formed like the pátram when drawn from its sheath; her hips as the reversed límas leaf.

"Like unto the púdak flower when hanging down its head, was the shape of her leg; her foot flat with the ground; her gait gentle and majestic like that of the elephant. Thus beautiful in person, she was clothed with a chíndi patóla of a green colour, fastened round the waist with a golden lúlut or cestus: her outer garment being of the méga mendúng (dark clouded) pattern. Her kémban (upper garment) was of the pattern jing'gomosi, edged with lace of gold; on her finger she wore a ring, the production of the sea, and her ear-rings were of the pattern nóto bróngto.

"On the front of the ear-studs were displayed the beauties of the segára múnchar pattern (emeralds encircled by rubies and diamonds), and she bound up her hair in the first fashion, fastening it with the glúng (knot) bobokóran, and decorating it with the green chámpaca flower, and also with the gámbir, meláti, and mínor flowers; and in the centre of it she fixed a golden pin, with a red jewel on the top, and a golden flower ornamented with emeralds. Her necklace was composed of seven kinds of precious stones, and most brilliant to behold; and she was highly perfumed, without it being possible to discover from whence the scent was produced.

"Her jámang (tiara or head ornament) was of the fashion sódo sáler and richly chased; her bracelets were of the pattern glang-kána, and suited the jámang. Thus was the[Vol I Pg 104] beauty of her person heightened and adorned by the splendour of her dress."


To this we may add, from one of the popular versions of the work called Jáya Langkárá the notions which the Javans have of the virtues, beauties, and dress, that should adorn a young man of family.

"In a youth of noble birth there are seven points which should strike the observer, and these are indispensable. In the first place, he should be of good descent; in the second, he should possess understanding; in the third, he should know how to conduct himself. In the fourth place, he recollects what he learns in the sástras; in the fifth, his views must be enlarged; in the sixth, he must be religious; in the seventh, he must exert the qualifications he possesses unhesitatingly. These are the seven points which must strike the immediate attention of the observer.

"In his heart and mind he must be quiet and tranquil. He should be able to repress his inclinations, and to be silent when necessary: never should he on any account tell a falsehood. He should not think long concerning property, neither should he fear death: in his devotions he should be free from pride, and he should relieve the distressed.

"It should be observed by all, that whatever he undertakes is quickly executed. He should quietly penetrate other men's thoughts and intentions; his inquiries should be discreet, intelligent, and active. Whenever he meets with an able man, he should attach himself to him as a friend, and never leave him till he has drawn all his knowledge from him; and in whatever he does, his actions should be rather what is generally approved, than the result of his mere will.

"As long as he lives he must continue to thirst after more knowledge; and he must constantly guard his own conduct, that men may not say it is bad. His recollection should be clear and distinct, his speech mild and gentle; so that people's hearts may be softened, and possessing these qualifications his dependants may praise him.

"His appearance and stature should not be deficient. The light of his countenance should be sweet, like that of Batára[Vol I Pg 105] Asmára (the god of love) when he descends to the earth. When men look upon him, they should be struck with the idea, 'how great would he not be in war!' In the form of his body no part should be ill shaped. His skin should be like unto virgin gold before it has undergone the process of fire; his head rather large; his hair straight and long. His eyes watery and ready to overflow; his brows like the ímbo leaf; his eyelash like the tánjung flower; his nose sharp and prominent, with but little hair above the upper lip; his lips like the newly cut mangústin shell; his teeth as if painted, shining and black like the kómbang; his breast and shoulders wide.

"A bright circle should irradiate his face and breast, and he should stand unrivalled. Whatever he says should make an impression on all who hear him, and his speech should be playful and agreeable.

"He should wear the chelána chíndi, with a dark green dódot of the pattern gádong-eng'úkup; his sash of golden lace. His krís should have the sheath of the sátrían fashion, and the handle should be that of túng'gáksmi. The súmping (an imitation of flowers or leaves which hang over the ear) should be of gold, and of the fashion súreng páti (brave to death); and on his right thumb (palgúna) he should at the same time wear a golden ring."


In common with the Sumatrans, and other inhabitants of the Archipelago and southern part of the peninsula, both sexes of all ranks have the custom of filing and blackening the teeth, it being considered as disgraceful to allow them to remain "white like a dog's." The operation is performed when the children are about eight or nine years of age, and is a very painful one. The object is to make the front teeth concave, and by filing away the enamel, to render them better adapted for receiving the black dye. This extraordinary and barbarous custom tends to destroy the teeth at an early age, and with the use of tobacco, síri, and lime, which are continually chewed, generally greatly disfigures the mouth. The Javans, however, do not file away the teeth so much as is usual with some of the other islanders; nor do they set them in gold, as is the case with the Sumatrans. Neither do they distend the[Vol I Pg 106] lobe of the ear, to that enormous extent practised on Báli and elsewhere, and which is observed in the representations of Búdh. This has been discontinued since the introduction of Mahomedanism.

Compared with the western Asiatics, the Javans have but few prejudices regarding food. They are Mahomedans, and consequently abstain rigidly from swine's flesh, and commonly from inebriating liquors; and some few families, from the remains of a superstition which has descended to them from their Hindu ancestors, will not eat of the flesh of the bull or cow; but with these exceptions, there are few articles which come amiss to them. They live principally upon vegetable food, and rice is on Java, what it is throughout Asia, the chief article of subsistence; but fish, flesh, and fowl are likewise daily served up at their meals, according to the circumstances of the parties. With fish they are abundantly supplied; and what cannot be consumed while fresh, is salted, or dried, and conveyed into the inland provinces. They do not eat of the turtle or other amphibious animals, but none of the fish known to Europeans are objected to by them. The flesh of the buffalo, the ox, the deer, the goat, and various kinds of poultry, are daily exposed for sale in their markets, and are of very general consumption. The flesh of the horse is also highly esteemed by the common people; but the killing of horses for food is generally prohibited, except when maimed or diseased. The hide of the buffalo is cut into slices, soaked, and fried as a favourite dish. The flesh of the deer, dried and smoked, is well known throughout the Malayan Archipelago, under the term dinding, and is an article in high request on Java.

The dairy forms no part of domestic economy of Java, neither milk itself, nor any preparation from it, being prized or used by the natives: a circumstance very remarkable, considering that they were undoubtedly Hindus at one period of their history; and that, if so essential an article of food had once been introduced, it is probable it would always have been cherished. No good reason seems to be assigned for their indifference to milk; except perhaps the essential one, that the cows of Java afford but a very scanty supply of that secretion. The udder of a Javan cow is sometimes not larger than that of a sheep,[Vol I Pg 107] and seems to afford but a bare subsistence for the calf; yet the buffalo gives a larger quantity, and butter or ghee might equally be prepared from it. The cows of the Indian breed are distinguished by a hump between the shoulders and a larger udder; and it has been found that the secretion of milk can be increased, as it is observed that where particular care has been taken by Europeans even of the Javan cows, they have in a short time afforded double the usual quantity. It has been conjectured, that on the introduction of the Indian breed by the Hindu colonists, the use of milk was forbidden, in order that the number of cattle might more rapidly increase; but the Javans have no tradition to this effect. It is however remarkable, that an absolute aversion to this aliment exists on that part of the continent of Asia, in which many popular usages are found similar to those of the east insular nations. In a recent publication it is stated of the people between Siam and China, who are not, by the bye, very nice in what they eat, "qu'ils ne se permettent pas le lait des animaux, et qu'ils ont pour cette boisson la répugnance que peut inspirer la boisson du sang. Cette répugnance va même jusqu'à exclure du nombre de ses alimens le beurre et le fromage[44]."

Salt is obtained in abundance throughout every part of the island, but being manufactured on the coast, is proportionally higher in price in the inland districts. The sugar used by the natives is not prepared from the sugar-cane, but from the áren and other palms. It is manufactured by the simple process of boiling down the tári, or liquor which exudes from these trees, which are tapped for the purpose.

None of the palms of Java furnish the worms which are employed for food in other eastern countries, but similar worms are found in various kinds of rótan, sólak, &c. which are considered as dainties, not only by the natives, but by the Chinese and by some Europeans: they are called géndon. Worms of various species, but all equally esteemed as articles of food, are found in the teak and other trees. White ants, in their different states, are one of the most common articles of food in particular districts: they are collected in different ways, and sold generally in the public markets. Their extensive[Vol I Pg 108] nests are opened to take out the chrysalis; or they are watched, and swarms of the perfect insect are conducted into basins or trays containing a little water, where they soon perish: they are called láron.

The cooking utensils are, as might be supposed, of the most simple kind, and either of coarse pottery or copper. Rice, after several poundings in a trough or mortar, is generally dressed by steam, though not unfrequently boiled in a small quantity of water. In the former case, it is remarkable for its whiteness and consistency when dressed; and in this state it is publicly exposed for sale in the markets and along the high roads. Indian corn is usually roasted in the ear, and offered for sale in the same manner. Other aliments are for the most part prepared in the manner of curry, termed by the Maláyus gulai: of these they have almost an endless variety, distinguished according to the principal ingredients. Besides what may be considered as the principal dishes, they excel in a variety of preparations of pastry and sweetmeats (particularly of the kétan), of which many are by no means unpleasant to an European palate. They are fond of colouring their pastry, as well as other articles of their food. They occasionally make their rice yellow and brown, and even turn their boiled eggs red for variety.

Black pepper, as among the Maláyus, is scarcely ever used, on account of its supposed heating quality. The most common seasoning employed to give a relish to their insipid food, is the lombok; triturated with salt, it is called sámbel, both by the Maláyus and Javans, and this condiment is indispensable and universal. It is of different kinds, according to the substances added to increase or diversify its strength or pungency; the most common addition is trási, denominated by the Maláyus, bláchang. The name lálab is given to various leaves and kernels, mostly eaten raw with rice and sámbel: many of these substances possess a pungency and odour intolerable to Europeans. If several vegetables are mixed together, and prepared by boiling, they constitute what is called jang'an, or greens for the table, of which there are several distinctions. The various legumes are of great importance in the diet of the natives. Padomóro, pin'dang, and semúr, are dishes to which the flesh of the buffalo or fowls is[Vol I Pg 109] added, and which resemble the Indian curry. Rújak is prepared from unripe mangos and other fruits, which, being grated, receive the addition of capsicum and other spices, and thus constitutes a favourite dish with the natives, though very disagreeable to Europeans.

The Chinese prepare from the gédelé a species of soy, somewhat inferior to that brought from Japan. The káchang-iju is highly useful as a general article of diet, and is a good substitute for various legumes, which form the common nourishment of the continental Indians: it contains much farinaceous matter. Trási or bláchang is prepared in many situations along the northern coast, but is mostly required for the consumption of the interior. It is prepared from prawns or shrimps, and extensive fisheries for the purpose are established in many parts of the coast. The shrimps being taken, are strewed with salt, and exposed to the sun till dry; they are then pounded in wooden mortars, dressed, and formed into masses resembling large cheeses: in this state they constitute an article of trade, and are distributed through the country. The putrescent fluid remaining after the expression strongly impregnated with the odour of the shrimps, is evaporated to the consistence of a jelly, and affords a favourite sauce called pétis. An inferior kind of trási is prepared from small fish, and, when made into the form of small balls, is called blények. Trási blúro is of a reddish colour, and much esteemed at the native capitals. Another kind of pétis is prepared from the flesh of the buffalo, chiefly in the interior districts.

Salted eggs are also an important article in the diet of the Javans. The eggs of ducks being most abundant, are chiefly preserved in this way. The eggs are enveloped in a thick covering made of a mixture of salt and ashes in equal parts, or salt and pounded bricks, and being wrapped each in a large leaf, they are placed on one another in a tub, or large earthen vessel. In ten days they are fit for use; but they are generally kept longer in the mixture, and, being thoroughly impregnated with salt, can be kept many months. In some districts, the eggs of the Muscovy duck are particularly employed for the purpose.

In preparing their food, the Javans may be considered[Vol I Pg 110] to observe the same degree of cleanliness which is usual with Asiatics in general; and in point of indulgence of appetite, they may be, perhaps, placed about midway between the abstemious Hindu and the unscrupulous Chinese. In a country where vegetation is luxuriant, and cultivation is already considerably advanced, it follows that there must be an abundant supply for a people who subsist principally on vegetable productions; and it may be asserted, that, except where the manifest oppressions of government, or the effects of civil discord, for the moment deprive the labourer of his just reward, there are few countries where the mass of the population are so well fed as on Java. There are few of the natives who cannot obtain their káti, or pound and a quarter of rice a day, with fish, greens, and salt, if not other articles, to season their meal. Where rice is less abundant, its place is supplied by maize or Indian corn, or the variety of beans which are cultivated; and even should a family be driven into the woods, they would still be able to obtain a bare subsistence from the numerous nutritious roots, shoots, and leaves, with which the forests abound. Famine is unknown; and although partial failures of the crop may occur, they are seldom so extensive as to be generally felt by the whole community. Thus abundantly supplied, the Javans seem by no means inclined to reject the bounties of Providence: they are always willing to partake of a hearty meal, and seldom have occasion to make a scanty one. Yet among them a glutton is a term of reproach, and to be notoriously fond of good living is sufficient to attach this epithet to any one.

The Javans, except where respect to Europeans dictates a different practice, eat their meals off the ground. A mat kept for the purpose is laid on the floor, which, when the meal is over, is again carefully rolled up, with the same regularity as the table-cloth in Europe; and a plate of rice being served up to each person present, the whole family or party sit down to partake of the meal in a social manner. A principal dish, containing the sámbel, jángan, or other more highly seasoned preparation, is then handed round, or placed in the centre of the company, from which each person adds what he thinks proper to the allowance of rice before him.

Water is the principal and almost exclusive beverage, and,[Vol I Pg 111] among people of condition, it is invariably boiled first, and generally drunk warm. Some are in the habit of flavouring the water with cinnamon and other spices; but tea, when it can be procured, is drunk by all classes at intervals during the day.

On occasions of festivals and parties, when many of the chiefs are assembled, the dishes are extremely numerous and crowded; and hospitality being a virtue which the Javans carry almost to an excess, due care is taken that the dependants and retainers are also duly provided for. These, particularly in the highlands of the Súnda districts, where the people are furthest removed from foreign intercourse, and the native manners are consequently better preserved, are arranged in rows at intervals, according to their respective ranks; the first in order sitting at the bottom of the hall, and the lowest at some distance without, where each is carefully supplied with a bountiful proportion of the feast: thus exhibiting, in the mountainous districts of Java, an example of rude hospitality, and union of the different gradations of society in the same company, similar to that which prevailed in the Highlands of Scotland some centuries ago, where, it is said, "those of inferior description were, nevertheless, considered as guests, and had their share, both of the entertainment and of the good cheer of the day."

It is at these parties that the chiefs sometimes indulge in intoxicating liquors, but the practice is not general; and the use of wine, which has been introduced among them by the Dutch, is in most instances rather resorted to from respect to Europeans, than from any attachment to the bottle.

The Javans have universally two meals in the day; one just before noon, and one between seven and eight o'clock in the evening: the former, which is the principal meal, corresponding with the European dinner, and distinguished by the term mángán-áwan, or the day meal; the latter, termed mángán wéngé, or evening meal. They have no regular meal corresponding with the European breakfast; but those who go abroad early in the morning, usually partake of a basin of coffee and some rice cakes before they quit their homes, or purchase something of the kind at one of the numerous wárongs, or stalls, which line the public roads, and are to the common people as so many coffee or eating-houses would be[Vol I Pg 112] to the European; rice, coffee, cakes, boiled rice, soups, ready dressed meats and vegetables, being at all times exposed in them. What is thus taken by the Javans in the morning to break the fast, is considered as a whet, and termed sarap.

By the custom of the country, good food and lodging are ordered to be provided for all strangers and travellers arriving at a village; and in no country are the rights of hospitality more strictly enjoined by institutions, or more conscientiously and religiously observed by custom and practice. "It is not sufficient," say the Javan institutions, "that a man should place good food before his guest; he is bound to do more: he should render the meal palatable by kind words and treatment, to soothe him after his journey, and to make his heart glad while he partakes of the refreshment." This is called bójo krómo, or real hospitality.

The chewing of betel-leaf (síri), and the areka-nut (pínang), as well as of tobacco (tambáko), and gámbir, is common to all classes. The síri and pínang are used much in the same manner as by the natives of India in general. These stimulants are considered nearly as essential to their comfort, as salt is among Europeans. The commonest labourer contrives to procure at least tobacco, and generally síri; and if he cannot afford a síri box, a small supply will be usually found in the corner of his handkerchief. Cardamums and cloves compose part of the articles in the síri box of a person of condition.

The inhabitants of Java, as a nation, must be accounted sober; although Europeans, in order to serve their own purposes, by inducing some of the chiefs to drink wine to excess, have succeeded, to a certain extent, in corrupting the habits of some individuals in this respect. Two kinds of fermented liquor are however prepared by the Javans, called bádek and bróm: the former from rice; the latter almost exclusively from kétan or glutinous rice. In making bádek, the rice previously boiled is stewed with a ferment called rági, consisting of onions, black pepper, and capsicum, and mixed up into small cakes, which are daily sold in the markets. After frequent stirring, the mixture is rolled into balls, which are piled upon each other in a high earthen vessel, and when fermentation has commenced the bádek exudes and is collected at the[Vol I Pg 113] bottom. The remaining rice, strongly impregnated with the odour of fermentation, has a sweetish taste, and is daily offered for sale in the markets as a dainty, under the name of tapé. Bádek is, in comparison with bróm, a simple liquor, producing only slight intoxication: it is often administered to children to dislodge worms from the intestines. In making bróm, the kétan is boiled in large quantities, and being stewed with rági, remains exposed in open tubs till fermentation takes place, when the liquor is poured off into close earthen vessels. It is generally buried in the earth for several months, by which the process of fermentation is checked and the strength of the liquor increased: sometimes it is concentrated by boiling. The colour is brown, red, or yellow, according to the kind of kétan employed. Bróm, which has been preserved for several years, is highly esteemed among the natives, constituting a powerful spirit, which causes violent intoxication followed by severe head-ache in persons not accustomed to its use. The substance that remains after separation is a deadly poison to fowls, dogs, and various other animals. Arrack is prepared by distillation: an inferior kind, made in a more simple and economical manner, is called chiu. Both are prepared by the Chinese, and a particular account of the method employed will be found under another head[45]. A kind of small beer is made at Súra-kérta in a mode similar to the European process of brewing, by exciting fermentation in a solution of Javan sugar, with several spices and the leaves of the pári instead of hops. When fresh, the liquor is sprightly, and not unpleasant to the taste; but it cannot be preserved longer than four or five days.

The use of opium, it must be confessed and lamented, has struck deep into the habits, and extended its malignant influence to the morals of the people, and is likely to perpetuate its power in degrading their character and enervating their energies, as long as the European government, overlooking every consideration of policy and humanity, shall allow a paltry addition to their finances to outweigh all regard to the ultimate happiness and prosperity of the country. It is either eaten in its crude state as mánta, or smoked as mádat or chándu. In the preparation of mádat, the crude opium is boiled down[Vol I Pg 114] with the leaves of tobacco, síri, or the like, and used in a sticky or somewhat liquid state. In chándu, the opium is merely boiled down without any admixture, to a still thicker consistency, and rolled into small balls or pills, in which state, when dry, they are inserted into bámbus, and thus smoked. The crude opium is eaten principally by the people in the interior of the country, in the provinces of the native princes: the opium prepared for smoking is used along the coast, and generally in the other islands of the Archipelago; it is prepared by the Chinese. The use of opium, however, though carried to a considerable extent, is still reckoned disgraceful, and persons addicted to it are looked upon as abandoned characters, and despised accordingly. The effects of this poison on the human frame are so well described by the Dutch commissioners who sat at the Hague in 1803, and who much to their honour declared, "that no consideration of pecuniary advantage ought to weigh with the European government in allowing its use," that together with the opinion of Mr. Hogendorp, who concurred with them, I shall insert their statement here. The wish to do justice to authorities, whose views were so creditable to their country and their own character, and the importance of their opinion to an extensive population, will plead an apology for the length of the extract which I now present.

"The opium trade," observe the Commissioners, "requires likewise attention. The English in Bengal have assumed an exclusive right to collect the same, and they dispose of a considerable number of chests containing that article annually at Calcutta by public auction. It is much in demand on the Malay coast, at Sumatra, Java, and all the islands towards the east and north, and particularly in China, although the use thereof is confined to the lower classes. The effect which it produces on the constitution is different, and depends on the quantity that is taken, or on other circumstances. If used with moderation, it causes a pleasant, yet always somewhat intoxicating sensation, which absorbs all care and anxiety. If a large quantity is taken, it produces a kind of madness, of which the effects are dreadful, especially when the mind is troubled by jealousy, or inflamed with a desire of vengeance or other violent passions. At all times it leaves a slow poison, which undermines the[Vol I Pg 115] faculty of the soul and the constitution of the body, and renders a person unfit for all kind of labour and an image of the brute creation. The use of opium is so much more dangerous, because a person who is once addicted to it can never leave it off. To satisfy that inclination, he will sacrifice every thing, his own welfare, the subsistence of his wife and children, and neglect his work. Poverty is the natural consequence, and then it becomes indifferent to him by what means he may content his insatiable desire after opium; so that, at last, he no longer respects either the property or life of his fellow-creature.

"If here we were to follow the dictates of our own heart only, and what moral doctrine and humanity prescribe, no law, however severe, could be contrived, which we would not propose, to prevent at least that in future, no subjects of this Republic, or of the Asiatic possessions of the state, should be disgraced by trading in that abominable poison. Yet we consider this as absolutely impracticable at present with respect to those places not subject to the state. Opium is one of the most profitable articles of eastern commerce: as such it is considered by our merchants; and if the navigation to those parts is opened to them (which the interest of the state forcibly urges), it is impossible to oppose trading in the same. In this situation of affairs, therefore, we are rather to advise, that general leave be given to import opium at Malacca, and to allow the exportation from thence to Borneo and all the eastern parts not in the possession of the state."

"Opium," says Mr. Hogendorp, "is a slow though certain poison, which the Company, in order to gain money, sells to the poor Javans. Any one who is once enslaved to it, cannot, it is true, give it up without great difficulty; and if its use were entirely prohibited, some few persons would probably die for want of it, who would otherwise languish on a little longer: but how many would by that means be saved for the future. Most of the crimes, particularly murders, that are now committed, may be imputed to opium as the original cause.

"Large sums of money are every year carried out of the country in exchange for it, and enrich our competitors, the[Vol I Pg 116] English. Much of it is smuggled into the interior, which adds to the evil. In short, the trade in opium is one of the most injurious and most shameful things which disgrace the present government of India. It is therefore necessary at once, and entirely, to abolish the trade and importation of opium, and to prohibit the same, under the severest penalties that the law permits, since it is a poison. The smuggling of it will then become almost impracticable, and the health, and even the lives of thousands, will be preserved. The money alone which will remain in the country in lieu of it, is more valuable as being in circulation, than the profit which the Company now derives from the sale of it.

"This measure will excite no discontent among the Javans, for the princes and regents, with very few exceptions, do not consume any opium, but, as well as the most respectable of their subjects, look upon it as disgraceful. The use of opium is even adduced as an accusation of bad conduct, and considered as sufficient cause for the removal or banishment of a petty chief."

FOOTNOTES:

[34] Asiatic Researches, vol. v. page 219, octavo edition.

[35] See Marsden's Sumatra.

[36] The Javan mode of taking account of population is by the number of chácha, or "families," as it is usually rendered, though the word strictly means "enumeration." When the sovereign assigns lands, it is not usual for him to express the extent of land, but the number of chácha attached to it. But as the population of the land so granted varies, the original expression becomes inaccurate. In the native provinces, the number of cháchas reckoned is almost invariably less than the number actually existing, a clear proof, if the original census was correct, that in those provinces population has increased. An account of the number of cháchas was taken some few years back by the Sultan of Yúgya-kérta, with a view to a new distribution of the lands; but the measure was very unpopular, and no accurate results were obtained. The Dutch relied entirely upon this loose system of enumeration.

[37] This includes the Population of Pachítan, under the European government, amounting to about 22,000.

[38] This does not include the dependent islands, on which a considerable portion of the population is scattered.

[39] Colquhoun's Statistical Account of Great Britain.

[40] Valentyn.

[41] The grandfather of the present Prince Prang Wedóno.

[42] It is remarked in the text, that the condition of the slaves on Java is very different from that of the same class in the West Indies. The former are employed rather as administering to the luxuries than the necessities of their proprietors; and, with few exceptions, exclusively for domestic purposes. There are some who having taught their slaves when young to embroider, or exercise some useful handicraft or trade, obtain a livelihood by means of their services, and some few employ their slaves on their estates, or let them out to hire; but the general condition of the slaves is that of domestic servants.

The regulations and colonial statutes respecting slavery seem to have been framed on the principles of humanity, and with attention to the genius of the Christian religion; yet, in consequence of the supplementary force of the Roman law in the Dutch system of legislature, there appeared to be one capital defect in the code, viz. that a slave was considered as a real property, incapable of personal rights, from which consideration the ill-treatment of a master towards his slave was not so much estimated on the principle of personal injury, as that of a proprietor abusing his own property; and although a slave, under such a system, might obtain a portion of property for himself with the consent of his master, his possession was always precarious, and depended on the discretion of his proprietor (in the same manner as a peculium adventitium with the Romans), becoming only the unlimited property of the slave, if the master allowed him to keep it after his emancipation.

It was conceived, that considering the civil law only as a supplement to the positive law, continued in force on Java under the proclamation of the Earl of Minto of 11th September 1811, the code respecting slavery might, together with the other parts of legislation, be amended and established, on principles more consistent with humanity and good sense, by a declaration, that slaves in future should not be considered as objects of real property, but as objects possessing personal rights, and bound only to unlimited service; and that, in consequence thereof, slaves should never be transferred from one master to another, without their own consent given before witnesses or a notary. That a master should possess no other power over his slave, than to exact service in an equitable manner; that he should inflict no corporal chastisement on him after he had attained a certain age, nor beyond such a degree as would be given to his children or common apprentices; that all personal wrongs done to a slave, either by his master or by others, should be estimated by the common rules of personal injuries, and not by the principle of a proprietor abusing his own property; that the punishment for murder committed by a master on his slave, should be the same as that of murder committed on a free person; that every slave should have a right to acquire property of his own, by his private industry or labour, or by the bounty of others; that this property should never be removeable at the discretion of the master; that by this property the slave should always have a right to redeem his liberty, after having continued with his master for the term of seven years, and on paying the sum which, on estimation, subject to the approval of the magistrate, should at the time be thought an adequate equivalent for his personal services.

These fundamental alterations in the code were submitted by the local government to a higher authority, at a period when the principal proprietors evinced a concurrence in the measure; but the provisional tenure of the government, and the expectation of the early transfer of the island to the crown, induced a delay, until the re-establishment of Holland as a kingdom precluded the adoption of so essential a change.

The excuse offered by the colonists for the origin and continuance of slavery on Java is, that on the first establishment of the Dutch in the Eastern Islands, there did not exist, as in Western India, a class of people calculated for domestic service; that they had, in consequence, to create a class of domestic servants, in doing which they adopted the plan of rearing children in their families from other countries, in preference to those in their immediate neighbourhood, who, from their connexions and the habits of their relatives, could never be depended upon. Whether necessity dictated this system in the earlier periods of the Dutch establishment, or not, is at least doubtful; but it is certain that this necessity no longer exists, nor is there the shadow of an excuse for continuing on Java this odious traffic and condition. The Javans, during the residence of the British on Java, have been found perfectly trustworthy, faithful, and industrious; and the demand was alone wanting in this, as in most cases, to create a sufficient supply of competent domestics. The continuance of the traffic for one day longer serves but to lower the European in the eyes of the native, who, gratified with the measures adopted by the British government in its suppression, stands himself pure of the foul sin. To the credit of the Javan character, and the honour of the individual, it should be known, that when the proclamation of the British government was published, requiring the registration of all slaves, and declaring that such as were not registered by a certain day should be entitled to their emancipation, the Panámbahan of Súmenap, who had inherited in his family domestic slaves to the number of not less than fifty, proudly said, "Then I will not register my slaves​—they shall be free: hitherto they have been kept such, because it was the custom, and the Dutch liked to be attended by slaves when they visited the palace; but as that is not the case with the British, they shall cease to be slaves: for long have I felt shame, and my blood has run cold, when I have reflected on what I once saw at Batavia and Semárang, where human beings were exposed for public sale, placed on a table, and examined like sheep and oxen."

The short administration of the British government on Java has fortunately given rise to another class of domestic servants. The numerous officers of the army, and others whose funds did not admit, or whose temporary residence did not require a permanent establishment of servants, for the most part usually took Javans into their service; and though these might in the first instance, not be so well acquainted with European habits, as slaves who had been brought up from their infancy in Dutch families, yet they gradually improved, and were, in the end, for the most part very generally preferred. Let not, therefore, necessity be again urged as a plea for continuing the traffic.

The measures actually adopted by the British government may be summed up in a few words. The importation was, in the first instance, restricted within a limited age, and the duty on importation doubled. An annual registry of all slaves above a certain age was taken, and slaves not registered within a certain time declared free. A fee of one Spanish dollar was demanded for the registry of each slave, the amount of which constituted a fund for the relief of widows and orphans. On the promulgation of the act of the British legislature, declaring the further traffic in slaves to be felony, that act, with all its provisions, was at once made a colonial law. Masters were precluded from sending their slaves to be confined in jail at their pleasure, as had hitherto been the case, and all committals were required to be made through the magistrates, in the same manner as in the case of other offenders.

These general regulations, with the more rigid enforcement of the prohibition of further importations, and of such parts of the code of regulations for ameliorating the condition of the slaves as had become obsolete, were all to which the local government felt itself competent; but it gave its sanction to an institution set on foot by the English, and joined in by many of the Dutch inhabitants, which took for its basis the principles of the African Institution, and directed its immediate care to a provision for the numerous slaves restored to liberty.

[43] Called by the Maláyus kain pánjang or kain lepás.

[44] Exposé Statistique du Tonquin, &c. vol. i. p. 126.

[45] Chapter IV. Manufactures.[Vol I Pg 117]


CHAPTER III.

Importance of Agriculture to Java​—Soil​—State of the Peasantry​—Price of Rice​—Subsistence of the Peasantry​—Dwelling​—Agricultural Stock​—Implements of Farming​—Seasons​—Different Kinds of Land​—Rice Cultivation​—Maize, &c.​—Sugar​—Coffee​—Pepper​—Indigo​—Cotton​—Tobacco​—Tenure of Landed Property.

The island of Java is a great agricultural country; its soil is the grand source of its wealth. In its cultivation the inhabitants exert their chief industry, and upon its produce they rely, not only for their subsistence, but the few articles of foreign luxury or convenience which they purchase. The Javans are a nation of husbandmen, and exhibit that simple structure of society incident to such a stage of its progress. To the crop the mechanic looks immediately for his wages, the soldier for his pay, the magistrate for his salary, the priest for his stipend (or jákat), and the government for its tribute. The wealth of a province or village is measured by the extent and fertility of its land, its facilities for rice irrigation, and the number of its buffaloes.

When government wishes to raise supplies from particular districts, it does not enquire how many rupees or dollars it can yield in taxes, but what contribution of rice or maize it can furnish, and the impost is assessed accordingly: the officer of revenue becomes a surveyor of land or a measurer of produce, and the fruits of the harvest are brought immediately into the ways and means of the treasury. When a chief gives his assistance in the police or the magistracy, he is paid by so much village land, or the rent of so much land realized in produce; and a native prince has no other means of pensioning a favourite or rewarding a useful servant. "Be it known to the high officers of my palace, to my Bopátis (regents),[Vol I Pg 118] and to my Mántris (petite noblesse)," says a Javan patent of nobility granted by Sultan Hamángku Búana, "that I have given this letter to my servant to raise him from the earth, bestowing upon him, for his subsistence, lands to the amount of eleven hundred cháchas, the labour of eleven hundred men." By the population returns, and by the number of leases granted under the late settlement, it appears, that sometimes there is not more than a tenth part of the inhabitants employed in any other branch of industry. Out of a population of 243,268 in the Priáng'en regencies, 209,125 are stated as employed in agriculture. In Surabáya, the proportion of householders who are cultivators, is to the rest of the inhabitants as 32,618 to 634; in Semárang, as 58,206 to 21,404; in Rembang it is as 103,230 to 55,300; and in other districts there are considerable variations: but it rarely happens, that the people employed in trade, in manufactures, in handicrafts, or other avocations, amount to a half of those engaged in agriculture, or a third of the whole population. The proportion, on an average, may be stated as three and a half or four to one. In England, it is well known, the ratio is reversed, its agricultural population being to its general population as one to three or two and a half. By the surveys lately made under the orders of the British government, we are enabled to describe the processes of Javan agriculture, and to state its results with more accuracy and in greater detail, than can be attained on many subjects of superior public interest. If we avail ourselves of these means pretty largely, it is not so much in the hope of increasing the stock of agricultural knowledge, as of assisting the reader to form an estimate of the character, habits, wants, and resources of the Javan.

The soil of Java, though in many parts much neglected, is remarkable for the abundance and variety of its productions. With very little care or exertion on the part of the cultivator, it yields all that the wants of the island demand, and is capable of supplying resources far above any thing that the indolence or ignorance of the people, either oppressed under the despotism of their own sovereigns, or harassed by the rapacity of strangers, have yet permitted them to enjoy. Lying under a tropical sun, it produces, as before observed, all[Vol I Pg 119] the fruits of a tropical climate; while, in many districts, its mountains and eminences make up for the difference of latitude, and give it, though only a few degrees from the line, all the advantages of temperate regions. The bámbu, the cocoa-nut tree, the sugar-cane, the cotton tree, and the coffee plant, here flourish in the greatest luxuriance, and yield products of the best quality. Rice, the great staple of subsistence, covers the slopes of mountains and the low fields, and gives a return of thirty, forty, or fifty fold; while maize, or even wheat and rye, and the other plants of Europe, may be cultivated to advantage on high and inland situations. Such is the fertility of the soil, that in some places after yielding two, and sometimes three crops in the year, it is not necessary even to change the culture. Water, which is so much wanted, and which is seldom found in requisite abundance in tropical regions, here flows in the greatest plenty. The cultivator who has prepared his sáwah, or rice field, within its reach, diverts part of it from its channel, spreads it out into numerous canals of irrigation, and thus procures from it, under a scorching sun, the verdure of the rainy season, and in due time a plentiful harvest. Nothing can be conceived more beautiful to the eye, or more gratifying to the imagination, than the prospect of the rich variety of hill and dale, of rich plantations and fruit trees or forests, of natural streams and artificial currents, which presents itself to the eye in several of the eastern and middle provinces, at some distance from the coast. In some parts of Kedú, Banyumás, Semárang, Pasúruan, and Málang, it is difficult to say whether the admirer of landscape, or the cultivator of the ground, will be most gratified by the view. The whole country, as seen from mountains of considerable elevation, appears a rich, diversified, and well watered garden, animated with villages, interspersed with the most luxuriant fields, and covered with the freshest verdure.

Over far the greater part, seven-eighths of the island, the soil is either entirely neglected or badly cultivated, and the population scanty. It is by the produce of the remaining eighth that the whole of the nation is supported; and it is probable that, if it were all under cultivation, no area of land of the same extent, in any other quarter of the globe, could exceed it, either in quantity, variety, or value of its vegetable[Vol I Pg 120] productions. The kind of husbandry in different districts (as shall be mentioned afterwards more particularly) depends upon the nature and elevation of the ground, and the facilities for natural or artificial irrigation. The best lands are those situated in the vallies of the higher districts, or on the slopes of mountains, and on the plains stretching from them, as such lands are continually enriched with accessions of new earth washed down from the hills by the periodical rains. The poorest soil is that found on the ranges of low hills, termed kéndang, extending along many districts, and particularly in the southern division of the island; but in no part is it so sterile or ungrateful, as not to afford a liberal return for the labour bestowed upon its cultivation, especially if a supply of water can be by any means directed upon it.

But when nature does much for a country, its inhabitants are sometimes contented to do little, and, satisfied with its common gifts, neglect to improve them into the means of dignity or comfort. The peasantry of Java, easily procuring the necessaries of life, seldom aim at improvement of their condition. Rice is the principal food of all classes of the people, and the great staple of their agriculture. Of this necessary article, it is calculated that a labourer can, in ordinary circumstances, earn from four to five kátis a day; and a káti being equivalent to one pound and a quarter avoirdupois, is reckoned a sufficient allowance for the daily subsistence of an adult in these regions. The labour of the women on Java is estimated almost as highly as that of the men, and thus a married couple can maintain eight or ten persons; and as a family seldom exceeds half that number, they have commonly half of their earnings applicable for the purchase of little comforts, for implements of agriculture, for clothing and lodging. The two last articles cannot be expensive in a country where the children generally go naked, and where the simplest structure possible is sufficient to afford the requisite protection against the elements.

The price of rice, which thus becomes of importance to the labourer, varies in different parts of the island, according to the fertility of the district where it is produced, its situation with regard to a market, or its distance from one of the numerous provincial capitals. As the means of transport, by which the[Vol I Pg 121] abundance of one district might be conveyed to supply the deficiencies of another, and to equalize the distribution of the general stock, are few and laborious, this variation of price is sometimes very considerable: even in the same district there are great variations, according to the nature of the crop. In the Native Provinces, a píkul (weighing 133⅓ lbs. English) sometimes sells below the fourth part of a Spanish dollar, and at other times for more than two Spanish dollars; but in common years, and at an average over the whole island, including the capital, the estimate may be taken at thirty Spanish dollars the kóyan of thirty píkuls, or three thousand kútis. A kúti of rice, according to this estimate, may be sold to the consumer, after allowing a sufficient profit to the retail merchant, for much less than a penny.

But though the price of this common article of subsistence may be of some consequence to the Javan labourer, when he wants to make any purchase with his surplus portion, he is rendered independent of the fluctuations of the market for his necessary food, by the mode in which he procures it. He is generally the cultivator of the soil; and while he admits that law of custom, which assigns to the superior a certain share of the produce, he claims an equal right himself to the remainder, which is generally sufficient to support himself and his family: and he sometimes finds in this law of custom, sanctioned by the interest of both parties, a security in the possession of his lands, and a barrier against the arbitrary exactions of his chief, which could scarcely be expected under the capricious despotism of a Mahomedan government. In addition to this reserved share, he raises on his own account, if he is industrious, within what may be termed the cottage farm, all the vegetables, fruit, and poultry requisite for his own consumption. His wife invariably manufactures the slight articles of clothing, which, in such a climate, the common people are in the habit of wearing. What can be spared of the fruits of their joint industry from the supply of their immediate wants, is carried to market, and exchanged for a little salt fish, dried meat, or for other trifling comforts, hoarded as a store for the purchase of an ox or a buffalo, or expended in procuring materials for repairing the hut and mending the implements of husbandry.[Vol I Pg 122]

The farming stock of the cultivator is as limited as his wants are few and his cottage inartificial: it usually consists of a pair of buffaloes or oxen, and a few rude implements of husbandry. There is a small proportion of sheep and goats on the island; but, with the exception of poultry, no kind of live stock is reared exclusively either for the butcher or the dairy. By the returns made in 1813 of the stock and cattle of the provinces under the British government, containing a population of nearly two millions and a half, it was found that there were only about five thousand sheep and twenty-four thousand goats. The number of buffaloes, by the same return, and in the same space, was stated at 402,054, and of oxen at 122,691. Horses abound in the island, but are principally employed about the capitals, and not in husbandry, further than in the transport of produce from one district to another.

The buffalo and ox are used for ploughing. The former is of a smaller size than the buffalo of Sumatra and the Peninsula, though larger than that of Bengal and of the islands lying eastward of Java. It is a strong tractable animal, capable of long and continued exertion, but it cannot bear the heat of the mid-day sun. It is shy of Europeans, but submits to be managed by the smallest child of the family in which it is domesticated. The buffalo is either black or white: the former is larger and generally considered superior. In the Súnda, or western and mountainous districts, nine out of ten are white, which is not at all the case in the low countries; no essential difference in the breed has been discovered to be connected with this remarkable distinction of colour. The usual price of a buffalo in the western districts is about twenty-four rupees for the black, and twenty rupees for the white; in the eastern districts the price varies from twelve to sixteen rupees. The Súnda term for a buffalo is múnding; the Javan, máisa and kébo: and in compliment to Laléan, the prince who is supposed to have introduced cultivation into the Súnda districts, that prince and his successors on the Súnda throne are distinguished by the appellation Múnding or Máisa. The name of the individual sovereigns enters into a compound with these general terms for the dynasty, and they are called Máisa-laléan, Múnding-sári, and so of others. [Vol I Pg 123]

The ox of Java derives its origin from the Indian breed. Two varieties are common: that which is called the Javan ox has considerably degenerated; the other, which is termed the Bengal or Surat ox, is distinguished by a lump on the shoulder, and retains in his superior strength other traces of his origin. The bull after castration is used as a beast of burden, for the draught, and sometimes for the stall. Cows are chiefly employed in husbandry, and are particularly useful to the poorer class; but in the sáwah and the extensive inundated plantations of the low districts of the island, the superior bulk and strength of the buffalo is indispensable. Eastward of Pasúruan, however, the lands are ploughed by oxen and cows exclusively. The wild breed, termed bánténg, is found principally in the forests of that quarter and in Báli, although it occurs also in other parts; a remarkable change takes place in the appearance of this animal after castration, the colour in a few months invariably becoming red.

The cows on Java, as well as throughout the Archipelago, remarkably degenerate from those properties, for which, in a state of domestication, they are chiefly prized in other quarters of the world, and afford little or no milk beyond what is barely sufficient for the nourishment of the calf: but the draught ox does not partake of a similar change, and in the central and eastern districts, particularly where the pasture is good, becomes a strong active animal. The degenerate domestic cows are sometimes driven into the forests, to couple with the wild bánténg, for the sake of improving the breed. A single pair of oxen, or buffaloes, is found sufficient for the yoke both of the plough and harrow; and these form by far the most expensive part of the cultivator's stock. The price of a draught ox, in the central and eastern districts, in which they are more generally used in agriculture, varies from eight to sixteen rupees, or from twenty to forty shillings English, and a cow may be purchased for about the same price. Either from the luxuriance of the pasture, the greater care of the husbandmen, or a more equal climate, both the buffalo and the ox are usually in better condition on Java than in many parts of India: indeed, those miserable half-starved looking animals, with which some of the provinces of Bengal abound, are never seen in this island, except, perhaps, occasionally, in[Vol I Pg 124] some of the few herds belonging to Europeans, in the vicinity of Batavia.

Buffaloes, however, more than other domestic animals, are subject to an epidemic disease, the symptoms and nature of which have not been hitherto carefully noted, or satisfactorily explained. It prevails throughout the whole island, and generally re-appears after an interval of three, four, or five years: it makes great ravages in the stock of the peasantry, and is checked in its progress by no remedies which have hitherto been discovered or applied: it is of an infectious nature, and excites great alarm when it appears: it bears different names in different parts of the island. As the bull and cow are not liable to this disease; and as, in addition to this advantage, they are less expensive in their original purchase, they are preferred by many of the natives.

For draught, the buffalo and cow are employed; and for burden, the horse (particularly mares) and the ox. In level districts, and in good roads, the use of the latter is preferred. The usual burden of a horse is rather less than three hundred weight, and that of an ox rather more than four; but in mountainous districts, and where the roads are neglected, one half of this weight is considered as a sufficient, if not an excessive load.

The comparatively higher price of cattle on Java than in Bengal has been accounted for from the demand for them as food, and the absence of extensive commons on which to feed them.

When implements of husbandry are mentioned in British agriculture, many expensive instruments, and complicated machinery suggest themselves to those acquainted with its practical details. From the preparation of the ground for receiving the seed, till the grain comes into the hands of the miller, labour is economized and produce increased, by many ingenious processes and artful contrivances, of which a Javan could form no conception. He could form no idea of the fabrication or advantages of our different kinds of ploughs; of our swing ploughs, our wheel ploughs, and our two-furrow ploughs; of our grubbers, cultivators, and other instruments for pulverizing the soil; of our threshing and winnowing machines, and other inventions. A plough of the simplest[Vol I Pg 125] construction, a harrow, or rather rake, and sometimes a roller, with a páchul, or hoe, which answers the purpose of a spade; an árit, which serves as a knife or small hatchet; and the áni áni, a peculiar instrument used by the reapers, are all the implements employed by him in husbandry; and the total cost of the whole does not exceed three or four rupees, or from seven to ten shillings.

The plough (walúku), in general use for the irrigated land, consists of three parts, the body, beam, and handle. It is generally made of teak wood, where that material can be provided, or otherwise of the most durable that can be found: the yoke only is of bámbu. Simple as it is, it appears, both in its construction and durability, superior to the plough of Bengal, as described by Mr. Colebrooke, from which it differs, in having a board cut out of the piece which forms the body, for throwing the earth aside. The point of the body, or sock, is tipped with iron, which in some districts is cast for the purpose. There is another kind, of more simple construction, in use for dry and mountain cultivation: this is termed brújul, and consists of but two parts. Both kinds are so light, that when the ploughman has performed his morning's work, he throws the plough over his shoulder, and without feeling any inconvenience or fatigue, returns with it to his cottage. For gardens, and for small fields adjoining the villages, the small lúku chína, or Chinese plough, is used with one buffalo: the cost for a good plough seldom exceeds a rupee and a half. The harrow (gáru), which is rather a large rake having only a single rough row of teeth, costs about the same sum, and is in like manner made of teak where procurable; except the handle, beam, and yoke, which are of bámbu. When used, the person who guides it generally sits upon it, to give it the necessary pressure for levelling or pulverizing the soil.

The páchul is a large hoe, which in Java serves every purpose of the spade in Europe, and is consequently, next to the plough, the most important implement in Javan husbandry. The head is of wood tipped with iron; and the handle, which is about two feet and a half long, frequently has a slight curve, which renders it more convenient for use: its price is about half a rupee. The árit, or weeding knife, costs about eight pence; and the áni áni, with which the grain is reaped,[Vol I Pg 126] about three pence. The latter is a small instrument of peculiar shape. The reaper holds it in a particular manner, and crops off with it each separate ear, along with a few inches of the straw. This mode of reaping has been immemorially practised and is universally followed. Some of the most intelligent people being questioned respecting the origin of this operose process, answered, that it was reported to have been established in ancient times as a s'lámat, or grateful acknowledgment for an abundant harvest; that when his field was covered with the bounty of Ceres, no reaper could refuse her this acknowledgment; and that the religious discharge of this obligation was guarded by the belief, that if he ceased to offer this tribute of his labour at the season of harvest, the field would not continue to yield him the same abundant return.

The lands are ploughed, harrowed, and weeded by the men, who also conduct the whole process of irrigation; but the labour of transplanting, reaping, and (where cattle are not used for the purpose) of transporting the different crops from the field to the village, or from the village to the market, devolves upon the women.

Besides the two general divisions of the year, marked out by nature in the great changes of the earth and the atmosphere, there are other periodical distinctions, depending on less obvious or more irregular phenomena. These variations have been ascertained by a reference to the course of the heavenly bodies, or the calculations of the wúku, which are described in another part of this work. It is the office of the village priest to keep this reckoning, and to apprize the cultivators when the term approaches for the commencement of the different operations of husbandry. Of these minor seasons of the year, the first, commencing after the rice harvest which falls in August or September, lasts forty-one days. During this season the leaves fall from the trees, vegetation is interrupted, and the only field labour performed is the burning of grass and vegetables, as a preparation of the tégal or gágas. In the second season, which lasts twenty-five days, vegetation again resumes its vigour. The third, which lasts twenty-four days, is considered the most proper for planting sweet potatoes, yams, and such other vegetables as usually form the second crop; the wild flowers of the forest are now in blossom;[Vol I Pg 127] and the period of what is termed dry cultivation commences. The fourth, which lasts also twenty-four days, is the natural season for the pairing of wild animals: high winds now prevail, the rains descend, and the rivers begin to rise. During the fifth, which lasts twenty-six days, the implements of husbandry are prepared, and the water-courses examined and renewed: this is the commencement of the wet cultivation. In the sixth season the ploughing of the sáwahs and sowing of the bíbít for the great rice crop takes place: this season lasts forty-one days. In the seventh, which also lasts forty-one days, pári is transplanted into fields, and the courses of the water properly directed. In the eighth, which lasts twenty-six days, the plants shoot above the water and begin to blossom. In the ninth season, which consists of twenty-five days, the ears of the grain form. In the tenth, also consisting of twenty-five days, they ripen and turn yellow. The eleventh, which lasts twenty-six days, is the period for reaping; and in the twelfth, which consists of forty-one days, the harvest is completed, the produce gathered in, and that dry clear weather prevails, in which the days are the hottest and the nights the coldest of the whole year. The accurate assignment of the number of days by the natives themselves to the different operations of husbandry, affords such complete information on this interesting subject, that any further account would be superfluous. It may, however, be proper to observe, that the periods above described chiefly refer to the progress of the principal rice crop, as influenced by the annual rains; but there are many lands rendered quite independent of these rains, by the vicinity of streams which afford a plentiful supply of water at all times of the year. In many favoured situations, it is even common to observe at one view the rice fields in almost every stage of their cultivation; in one, women engaged in planting the newly prepared soil, and in another, the reapers employed in collecting the fruits of the harvest.

Lands in Java are classed under two general divisions; lands which are capable of being inundated directly from streams or rivers, and lands which are not so. The former are termed sáwah, the latter tégal or gága. It is on the sáwahs that the great rice cultivation is carried on; and these[Vol I Pg 128] admit of a subdivision, according to the manner in which the land is irrigated. Those which can be irrigated at pleasure from adjacent springs or rivers, are considered as the proper sáwah; those which depend on the periodical rains for the whole or principal part of the water by which they are fertilized, are termed sáwah tádahan. The former are by far the most valuable, and lands of this description admit of two heavy crops annually, without regard to any particular time of the year: the fields seldom exceed forty or sixty feet in breadth, and the water is retained in them by means of a small embankment of about a foot in height. On the slopes of the mountains, where this mode of cultivation is chiefly found, these fields are carried gradually above each other in so many terraces, for the purpose of irrigation, the water admitted in the upper terrace inundating each of them in its descent. The tégal lands are appropriated to the culture of less important crops, such as the mountain rice, Indian corn, &c.

The vast superiority of the sáwah, or wet cultivation, over that of tégal, or dry, is shewn in their relative produce, and may be still further illustrated by a comparison of the rents which the two descriptions of land are calculated to afford. The quantity of tégal land, or land fit for maize, as compared with that of sáwah land, varies in different districts. In Chéribon, the tégal land, by the late survey, amounted only to 2,511, while the sáwan exceeded 16,000. In Tégal the proportions were even more widely varied, the number of jungs of the former to the latter being as 891 to 11,445. In Surabáya they were as 1,356 to 17,397; in Kedú and Besúki they were nearly equal, being respectively as 8,295 to 10,757, and as 6,369 to 7,862.

The succession of crops, next to the facility of irrigation, depends upon the quality of the soil, which in the native provinces is divided by the cultivators into three principal kinds, tána ládu, tána línchad, and tána pásir. The first is the best, consisting of rich vegetable mould, and a certain proportion of sand, and exists chiefly near the banks of large rivers; the second is almost pure clay, and is found in the central plains; and the third is alluvial, and covers the maritime districts. The term pádas péréng is applied to the oblique tracts enriched[Vol I Pg 129] with a fertile mould, which form the acclivities of hills, and from which the water readily disappears. Tána ládu will bear a constant succession of crops. Tána línchad yields only a single annual crop of rice: during the rainy season the soil constitutes a stiff mud, in which the plants find the requisite moisture and display all their luxuriance; when it is afterwards exposed to the rays of the sun, it bursts into extensive fissures, which admitting the scorching heat by which they were produced, become detrimental to every species of vegetation.

Besides the annual crop of rice which is raised on the sáwah lands, a variety of plants are raised upon them as a second or light crop within the same year. Among these are several species of káchang or bean, the cotton plant, the indigo, and a variety of cucumbers, &c. But the more generally useful and profitable vegetables require nearly the same period as the rice, and only yield their increase once in a season: they mostly grow in situations, on which the supply of water can be regulated, and a continued inundation prevented. Among the most important are the gúdé, káchang pénden, or káchang chína, káchang íju, kédéle, jágung or Indian corn, jágung chántel, jáwa-wút, jáli, wíjen, járak or palma christi, térong, and kéntang jáwa.

In tégal lands of high situations a particular method of planting is sometimes practiced, which produces a result similar to a succession of crops. Together with the rice are deposited the seeds of other vegetables, which arrive at maturity at different periods, chiefly after the rice harvest. The most common and useful among these is cotton; and, in some tracts, great quantities of this valuable product is thus obtained, without any exclusive allotment of the soil. Next to this are various leguminous and other plants, which do not interfere with the rice. No less than six or eight kinds of vegetables are sometimes in this manner seen to shoot up promiscuously in a single field.

Rice, however, as has been repeatedly observed, is the grand staple of Javan, as well as Indian cultivation, and to this every other species of husbandry is subordinate. The adjacent islands and states of Sumatra, Malacca, Borneo, Celebes, and the Moluccas, have always in a great measure[Vol I Pg 130] depended on the Javan cultivator for their supply, and the Dutch were in the habit of transporting an annual quantity of between six and eight thousand tons to Ceylon, to Coromandel, to the Cape, and their other settlements. Even at the low rate at which it generally sells, a revenue of near four million of rupees, or about half a million sterling, has been estimated as the government portion of its annual produce.

According to the modes of cultivation by which it has been reared, this grain is called pári sáwah, or pári gága; corresponding, with some exceptions, to the pádi sáwah, and pádi ládang of Sumatra. In the western, and particularly the Súnda districts, the term gága is changed for típar, the term gága, in these districts, being only occasionally applied to the grain which is cultivated on newly cleared mountainous spots.

The lowland and the mountain rice, or more correctly speaking, the rice raised in dry lands and the rice raised in lands subjected to inundation, are varieties of the same species (the oriza sativa of Linnæus) although both of them are permanent: but the rice planted on the mountainous or dry ground does not thrive on irrigated lands; nor, on the contrary, does the sáwah rice succeed on lands beyond the reach of irrigation. The mountain rice is supposed to contain in the same bulk more nourishment than the other, and is more palatable; but its use is limited to the less populous districts of the island, the greater proportion of the inhabitants depending exclusively on the produce of the sáwahs, or wet cultivation, for their support.

Stavorinus asserts, that the mountain rice is not so good as that of the low lands. Mr. Marsden informs us, on the contrary, that the former brings the higher price, and is considered of superior quality, being whiter, heartier, and better flavoured grain, keeping better, and increasing more in boiling. "The rice of the low lands," he says, "is more prolific from the seed, and subject to less risk in the culture; and on these accounts, rather than from its superior quality, is in more common use than the former." In general, the weightiest and whitest grain is preferred; a preference mentioned by Bontius, who includes in the character of the best rice its whiteness, its clearness of colour, and its preponderating weight, bulk for bulk. Dr. Horsfield con[Vol I Pg 131]ceives that Stavorinus formed his opinion in the low northern maritime districts of Java, and Mr. Marsden from a more extensive observation. Many intelligent natives state, that they prefer the mountain rice when they can procure it, on account of its whiteness, strength, and flavour; and that they are only limited in its use, by the impossibility of raising as much of it as can satisfy the general demand, all the mountain or dry rice not being sufficient to feed one-tenth of the population. In less populous countries, as in many parts of Sumatra, the inhabitants can easily subsist the whole of their numbers exclusively on mountain rice, or that produced on ládangs, which are fields reclaimed from ancient forests for the first time, and from which only one crop is demanded. The grain here, as in the mountain rice of Java, is highly flavoured and nutritious; but in countries where the population is crowded, where a scanty crop will not suffice, and where a continued supply of new land cannot be obtained, the peasantry must apply their labour to such grounds as admit of uninterrupted cultivation, and renew their annual fertility by periodical inundations, even although the produce is not so highly prized.

In the sáwahs of Java the fields are previously ploughed, inundated, and laboured by animals and hoeing, until the mould is converted into a semifluid mire: they then are considered fit to receive the young plants. No manure is ever used. Oil-cakes (búngkil), which are by some writers supposed to be used for this purpose generally, are only employed in the gardens about Batavia. One of the chief characteristics of the soil on Java, is an exemption from the necessity of requiring manure: on the sáwah lands, the annual inundation of the land is sufficient to renovate its vigour, and to permit constant cropping for a succession of years, without any observable impoverishment.

In the cultivation of the sáwahs, the plants are uniformly transplanted or removed from their first situation. In those of tégal or gága, they grow to maturity on the same spot where the seed was originally deposited, whether this be on high mountainous districts, or on low lands, the distinction of sáwah and gága depending exclusively not upon the situa[Vol I Pg 132]tion of the field, but in the mode of culture, whether wet or dry.

In raising rice in the sáwahs, inundation is indispensable till it is nearly ripe. The seed is first sown on a bed prepared for the purpose, about one month before the season for transplanting it, and the plant is during that time termed bíbit. Two methods are in use. According to the first, called úrit, the ears of pári are carefully disposed on the soft mud of the seed bed; in the second, called ng'éber, the separated seeds are thrown after the manner of broadcast in Europe. In by far the greatest portions of the island, the ground is prepared, the seed sown, and the plant removed, during the course of the rainy season, or between the months of November and March. In situations where a constant supply of water can be obtained from springs, rivulets, or rivers, two crops are produced in the course of twelve or fourteen months; but the advantage of double cropping, which exhausts the soil without allowing it time to recover, has been considered as very questionable. If in some situations commanding a supply of water, the earth is allowed to rest after the preceding harvest, during the latter end of the rainy season, and the transplantation made in the months of June and July, it generally yields more profitable crops than the common method of working the sáwah. This, which is termed gádu by the natives, has been recommended by the experience of European planters.

Irrigation is exclusively effected by conducting the water of rivers and rivulets from the more or less elevated spots in the vicinity, and in this respect, differs materially in its process from that of Bengal, for although considerable labour and ingenuity are exercised in detaining, regulating, and distributing the supply, by means of dams, called bandáng'ans, no machinery whatever is employed in raising water for agricultural purposes in any part of the island.

The rice grown on sáwahs, is of two kinds, pári génja and pári dálam. In the former, the harvest takes place four months after the transplantation; in the latter, six months. Pári génja having the advantage of a quicker growth, is therefore often planted when the rainy season is far advanced.[Vol I Pg 133] Pári dálam is more prolific, and yields a grain of superior quality, comprising those varieties in which the ears are longer and more compound. The varieties of each kind are distinct and permanent.

The subvarieties are very numerous, amounting, with those of kétan, to more than a hundred. Kétan is a distinct variety, with very glutinous seeds, seldom employed as an article of food, except in confections, cakes, and the like. Of the varieties of the pári génsha, mentik and anchar bántap are preferred. Of the pári dálam, those of krentúlan and súka nándi are most esteemed, being remarkably well flavoured and fit for keeping. S'lámat jáwa yields also rice of good quality. The bearded kinds of pári are always preferred for keeping, as the grains do not readily fall off. Near Súra-kérta, the principal native capital, close to the site of the former capital Kérta-súra, there is a peculiar tract inundated by water from a fountain at Píng'gíng, which is said to produce a grain of very superior flavour, from which the table of the Susuhúnan is supplied. Súka nándi is the kind uniformly preferred for these plantations.

For pári gága, whether in high or low situations, the ground is prepared by ploughing and harrowing, and the seed is planted after the manner called setting in some parts of England. The holes are made by pointed sticks, called pónchos, and into each hole two seeds are thrown. Only careless husbandmen, or those who cannot procure the requisite assistance in their labour, sow by broadcast. In high situations the earth is prepared before the rains commence: the seed is sown in the months of September or October, and the harvest takes place in January and February following. Gágas of low situations are planted about a month after the harvest of the sáwah is got in, and frequently receive temporary supplies of water from a neighbouring rivulet. In high situations, to which water cannot be carried, they are sufficiently moistened by the first rains of the season. During their growth, they receive several hoeings from the careful husbandman.

As the grain ripens, an elevated shed is frequently erected in the centre of a plantation, within which a child on the watch touches, from time to time, a series of cords extending[Vol I Pg 134] from the shed to the extremities of the field, like the radii of a circle, and by this cheap contrivance, and an occasional shout, prevents the ravages of birds, which would otherwise prove highly injurious to the crops. These little elevated sheds in the interior, and particularly in the district of Bányumás, are very neatly constructed of matting.

The reapers are uniformly paid, by receiving a portion of the crop which they have reaped: this varies in different parts of the island, from the sixth to the eighth part, depending on the abundance or scarcity of hands; when the harvest is general through a district, one-fifth or one-fourth is demanded by the reaper. In opposition to so exorbitant a claim, the influence of the great is sometimes exerted, and the labourer is obliged to be content with a tenth or a twelfth.

The grain is separated from the husk by pounding several times repeated. The first operation is generally performed in wooden troughs, in the villages near which it grows, and before it is brought to market. The pári being thus converted into bras or rice, afterwards receives repeated poundings, according to the condition or taste of the consumer.

With the exception of the rice raised in sáwahs, all other produce is cultivated on dry grounds, either on the sáwah fields during the dry season, or on tégal land, at all times exclusively appropriated to dry cultivation. The principal article next to rice, as affording food to man, is maize or Indian corn, termed jágung. It is general in every district of Java, but is more particularly an object of attention on Madúra, where, for want of mountain streams, the lands do not in general admit of irrigation. In the more populous parts of Java, likewise, where the sáwahs do not afford a sufficient supply of rice, the inhabitants have lately had recourse to the cultivation of maize. It is now rapidly increasing in those low ranges of hills, which, on account of the poverty of the soil, had hitherto been neglected, and is becoming more and more a favourite article of food. In the more eastern districts, it is procured from the inhabitants of Madúra in exchange for rice. It is generally roasted in the ear, and in that state is exposed while hot for public sale; but it is never reduced to flour, or stored for any considerable time.

The zea maize, or common jágung, is a hardy plant, and[Vol I Pg 135] grows on any soil. In common with every other production of Java it thrives there most luxuriantly; nor is there any reason to believe, that the Javan soil is less adapted to it than that of Spanish America, where Humboldt estimates its produce at a hundred and fifty fold. It is planted in fertile low lands in rotation with rice, and in high situations without intermission, often forming in the latter the chief, if not the only, support of the inhabitants. There are three different kinds, distinguished from each other by their respective periods of ripening. The first kind requires seven months, and is a large rich grain; the second takes only three, and is of inferior quality; and the third, which seems valuable only on account of its rapid growth, ripens in forty days, but has a poor small grain. They may be planted at all seasons of the year; and of the two inferior kinds, several crops are often raised from the same ground within the year.

Of other cerealia, the jágung chántel is raised very partially in particular districts, at no great distance from the capitals of the interior, and mostly for the purpose of preparing from it, by fermentation, a liquor sometimes drunk by the natives; as a general article of food it cannot be enumerated. The jáwa-wút and jáli are still more confined in their use; although the natives have a tradition, that on the first arrival of the Indian colonists on Java, the former was the only grain found on the island: it yields a pleasant pulp, and is made into several articles of confectionary. As a principal article of food, or a substitute for rice, Indian corn can alone be considered.

In times of scarcity, the natives make use of various kinds of the plantain (musa), also the yam (ubi of the Malays, and uwi of the Javans), the sweet potatoe, katélo (convolvulus batatas), the varieties of which are described in one of the early volumes of the Batavian Transactions, and a number of leguminous vegetables, the various kinds of beans (káchang), together with a species of grass with minute yellow seeds, called túton, which in ancient times is said to have formed a principal article of food, and the dried leaves of some other plants; but, happily, these times seldom occur, and the use of the jágung chántel and jáwa-wút, as well as of the various roots and leguminous vegetables to which I have alluded, is too limited to produce any sensible effects on the inhabitants.[Vol I Pg 136] Those natives who make use of the Indian corn exclusively, inhabit the highest districts, where the purity of the atmosphere counteracts any injury which their health might otherwise sustain from the want of rice.

From the áren (sagurus rumphii), which grows abundantly in many parts of Java, a substance is prepared, similar in all respects to the true sago of the Eastern Islands. It is particularly useful in times of scarcity, when large numbers of these valuable trees are felled, for the purpose of collecting the pith. The sap yields an excellent sugar of a dark colour, in common use with the natives. The wine or túwak (toddy) prepared from it is superior to that obtained from most other palms.

A very agreeable pulp is prepared from the pith of this tree, pounded with water, and exposed one night to spontaneous evaporation: it is eaten with palm sugar, and found by no means unpleasant by Europeans. The tuberous roots of a species of curcuma, tému láwak, grated and infused in water, yields a similar pulp. Both are denominated pátí, and daily offered for sale along the roads and in the interior.

All the varieties of the cocoa-tree, noticed on Sumatra, are to be found on Java, where its quicker and more luxuriant growth is accounted for by the superiority of soil. The principal varieties of the cocoa-nut are enumerated in one of the early volumes of the Batavian Transactions.

Of the oil-giving plants there are many. The káchang góring of the Malay countries, or, as it is indifferently termed by the Javans, káchang chína, pénden, or tána, is cultivated almost exclusively for the purpose of obtaining its oil, near the capitals of the principal districts, both central and maritime. It requires a very strong soil for its support, and as the cultivation is profitable, the lands which produce it yield high rents. It is never employed as an article of food by itself; but what remains of it after the oil is expressed, forms an ingredient for the seasoning of rice, in one of the common dishes of the natives. The oil is obtained by grinding the seeds between two grooved cylinders, and then separating it either by expression or boiling. The former is chiefly used by the Chinese, and yields as a refuse the oil-cakes, which I formerly observed were employed as manure in some of the gardens near Batavia. Where these cylinders are not in use, the fol[Vol I Pg 137]lowing mode is adopted: the nut having been taken from the ground, is dried by exposure to the sun for a few days; after which the kernel is extracted, and reduced, by successive beatings in the Javan lésung or mortar, to a grain sufficiently small to pass through a sieve; it is then boiled by steam, and having been allowed to cool for twenty-four hours, is put into a basket, and in that state placed between two oblong planks, which, being joined together at one extremity, are forced to meet at the other, on the principle of a lemon-squeezer. The oil exuding from the interstices of the basket is caught on an ox's hide, placed below to convey it to an earthen receiver.

The járak, or palma christi, is cultivated in nearly the same manner as maize, and thrives on similar soils: from this plant is obtained most of the oil for burning in lamps. In extracting the oil from this as well as from the cocoa-nut, various processes are employed, most of which tend to accelerate the rancidity of the oil. A pure cold drawn oil is not known. In the cocoa-nut, if the oil is obtained by expression, the broken nuts from which it is made are exposed till putrefaction commences. In other cases they are grated, and water being poured upon them, the parts mixed with it form sánten, a white milky fluid, which is evaporated till the oil alone remains. As this process requires much time and fuel, a more economical method is often resorted to: the milky fluid is left exposed for a night, when the oily parts rise to the top, and being separated from the water are purified by a very short boiling.

Of the sugar-cane, or according to the native term, tébu (the name by which it is designated, not only on Java, but throughout the Archipelago), there are several varieties. The dark purple cane, which displays the greatest luxuriance, and shoots to the length of ten feet, is the most highly prized. By the Javans the sugar-cane is only cultivated to be eaten in an unprepared state, as a nourishing sweetmeat. They are unacquainted with any artificial method of expressing from it the saccharine juice, and, consequently, with the first material part of the process by which it is manufactured into sugar. Satisfied with the nourishment or gratification which they procure from the plant as nature presents it, they leave[Vol I Pg 138] the complicated process to be conducted exclusively by the Chinese.

The cane, as in the West Indies, is propagated by cuttings of about a foot and a half long, which are inserted in the ground in an upright direction, previously to the setting in of the rains. The Chinese occasionally use oil-cake for enriching the lands; but where the plant is only raised for consumption in its fresh state, no manure whatever is thought requisite; and a good soil, without such preparation, will yield three or four crops in succession.

The cane is extensively cultivated for the juice in the vicinity of Batavia, where there are numerous manufactories, principally owned by the Chinese. It is also cultivated for this purpose in considerable tracts at Júpara and Pasúruan, and partially in other districts of the eastern provinces, where mills are established for expressing it. Previous to the disturbances in Chéribon, sugar likewise was manufactured in that district in considerable quantities, and furnished an important article of export.

The coffee-plant, which is only known on Java by its European appellation, and its intimate connexion with European despotism, was first introduced by the Dutch early in the eighteenth century, and has since formed one of the articles of their exclusive monopoly. The labour by which it is planted, and its produce collected, is included among the oppressions or forced services of the natives, and the delivery of it into the government stores, among the forced deliveries at inadequate rates. Previously to the year 1808, the cultivation of coffee was principally confined to the Súnda districts. There were but comparatively few plantations in the eastern districts, and the produce which they were capable of yielding did not amount to one-tenth part of the whole; but, under the administration of Marshal Daendels, this shrub usurped the soil destined for yielding the subsistence of the people; every other kind of cultivation was made subservient to it, and the withering effects of a government monopoly extended their influence indiscriminately throughout every province of the Island.

In the Súnda districts, each family was obliged to take[Vol I Pg 139] care of one thousand coffee plants; and in the eastern districts, where new and extensive plantations were now to be formed, on soils and in situations in many instances by no means favourable to the cultivation, five hundred plants was the prescribed allotment. No negligence could be practised in the execution of this duty: the whole operations of planting, cleaning, and collecting, continued to be conducted under the immediate superintendance of European officers, who selected the spot on which new gardens were to be laid out, took care that they were preserved from weeds and rank grass, and received the produce into store when gathered.

A black mould intermixed with sand, is considered the best soil for the coffee plant. In selecting a situation for the gardens, the steep declivities of mountains, where the plant would be endangered either by the too powerful heat of the sun or an entire want of it, or where torrents in the rainy season might wash away the rich earth necessary for its growth, are avoided. The best situation for them is usually considered to be in the vales along the foot of the high mountains, or on the gentle declivities of the low range of hills, with which the principal mountains are usually skirted; and it is found that, cæteris paribus, the greater is the elevation of the garden, the longer is the period of its productiveness, and the finer is the berry.

Having selected a proper spot for the garden, the first operation is to clear the ground of trees, shrubs, and the rank grass or reeds, the latter of which, termed galúga, are often found in these situations, and generally indicate a rich soil. In clearing the ground, it is the practise to collect together into heaps, and burn the trees, roots, and other rubbish found on it, the ashes of which serve to enrich the soil: when the trees are very large, the heavy labour of rooting them up is avoided, and the trunks being cut about five feet from the ground, are left in that state to rot, and in their gradual decay still further to enrich the land. As soon as the ground is thus cleared, it is levelled by three or four ploughings at short intervals, and laid out to receive the plants. A fence is planted round them, about twelve feet from their outer row, generally of the júrak, or palma christi, intermixed with either the dádap, or the silk cotton tree; and, in low situations, out[Vol I Pg 140]side of this a ditch is dug to carry off the water. These operations commence in August or September, and by the time the ground is in perfect readiness for planting, the heavy rains are nearly over. It then only remains to select the young plants, and prepare the dádap which is intended to shade them.

Of the dádap tree there are three kinds; the seráp, dóri, and wáru: but the first is preferred on account of the greater shade it affords. It is propagated by cuttings, and in selecting them for the coffee plantations, care is had that they are taken from trees at least two or three years old, and that they be three or four feet long, of which one foot at least must be buried in the ground. After the dádaps are planted, holes are dug, from a foot and a half to two feet deep, for the reception of the coffee plant, which is then removed from the seed place or nursery, and transplanted into the gardens.

In coffee gardens of four or five years old, are found quantities of young plants, that have sprung up spontaneously from the ripe berries dropping off the trees, and when these can be obtained about fourteen inches long, of a strong healthy stem, large leaves, and without branches, they are preferred to others: but as the plants thus procured are seldom found in sufficient quantities, nurseries for rearing them are formed as follows: When the berries are allowed to remain on the shrub after maturity, they become black and dry: in this state they are plucked, and sown in seed beds lightly covered with earth: as soon as two small leaves appear, the plants are taken from the bed, and transplanted, about a foot asunder, under the cover of sheds prepared for that purpose; in about eighteen months, these plants are fit for removing into the garden or plantation where they are destined to yield their fruit. In taking the young plant up, the greatest care is necessary not to injure the roots, especially the tap root, and with this view it is generally removed with as much earth attached to it as possible. This precaution has the additional advantage of not too suddenly bringing the plant in contact with a new soil.

The plantations are generally laid out in squares. The distance between each plant varies according to the fertility of the soil: in a soil not considered fertile, a distance of six feet[Vol I Pg 141] is preserved, and in each interval is a dádap tree for the purpose of affording shade; but in a rich soil, where the plant grows more luxuriantly, fewer dádaps are necessary, and the plants are placed at a greater distance from each other.

On Java a certain degree of shade seems necessary to the health of the coffee-plant, especially in low situations and during its early age; and the dádap is found better calculated for affording this protection than any other shrub in the country. It is a common saying, that where the dádap flourishes, there also will flourish the coffee: but they are not always constant or necessary companions; for in high lands many of the most flourishing gardens are to be observed with very few dádaps. The coffee tree yields fruit for a period of twenty years, yet in the low lands it seldom attains a greater age than nine or ten years (during six or seven of which only it may be said to bear), and the fruit is comparatively large and tasteless.

About the end of the rainy season, such coffee plants and dádaps as have not thriven are replaced by others, and the plantations cleaned: this latter operation, in gardens well kept, is generally performed three or four times in the year: but the tree is never cut or pruned, and is universally allowed to grow in all its native luxuriance. In this state, it often in favoured situations attains the height of sixteen feet, and plants of not less than eight inches broad have frequently been procured from the trunk. The general average produce of a coffee-tree is not estimated at much more than a káti, or a pound and a quarter English, notwithstanding some yield from twenty to thirty kátis.

There does not appear to be any fixed or certain season for the coffee to arrive at maturity. In the Súnda districts the gathering usually commences in June or July, and it is not till April that the whole crop is delivered into store. The season, however, generally gives what is termed three crops; of which the first is but small, the second the most abundant, and the third, being what is left to ripen, may be considered rather as a gleaning. When the berries become of a dark crimson colour, they are plucked one by one, with the assistance of a light bámbu ladder or stage, great care being taken not to shake off the blossoms which are still on the tree, or to[Vol I Pg 142] pluck the unripe fruit. The women and children usually collect the crop, while the husband is elsewhere engaged in harder labour. Attached to every principal village, near which there are coffee plantations of any extent, there is a drying-house, to which the newly gathered coffee is brought: it is there placed on hurdles, about four feet from the floor, under which a slow wood fire is kept up during the night. The roof of the drying-house is opened in the mornings and evenings, to admit the air, and the berries are frequently stirred to prevent fermentation. As the heat of the sun is considered prejudicial, the roof of the house is closed during the day. This operation is repeated till the husk is quite dry. The berries dried in this way are small, and of a sea green or greyish colour, and are supposed to acquire a peculiar flavour from the smoke, although it does not appear that any particular kind of wood is used for fuel. When dried in the sun, the bean becomes of a pale bleached colour, is larger, specifically lighter, and more insipid to the taste than the former. The most common mode of freeing the bean from the husk is, to pound the berries when dry in a bag of buffalo's hide, great care being taken not to bruise the bean. A mill of simple construction is sometimes used, but is not found to answer so well. The coffee being then separated from the husk, is put into bags or baskets, and kept on raised platforms till the season of delivery, when it is carried down to the storehouse, sometimes by men, but generally on the backs of buffaloes and mares, in strings of fifteen hundred or two thousand at a time.

In the Súnda districts there have been, for many years past, three principal depôts for receiving the coffee from the cultivators; viz. at Buitenzorg, Chikàn, and Karang-sámbang. From Buitenzorg it is either sent direct to Batavia by land in carts, or by the way of Linkong, whence it is forwarded in boats by the river Chi-dáni. From Chikàn the coffee is sent in boats down the river Chi-táram, and thence along the sea-coast to Batavia. From Karang-sámbang it is sent down the river Chi-mánok to Indra-máyu, where it is received into extensive warehouses, and whence it is now generally exported for the European market.

Under this system, the Súnda districts were estimated to[Vol I Pg 143] afford an annual produce of one hundred thousand píkuls of one hundred and thirty-three pounds and a quarter each, and it was calculated that the young plantations in the eastern districts, when they should come into bearing, would produce an equal quantity; but in this latter quarter, many of the gardens had been fixed on ill-judged spots, and the inhabitants were averse to the new and additional burden which this cultivation imposed upon their labour. Had the system, therefore, even been persevered in, and enforced by a despotic authority, it is questionable, whether the quantity anticipated in the above estimate, or even one half of it, would have been obtained from the eastern districts. The Súndas living in an inland and mountainous country, and having been long accustomed to the hardship of the coffee culture, are less sensible of its pressure than the rest of their countrymen: time and habit have reconciled them to what was at first revolting, and what must always be considered as unjust; their modes of life, their arts, their domestic economy, and other social habits, have all adapted themselves to a species of labour, which was at first forced upon them; and a state of servitude, which the philosopher would lament as a degradation, is scarcely felt to be a grievance by them. Instances, however, are not wanting, in which the usual measure of exaction having been surpassed, they have been awakened to a sense of their wretchedness. A government of colonial monopolists, eager only for profit, and heedless of the sources from which it was derived, sometimes subjected its native subjects to distresses and privations, the recital of which would shock the ear of humanity. Suffice it to say, that the coffee culture in the Súnda districts has sometimes been so severely exacted, that together with the other constant and heavy demands made by the European authority on the labour of the country, they deprived the unfortunate peasants of the time necessary to rear food for their support. Many have thus perished by famine, while others have fled to the crags of the mountains, where raising a scanty subsistence in patches of gánga, or oftener dependent for it upon the roots of the forest, they congratulated themselves on their escape from the reach of their oppressors. Many of these people, with their descendants, remain in these haunts to the present time: in their annual migrations from hill to[Vol I Pg 144] hill, they frequently pass over the richest lands, which still remain uncultivated and invite their return; but they prefer their wild independence and precarious subsistence, to the horrors of being again subjected to forced services and forced deliveries at inadequate rates.

It is difficult to say what was the recompense received by the cultivator previous to the year 1808. The complicated system of accounts which then prevailed, seemed only calculated to blind the government, and to allow the European commissary to derive an income of from eighty to one hundred thousand dollars (25,000l. per annum), at the expence of the authorities by whom he was employed, and the natives whom he oppressed. This, in common with most of the establishments on the island, underwent a revision in the time of Marshal Daendels; and it was then directed, that the cultivators should receive on delivery at the storehouses, three rix-dollars copper for each mountain píkul of two hundred and twenty-five pounds Dutch, being little more than one dollar per hundred weight, or one half-penny per pound. This same coffee was sometimes sold at Batavia, within fifty miles of the spot where it was raised, at twenty Spanish dollars the hundred weight, and has seldom been known to bring in the European market less than eleven pence the pound. This, however, was deemed a liberal payment by the Dutch, though in some cases it had been transported over sixty miles of an almost impassable country, where two men are required to carry a hundred-weight of coffee, on their shoulders, at an expence of labour which one would suppose at least equal to this remuneration.

Under the administration of the British government, the free cultivation of coffee, in common with that of all other articles, was permitted to the inhabitants of Bantam, Chéribon, and all the eastern districts; and at the time when the island was again ceded to the Dutch, arrangements were in progress for extending the same provision throughout the Súnda districts, under a conviction, that the quantity produced would not be less under a system of free cultivation and free trade, than under a system in which it was found necessary, as one of the first acts of European authority, to compel the native princes to direct "the total annihilation of the coffee culture within their[Vol I Pg 145] dominions," and to secure by treaty with them the destruction and confiscation of all coffee found in the hands of the natives[46]. A considerable portion of the peasantry, as already observed, have long been accustomed to the cultivation, and it is owing to their skill and experience, as much as to any direct superintendence or interference of the European officers (who generally derive their information from the native chiefs, and have little more to do, than occasionally to ride through the garden with a pompous suite, keep the accounts, and examine the coffee as it is received), that the coffee has so long been furnished for the European market; the experience obtained in the eastern districts, during the last three years, proves at least that coercive measures are unnecessary. There are many parts of Java, particularly the Príang'en regencies, where the soil is peculiarly and eminently adapted to the cultivation; and although it is difficult yet awhile to fix the exact rate at which the coffee might be produced under a free system, it may be calculated to be raised for exportation at about forty shillings per hundred weight.

Of the quality of the Javan coffee, in comparison with that of other countries, it may be observed, that during the last years, it has invariably maintained its price in the European market in competition with that of Bourbon, and rather exceeded it, both of them being higher than the produce of the West Indies. During the last years of the British administration on Java, and after the opening of the European market again afforded a demand, about eleven millions of young coffee shrubs were planted out in new gardens.

Pepper, which at one time formed the principal export from Java, has for some time ceased to be cultivated to any considerable extent. It was principally raised in Bantam, and the dependencies of that province in the southern part of Sumatra; and in the flourishing state of the monopoly, these districts furnished the Dutch with the chief supply for the European market.

But the system by which it was procured was too oppressive and unprincipled in its nature, and too impolitic in its provisions, to admit of long duration. It was calculated to[Vol I Pg 146] destroy the energies of the country, and with them, the source from whence the fruits of this monopoly proceeded. In the year 1811, accordingly, neither Bantam nor its dependencies furnished the European government with one pound of this article.

That pepper may be produced on Java, and supplied at a rate equally moderate with that at which other productions requiring similar care are furnished, cannot admit of a doubt, and this reasonable price may be estimated at about six or seven Spanish dollars (thirty to thirty-five shillings) the píkul. The plant grows luxuriantly in most soils, and when once reared requires infinitely less care and labour than coffee. The cultivation of it on Sumatra and Prince of Wales' Island having been so accurately and minutely described by Mr. Marsden and Dr. Hunter, it would be unnecessary here to detail the system followed on Java, as it is in most points the same. The only peculiarity regarding it which may deserve notice is, that on this island the plant is allowed to grow to a much greater size, entwining itself round the cotton trees, frequently to the height of fifty and sixty feet.

Indigo, called tom by the Javans, and by the Súndas tárum, is general, and raised in most parts of the island. The indigo prepared by the natives is of an indifferent quality, and in a semifluid state, and contains much quick-lime; but that prepared by Europeans is of very superior quality.

An inferior variety, denominated tom-ménir, having smaller seeds, and being of quicker growth, is usually planted as a second crop in sáwahs, on which one rice crop has been raised. In these situations, the plant rises to the height of about three feet and a half. It is then cut, and the cuttings are repeated three, or even four times, till the ground is again required for the annual rice crop. But the superior plant, when cultivated on tégal lands, and on a naturally rich soil, not impoverished by a previous heavy crop, rises in height above five feet, and grows with the greatest luxuriance. The plants intended for seeds are raised in favoured spots on the ridges of the rice fields in the neighbourhood of the villages, and the seed of one district is frequently exchanged for that of another. That of the rich mountainous districts being esteemed of best quality, is occasionally introduced into the[Vol I Pg 147] low lands, and is thought necessary to prevent that degeneration, which would be the consequence of cultivating for a long time the same plant upon the same soil. In the province of Matárem, where indigo is most extensively cultivated, it is sold in the market in bundles, as low as eight-pence the píkul weight; but in the vicinity of Semárang, and in districts where it is not produced in great abundance, it bears an advance upon this price of fifty per cent.

The climate, soil, and state of society on Java, seem to offer peculiar advantages to the extensive cultivation of this plant; and under the direction of skilful manufacturers, the dye stuff might form a most valuable and important export for the European market. The periodical draughts and inundations, which confine the cultivation and manufacture in the Bengal provinces to a few months in the year, are unknown in Java, where the plant might, in favoured situations, be cultivated nearly throughout the whole year, and where at least it would be secure of a prolonged period of that kind of weather, necessary for the cutting. The soil is superior, and a command of water affords facilities seldom to be met with elsewhere; while, from the tenure on which the cultivators hold their land, and the state of society among them, advances on account of the ensuing crop, which in Bengal form so ruinous a part of an indigo concern, are here unnecessary, and would be uncalled for.

The dye (níla blue) is prepared by the natives in a liquid state, by infusing the leaves with a quantity of lime: in this state it forms by far the principal dye of the country. Besides the quantity of it consumed within the island, it is sometimes exported to neighbouring countries by native traders, and sold at the rate of from a dollar and a half to three dollars the píkul, according as the plant may be in abundance or otherwise.

It is impossible to form any idea of the rate at which this species of dye can reasonably be manufactured for the European market, from the prices paid by the Dutch, both because the article was one of those classed by them under the head of forced deliveries, and because the regents, who were entrusted with its exclusive management, not fully under[Vol I Pg 148]standing the process of making it, conducted it always in a very expensive way, and were frequently exposed to entire failures.

The cotton of the country, distinguished by the name of kápas jáwa, is a variety of the gossypium herbaceum; but it is inferior to that generally cultivated on the Indian continent, which is also found on Java, and called by the Javans kápas múri. The plant of the former differs from the latter, in having a smaller stem, and in yielding a material, both of coarser fibre and in less quantity. There is a third variety, with a subarborescent stem, called kápas táhon, which is very scarce. Trials remain to be made, to determine how far the culture of the Indian cotton might be extended, so as to supersede the Javan cotton. The inferior kind, which forms the principal, and indeed with the mass of the people the only material for clothing, is cultivated in almost every part of the island. The soil, however, is not considered as universally favourable to its growth: many of the low lands, consisting of a clay, which bursts in the dry season, are unfit for it; and on several of the more fertile districts, where the plant itself flourishes, little cotton is obtained from it: the declivities of the hills, in which the mountain rice is raised, yield in general the best and most abundant supply. At present, scarcely a sufficient quantity is produced on the island to employ the female part of the inhabitants; and one district often depends upon another for the principal part of what it uses. The cotton of Bányumás is exported to Bágalen, to Tégal, and the western parts of Matárem, where it is manufactured; the environs of Wong'go, Adi-langú, and other places towards the southern hills, supply both the capitals in the interior; Kediri, Pranárága, and the vicinity, likewise furnish considerable quantities for other parts of the island. In the Súnda districts, the principal supply is received from the east and west Jámpang. The culture of cotton, and the manufacture of yarn, are in some degree promoted by an ancient custom, which imposes on every householder or village a certain contingent of cotton yarn for the sovereign, or for the person who holds the land on his account: this custom is called panyúmpleng. The chiefs on Java, and particularly on Báli, frequently wear a[Vol I Pg 149] skein of cotton yarn entwined round the handle of the kris; a custom which sufficiently indicates the respect paid to this species of cultivation.

The Javan cotton is a hardy plant, which grows to about the height of a foot and a half. It is generally planted on the sáwahs after the reaping of the rice crop, and yields the cotton in less than three months. The Indian cotton grows to a larger size, and produces a material of an infinitely superior quality; but it is more delicate in its nature, must be watched with greater care, and requires a month longer to attain to maturity. Cotton cultivated on tégal, or dry land, is considered as generally better than that raised as a second crop on sáwah; and this mode of cultivation has been adduced as the cause of the superiority ascribed to the cotton of Bâli, and other more eastern islands.

Tobacco,[47] termed by the natives tombáku, or sáta, is an article of very general cultivation, but is only extensively raised for exportation in the central districts of Kedú and Bányumás: as it requires a soil of the richest mould, but at the same time not subject to inundations, these districts hold out peculiar advantages to the tobacco-planter, not to be found on the low lands. For internal consumption, small quantities are raised in convenient spots every where; but the most eastern districts and Madúra are principally supplied from Púgar. Bantam receives its supply from Bányumás, by means of native traders from Pakalúngan visiting that port in small craft. The produce of Kedú is conveyed by men to Semárang, the great port of exportation.

In Kedu it forms, after rice, by far the most important article of cultivation; and, in consequence of the fitness of the soil, the plant grows to the height of from eight to ten feet, on lands not previously dressed or manured, with a luxuriance[Vol I Pg 150] seldom witnessed in India. Cultivated here alternately with rice, only one crop of either is obtained within the year; but after the harvest of the rice, or the gathering of the tobacco-leaves, the land is allowed to remain fallow, till the season again arrives for preparing it to receive the other. The young plant is not raised within the district, but procured from the high lands in the vicinity; principally from the district of Káli-béber, on the slope of the mountain Díeng or Práhu, where it is raised and sold by the hundred to the cultivators of the adjoining districts. The transplantation takes place in the month of June, and the plant is at its full growth in October.

Wheat has been introduced by the Europeans, and cultivated with success to the extent required by the European population. It thrives in many parts of the interior of the country: it is sown in May, and reaped in October; and, where the cultivation has been left to the Javans, the grain has been sold at the rate of about seven rupees the píkul.

Potatoes have been cultivated during the last forty years, in elevated situations, near all the principal European establishments, and are reckoned of a quality superior to those ordinarily procured in Bengal or China. Few of the natives, however, have as yet adopted them as a common article of food. Besides potatoes, most of the common culinary vegetables of Europe are raised in the gardens of the Europeans and Chinese. It must be confessed, however, that they degenerate, if perpetuated on the soil without change; and that their abundance and quality depends, in a great measure, on the supplies of fresh seed imported from Europe, the Cape, or other quarters.

Having now given an account of the different kinds of produce raised within the island, and the arts of husbandry practised by the natives, I shall conclude this short sketch of Javan agriculture by an account of the tenure of landed property, the rights of the proprietor and tenant, the proportion of the produce paid for rent, the division of farms among the inhabitants of villages, and the causes that have obstructed or promoted agricultural improvements.

The relative situation, rank, and privileges of the village farmer and the native chief in Java, correspond in most in[Vol I Pg 151]stances, with those of the Ryot and Zemindar of Bengal; but the more frequent and more immediate interference of the sovereign, in the former case, with any tendency to established usage or prescriptive claim, has left no room for that difference of opinion, concerning proprietary right, which exercised the ingenuity of the highest authorities in the latter. In Bengal, before the introduction of the permanent revenue settlement, there were usages, institutions, and established modes of proceeding with regard to landed estates, that rendered it doubtful in which of the three parties more immediately interested, the proprietary right should finally and lawfully be settled. The claim of the Ryot to retain the land which he cultivated, so long as he paid the stipulated contribution, seemed to raise his character above that of an ordinary tenant removeable at pleasure, or at the conclusion of a stipulated term. The situation of the Zemindar, as the actual receiver of the rents, standing between the sovereign and the cultivator, although merely for the purpose of paying them over with certain deductions to the sovereign, and his frequently transmitting the office with its emoluments to his children, although held only during pleasure, gave his character some affinity to that of an European landholder. And lastly, the sovereign himself, who ultimately received the rents, and regulated them at his pleasure, and removed both Zemindar and Ryot, in case of negligence or disobedience, was arrayed with the most essential attributes of proprietary right, or at least exercised a power that could render any opposite claims nugatory. Thus the Ryot, the Zemindar, and the Sovereign, had each his pretensions to the character of landholder. After much cautious inquiry and deliberate discussion on the part of our Indian government, the claims of the Zemindars, rather perhaps from considerations of policy than a clear conviction of their superior right, were preferred. In Java, however, except in the cases of a few alienated lands and in the Súnda districts, of which more will be said hereafter, no such pretensions are heard of, as those which were advocated on the part of the Zemindars of western India; although inquiries to ascertain the equitable and legitimate rights of all classes of the people, were known to be in progress, and a plan was declared to be in contemplation for their permanent adjustment. From every[Vol I Pg 152] inquiry that was instituted under the British government, and every fact that was presented to the view of its officers, it appeared that, in the greatest part of the island, in the eastern and middle districts, and in short in those provinces where rent to any considerable amount was attainable, there existed no proprietary right between that of the sovereign and that of the cultivator, that the government was the only landholder.

There are lands, indeed, which contribute nothing to the state, some on which the cultivator pays no rent whatever, and others of which the rent remains in the hands of his immediate superior; but the manner in which individuals acquire, and the tenure by which they hold such lands, form illustrations and proofs of the proprietary right of the sovereign. As his resources arise almost entirely from the share of produce which he exacts, and as he considers himself invested with an absolute dominion over that share, he burthens certain villages or estates with the salaries of particular officers, allots others for the support of his relatives or favourites, or grants them for the benefit of particular charitable or religious institutions; in the same manner as, before the Consolidation Act in this country, the interest of particular loans were fixed upon the produce of specific imposts. Here the alienation shews the original right: the sovereign renounces the demand to which he was entitled; he makes no claim upon the farmer for a share of the crop himself, but orders it to be paid over to those whom he thus appoints in his place, so far as the gift extends. With the exception of the Súnda districts, as already stated, and a comparatively inconsiderable portion of land thus alienated on different conditions, the proprietary right to the soil in Java vests universally in the government, whether exercised by native princes or by colonial authority, and that permanent and hereditary interest in it so necessary to its improvement, those individual rights of property which are created by the laws and protected by the government, are unknown. With these exceptions, neither law nor usage authorizes the oldest occupant of land in Java to consider the ground which he has reclaimed from waste, or the farm on which he has exerted all his industry, as his own, by such a tenure as will enable him, and his successors for ever, to reap the fruits of his labour. He can have[Vol I Pg 153] gained no title, even to a definite term of occupancy, but from the capricious servant of a capricious despot, who himself is not legally bound by his engagement, and whose successor is not even morally bound by it.

As a matter of convenience, the same cultivator may continue to occupy the same portion of land for life, and his children, after his decease, may inherit the ground which he cultivated, paying the dues to which he was liable. The head of a village, whether called Búkul, Peting'gi, or Lúrah, may be continued in the collection of the village rents for life, and may be succeeded in office by his heirs; the superior officer, or Demáng, with whom he accounts, may likewise hold his situation for a long period, and transmit it to his family; but none of them can stand in the possession against the will of their immediate superior, or of the sovereign, by any claim of law or custom.

Little of the revenue collected from the occupants is transmitted to the government treasury; the greatest part of that which is raised, and which, in other countries, would come into the hands of government, for subsequent distribution among its servants and the support of its various establishments, is intercepted in its progress by those to whom the sovereign immediately assigns it. The officers of police, of justice, of the prince's household, and, in short, public servants of all classes, from the prime minister down to the lowest menial, are paid with appropriations of the rent of land.

To this general principle of Javan law and usage, that the government is the only landholder, there are exceptions, as I mentioned before, in some districts of the island. These are chiefly in the districts inhabited by the Súndas, who occupy the mountainous and woody country in the western division of the island. Among them, private property in the soil is generally established; the cultivator can transmit his possession to his children: among them, it can be subdivided, without any interference on the part of a superior; the possessor can sell his interest in it to others, and transfer it by gift or covenant. He pays to his chief a certain proportion of the produce, in the same manner as the other inhabitants of Java; because, in a country without trade or manufactures,[Vol I Pg 154] labour or produce is the only shape in which he can contribute to support the necessary establishments of the community. So long as he advances this tribute, which is one-tenth or one-fifth of the gross produce, he has an independent right to the occupancy of his land, and the enjoyment of the remainder. The reason why the landed tenure of these districts differs, in so important a particular, from that of the most extensive and valuable part of the island, may perhaps be explained from their nature, without resorting to any original difference in the laws of property, or the maxims of government. Where the population is small in proportion to the extent of soil, and much land remains unoccupied, the best only will become the subject of demand and appropriation. The latter alone is valuable, because it yields great returns for little labour, and therefore offers inducements to engage in its cultivation, in spite of many artificial disadvantages: it alone can afford a desirable surplus, after maintaining the hands that call for its fertility, and consequently tempts power to reserve unalienated the right to this surplus. On the other hand, when waste ground is to be reclaimed, when forests or jungle are to be cleared, or when a sterile and ungrateful spot is to be cultivated, the government have less interest in reserving the surplus, and must offer superior inducements of immunity, permanency, or exemption, to lead to cultivation. On this principle, the tenure of land in the Súnda districts, and on some parts of the coast, may be accounted for. It may be concluded, that many of these lands were reclaimed from waste by the present occupiers or their immediate predecessors, and their rights to possess them, which is similar to that which the discoverer of an unappropriated field, forest, or mine would have, by nature, to as many of their products as he could realize by his labours, has not been crushed or interfered with by the sovereign; a forbearance, probably, more to be attributed to motives of prudence than to the restraint of law. Nearly coincident with this conclusion is the supposition which assumes, that before the introduction of the Mahomedan system, and the encroachments of despotic sovereigns, all the lands on the island were considered as the property of those who cultivated them; but that, as the value of the most fertile spots became more appa[Vol I Pg 155]rent, while the labour which had been originally expended in clearing them, and constituted the title to their original occupancy, was gradually forgotten, the government found inducements and facilities to increase its demands, and thus became possessed of the rights of some by violence, while it rendered those of all unworthy of being preserved. The land tenures of the Súnda districts, according to this hypothesis, are only wrecks of the general system, which have been protected against encroachment, because they did not so powerfully invite rapacity. Whatever truth there may be in this opinion, the fact is undoubted, that in the mountainous and less fertile districts of Java, and in the island of Báli, where the Mahomedan sway has not yet extended, individual proprietary right in the soil is fully established, while in that portion of Java where the Mahomedan rule has been most felt, and where proprietary right amounts to the greatest value, it vests almost exclusively in the sovereign.

The situation, however, of the cultivator in the Sunda districts, who is a proprietor, is not much more eligible than that of the tenant of the government: he may, it is true, alienate or transfer his lands, but while he retains them, he is liable to imposts almost as great as they can bear; and when he transfers them, he can therefore expect little for surrendering to another the privilege of reaping from his own soil, what is only the average recompense of labour expended on the estate of another. The Revenue Instructions, therefore, bearing date the 11th February 1814, and transmitted from the local government to the officers intrusted with the charge of the several provinces subject to its authority, lay down the following general position: "The nature of the landed tenure throughout the island is now thoroughly understood. Generally speaking, no proprietary right in the soil is vested in any between the actual cultivator and the sovereign; the intermediate classes, who may have at any time enjoyed the revenues of villages or districts, being deemed merely the executive officers of government, who received these revenues from the gift of their lord, and who depended on his will alone for their tenure. Of this actual proprietary right there can be no doubt that the investiture rested solely in the sovereign; but it is equally certain, that the[Vol I Pg 156] first clearers of the land entitled themselves, as a just reward, to such a real property in the ground they thus in a manner created, that while a due tribute of a certain share of its produce was granted to the sovereign power for the protection it extended, the government, in return, was equally bound not to disturb them or their heirs in its possession. This disposal of the government share was thus, therefore, all that could justly depend on the will of the ruling authority; and consequently, the numerous gifts of land made in various periods by the several sovereigns, have in no way affected the rights of the actual cultivators. All that government could alienate was merely its own revenue or share of the produce. This subject has come fully under discussion, and the above result, as regarding this island, has been quite satisfactorily established." It is remarked, in a subsequent paragraph of the same instructions, "that there have been, it is known, in many parts of the country, grants from the sovereign of lands in perpetuity, which are regularly inheritable, and relative to which the original documents still exist. Of these, some have been made for religious purposes, others as rewards or provision for relatives or the higher nobility. These alienations, as far as it was justly in the power of the sovereign to make, must certainly be held sacred; but their extent should be clearly defined, that the rights of others be not compromised by them. The government share, when granted, will not be reclaimed; but the rights of the cultivator must not be affected by these grants. Such proprietors of revenue, as they may be termed, shall in short be allowed to act, with regard to the cultivators on their estates, as government acts towards those on its own lands, that is, they shall receive a fixed share of the produce, but whilst that is duly delivered, they shall neither exact more nor remove any individual from his land." It is remarked by Major Yule, the British resident, in his Report on Bantam, that there, "all property in the soil is vested exclusively in the hands of the sovereign power; but in consequence of its having been long customary to confer grants of land upon the different branches of the royal family, and other chiefs and favourites about court, a very small portion was left without some claimant[Vol I Pg 157] or other. The púsákas granted to the relations of the Sultan were considered as real property, and sometimes descended to the heirs of the family, and at others were alienated from it by private sale. To effect a transfer of this nature, the previous sanction of the Sultan was necessary, after which the party waited on the high priest, or Mangku-bumi, who made the necessary inquiries, and delivered the title deeds to the purchaser, in which were specified the situation, extent, boundaries, and price of the land sold. A register of sales was kept by the priests, the purchaser paying the fees; and it rarely occurred that lands sold in this manner were ever resumed by the crown, without some adequate compensation being made to the purchaser. Púsákas given to chiefs for services performed, were recoverable again at pleasure, and always reverted to the crown on the demise of the chief to whom they had been granted: in all other respects, the same privileges were annexed to them as to the former. The holders of púsáka lands were very seldom the occupants; they generally remained about the court, and on the approach of the rice harvest deputed agents to collect their share of the crop. They do not let their lands for specific periods. The cultivators are liable to be turned out at pleasure, and when ejected, have no claims to compensation for improvements made while in possession, such as water-courses, or plantations of fruit trees made by themselves or their parents."

"We must make a distinction," say the Dutch Commissioners appointed to investigate this subject in 1811, "between the Príangén regencies, the province of Chéribon, and the eastern districts. Throughout the whole extent of the Príangen regencies exists a pretended property on uncultivated lands, on which no person can settle without the consent of the inhabitants of that désa, or village. In the sáwah fields, or cultivated lands, every inhabitant, from the Regent down to the lowest rank, has a share, and may act with it in what manner he pleases, either sell, let, or otherwise dispose of it, and loses that right only by leaving the village in a clandestine manner.

"In the province of Chéribon, according to the ancient[Vol I Pg 158] constitution, each district and désa, like the Príangen regencies, has its own lands; with the difference, however, that whilst those regencies are considered as belonging to villages and individuals, here the villages and lands are altogether the pretended property of the chiefs, or of the relations or favourites of the Sultans, who even might dispose of the same, with one exception, however, of that part allotted to the common people. Sometimes the Sultans themselves were owners of désas and chiefs of the same; in which case the inhabitants were better treated than in the former instances. If an individual thought himself wronged by the chief, who either sold, hired out, or otherwise disposed of his lands, he took his revenge, not on that chief, but on the person who held possession of the property. To corroborate this statement it may be mentioned, that the lands in the district of Chéribon were for the most part farmed out to Chinese, who increased their extortions in proportion as the chief raised his farm or rent, and thus almost deprived the common people of all their means.

"On the north-east coast of the eastern districts, no person can be called a proprietor of rice fields or other lands: the whole country belongs to government, and in this light do all the Regents consider it. The rice fields of a regency are divided among the whole of the population: in the division the chiefs have a share, according to their rank, occupations, or taxes they are paying.

"The chief enjoys his lands as long as he holds his station; the common people for a year only, when it falls to the share of another inhabitant of the désa, or village, that all may reap a benefit from it in turn. The ideas of the Javans concerning tenures, thus appear to be of three kinds: in the Súnda division they consist in allotting to the villages of uncultivated, and to individual persons of certain portions in the cultivated or sáwah fields: in Chéribon, the sultans and chiefs, as well as the common people, assert pretensions to similar allotments: in the eastern districts, on the contrary, nobody pretends to the possession of land; every one is satisfied with the regulation laid down, but if a man's share is withheld, he is apt to emigrate. No person considers himself bound to servitude. The Javans, however,[Vol I Pg 159] in the Príang'en regencies, in Chéribon, and in the eastern districts, pretend to have an unquestionable right to all the fruit trees and síri plants, at or near their kámpung or désa."

"There is not," says Mr. Knops, another of the Dutch Commissioners, "a single Javan, who supposes that the soil is the property of the Regent, but they all seem to be sensible that it belongs to government, usually called the sovereign among them; considering the Regent as a subject like themselves, who holds his district and authority from the sovereign. His idea of property is modified by the three kinds of subjects to which it is applied: rice fields, gâgas, and fruit trees. A Javan has no rice fields he can call his own; those of which he had the use last year will be exchanged next year for others. They circulate (as in the regency of Semárang) from one person to another, and if any one were excluded, he would infallibly emigrate. It is different with the gágas, or lands where dry rice is cultivated: the cultivator who clears such lands from trees or brushwood, and reclaims them from a wilderness, considers himself as proprietor of the same, and expects to reap its fruits without diminution or deduction. With regard to fruit trees, the Javan cultivator claims those he has planted as his legal property, without any imposts: if a chief were to trespass against this right, the village would soon be deserted. The Javan, however, has not, in my opinion, any real idea of property even in his fruit trees, but usage passes with him for a law. All dispositions made by the chief, not contrary to custom or the ádat, are considered as legal, and likewise all that would contribute to ease the people, by lessening or reducing the capitation tax, the contingent, the feudal services, in short all the charges imposed upon them. A different system would be contrary to custom. Whatever favours the people is legal, whatever oppresses them is an infraction of the custom."

The tenure of land in the native provinces is the same generally as in the eastern districts. Thus stands the question with regard to the proprietary right to the soil in Java; but it is of more consequence in an agricultural point of view, and consequently more to my present purpose, to inquire how that[Vol I Pg 160] right is generally exercised, than in whom it resides. Though the cultivator had no legal title to his lands, there might still be such a prevalent usage in favour of his perpetual occupancy, as would secure him in the enjoyment of his possession, and enable him to reap the fruits of his industry equally with the protection of his positive law.

But unfortunately for the prosperity of the people, this was far from being generally the case. The cultivator had little security for continued occupancy, but the power, on his part, of enduring unlimited oppression without removing from under it, or the interest of his immediate superior in retaining a useful slave; and as he could not expect to reap in safety the fruits of his industry, beyond the bare supply of his necessities, he carried that industry no farther than his necessities demanded. The sovereign knew little about the state of his tenantry or the conduct of his agents, and viewed the former only as instruments to create the resources, which the latter were employed to collect or administer. All his care was to procure as much from the produce of the soil and industry of his subjects as possible, and the complaints of the people, who suffered under the exactions of these chiefs, were intercepted on their way to the throne, and perhaps would have been disregarded had they reached it. The sovereign delegates his authority over a province of greater or less extent, to a high officer called Adipáti, Tumúng'gung, or Ang'ebái, who is himself paid by the rent of certain portions of land, and is responsible for the revenues of the districts over which he is appointed. He, in his turn, elects an officer, called Demáng or Mántridésa, to administer the subdivisions or districts of the province, to appoint the chiefs, and to collect the rents of several villages. The village chief, Búkul, Lúrah, or whatever designation he bears in the different parts of the island, thus appointed by his immediate superior, is placed in the administration of the village, required to collect the government share of the crop from the cultivator, and to account for it to the Demáng. In some provinces, the village elects its own chief, called Petíng'gi, who exercises similar functions with the Búkul appointed by government, as will be afterwards more particularly observed in the account of the native administration. As all the officers of government, of whatever rank, are[Vol I Pg 161] paid their salaries in the produce of the land, the Búkuls and the Demángs become responsible for the share of the appropriations of villages to this account, as much as if it went into the government treasury. They are themselves paid by the reservation of a certain share of what they collect, and of course are always ready to please their employers, and to increase their own emoluments, by enforcing every practicable exaction. Every officer has unlimited power over those below him, and is himself subject to the capricious will of the sovereign or his minister. When the Regent makes any new or exorbitant demand upon those whom he immediately superintends, they must exact it with an increased degree of rigor over the chiefs of villages, who are thus, in their turn, forced to press upon the cultivator, with the accumulated weight of various gradations of despotism.

The Búkul, or the Petíng'gi is the immediate head of the village, and however much his authority is modified in particular districts, has always extensive powers. To the cultivators, he appears in the character of the real landholder, as they have no occasion to look beyond him to the superior, by whom he is controlled. He distributes the lands to the different cultivators on such shares, and in such conditions, as he pleases, or as custom warrants, assesses the rents they have to pay, allots them their village duties, measures the produce of their fields, and receives the government proportion. He sometimes himself cultivates a small portion of land, and in so far is regarded only as a tenant, like the rest of the villagers. He is accountable for all the collections he realizes, with the reservation of a fifth part for his trouble, which share must be viewed merely as the emoluments of office, and not as the rent of the landlord, or the profits of a farmer. He sometimes holds his situation immediately of the sovereign, or by the election of the cultivators; but more generally from the intermediate agent of government, whom I have mentioned above, to whom he is accountable for his receipts. By his superior he may be removed at pleasure; although the local knowledge and accumulated means, which are the consequence of the possession of office, generally insure its duration to his person for a considerable period, or as long as his superior himself retains his power. [Vol I Pg 162]

The lands which he superintends and apportions range from six or seven to double that number of jungs, or from forty or fifty to an hundred acres English, and these are divided among the inhabitants of his village, generally varying from about two acres to half an acre each. That this minute division of land takes place, may be shewn from the surveys made under the British government in the eastern provinces, which nearly resemble those under the dominion of the native princes, and consequently may be taken as indicating the general state of the island. The inhabitants in the agricultural districts of the residency of Surabáya amount in all to 129,938: these compose 33,141 families, of which 32,618 belong to the class of cultivators, and 523 belonging to other professions pay only a ground rent for their houses. The area of the province contains about twelve hundred square miles, or 34,955 jungs, about 20,000 only of which are cultivated, so as to become of any consequence in the division of lands among the villages, the number of which amount to 2,770. By a calculation founded on these data, it would appear, that each village averages about twelve families, that a family falls considerably short of the average of four, and that a little more than seven jungs are allotted to a village. In Kedú the population amounts to 197,310, the number of villages to 3879, and the quantity of cultivated land to 19,052 jungs; so that in this province there are about five jungs attached to a village; and a village is inhabited by fifty-one souls, or about twelve or thirteen families. In Grésik, the number of villages amount to 1396, the quantity of cultivated land to 17,018 jungs, and the population to 115,442 souls. In Probalíng'o and Besúki, the numbers are​—of inhabitants, 104,359; of villages, 827; of cultivated land, 13,432 jungs. In these two last the proportions vary, the number of jungs to a village in the former being more than twelve, and of inhabitants more than eighty, or about twenty families; and in the latter, the proportion is more than one hundred and twenty souls to a village possessed of more than sixteen jungs of land. It would be superfluous to state any more examples. In different parts of the island, there are variations within certain limits; but the quantity of land occupied by one cultivator seldom exceeds a báhu, (or the quarter of a jung), although the quantity occupied[Vol I Pg 163] by a village, as will be seen by the above instances, varies from five to sixteen, according to the extent of the population.

The land allotted to each separate cultivator is managed by himself exclusively; and the practice of labouring in common, which is usual among the inhabitants of the same village on continental India, is here unknown. Every one, generally speaking, has his own field, his own plough, his own buffaloes or oxen; prepares his farm with his own hand, or the assistance of his family at seed-time, and reaps it by the same means at harvest. By the recent surveys, when every thing concerning the wealth and the resources of the country became the subject of inquiry, and means were employed to obtain the most accurate information, it was ascertained, that the number of buffaloes on that part of the island to which these surveys extended, was nearly in the proportion of one to a family, or a pair to two families; and that, including the yokes of oxen, which are to those of buffaloes as one to three, this proportion would be very much exceeded. In some provinces, more exclusively devoted to grain cultivation, the number of ploughs, and of course oxen or buffaloes, nearly amounts to one to a family. In other cases, where they fall much short of this proportion, a considerable part of the inhabitants must be engaged in labours unconnected with agriculture, or the cultivators must be engaged in rearing produce, where the assistance of those animals is not required. Thus in Japára and Jawána, where the number of inhabitants is 103,290, or about twenty-six thousand families, the number of ploughs amount to 20,730, and of buffaloes to 43,511; while in the Batavian Regencies, where the coffee culture employs a considerable part of the inhabitants, the number of families is about sixty thousand, and of ploughs only 17,366. The lands on Java are so minutely divided among the inhabitants of the villages, that each receives just as much as can maintain his family and employ his individual industry.

"A time there was, ere England's griefs began,
When ev'ry rood of ground maintain'd its man;
For him light labour spread her wholesome store,
Just gave what life requir'd, and gave no more:
His best companions, innocence and health;
And his best riches, ignorance of wealth."

[Vol I Pg 164]

But situated as the Javan peasantry are, there is but little inducement to invest capital in agriculture, and much labour must be unprofitably wasted: as property is insecure, there can be no desire of accumulation; as food is easily procured, there can be no necessity for vigorous labour. There exists, as a consequence of this state of nature and of the laws, few examples of great affluence or abject distress among the peasantry; no rich men, and no common beggars. Under the native governments and the Regents of the Dutch Company, there were no written leases or engagements binding for a term of years; nor could such contracts well be expected to be formed with an officer, who held his own place by so unstable a tenure as the will of a despot. The cultivator bargained with the Búkul or Petíng'gi for a season or for two crops, had his land measured off by the latter, and paid a stipulated portion of the produce either in money or in kind. When the crop had arrived at maturity, the cultivator, if his engagement was for so much of the produce in kind, cut down his own share, and left that of the landlord on the ground.

The proportion of the crop paid as rent varied with the kind of land, or produce, and the labour employed by the cultivator. In the sáwah lands, the share demanded by the landlord rarely exceeded one-half, and might fall as low as one-fourth, according as the quality of the soil was good or bad, or the labour employed in irrigating or otherwise preparing it was greater or less. In tégal lands, the rent paid varied from one-third to one-fifth of the produce; a diminution to be attributed to the uncertainty of the crop, and the necessity of employing more labour to realize an equal produce than on the other species of cultivation. In cases where there was a second crop of less value than the principal rice or maize crop, no additional demand was made upon the additional grain reaped by the farmer.

If such rates had been equitably fixed, after a deliberate estimate of the proportion between the labour of the cultivator and his produce, and if from the best kind of sáwah no more than the half had been required, with a scale of rents diminishing as labour increased or the soil deteriorated, the peasant could have had no reason to complain of the exactions[Vol I Pg 165] of government A jung of the best sáwah lands will produce between forty and fifty ámats of pári, each ámat weighing about one thousand pounds. Suppose a cultivator occupied a quarter of a jung of such land, he would reap ten ámats, or ten thousand pounds of pári, and allowing a half for the government deduction, would still retain five thousand pounds, which is equal to about eight quarters of wheat. The best sáwah lands return about forty-fold; sáwah lands of the second quality yield from thirty to forty ámats the jung; and they are considered of inferior quality when they yield less than thirty. From these last, two-fifths or one-third was required as the landlord's share. Tégal lands were assessed at one-third, one fourth, or one-fifth of their produce, according to their quality, and their produce in value is about a fourth of sáwah lands of the same relative degree in the scale. In Bengal, according to Mr. Colebrooke's excellent account of its husbandry, "the landlord's proportion of the crop was one-half, two-fifths, and a third, according to the difference of circumstances." The value in money of a crop of rice grown on a jung of the best land under the wet cultivation, may amount to one hundred and sixty Spanish dollars; and on a báhu (the space occupied by an individual cultivator), forty dollars. I formerly stated the price of the implements of husbandry, the price of buffaloes or oxen, the expence of building a house, and providing it with the necessary furniture. The whole farming stock of a villager may be purchased for about fifteen or sixteen dollars, or for little more than a third part of the produce of his land in one year. The price of labour, the price of cattle and of grain, as well as the fertility of the soil, varies in different parts of the island; but, in general, it may be laid down as an indisputable proposition, that from the natural bounty of the soil, the peasantry might derive all the means of subsistence and comfort, without any great exertion of ingenuity, or any severity of toil, if their government made no greater demand than the shares stated above.

But besides the rent which the cultivator paid for his land, he was liable to many more grievous burdens. The great objection to a tax levied on land, and consisting in a certain share of its produce, arises from the effect that it has in ob[Vol I Pg 166]structing improvements; but there were other imposts and contributions exacted from the peasantry, which were positively and immediately oppressive. A ground-rent for houses, called pachúmplang, was prevalent over many parts of the island, amounting in the provinces subject to the native princes, to one-sixth or seventh of a dollar for each dwelling or cottage. The cultivator, in some parts of the country, instead of paying this tax, was obliged to pay for his fruit trees. In some districts there was a capitation tax; arbitrary fines were levied in others, and contributions on the birth or marriage of the children of the superior, regent, or the prince. There were several charges made on the villages, that had a more immediate reference to their own advantage, but which nevertheless were felt as burdens; such as contributions for the repair of roads, of bridges, for the making or repair of water-courses, dams, and other works necessary for irrigation. Demands on the inhabitants for charitable and religious objects or institutions are universal, though not very oppressive. Every village has its priest, who depends upon the contributions of the peasantry for his support, receiving so much rice or pári as his salary. The taxes on the internal trade of the country extended to every article of manufacture, produce, or consumption, and being invariably farmed out to Chinese, who employed every mode of extortion that their ingenuity could invent, or the passive disposition of the people would allow them to practice, constituted an inexhaustible source of oppression: to these we may add the feudal services and forced deliveries required under the Dutch government.

The following observations extracted from two reports, the one on Bantam, at the western side of the island, and the other on Pasúruan, almost at its other extremity, were unhappily by no means inapplicable to the greatest part of the intermediate space, and contain by no means an exaggerated representation. "The holders of púsaka lands in Bantam were very seldom the occupants; they generally remained about court, and on the approach of the pári harvest deputed agents to collect their share of the crop. But what proportion their share would bear to the whole produce does not appear to be well defined: it is by one stated at a fifth, and by some (which I suspect to be nearest the[Vol I Pg 167] truth) at as much as the cultivator could afford to pay, the agents of the proprietors being the judges of the quantity. The proprietors of the púsakas have also a claim to the services of the cultivators: a certain number of them are always in attendance at the houses of their chiefs, and on journies are employed in carrying their persons and baggage. The lands not púsaka used to pay the same proportion of produce to the Sultan as the others did to the proprietors; but the cultivators of the royal dominions laboured under greater disadvantages than the others. Every chief or favourite about court had authority to employ them in the most menial offices; and chiefs possessing púsakas, often spared their own people and employed the others. The Sultan always had a right to enforce the culture of any article which he thought proper to direct; and, in such cases, a price was paid upon the produce, which was generally very inadequate to the expences."

"It may be very desirable," says Mr. Jourdan, in his report on the completion of the settlement of Pasúruan, "that I should mention a few of the oppressions from which it is the object of the present system to relieve the people. I cannot but consider the greatest of these, the extent of the personal service demanded, not only by the Tumúng'gung and his family, but the Mántris and all the petty chiefs, who had trains of followers that received no stipendiary recompence. These added to the individuals employed in the coffee plantations (to which they appear peculiarly averse), in beating out the rice for the contingent, in cutting grass for and attending the jáyang sekárs, post carriage and letter-carriers, may be calculated to have employed one-fifth of the male population of the working men. Another great source of exaction was the large unwieldy establishment of jáyang sekárs, and police officers: the former were liberally paid, the latter had no regular emoluments. Both these classes, however, quartered themselves freely in whatever part of the country their functions demanded their attendance. This was equally the case with any of the Regent's family or petty chiefs who travelled for pleasure or on duty. Whatever was required for themselves and their followers, was taken from the poor inhabitants, who have now been so[Vol I Pg 168] long accustomed to such practices, that they never dare to complain or to remonstrate. The European authority did not escape the taint of corruption. Monopolies, unpaid services, licences, forced or at least expected presents, were but too common even in the best times, and must have contributed to estrange the affections and respect of the natives from that power which should have afforded them protection. From this faint sketch it will be deduced, that while the men of rank were living in pampered luxury, the poor provincials were suffering penury and distress."

The Dutch Company, actuated solely by the spirit of gain, and viewing their Javan subjects with less regard or consideration than a West-India planter formerly viewed the gang upon his estate, because the latter had paid the purchase money of human property which the other had not, employed all the pre-existing machinery of despotism, to squeeze from the people their utmost mite of contribution, the last dregs of their labour, and thus aggravated the evils of a capricious and semi-barbarous government, by working it with all the practised ingenuity of politicians, and all the monopolizing selfishness of traders.

Can it therefore be a subject of surprize, that the arts of agriculture and the improvement of society, have made no greater advances in Java? Need it excite wonder, that the implements of husbandry are simple; that the cultivation is unskilful and inartificial; that the state of the roads, where European convenience is not consulted, is bad; that the natural advantages of the country are neglected; that so little enterprize is displayed or capital employed; that the peasant's cottage is mean, and that so little wealth and knowledge are among the agricultural population; when it is considered, that the occupant of land enjoys no security for reaping the fruits of his industry; when his possession is liable to be taken away from him every season, or to suffer such an enhancement of rent as will drive him from it; when such a small quantity of land only is allowed him as will yield him bare subsistence, and every ear of grain that can be spared from the supply of his immediate wants, is extorted from him in the shape of tribute; when his personal services are required unpaid for, in the train of luxury or in the cul[Vol I Pg 169]ture of articles of monopoly; and when, in addition to all these discouragements, he is subject to other heavy imposts and impolitic restraints? No man will exert himself, when acting for another, with so much zeal as when stimulated by his own immediate interest; and under a system of government, where every thing but the bare means of subsistence is liable to be seized, nothing but the means of subsistence will be sought to be attained. The Dutch accuse the Javans of indolent habits and fraudulent dispositions; but surely the oppressor has no right to be surprized, that the oppressed appear reluctant in his service, that they meet his exactions with evasion, and answer his call to labour with sluggish indifference.

The mode of dividing land into minute portions is decidedly favourable to population, and nothing but those checks to the progress of agriculture, to which I have referred, could have limited the population of Java to numbers so disproportioned to its fertility, or confined the labours of the peasantry to so small a space of what would reward their industry with abundance. The cultivated ground on the Island has already been estimated at an eighth part of the whole area. In Probolíng'o and Besúki, the total number of jungs of land amount to 775,483, the total of land capable of superior cultivation 174,675 jungs, while the space actually cultivated amounts only to 13,432 jungs. In Rembáng, the land belonging to villages is about 40,000 jungs, and not the half of that quantity is under cultivation. In Pasúruan, the same appearances are exhibited. From this last district the Resident's report on the settlement states, as a reason for his assessing the same rent on all the land, "that the cultivated part bearing so small a proportion to the uncultivated, the inhabitants have been enabled to select the most fruitful spots exclusively: hence arises the little variety I have discovered in the produce." Chéribon, Bantam, the Priang'en regencies, the eastern corner of the Island, the provinces under the native governments, and in short the greatest and most fertile districts, furnish striking illustrations of this disproportion between the bounty of nature and the inefficient exertions of man to render her gifts available, to extend population, and to promote human happiness; or rather they supply an example[Vol I Pg 170] of unwise institutions and despotic government, counteracting the natural progress of both.

When the British arms prevailed in 1811, the attention of government was immediately turned to the state and interests of its new subjects. It saw at once the natural advantages of the Island and the causes which obstructed its prosperity, and it determined to effect those changes which, having succeeded in Western India, and being sanctioned by justice and expediency, were likely to improve those advantages and to remove those obstructions. In consequence of the instructions of Lord Minto, the Governor-General, who was present at the conquest, and took a great interest in the settlement of the Island, no time was lost to institute inquiries and to collect information on the state of the peasantry, and the other points, the knowledge of which was necessary, before any attempt to legislate could be wisely or rationally made. The following principles, laid down by his Lordship, were those on which the local government acted.

"Contingents of rice, and indeed of other productions, have been hitherto required of the cultivators by government at an arbitrary rate: this also is a vicious system, to be abandoned as soon as possible. The system of contingents did not arise from the mere solicitude for the supply of the people, but was a measure alone of finance and control, to enable government to derive a revenue from a high price imposed on the consumer, and to keep the whole body of the people dependent on its pleasure for subsistence. I recommend a radical reform in this branch to the serious and early attention of government. The principle of encouraging industry in the cultivation and improvements of lands, by creating an interest in the effort and fruits of that industry, can be expected in Java only by a fundamental change of the whole system of landed property and tenure. A wide field, but a somewhat distant one, is open to this great and interesting improvement; the discussion of the subject, however, must necessarily be delayed till the investigation it requires is more complete. I shall transmit such thoughts as I have entertained, and such hopes as I have indulged in this grand object of amelioration; but I am to request the aid of all the information, and all the lights, that this[Vol I Pg 171] Island can afford. On this branch, nothing must be done that is not mature, because the exchange is too extensive to be suddenly or ignorantly attempted. But fixed and immutable principles of the human character and of human association, assure me of ultimate, and I hope not remote success, in views that are consonant with every motive of action that operate on man, and are justified by the practice and experience of every flourishing country of the world."

In compliance with these instructions, the object of which was embraced with zeal by the local government, to whom his lordship entrusted the administration of the Island, a commission was appointed, under the able direction of Colonel Mackenzie, to prosecute statistic inquiries; the results of which, as corrected and extended by subsequent surveys, will frequently appear in the tables and statistic accounts of this work. The nature of the landed tenure, and the demand made upon agriculture, in all the shapes of rent and taxes, were ascertained; the extortions practised by the Dutch officers, the native princes, the regents, and the Chinese, were disclosed; the rights of all classes, by law or usage, investigated; the state of the population, the quantity and value of cultivated land, of forests, of plantations of cotton and coffee, the quantity of live stock, and other resources of the country subject to colonial administration, inquired into and made known. The result of these inquiries, with regard to landed tenure, I have given above; and, as it will be seen, it was such as opposed the rights of no intermediate class between the local government and the beneficial changes it contemplated in behalf of the great body of the people. After attaining the requisite information, the course which expediency, justice, and political wisdom pointed out was not doubtful, and coincided (as in most cases it will be found to do) with the track which enlightened benevolence, and a zealous desire to promote the happiness of the people would dictate.

The peasant was subject to gross oppression and undefined exaction: our object was to remove his oppressor, and to limit demand to a fixed and reasonable rate of contribution. He was liable to restraints on the freedom of inland trade, to personal services and forced contingents: our object was to commute them all for a fixed and well-known contribution. The[Vol I Pg 172] exertions of his industry were reluctant and languid, because he had little or no interest in its fruits: our object was to encourage that industry, by connecting its exertions with the promotion of his own individual welfare and prosperity. Capital could not be immediately created, nor agricultural skill acquired; but by giving the cultivator a security, that whatever he accumulated would be for his own benefit, and whatever improvement he made, he or his family might enjoy it, a motive was held out to him to exert himself in the road to attain both. Leases, or contracts for fixed rents for terms of years, in the commencement, and eventually in perpetuity, seemed to be the only mode of satisfying the cultivator, that he would not be liable, as formerly, to yearly undefined demands; while freedom from all taxes but an assessment on his crop, or rather a fixed sum in commutation thereof, would leave him at full liberty to devote the whole of his attention and labour to render his land as productive as possible.

In conformity with these views, an entire revolution was effected in the mode of levying the revenue, and assessing the taxes upon agriculture. The foundation of the amended system was, 1st. The entire abolition of forced deliveries at inadequate rates, and of all feudal services, with the establishment of a perfect freedom in cultivation and trade: 2d. The assumption, on the part of government, of the immediate superintendence of the lands, with the collection of the resources and rents thereof: 3d. The renting out of the lands so assumed to the actual occupants, in large or small estates, according to local circumstances, on leases for a moderate term. In the course of the following years (1814 and 1815) these measures were carried into execution in most of the districts under our government, with a view to the eventual establishment of a perpetual settlement, on the principle of the ryotwar, or as it has been termed on Java, the tiáng-álit system.

The principles of land rental and detailed settlement were few and simple[48]. After mature inquiry, no obstacle appeared [Vol I Pg 173]to exist, either in law or usage, to the interference of government, in regulating the condition of the peasantry; and it was [Vol I Pg 174]resolved, therefore, that it should take into its own hands the management of that share of the land produce which was allowed to be its due, and protect the cultivator in the enjoyment and free disposal of the remainder. The undue power of the chiefs was to be removed, and so far as they had a claim for support, founded either on former services or deprivation of expected employment, they were to be remunerated in another way. The lands, after being surveyed and estimated, were to be parcelled out among the inhabitants of the villages, in the proportions established by custom or recommended by expediency. Contracts were to be entered into with each individual cultivator, who was to become the tenant of government, and leases specifying the extent and situation of their land, with the conditions of their tenure, were to be granted for one or more years, with a view to permanency, if at the end of the stipulated term, the arrangement should be found to combine the interest of the public revenue with the welfare and increasing prosperity of the occupant. If that was not the case, room was thus left for a new adjustment, for a reduction of rate, or for any change in the system which might adapt it more to the interests and wishes of the people, without prejudice to the rights of government.

This experiment hazarded nothing, and held out every prospect of success; it committed no injustice, and compromised no claim. The peasantry could not suffer, because an assessment less in amount, and levied in a less oppressive manner than formerly (all rents, taxes, and services included), [Vol I Pg 175]was required of them: the chiefs could not complain, because they were allowed the fair emoluments of office, and only restrained from oppressions which did not so much benefit themselves as injure their inferiors. Most of the latter were not only allowed an equivalent for their former income, but employed in services allied to their former duties,​—the collection of the revenue, and the superintendence of the police. As the cultivator had acquired rights which the chief could not violate, as the former held in his possession a lease with the conditions on which he cultivated his farm, no infringement of which could be attempted on the part of the latter with impunity, no evil could result from employing the chiefs in collecting the revenue of districts, while, from their practical knowledge of the habits and individual concerns of the peasantry, of the nature of the seasons and the crops, they were the fittest persons for the office. For these services it seemed most expedient to pay them, either by allowing them a certain percentage on their collections, or by allotting them portions of land rent free. The village constitution (which will be more particularly noticed in treating of the institutions of the country) was preserved inviolate; and the chiefs or head men of the villages, in many instances elected by the free will of the villagers, were invariably continued in office as the immediate collectors of the rents, and with sufficient authority to preserve the police, and adjust the petty disputes that might arise within them; the government scrupulously avoiding all unnecessary interference in the customs, usages, and details of these societies.

In looking at the condition of the peasantry, and in estimating the fertility of the soil, the wants of the people, and the proportion of produce and industry that they formerly were accustomed to pay for supporting the establishments of government, it was thought reasonable to commute all former burdens into a land rent on a fixed principle; all sáwah lands being estimated by the pári, or unhusked rice, they could produce, and all tégal lands by their produce in maize. The following (as stated in the eighty-third article of the Revenue Instructions) was considered as the fairest scale for fixing the government share, and directed to be referred to, as much as possible, as the general standard: [Vol I Pg 176]

For Sáwah Lands.
1st sort One-half of the estimated produce.
2d do. Two-fifths ditto.
3d do. One-third ditto.
For Tégal Lands.
1st sort Two-fifths of the estimated produce.
2d do. One-third ditto.
3d do. One-fourth ditto.

"Government," it is said in the eighty-fifth section, "think it necessary to declare explicitly, that they will be satisfied when the land revenue shall be productive to them in these proportions, determining at no future period to raise the scale; so that the inhabitants, being thus exactly acquainted with what will form the utmost demand on them, and resting in full confidence that government will not exact any thing further, may in that security enjoy their possessions in undisturbed happiness, and apply their utmost industry to the improvement of their lands; assured that, while they conduct themselves well, that land will never be taken from them, and that the more productive they can render it, the more beneficial it will be for themselves."

The government share might either be received in money or in kind from the sáwah lands; but the tégal produce, though estimated in maize, was always, if possible, to be commuted into money at the lowest price in the market; and as cultivators generally held portions of both, this rule, it was conceived, could not be considered generally as a hardship.

In the first settlement, leases were only granted for a year, or at the utmost three years, and were given to intermediate renters; but in the more detailed settlement of 1814, after sufficient information had been collected on the state of the country, government determined to act directly with the individual cultivator, and to lay the foundation of a permanent system. By this latter period, the experiments have been tried to a certain extent, and had succeeded beyond the most sanguine expectation. Difficulties met us in the way, but they were by no means insurmountable; there were at first imperfections in the system, but they did not affect its prin[Vol I Pg 177]ciple, and were easily removed. By the zeal, the ability, and industry of the various officers entrusted with the execution of the duty, whatever was practicable in furtherance of the object in which they felt deeply interested, was accomplished. In the course of the years 1814 and 1815, the new system was introduced into Bantam, Chéribon, and the eastern districts, over a population of a million and a half of cultivators, not only without disturbance and opposition, but to the satisfaction of all classes of the natives, and to the manifest increase of the public revenue derivable from land. In several journies which I undertook into the different provinces, for the purposes of examining in person the effect of the progressive system of reform which I had the happiness to introduce, and of lending the sanction of official authority to such modifications of it as local circumstances might render advisable, I was a pleased spectator of its beneficial tendency, and of the security and satisfaction it universally diffused. The cultivator, protected against all vexatious exactions, and no longer at the beck of a tyrannical chief who made unlimited demands upon his personal services, was beginning to feel additional stimulants to his industry, to acquire a superior relish for property, and to acknowledge that government and power were not always the enemies of the lower ranks of society, or as they modestly call themselves, the little people (tiang-halit). The British administration of Java, with all its agents, having watched the progress of the amended system at first with vigilant anxiety, at last saw it nearly completed with success, and rejoiced in its beneficial operation on the prosperity, improvement, and happiness of the people. During the two years that we retained possession of the island, after the greatest part of its arrangements were carried into effect, we had daily proofs of the amelioration they were producing. The cultivation was extending, the influence of the chiefs appeared to be progressively weakening, and the number of crimes, both from the superior industry of the people now become interested in the result of their labours, and from the contented tranquillity produced by an increase of the means of subsistence, as well as from the amended system of police (mentioned in another part of this work), was gradually diminishing. Without[Vol I Pg 178] troubling the reader with further details, I may mention that, in the beginning of December 1815, a few months before I left the island, not satisfied with my own observation or the vague report of others, I circulated specific queries to the different residents, on the comparative state of cultivation in the different provinces, before the introduction of the detailed settlement, and at the latest date to which an answer could be returned, and on the comparative number of crimes at the same two periods, and the return was as gratifying to humanity and benevolence as it was corroborative of the opinions previously formed. I shall quote a few extracts from these reports. The Resident at Chéribon "cannot, from certain data, tell what progress has been made in extending the cultivation of that province, but thinks it has been considerable;" and adds, "I have no doubt but that a few years of the amended system of government would render the district of Chéribon, so notorious for crimes, one of the most flourishing and valuable in any part of the island." The Resident of Tégal is nearly in similar circumstances with regard to authentic documents, but gives a very favourable opinion, both with regard to the increase of industry and the reduction of crimes. The return from Kedú is more definite: it states a positive increase of tégal land to the amount of thirty-six jungs, but a much greater increase of produce from improved culture. The revenue afforded a sufficient proof of the latter fact. The same favourable account is given of the state of police and the diminution of crime. No data are given in the report from Pakaláng'an to ascertain the additional quantity of rice lands brought into cultivation; but an opinion is expressed, that it has increased; and an assurance is afforded, that the culture of indigo and tobacco has sensibly extended. As an evidence that the means of subsistence are raised in greater abundance than formerly, their price has very considerably diminished.

A commission which was appointed to inquire into the state of the revenue, report from Japára the great facility there was in collecting the revenue under the amended system, and certify its beneficial effects in extending cultivation, securing tranquillity, promoting industry, and diminishing crimes. The same commission conclude their[Vol I Pg 179] report of Grésik with similar assurances of the happy results of the revenue, and judicial arrangements for the prosperity of that province. The Resident of Rembáng gives an increase of cultivation of fifty-two jungs of sáwah and about thirteen of tégal land, and accounts for the smallness of this increase from the comparative sterility of the soil, and the precarious supply of water. Indigo had not increased, but tobacco had to a great degree. The vigilance of the police, and the ameliorating effects of the revenue settlement, are seen, it is said, in the improved state of morals. In Surabáya it is stated, that during the time the amended system had been in action, there had been an increase of three hundred and twenty government jungs, making upwards of two thousand English acres. In the residency of Pasúruan there is an increase of cultivation to the amount of three hundred and six jungs: this, however, does not comprehend the whole advantage that the new system produced in that province, for industry had been so much promoted by it, as to obtain two crops within the year, on many of the lands where the cultivator was formerly content with one. It is needless to enter into any further particulars, to shew the advantages of the regulations adopted with regard to the settlement of the landed revenue.

By a steady adherence to a system which, even in its origin, was productive of such fruits, by continuing to the peasant the protection of laws made for his benefit, by allowing full scope to his industry, and encouraging his natural propensity to accumulate, agriculture on Java would soon acquire a different character: it would soon become active and enterprising; there would soon be created a difference in farms and in the circumstances of individuals; capital would be fixed and augmented in the hands of the skilful and the industrious among the cultivators; the idle and the indifferent would relinquish their possessions in their favour; roads, intercourse, and markets would be increased, the organization of society would be changed, and an improved race would shew themselves, in some measure, worthy of the most fertile region of the globe. What Egypt and Sicily were in different ages to the south of Europe, Java[Vol I Pg 180] might become to the south of Asia and the Indian Archipelago. From the exertion with which the British government endeavoured to lay the foundation of such improvements, at first amid the embarrassments of a recent conquest, and latterly with the prospect of only an intermediate possession; from the attachment it cherished for a people whose gratitude it deserved and acquired, and from the interest that every friend of humanity must feel in the anticipation of seeing this highly favoured island, the metropolis, the granary, and the centre of civilization to the vast regions between the coast of China and the Bay of Bengal, it might have been expected, that those who were instrumental in introducing the late arrangements, should watch with peculiar anxiety the first movements of the power to which the colony was transferred, and should look into the regulations for its Indian empire for the support, or the death-blow, of the most animating hopes. It must therefore be with peculiar satisfaction that we see, with regard to the freedom of cultivation, the Dutch government sanctions what we had done, and gives our regulations permanency by embodying them in its colonial policy. In articles seventy-eight and seventy-nine of the fundamental laws for the civil, judicial, and mercantile administration of India[49], we find the following enactments. "The free cultivation of all articles of produce which may be raised in the possessions of the state in India, is granted to the inhabitants of these possessions; with the exception of cloves, nutmegs, and opium, and without prejudice to the regulations which might be adopted concerning the contingents and forced deliveries, which on a resumption of these possessions out of the hands of the English, will be found to be continued in force. All the fruits of cultivation raised within the possessions of the states beyond the forced deliveries, and every kind of produce not comprehended under the exceptions mentioned above, are to be the lawful property of the cultivator. The free unrestrained disposal thereof belongs to him of right, as soon as the land rent assessed thereon, either in kind or money, shall be [Vol I Pg 181]paid. It is the duty of the Indian administration to maintain him in these rights." Let him be maintained in those rights, and the Dutch government will realize a revenue far beyond the amount of their former assessments, without, as formerly, disgracing the Europeans in the eyes of the Asiatic, by their weakness, corruption, and injustice.

FOOTNOTES:

[46] See Treaties of the Dutch with the Native Princes.

[47] This article has never been a contingent or forced delivery with the Dutch; and its extensive cultivation in the district of Kedu gives a proof of what the natives will do if not interfered with by European monopoly. The Kedú is, in consequence of this cultivation, by far the richest province in the island, giving an annual revenue to the government, in money, of half a million of rupees. This important district was never subjected to the Dutch government: it was transferred to the British in 1812, and immediately fell under the Revenue System.

[48] These principles were contemplated as just and practicable by a Dutch authority (Van Hogendorp) who resided on Java, and criticized freely the measures of administration, as will appear from the following extracts from a work, which only came into my possession subsequently to the introduction of the new system by the British government. "Property of the soil must be introduced by granting all the cultivated lands to those who have hitherto cultivated them, or, in other words, to the common Javans. All the rice fields belonging to each désa should be distributed among its inhabitants, and the gardens or spots of ground in which their cottages stand, should also, in future, be their personal property. Correct registers hereof should be kept, and certificates given to the different owners. Who can produce a better and nearer right to the personal possession of the land, than he who has cultivated and made it productive? And is there a country in the world where the natives are happy, free, and well settled, without having a property in the soil? Our own country, and all the kingdoms of Europe, afford the most direct proofs of this: they flourish in proportion as property is more or less secure and equally divided among the inhabitants of each. All Europe groaned under the feudal system of government: all Europe has freed itself from it; but by various means and in different degrees. Why, therefore, can similar changes not be brought about on Java? Every thing urges us to make them, and the results must be important and most advantageous to us. Java is alone able to relieve our commonwealth from all its difficulties.

"In order to collect a land-tax properly, a general and correct survey should, in the first instance, be effected in all the districts belonging to us, according to an established land measure, to be introduced generally throughout Java; for this is, at present, very irregular. All the lands should then be divided into three classes, first, second, and third class, according to the proportionate fertility of the soil, and according to the same proportion the land-tax should be established. I am very ready to admit, that this will naturally be difficult and troublesome; but what system of government is exempt from these inconveniences? and particularly in this country, where it is necessary to effect a radical change and reform, in order to produce any beneficial results? But with diligence, zeal, and deliberation, all difficulties may be overcome; and even should the survey not be exactly correct in the first instance, it might be improved from year to year. The word jung is now used by the Javans for a certain measure of land; but this differs so much in different districts, that it is impossible to ascertain how many square roods of land a jung ought to contain. The name might be retained, however, after having found by experience how many square roods, in general or on an average, are contained in a jung, the proportion might be once for all established, introduced throughout the island, and fixed as the regular land measure of the country. It would be difficult, and as yet unnecessary, to calculate how many jungs of land our territories on Java contain, and how much might be collected as a land-tax from each jung, in order to ascertain what this tax would amount to. I think it should be taken as a principle, that the land-tax can and ought to produce as much as the head-money, (namely, a rix-dollar per head): the land-tax would then yield an annual and certain income of at least two millions and a half of rix-dollars. Every spot of cultivated ground being measured and settled to which class it belongs, every owner will correctly know, how much he must pay for land-tax annually, and be completely at liberty to plant his land with whatever he may prefer, and may conceive most conducive to his advantage. I am of opinion, that during the first years it would be difficult, on account of the scarcity of specie, or rather its absence from circulation, to collect the land-tax; but, in the same way as with the head-money, it would be expedient, in the first years, to be somewhat indulgent in the collection, or else to receive produce in lieu of money, which might be done in this tax better than the capitation. But after five years of good administration, I am certain that the land-tax would be fully and without difficulty collected."

[49] Dated 1815. [Vol I Pg 182]


CHAPTER IV.

Manufactures​—Handicrafts​—Bricks​—Thatch​—Mats​—Cotton​—Cloths​—Dyes​—Tanning​—Ropes​—Metals​—Road and Ship-building​—Paper​—Salt​—Saltpetre Works​—Gunpowder, &c.​—Felling and Transporting of Teak Timber​—Fisheries.

It is here proposed to state the progress made by the Javans in a few of the common arts and handicrafts, and in one or two of the more extensive manufactures; their docility in working under European direction, and some other observations, which could not be so appropriately placed in any other part of this work. I have already had occasion to notice the limited skill and simple contrivances with which they carry on the labours of agriculture, and prepare the produce of the soil for consumption, in the various ways that their taste or their habits require. In a country like Java, where the structure of society is simple, and the wants of the people are few, where there is no accumulation of capital and little division of professions, it cannot be expected that manufacturing skill should be acquired, or manufacturing enterprize encouraged, to any great extent. The family of a Javan peasant is almost independent of any labour but that of its own members. The furniture, the clothing, and almost every article required for a family, being prepared within its own precincts, no extensive market of manufactured commodities is necessary for the supply of the island itself; and for foreign trade, the produce of their soil is more in demand than the fruits of their skill or industry. In a country where nature is bountiful, and where so much of her bounty can be collected with so little labour to pay for manufactures from abroad, there is but little encouragement to withdraw the natives from the rice field, the forest, or the coffee-garden, to the loom, the forge, or the workshop; and it is not in this respect, certainly, that a change of their habits would be beneficial. This short notice[Vol I Pg 183] of Javan manufactures, therefore, must be very limited, both in the number of the articles that it embraces, and in the importance that Europeans may attach to them: for Java can neither send us porcelain, like China; nor silks, shawls, and cottons, like Western India. To a nation, however, so much accustomed as we are to the exertions of manufacturing skill and perfection of manufacturing machinery, it may not be uninteresting to see the simple means, by which a half-civilized people accomplish the objects which we attain by such expeditious and ingenious processes. The most experienced naval architect may be interested by the manner in which a savage scoops his canoe.

The Javans have names in their language for most of the handicrafts. The following enumeration of terms applied to trades and professions will shew the extent to which the division of labour is sometimes carried, while the foreign extraction of some of them may, perhaps, serve to point out the source whence they were derived.

1. Pándi or émpu Iron-smith and cutler.
2. Túkang-káyu, or mergóngso Carpenter.
3. Meráng'gi or túkang-weróngko Kris-sheath maker.
4. Túkang úkir Carver.
5. ​—​— déder Spear-shaft maker.
6. ​—​— lámpet Mat maker.
7. ​—​— bábot Turner.
8. ​—​— bóto Brush maker.
9. ​—​— wátú or jelog'ro Stone-cutter.
10. ​—​— lábur Lime maker.
11. ​—​— nátah wáyang Wayang maker.
12. ​—​— génding Musical instrument maker.
13. ​—​— kemíng'an Brazier.
14. Sayáng, or túkung-tambógo Coppersmith.
15. Kemásan, or tukáng-mas Goldsmith.
16. Kúndi Potter.
17. Túkang árá Distiller.
18. ​—​— jílid Bookbinder.
19. ​—​— ténun Weaver.
20. ​—​— bátik Cotton printer.
21. ​—​— médal Dyer.[Vol I Pg 184]
22. Túkang léng'o Oil maker.
23. ​—​— nióro-wédi Diamond cutter.
24. ​—​— delúwang Paper manufacturer.
25. ​—​— pándom or gírji Tailor.
26. ​—​— súlam Embroiderer.
27. ​—​— jáit Sempstress.
28. ​—​— súng'ging Draftsman.
29. ​—​— chát Painter.
30. ​—​— pásah Tooth filer.

I shall proceed to describe a few of the manufactures of the island, without attending much to the order in which it might be proper to arrange them. The construction of a habitation is among the first and most necessary arts of uncivilized man, as the perfection of architecture is one of the most convincing proofs and striking illustrations of a high state of refinement. I have already described the hut of the peasant, and have mentioned that it is generally constructed of wood. Such structures suit the climate of the country, and save the labour of the people; but they are not rendered necessary by an ignorance of more durable materials.

Bricks are manufactured in almost every part of the island, being generally employed in the better sort of buildings, not only by Europeans and Chinese, but by the natives of rank. The quality of the clay varies greatly in different districts. It is all obtained from the decomposition of the basaltic stones, and possesses different degrees of purity, according to the proportion and nature of the other earths which are adventitiously mixed with it. In some parts of the island it is very pure, and might be advantageously employed in the manufacture of porcelain; but the natives are unacquainted with the principles of this art: some instruction in the glazing of their pottery would be of very general benefit. They are unacquainted with the process of making glass.

Cut stones are, at present, but rarely used by the Javans, and stone-cutting is almost exclusively performed by the Chinese. But although the Javans do not, at present, possess or practice any considerable skill in this art, the extensive remains of edifices constructed in stone, and of idols carved from the same materials, afford abundant testimony that the arts of[Vol I Pg 185] architecture, sculpture, and statuary in stone, at one period reached to a very high pitch on Java. As, however, these arts have long been lost to the Javans, the consideration of them rather falls within the department of antiquities than that which we are now upon.

In the vicinity of Grésik there are several hills composed of a soft white stone, which hardens on exposure to the air. Stones are here cut in the quarry into regular squares of various sizes, from that of a brick to the largest tomb-stone. They are principally required for the latter purpose, and in the cemeteries of Grésik and Madúra the inscriptions upon them are very neatly executed. Beyond this, the skill of the natives in stone-cutting does not at present pretend.

The covering of the native houses is generally of thatch. In the maritime districts, átap, or thatch, is made almost exclusively from the leaves of the nípa or búyu. In the preparation, the leaflets separated from the common petiol are employed. Being doubled, they are attached close to each other on a stick of three feet in length, and when thus arranged are placed on the roof, like shingles or tiles. The leaves of the gébang, on account of their fan-like form, are differently arranged: they constitute large mats, which are chiefly employed for sides of houses or for composing temporary sheds, but they are too large and brittle to form durable átap. In the interior districts, where nípa does not grow, the houses are almost uniformly thatched with a species of long grass called alang-alang (the lálang of the Malay countries). Near large forests, where bámbu abounds, the natives cover their houses with this reed. The leaflets of the cocoa-nut cannot be made into thatch, but wherever the sago and nípa grow, it is made from their leaflets.

An article of household furniture in use among all classes, and displaying in some cases considerable beauty and delicacy of execution, is matting. Mats are made from several species of pandanus, from a kind of grass called mándong, and from the leaves of various palms. A species of the latter affords the most common kinds, coarser and less durable than others, as well as bags (straw sacks) resembling coarse mats: the leaves being divided into laminæ, about one line in breadth, are woven in the same manner and on the same frames as[Vol I Pg 186] coarse linen. These fibres, called ágel, are sometimes manufactured into twine, which possesses but little strength. The mats or bags, called károng, are much inferior to the gunny-bags of India.

The coarsest kinds of mats, employed chiefly by the lower class, are called in the central districts klóso bóngko; those prepared from grass, klóso mándong; and the others, klóso psántrem (from the place where they are made). The materials of all these are plaited by hand. The klóso psántrem are of superior quality, and in use through the central and eastern parts of the island; especially among the natives of the first class, with whom they constitute the principal furniture of the dwelling-house. A person of the highest rank aspires to no luxury, more delicate or expensive in this way, than the possession of a bed composed of mats from psántrem.

A kind of umbrella hat worn by the common people, and universal in the Súnda districts denominated chápeng, is also manufactured in this manner, principally from bámbu, dyed of various colours, which being shaped in the form and of the size of a large wash-hand basin worn reversed, is rendered impervious to the wet by one or more coverings of varnish.

A great part of the manufacturing ingenuity of every people must be displayed in collecting the materials, or arranging the fabrics of those articles of clothing, required for protection, decency, or ornament. Whether these materials are derived from the fleece, the fur, or the feathers of the larger animals, from the covering of an insect, the bark of a tree, or the down of a shrub, they have to undergo several laborious and expensive processes before they are fit for use; and in conducting these processes, or forming machinery for rendering them more expeditious, complete, and easy, the superior manufacturing skill of one nation over another is chiefly evinced. The sheep on Java, as in all tropical climates, loses its fleece before it can be used with advantage. The silk-worm has never succeeded, although no reason can be given why it should not, and therefore the chief material of Javan clothing is cotton.

Cotton, in its rough state, is called kápas, and when cleaned kápok. The process of separating the seeds is performed by means of a gilíng'an, which is a roller, consisting of two[Vol I Pg 187] wooden cylinders revolving in opposite directions, between which the fibre is made to pass. This operation is very tedious, two days being necessary for one person to clean a káti, equivalent to a pound and a quarter English. After the separation of the seed, it is géblek, or beaten with a rattan, and píndi or picked. The finer sort is then bowed after the Indian manner; this operation is called wusóni. The cotton thus prepared is afterwards pulled out and drawn round a stick, when it is called púsuh. To perform the process upon a single káti will employ one person about two days. The cotton is now ready for spinning ('ngánti), and requires ten additional days' labour of one person, to convert the small quantity above mentioned into yarn, when the result is found to be three tukal, or hanks, of the ordinary kind.

Previous to the operation of weaving, the yarn is boiled, and afterwards dressed and combed with rice-water. When dry, it is wound round a sort of reel, termed 'íngan, and prepared for weaving. These are the last operations it undergoes till it is put into the hands of the weaver, and requires, in ordinary circumstances, three days for its completion. Four days are required even by an expert weaver, and five or six by an ordinary one, to manufacture a sárong, or piece of cloth, a fathom and a half long and five spans broad (equal to three square handkerchiefs of the ordinary size worn on the head). The cloths thus prepared, while uncoloured, are distinguished by the term láwon.

The spinning-wheel is termed jántra, and the spindle kísi. The loom, with all its apparatus, is called ábah ábah tenún, the shuttle trópong, the woof máni, and the warp pákan. Both machines resemble those described on the continent of India, but are neater and much better made: the loom especially is more perfect: the weaver, instead of sitting in holes dug in the ground, invariably sits on a raised flooring, generally in front of the house, her legs being stretched out horizontally under the loom. The price of the spinning-wheel varies from less than half a rupee to a rupee, and that of the loom from a rupee to a Spanish dollar. The operations of spinning and weaving are confined exclusively to the women, who from the highest to the lowest rank, prepare the cloths of their husbands and their families. [Vol I Pg 188]

Coloured cottons (járit) are distinguished into lúri or lúri gíng'gang, those in which the yarn is dyed previously to weaving; and bátik, those which are dyed subsequently. The process of weaving the former is similar to that of the gingham, which it resembles, and need not therefore be detailed; but the latter, being peculiar to Java, may deserve a more particular description.

The cloths termed bátik are distinguished into bátik látur púti, bátik látur írang, or bátik látur bang, as the ground may be either white, black, or red. The white cloth is first steeped in rice water, in order to prevent the colour with which the patterns are intended to be drawn, from running, and when they are dried and smoothed (calendered), commences the process of the bátik, which gives its name. This is performed with hot wax in a liquid state, contained in a small and light vessel, either of copper or silver, called chánt-ing,[50] holding about an ounce, and having a small tube of about two inches long, through which the liquid wax runs out in a small stream. This tube, with the vessel to which it is attached, being fixed on a stick about five inches long, is held in the hand, and answers the purpose of a pencil, the different patterns being traced out on both sides of the cloth with the running wax. When the outline of the pattern is thus finished, such parts of the cloth as are intended to be preserved white, or to receive any other colour than the general field or ground, are carefully covered in like manner with the liquid wax, and then the piece is immersed in whatever coloured dye may be intended for the ground of the pattern. To render the colour deeper, cloths are occasionally twice dipped. The parts covered with wax resist the operation of the dye, and when the wax is removed, by being steeped in hot water till it melts, are found to remain in their original condition. If the pattern is only intended to consist of one colour besides white, the operation is here completed; if another colour is to be added, the whole of the first ground, which is not intended to receive an additional shade, is covered with wax, and a similar process is repeated. [Vol I Pg 189]

In order to render the dye fixed and permanent for the scarlet or blood-red colour, the cloth is previously steeped in oil, and after five days washed in hot water, and prepared in the usual way for the bátik. In the ordinary course, the process of the bátik occupies about ten days for common patterns, and from fifteen to seventeen for the finer and more variegated.

A very coarse kind of cloth, which serves for curtains or hangings, is variously clouded, and covered sometimes with rude figures, by the art of colouring the yarn, so as to produce this effect when woven. For this purpose, the strands of the yarn being distributed in lengths equal to the intended size of the cloth, are folded into a bundle, and the parts intended to remain white are so tightly twisted round and round, that the dye cannot penetrate or affect them. From this party-coloured yarn the designed pattern appears on weaving. The cloths so dyed are called gebér.

The sashes of silk, called chíndi, are dyed in this manner, as well as an imitation of them in cotton, called jóng'grong.

Of the several kinds of coloured cottons and silks there is a very great diversity of patterns, particularly of the bátik, of which not less than a hundred are distinguished by their appropriate names. Among these are the patterns exclusively worn by the sovereign, termed bátik párang rúsa, and bátik sáwat, and others which designate the wearer, and are more or less esteemed, as well on this account as their comparative beauty of design and execution.

With the exception of blue and scarlet or blood-red, all the dyes of the inhabitants are liable to fade, and the processes offer nothing worthy of investigation or remark.

In dying blue, indigo, the palm wine of the áren, and various vegetable acids are employed.

Black is obtained from an exotic bark called tíng'i, and the rind of the mangustin fruit. In making the inferior infusion for this and for various other dyes, the chaff of rice, called meráng, is employed.

In dying green, a light blue is first induced, which is afterwards converted into the requisite hue, by infusion in a decoction of tegráng (an exotic wood), to which blue vitriol is added. [Vol I Pg 190]

Tegráng alone affords a yellow colour, and generally is qualified by receiving the addition of some bark of the nángka and plem-dodól.

A beautiful and lasting scarlet and blood-red is obtained from the roots of the wóng-kudu. The yarn or cloth is first boiled in the oil of wijen or kamíri: being washed in a decoction of meráng or burnt pári chaff, it is dried, and subsequently immersed in an infusion of the roots of wóng-kudu, the strength of which is increased by the addition of the bark jírak, a variety of the fruit kepúndung. In the preparation of this dye, the roots of the wóng-kudu are bruised and well mixed with water, which is then boiled until it is reduced to one third, when it is fit for use. No light red or rose colour of durability is produced by the Javans: they employ for this purpose the kasomba kling.

In several of the maritime districts, the Maláyus impart a beautiful crimson colour to silk, by means of the gúmlak tembálu or embálu, but with this Javans are unacquainted.

The kápas jáwa, or Java cotton, in its raw and uncleaned state costs from about three halfpence to three pence the káti, according to its quality, and the kápas múri from six to eight pence. The price of each advances sometimes fifty per cent. beyond this, when the production is scarce or out of season.

A káti of uncleaned Java cotton is calculated to produce two and a half túkul or hanks of coarse, and three and a half hanks of fine yarn; and a káti of kápas múri, five hanks of the latter. The value of the former is from three to four pence, and of the latter from seven to ten.

Three hanks and a half of coarse yarn, and from five to nine of fine, make one sárong, or three head handkerchiefs, the price of which, undyed, is from half a rupee to four Spanish dollars; if dyed, the ging'ams bring from one rupee to four Spanish dollars, and the bátik from a rupee and a half to six Spanish dollars for the same quantity.

Another kind of coloured cottons, in imitation of the Indian chintz, is also prepared; but it is not held in much estimation, on account of the superiority of the foreign chintzes imported, and the uncertainty of the colours, which the natives allege will not stand in the same manner as those which have undergone the process of the batîk, frequently[Vol I Pg 191] fading in the second washing. In these cloths, the patterns being carved on small wooden blocks are stamped as in India. They serve as coverlids, and are employed as a substitute for the Indian palempore, when the latter is not procurable. The price is about four rupees.

The natives of Java, like those of every other country, must have been, from the earliest times, in the habit of manufacturing various articles of leather; but the art of rendering it more compact, more tough, and more durable, by the application of the tanning principle, has been acquired only by their connexion with Europeans. They now practice it with considerable success, and prepare tolerable leather in several districts. There are two trees of which the bark is particularly preferred for tanning; one in the maritime districts, the other in the interior. These, with some others which are occasionally added, contain very large quantities of the tanning principle, which makes excellent leather in a short space of time. Of this native article, boots, shoes, saddles, harness, &c. are made in several parts of the island; but in the greatest perfection at Súra-kérta, where the prices are moderate, and the manufacture extensive and improving. Neither the leather nor the workmanship of these articles is considered much inferior to what is procured at Madras and Bengal. The prices are moderate: for a pair of shoes half a crown, for boots ten shillings, for a saddle from thirty to forty shillings, and for a set of harness for four horses from ten to twelve pounds.

Neither flax nor hemp is cultivated for the purposes of manufacture. The latter is sometimes found in the gardens of the natives of continental India, particularly at Batavia, who employ it only to excite intoxication; but the island affords various productions, the fibrous bark of which is made into thread, ropes, and other similar articles. These are, with one or two exceptions, never cultivated, and when required for use, may be collected in sufficient quantity on spots where they are of spontaneous growth. A particular account of these has already been given in the first chapter, when describing the vegetable productions of the island.

To enable rope or cord which is often exposed to water or moisture, as fishing-nets, cables, and the like, to resist its influence, the sap exuding from various trees is employed. [Vol I Pg 192]

No manufactures are calculated to show more clearly the extent to which the arts of life are carried in a country, than those in which the metals are used. Without the knowledge of iron, our dominion over nature would be very limited; as may be seen in the case of the Americans at the discovery of the western hemisphere. The manufacture and use of iron and steel has been known over the Eastern Islands, as well as in the western world, from time immemorial. The various iron implements of husbandry, the common implements and tools, the instruments and military weapons now in use among the natives of these regions, are fabricated by themselves. The importance and difficulty of the art may be gathered from the distinction which the knowledge and practice of it conferred.

The profession of a smith is still considered honourable among the Javans, and in the early parts of their history, such artizans held a high rank, and were largely endowed with lands. The first mention made of them is during the reign of the chiefs of Pajajáran, in the eleventh century. On the decline of that empire they went over, to the number of eight hundred families, to Majapáhit, where they were kindly received, and a record is preserved of the names of the head master-smiths. On the destruction of that empire in the fifteenth century, they were dispersed, and settled in different districts of the island, where their descendants are still discoverable. They are distinguished by the term Pándi.

Iron is cast in small quantities of a few ounces, and used occasionally for the point of the ploughshare. The metal is rendered fluid in about half an hour: charcoal is invariably used, and the operation is termed sing'i or chitak.

The bellows, which is peculiar, and believed to have been in use at the time of Pajajáran and Majapáhit, and of which a representation sculptured in stone was found in the recently discovered ruins at Suku (which bear date in the fourteenth century of the Javan æra), appears to be the same as that described by Dampier[51], in his account of Majindánao and the neighbouring islands. "Their bellows," says this faithful and intelligent traveller, "are much different from ours. They are made of a wooden cylinder, the trunk of a tree, [Vol I Pg 193]about three feet long, bored hollow like a pump, and set upright on the ground, on which the fire itself is made. Near the lower end there is a small hole in the side of the trunk next the fire, made to receive a pipe, through which the wind is driven by a great bunch of fine feathers fastened to one end of the stick, which closing up the inside of the cylinder, drives the air out of the cylinder through the pipe. Two of these trunks or cylinders are placed so nigh together, that a man standing between them may work them both at once, alternately, one with each hand." This account so exactly corresponds with the Javan bellows, that no further description is necessary. The Chinese bellows are partially used. The wages of a man skilled in iron-work are sometimes as high as a rupee a day.

Cutlery of every description is made by the smith. The most important manufacture of this kind is the krís, or dagger, of the peculiar form well known to be worn by all the more civilized inhabitants of the Eastern Islands.

The price of a krís blade, newly manufactured, varies from half a rupee to fifty dollars; but the same krís, if it is of good character, and if its descent can be traced for three or four generations, is frequently prized at ten times that sum. A pándi employed to manufacture a good krís blade, if the materials are furnished, is paid three dollars for the job.

The manufacture of sheaths or scabbards (sárong) for the krís constitute an exclusive profession; and the manufacturers are called túkang meráng'gi, or mergóngso. These men attend at the public market, where they occupy a particular quarter, in which may be seen people employed in the finishing or repair of every part of the mounting necessary for this instrument; some upon the handle, others upon the sheath; some in applying the paint and lacquer, others attending with a preparation of acids and arsenic for cleaning the blade, and bringing out the appearance of the pámur, a white metal obtained from Biliton and Celebes, which is worked up with the iron, in order to produce the damasked appearance of the blade.

Copper is manufactured into the kettles and pots employed by the natives for cooking; most of the other domestic vessels[Vol I Pg 194] are of brass, which is manufactured into various other articles, from the smallest, such as buttons, ear-studs, and other ornaments, in imitation of the gold patterns, to brass guns of considerable calibre, employed for the defence of small vessels. A very extensive foundery of this kind is established at Grésik. From the specimen of the casts in brass, copper, &c. which are occasionally dug up near many of the ruinous temples sacred to the ancient worship of the country, we may assert, that great proficiency was once attained in this art: like that, however, of stone-cutting, it has very much declined.

Gold and silver, as is well known, are wrought by the natives of the Eastern Islands into exquisite ornaments; and the Javans are by no means behind their neighbours, the Sumatrans, in the knowledge of this manufacture. They do not, however, usually work the gold into those beautiful filigree patterns, described as common among the Maláyus on Sumatra, nor is their work generally so fine.

Diamond-cutters, and persons skilled in the knowledge of cutting precious stones, are also to be found in the principal capitals.

Carving in wood is followed as a particular profession, and the Javans may be considered as expert in all kinds of carpenter's work, but more particularly in cabinet-work. They imitate any pattern, and the furniture used by the Europeans in the eastern part of the Island is almost exclusively of their workmanship. Carriages and other vehicles are also manufactured by the natives after the European fashion.

Boat and ship-building is an art in which the Javans are tolerably well versed, particularly the former. The latter is confined principally to those districts in which the Europeans have built ships, for the Javans have seldom attempted the construction of square-rigged vessels on their own account. The best carpenters for ship-building are found in the districts of Rembáng and Grésik, but small native vessels and boats are continually constructed by the natives in almost every district along the north coast.

When the quantity of teak timber, and the advantages of Java in respect of ports and harbours, are considered, the most flattering prospects are held out, that this Island[Vol I Pg 195] may, in time, be able to supply shipping to an increasing commerce of its own, and perhaps aid the dock-yards of other states.

Among the articles, the making of which may be interesting to Europeans, from the difference of the materials used or the process employed, is that of paper. The paper in common use with the Javans is prepared from the glúga (morus papyrifera) which is cultivated for this purpose, and generally called the delúwang, or paper tree. Having arrived at the age of two or three years, the young trees are cut while the bark easily peels off, and the fragments are portioned about twelve or eighteen inches in length, according to the intended size of the paper. These fragments are first immersed in water about twenty-four hours, in order that the epidermis may be separated; this being effected, the fibrous tissue of the inner bark is rendered soft and tractable by soaking in water, and by long and repeated beating with a piece of wood. During the intervals of this process, the fragments of the bark are piled in heaps in wooden troughs, and the affusion of fresh water is repeated till all impurities are carried off. The separate portions, which are about two or three inches broad, are then attached to each other on a plane surface, generally formed by the trunk of a plantain tree, and the union of the fibres is finally effected by continued beating. The quality of the paper depends upon the care employed in the preparation, and on the frequent affusion of fresh water. By applying successive layers to the spots which are bare from the defect of the fibres, and beating them till they unite, an uniform thickness is attained. The paper which is intended for writing is momentarily immersed in a decoction of rice, and rendered smooth and equal, by being rubbed to a polish on a plane surface. Such paper as is intended for common domestic purposes, for packing goods, &c. does not require this operation: in this the fibrous contexture of the bark is quite obvious; it much resembles a species of paper brought from Japan, and manufactured from the same tree, and was formerly employed instead of cloth by the poorer inhabitants. The process of manufacturing is strikingly like that in use among the inhabitants of the South Sea Islands, for the preparation of their cloth. The culture of this plant, as well as the manu[Vol I Pg 196]facture of paper, is chiefly confined to particular districts, where it forms the principal occupation of the priests, who gain a livelihood by it.

Large quantities of a coarse and homely sugar, distinguished by the name of Javan sugar, are prepared from the cocoa-nut, áren, and other palms. The average quantity of liquor extracted from one of these trees during a day and night, is about two quarts, and this is estimated to give from three to four ounces of sugar. The trees begin to yield it at about six or seven years of age, and continue to do so for ten or twelve years. The process of preparing the sugar is extremely simple: it consists merely in boiling the liquor in an earthen pot for a few hours, and afterwards pouring it into small cases made of leaves and prepared for the purpose, in which, when cool, it attains a due consistence.

Sugar from the cane is manufactured by the Chinese alone; the process followed resembles that of the West Indies. The juice is expressed between two rollers, sometimes turned by a water-wheel; but in all cases the machinery is rude and imperfect. The quality of the sugar made on Java is considered to be equal to that of Manilla and the West Indies: it contains as much of the saccharine principle as the latter, and is brought to a drier state. It differs from the sugar of Bengal, as much in its quality as in the mode of preparing it, but can be brought to market at about the same price. Considerable quantities are sent to the Malabar coast, but the principal exportation is to Japan and Europe.

The manufactory of Batavian arrack, the superior quality of which is well known, is also conducted by the Chinese: the process is as follows: About seventy pounds of kétan (glutinous rice) is heaped up in a small vat; round this heap or pile one hundred cans of water are poured, and on the top twenty cans of molasses. After remaining two days in this vat, the ingredients are shifted to a larger vat adjoining, when they receive the addition of four hundred cans of water and one hundred cans of molasses.

Thus far the process is carried on in the open air. In a separate vat within doors, forty cans of palm wine or toddy from the cocoa-nut tree, are immediately mixed with nine hundred cans of water and one hundred and fifty cans of mo[Vol I Pg 197]lasses. Both preparations being allowed to remain in this state for two days, the former of these preparations is carried to a still larger vat within doors, and the latter being in a vat placed above, is poured upon it, through a hole bored for the purpose near the bottom. In this state the preparation is allowed to ferment for two days, when it is poured into small earthen jars, containing about twenty cans each, in which it remains for the further period of two days: it is then distilled.

The liquor drops into a tin vessel under ground, from whence it is ladled into receiving vessels. This is the third or common sort of arrack, which by a second distillation in a smaller still, with the addition of a small quantity of water, becomes the second sort, and by a third distillation, what is called the first sort. The third or common sort is called by the Chinese síchew, the second tánpo, and the first kíji, the two latter being distinguished as arrack ápi. When cooled, it is poured into large vats in the storehouses, where it remains till it is convenient to put it into casks.

The whole process, therefore, to the completion of the first sort, does not require more than ten days, six hours being sufficient for the original preparation to pass through the first still. The receivers of the stills are of copper, and the worm consists of about nine turns of Banka tin.

The proof of sufficient fermentation is obtained by placing a lighted taper about six inches above the surface of the liquor in the fermenting vat; if the process is sufficiently advanced, the fixed air rises and extinguishes the light.

To ascertain the strength of the spirit, a small quantity of it is burnt in a saucer, and the residuum measured. The difference between the original quantity and the residuum gives the measure of the alcohol lost.

Among the most important manufactures of Java, both viewed in its relation to the comforts of the inhabitants and the interests of the revenue, is that of salt. In almost every country it is an indispensable commodity, but particularly where the people subsist on a vegetable diet, as in India and the Eastern Islands; and wherever government has seen it necessary, it has been converted into a source of taxation.

Nearly the whole of the north-east coast of Java and [Vol I Pg 198]-dúra abounds with places well calculated for its manufacture, and unfit for any other useful purpose. The quantity already manufactured has for many years exceeded the demand, both for home consumption and exportation, and might be increased almost ad libitum.

On Java the principal salt-pans are situated at Pákis, in the vicinity of Batavia; at Bantam, Chéribon, Tégal; at Wédong and Bráhang, in the Semárang districts; at Paradési, in Rembáng; at Sedáyu, Grésik, and Simámi; on Madúra, at Sámpang, Pamákasan, and Súmenap. Salt is also manufactured at several places along the south-coast, but of inferior quality, and by a different process. About two hundred tons are annually procured in the interior, from the Blédegs, as already described. The principal supply, however, is from the north-coast, where the quality of the salt, and the facility with which it can be manufactured, give it a decided advantage in demand and cheapness.

The process of manufacturing the salt on the north-coast is very simple, and depending on evaporation by the heat of the sun alone, may be favourably contrasted with the comparatively expensive process adopted in the Bengal provinces. Reservoirs are filled from the sea at high tide, and in them the water is allowed to remain for several days; this being found necessary to prevent the salt from being bitter. It is then conveyed by means of canals and sluices to the pans, which are distributed in compartments and banked in, so as to contain the sea-water, much in the same manner as the rice fields. If the weather be dry and the sun clear, five days are found sufficient for the process of evaporation in the pans; after which the salt is collected together in heaps, where it usually remains five days longer before it is brought into store.

Under the Dutch government, the manufacture of salt was fanned out to Chinese as an exclusive privilege; and to these farms, under the plea of enabling the farmer to command a sufficient number of hands for conducting his undertaking, and enabling him to make his advances to government, extensive tracts of rice land were attached, over the population of which the farmer was allowed unlimited authority. By a continued extension of these tracts, a population far more numerous than the work at the salt-pans required was wrested from[Vol I Pg 199] the administration of the regents and transferred to the Chinese: as they found their advantage in renting out the rice-fields, and employing the people in the transport of goods and other laborious offices of the country, the farms of course sold for more money. Under this system, it is difficult to say what was the actual cost of the salt to the farmer: the manufacturers were partly remunerated in land and partly in money, and the mode varied in every district; but this remuneration seldom amounted to more than a bare subsistence.

It was the practice of these farmers-general to underlet to other Chinese the privilege of selling salt, supplying them with the article at a certain rate, and these under-farmers sold the salt again to the petty retailers in the public markets at an advanced price. The price of the salt, after passing through the hands of the farmers, varied not only according to the distance from the place of manufacture, but according to the capital and speculation of the under-farmer; if he adopted the liberal system of obtaining small profits upon a large sale, the market was abundantly supplied at a low rate; but if, on the contrary, he traded on a small capital, and enhanced the price by insufficiently answering the demand, the price became proportionally exorbitant. In some places, as at Salátiga and Ung'arang, through which the salt was transported by inland carriage to the populous districts of the interior, the price was sometimes as high as one hundred and twenty, and even one hundred and forty Spanish dollars per kóyan, while along the coast, as at Chéribon and Surabáya, it was as low as thirty, and at Grésik twenty-five. The average in the year 1813, when the farming system was abolished, may be taken, one district with another, at about fifty-seven Spanish dollars the kógan, or rather less than thirty dollars per ton.

The quantity usually calculated for the annual consumption of Java and Madúra, including about one thousand kóyans estimated to be manufactured in the native provinces, is sixteen thousand kóyans, or thirty-two thousand tons. Under the arrangements now adopted for the manufacture and sale of this article, the average rate at which the manufacturers are paid is about six rupees the kóyan, including the charges of transport to the depôts, and the sale price varies from twenty-five to thirty-five Spanish dollars, according to[Vol I Pg 200] the distance from the principal depôts; an adequate supply by means of smaller depôts is insured in every part of the country.

The salt of Java exported to the other islands of the Archipelago, competes with that of Siam and the Coromandel coast, and generally supersedes it, both on account of its quality and cheapness. The exportation is free to all places except Bengal, where, on account of its interference with the monopoly there established, it has, since the conquest of Java, been found necessary to prohibit its importation under penalty of confiscation.

The salt of the south coast being manufactured by a process which is much more expensive than that employed on the north, and at the same time being inferior in quality, it is only consumed in places which the latter is prevented from reaching by the difficulty of conveyance or inland tolls and prohibitions; and it has consequently been calculated, that the north coast salt, if allowed to pass toll free through the country, would in a short time supersede that from the south altogether. The inferior quality of the latter is caused by the quantity of the sulphate of magnesia it contains, which renders it by its bitterness unpleasant for culinary purposes.

Of late years, the value of the manufacturing industry of the country may be in some degree be appreciated from the assistance it has afforded to the European government, when, in consequence of the war, the importation of European articles had become insufficient for the public service. Broad cloth not being procurable for the army, a kind of coarse cotton cloth was manufactured by the Javans, with which the whole army was clothed. At Semárang were established five of these manufactories, having seventy or eighty looms each. One or two of them made cotton lace, and supplied the army agents with epaulets, shoulder-knots, tassels, &c. There were likewise manufactures of cotton stockings, tape, fringes, cartridge-boxes, sword-belts, saddles, bridles, &c. and in short every thing that could be required for the dress and accoutrements of both cavalry and infantry.

Under European superintendents were established saltpetre works, powder-mills, foundries for shells, shot, anvils, &c. and manufactories of swords and small arms; and when it is[Vol I Pg 201] added, that the French government found means, within the the resources of Java alone, to equip an army of not less than fifteen thousand effective men, besides a numerous militia in every district, and that, with the exception of a few European superintendants in the more scientific works, all the articles were manufactured and supplied by the natives, it is not necessary to adduce any further proof of the manufacturing ability of the country.

Saltpetre is obtained in many parts of the island, and gunpowder has long been manufactured by the native inhabitants. A saltpetre manufactory was established near Grésik, under the superintendance of European officers, which it was calculated would furnish annually two thousand píkuls of that article to government, at the rate of eight rix-dollars per píkul, or one hundred and thirty-three pounds English. The importance of this establishment is manifest in the following observations of Colonel Mackenzie.

"I considered that one day would be usefully employed in viewing the saltpetre works, which a very few years back had been established here, at the risk, and by the zeal and ingenuity of private individuals, with the view of supplying this colony with that necessary ingredient for gunpowder. The best sulphur is supplied from a mountain near the straits of Báli. For further details of these mines; of the manner in which the nitre is obtained, by an ingenious application of the latest European improvements in chemistry; of the sulphureous crater of the mountain, whence the sulphur, in its utmost purity, is supplied; of the reports of the French engineers, last year, on the improvement of the gunpowder of Java; of the wood selected for the best charcoal, and of the present state of the manufactory and powder-mills at Semárang, I must refer, at present, to several papers collected by me on this subject, which may be usefully applicable to our manufactures of gunpowder in India. Passing over these and other considerations, I shall only observe, that of these mines, one of them is cut in caverns into the soft white calcareous rock; and another, more regularly designed, supported by pillars or masses of the native rock, covers regularly formed beds of the native earth, which being impregnated with the native nitre, saturated with the evacuation of[Vol I Pg 202] the numerous bats that haunt these caverns, and mixed with a compound of wood ashes, supplies the liquid that is boiled in large kettles, and afterwards left to cool and crystallize. The whole process is carried on, in a regular manner, under the direction of the first executor of this really grand work, who now resides at Surabáya[52]."

The labour of felling the teak trees and transporting the timber from the forests, gives employment to a very considerable population, who are distinguished from those employed in other avocations, by the term of blándong people, or foresters. The teak timber was formerly delivered to the government as a contingent, by the regents of those districts in which the principal forests were situated, the quantity being regulated according to the supposed extent of the different forests, and the means of cutting and transporting the wood. Previously to the year 1808, the amount of this annual contingent was eight thousand eight hundred beams of different sizes, according to the wants of the public service, of which more than three thousand were delivered from the central forests of Rembáng.

The cutting and dragging of the timber delivered in contingent was performed by the inhabitants of the villages adjacent to the forests, and the buffaloes required were left to be provided by the regents. For this service, in the Rembáng districts, four hundred cutters and labourers, and four hundred and twelve pair of buffaloes, were appropriated for the supply of three thousand one hundred beams annually, a proportion which varied in the other districts, only according to the distance of the forest from the timber yard on the coast, where payment was made for timber on delivery, at the rate of sixteen pence for cutting and conveying a beam of from eighteen to twenty feet long and from nine to ten inches broad, forty-eight stivers for a beam of from thirty-one to thirty-six feet long and from thirteen to fifteen inches broad, and for others in proportion. This was the regular and only payment made for the contingent timber; but when the demands of government exceeded the fixed contingent, which was generally the case, the excess was paid for at an advance of fifty per cent. on these prices. Crooked and other timber for ship-building was paid[Vol I Pg 203] for at about the same rate, but calculated according to a fixed table by the weight.

Under this system, the regents rented out many of the villages adjoining the forests to individuals, and sold, on their own account, such timber as was not of proper quality to be delivered to government. As the demands of government increased, as well as those of the European residents, who were many of them concerned in ship-building and in the sale of timber, the forests near the coast were soon exhausted of their best timber, and as it became necessary for the cutters to go further into the interior, the labour and expense increased, but without any corresponding recompense to them, for the government never raised the price. Individuals, however, did so; and the consequence was, that government finding no regulations they could make for the internal management of the forests sufficient to ensure them an adequate supply, were contented to believe that a greater quantity than was actually furnished could not be cut without injury to the forests; although, at that very time, the deliveries to individuals in the eastern districts were estimated at not less than fifty or sixty thousand beams per annum, the coast was lined with Java-built trading vessels of every description, and these, as well as the rough timber, were frequently sent for sale to a distant market.

In the year 1808, however, in common with all the other departments on the island, this important one was newly organized by Marshal Daendels, who placing the highest value on the forests, and determining to prevent the abuses which had previously existed, removed all the population which had formerly been engaged in the forests in the different parts of the island from the controul of the native regent, as well as the local European authority, and placed them, with the villages and lands to which they were attached, under a separate board or administration for the forest department. This change effectually secured government in the monopoly, and succeeded in the prevention of the abuses which had formerly existed: but in the degree that it had this effect, it also operated to the serious injury of general commerce and the domestic comfort of the inhabitants; for every one was now obliged to buy the timber from government, at a high monopoly rate fixed by general regulation, and the timber could[Vol I Pg 204] only be obtained in comparatively small quantities, seldom of the dimensions required, and only at the fixed staples. Ship-building, and even boat-building, which had before been carried to the greatest extent along the whole coast, was discontinued, and the cottage of the native, which had formerly cost a few rupees, now cost ten times the amount if built of desirable materials.

Under the administration of the Board of Forest, whose residence was fixed at Semárang, and who were altogether independent of the local authorities, was now placed a population of nearly one hundred thousand souls, exclusively devoted to the labours of the forests; and as no revenue had been given up by the arrangement, and a small annual delivery of iron, salt, and gunpowder, to the foresters, was the only payment made, considerable profit was expected to result from it to the government. It was found, however, after the establishment of the British government, that the timber which had been cut, and of which there was an immense quantity on hand, was not of a description required for the building of coasting vessels, and could not compete in Bengal with that of Pegu, without such a reduction in the monopoly price, as added to the loss occasioned by so large a proportion of the population, who were set apart for this duty and contributed nothing else to the revenue, the extent of the establishment necessary to enable the government to be the sole timber merchant, and the abuses connected with it, would amount to more than all the profits that had been calculated on. The coasting trade was perishing for want of vessels, and the forest department was a losing concern. Under these circumstances, it was judged expedient to include the population of the Blándongs in the general arrangements for the release of the peasantry from feudal bondage, and the establishment of a fixed rent from the land, in lieu of all services and payment formerly rendered.

The people who lived near the forests, and had long been in the habit of cutting and dragging the timber, still however continued in this employment, an annual contract being made with them for their services in the forests, in remuneration for which a remission of rent was granted. The largest and most valuable forests are, under this system, reserved for the exclu[Vol I Pg 205]sive use of government; others of less value, and the limits of which can be easily defined, have, in consideration of a recognition of ten per cent. ad valorem on the timber when worked up, been thrown open to individuals engaged in ship-building, who generally contract with the people of the adjoining villages, to cut and deliver the timber at fixed prices: a mode which has also been occasionally resorted to by government, especially for the inferior and small kinds of timber, shingles, pipe staves, &c. which are allowed to be cut in particular forests.

The industry which has been excited by opening these facilities in procuring timber, and the impetus which it has afforded to trade, may be estimated by this fact, that within the last few years have been launched no less than ten to twelve square-rigged vessels, of from one hundred and fifty to four hundred tons, and that many more of larger dimensions were about to be built, when the restoration of the colony was announced.

It need hardly be observed, that due precautions have been taken for the preservation and renovation of the valuable forests, which so far from being exhausted, are capable of supplying besides crooked and compass timber for ship-building, forty or fifty thousand beams in the year without injury. European overseers are appointed, and one general superintendent is placed over the whole.

As illustrative of the importance attached to these forests by the Dutch, and of the capabilities of the island for ship-building, it may not be uninteresting to annex an extract from Mr. Hogendorp's appeal to the authorities in Holland on this subject.[53] [Vol I Pg 206]

The Blandong people or foresters are generally employed in cutting or in dragging timber during eight months out of the twelve, but they are obliged to watch the forests the whole year through: they are regularly relieved, and half the working men are at all times left disposable for the rice fields. The Blandong people have always been accustomed to the work, and generally have their villages near the principal forests. It is one of the advantages of the system of contracting with the people for land payments, that in emergencies they are willing to lend their own buffaloes to assist those of government in dragging heavy timber, which could not be removed otherwise without great expence, while their children at other times watch and attend the cattle belonging to government. [Vol I Pg 207]In short, the resources of the village are at the disposal of government, for a land payment considerably less than one-third of the expence of hired labourers, whom it would be difficult to procure, and still more difficult, from the character of the people, to retain in constant and unremitting employment.

Under the system of granting remissions of rent, it has been calculated that in the districts of Semárang, where the assessment is comparatively high, on account of the vicinity to a large capital, a remission of eight rupees and a half, or about twenty shillings, being the average amount paid annually by each cultivator, government obtains a man's hard labour for six months of the year. But as the inhabitants of the same village are generally accustomed to labour in the fields alternately, and thus to assist each other, it has been found advisable to make the remissions of rent for the Blandongs to the village as a community, in order to avoid the delay and endless vexation which would ensue, in adjusting the petty claims of each individual.

In the maritime districts on the north-east side of the island, a very large proportion of the population is employed in the fisheries, and so moderate are the seasons, that except perhaps for a few days at the change of the monsoon, they are seldom interrupted by the weather.

The sea fish is taken either by the net, in stakes (wídi), or with the hook and line: the most considerable quantity is of course procured by means of the two former, generally distinguished by the term máyang, whence práhu máyang, fishing boat. The whole apparatus of the hook and line is called pánching, the usual term for angling among the Maláyus. The fishing-boats quit the shore at about three or four o'clock in the morning, and are driven out by the land breeze beyond sight before daylight. At about noon they are seen returning with the sea-breeze, and generally reach the shore by two in the afternoon. The stakes along the whole of the northern coast, wherever the banks and projecting land admit, are very extensive: they are often fixed in several fathom water, and constitute a very important property. They are usually closed in the night.

Nets are principally made of rámi, though sometimes of[Vol I Pg 208] gadáng'an, and even of cotton. They are steeped in an infusion, which not only darkens their colour, but is considered essentially to contribute to their strength. Fish that is not eaten or disposed of while fresh, is salted and dried in the sun, or smoke-dried at a short distance from a fire, and in that state forms an extensive article of internal commerce. Besides the abundance of fish thus obtained from the sea, extensive tracts of country, salt marshes, and inlets of the sea, have in several parts of the island been converted into fish-ponds (támba). These ponds are to be found in most of the low maritime districts: those at Grésik, which are the most extensive, appear to have been first established during the visit of one of the early Mahomedan princes of the island in the fifteenth century. The bándeng is generally considered as the richest and highest-flavoured fish known in these seas: the young fry are taken in the sea, and transferred to these ponds, where they grow and fatten for seven months, when they are fit for the table. An annual supply of young fish from the sea is found necessary to keep up the stock in the tanks; and, whether from a desire to raise the value of the fish so obtained in them, or otherwise, the natives generally affirm, that the fish rarely attains its full size in the sea. The extent and value of these nurseries for the fish may be estimated from the rent paid for those at Grésik, which are the property of government.

The river fish are taken by a variety of methods: one is to throw a number of branches of trees into a deep part of the river; here the fish collect: they are then surrounded by stakes, or the branches are taken out, and the fish easily caught; this method is termed rúmpon. Bámbu fences are sometimes thrown across the rivers at night, and so constructed that the fish are easily entrapped as they pass down the stream: this method is called pásang wádong. The rivers and ponds are frequently dragged by nets of different sizes. The coculus indicus, and other intoxicating drugs, are sometimes thrown into the river, after which the fish are found floating on the surface and easily taken; this method, termed túba, is prohibited on large rivers: when the fish are afterwards driven down the river by a number of men into a snare laid below, the usual term is jámprong. In the western dis[Vol I Pg 209]tricts, a fishing party of this description affords a very favourite amusement on great occasions. A time is selected when the river is moderately low; temporary stands made of the trunks of small trees or stout bámbus are then thrown across, each consisting of three piles, fastened together at the top and expanding below, the bottoms being pointed so as to fix in the ground. On a small stage on each, just above the surface of the water, are piled a few stones, by which they are steadied while the current is allowed a free course below. The piers or stages thus formed, answer well for the construction of a temporary bridge over the rocky or stony bed of the most irregular river. A coarse matting, made of bámbu or some other material, is then carried from one to the other, so as to shut the current in within a narrow space, across which a temporary platform and shed is thrown, with a sloping floor rising above the surface of the water, to where the party is assembled. The drug having been thrown into the river, a considerable distance higher up several hundred people now enter the river, and driving the half-intoxicated fish before them, they come floundering one after the other on the bámbu stage, to the no small amusement of the party collected, fish of a considerable size literally jumping into their laps. On these occasions, when the entertainment is given to Europeans, a great concourse of people attend, a feast is prepared, and the wild and antic music and dance of the mountaineers, performing on the ánklang and rude drum, give great peculiarity and zest to the amusement. Fish are sometimes struck at night by torch light, both at sea and in the rivers; but this method is not very general.

Pearls are obtained in the vicinity of Bányuwáng'i, where the privilege of fishing for them is farmed out by the year, as well as in the vicinity of Núsakambáng'an, on the south side of the island; but they are generally of the description called seed pearls, and of little value.

FOOTNOTES:

[50] These vessels for large patterns are sometimes made of the cocoa-nut shell, and then hold a proportionally larger quantity.

[51] Dampier's Voyage, vol. ii.

[52] Journal of Colonel Mackenzie, 1812.

[53] "Batavians! be amazed! hear with wonder what I have to communicate. Our fleets are destroyed, our trade languishes, our navigation is going to ruin​—we purchase with immense treasures, timber and other materials for ship-building from the northern powers, and on Java we leave warlike and mercantile squadrons standing with their roots in the ground. Yes, the forests of Java have timber enough to build a respectable navy in a short time, besides as many merchant ships as we require. Hemp would grow as well as in Bengal, and as labour is as cheap in Java, we may consequently presume that it would require little trouble to establish manufactures of canvas and cordage there in a short time. But, at any rate, Java already produces at a very low price cayar and gamuti cordage, which answers very well for cables, hawsers, and rigging. To build ships at Java for the mother country, it is only necessary to send out skilful and complete master-builders with a few ship carpenters; for common workmen are to be had on Java in numbers, and at a very low rate, as a good Java carpenter may be hired at five stivers a day. The principal objection that could be made is, that the shores of Java being very flat and level, are not well adapted for building, and still less for launching ships of heavy burthens, but this difficulty may be easily overcome: on the islands before Batavia, and particularly Brunt and Cooke's Island, wharfs, or even docks, may be constructed at little expence. The same may be observed of one of the islands off Japára and at Grésik, besides many other places in the eastern division, in the harbour which is formed by the island of Madúra, and which is sheltered from every wind.

"The resident of Rembáng, and sometimes of Jawána, are almost the only Europeans who build ships, for it is too difficult and dangerous for others to undertake it, under the arbitrary government at present existing in Java, under which nothing can flourish or succeed. But the Chinese, who are favoured in every thing, are well aware how to turn this also to their own advantage, and to build a great number of vessels all along the coast, from fifteen to two hundred tons burthen, for which they get the timber almost for nothing, by means of renting the forest villages. It is easy to imagine, how these avaricious bloodsuckers use the forests, and manage to get all they can out of them. In spite of all this, however, the forests of Java grow as fast as they are cut, and would be inexhaustible under good care and management.

"At Bombay, Surat, and Demaun, and other places along the coast of Malabar, at Bengal, and at Pegu, the English build many large and fine ships, which last a length of time, especially those of Bombay and Malabar built, although I believe the wood produced there, however good, is not equal to the teak of Java." [Vol I Pg 210]


CHAPTER V.

Commerce​—Advantageous Situation of Java for Commercial Intercourse​—Importance of Batavia in particular​—Native Trade​—Roads and Inland Carriage​—Markets​—Influence of the Chinese​—Coasting Trade​—Exports and Imports​—Trade with the Archipelago​—China​—Kamtschatka​—Western India​—Europe, &c.​—Dutch Commercial Regulations​—State of the Eastern Islands​—Advantages which they possess​—Causes of the Depression of the Nations and Tribes which inhabit them​—Japan Trade.

From the importance which the Dutch, in the days of their greatness, attached to their East-India commerce, of which Batavia was the emporium, and the importance which this commerce conferred upon them, from the desire excited in the other nations to obtain a share in its advantages, and the crimes committed to maintain its undivided monopoly, some idea may be formed of its magnitude and value. When the French troops, in the summer of 1672, under Louis XIV. had overrun the territory of Holland, with the rapidity and irresistible force of the sea after bursting the dykes, the Republic formed the magnanimous resolution of transporting its wealth, its enterprise, and its subjects to another hemisphere, rather than submit to the terms of the conqueror, and fixed upon Batavia, already the seat of its eastern commerce, as the capital of its new empire. They could have found shipping in their own ports for the transport of fifty thousand families; their country was inundated with the ocean, or in possession of the invader; their power and political importance consisted in their fleets and colonies; and having been accustomed to maintain their naval superiority by the fruits of their eastern trade, and to buy the corn of Europe with the spices of the Moluccas, they would have felt less from a removal of their seat of empire from the north of Europe to the south of Asia, than any people who ever contemplated a similar change; while, at the same time, the very project of such an extraordinary emigration, and[Vol I Pg 211] the means they had of carrying it into effect, give us the highest ideas of the independent spirit inspired by their free government, and of their commercial prosperity, derived, in a great degree, from their eastern establishments and connexions.

The same advantages which the Europeans derived from the navigation of the Mediterranean, the inhabitants of the Malayan Archipelago enjoyed in a higher degree; and it cannot be doubted, that among islands lying in smooth and unruffled seas, inviting the sail or oar of the most timid and inexperienced mariner, an intercourse subsisted at a very early period. To this intercourse, and to the fertility of the soil of Java, which soon rendered it an agricultural country, must be attributed the high degree of civilization and of advancement in the arts, which, from the monuments of its progress which still exist, there is every reason to believe it once attained. In short, to adopt the expressions of Dr. Adam Smith, when speaking of a very different country[54], Java, "on account of the natural fertility of its soil, of the great extent of its sea-coast in proportion to the whole of the country, and of the number of its navigable rivers, affording the conveniency of water carriage to some of its most inland parts, is conveniently fitted by nature to be the seat of foreign commerce, of manufactures for sale to the neighbouring countries, and of all the improvements which these can occasion."

But though there can be little doubt that Java very early emerged from barbarism, and rose to great commercial prosperity, to determine the precise time at which these events took place is perhaps impossible; and to approach the solution of the question would involve an inquiry that will be better reserved till we come to treat of its languages, institutions, and antiquities. If, in the consideration of these topics, it should be made to appear, that, in very remote ages, these regions were civilized from Western India, and that an extensive Hindu empire once existed on Java, it will be reasonable to infer a commercial intercourse still earlier than the communication of laws and improvement.

In the remarkable account of the rich commodities conveyed to ancient Tyre, it would appear that there were many articles[Vol I Pg 212] the peculiar produce of the Malayan States; and in that given by Strabo of the importations into Egypt, cloves, which we know to be the exclusive produce of the Moluccas, are expressly mentioned. The same taste for the fine kinds of spices, and the same desire to obtain them, which prompted European nations successively to make themselves masters of these islands, must in all probability have operated, in a very remote period, on the merchants of Hindustan, and even of countries lying farther to the westward, who had already found their way into the gold regions; and if the hypothesis, which places Mount Ophir on Sumatra or the peninsula of Malacca, cannot be maintained, it will at any rate be admitted, that previously to the discovery of America, no country was known more rich in gold than the Malayan Islands, and that, on that account, they were peculiarly attractive to foreigners, who could not be supplied from any other quarter.

The Arabs, it is known, had in the ninth century, if not long previously, made themselves acquainted with these countries; and the Chinese, if we may trust the Javan annals, had visited Java at the same period. According to Kempfer, the Maláyus in former times had by far the greatest trade in the Indies, and frequented, with their vessels, not only all the coasts of Asia, but even ventured to the shores of Africa, and particularly to the great island of Madagascar; "for," adds this author, "John de Barros in his Decades, and Flaccourt in his History of Madagascar, assures us, that the language spoken by the inhabitants of that large African island is full of Javan and Malayan words: subsisting proofs of the commerce with these two nations, about two thousand years ago the richest and most powerful of Asia, had carried on with Madagascar, where they had settled in great numbers."

Whatever credit we may attach to these statements and inferences, respecting the commerce of these islands before they were visited by Europeans in the fifteenth century, it is certain that, at this period, an extensive trade was established at Malacca, Acheen, and Bantam, then the great emporiums of the Eastern Archipelago. Hither the rich produce of Sumatra, Borneo, and the Moluccas, was conveyed in the small trading craft of the country, and exchanged for the[Vol I Pg 213] produce of India and China. These ports were then filled with vessels from every maritime state of Asia, from the Red Sea to Japan. The Portuguese, who preceded the Dutch in India, and who had fixed upon Goa, on the coast of Malabar, as the capital of their eastern settlements, selected Malacca as the most convenient station for conducting and protecting their trade with the islands, and erected it into a secondary capital. The Dutch finding this desirable station pre-occupied, and being foiled in their attempts to dislodge their rivals, first established a commercial settlement at Bantam, and subsequently subdued by force of arms the neighbouring province of Jákatra, (or Jokárta), on which, as will be afterwards mentioned, they built the fortress, the city, and the port of Batavia.

Nor was it without reason that they selected this spot for the capital of their new empire. "What the Cape of Good Hope is," says Adam Smith, "between Europe and every part of the East Indies, Batavia is between the principal countries in the East Indies. It lies upon the most frequented road from Hindustan to China and Japan, and is nearly about midway on that road. Almost all the ships, too, that sail between Europe and China, touch at Batavia; and it is, over and above all this, the centre and principal mart of what is called the country trade of the East Indies, not only of that part of it which is carried on by Europeans, but of that which is carried on by the native Indians, and vessels navigated by the inhabitants of China and Japan, of Tonquin, of Malacca, of Cochin China, and the Island of Celebes, are frequently to be seen in its port. Such advantageous situations have enabled these two colonies to surmount all the obstacles which the oppressive genius of an exclusive company may have occasionally opposed to their growth: they have enabled Batavia to surmount the additional disadvantage, of perhaps the most unwholesome climate in the world."

It would be as difficult to describe in detail the extent of the commerce enjoyed by Java[55], at the period of the establishment [Vol I Pg 214]of the Dutch in the eastern seas, as it would be painful to point out how far, or to show in what manner, that commerce was interfered with, checked, changed in its character, and reduced in its importance, by the influence of a withering monopoly, the rapacity of avarice armed with power, and the short-sighted tyranny of a mercantile administration. To convey an idea of the maritime strength of the native princes anterior to this date, as giving a criterion by which to judge of the trade of their subjects, it may be sufficient to state that warlike expeditions, consisting of many hundred vessels, are often reported to have been fitted out against Borneo, Sumatra, and the peninsula. In the art of ship-building, however, they do not appear to have advanced beyond the construction of that sort of vessel adapted to the navigation of their own smooth seas, and now to be met with in all their ports and harbours; nor do they seem to have had any knowledge of maritime geography beyond the shores of their own Archipelago, and the information which they gained from the reports of the Arabs, or the traditions of their own more adventurous ancestors. This circumstance would lead us to infer that the trade of Java was carried on chiefly in foreign vessels, and through the enterprize of foreign adventurers. The habits of the people had become agricultural; they had nearly deserted an element which they had no powerful temptation to traverse, and on which they could reap little, compared with what they could draw from the fertility of their own territory. Leaving therefore their ports to be filled, and their commodities to be carried away by the Maláyus, the Búgis, the Indians, the Chinese, and the Arabs, they for the most part contented themselves with enjoying the advantages of a trade, in which they incurred no chance of loss; and thus, though their own country yielded neither gold nor jewels, they are said to have been plentifully supplied with these and other valuable articles on their own shores, in exchange for the produce of their tranquil industry and their fertile soil. This kind of traffic was almost entirely annihilated, or at least very much diverted from its ancient course, by the restrictive system of Dutch colonial policy. Some branches of it were, it must be allowed, partially encouraged by the influx of European capital and the demand for particular articles which bear a high price in the European[Vol I Pg 215] market; but this was an inadequate compensation for the loss of that commerce, which may be said to be as much the growth of the country as any of its indigenous plants. In order to show to what insignificance it was reduced under Dutch oppression, and what tendency it has to improve under a better system, it is only necessary to compare its state during the latter years of the Dutch government, before the blockade, and afterwards during the short interval of British administration. For the first of these purposes, I have drawn, in the introduction to this work, a short sketch of the condition of the Dutch East India Company, for a considerable period previous to our arrival; and I now proceed to give some account of the external and internal trade of Java, as it existed at the time when we restored it to its former masters.

The extent of this commerce, since the establishment of the British government, and since a greater freedom of trade has been allowed, may, for a want of a better criterion, be estimated from the amount of tonnage employed since the beginning of the year 1812, at which period the operations of the military expedition had ceased, and the transports were discharged.

In the year 1812, the number of square-rigged vessels which entered the port of Batavia amounted to 239, and their aggregate tonnage to 48,290 tons, and in the same year the native craft amounted to 455 vessels, or 7,472 tons, or together 55,762 tons. The quantity cleared out during the same year was 44,613 tons of shipping, and 7,762 of native craft, making together 52,375.

In the year 1813, the number of square-rigged vessels was 288, and the tonnage 51,092, the native craft amounting to 796 vessels, or 13,214 tons, or together 64,306 tons.

In 1814, three hundred and twenty-one ships, or 63,564 tons, cleared out with 568 native vessels, or 9,154 tons, shewing the total tonnage of Batavia during this year to have amounted to 72,718 tons.

The returns for the following year have not been received, but they are estimated to exceed either of the two former years, and not to have fallen much short of one hundred thousand tons; and it may be noticed, that during one year after the first accounts were received of the successes of the[Vol I Pg 216] allied armies against France, no less than thirty-two ships, measuring fifteen thousand tons, cleared out, and carried cargoes, the produce of Java, to the London market.

The average annual tonnage which cleared out from the port of Surabáya, for the three last years, amounted to about thirty thousand tons, and the native tonnage trading to the neighbouring port of Grésik is estimated to have even exceeded that quantity.

At the small port of Súmenap, situated at the east end of Madúra, which is a principal resort for the native trade, the tonnage which cleared out was

Small prahus and vessels. Tonnage.
For 1812 3,765 15,230
1813 4,752 33,769

And the estimated value of the same,

Imports. Exports.
For 1812 Rupees 625,628 Rupees 396,820
1813 740,080 492,020[56].

The value of the imports and exports of Semárang, on which duties were actually collected at that port, were

Imports. Exports.
For 1812 Rupees 555,044 Rupees 167,101
1813 1,530,716 985,709
1814 686,330 549,038

The native tonnage which cleared from Rembáng was as follows:

In 1812 862 vessels or 8,058 tons.
1813 1,095 ditto. 8,657
1814 1,455 ditto. 12,935

The trade from the other minor ports was inconsiderable, the effect of the regulations passed in 1813 being yet hardly felt. From Pakalúngan the tonnage which cleared was for 1812, 5,962 tons, and for 1813, 4,679 tons, the imports being about 150,000 rupees, and the exports 300,000 rupees in each year; from Tégal for 1812, 2,445 tons, and for 1813, 1,926[Vol I Pg 217] tons, the imports being about 50,000, and the exports about 60,000 rupees in each year.

The amount of tonnage which touched at Anyer, on the way through the Straits of Súnda, to and from Europe, Africa, and America, was

In 1812 73 ships 29,450
1813 73 37,546
1814 125 56,942

By an official return made in March 1816, it appears that the total quantity of tonnage in vessels boarded on their passage through the Straits of Súnda, amounted in 1812 to 45,000 tons; in 1813, to 56,000 tons; in 1814, to 64,000 tons; and in 1815, to 130,000 tons; to which, adding a third for vessels which passed without being boarded, the whole amount of tonnage for these four years, would be 390,000, the quantity in the fourth of these years being nearly triple that of the first.

The commerce of Java may be considered under the two general divisions of the native and the European, the former including the internal and coasting trade, with that of the Malayan Archipelago in general; the latter comprehending that carried on by Europeans and Americans with India, China and Japan, Africa, America, and Europe.

Java has already been described as a great agricultural country. It has long been considered as the granary of the Eastern Islands.

The southern coast is for the most part inaccessible, and seldom visited by traders; but along the north coast there are no less than thirteen principal ports, besides numerous other intermediate and less considerable ones, frequented by native vessels at all seasons of the year. Many of these are sheltered, and form safe harbours in all weather, as Bantam, Batavia, Rembáng, Grésik, and Surabáya. Even where the vessels lie in an open roadstead, the wind is seldom sufficiently strong to render the anchorage unsafe. Several of the rivers are navigable for many miles into the interior, and most of them are capable of receiving native vessels into the heart of the town, through which they generally run; but the rivers of Java, as well as those of the eastern coast of Sumatra and the western coast of Borneo, are for the most part obstructed at[Vol I Pg 218] their entrance by extensive bars, which preclude the admission of vessels of any very considerable burthen. Piers have been run out in many places, to remedy this inconvenience; but in consequence of the quantity of soil annually carried down, the bars or banks are continually increasing, and in some places, as at Tégal, have nearly blocked up the communication between the rivers and the sea.

The produce and manufactures of the country are conveyed from one district to another and to these maritime capitals, either by water or land carriage. The principal navigable rivers to the westward, are those which disembogue themselves below Táng'ran, Kráwang, and Indramáyu, and the produce brought down by them is usually conveyed to Batavia. To the eastward, the great Sólo river, which is navigable from Súra-kérta, affords, with the Kedíri, the principal and only outlets from the native provinces by water towards the northern coast. Down the former, which empties itself by several mouths, near Grésik, into the great harbour of Surabáya, during the rains, large quantities of the produce of the richest provinces of the interior are conveyed. The boats employed, which are of considerable burthen, return with cargoes of salt. This river runs through many valuable teak forests, and consequently affords the means of easy transport for the timber; an advantage which is also derived from several smaller rivers on the northern coast, particularly in the neighbourhood of the principal building yards. Facilities of the same kind are also found at most of the sea ports, which are generally seated on rivers passing through forests in the interior, down which timber required for house-building and the construction of small craft is floated with ease. An inland navigation is carried on to a considerable extent, by means of small canals, in Demák and some of the neighbouring districts, where it is common, even during the harvest, at the driest season of the year, to observe innumerable boats with their light sails crossing an extensive, flat, and highly cultivated country and traversing the corn-fields in various directions. In the rich and fertile delta of Surabáya, the whole produce of the adjacent country is conveyed by water carriage, generally on light rafts constructed of a few stems of the plantain tree.

Goods not conveyed by water carriage, are usually carried[Vol I Pg 219] on the backs of oxen or horses, or on the shoulders of men and women, carts not being generally used, except in the western districts, where the population is thin, or in some of the more eastern districts, particularly those recently under Chinese direction. The cart of the western districts, termed pedáti, is of clumsy construction, running on two large solid wheels, from five to six feet in diameter, and from one to two inches broad, on a revolving axle, and drawn by two buffaloes. It is the ordinary conveyance of goods to the capital, within a range of about sixty miles from Batavia.

Few countries can boast of roads, either of a better description, or of a greater extent, than some of those in Java. A high post road, passable for carriages at all seasons of the year, runs from Anyer, on the western side of Bantam, to within twenty miles of Bányuwángi, the eastern extremity of the Island, being a distance of not less than eight hundred English miles. Along this road, at intervals of less than five miles, are regular post stations and relays of carriage horses. A portion of it towards the west, which proceeded into the interior, and passed over some high and mountainous tracts, was found to occasion great delay and inconvenience to passengers, and to impose an oppressive duty upon those inhabitants, who, residing in the neighbourhood, were obliged to lend the use of their cattle, or the assistance of their personal labour, to aid carriages in ascending the steeps; this part of the line has therefore been abandoned, and a new road has recently been constructed along the low lands, from Batavia to Chéribon, by which not only the former inequalities are avoided, but a distance of fifty miles is saved. This route is now so level, that a canal might easily be cut along its side, and carried on nearly through all the maritime districts of the eastward, by which the convenience of inland navigation might be afforded them, for conveying the commodities continually required for the consumption and exportation of the capital. Besides this main road from one extreme to the other, there is also a high military road, equally well constructed, which crosses the Island from north to south, leading to the two native capitals of Súra-kérta and Yúg'ya-kérta, and consequently to within a few miles of the South Sea. Cross roads have also been formed wherever the convenience[Vol I Pg 220] or advantage of Europeans required them; and there is no part of the Island to which the access is less difficult. But it is not to be concluded, that these communications contribute that assistance to agriculture or trade on Java, which such roads would afford in Europe: their construction has, on the contrary, in many instances, been destructive to whole districts, and when completed by his own labour, or the sacrifice of the lives of his neighbours, the peasant was debarred from their use, and not permitted to drive his cattle along them, while he saw the advantages they were capable of yielding reserved for his European masters, that they might be enabled to hold a more secure possession of his country. They were principally formed during the blockade of the Island, and were intended to facilitate the conveyance of stores, or the passage of troops necessary for its military defence. The inhabitants, however, felt the exclusion the less, as good inferior roads were often made by the side of these military roads, and bye-roads branched off through all parts of the country, so that the internal commerce met with no impediment for the want of direct or convenient lines of communication.

Nor is it discouraged by the want of understood or established places of exchange. Bazars or public markets (here called pékan) are established in every part of the country, and usually held twice a-week, if not oftener. The market days are in general regulated by what are called pásar days, being a week of five days, similar to that by which the markets in South America appear to be regulated. At these markets are assembled frequently some thousands of people, chiefly women, on whom the duty devolves of carrying the various productions of the country to these places of traffic. In some districts, extensive sheds are erected for the accommodation of the people; but, in general, a temporary covering of thatch, to shelter them from the rays of the sun, is made for the occasion, and thought sufficient. Where the market is not held within a town of considerable size, the assemblage usually takes place under a large tree, in a spot occupied from immemorial usage for that purpose. In these markets there are regular quarters appropriated for the grain merchant, the cloth merchant, venders of iron, brass, and copper ware, and dealers in the various small manufactures of the country, as well as those of India, China,[Vol I Pg 221] and Europe. Prepared eatables of every kind, as well as all the fruits and vegetables in request, occupy a considerable space in the fair, and find a rapid sale. In the more extensive bazars, as at Sólo, the kris handle makers have their particular quarter, and in an adjoining square, horses and oxen are exposed for sale.

Small duties are generally levied in these bazars, the collection of which was formerly farmed out to Chinese; but it being found that they exacted more than the settled or authorized rate, and that they contrived, by means of the influence which their office conferred, to create a monopoly in their own favour, not only of the articles of trade but of many of the necessaries of life, that system has latterly been relinquished wherever practicable, and government has taken the management of that portion of the public revenue into its own hands. In the bazars, accordingly, regulated under the immediate superintendence of its officers, extensive sheds are built, and a small compensation only is required for the use of them by those who there intend to expose their goods for sale. This duty is collected at the entrance into the market-place, and is taken in lieu of all other taxes or customs whatever, formerly levied on the transit or sale of native commodities. It is to be regretted, that this improvement had not been extended to the native provinces, where every article of produce and manufacture is still impeded in its progress through the country to the place of consumption or export, by toll duties and other impolitic exactions, and charged on its arrival there with heavy bazar duties, to the discouragement of industry and enterprize, and the depression of agriculture and trade, in a degree not compensated by a proportionate benefit to the revenue[57]. [Vol I Pg 222]

Almost all the inland commerce, beyond what is thus carried on though the medium of bazars, is under the direction of the Chinese, who, possessing considerable capital, and frequently speculating on a very extensive scale, engross the greater part of the wholesale trade, buy up the principal articles of export from the native grower, convey them to the maritime capitals, and in return supply the interior with salt, and with the principal articles imported from the neighbouring islands, or from foreign countries. The industry of the Javans being directed almost exclusively to the cultivation of the soil, they are satisfied if they can find an immediate market for their surplus produce; and the Chinese, from their superior wealth and enterprize, offering them this advantage without interfering with their habits, have obtained almost a monopoly of their produce, and an uncontrolled command of their market for foreign commodities.

The trade carried on by native vessels along the coast, with the neighbouring islands, and with the peninsula of Malacca, has been even more shackled than that placed under the impolitic restraints of interior regulation; and if it exists now to any considerable extent, it is owing only to the great natural advantages that attend it. Independently of the dangers to which the peaceable unprotected trader has so long been exposed, from the numerous pirates who infest the Eastern Seas, and who for many years have been in the habit of annually sweeping the coast of Java, the various restrictions, penalties, and prohibitions established by the Dutch government, in order to insure their own monopoly, closed all the minor ports against him.

Among these restrictions, none operated more forcibly to prejudice the native trade than the rigid and enforced monopoly of the teak timber; an article of produce with which Java abounds, and of which the shipping of the Archipelago had, from time immemorial, been principally constructed. The facilities for building and repairing vessels along the coast, while the sale of timber was unrestricted, not only allowed a more abundant supply of shipping at a cheap rate for the convenience of the native trader, but attracted the beneficial visits and the intercourse of foreigners, and encouraged a species of trade, which under the recent system has been lost. The[Vol I Pg 223] Búgis and Arabs of the different eastern ports, navigating in large vessels, were induced to give them an annual repair on Java; and rather than depart in ballast, frequently carried out cargoes, the profits of which alone, independently of their refit, would not have been sufficient to tempt them to the speculation. These adventurers not only imported considerable quantities of gold-dust to defray the expence of their repairs, but many other articles the produce of the Malayan islands; for which they in return exported large quantities of salt and other bulky commodities, which would otherwise hardly repay their freight. In consequence of the stop put to this kind of intercourse, the Malayan States were principally supplied with salt from Siam and the Coromandel coast, or manufactured the article for themselves, while an accumulating undemanded surplus for many years remained on Java unsaleable. Of the nature of the restrictions under which the internal commerce and the native trade in general were placed until lately, some idea may be formed from the amount of the duties which were exacted at Chéribon prior to the introduction of the land revenue settlement[58].

These, with still heavier and more vexatious duties and exactions, were levied on trade in other districts of the island. Constant requisitions were made by the Dutch government for the services of native vessels, at rates far below a just compensation to the owner, and the native traders were forbidden to traffic in any of the articles of Dutch monopoly; considerations which incline us rather to express our surprize, that there should have been any native trade at all, than that there should be so little as now exists.

The coasting trade is carried on in vessels belonging chiefly to Chinese, Arabs, and Búgis (natives of Celebes), and in smaller Malayan práhus[59]. The enterprize of the Arabs, [Vol I Pg 224]Chinese, and Búgis is very conspicuous. They are in general fair traders; and Europeans acquainted with their several[Vol I Pg 225] characters can rely on their engagements, and command their confidence. Many of them, particularly the Búgis, are possessed of very large capital.

By means of the coasting trade, the produce of the maritime and inland districts is conveyed to Batavia, Semárang, and Surabáya, the principal ports of consumption and exportation; and in return those districts receive iron, steel, and other articles of foreign produce and manufacture from abroad. The western districts being but thinly inhabited, do not yield a sufficient supply for the consumption of Batavia; and on this account, as well as its being the principal mart of foreign commerce, the trade of the eastern districts is attracted to it, in a higher degree than to any of the other great towns in their own immediate neighbourhood: but owing to the unhealthiness [Vol I Pg 226]of the climate, the loss occasioned by the paper money, which the native traders of other islands could never understand, and the various vexations and impositions to which they were subjected, these latter invariably prefer the more eastern ports of Semárang and Surabáya, or rather Grésik, in the immediate vicinity of the latter, which has always been the principal establishment and residence of the Arabs.

The Búgis import into Java from the other islands, Malayan camphor, tortoise-shell, edible birds'-nests, bees'-wax, cloth called sárongs, of a very strong texture, their own manufacture, and gold dust, which they lay out in the purchase of opium, iron, steel, Europe chintzes and broad cloth, and Indian piece goods, besides tobacco, rice, salt, and other productions and manufactures of Java, with which they return eastward during the favourable monsoon.

The Arabs navigate square-rigged vessels, from fifty to five hundred tons burden. The Chinese also have many brigs, besides their peculiar description of vessels called junks, as well as native-built práhus. They extend their voyages to Sumatra, the Straits of Malacca, and eastward as far as the Moluccas and Timor, collecting birds'-nests, camphor, bich de mar, and other articles, making Java a grand depôt for the produce of all the countries to which they resort. Throughout the whole of Java, trade is usually conducted by the Chinese: many of them are very rich, and their means are increased by their knowledge of business, their spirit of enterprize, and their mutual confidence.

If a cargo arrives too extensive for the finances of one individual, several Chinese club together, and purchase the goods, each dividing according to his capital. In this manner a ready market is always open at Java, without the assistance of European merchants, and strangers are enabled to transact their business with little trouble or risk.

The objections which have been made to the political influence of the Chinese and Arabs in the Eastern Islands, do not equally apply to them as traders. In this last capacity, and subject to regulations which prevent them from uniting the power of a chief with the temper of a merchant, and despotism with avarice, their value cannot be too highly rated.[Vol I Pg 227] The persevering industry and speculative turn of the Chinese is too well known to need description; and the Arab traders are here what they are all over the world, keen, intelligent, and adventurous. The Búgis have long been distinguished among the Eastern Islands for the extent of their speculations and the fairness of their dealing.

Java exports, for the consumption and use of the other islands of the Archipelago, including the Malayan ports on the peninsula, rice, a variety of vetches, salt, oil, tobacco, timber, Java cloths, brass ware, and a variety of minor articles, the produce of her agriculture and manufactures, besides occasionally, as the market admits, a considerable quantity of European, Indian, and Chinese goods. Almost the only articles for which Java is at present dependent on its neighbours are gúmbir, imported from Lingen (Ling'ga) and Rhio, where it is produced to the annual amount of from twenty to thirty thousand píkuls,​—and pámur, the metal used for damasking the Javan krís, of which a small quantity is imported from Biliton and Célebes, where alone it is found. The following articles, the exclusive produce of the Eastern Islands, are collected at its principal ports, for re-exportation to India, China, and Europe: tin, from Bánka; gold-dust, diamonds, camphor, benjamin and other drugs, edible birds'-nests, bich de mar, rattans, bees'-wax, tortoise-shell, and dyeing woods, from Borneo and Sumatra; sandal and other fine woods, nutmegs, cloves and mace, coarse, wild and damaged spices, káyu-púti and other pungent oils, from the Moluccas; horses and sapan wood, from Sumbáwa; Búgis cloths, and many collections for the Chinese market, from Célebes. Cloths are also sometimes imported from Báli, and pepper is collected at Bánjermásin, on Borneo, and from several of the Malayan states.

The tin brought to Java is almost exclusively from the mines of Bánka. This metal is also exported from several of the other islands, and from the peninsula of Malacca, whence these countries have been considered the Temala of Ptolemy, timáh being the Malayan word for tin; but the quantity obtained from all other sources falls far short of what is procured on Bánka, which exports to the annual[Vol I Pg 228] amount of thirty thousand píkuls, or nearly forty thousand cwt. of this metal. The mines on Bánka are worked by Chinese, who deliver the metal into the government stores in slabs, at the rate of about eight Spanish dollars the píkul, of one hundred and thirty-three pounds and a quarter.

A very extensive branch of trade is carried on by a direct communication between Java and China, entirely upon Chinese capital, in a description of vessels called junks. From eight to ten of these vessels arrive annually from Canton and Amoi, with cargoes of teas, raw silk, silk piece goods, varnished umbrellas, iron pots, coarse china-ware, sweetmeats, nankeen, paper, and innumerable minor articles, particularly calculated for the Chinese settlers. They are from three to eight hundred tons burthen, and sail at stated periods, generally reaching Batavia with the north-east monsoon, about the month of January. Of all the imports from China, that which produces the most extensive effects on the commercial and political interests of the country is the native himself: besides their cargoes, these junks bring a valuable import of from two to five hundred industrious natives in each vessel. These emigrants are usually employed as coolies or labourers on their first arrival; but, by frugal habits and persevering industry, they soon become possessed of a little property, which they employ in trade, and increase by their prudence and enterprize. Many of them, in course of time, attain sufficient wealth to render themselves independent, and to enable them to remit considerable accumulations yearly to their relations in China. As these remittances are generally made in the valuable articles, such as birds'-nests, Malayan camphor, bich de mar, tin, opium, pepper, timber, leather hides, indigo, gold and silver, the return cargoes of these vessels amount to an almost incredible value.

The quantity of edible birds'-nests alone, annually exported from Java to China on vessels of this description, is estimated at not less than two hundred píkuls, of which by far the largest proportion is the produce of the Javan rocks and hills. It is well known that these are the nests of a species of swallow (hirundo esculenta) common in the Malayan islands, and in great demand for the China table. Their value as a[Vol I Pg 229] luxury, in that empire, has been estimated on importation to be weight for weight equal with silver. The price which these nests of the best quality have of late years brought in the Canton and Amoi market, has been forty Spanish dollars per káti, of rather more than a pound and a quarter English. They are usually classed into first, second, and third sorts, differing in price from forty to fifteen Spanish dollars, and even to ten and less for the most ordinary. The price in the Batavian market rises as the period for the departure of the junks approaches; but as the principal produce of Java is still a monopoly in the hands of government, it is difficult to fix the price at which they might be sold under other circumstances. Generally speaking, however, they sell throughout the Eastern Islands considerably lower than they are calculated to do in China, which may be accounted for by the perishable nature of the commodity, and the great care necessary to preserve them from the damp, as well as from breakage. On this account, they are seldom bought by European traders. Birds'-nests consigned by the Javan government to the Canton factory in 1813, sold to the amount of about fifty píkuls, at an average rate of about twenty dollars per kati: but this was at a period when the China markets were unusually low.

The quantity of birds' nests obtained from the rocks called Kárang bólang, on the southern coast of Java, and within the provinces of the native princes, is estimated, one year with another, at a hundred píkuls, and is calculated to afford an annual revenue to the government of two hundred thousand Spanish dollars. The quantity gathered besides by individuals, on rocks and hills belonging to them, either in private property or held by farm from the government, in other parts of the island, may amount to fifty píkuls; making the extent of this export not less than one hundred and fifty píkuls, besides the amount of the collections from the other islands of the Archipelago.

In the Malayan islands in general, but little care is taken of the rocks and caverns which produce this dainty, and the nests procured are neither so numerous nor so good as they otherwise would be. On Java, where perhaps the birds are fewer, and the nests in general less fine than those to be met with in some of the more Eastern Islands, both the quantity and[Vol I Pg 230] quality have been considerably improved by European management. To effect this improvement, the caverns which the birds are found to frequent are cleansed by smoking and the burning of sulphur, and the destruction of all the old nests. The cavern is then carefully secured from the approach of man, the birds are left undisturbed to form their nests, and the gathering takes place as soon as it is calculated that the young are fledged. If they are allowed to remain until eggs are again laid in them, they lose their pure colour and transparency, and are no longer of what are termed the first sort. They are sometimes collected so recently after their formation, that time has not been given for the bird to lay or hatch her eggs in them, and these nests are considered as the most superior; but as the practice, if carried to any extent, would prevent the number of the birds from increasing, it is seldom resorted to, where the caverns are in the possession of those who have a permanent interest in their produce. Much of their excellence and peculiar properties, however, depend on the situation of the place in which they are formed. It has often been ascertained, for instance, that the same bird forms a nest of somewhat different quality, according as it constructs it in the deep recesses of an unventilated and damp cavern, or attaches it to a place where the atmosphere is dry, and the air circulates freely. The nature of the different substances also to which they are fixed, seems to have some influence on their properties. The best are procured in the deepest caverns, (the favourite retreat of the birds), where a nitrous dampness continually prevails, and where being formed against the sides of the cavern, they imbibe a nitrous taste, without which they are little esteemed by the Chinese. The principal object of the proprietor of a birds'-nest rock is to preserve sufficient numbers of the swallows, by not gathering the nests too often, or abstracting those of the finer kinds in too great numbers, lest the birds should quit their habitations and emigrate to a more secure and inaccessible retreat. It is not unusual for a European, when he takes a rock under his superintendence, after ridding it of the old nests and fumigating the caverns, to allow the birds to remain undisturbed, two, three, or even more years, in order that they may multiply for his future advantage. When a birds'-nest rock is[Vol I Pg 231] once brought into proper order, it will bear two gatherings in the year: this is the case with the rocks under the care of the officers of government at Kárang bólang.

In the vicinity of the rocks are usually found a few persons accustomed from their infancy to descend into these caverns, in order to gather the nests; an office of the greatest risk and danger, the best nests being sometimes many hundred feet within the damp and slippery opening of the rock. The gatherers are sometimes obliged to lower themselves by ropes (as at Kárang bólang) over immense chasms, in which the surf of a turbulent sea dashes with the greatest violence, threatening instant destruction in the event of a false step or an insecure hold. The people employed by government for this purpose were formerly slaves, in the domestic service of the minister or resident at the native court. To them the distribution of a few dollars, and the preparation of a buffalo feast after each gathering, was thought sufficient pay, and the sum thus expended constituted all the disbursements attending the gathering and packing, which is conducted by the same persons. This last operation is however carefully superintended by the resident, as the slightest neglect would essentially deteriorate the value of the commodity[60].

Although the Malayan camphor, which is the exclusive produce of Sumatra and Borneo, is much stronger than the camphor from China, it has not yet been considered an article of extensive export for the European market. It is always, however, in the greatest demand in China, where it is either consumed, or as has been supposed by some, it undergoes a certain process previous to its re-exportation under a different appearance. It is not known in what manner the China camphor for the European market is prepared; and unless the Malayan camphor is used in the composition, it seems difficult to account for the constant demand for it in China, whence it is never re-exported in its original state. Whatever value may be set on the Chinese camphor, that[Vol I Pg 232] exported from Japan is of a still superior quality, and more in demand for the European market.

Bich de mar is well known to be a dried sea slug used in the dishes of the Chinese: it is known among the Malayan Islands by the name of trípang, and collected on the shores of nearly all the islands of the Archipelago. It usually sells in China at from ten to fifty dollars per píkul, according to its quality, but being an article still more perishable than the birds'-nests, and very bulky and offensive, it seldom composes the cargoes of European vessels. It would be very difficult to ascertain the average price, as it varies according to the difficulties experienced in collecting it, and the immediate demand in the market, for its perishable nature will not admit of the excess of one season being laid by to meet the deficiency of another. It requires constant care on the voyage, and a leaky vessel frequently loses a whole cargo.

Stic-lac, used in dying, is procured in many parts of Java, and can easily be obtained in a quantity sufficient to meet the demand. The insect which yields it abounds in the Bantam districts, and the lac prepared is considered of good quality; but it is not an article which appears to have attracted much attention.

The trade between Java and China in vessels belonging to Europeans, at present consists principally in carrying out tin, pepper, spices, rattans, and betel-nut, for the China market, and receiving in return a few articles of China produce in demand for the European market, a balance of cash, and a supply of manufactures required annually at Batavia; but it is calculated that cotton, rice, and timber, which may be considered as the staple produce of Java, might be exported to China with advantage.

A small quantity of Javan cotton lately sent to China, was sold at a higher rate than the ordinary prices of the cotton from Western India[61]. Cotton-yarn is an article sometimes [Vol I Pg 233]exported to China, but in the existing state of society on Java, the exportation of the raw material is likely to be attended with the greatest advantages. Some writers have estimated the capability of Java to export raw cotton almost incredibly high, but it must be admitted, that although the soil is not universally favourable, yet few countries afford greater general advantages for the cotton cultivation, it being practicable to raise it to a great extent, without interfering with the general grain produce of the country. It could be grown as a second crop on the rice fields, being planted shortly after the harvest, and attaining maturity before the season again comes round for irrigating the lands. Nothing can convey a higher idea of the richness of the soil of Java, and of the advantages of its climate, than the fact, that during one half the year the lands yield a rich and abundant crop of grain, more than sufficient for the ordinary food of the population, and during the other half a valuable staple, which affords the material for clothing them, and opens in its manufacture a source of wealth and of continual domestic industry through the year.

Enterprising individuals, merchants of Batavia, have not been wanting to engage in the valuable fur trade, hitherto carried [Vol I Pg 234]on principally by the Americans, between Kamtschatka and China. Mr. Timmerman Thyssen, an enlightened Dutch gentleman, whose name for honourable dealing and extensive business has always stood high among the merchants of Batavia, has entered into more than one speculation of this kind. Vessels fitted out from Batavia took in furs at Kamtschatka, which were intended to be exchanged in China for dollars; but the dangers of the passage in one instance, and the informality of the papers in another, rendered this bold and promising enterprize productive of but little pecuniary advantage. Nothing, however, has occurred, to prove that the adventure would not have fully answered its intention in time of peace, the principal difficulties which attended and frustrated it ceasing with the war.

Since the conquest a very extensive trade has been carried on by the English country ships importing from Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay, all kinds of piece goods, opium, and other articles, the returns for which have been usually made by bills, gold-dust, bees'-wax, tin, Japan camphor, sago, and teak timber.

The piece goods of Western India have always formed an extensive article of import into Java, and the annual value of those latterly imported cannot well be estimated at less than a million of dollars. Those generally meet a ready sale, at an advance of from thirty to forty per cent. upon the prime cost in India, and much more when the supply is scanty.

In consequence of these heavy and valuable importations, the returns to Bengal were till lately made principally by bills, obtainable either from government, or individuals desirous of purchasing colonial produce for the European market by means of funds in Western India. But there are also several articles, which experience has proved well calculated for making their returns direct to Bengal, particularly Japan copper and teak timber. Java is known to abound with valuable teak forests, and the quality of the wood has been considered as superior to that of Pegu or the Malabar coast. The restrictions under which this export was formerly placed as a government monopoly, prevented its finding its way beyond the immediate Dutch dependencies; but the extent to which it was even then sent to the Moluccas, to Malacca, and to the Cape[Vol I Pg 235] of Good Hope, where all the public buildings are constructed of Javan teak, sufficiently attests the value and extent of the forests, as well as the good quality and durability of the wood. This valuable, but bulky article of export, is always in demand for ship-building in Bengal, and has afforded to the merchant a very liberal profit on exportation, after paying the present government prices, which are calculated at something above ten per cent. upon the actual expence of cutting and dragging the timber from the forests to the port of exportation. During the last two years, large ships have taken cargoes to Bengal, and afforded very handsome profits. From the neighbourhood of Rémbáng, where permission has been given to individuals to cut the timber, on paying a duty of ten per cent. on the estimated value when worked up, it has not only been exported at a cheap rate to Bengal, but several ships have been constructed of it, while along the whole line of coast, from Semárang to Grésik, small vessels and country craft are launched every month.

But although the direct trade with Bengal has thus been always against Java, the demand for sugar in the Bombay market always affords the means of a circuitous return of capital. Large quantities of Javan sugar have been exported to Bombay during the last four years, principally on the returning ships in ballast touching at Batavia on their way from China, and these cargoes have afforded considerable profit. A lucrative trade in this article is also sometimes carried on by the Arabs to the Red Sea, and particularly to Mocha; but Arab traders, of sufficient capital for these extensive speculations, have, by the effects of the former monopoly on Java, long been driven out of the market, and sufficient time has not been given for them to return.

The extensive produce of this fine island in sugar and coffee of superior quality, and the pepper and various other articles, either yielded by it or collected from the neighbouring countries, such as sago, tin, Japan copper, spices, elephants' teeth, sticklac, long pepper, cubebs, tortoise-shell, gold, diamonds, Japan wood, ebony, rattans, indigo, &c. present fine subjects for commercial speculation to all parts of Europe and America, the Cape of Good Hope, and the Mauritius; and the more so, as from the extensive native and[Vol I Pg 236] European population, a very considerable and constant demand exists for the produce and manufactures of Europe, not only for the consumption and use of the island itself, but to supply the neighbouring Malayan states by way of barter.

The quantity of sugar seems to depend almost entirely upon the demand, and is likely at all times to equal it, few countries affording equal advantages for its manufacture. Owing to the want of a demand for this kind of produce, for several years antecedent to the conquest, many of the manufactories were discontinued; but since the trade has been opened, and the demand renewed, many of them have again commenced working, and the quantity produced in the year 1815 was not less than twenty thousand píkuls.

The manufacturers being no longer compelled to deliver their produce to government, can afford to sell the sugar at Batavia at from four to six Spanish dollars (or from twenty to thirty shillings) per píkul, the quality being distinguished into first, second, and third sorts, of which the first may be bought in the market for exportation at six Spanish dollars per píkul, or about twenty-five shillings the hundred-weight. The quality of this sugar is altogether different from the sugar in Bengal, and is said to be equal to that of Jamaica, being manufactured in a great measure according to the same process. While the European market is open for coffee and other light articles, the sugar of Java is always in demand for dead weight, and large quantities have recently been sold in the London market as high as ninety and one hundred shillings per hundred-weight[62]. [Vol I Pg 237]

The quantity of coffee delivered to government in the year 1815, exceeded seventy thousand píkuls; about thirty thousand píkuls more may have been exported by individuals, and the produce is greatly on the increase[63]. [Vol I Pg 238]

The Batavian arrack is well known in the European market, and was at one time imported in considerable quantities into [Vol I Pg 239]the continent of Europe. It is distilled in a great measure from molasses, in which respect, as well as in the process employed, it differs so materially from the arrack of continental India, that it cannot with propriety be considered as the same spirit: it is in fact vastly superior to it, and capable of competing in the European market with the rum of the West Indies. Its price at Batavia, where any quantity can at all times be procured, is for the first sort about sixty Spanish dollars, for the second sort fifty, and for the third thirty Spanish dollars the leaguer; the first sort, which is above proof, thus selling by the leaguer of one hundred and sixty gallons, at the rate of about twenty-pence the gallon. In consequence of the prohibitory duties against the importation of this article into Great Britain or British India, this branch of commerce has latterly declined, and many of the distilleries have been discontinued.

The Dutch possessions of Ceylon, the Cape of Good Hope, and the Moluccas, dependent on the government of Batavia, always received their principal supplies of rice from Java, and [Vol I Pg 240]considerable quantities have of late been occasionally exported to those places, as well as the Coromandel coast, with great advantage. During a scarcity of grain in England, the Java rice has also found its way to that market[64].

From Europe the most important imports, and those in constant demand for the native population, are iron, steel, copper, printed cottons of a peculiar pattern, and woollens. Of iron, not less than from one thousand to fifteen hundred tons are annually imported, which is worked up into the implements of husbandry, and into the various instruments, engines, and utensils, required in the towns and agricultural districts. The price has varied, during the last four years, from six to twelve Spanish dollars: the average has been about eight dollars per hundred weight for the English, and about nine per hundred weight for the Swedish iron. The small bar iron is always in demand[Vol I Pg 241] in the market, in consequence of its convenience for working up into the different implements required. Steel is also in demand, to the extent of two or three hundred tons annually.

English printed cottons, of peculiar patterns adapted to the taste of the natives and Chinese, and white cotton sheeting cloth, always meet a ready and extensive sale; but the great objection to the former is the want of permanency in the colours, a disadvantage which all the English printed cottons labour under. A very extensive and valuable assortment of these cottons, imitated after the Javan and Malayan patterns, was recently imported into Java by the East India Company, and on the first sale produced very good prices; but before a second trial could be made, the natives had discovered that the colours would not stand, and the remainder were no longer in any demand. Would it not tend greatly to the improvement of the British manufacture, and consequently greatly extend the export, if the enquiries of scientific men in India were directed, in a particular manner, to an observation of the different dye-stuffs used in Asia, and to the manner followed by the natives in different parts, for fixing the colours and rendering them permanent?

Broad-cloths, velvets, glass ware, wines, and in short all articles of consumption and use among Europeans, may on Java be considered also, in a great measure, in demand by the native population, who free from those prejudices which preclude an expectation of the introduction of European manufacture into Western India, generally indulge in them according to their means. The climate of many parts of the Island renders the broad-cloth, particularly at some seasons of the year, an article of great comfort, and among the higher orders it is usually, as with Europeans, worn as a jacket: sometimes this is of velvet. A constant demand, limited only by the means of the purchaser, is also daily increasing for gold-lace and the other European manufactures used in dress, furniture, saddlery, &c.; it may therefore be easily conceived, to what an extent the demand for these articles is likely to be carried, among a native population of more than four millions and a half of souls, advancing in wealth and intelligence.

It is unnecessary to notice the extent of the articles re[Vol I Pg 242]quired from Europe by the European population, as they are the same in all parts of India. The demand is, of course, partially affected by the extent of the military force, and by the wants of the officers; but where there is a permanent resident European population, of not less than a thousand souls, generally in good circumstances, it may be inferred that the demand is always great.

A continual traffic is carried on between Batavia, the Isle of France, and the Cape of Good Hope, by which the latter in particular is supplied with timber, rice, oil, and a variety of articles of consumption, the voyage being frequently effected in five weeks. While the Bourbon coffee bore a higher price in the European market, considerable quantities of coffee were sent from Java to that island, and from thence re-exported as Bourbon coffee.

The American trade was carried to the greatest extent during the existence of the anti-commercial system of the late French ruler, when American traders purchased the Java coffee at the rate of eighteen Spanish dollars the píkul at Batavia, and by a circuitous route imported it into France, at an advance of one hundred per cent. During this period, the purchases of the Americans in the market of Batavia amounted in some years to nearly a million sterling, for which they obtained principally sugar, coffee, and spices.

Having thus given some account of the internal and external trade of Java as it at present exists, of the advantages for an extensive commerce which it enjoys, of the articles which it can supply for the consumption of other countries, and those which it receives in return for its own consumption, and of the places with which its dealings are or might be most profitably conducted on both sides, I might now be expected to enter into the history of that trade since the subjection of the Island to the Dutch, the regulations enacted and enforced by them, for restraining or directing it, and the fluctuations it has undergone during two centuries of a rigid monopoly; but this inquiry would lead me to swell this part of the work to a disproportionate size. I shall now merely present my readers with a few extracts from the orders made in 1767, and strictly enforced throughout the Archipelago, for regulating the trade and navigation of the dominions subject to Batavia, and with[Vol I Pg 243] a brief abstract of the amount of exports and imports during some of the subsequent years.

"All persons whatever," says the first article of those orders, "are prohibited, under pain of death, from trading in the four fine kinds of spices, unless such spices shall be first bought of the Company." Opium was placed under the same restrictions, and enforced by the same penalty. The exportation of pepper, tin, and Japan copper was prohibited, unless bought for the Company; and the importation of them not permitted, except for sale to the Company, under the penalty of confiscation, and a fine of four times the value of the article. The import and export of Surat silks and of India cloths, were strictly prohibited under the same penalty. White cotton yarn and all other sorts of it, Semárang arrack, and unstamped gold, were prohibited from being exported under the penalty of confiscation. No port was open to any vessel coming from the northward or from the Moluccas, except Batavia. No práhu or vessel was to carry any greater quantity of gunpowder and shot, than might be permitted, and regularly entered in the pass given to the party, under penalty of confiscation of the vessel, and the infliction of a corporal punishment similar to that inflicted for theft. All persons belonging to the coast of Java were strictly prohibited from sailing from any part of the coast where there was not a Company's Resident. No navigation was allowed to be carried on by the vessels of Bánka and Bíliton, except to Palémbang. All navigation from Celebes and Sumbáwa was prohibited, under pain of confiscation of the vessel and cargo. No vessel from the latter place could pass Malacca, and the Company's pass to proceed to Siak was given only once in a year to three vessels from Batavia, two from the coast of Java, and one from Chéribon. The China junks were only permitted to trade at Batavia and Bánjer-másin. No trade or navigation whatever was permitted beyond the west point of Bantam, without a pass from Batavia. Such are the most important of thirty-one articles of restriction, serving to shackle every movement of commerce, and to extinguish every spirit of enterprize, for the narrow selfish purposes of what may be called the fanaticism of gain. After perusing them, the reader will[Vol I Pg 244] rather be inclined to think the following amount of the trade too highly stated, than be surprised that it is so low.

The precious metals have always been a great article of import into Java, as well as into the other regions of the East. In 1770 there was imported into Java from Holland, cash and bullion to the amount of 2,862,176 Java rupees[65], and the sums imported from other quarters in the same year, and raised by bills of exchange on Holland, amounted to 1,419,565 rupees, making in all 4,281,742, or more than half a million sterling. The amount imported in that year was almost as great as that in any subsequent year till 1803, when the importation of precious metals was estimated at 7,617,122 rupees, or nearly a million sterling. This period corresponds with that of the greatest exportation of sugar by the Americans, who, no doubt, imported the precious metals in exchange for their cargoes, as the quantity brought from Holland in the same year amounted only to 448,370 rupees. In the following year (1804) the quantity imported was 6,499,001 rupees, of which none at all came from the mother-country. In forty years, from 1770 to 1810, the total of the imported precious metals amounted to 118,607,472 Java rupees, or nearly three millions annually upon an average. A great portion of this was re-exported to India, China, and the Dutch possessions in the Archipelago, to pay for the articles brought to Batavia for the supply of the European demand. The quantity of goods imported from all quarters of the globe, exclusive of cash and bullion, amounted in the year 1770 to the value in Spanish dollars of 2,350,316, and the exports to 3,318,161, leaving a balance in favour of the exports of 867,845 Spanish dollars. A great part of the exports was destined for Holland, and a great part of the imports came from Holland. The imports from Holland were again re-exported to China, Japan, the Spice Islands, &c. from which, and from Bengal, Ceylon, the coasts of Coromandel and of Malabar, and the Cape of Good Hope and other eastern countries, the other shipments came, and to which the other exports proceeded. The profits on the sale of that portion of the imports of 1770, disposed of in the market of Batavia for the consumption of Java, are stated [Vol I Pg 245]at 7,895 Spanish dollars, so that, so far as the import trade was concerned, Batavia only became the entrepôt between the mother-country and her other possessions or stations of commercial resort in the Indian seas. The exports of Java almost every year exceeded the imports, as will appear from official returns which follow.

Years. Exports. Imports. Excess of Exports. Excess of Imports.
Spanish Dollars. Spanish Dollars. Spanish Dollars. Spanish Dollars.
1771 3,122,197 3,116,374 5,823 ​—
1772 2,909,371 2,170,741 738,630 ​—
1773 3,193,912 2,789,869 404,043 ​—
1774 3,184,641 2,941,011 243,630 ​—
1775 3,083,773 2,692,420 91,353 ​—
1776 3,319,070 2,305,228 1,013,842 ​—
1777 3,139,678 2,006,561 1,133,117 ​—
1778 2,440,042 1,776,674 663,368 ​—
1779 2,274,308 2,075,022 ​— 430,714
1783 2,788,702 1,914,202 874,500 ​—
1784 2,921,274 2,781,833 139,441 ​—
1785 2,670,468 2,654,687 15,781 ​—
1786 2,495,038 2,639,663 ​— 144,624
1787 2,634,049 2,506,267 127,782 ​—
1788 3,700,209 3,017,853 682,356 ​—
1789 2,956,240 2,840,127 116,113 ​—
1790 3,011,040 3,073,801 ​— 62,761
1791 3,771,263 3,098,849 672,414 ​—
1792 1,172,670 1,295,959 ​— 123,289

There was, of course, a lamentable falling off in the foreign trade of Java after the commencement of the war of the French revolution: some of the best markets were almost entirely closed to it, and the intercourse with the mother-country was nearly destroyed. The total of exports to Holland and her eastern possessions, from the year 1796 till 1806, amounted in value to only 7,097,963 Spanish dollars; the imports to 3,073,894 Spanish dollars; leaving a surplus of exports of 4,024,069 Spanish dollars. The Americans began to frequent the market of Batavia in 1798, and through them principally was the trade carried on till the conquest of the Island by the British, except during the short interval of the peace of Amiens. No specie (with which Holland chiefly paid for her eastern commodities) was imported from the mother-country[Vol I Pg 246] from 1795 downwards, except during 1802-3 and 1803-4, during which there was only the very inconsiderable sum of about half a million of rupees imported.

It is impossible to convey a just idea of the native or foreign trade of Java, without adverting to the commercial and political state of the other islands of the Archipelago. Of these it may be stated generally, that the interior is possessed by the natives, collected under leaders who have taken advantage of the great extent of the country, in proportion to its population, to render themselves independent of the lawful sovereign; that the coast is occupied, in many places, either by pirates, by some of the ruder tribes whom it is dangerous to invade, or by adventurous traders, chiefly Maláyus and Búgis. These traders arrive in well-armed vessels, which some of them remain to protect; others travel up the country, not unfrequently to the distance of a hundred miles, and at the change of the monsoon return to their companions, charged either with plunder, or with the fruits of a commerce carried on with the natives at an exorbitant profit. The pirates, as they drive the peaceable and honest trader from the coast, recruit their numbers from among the seafaring men to whom he used to give employment. The decay of commerce is accelerated; and the natives retreat into the interior, where, for want of a market, they cease to collect the rich productions of their country, and rapidly sink into poverty and barbarism. The sea and the coast remain a scene of violence, rapine, and cruelty. The mouths of the rivers are held by lawless banditti, who interrupt the trade of those who inhabit their banks, and capture the vessels destined for the inland towns: the bays and harbours are entirely within their power; and in these smooth seas they are never driven a moment from their stations, or diverted by danger from their predatory vigilance. The sovereigns of the country have too little authority over their nominal subjects; and their resources are too confined for them to oppose any effectual resistance to these outrages. All restraints are withdrawn by the divisions and weakness of the native governments; and men, rendered desperate by the experience of lawless violence, are induced to join in the system of plunder against which they can find no protection.

This extensive, rich, and beautiful cluster of islands is thus[Vol I Pg 247] deprived of all the advantages which it might derive from the sea with which it is surrounded; its harbours become the retreats of marauders, instead of the resort of peaceful commerce; its seafaring people are reduced to a state of nature. Where force decides right, no sovereign is possessed of paramount authority to sweep this pest from his shores; no vessel is safe, no flag is respected. The trade is thus confined to desperate adventurers only, to whom the existence of piracy is more advantageous than the unmolested security of navigation, as the danger which it creates drives away all competitors of a less daring character, and gives them a monopoly of these ports. It is too true, also, that European traders have materially contributed to the strength of the pirates, by the supply of arms and ammunition. At the port of Sambas, European vessels had not dared to touch openly for twenty years; but such means of resistance as the pirates were found to possess in two recent attacks upon it, could never have been collected without large supplies from British traders.

The small colonial craft, so necessary for the prosperity of these regions, cannot without great risk venture beyond the coast; while armed Malayan and Bugis práhus, and a few European speculators, engross most of the trade.

The above observations apply more particularly to the coasts of Borneo and the adjacent islands; but they are, in a great measure, applicable to many parts of Sumatra. The unfortunate king of Acheen, who has long been intimately connected with the British establishments, is a young man of estimable qualities, with a title ancient and undisputed, though perhaps a weak prince. All his chiefs acknowledge his authority, though none submit to his control. Native traders from the coast of Coromandel, and Europeans from Pinang, frequent every river; and the profit derived from their dealings furnishes the inhabitants with inducements and means to throw off their allegiance. The king, too feeble to reduce the revolters, is only able to keep up a state of continual alarm and warfare, to which the mutual jealousies among the petty usurpers themselves mainly contribute. The trade of his dominions is in a great measure carried on like smuggling, by armed boats running out at a favourable moment, hiding themselves from danger, or fighting their way through opposition,[Vol I Pg 248] as occasion may require, and laying their account with making up for frequent losses by exorbitant profits. In some places, these almost independent bands are commanded by Malabar chuliahs; and, in most instances, the petty chiefs whom they elevate to authority are foreign vagrants. Those places which, from their vicinity to the residence of the king, are least able to resist his power, are supported in their opposition by the interests of the English traders; and it is not to be forgotten, that when he made a partial attempt to regain his authority over all the neighbouring country, they petitioned the European authority to prevent, by its interference, his levying a duty upon his own subjects. The petition was attended to; and the king was compelled, by the command of strangers, to forego the only means by which he could have preserved his dominions from anarchy and confusion. At the period, therefore, when the resources of his kingdom would have been unfolding themselves, by the improving industry of a well-regulated population, it is falling into decay, through the personal imbecility and political weakness of the monarch; and, breaking into detached fragments, is about to form as many separate principalities, as formerly there were independent governments throughout all the Archipelago[66].

That there has been, at some time, a more extensive commerce on the shores of the Archipelago is highly probable, and that there might be cannot be doubted. The great resources, vegetable and mineral, with which they abound, such as spices, camphor, gold, and diamonds, and the facilities which they enjoy for navigation, offer means and inducements of the highest nature. The general character of the people, also, as far as it can be ascertained, appears[Vol I Pg 249] equally favourable to commercial intercourse. They are represented as mild, inoffensive, not indisposed to industry, free from any obstinate prejudices of superstition, and altogether of a different temper from that of the few who remain in a constant state of warfare on the coast.

Another favourable circumstance is the existence of sovereigns, whose rights, however infringed, are in principle acknowledged, and who have never been known to favour, what must be considered the chief misfortune of these countries, and the source of almost all the rest, the horrible system of piracy. The evil is manifest, and the remedy is not of difficult discovery. Were legitimate and acknowledged sovereigns assisted in resuming their due authority, piracy and rebellion might be destroyed, these shores would be peopled with their native inhabitants, whose industry, awakened and invited by the opening of a safe navigation to the capitals, would in fleets of small vessels, so essential to the prosperity of the Eastern settlements, bring the produce of the interior down the innumerable rivers, and communicate to countries, beyond the reach of foreign adventurers the comforts of civilised life.

A few years of repose to these islands, and of safe uninterrupted commerce, with its attendant blessings, would repay with gain incalculable, what they now claim from the benevolence and philanthropy, if not from the justice of Europeans, who have so essentially contributed to their degradation. If left neglected, without capital, without a safe navigation, almost without laws, the government disunited, the people groaning under vassalage and slavery, these races must descend still further in the scale of degradation, until scarcely a vestige will remain to vindicate the records of their history; and their political existence will only be testified by acts of piracy perpetrated on defenceless vessels, which from accident or ignorance may visit their inhospitable shores.

In all their Eastern settlements, the favourite policy of the Dutch seems to have been to depress the native inhabitants, and give every encouragement to the Chinese, who, generally speaking, are only itinerants and not children of the soil, and who follow the almost universal practice of remitting the fruits of their industry to China, instead of spending them[Vol I Pg 250] where they were acquired. The Chinese, in all ages equally supple, venal, and crafty, failed not, at a very early period, to recommend themselves to the speculating Hollanders. They have, almost from the first, been their agents; and in the island of Java, in particular, they acquired from them the entire monopoly of the revenue farms and government contracts. Many of the most respectable Dutch families were intimately connected with the Chinese in their contracts and speculations, and whole provinces had been sold in perpetuity to some of them, the extensive population of which were thus assigned over to their unfeeling oppression, for the purpose of raising temporary supplies of money.

On Java, the Chinese have been generally left to their own laws and the regulations of their own chiefs; and being, for the most part, merely temporary residents in the country, they devote themselves to the accumulation of wealth, without being very scrupulous about the means of obtaining it: when, therefore, they acquire grants of land, they generally contrive to reduce the peasants speedily to the condition of slaves. The improvement of the people, which was never much attended to by the Dutch, was still less so by the Chinese, and the oppression which they exercised in the vicinity of Batavia had opened the eyes of the Dutch themselves. A report of the Council of Batavia, a short time prior to the landing of the English, accordingly states, that "although the Chinese, as being the most industrious settlers, should be the most useful, they on the contrary have become a very dangerous people, and are to be considered as a pest to the country; for which evil," they add, "there appears to be no radical cure but their expulsion from the interior." Wherever the Chinese formed extensive settlements in Java, the native inhabitants had no alternative but that of abandoning the district or becoming slaves of the soil. The monopolising spirit of the Chinese was often very pernicious to the produce of the soil, as may be seen even at this day in the immediate vicinity of Batavia, where all the public markets are farmed by them, and the degeneracy and poverty of the lower orders are proverbial.

The Chinese of Batavia are a very numerous body, and possess considerable wealth. They are active and industrious,[Vol I Pg 251] enterprising and speculative in the highest degree in the smallest or most extensive concerns, and equally well adapted for trade or agriculture; but, at the same time, they are cunning, deceitful, covetous, and restless, and exceedingly unwarlike in their habits and dispositions. This is the character given of them by Mr. Hogendorp, who, in considering the injurious consequences of their extensive influence on Java, has drawn a very just and able representation of it[67]. [Vol I Pg 252]

In all the Malayan states, the Chinese have made the greatest efforts to get into their hands the farming of the port [Vol I Pg 253]duties, and this has generally proved the ruin of the trade. In addition to these circumstances it should be recollected, that the Chinese, from their peculiar language and manners, form a kind of separate society in every place where they settle, which gives them a great advantage over every competitor in arranging monopolies of trade. The ascendancy of the Chinese requires to be cautiously guarded against and restrained; and this, perhaps, cannot be better done, than by bringing forward the native population, and encouraging them in useful and industrious habits.

Some of these observations regarding the Chinese are, in a high degree, applicable to the Arabs who frequent the Malayan countries, and under the specious mask of religion prey on the simple unsuspicious natives. The Chinese must, at all events, be admitted to be industrious; but by far the greater part of the Arabs are mere useless drones, and idle consumers of the produce of the ground: affecting to be descended from the Prophet and the most eminent of his followers, when in reality they are commonly nothing better [Vol I Pg 254]than manumitted slaves, they worm themselves into the favour of the Malayan chiefs, and often procure the highest offices under them. They hold like robbers the offices which they have obtained as sycophants, and cover all with the sanctimonious veil of religious hypocrisy.

Under the pretext of instructing the Maláyus in the principles of the Mahometan religion, they inculcate the most intolerant bigotry, and render them incapable of receiving any species of useful knowledge. It is seldom that the East is visited by Arabian merchants of large capital, but there are numerous adventurers who carry on a coasting trade from port to port, and by asserting the religious claims of Sheikh, generally obtain an exemption from all port duties in the Malayan states. They are also not unfrequently concerned in piracies, and are the principal promoters of the slave-trade.

This may serve, in some degree, to illustrate the necessity of establishing an equal and uniform system of port regulations throughout the whole of the Malayan countries; for if the Chinese, on the one hand, are permitted to farm import and export duties in different ports, they have every facility allowed them to form combinations, in order to secure a monopoly to Chinese traders; and on the other hand, if the Arabs, under religious pretexts, are entirely exempted from duties, they may baffle all competition, and engross the trade of the Malayan countries to the exclusion of European traders altogether.

Let the Chinese and Arabs still trade to the eastward. Without them, the trade would be reduced to less than one-third of even what it is at present, for it is only through the stimulus which they give to the industry of the country that its resources are to be developed: but let their trade be regulated; and above all, let them not be left in the enjoyment of immunities and advantages, which are neither possessed by Europeans, nor the indigenous inhabitants of the country. Since the reduction of the Dutch influence in the East, several of the ports formerly dependant on them have almost become Arab colonies. The evil is obviously increasing every day, and can only be checked by encouraging the native population, and regulating on equal terms the duties of the Malayan and other Eastern ports. [Vol I Pg 255]

In many other respects besides those which we have stated, the commercial policy adopted by the Dutch, with regard to the Eastern islands and the Malayan states in general, was contrary to all principles of natural justice, and unworthy of any enlightened and civilized nation[68]. [Vol I Pg 256]

From authentic accounts it appears, that they attempted to destroy and eradicate from a vast range of countries the most advantageous produce of the land, in order to favour their own petty traffic, and burnt a large proportion of the residue, in order to keep up their monopoly price in Europe on a small proportion of this produce. Against errors of this kind, it is to be hoped the more enlightened policy of the present era will be an effectual preventive; but there are others, so interwoven with the interests of these islands, and so local in their nature, that they may not so easily attract the attention of the governing power.

One feature of the Dutch policy in the Eastern Isles seems to have been the exclusion of all foreign trade, whether European or native; excepting at certain specified ports under their own immediate control. This policy was as much connected with the general government of the country, as with the commercial profits of the Company; for in an Archipelago of such unparalleled extent, inhabited by tribes of such various characters, formidable in a high degree from their very want of civilization, it was necessary to bring forward some of the most powerful and most favourably situated of these numerous states, and to hold them answerable for the proceedings of the several districts under their influence. Such views gave rise to the establishment of certain regular and determined trading ports, and led to the vigilant suppression of all [Vol I Pg 257]attempts at competition and independence on the part of the inferior states.

Had this measure been combined with a liberal encouragement of the home trade, as it may be denominated, between these privileged ports established by the Dutch, and the various countries under their influence, little doubt can be entertained that it would have tended materially to promote the civilization and general improvement of all the neighbouring nations. Very different, however, was the object of the Dutch agreements with the different rajas of the Eastern Archipelago. In some cases it was to secure a monopoly of all the tin, pepper, camphor, and other saleable articles produced in their dominions; in others it was to bind the chiefs themselves to destroy the only saleable articles that their country could furnish, lest the monopoly price of the Dutch should be injured by a greater quantity of such produce being brought to market. The Dutch genius, though exclusively devoted to commerce, has never yet been able to discover the truth of the maxim, that in the long run it may be as gainful "to make small profits on large sales as large profits on smaller sales;" their policy, on the contrary, has not been inaptly compared to a man putting out one of his eyes to strengthen the sight of the other.

It must be admitted, that the line of conduct pursued by the English towards the Malayan nations, had by no means been of a conciliatory or prepossessing character. Our intercourse with them had been carried on almost exclusively through the medium of adventurers little acquainted with either the country or people, who have been frequently more remarkable for boldness than principle[69]. Indeed, the want of any settled basis of traffic, and the long indifference of the British government to the complaints of either party, had produced so many impositions, reprisals, piracies, and [Vol I Pg 258]murders, that any eastern trader must have felt himself very much in the situation of a dealer in spirits, tobacco, and blankets, among the Indians of North America. It was the remark of Mr. Farquhar, than whom no man is more extensively acquainted with the interests and resources of East insular India, that the indifference of the British government must have originated solely in the want of information or incorrectness of knowledge; since it is not improbable, that the riches of Sumatra and Borneo are equal to those either of Brazil or New Spain; and it is only from the disadvantages under which we had hitherto entered into the competition, that these great sources of wealth had so long been engrossed by other nations[70].

The doctrine, that a colony should always be considered a distant province of the mother-country, has been foreign to the political creed of the Dutch; and at any rate the radical want of strength in the government of Batavia may have prevented them from venturing to act upon it. Of course, they must always have contemplated the prosperity of the eastern tribes with the invidious regret of a rival shopkeeper, and regarded their progress in civilization with the jealousy of a timid despot. The fact sufficiently establishes the truth of this remark.

Independently of the effects of the European influence just described, the causes which have tended most to the depression of the Malayan tribes, and the deterioration of their character, are the civil commotions to which every state is liable, from the radical want of strength in the sovereign; the constant wars between the petty chieftains and heads of villages; the ill-defined succession to the throne, from the doctrine of primogeniture being imperfectly recognized; the prevalence of piracy in all the Eastern Seas; the system of domestic slavery, and all its concomitant evils, as wars for the purpose of procuring slaves, and the want of confidence between family and family, man and man; the want of a generally-established, and recognized system of laws, civil and criminal; the want of a similar system of commercial regulations respecting[Vol I Pg 259] port duties, anchorage, and other charges, to prevent arbitrary exactions and impositions in the various Malayan ports; and, finally, the monopoly of the trade assumed by the Malayan rajas. Had Java remained permanently annexed to the British crown, the redress of these evils would have been, in a great measure, in the power of the English nation: the undertaking would have been worthy of their general character, and there was no other nation that could have possessed the means in an equal degree, even if it had indeed possessed the inclination.

The prevalence of piracy on the Malayan coasts, and the light in which it was viewed as an honourable occupation, worthy of being followed by young princes and nobles, is an evil of ancient date, and intimately connected with the Malayan habits. The old Malayan romances, and the fragments of their traditional history, constantly refer with pride to piratical cruizes.

In addition to other causes, which I shall not stop to specify, the state of the eastern population, and the intolerant spirit of the religion of Islam, have eminently tended to increase the practice. The Arab Sheikhs and Sayeds, whatever doctrines they failed to inculcate, never neglected to enforce the merit of plundering and massacring the infidels; an abominable tenet, which has tended more than any other doctrine of the Kóran to the propagation of this religion. Numerous and various are the tribes of the Eastern Isles which have not embraced the religion of Islam to this day, and consequently are reckoned infidels: cruizes against such were, and are, constantly certain of receiving the approbation of all the Arab teachers settled in the Malayan countries. The practice of piracy is now an evil so extensive and formidable, that it can be put down by the strong hand alone; though precautions against its recurrence might be taken, by rendering, under the system of acknowledged ports, every chieftain answerable for his own territory.

Connected with this evil, though of much wider extent, is the system of slavery in the Malayan countries, which, to apply the energetic language of Mr. Pitt to this subject, has been none of the least efficient causes of keeping down these regions "in a state of bondage, ignorance, and blood." In the[Vol I Pg 260] beginning of the year 1805, the Marquis Wellesley abolished slavery throughout India; and, on the 4th of June, 1811, the Earl of Minto, by an order to emancipate all the government slaves at Malacca, and to direct that hereafter no slaves should be purchased or received on account of government, gave to the Malayan nations an earnest of his sentiments on the subject. It is certainly to the credit of our countrymen in the East, that they have ever opposed all attempts to introduce the abominable slave traffic into our settlements there. It was prohibited at Madras by an act of the Governor and Council, of so early a date as 1682.

The sources of slavery in the Malayan countries are chiefly piracy at sea, captivity in war, manstealing along the coast, and the penalties enacted in the Malayan law respecting debts and sundry misdemeanors. The surviving crews of vessels which fall into the hands of the pirates are generally disposed of by sale at the first market. The captives taken in the constant wars which the Malayan chieftains carry on against each other, are generally employed in domestic occupations, tending cattle, and cultivating the ground, where there is no opportunity of bringing them to market. This, however, is seldom the case, since such numbers are constantly required by the Arabs and Chinese traders, and heretofore by the Dutch. Many of the Arab trading vessels are almost exclusively navigated by the slaves of the owner; and in their progress from island to island, they find little difficulty in recruiting their crew, by receiving presents of slaves, or if that should fail, by kidnapping the unfortunate natives. This forms a strong argument against admitting the unrestricted range of the islands to either Chinese or Arab traders; for while this is permitted, the abolition of the system of kidnapping would be absolutely impossible. The pagan tribes in the vicinity of the Mahometans, such as those on Báli, and some of the tribes of Celebes, the Harafúras, the black Papúas or oriental negroes, the original inhabitants of Hálamahíra, Coram, and other easterly nations, are in a great measure the victims of the kidnapping system, and being infidels are considered as fair booty.

Nothing has tended more decidedly to the deterioration of the Malayan character, than the want of a well defined and generally acknowledged system of law and commercial regu[Vol I Pg 261]lation. The Malayan nations had, in general, made considerable progress in civilization, before the introduction of the Mahometan religion among them: they had, accordingly, regular institutions of their own, some of which were probably of considerable antiquity, derived from the continent of India, and consequently radically different from those of the Arabs.

Some difficulty appears to have occurred in adapting these institutions to the general tenor of the Mahometan law, and many anomalous ones appear accordingly to have sprung up in different states. These occur in every part of jurisprudence, whether commercial, civil, or criminal, and are recited in the Undang úndang and Adat Maláyu, which are the systems of national law among the Maláyus. They vary considerably from each other in different states, and still more from the generally acknowledged principle of Mahometan law, as received by the Arabs. Hence there is, in almost every state, a constant struggle between the adherents of the old Malayan usages and the Hájis, together with other religious persons, who are desirous of introducing the laws of the Arabs, in order to increase their own importance.

Among the numerous and important evils which result from this complex and ill-defined system, may be reckoned its affording an opening for the caprice and tyranny of the rulers, and producing a general insecurity both of person and property.

The state of the Moslem religion is very different here from what it is in the old Mahomedan states, such as Persia, Turkey, or Arabia. In many of the Eastern Islands paganism still remains: in some districts there are many Christians, and the Chinese swarm in every Malayan country, and live intermingled with the Mahomedans. This mixture of religion and tribes has tended, in some degree, to soften the intolerance of the Mahomedan system among the Malayan nations, and neither the positive authority of Islam, nor the persuasions of their Arab teachers, have hitherto been able to induce them to abandon entirely their own peculiar usages and customs. With some of these usages, especially those which relate to wrecks on the Malayan shores, and the commercial regulations of the different ports, it becomes incumbent on[Vol I Pg 262] the supreme European authority to interfere. In revising these, the opportunity might perhaps be taken to procure the abandonment of some of those maxims and usages, which have the strongest tendency to prevent their improvement, and counteract the habits of civilized life.

A circumstance highly injurious to the commerce of the Malayan nations is the trading monopoly, which in most of the Malayan ports is actually assumed by the chiefs. Of this monopoly there is no trace in the Undang úndang of the Maláyus, or in the fragments of their history which have yet come to light, and it is a question whether this pernicious practice has not been copied from the monopoly regulations of the Dutch. Where this system has been fully carried into effect, it has generally succeeded effectually in repressing industry and commercial enterprize; and where it has been for some time established, its evils have been felt so deeply, that it may be presumed the Malayan chiefs might be induced to relinquish it in favour of a regulated commerce, whenever they might regain the power of collecting regular duties in lieu of it. The Malayan laws and customs are fortunately of a very different kind from those adopted among the great nations of the continent in their vicinity. These nations, especially the Siamese and Cochin Chinese, have long been accustomed to look up to the Chinese, with whom they coincide in religion and manners, and from whom they have adopted their exclusive maxims of foreign intercourse. The Málayus, on the other hand, though accustomed to look up to the Arabs as their religious instructors, seldom hesitate to admit the superiority of both the Europeans and Chinese, both to themselves and to the Arabs, in the arts of life and general science; and it is certainly our interest to encourage them in this mode of thinking, and to prevent the increase of the Arab influence among them.

The Dutch nation appears to have pursued, as a principle of policy, the propagation of Christianity among the Eastern Islands. The same object had been previously followed by the Portuguese with great success, and there are now several small islands in the Malayan Archipelago, inhabited almost exclusively by Christians of the Catholic persuasion. In many other islands the Protestant persuasion has made con[Vol I Pg 263]siderable progress, and teachers, in the flourishing times of the Batavian Regency, were dispersed over all the low chain of islands which extend from Báli and Lumbok (Sásak) to the great island Timor. The islands in which the Christian faith has been most extensively diffused are the great island Endé or Meng' arái, the great island of Tímor, and the several small islands in the vicinity, and Amboina. In many of these islands the natives having no written character of their own, have been instructed in the Roman character, and taught to read Malayan and other dialects in it There have also been various formularies printed for their use, and translations have been executed for them in some of their languages, which have little or no affinity to the Malayan. The propagation of Christianity among these islands is obviously liable to none of those objections which have been urged against its missionaries on continental possessions. A great proportion of the natives are still pagans, under the influence of a wild and almost unintelligible superstition, the principles of which are not recorded in books, but are handed down, like stories of ghosts, fairies, and witches, with all the uncertainty of tradition. In most instances, the people, though they stand in great awe of the priests or enchanters, or dealers with invisible spirits, are very little attached to the superstition in which they are educated. Many of them are said to be very desirous of procuring instruction, and in some places they look up with a degree of veneration to the Mahomedans, as a people who have received something which they still want.

These observations on the Malayan Islands in general, apply to no part of the Archipelago more than to the important and great island of Borneo.

Borneo is not only one of the most fertile countries in the world, but one of the most productive in gold and diamonds[71]. [Vol I Pg 264]Its camphor is the finest known, and it is thought capable of producing every kind of spice. Its eastern coasts, which [Vol I Pg 265]abound in sago, also furnish a greater quantity of birds'-nests, sea-slug, and other commodities in great demand in the [Vol I Pg 266]Chinese market, than the other islands of the East; but the interior has never been explored by Europeans. It may be [Vol I Pg 267]conjectured, that the ignorance of the state of the country is one of the principal causes that no European settlement on it has hitherto proved advantageous, but has generally been abandoned after a short trial. The only exception to this observation is the Dutch settlement of Bánjer-másin, which continued from 1747 to 1810, when it was formally abandoned by Marshal Daendals to the Sultan, by agreement, for the sum of fifty thousand Spanish dollars. The Sultan soon after sent an embassy, inviting the English to settle; and previous to the conquest of Java, the Earl of Minto received the ambassadors at Malacca, and accepted their invitation.

The only territory to which the Dutch had any claim on the island of Borneo, was the coast from Súkadána to Mempáwa; this territory they acquired by virtue of a cession from the Sultan of Bantam in 1778. They destroyed Súkadána, and established factories at Pontiána and Mempáwa, which however they abandoned as unproductive after a period of fourteen years.

In no other part of the island of Borneo has there been any European settlement. The English, in 1772, intended to have established a factory at Pásir, but they abandoned the design on some commotions taking place in that state. Its object was to make Pásir a depót for opium and India piece goods, and for the contraband trade in spices. In 1774, a short time after the first settling of Balambángan, Mr. Jesse was deputed as Resident to Borneo proper, and concluded a treaty with that state, by which he acquired for the settlement of Balambángan the exclusive trade in pepper, stipulating in return to protect Borneo from the piratical incursions of the Súlu and Mendanáwi men. Neither of the parties, however, fulfilled its agreement, though the Residency at Borneo was continued for some years after the first breaking up of the settlement of Balambángan in 1775.

On the north-east of Borneo proper lies a very considerable territory, the sovereignty of which has been long claimed by the Súlu government; a very considerable part of this, together with the islands off the coast, have been for upwards of forty [Vol I Pg 268]years regularly ceded to the English by the Súlus, and has also at different periods been assumed by them, without any objection on the part of the government of Borneo proper. This ceded district, extending from the river Ki-manis on the north-west, which forms the boundary of Borneo proper, to the great bay on the north-east, is undoubtedly a rich and fertile country, though in a rude and uncultivated state, and it is admirably situated for commerce, notwithstanding the different failures of Balambángan may seem to indicate the contrary. Balambángan is one of the small islands off the northern extremity of the island of Borneo, and included in the Súlu grant to the English. It would be foreign to the present object to enter into any details concerning the history of the settlement of Balambángan, but it may be proper to mention, that all the gentlemen who were engaged in the last attempt were convinced that the bottom of the great Malúdu Bay would have been infinitely preferable as a settlement on every account. Balambángan is exactly analogous, in every respect, to Pinang; it does not admit of territorial extension, and must exist, if at all, by commerce solely. Malúdu, on the other hand, is a dependency on the island of Borneo, which admits of any degree of territorial extension, may always subsist any number of inhabitants by its own produce, and is said to communicate, by a land carriage of little more than forty miles, with the central lakes in the vicinity of the gold countries.

From every inquiry, however, and the result of some experience, and much reflection, it may be stated, that no settlement which is founded on a commercial, instead of a territorial basis, is likely to succeed in that quarter. We have already acquired territorial rights, and therefore the only question seems to be, whether these cannot be turned to advantage, as well by cultivation as by commerce. The Dáyaks, or original inhabitants of Borneo, are said to be not only industrious, but particularly disposed to agriculture, and so manageable, that a handful of Maláyus have, in numerous places, reduced many thousands of them to the condition of peaceful cultivators of the ground. Indeed nothing seems wanting but a government strong enough to afford efficient protection to person and property. In the case of the Dáyaks, it must be considered as[Vol I Pg 269] an advantage, that they have not hitherto adopted the religion of Islam, and would consequently be more ready from the first to regard us as their friends. It ought to be calculated among the inducements to form a settlement on Borneo, that in that quarter our territorial arrangement would interfere with the claims or the rights of no European nation. To recommend, however, the immediate establishment of a settlement at this particular spot, and on a basis so new, would obviously be premature, as notwithstanding the length of time we occupied Balambángan, not only the interior of Borneo was almost unknown, but until lately, even a great part of its coasts. This supineness in the government of Balambángan is perhaps not unexampled. The want of local information has, indeed, often proved fatal to the infant settlements of the English. "Colonies and settlements of every kind," says the author of the Letter on the Nagrais Expedition, "must at first be attended with many difficulties, which however a judicious perseverance will surmount, if there be not some original fault in the establishment. It must be obvious to every one, that the English never made a settlement, in which they were not impeded by some unforeseen difficulties, so as at least frequently to make abandoning the infant establishment appear the most prudent step, without even hoping any return for the prodigious expense which may have been incurred by the undertaking."​—"Various reasons," adds that author, "may be ascribed for this event; but incapacity in the person entrusted with the management, and the want of previous examination of the place, seem to me the most common and the most considerable." Without stopping to inquire how far the want of success in our several attempts to settle Balambángan may have been fairly attributable to either of these causes, it may be confidently asserted, that the last establishment failed chiefly from its being solely of a military nature, without either professional merchants or mercantile adventurers being attached to it.

These observations respecting Balambángan apply to it chiefly as a territorial establishment; but there is no doubt that it would speedily attain commercial importance. Many of the commercial advantages which recommended its selection still exist, to an equal or greater extent; especially those[Vol I Pg 270] which related to Cochin China, Champa, and Cambodia. But this digression has already exceeded its reasonable limits, and it is necessary to revert to the more immediate point under consideration, the commerce of Java. Any account of this commerce would be imperfect, which after stating the extent to which it is carried, and the mode in which it is conducted with the adjacent islands in the same Archipelago, should omit to mention the advantages of an intercourse with Japan, and some notices on the Japan trade.

The history of the Dutch connexion with that country is well known, and can never be forgotten. Perhaps there is not such an instance in the annals of commerce, of the disgraceful arts to which mercantile cupidity will resort, and the degradation to which it will submit for the attainment of its object, as in the Dutch proceedings at Japan; nor is there, perhaps, a more remarkable example of the triumphant success, and complete disappointment of commercial enterprize. As it may be interesting to many readers to see an authentic history of the origin, fluctuations, and decline of the Dutch Japan trade, and as even a very succinct statement of it would swell this chapter to a disproportioned size, I have placed a short history of it in the Appendix to this work, to which I beg leave to refer those who have any curiosity for such details[72]. From the year 1611, when the Dutch established commercial relations with Japan, till 1671 (a period of sixty years), their speculations were unrestricted and their profits were enormous. This was the golden age of their trade: they opened a mine of wealth, and they fondly thought it inexhaustible, as well as rich and easily wrought. In 1640, the Company obtained a return in gold, that yielded a profit of upwards of a million of guilders. They had been accustomed to procure, for some time previous to 1663, a return of silver to the extent of two hundred chests of one hundred pounds each, and it was suggested that it would be desirable for as many chests of gold of the same weight to be sent in future. The golden and silver ages of Japan commerce being past, the latter half of the seventeenth century began with what the Dutch called its brazen age, that is its export of copper, which [Vol I Pg 271]has ever since continued the staple of the Japan market. The trade was on the decline during the whole of the last century, and had become of so little importance about 1740, that the Company deliberated upon the expediency of its total abandonment. From employing, as at one time, eight or nine ships, and exporting copper alone to the amount of more than thirty thousand píkuls, of one hundred and twenty-five pounds each, it diminished to the use of two vessels, and the purchase of cargoes of five or six thousand píkuls. The Appendix contains an account of the nature of the trade, and the result of the Dutch adventures of 1804-5 and 1806, and of our own in 1813.

FOOTNOTES:

[54] Great Britain.

[55] It is said that when the Dutch first established themselves in Java, three hundred vessels of not less than two hundred tons each, were accustomed to sail to and from the port of Japára, in Java, if not belonging to that port.

[56] The greatest part, or rather nearly the whole of these exports and imports, consisted of colonial produce, of articles of subsistence, or native manufactures, mutually exchanged between the two islands of Madúra and Java. Not a tenth part of the imports came from beyond Java.

[57] "The bazars," observes Mr. Hogendorp, "now produce a large, and even an incredible amount, which however is melted away in the hands of the native regents and also some European authorities; but the Chinese, to whom they are mostly farmed out, derive the greatest profits from them, both by the money which they extort from the Javans, and by the monopolies in all kinds of produce, and particularly of rice, which by these means they are enabled to secure to themselves. The abuses on this point are horrible, and almost induce me to recommend that the markets should be made free and open."

[58] See account of Chéribon.

[59] Although but few of the natives of Java venture their property in foreign speculations, the natives of Java form the crews of all coasting vessels belonging to Chinese, Arabs, or Europeans, and it is of them almost exclusively that the class of common sailors, known in the east under the general denomination of Malays, is composed. Here it may not be improper to notice the manner in which European vessels have hitherto been supplied with such crews, and to point out the probable causes of that atrocious conduct with which the Malayan sailor is so generally reproached.

A reference to the maritime customs of the Maláyus will shew the manner in which the outfit of a native vessel in the Eastern Seas is effected[73]. Each individual on board has a share and interest in the concern, and among themselves the maritime population is distinguished for good faith and attachment. In the vessels either commanded or owned by Chinese or Arabs, the same principle is attended to; and although the common sailors in these generally receive wages, the petty officers, who are also generally Javans, have some trifling interest in the cargo, the common men are protected by them, and the policy of the commanders induces every possible attention to the usages, prejudices, and comforts of the crews. They are able to assimilate more nearly with them, and to enter more immediately into their feeling and their wants, than it is possible for Europeans to do, and as they do not possess the authority to obtain crews by force, it is only by a character for good treatment that they can insure an adequate supply of hands. These vessels navigate throughout the whole extent of the Archipelago, to Malacca and Acheen on one side, and to the Moluccas and New Guinea on the other. They are manned exclusively by Javans, usually called Malays, and no instances occur of the crews rising either upon the Arab or Chinese commander: they are, on the contrary, found to be faithful, hardworking, and extremely docile. How is it when Malays are employed in vessels belonging to Europeans? The Javans are originally not a seafaring people; they have an aversion for distant voyages, and require the strongest inducements to quit the land, even for a coasting expedition in the smooth seas of their own Archipelago, beyond which, if they ever engage themselves on board a colonial vessel, they make an express agreement, not to be carried: European vessels in want of hands for more distant voyages to Europe, India, and China, have been compelled therefore to resort to force or fraud, as the means of obtaining crews. The Dutch government were in the habit of employing people, known among the Javans by the term sélong, as kidnappers, who prowled about at night, pounced upon the unwary peasant who might be passing along, and hurried him on ship-board. When the direct influence of government was not used, the native regents or chiefs were employed to obtain people for the crews of vessels: this they did sometimes in the same manner, though more frequently condemning to sea as many as were required, by an indiscriminate draft on the neighbouring population. The native chiefs were perhaps paid a certain head-money, on what may have been considered by the European commanders as nothing more than crimpage. The people who were seized were seldom of a seafaring class, but almost entirely landsmen, in many instances perhaps opium smokers, or persons obtained from the lowest and most worthless part of the community. Once embarked, their fate was sealed for ever, and due care was taken that they never landed again on Java, as long as their services as sailors were required.

In this manner are obtained that extensive class of sailors, denominated Malays, who are found on board almost every country ship in India, and inhabit the sea-ports in considerable numbers, particularly Calcutta, where they have a distinct quarter allotted them. They are taken from their home against their will, and in violation of all their views and habits. In general, neither their language or customs are in the least understood by their new master, for though most of the commanders in the eastern trade may speak the Malayan language, and be accustomed to the Malayan character, they know nothing of the Javan language, and but little of the manners, habits, and prejudices of the Javan people.

That numerous instances have occurred, in which they have appeared the foremost in mutiny and in the massacre of their officers, will not be denied; but it is well known, that many instances of ships being cut off by the Malay crews, have been occasioned by the tyrannical and inhuman character of the commanders; and however dreadful the massacre, some excuse may be made on the score of provocation, for a people low in the scale of moral restraint and intellectual improvement. In some cases they have been made the instruments and dupes of the villany of others, and have merely followed in the track of cruelty. In general, so little care seems to be devoted to the comforts of these people, and so much violence offered to their habits, that a person accustomed to observe the course of human action, and to calculate the force of excited passions, is almost surprized to find the instances of mutiny and retaliation are so few.

[60] From a course of experiments recently undertaken, and a careful examination of the bird, by Sir Everard Home, Bart., there is every reason to believe that the nature of the substance of which the edible birds'-nests are composed will be satisfactorily explained.

[61] Mr. Hogendorp makes the following observations on the cotton of Java. "This article of produce, which now, in order to provide the Company with a few hundred píkuls of cotton-yarn at a low rate, is only productive of vexation and oppression to the poor natives, might be made of the greatest value, both to Java itself and to the mother country. The plant grows in abundance and of good quality, especially if the best kinds of seeds are procured from the Coromandel Coast and the Isle of France. The cultivation of cotton is not at all injurious to any other branch, for after the rice harvest is the best season for planting the cotton, and before the rains, when the fields are again ploughed for rice, the cotton is ripe and gathered.

"Little of it is comparatively planted at present; indeed only the necessary quantity, after providing the natives with coarse cloths, for the government contingent. In rough cotton there is no trade at all: but, in fact, what trade is there on Java, except the monopoly trade of the Chinese?

"Let us but suppose the cultivator to have a property in the soil, and that he, as well as the trader, were at liberty to buy and sell, how soon should we see the Javan planting cotton directly after his rice was reaped. After being cleaned by machinery and screwed into bales, it might be exported to China and Europe.

"There is no doubt that the Javan cotton would be as good at least, if not better, than the cotton of the English, whether from Bombay, Madras, and Bengal, and it might certainly be produced cheaper; but even suppose that, when cleaned and picked, it cost ten rix-dollars a píkul, the Javans would still be well paid."

[62] By an official statement of the quantity of sugar manufactured at Batavia and the various residencies of the island of Java, from the year 1779 to the year 1808, it appears that

In the year 1779 it was 30,131 píkuls.
In the year 1800 106,513
In the year 1801 107,498
In the year 1808 94,903

that during the first fourteen of these years, the quantity made and delivered over to the Company for export to Holland, Persia, &c. amounted to 642,234 píkuls, or to an average of 47,874 annually, two of these years being almost entirely unproductive, on account of the non-payment to the manufacturers of money, to enable them to carry on their business. During the latter half of the period, or from 1794 to 1808, the quantity manufactured and delivered over to the Company amounted to 917,598 píkuls, averaging 65,542 annually. All the sugar for export, during this period, as stated in the text, was delivered over at fixed rates to the government, and was placed under laws of the strictest monopoly. To shew the great practicability of an increase to almost any extent, we may adduce the sudden start in the supply occasioned by the American demand in 1800. In no preceding year had this article of produce been delivered over to the Company to a greater amount than 67,552 píkuls, and in that year the quantity sold at Batavia to Americans alone, amounted to 91,554, and for the subsequent years averaged 100,000 píkuls, and sold for 900,000 Java rupees, or 11,000l. sterling. The principal part of this was manufactured at Batavia, the quantity supplied by Jawâna, Japâra, Chéribon, Surabáya, and Semárang, being but proportionally small till 1803, when Japára contributed to the exports of the island in this article 12,219. In 1804, the same province supplied 21,175 píkuls. The disadvantage under which the manufacturer laboured, by forced deliveries at inadequate rates, need not be here insisted on, though it must be taken into the account in any estimate of the attainable increase of the manufacture.

[63] Mr. Hogendorp makes the following observations on the coffee and pepper of Java:​—"In comparing the produce of the West Indian islands, according to their proportionate extent, population, and expenses of cultivation, I have frequently left off in the middle of my calculations; but I am sure that Java, on a very moderate calculation, can without difficulty yield fifty millions of pounds of coffee annually.

"For a long period, the planting of coffee was confined to the Batavian high and Priáng'en lands, and to Chéribon, on the principles of that short-sighted and self-destroying policy and spirit of monopoly, by which the company and the government of Batavia have ever been characterized. It is only of late years that it has been permitted to extend and revive the cultivation in the eastern districts. But the Commissioners, in May 1796, ordered that the cultivation should be abolished; and in the month of September in the same year, this order was countermanded, and the planting of coffee ordered to be promoted in the most rigorous manner possible. But what is to be expected from a country, where the natives are so treated, so oppressed? To-day the Javan is ordered to plant his garden with coffee trees: he does so, and although well aware how little he will get for the fruit, he sees them grow up with pleasure, considering their produce as a tribute which he must pay to his master for enjoyment of protection; but now, when they are about to bear fruit, he is ordered to root them out: he does so, and four months afterwards he is again ordered to plant others! Can a more infamous tyranny be imagined? Can it be credited, that any government should act so madly, so inconsistently? And yet this is the plain and real truth. But how can stupid ignorance, which by the vilest means, by base meanness, mercenary marriages, and every kind of low trick, rises into power and importance, and then becomes by wealth luxurious, and by flattery intoxicated, act otherwise? And will you, Batavians, continue to trust in such hands as these, your valuable possessions and interests in India?

"Pepper grows but slowly on any soil, and is so nice with regard to it, that in some places, where to all appearance there would be an abundant produce of the plant, it will not grow at all. The vine requires four or five years to produce fruit. The improvident Javan, who under the present despotic administration, can and will scarcely provide for his daily subsistence, finds this too long a delay between his labour and its reward: having, therefore, no sufficient motive to pursue the cultivation cheerfully or actively, he can only be driven to it by force; but let him once experience the advantage of property in land; let him see the trader ready with plenty of money to purchase the fruits of his labour; let him, if he should still be idle, observe his more industrious neighbour acquire wealth, by the sale of those articles which he slothfully declines to cultivate, and with it procure the necessaries or conveniences of life, and he will soon be induced, by emulation and the desire of ameliorating his condition, to plough and plant his ground. The Island of Java will then produce a considerable quantity of pepper, for which, if the cultivator obtains twelve rix-dollars per píkul, he will be amply paid.

"Although every thing goes on with difficulty at first, and it cannot be denied that it will require time and trouble to stimulate the Javans, who are now confounded, as it were, with tyranny and oppression, to industry and emulation, it is notwithstanding equally certain, that an improved system of administration, founded on property of the soil, freedom of person and trade, would by degrees, though perhaps much quicker than may be imagined, bring about such a change, and that Java might and would produce as much pepper for exportation annually as coffee, or about two hundred thousand píkuls, which will bring three thousand six hundred rix-dollars into the country."

In the year 1801, it was estimated by one of the first commercial houses in Europe, that the following quantities of pepper might be obtained from different ports of the Archipelago.


"Ports and Places where Pepper is to be had:​—estimated in March 1801.

"At Bencoolen, belonging to the English, may be had about twelve hundred tons of pepper per annum.

"At Prince of Wales Island, belonging to the English, may be had at present only one hundred tons per annum: in a few years it will be five hundred tons.

"At Susú, on the west coast of Sumatra, belonging to the King of Acheen, may be had one thousand tons per annum.

"At Acheen and its ports, belonging to the King of Acheen, may be had about one thousand tons per annum: the Danes often go to these two ports.

"At Tringano and Kalanton, belonging to a Malayan prince, may be had about two thousand tons per annum: the Europe Portuguese ships often call at these ports on their way to China.

"At Palembang: the Dutch have a small fort here, and oblige the king to send all his pepper to Batavia; it may be about seven hundred tons per annum.

"At Lampung, on the south point of Sumatra: the Dutch have a small fort here, and they send all their pepper to Batavia; it may be about five hundred tons.

"At Bantam may be had five hundred tons: this belongs to the Dutch.

"At Bánjer-másin, on the south-west of Borneo: the Dutch have a fort here, and the rajah sends all his pepper to Batavia: it may be about twelve to fifteen hundred tons per annum.

"At Chintabun, near Siam, belonging to the King of Siam, may be had one thousand tons per annum: this goes to China in the king's junks."

[64] "Ceylon, it may be observed, will consume two thousand kóyans annually (four thousand tons). There is also a ready market at the Cape of Good Hope, for one thousand kóyans a year. A scarcity of this grain frequently happens on the coast of Coromandel, when the import of it from Java will yield great profit, if the traders are permitted to export it. The general freedom of commerce and navigation, and the encouragement such freedom holds out to the merchant, will establish and extend a ready communication and friendly relation between Batavia and the trading places of India. In the article of rice, Java possesses advantages superior to Bengal; for although this grain is generally very cheap there, yet the navigation from and to Bengal is always more difficult than that from and to Java, from whence, at all seasons of the year, the passage may be made to most parts of India: and in Bengal it often happens, that the rice is very scarce and dear, and even that a famine rages there. On the island of Java, on the contrary, although the crops may sometimes partially fail in a few places, a general and total failure never happens: at least there is no instance of it on record. It may also be considered, whether the exportation of rice from Java to Europe might not become an object of speculation. The cargo of a ship of five hundred lasts, or kóyans, would only cost fifteen thousand rix-dollars, which cannot be reckoned at more than thirty thousand guilders; and the kóyan being calculated at three thousand five hundred pounds, the only question would be, what would be the value of one million seven hundred and fifty thousand pounds of rice in Europe, and if the undertaking would afford a reasonable gain? Even China is sometimes much in want of rice, and the export of it to that country would often, if not always, turn out very advantageous."​—Hogendorp.

Rice was exported both to England and China, during the provisional administration of the British government on Java.

[65] The rupees are throughout calculated at thirty stivers each.

[66] If current report is to be credited, the fate of this unfortunate prince has been at last sealed; and the undisputed successor of "that great and puissant king," to whom Queen Elizabeth gave an assurance, "that far from ever having cause to repent an intercourse with the English, he should have a most real and just cause to rejoice at it;" and to whom, on the part of the English nation, she gave a pledge, "that her promises were faithful, because the conduct of her subjects would be prudent and sincere"​—has been obliged to abdicate his throne in favour of the son of a Pinang merchant!

[67] "We, the Batavians," says Mr. Hogendorp, "or rather our good and heroic ancestors, conquered these countries by force of arms. The Javans, who are immediately under our jurisdiction, acknowledge the Batavian nation or the East India Company as their lord or sovereign; but by so doing, although they resigned their political rights, they still retained their civil and personal liberty, at least their right thereto. But what relation do the Chinese bear to us, and what are the rights they can require from us? As foreigners and itinerant traders, this may be easily defined, but as inhabitants and settlers a further inquiry becomes necessary. To political rights, or to a share in the government and revenues of the country, they have not the slightest claim, and as inhabitants, they cannot even claim the enjoyment of the same civil or personal privileges as the Javans: in the first place, because they are not natives of the country; secondly, because they take no interest in the welfare or preservation of the country; thirdly, because they only endeavour to derive their gain at the expense of the Europeans as well as the Javans, in order to return to China with the profits they make, or at least to send as much of it as possible to their families there; fourthly, because they have no regard whatever to the welfare of our country, and would be quite indifferent to the English, or any other nation, driving us from Java. For these reasons, I conceive that the Chinese have not the same right as the Javans to the freedom or privilege of citizens. The basis of all civil communities is incontrovertibly the sacrifice of a part of the liberty, rights, and even property of each individual, for the enjoyment and security of the remainder; and this remainder, when fixed, forms the civil freedom and privileges of such a community. Not only are the Chinese quite exempt from this sacrifice, but they are also, by the corruption of the Batavian government, much less burdened than all the other inhabitants, even the Europeans, and are besides favoured with considerable privileges and exclusive means of gaining wealth. These are facts, which no one who is acquainted with Batavia can or will contradict.

"Were impartial justice to be adhered to, the Chinese would be looked upon and treated only as foreigners, who are suffered and admitted, as long as it is not injurious to our interest and safety, to settle in our country and under our protection, seeking in trade or agriculture their means of subsistence and emolument, and to whom, on account of their numbers, it is allowed by our indulgence, as long as they conduct themselves well and peaceably, to preserve and practise their own manners and customs, and even in particular places, to dwell together under their own chiefs.

"All the Chinese who come to Java every year in such vast numbers, in the junks from China, or in other vessels from neighbouring places, are the refuse of their nation, and principally from a province, the natives of which are considered by their own countrymen the worst of the whole empire. These people come half naked and poor in the extreme: they add, therefore, so many more to the population, which must be supported by the country, to which however they contribute nothing. It must be acknowledged, they are, particularly at first, very active, industrious, inventive, and frugal. At Batavia they exercise almost every useful art, trade, and handicraft, they cultivate and produce the best vegetables, they work the sugar-mills, and appear therefore to be uncommonly useful and perhaps indispensable.

"The trade in the interior, wholesale and retail: the trade to sea, to the opposite shores, and elsewhere in the Straits, is entirely in their hands, and is almost wholly carried on by them. In all considerable places on the coast, as well as in the interior of Java, they have distinct towns, called kampongs, where they live under their own chiefs, and follow their own customs and manners. Finally, they have exclusively all the farms of the government taxes and revenues, both in the Company's districts and in the dominions of the native princes: by which means they are complete masters of all trade, internal and foreign; and are enabled to make monopolies in every thing, which they do accordingly in the most extensive manner. The burthens they have to bear are, on the contrary, very trifling; in fact, almost nothing: especially because they are exempt from all feudal and personal services, which are so oppressive to the Javans.

"To what can this impropriety and injustice be ascribed but to the government of Batavia? The Chinese have obtained all these favours and privileges by making considerable presents, and thus sacrificing the interests of the Company and the nation to their selfishness and avarice. These arbitrary governors of the East Indies have made the Chinese possessors of Java: for I undertake to prove, that the wealth of the Chinese on that island amounts to ten times as much as the property of all the Europeans added together, and that their profits every year bear the same proportion.

"With reference to their numbers and character, I am of opinion that the following resolutions regarding them might be adopted: That the Chinese on Java should be allowed to remain, and even that further arrivals of them should be permitted; care being taken, however, to keep them in good order, that they should be prevented from injuring the Javans, either by force or fraud: that they be not more favoured than others: that they should contribute a proportionate and equitable share towards the revenues of the state for their enjoyment of the rights of citizenship, in the same manner as other inhabitants, which can best be effected by means of a capitation tax. Uncultivated and uninhabited lands might then be granted or sold to the Chinese, as well as to the natives, to establish sugar-mills or plantations. By these means, every practicable use and advantage would be derived from them, as an industrious and active people, without doing any injury to the other inhabitants, and especially the Javans as natives of the country: and because they have no interest in our national welfare, they should be made, as an equitable compensation, to pay a higher rate to the state. In other respects, they may be completely subjected to our laws, and may be treated with kindness as well as justice.

"The number of Chinese on Java is much greater than is generally imagined, and annually more of them arrive by thousands. By connexions with the native women, their families increase in inconceivable numbers. These half-Chinese retain the language, religion, manners, customs, and even the dress of their fathers; and are generally called Pernakans, although that name is also frequently applied exclusively to those Chinese who embrace the Mahometan religion; and these, as a separate class of people, have their own chiefs, or sometimes confound themselves with the Javans, and can only be distinguished by their lighter complexion."

[68] Among the exports from Java for the Europe market, no particular notice has been taken in the text of the extent of the spice trade, the produce of the Moluccas having, during the provisional administration of the British government, been conveyed direct from Amboina to the port of London, without being landed and re-assorted at Batavia, as was formerly the case under the Dutch government.

The sovereign Prince of the Netherlands has, by a solemn act, abandoned his right to the feudal services of his native subjects in the Eastern Archipelago, but has at the same time reserved to the state the exclusive monopoly of the spices. It may perhaps have been deemed expedient, in aid of the finances of Great Britain, that this odious monopoly should have been permitted to remain for upwards of five years under her uncontrolled dominion; and that, while the cloves on Amboina were raised by forced services, the nutmeg gardens on Banda should have been cultivated by slaves. There may have been reasons also which induced her to continue the system of extirpation in the neighbouring islands, and to act up to those stipulations for depressing these unhappy countries, for which the Dutch have in all ages been so justly reprobated. But now that the sovereign, to whom they are again ceded, has recommenced the Dutch administration in the Eastern seas, with an appearance of something more like justice, humanity, and sound policy than we have been in the habit of witnessing for the last two centuries, it is to be hoped that the profits of two annual cargoes of spices, whatever they may amount to, will never be considered of sufficient importance to tempt a great and magnanimous nation longer to trample on the hallowed rights of humanity, and to persevere in a system, which, while it may have afforded a temporary profit, has tended to degrade, depopulate, and destroy the fairest countries in creation. If the nutmeg and clove trees were allowed to grow where Providence would seem to have ordained that in their natural course they should, and this trade were opened to a free commerce, nutmegs might perhaps be procured as cheap as betel-nut, and cloves as cheap as pepper.

"In the Spice Islands," observes Adam Smith, "the Dutch are said to burn all the spiceries which a fertile season produces beyond what they expect to dispose of in Europe, with such a profit as they think sufficient. In the islands where they have no settlements they give a premium to those who collect the blossoms and green leaves of the clove and nutmeg trees which naturally grow there, but which this savage policy has now, it is said, completely exterminated. Even in the islands where they have settlements, they have very much reduced, it is said, the number of those trees. If the produce even of their own islands was much greater than what suited their market, the natives, they suspect, might find means to convey some part of it to other nations; and the best way, they imagine, to secure their own monopoly, is to take care that no more shall grow than what they themselves carry to market. By different acts of oppression, they have reduced the population of the Moluccas nearly to the number which is sufficient to supply with fresh provisions and other necessaries of life, their own insignificant garrisons, and such of their ships as occasionally come there for a cargo of spices. Under the government of the Portuguese, however, these islands are said to have been tolerably well peopled."

Had Dr. Smith written at the present day he might have heightened the picture by observing, that so far from even being able to supply the garrisons, these islands have long been considered incapable of raising sufficient supplies for their own subsistence; they have for many years depended almost entirely on Java for rice and the common necessaries of life, and latterly supplies have been sent to them from Bengal.

[69] This general remark is not intended to apply to the traders of Pinang (Prince of Wales' Island), who are in general well-informed and most honourable in their dealings, possessing great experience in the trade, and acquaintance with the habits and character of the natives: but this establishment is comparatively of recent date, and the very general view here taken has reference to the intercourse which has subsisted during the last century.

[70] See an able report on the Eastern Islands, by R. T. Farquhar, Esq. late Lieutenant-Governor of Prince of Wales' Island.

[71] Gold.​—From a calculation recently made, it appears that the number of Chinese employed in the gold mines at Mentrada and other places on the western side of Borneo, amounts to not less than thirty-two thousand working men. When a mine affords no more than four bengkals (weighing about two dollars each, or something less than a tahil) per man in the year, it is reckoned a losing concern, and abandoned accordingly. Valuing the bengkal at eighteen Spanish dollars, which is a low rate of estimation, and supposing only four bengkals produced in the year by the labour of each man, the total produce is 128,000 bengkals, worth 2,224,000 Spanish dollars, equal to 556,000l., at the rate of five shillings the dollar. But it is asserted, that upon the general run of the mines, seldom less than six bengkals per head has been obtained, and in very rainy seasons seven. Taking the medium at six and a half bengkals, the 32,000 Chinese will procure 208,000 bengkals, which at eighteen Spanish dollars the bengkal is 3,744,000 Spanish dollars, equal to 936,000l. Such is the result of a very moderate calculation of the produce of these mines. According to an estimate made in the year 1812, the annual produce of the mines on the west coast of Borneo was estimated at 4,744,000 Spanish dollars, being an excess of a million sterling. The quantity of gold procured on Sumatra, the supposed golden Chersonesus of the ancients, is according to Mr. Marsden about 30,800 ounces, which, at 4l. sterling the ounce, is worth 123,200l., equal to 492,800 Spanish dollars.

With respect to the disposal of the gold from the mines of Borneo, it may be observed, that every native Chinese, whether employed in the mines, in agriculture, as merchant or artificer, manages every year to remit at least the value of one tahil, more or less, of gold to his relations in China. These remittances are generally made by the junks in gold, as it saves freight, is more easily smuggled on shore without the notice of the rapacious Mandarin, and remitted over-land to the residence of their families. Taking the Chinese male population who can thus remit at double the number employed in the mines, and supposing one half to be born in the country, most of whom may not remit to China, this remittance would amount to 34,000 bengkals or tahils, which at eighteen Spanish dollars is 612,000 dollars, or 153,000l.

It is calculated that, one year with another, at least five hundred Chinese return in the junks to their native country with a competency. Several have been known to take away one thousand bengkals of gold, many from three to five hundred, but very few return before they have cleared a competency of two thousand dollars, or from one hundred to one hundred and twenty tahil of gold. This goes partly in gold; though they prefer investing a part of it in tin from Banka, opium, and other articles. Say, however, that they remit one half in gold, five hundred men, at one thousand dollars each, will give five hundred thousand dollars, which added to the small family remittances, accounts for an amount exceeding one million of dollars, or 250,000l. This calculation, however, seems to be far within the mark, and gives less by one half than what is usually stated to be remitted to China from the Bornean mines, which has been estimated at a loose guess at two millions of dollars, or 500,000l.

A further amount of not less than the value of a million of dollars (250,000l.) is supposed to find its way annually to Western India, and principally to Bengal, viâ Batavia, Malacca, and Pinang, for the purchase of opium and piece goods. The surplus enriches Java and some of the other islands, in exchange for salt, tobacco, coarse cloths, &c.

As the mines are worked with so little expence of machinery, the funds necessary for commencing an undertaking of the kind are small; and as the property of the soil belongs to the first occupant, almost every Chinese would become a proprietor, but from the mode by which their services are, in the first instance, secured by the council of proprietors or kongsis. A parcel of half-starved Chinese, enchanted with the prospect of wealth on the golden shores of Borneo, readily find a passage in the annual junks that sail from the mother-country to Borneo, at ten dollars a head. On their arrival, being unable to pay the passage money, and the tax of a dollar per head, established by the native authority, while their immediate wants of food, clothing, and habitation, are urgent and imperious, the proprietors of the mines find it easy to engage their services for three or four years. In some other cases, agents are employed to obtain men from China, on stipulated agreements, to work for a number of years; the usual rate of payment to the miners so engaged is not considered to average less than five Spanish dollars a month. No sooner, however, are these engagements concluded with their masters, than a number of them club together with the funds they have been able to save, and commence a new mine upon their joint account, in a few years acquiring a competency to return to their native country.

Diamonds.​—There appears to be no just foundation for the idea, that the diamonds of Borneo are inferior to those of Golconda. Many of an inferior quality have no doubt found their way into the market, because there was perhaps less skill and judgment in the selection; but the value of diamonds here, as well as every where else, depends upon their shape, size, and water, and in this respect the diamonds of Borneo will bear a comparison with those of any country yet known. Indeed, as far as we may judge from the present state of our information, the Lándak mines alone are as productive, and its diamonds as precious, as any other in the world.

The principal mines where diamonds are regularly dug for on Borneo, and found in any considerable quantities, are those of Lándak, Sángau, on the great river Lawi, and the districts of Bánjer-másin. Diamonds have been occasionally found within the limits of Borneo Proper, at Mátan and Sukadána. The mines of Lándak are as ancient as the Malayan dominion on the islands, those of Sángau are of more recent date, and those of Bánjer-másin are said to have been first discovered in the reign of Sultan Sepoh, from whom the present sultan is the fourth in descent.

Diamonds are not only found in the bottom of rivers when dry, but at the foot of craggy hills and mountains. The párits, or mines, are dug to the depth of from one to five fathoms only; but experience has invariably proved, that the deeper they are dug, not only are the diamonds more abundant, but superior in size, shape, and water. The soil which produces diamonds is known from a species of earth called by the natives lábor or lábor-gig'gi. This is sometimes black, sometimes white, red, orange, and green: it is a species of earth which stains the clothes of the labourer, and is distinguished by many names.

At Lándak there are ten párits worked by Chinese, and in each from twenty to thirty labourers employed. As a general average, eight Chinese are supposed to find about eight bengkals of diamonds in a year. From two to three hundred of the smallest sort are supposed to go to a bengkal, valued at from twenty to twenty-four rupees. This is independent of the larger ones, which are casual. So far back as the year 1738, the Dutch annually exported from the produce of these mines, diamonds to the value of from two to three hundred thousand dollars.

Few courts of Europe could perhaps boast of a more brilliant display of diamonds than, in the prosperous times of the Dutch, was exhibited by the ladies of Batavia, the principal and only mart yet opened for the Bornean diamond mines, and whence those known in the European world have been procured. With the decline of the Dutch government, however, the demand has decreased, and the mines are now almost neglected, the numerous diamond-cutters not being able to obtain a livelihood. Formerly, when more Chinese were employed in the mines of Lándak, diamonds from ten to thirteen carats were common in the public markets. The Pangéran of Lándak now wears one of eighteen, and another of fourteen carats and a half. Since Java has been in the possession of the English, rough diamonds from Borneo have been sent to England, and, even in a very unfavourable state of the market, turned out an advantageous remittance.

Among the larger diamonds which these mines have produced, it may not be uninteresting to mention, that the great diamond now in the possession of the Sultan of Mátan, which has been seen and examined by Europeans, weighs three hundred and sixty-seven carats: it is of the shape of an egg indented on one side. It is, however, uncut; and, on this account, it may be difficult to say, whether it will become the largest cut diamond ever known; for the famous diamond of Aurung Zebe, called the Mogul, in its rough state weighed seven hundred and ninety-five carats, and was then valued at 600,000l., but when cut was reduced to two hundred and seventy-nine carats. This celebrated diamond, known by the name of the Mátan diamond, was discovered by a dáyak, and claimed as a droit of royalty by the Sultan of the country, Gúru-Láya; but was handed over to the Pangéran of Lándak, whose brother having got possession of it, gave it as a bribe to the Sultan of Súkadána, in order that he might be placed on the throne of Lándak: the lawful prince, however, having fled to Bantam, by the aid of the prince of that country and the Dutch, succeeded in regaining possession of his district, and nearly destroyed Súkadána. It has remained as an heir-loom in the family of these princes for four descents, and is almost the only appendage of royalty now remaining.

[72] See Appendix B.

[73] See a paper on the Maritime Institutions of the Malayan Nation, in the twelfth volume of the Asiatic Researches. [Vol I Pg 272]


CHAPTER VI.

Character of the inhabitants of Java​—Difference between the Súndas and the Javans​—The Lower Orders​—The Chiefs​—Nature of the Native Government​—Different Officers of the State​—Judicial Establishments and Institutions​—Laws, and how administered​—Police Institutions and Regulations​—Military Establishments​—Revenue.

Having, in the foregoing pages, attempted to introduce the inhabitants of Java to the reader, by an account of their person, their manners, and employment in the principal departments of agriculture, manufactures, and commerce, I shall now endeavour to make him, in some degree, acquainted with their intellectual and moral character, their institutions, government, and such other particulars as may contribute to enable him to form some estimate of their relative rank in the scale of civilized society.

From what has been stated of their progress in the manufacturing and agricultural arts, their general advancement in knowledge may be easily estimated. There are no establishments for teaching the sciences, and there is little spirit of scientific research among them. The common people have little leisure or inclination for improving their minds or acquiring information, but they are far from being deficient in natural sagacity or docility. Their organs are acute and delicate, their observation is ready, and their judgment of character is generally correct. Like most Eastern nations, they are enthusiastic admirers of poetry, and possess a delicate ear for music. Though deficient in energy, and excited to action with difficulty, the effect probably of an enervating climate and a still more enervating government, they are capable of great occasional exertion, and sometimes display a remarkable perseverance in surmounting obstacles or enduring labours. Though ignorant and unimproved, they are far from wanting intelligence in the general objects of their pursuit, and fre[Vol I Pg 273]quently astonish Europeans by the ingenuity of their expedients, and the facility with which they accomplish difficult operations by apparently inadequate means.

People in a rude state of society are not always prepared to admit their inferiority, or inclined to adopt manifest improvements: what is much beyond their skill or their power, may excite their wonder, but does not always tempt their imitation. This is more peculiarly the case, where national pride or religious prejudice stand in the way; and the contempt of unbelievers, with which the Mahomedan system inspires its votaries, leads them usually to undervalue the arts in which others excel, or the instruction which they communicate. The Javans, though far from deficient in national pride, and though Mahomedans, are free from this senseless and pernicious prejudice, and are ready to acknowledge the superiority of the Europeans, as well as disposed to imitate their arts and to obey their direction. No people can be more tractable; and although their external appearance indicates listlessness and sometimes stupidity, none possess a quicker apprehension of what is clearly stated, or attain a more rapid proficiency in what they have a desire to learn. The restraints under which conversation labours by the necessity of using different dialects in addressing different orders of society, as well as the respect paid to superiority of rank, prevents them from such a frequent intercourse of thought and opinion as might otherwise be expected, and often renders them, to appearance, reserved and taciturn, although in fact, they are social, cheerful, and good humoured.

An uninstructed people are often credulous, and the Javans are remarkable for their unsuspecting and almost infantine credulity. Susceptible of every impression that artifice may attempt to make upon them, and liable to every delusion propagated by the prejudiced or the designing, they not inaptly compare themselves to a piece of pure white cloth, on which any dye or shade of colour may be laid. They lend an easy credence to omens, to prognostics, to prophets, and to quacks. They easily become the dupes of any religious fanatic, and credit, without scruple or examination, his claim to supernatural powers. Their profession of Mahomedanism has not relieved them from the superstitious prejudices and observ[Vol I Pg 274]ances of an anterior worship: they are thus open to the accumulated delusion of two religious systems.

They are great observers of lucky or unlucky days, or natural phenomena, and undertake no journey or enterprize without attending to them. It is unlucky to go any where on the day that you hear of the death of a friend: the sight of two crows fighting in the air is unlucky: two small birds (called prenjak) fighting near a house, afford a prognostic of the arrival of a friend from a distance. Explosions or noises heard from the mountains not only excite terror for their immediate consequences, but are thought to forebode some great calamity, unconnected with the convulsions of nature, of which they are the symptoms, such as a sanguinary war, a general famine, or an epidemic sickness. The eclipses of the sun and moon powerfully excite this superstitious spirit, and induce many absurd notions and observations. Earthquakes furnish certain prognostics, according to the day of the month on which they happen. In none of their superstitions, however, is there any thing of that gloomy, dark, or malignant cast, which distinguishes those of less favoured climates or of more savage tribes.

Although, on many occasions, listless and unenterprising, their religious enthusiasm is no sooner excited, than they become at once adventurous and persevering, esteeming no labour arduous, no result impossible, and no privation painful. We witnessed an instance, both of their simplicity and of their energy, connected with this part of their character, which excited our astonishment. The population of some of the districts of Bányumás contributed their voluntary labour, in 1814, to the construction of a broad high road, from the base to the summit of one of the loftiest mountains on the island (the mountain Súmbing), and this extraordinary public work was almost completed, before intelligence of its commencement reached the government. It was in consequence examined, and found to be a work of immense labour and care, but without the least appearance of object or utility. Upon enquiring into the motive of such a singular undertaking, it was learnt that a general belief prevailed, that there was a very holy man at the top of the mountain, who would not come down till there should be a good road made for him.[Vol I Pg 275] The Madúrese are said to believe, that the spirits of the dead revisit the earth; but this does not appear to be a Javan superstition.

Their prejudices are neither very numerous nor unyielding, and seem generally to have originated in some laudable feeling or amiable weakness. Their nationality, which is very strong, although it delights in the traditionary narratives of ancient Javan exploits, and supports a hope of future independence, which they are not backward to express, does not lead them to despise the character, or to undervalue the acts of strangers. They have a contempt for trade, and those of higher rank esteem it disgraceful to be engaged in it; but the common people are ever ready to engage in the labours of agriculture, and the chiefs to honour and encourage agricultural industry. Those of the highest rank and greatest authority, generally attend at the opening of new sáwah fields, performing part of the work with their own hands, and leading their inferiors or dependents, as they express it, to pay respect to the earth, in whose honour they also observe annually the sedéka búmi, or feast to the earth. It is in the same spirit that the buffalo, as the chief assistant of the husbandman, is viewed with such peculiar regard, that in some of the interior districts, new-born infants are sometimes carried to be breathed upon by them, from a superstitious belief that such a ceremony will render them fortunate.

Notwithstanding the despotic nature of their government, and the feudal principles on which it rests, the Javan must be considered as a patriarchial people, still retaining many of the virtues, and all the simplicity, which distinguish that state of society. Their village settlements constitute detached societies, under their local chief and priest, and the same internal concord prevails in these little associations which characterises patriarchial tribes. Vicinity and daily intercourse afford opportunities of conferring real assistance and acts of kindness: injustice and even violence may sometimes be committed against the inhabitants of other villages, but very seldom by the inhabitants of the same village against each other. The patriarchial spirit of the Javans may be further traced, in the veneration which they pay to age, the respect and acquiescence with which they receive the maxims or the counsels[Vol I Pg 276] of experience, the ready contented submission which they shew to the commands of their immediate superiors, the warmth of their domestic attachments, and the affectionate reverence with which they regard and protect the tombs and the ashes of their fathers. To the same description of feelings may be referred that consideration for ancestry, that attention to the line of descent, and that regard to the history and merits of distant kindred, which in the meanest people appears often to assume the character of family pride.

These observations apply principally to the inhabitants of villages, at some distance from the seats of the princes or regents, and the contagion of the larger capitals, and more particularly to the people of the Súnda districts. Those of higher rank, those employed about court, or in administering to the pleasures or luxuries of the great, those collected into the capitals or engaged in the public service, are frequently profligate and corrupt, exhibiting many of the vices of civilization without its refinement, and the ignorance and deficiencies of a rude state without its simplicity. The people in the neighbourhood of Batavia are the worst in the Island, and the long intercourse with strangers has been almost equally fatal to the morals of the lower part of Bantam. The population collected at the native capitals is naturally influenced, to a certain extent, by the vices of the court; but the further they are removed from European influence and foreign intercourse, the better are their morals and the happier are the people.

In attempting to exhibit some of the more striking features of the Javan character, it becomes necessary to distinguish between the privileged classes of society and the mass of the people. Long continued oppression may have injured the character of the latter, and obliterated some of its brighter traits; but to the former, the constant exercise of absolute dominion has done a more serious injury, by removing every salutary restraint on the passions, and encouraging the growth of rank and odious vices. In the peasantry we observe all that is simple, natural, and ingenuous: in the higher orders we sometimes discover violence, deceit, and gross sensuality.

Where not corrupted by indulgence on the one hand, or stupified by oppression on the other, the Javans appear to be[Vol I Pg 277] a generous and warm-hearted people. In their domestic relations they are kind, affectionate, gentle, and contented; in their public, they are obedient, honest, and faithful. In their intercourse with society, they display, in a high degree, the virtues of honesty, plain dealing, and candour. Their ingenuousness is such, that as the first Dutch authorities have acknowledged, prisoners brought to the bar on criminal charges, if really guilty, nine times out of ten confess, without disguise or equivocation, the full extent and exact circumstances of their offences, and communicate, when required, more information on the matter at issue than all the rest of the evidence. Although this may, in some degree, be the result of the former use of torture, it cannot be wholly so.

Though not much addicted to excess, and of rather a slow temperament, they are in general liberal and expensive, according to their means, seldom hoarding their wealth, or betraying a penurious disposition. Fond of show and pomp, they lay out all their money, as soon as it is acquired, in the purchase of articles of dress, horses, splendid trappings, &c.: but they possess a quality which is not always joined with a love of splendour, either in nations or individuals; they are cleanly in their persons, and pay the greatest attention to neatness, as well as to glare and finery.

Hospitality is universal among them; it is enjoined by their most ancient institutions, and practised with readiness and zeal. The Javans are exceedingly sensible to praise or shame[74], and ambitious of power and distinction; but their [Vol I Pg 278]national oppressions or agricultural habits have rendered them somewhat indifferent to military glory, and deprived them of a great portion of their ancient warlike energy. They are more remarkable for passive fortitude than active courage, and endure privations with patience, rather than make exertions with spirit and enterprize.

Though living under a government where justice was seldom administered with purity or impartiality, and where, of course, we might expect to see the hand of private violence stretched out to punish private wrong, or a general spirit of retaliation and insidious cruelty prevailing, the Javans are, in a great degree, strangers to unrelenting hatred and blood-thirsty revenge. Almost the only passion that can urge them to deeds of vengeance or assassination, is jealousy. The wound given to a husband's honour by seducing his wife, is seldom healed, the crime seldom forgiven; and what is remarkable, the very people who break the marriage tie on the slightest caprice, or the most vague pretence, are yet uncommonly watchful over it while it remains entire. They are little liable to those fits and starts of anger, or those sudden explosions of fury, which appear among northern nations. To this remark have been brought forward as exceptions, [Vol I Pg 279]those acts of vengeance, proceeding from an irresistible phrenzy, called mucks, where the unhappy sufferer aims at indiscriminate destruction, till he himself is killed like a wild beast, whom it is impossible to take alive. It is a mistake, however, to attribute these acts of desperation to the Javans.

That such have occurred on Java, even during the British administration, is true, but not among the Javans: they have happened exclusively in the large towns of Batavia, Semárang, and Surabáya, and have been confined almost entirely to the class of slaves. This phrenzy, as a crime against society, seems, if not to have originated under the Dutch, certainly at least to have been increased during their administration, by the great severity of their punishments. For the slightest fault, a slave was punished with a severity which he dreaded as much as death; and with torture in all its horrid forms before his eyes, he often preferred to rush on death and vengeance.

Atrocious crimes are extremely rare, and have been principally owing to misgovernment when they have occurred. In answer to what has been asserted concerning robberies, assassinations, and thefts, it may be stated, that during the residence of the English, an entire confidence was reposed in the people, and that confidence was never found misplaced. The English never used bars or bolts to their houses, never travelled with arms, and no instance occurred of their being ill used. The Dutch, on the contrary, placed no confidence: all their windows were barred, and all their doors locked, to keep out the treacherous natives (as they called them), and they never moved five miles abroad without pistols and swords. What could be expected by a government that derived a principal part of its revenue by the encouragement of vice, by the farms of gaming, cock-fighting, and opium shops? After the two former were abolished by the English, and the local government had done all in its power to discourage the latter, a visible amelioration took place in the morals of the lower ranks.

Hordes of banditti, formidable for their numbers and audacity, formerly infested some parts of the country, particularly the provinces of Bantam and Chéribon; but since they have been dispersed by the strong hand of government, the roads[Vol I Pg 280] of Java may be travelled in as much security as those of England.

Much has been said of the indolence of the Javans, by those who deprived them of all motives for industry. I shall not again repeat what I have formerly on several occasions stated on this subject, but shall only enter a broad denial of the charge. They are as industrious and laborious as any people could be expected to be, in their circumstances of insecurity and oppression, or as any people would be required to be, with their advantages of soil and climate. If they do not labour during the whole day, it is because such persevering toil is unnecessary, or would bring them no additional enjoyments. The best refutation of the charge of indolence is to be found in the extent of their cultivation, the well dressed appearance of their rice fields, and the abundant supplies of their harvests. They generally rise by daylight: at half-past six they go out to the rice fields, where they employ their buffaloes till ten, when they return home, bathe, and refresh themselves with a meal. During the violent heat of the noon they remain under the shade of their houses or village trees, making baskets, mending their implements of husbandry, or engaged in other necessary avocations, and at about four return to the sáwahs to labour them, without buffaloes or other cattle. At six they return to their homes, sup, and spend the remainder of their time till the hour of rest (which is generally between eight and nine) in little parties for amusement or conversation, when the whole village becomes a scene of quiet content and pleasure. The same round of toil and relaxation is observed during the season for garden culture, dry field labour, or other employments.

Under this system, the villagers seem to enjoy a greater degree of happiness than they could derive from those increased means that would result from increased exertion. I can bear testimony to their general cheerfulness, contentedness, and good humour, for having visited their villages at all seasons, and often when least expected or entirely unknown, I have always found them either pleased and satisfied with their lot when engaged at their work, or social and festive in their hours of pleasure. One observation generally made and admitted, would seem to militate against this part of the[Vol I Pg 281] Javan character; they are remarked to be envious and jealous of one another's success: but if this trait of character be with difficulty reconciled to their general reputation for contentedness and benevolence, it is surely still more inconsistent with that indolent apathy with which they are often charged.

It will appear throughout their history, that when strongly excited by the animosities of the constant wars in which they were engaged, they were frequently guilty of acts of great barbarity: such as decapitating a vanquished enemy, and kicking his head about like a football. In war and politics, much is not to be said in their favour, stratagem and intrigue being relied upon in preference to discipline, courage, or good faith: even the Chinese, during what is called the Chinese war on Java (A.D. 1750), would appear to deserve a higher character for bravery and good faith than the Javans. But it is reasonable to attribute this, in some measure, to the degrading influence of European despotism. A great disregard for the little people is shewn throughout their political history, as is particularly exemplified in the instance of a mock battle that was fought between the Chinese and Javans, near Semárang, in order to impose upon the Dutch. The Chinese wished to know how they should act upon the occasion. "Attack the whole army of the Javans by surprize," said the Javan negotiators," but be careful not to kill any of the chiefs or great people, and it will be a sham fight."

Of their nationality it may be observed, that ever since the first arrival of Europeans, they have neglected no opportunity of attempting to regain their independence. A reference to the chapters on history will be sufficient to illustrate this, as well as to shew the national feeling on the encroachments and assumptions of their European rulers. In the great cause of national independence all would unite, but they seem hardly to be sufficiently advanced in civilization to effect such an object, without the risk of relapsing into many barbarities, from the practice of which they have been weaned, by a long continuance of established government and general tranquillity. Quiet and peaceable as the Javans now are, were they once roused to insurrection, their blood would rapidly boil, and they would no doubt be guilty of many excesses. [Vol I Pg 282]

I might illustrate the Javan character still further by a comparison of it with the Malayan, by shewing, from the remains of those customs that are to be referred to an anterior and milder system, how much it has been altered by the introduction of Mahomedanism, and by giving an estimate of the effects produced upon it by the government of the Dutch; but this would anticipate some observations which will be more appropriate in other parts of this work.

Of the causes which have tended to lower the character of the Asiatics in comparison with Europeans, none has had a more decided influence than polygamy. To all those noble and generous feelings, all that delicacy of sentiment, that romantic and poetical spirit, which virtuous love inspires in the breast of an European, the Javan is a stranger, and in the communication between the sexes he seeks only convenience, and little more than the gratification of an appetite. But the evil does not stop here: education is neglected and family attachments are weakened. Among the privileged orders, the first wife is generally selected by the friends of the party, from motives of interest, and to strengthen family alliances, and the second is rather to be considered as the object of the husband's choice. But if his circumstances admit of it, he has no scruple to entertain other women as concubines, who hold an honourable rank in his household. The progeny from these connections is often immense. It has already been stated, that a Javan chief has been known to have upwards of sixty acknowledged children; and it too often happens, that in such cases sons having been neglected in their infancy, become dissipated, idle and worthless, and spring up like rank grass and overrun the country, or serve but to fill up a long and useless retinue. Fortunately for the peasantry, who are the mass of the population, they have escaped this deteriorating institution; and perhaps much of the comparative superiority of the character of the peasantry over that of the higher orders is to be attributed to this advantage. The higher orders have also been more exposed to the influence of Mahomedanism and European innovation; and if the former has removed from their usages some traits of barbarism, and tended to the developement of their intellectual qualities, it has introduced Mahomedan vices; and[Vol I Pg 283] the European power having gradually obtained its supremacy over the island, rather by stratagem and intrigue than by open conquest, it is probable that the necessity under which the natives found themselves to resist its encroachments by similar means, has powerfully contributed to corrupt their natural ingenuousness. It is not at the court of the sovereign, penned up as he now is, and kept like a bird in a cage by the intrigues and power of the European authority, that we are to look for the genuine character of the people; neither is it among those numerous chiefs and petty chiefs attendant on the European authorities, who by continual association have, in a great degree, assimilated with them. What we have said of the Javans must therefore be considered, as more particularly applicable to the peasantry or cultivators, who compose three-fourths of the whole population, and is to be received with some reserve in its application to the higher classes.

Thus far I have given a faithful representation of the people as they appeared to me; but it may be amusing to the reader to read the Javan character, as transcribed from the impressions of the Dutch. The following is an official account[75] of this people given by a subject of that nation, which has contributed so much to depress and degrade them.

"If the Javan is a person of rank, or in affluent circumstances, he will be found superstitious, proud, jealous, vindictive, mean, and slavish towards his superiors, haughty and despotic towards his inferiors and those unfortunate beings that are subject to his orders, lazy and slothful.

"The lower class is indolent and insensible beyond conception, and although certain persons, who presume to be perfectly acquainted with the character of the Javan, maintain the contrary, still I am convinced by daily experience, that the Javan in general is most shockingly lazy, and that nothing but fear of his superior, and apprehension of being punished, or momentary distress or want, can compel him to labour. If left to himself, he will do no more than what is absolutely requisite to furnish the necessaries of life, and as he needs[Vol I Pg 284] but little, his labour is proportionate: yet as soon as he has a sufficiency for four days, or for the next day only, nothing will put him in motion again but force or fear.

"Cowardly, vindictive, treacherous, inclined to rob and to murder rather than work, cunning in evil practices, and unaccountably stupid (supposed intentionally,) if any good is required of him. These are the principal traits of the Javan character.

"The Maláyu, speaking of him as an inhabitant of this island, because I am unacquainted with the character of those living at a distance, is possessed of a little more courage and activity, fond of small trade and travelling, and but seldom a robber like the Javan, whom in other respects he very much resembles. A Maláyu, who is a little cunning, will, as soon as an opportunity offers, commit a fraud, especially when he has had some loss which he wishes to retrieve."

Others of the colonists, and some particularly who are likely to have greater influence with the restored government, entertained more correct, because more favourable opinions of the Javans, coinciding nearly with those which I have stated as my own.

The following extracts are intended to convey some notion of Javan ethics. The first is from a popular work, called Raja Kapa-kapa[76].

"It is incumbent upon every man of condition to be well versed in the history of former times, and to have read all the chiríta (written compositions) of the country: first, the different Ráma, the B'rata yúdha, Arjúna wijáya, Bíma súchi; secondly, the different accounts of Panji; thirdly, the Júgúl múda, Pralámbang, and Jáya langkára; also to know their different tunes, as well as the mode of striking the gámelan; he must know how to count the years, months, and days, and comprehend the Sangkála, understand the Káwi language, and also must be clever in all

Niúng'ging Painting;
Ukir ukir Carving in wood;
Pándi Iron-work;[Vol I Pg 285]
Kemásan Gold-work;
Argénding Musical instrument making;
M'ráng'gi Kris-sheath making;
N'gapús Compositions (literary);
Gárdji Sewing with the needle; working;
Anyára-wedi retna Jewellery;
Anyádur-rasa In gilding and the application of quicksilver.

And he must also be skilled in horsemanship, and in the management of an elephant, and have courage to destroy all bad men, and drive away all women of loose character."

The Níti sástra is a work of the greatest celebrity on Java: the original is in the Káwi language, but there are many versions. The following is translated from a modern version in the present language of Java.

"Praise be to Batára Gúru, who is all powerful! to Batára Vishnu (wísnu), who purifieth the minds of men! and to Batára Súria, who enlighteneth the world! May they render their divine assistance to the author who composeth this work, Níti Sástra, which contains an account of the truths to be found in the sacred writings, and which are highly necessary to be known by all public officers.

"A man who cannot regulate his conduct according to circumstances, and to the situation in which he may be placed, is like unto a man who has lost the senses of taste, and enjoyeth not the advantage of síri, for such a man doth not shine in the world, however fair may be his appearance.

"A man who is ignorant of the sacred writings, is as one who has lost his speech; for when these become the conversation of other men, he will be under the necessity of remaining silent.

"It is an abomination to the Divinity to worship him in an unclean place; and the man who does so may be compared to one who eats another man's bread without his consent. The food is unwholesome to him, even as if he ate of his own bread with aversion, in which case he re[Vol I Pg 286]sembles the poor man who overeats himself and afterwards suffers from hunger.

"A woman who takes not a husband until her hair becomes grey and her teeth fall out, is despicable in her own eyes, because men will no longer feel any inclination to her.

"A man, to be accounted able, must know how to adapt his words to his actions and his actions to his words, so that he may give offence to no one, but render himself agreeable to his companions: he must also know how to command in war, and to inspire his followers with courage.

"In order to obtain this distinction, a man must conduct himself towards his equals even as a lover conducts himself towards his mistress; for as the lover cannot obtain his object without flattery and indulgence, so must we strive to obtain the good will of mankind by flattering them occasionally, and by indulging them in those things to which they are most inclined, and which consists, if we are in company with religious men, in treating of religious matters, and if in company with warriors, in treating about war. This will not only make them like us the better, but at the same time, excite them to excel in their profession.

"The subtle nature of the snake, and the venom of its poison, as well as the ferocious disposition of the tiger, may be removed by sympathetic remedies; the wild elephant may also be tamed by means of the well-known small iron hook: but the fierceness of the warrior, when once in close engagement, is not to be tamed, unless his enemy surrender; and even then not entirely, for although the vanquished surrender, it is to be inferred that he still harbours resentment for the loss of his freedom, and the conqueror must keep a lively watch over the vanquished, lest he still oppose him.

"It is well known that waters, however deep, may be fathomed; but the thoughts of men cannot be sounded. In order to know the nature of another, we must attentively observe his appearance, his manner of speaking, and his judgment; and if a man gives himself out as a holy man, it must be proved by his observance of the ser[Vol I Pg 287]vice of the Deity and his knowledge of the sacred writings.

"Such a man is distinguished, who is able to expound all abstract expressions.

"A rich man, who maketh not use of his riches in procuring for himself good food and clothing, is an abomination, and ought not to be admitted into the society of the learned or men of rank; neither ought a man, who has learnt a profession or studied religion, but who still continues attached to his idle and vicious propensities.

"The man who advances in years, and he who is too lazy to labour, and does nothing but eat and sleep, is like a sheep, which is useless except on account of its flesh.

"It is said, that neither the ravens nor the gadárbo birds, are good for man; but much less are such men who having once embraced a holy life, return to worldly pursuits, or such as can find it in their hearts to seduce the wives and daughters of their friends to commit adultery.

"The water in a vessel which is only partly full will by the least agitation splash on the sides: experience also proves, that the cow which has the loudest voice gives the least milk. So it is with men: those who have least understanding or wealth make the greatest noise and show; but in reality they are inferior, and all they say and do vanisheth like smoke.

"Friends must be faithful and forbearing towards each other, otherwise the consequences will be fatal to both. Of this we have an example in the fable of the tiger and the forest.

"The forest and the tiger lived together in close friendship, so that no one could approach the forest, for the tiger was always in the way; nor the tiger, for the forest always afforded him shelter. Thus they remained both undisturbed, on account of the mutual security they afforded to each other; but when the tiger abandoned the forest and roamed abroad, the people seeing that the tiger had quitted it, immediately cut down the forest and converted it into plantations: the tiger, in the meantime, taking shelter in a village, was seen by the people, who soon found means to kill him. In this manner, both parties,[Vol I Pg 288] by abandoning their mutual duties to each other, were lost.

"A child ought, in every respect, to follow in the footsteps of its father; but this is seldom the case, either among men or animals in general. Among the latter, however, there are three sorts which follow their parents in every respect: all kinds of fish, frogs, and tortoises. The first and second spawn in water, which is carried away until the young are produced, when they again join their parents: the last lay their eggs in holes, and as soon as the young are hatched they follow the old ones into the water.

"Man, although he is borne in his mother's womb a long time, and after his birth is taken care of and nourished, still seldom follows in the footsteps of his parents. If his father is a holy man, he ought to follow the same profession; but instead of this, children do not generally attend to the advice of their parents, nor to the lessons of the sacred writings, or those given by holy or good men.

"That men of rank should do every thing in their power to attach the lower class of people to them, is not only proper but necessary, in order to keep them faithfully to their duty. To this end, therefore, men of rank ought to be indulgent and liberal towards their inferiors, like a woman who implores the assistance of man to bring forth children and support her; but not like a tigress that brings forth its cubs, nor the snake which brings forth so many young, that sometimes having no food for them or for herself, she devours them.

"Man is pleased with the dódot cloth (apparel), and women are proud of their bosom; but a good man prefers the sacred writings, which may lead him to the life to come.

"Property obtained by man's own labour is valuable, but more valuable is that which is obtained by a man's blood in time of war: of less value is property inherited from a man's parents. Of little value is the property taken from a man's parents or his wife, but still less valuable is that which comes to a man from his children.

"It is the duty of the chief of the nation to inquire into every thing which can affect his subjects; to know whether[Vol I Pg 289] they are prosperous or not, if every one attends to his duty, if they are skilful in the execution of it or not, and in all cases to take measures accordingly, never losing sight of justice. He must, as far as possible, be lenient in the punishment of the guilty, and liberal in the reward of the deserving; particularly in the field of battle, when in sight of the enemy, when presents ought then to be distributed to the soldiers (prajúrit), in order to animate them; for if ever so justly treated, they will not, except they have been obliged by their commander, either be so faithful, or risk so much in an attack against the enemy.

"Highly prejudicial is it for the chiefs to discover fear before their enemies, for in that case the men will also be afraid; but when the chiefs conduct themselves in such a manner as to shew they do not fear the enemy, then the men are animated by their example.

"A chief should keep his plan of attack as secret as possible, because the knowledge of it may enable the enemy to be on his guard, and turn the measures taken to his own advantage. He ought not to challenge his enemy to give battle, as in that case the enemy will have an opportunity of preparing himself for the same: but he should attempt to surprize him, and rush upon him like a fire, that quickly and without much noise consumeth all with which it comes in contact.

"The most formidable enemy of a man is his own conscience, which always brings his crimes before his eyes, without leaving him the means of avoiding it.

"The most valuable and lasting friendship is that which exists between persons of the same rank.

"The severest misfortune which a man can suffer, is to be deprived by force, of the land upon which he lives and which he has cultivated, or to have his wife and children taken from him by force.

"Man loveth nothing more than his own children, and he always esteems his own feelings in preference to those of others.

"Of all birds the chíong (miner) is the most highly prized,[Vol I Pg 290] because it has a beautiful appearance and can imitate the speech of man.

"A woman who loves her husband so tenderly, that at his death she wishes to die with him, or surviving never marries again, but lives as if she were dead to the world, is valued above all others of her sex.

"The lessons of our parents are like the lessons of the ten wise masters. No master con be called wise, unless he attends to what is written, as well on sacred as on worldly subjects. Such a master may be justly called a superior mortal; for it is a difficult task to learn and to attend to the same, even as difficult as to catch and tame a wild elephant on the edge of a precipice without injury.

"Melancholy is it to see a young man of condition unacquainted with the sacred writings; for, be he ever so gracefully formed or elegant in his manners, he remains defective; like the wúrawári flower, which, notwithstanding its fine appearance and bright red colour, emits no fragrance whatever.

"No man can be called good or bad, until his actions prove him so. Thus if a man declares that he has never taken any but delicious food, it will be shewn in his appearance. If he is stout and well looking, then may he be credited; but if, on the contrary, he is poor and lean, then it is impossible that he should have lived on good food.

"In like manner, when a man pretends to be the friend of mankind, it must be proved by his behaviour when he receives the visits of others. If he receives his guests with kindness and hospitality, then is he the friend of mankind, otherwise he is not so. And further, if a man pretends to have fasted and prayed, and to have become a holy man, it will be known whether he is really so, by the success which attends the prayers which he puts up for another: if the Deity hears them not, then is he a deceiver.

"A caterpillar has its poison in its head, a scorpion in its tail, and a snake in its teeth, but it is unknown in what part of the body the poison of man is concealed: a bad man is therefore considered poisonous in his whole frame. [Vol I Pg 291]

"A child which is indulged by its parents in every thing, is like a young fish in a clear and pure stream, in which it grows and sports, unconscious whither it may lead.

"As the strength of a bird is in its wings, so does the power of a prince consist in his subjects; but then only through the means of persons properly informed on the following points. First, how a country ought to be properly administered; secondly, how to please a prince; thirdly, how to prepare all delicacies for him; and fourthly, how to preserve discipline and direct the conduct of an army.

"The dread of the subject should be such, that the orders of the prince should be to him like a clap of thunder, that may be heard far and wide.

"A man who does evil to his companions acts against the sacred writings and the lessons of his instructor: he can never enjoy prosperity, but will meet with misfortunes in all his proceedings. Such a man is like a piece of porcelain, which when it falls to the ground breaks into many pieces and can never be rendered perfect.

"A field without pasture is not frequented by cattle, neither does a river without water contain fish. An instructor who knoweth not how to perform the duties of his situation can have but few disciples, and a prince who pays little regard to his country and subjects, will in time not only lose his fame and glory, but his authority also.

"It is well known that a man cannot take the goods of this world with him to the grave, and that man after this life is punished with heaven or hell, according to the merits of his actions in this life: a man's duty, therefore, requires of him to remember that he must die; and if he has been merciful and liberal in this life to the poor, he will be rewarded hereafter. Happy is the man who divides his property equally between himself and the indigent, who feeds the poor and clothes the naked, and relieves all who are in distress; he has hereafter to expect nothing but good.

"The following animals, as being injurious to the health of man, are not proper to be used by him as food: rats, dogs, frogs, snakes, worms, monkeys, lizards, and the lik[Vol I Pg 292]e.

"A handsome man is an ornament to the community, and one that has good manners besides, is an ornament to his prince; but he who understands the sacred writings is the pride of the community and a delight to his prince.

"A prince who wishes to know his subjects well, ought to be attentive to their manners, actions, and courage; and as gold is known by the touchstone, or broken into pieces in order to ascertain its intrinsic value, so ought a prince to try his subjects, before he intrust them with the charge of his women or treasure, and make himself acquainted with their valour and knowledge: for a person who does not possess the qualifications required for this purpose, is unworthy to associate with people of condition, and much less to be the servant of a prince.

"If a man violates the law, he may for the first offence be punished by a pecuniary fine, for the second by punishment affecting his person, but for the third offence he may be punished with death.

"A joy generally followed by sorrow is that which we feel in borrowing money. We feel happy in having obtained what we wished, but as soon as our creditors come for their money, our joy is converted into grief; and that is the greatest when the money is spent, and we have not wherewith to satisfy our creditors: then arise quarrels and ill will, and yet no sooner are these settled than we again have recourse to the old habit of lending and borrowing.

"Laughing and joking at our companions is also a bad custom, for it generally begets quarrels, and is thus the cause of grief.

"Should medicine be mixed with poison, we would naturally separate the poisonous parts before we swallowed it, and we would also clean rusty metal in time before it becomes rusty and corroded. In the same manner we should distinguish between the good and bad actions of man, rewarding knowledge and opposing evil: and be it recollected, that a woman, however low her birth, if her manners are amiable and her person good, may without impropriety be made the wife of a great man.

"Riches only tend to torment the mind of man, and sometimes even to death; they are therefore, with justice, dis[Vol I Pg 293]regarded and despised by the wise. They are collected with pain and troubles in afterwards administering them; for if we neglect to watch them properly, thieves will come and steal them, and the loss occasions as much grief as the point of death.

"Therefore is it advisable to give part of our property to the poor and indigent, who will thence naturally become under obligations to us, and not only assist in guarding our property against all accidents, but pray that our property may increase, being themselves interested in our success, and our names will be blessed by our children and grandchildren.

"As dykes cannot long resist the force of water, unless the water is allowed a free current and a place to pass through, so riches cannot long be enjoyed, unless employed for charitable purposes; but, on the contrary, they will turn to the injury of the possessor, both here and hereafter, who will be exposed to the wrath of all the nine deities.

"Batára gúru is cool, still colder is the moon; but the coolness of neither is to be compared to that which is instilled by the voice of a holy man. Fire is hot, still hotter is the sun; but neither is to be compared to the heat of a man's heart.

"Like those flies and birds, which fly in the air to procure food, and still continue to feed on filth and dirt, is the man of bad character; for although he may have the means of procuring an honest subsistence, still will he continue to take what he should not, by unlawful means, to the prejudice of others. But a good man wishes the success of another, and is happy when his brother prospers.

"As the moon and stars enlighten the night, and the sun enlighteneth the day, so do the Holy Scriptures enlighten the hearts of men; and a son who is superior in knowledge to his father, is a light to his family.

"A child accustomed to nothing but amusement, neglects the lessons of its parents. The child on this account, often abandoned to its fate, becomes a dangerous subject; it is therefore essential that a child should be kept under[Vol I Pg 294] subjection while it is yet time to prevent its committing any bad acts. For this purpose these rules should be attended to:

"A child under five years of age may be indulged in many things; but afterwards it must be kept under strict subjection, and instructed in the knowledge of the Holy Writings until its tenth year, when a commencement may be made to instil that sort of knowledge which will form the intellects for the benefit of society. After the sixteenth year further instruction must be given in the higher and more important branches of knowledge.

"Man should always be on his guard against the commission of wicked acts, for the end of them is always pain and misery.

"A man must, on no account, listen to the advice of a woman, be she ever so good; for the end of it will be death and shame: but he must always consult his own mind in what he has to do or not to do, never losing sight of the lessons of his instructors. Thus, not only will he obtain knowledge, but his actions will be good.

"Riches, beauty, knowledge, youth, and greatness often lead a man into error; he, therefore, who is blessed with any of them ought to be, at the same time, humble and generous, for then he will excel; otherwise, his virtues will be hidden.

"As the man who advances by fair means from poverty to riches, or from insignificance to greatness, is rewarded in this world, so will he who is generous and kind-hearted be rewarded hereafter in heaven. So will the warrior killed in battle, who is like a conqueror, enjoy all the delights imaginable; while a deserter is despised by all men, and covered with shame and disgrace, because he deserted his comrades in the moment of danger.

"No man ought to be termed a hero but he who has already conquered a hundred heroes; nor should any man be termed a holy man until he can boast of surpassing in virtue a hundred holy men: for as long as a hero has not conquered a hundred heroes, or a holy man has not surpassed a hundred other holy men in virtue, he can neither be considered as a real hero or holy man. [Vol I Pg 295]

"The signs of the approaching end of this world will be all kinds of depravity among mankind; that is to say, the wise will turn foolish, the holy men will become worldly, children will abandon their parents, princes will lose their empires, the little will become great, and commit depredations; in short, every thing will be in confusion, and an entire revolution take place.

"In the beginning every thing was at rest and quiet. During the first thousand years princes began to start up, and wars arose about a woman named Déwi Darúki: at this period writing was first introduced. One thousand five hundred years after this another war began, about a woman named Déwi Sínta. Two thousand years after this a third war broke out, about a woman named Déwi Drupádi: and two thousand five hundred years afterwards another war took place, about the daughter of a holy man not named in history.

"Every man can thus see what has been the first cause of war. Even as the roots of trees and the course of rivers cannot run straight, but wind here and there, so cannot a woman be upright: for the saying is, that a raven can sooner turn white, and the tanjang-plant (a water lily) grow from a rock, than a woman can be upright.

"A perfect man should be, in firmness and ability, equal to eight women; and to satisfy a woman, a man must be able to please her in nine different manners.

"A bad man is like a fire, which inflames every thing which approaches it; we, therefore, ought never to go near it with an intention to extinguish it. A good man, on the contrary, is like a sweet-scented tree, which continues to produce flowers and fruit, pleasant to the taste and smell of every one, and the fragrance of which remains in the wood even after the tree is cut down and rooted out.

"When a harlot begins to feel shame, then is her improvement approaching; but when a holy man begins to meddle with worldly affairs, then is he about to become a worldly man himself.

"When a prince allows encroachments to be made on his territories, it is a sign that the loss of both his court and lands is nigh at hand. [Vol I Pg 296]

"A man may receive instruction from his gúru (instructor) until his twentieth year: after which he should apply himself to study until his thirtieth year; at which time he ought to know every thing necessary, as well for this world as for that to come.

"The art of elocution may properly be reckoned superior to all others, because happiness and misery, fortune or misfortune, very often depend upon it: it is, therefore, necessary to use prudence in speech.

"A man who does not eat síri (betel) does not shine.

"Married people who have no children ought to lead a retired life, and people without fortune should not attempt to make a shining appearance: they should look pale and melancholy, like unto the dullness and quiet of a country without a prince.

"These are the qualities necessary to constitute a good housewife:​—She must be well-made and well-mannered, gentle, industrious, rich, liberal, charming, of good birth, upright, and humble. A stingy, curious, dirty, foul-mouthed, vulgar, false, intriguing, lazy, or stupid woman, is not only entirely unfit for a housewife, but will never be beloved by a husband."

Intimately connected with the character, moral and intellectual, of a people, are its civil and political institutions. In a country like Java, the frame of society is so simple, the hand of power is so universally felt or seen; rank, wealth, and authority are so identified, and the different classes of the community are so referable to each other, by contrast or reciprocal influence, that it was impossible to give any account of the state of the peasantry, or of the tenure and distribution of the land, without introducing some notices concerning government and revenue. As there is little division of labour among a rude people, so there is no division of power in a despotism: the despot is proprietor, all the rest is property.

The Island of Java appears at different times to have been divided into states of greater or smaller extent. History informs us, that it was at one period under the sway of one principal chief, and at others subject to two or more. In the former case, the provinces into which it was divided were administered, as they are still, by subordinate and delegated[Vol I Pg 297] governors; and in the latter, many of them composed independent sovereignties. In all these cases, the form of government and the privileges of the people were the same; the only difference between a state co-extensive with the Island, and one limited to a few districts, consisting in the different extent of territory or number of subjects at command. In looking at the map, the divisions of the Island now under European dominion, and those under the native princes, can easily be traced. Bantam (the sultan of which surrendered his rights to the British government for a pension of a few thousand dollars), and Chéribon, an extensive province to the eastward of Batavia, enjoyed till lately a nominal independence; but the only great native power on Java, till the establishment of Yúg'ya-kerta about sixty years ago, was that of the Susuhúnan, or as he is termed, the Emperor of Java; and a slight sketch of his government, of the maxims by which it is regulated, and the officers it employs, will be sufficient for my present purpose.

The sovereign is termed either Susuhúnan or Sultan, both denominations adopted since the establishment of Mahomedanism: the titles previously employed were Kiaí Gedé, Prábu, Browijáya, &c. as will be perceived on reference to the list of Hindu princes in the historical details. The line of succession to the throne is from father to son, but the rights of primogeniture are not always allowed or observed. If there is no direct descent, the claims of collateral branches of the reigning dynasty are settled by no law or uniform custom. Females have sometimes held offices of power, but have never occupied the throne since the establishment of Mahomedanism. The chiefs of districts and the heads of villages are sometimes women; in that case widows continued in the office of their deceased husbands.

The government is in principle a pure unmixed despotism; but there are customs of the country of which the people are very tenacious, and which the sovereign seldom invades. His subjects have no rights of liberty of person or property: his breath can raise the humblest individual from the dust to the highest distinction, or wither the honours of the most exalted. There is no hereditary rank, nothing to oppose his will. Not only honours, posts, and distinctions, depend upon[Vol I Pg 298] his pleasure, but all the landed property of his dominions remains at his disposal, and may, together with its cultivators, be parcelled out by his order among the officers of his household, the members of his family, the ministers of his pleasures, or the useful servants of the state. Every officer is paid by grants of land, or by a power to receive from the peasantry a certain proportion of the produce of certain villages or districts.

When a sovereign enjoys unlimited power, he generally in eastern countries surrenders it for ease and pleasure, and his servant, under the name of Vizier or some other title, becomes the despot. The highest executive officer or prime minister in the Javan government is called Ráden Adipáti: he usually rules the country while his master is satisfied with flattery, with pomp, and the seraglio. He is intrusted with power so great, as even, in particular cases, to extend to the royal family. All communications to and from the sovereign are made through him: he receives all reports from different parts of the country, and issues all orders. The power and importance of this office has, however, naturally lessened of late years, since the European government has assumed the right of nominating the person who shall fill it: the sovereign naturally reposes less confidence in a prime minister so nominated than in one of his own choice; and if he does not take an active part himself in the politics of his court, he is generally under the influence of an ambitious member of his own family, by which means the Ráden Adípati, or prime minister, though left to conduct the details of government, is often ignorant of many of the intrigues carried on in the place.

The gradations of power and rank are as follow.

After the royal family, which includes the prince or sovereign, called Susuhúnan or Sultan, and the sons and daughters of the sovereign, called Pangérans, the heir apparent being called Pángéran Adipáti, come the nobility, and at their head the Ráden Adipáti.

The nobility or privileged orders may be classed under the two general divisions of Bopátis, and their immediate assistants or Pátehs, and Mántris or public officers. Bopáti is the general term given to the governors of provinces, being the[Vol I Pg 299] plural of Adipáti. This, however, is rather a title of office than of mere rank, as these governors are sometimes Tumúng'gungs, An'gebáis, and of still inferior rank. Adipáti appears to be the highest title below royalty. The dignity of this title, as well as that of others, is again raised, by prefixing the epithet Kiai (venerable) or Mas (golden), as Kiai-adipáti, Kiaí-tumúng'gung, Mas-adipáti, Mas-tumúng'gung. Ráden-tumúng'gung is also occasionally used, to express a rank above an ordinary Tumúng'gung, in the same manner as Ráden Adipáti.

These officers, when appointed to the administration of provinces, are called Regents by the Dutch. Since the innovations of Europeans, the distinctions above referred to have been a good deal confounded. In the Súnda districts, where the absolute sway of the native sovereign has long ceased to be felt, and in the eastern provinces, which are subject to Europeans, the Regent assumes the state of a petty sovereign, and is the fountain of honour. The power and rank attached to particular titles, especially those of inferior importance, differs in some degree in almost every province.

The sons of the Regents, or of those who may be properly termed the nobles of the country, are usually called Rádens, and in the Súnda districts invariably so; but there is properly no hereditary nobility, no hereditary titles, although few people have a greater respect for family descent than the Javans; custom and consideration, in this as in other cases, generally supplying the place of law.

Nearly the same form of government is followed in the administration of each particular province as is observed in the general administration of the country, every Adipáti, or governor of a province, having a Páteh, or assistant, who acts as his minister. In general there is a Páteh-luar, and a Páteh-dalam; one for conducting affairs abroad or public business, the other for the superintendence of the household.

The same union of the judicial, revenual, and executive authority, which exists in the sovereign, descends to the governor of a province; and if there are subdivisions of the province, it descends to each head of the subdivision. This is also the case with each village; the consequence of which is, that every chief, of whatever rank, has an almost absolute[Vol I Pg 300] power over those below him. The only exception to this, and the only part of the Javan constitution which wears the appearance of liberty, is the mode of appointing the heads of villages; these are elected by the people, as will be hereafter more particularly described.

In every considerable province or district there are several subdivisions over which an inferior chief presides: the district of Semárang, for instance, has several. Although this absolute authority is vested in the different chiefs, according to their ranks, it is dangerous for a public functionary, whatever be his rank, and even for the Susuhúnan himself, to violate what is called the custom of the country; and the ancient Hindu institutions are revered and generally followed by all classes. The priests also exercise a considerable influence; and although the power of the Jáksa, or law officer, is essentially reduced since the establishment of Mahomedanism, and a great part of his authority transferred to the Panghúlu or Mahomedan priest, he is still efficient, as far as concerns the police and minor transactions. The observations which follow on the administration of justice and the judicial instructions established by the British government, will explain the present nature of his duties.

In the suite of every governor of a province, of his Páteh, or assistant, and of every public functionary of importance, are numerous petty chiefs, generally classed as Mantris, but having various titles, as Demángs, Lúras, Klíwons, &c. varying in authority and relative rank in different districts.

Three-fourths of the island having been long subjected to the European authority, and the provinces which still remain under native administration having been divided under two distinct authorities, and their original constitution otherwise departed from, it would be impossible to lay down a scale of rank for the different titles of honour, which should be applicable to every part of the island, but the subject will be resumed in a future chapter.

The following observations of Mr. Hogendorp, who resided on Java not many years before the arrival of the English, and was employed in a commission of inquiry into the state of the island, are extracted from a report or memoir which he drew up for the use of the Dutch government, recommending[Vol I Pg 301] a policy similar to that which we subsequently pursued. They contain a just account of the principles of the Javan government, and of the state of the Regents under the Dutch Company. After remarking, in perhaps too broad and unqualified terms, that the structure of the government is feudal, he proceeds to state:

"The first principles of the feudal system, which form the basis of the whole edifice, are: that the land is the property of the sovereign; that the inhabitants are his slaves, and can therefore possess no property, all that they have and all that they can obtain belonging to the sovereign, who allows them to keep it no longer than he chooses; and that the will of the prince is the supreme law.

"These are the real fundamental principles of the feudal system: for though the English and French kings could not always maintain their despotic sway, but were sometimes opposed, hostilely attacked, and even forced by arms to treat for terms with their subjects, this was only the natural consequence of the acknowledged rule, that tyranny destroys itself; and it is only necessary to revert to what James and Charles of England, in so late a period, thought their divine rights of royalty, to ascertain what were the rudiments of the feudal form of government: and even now, notwithstanding the numerous changes and revolutions which have happened in England, the most surprizing traces of that system are to be found, since in that country, so free, no individual soever possesses a foot of land in absolute property (allodium), but merely from the king (feodum), to whom only belongs the dóminum absolutum et directum, although subsequent laws and regulations have rendered this title more imaginary than real.

"The same system of government has been continued in the Company's districts, under the pretext of allowing the natives to retain their own laws and customs, but in reality from ignorance and self-interest. Although they were too ignorant to effect any improvement, they knew perfectly well that this plan was the best adapted to promote their own interest and advantage.

"The princes of Java, as well as those of Europe in[Vol I Pg 302] former times, and as a natural effect of the same cause, were also almost continually at war with their chief vassals, until the Dutch power and influence re-established and maintained the general tranquillity. This, however, has never had any effect on the system of government itself, and the subject who dethroned his sovereign and then succeeded him, thought that he had thereby obtained the same divine right of property in the lands and persons of his subjects, as his predecessor had possessed.

"The princes allotted the lands to their chiefs and immediate dependents, as rewards for military and other services. These chiefs (termed by the Dutch regents) again subdivided the lands among others of inferior rank, on the same conditions, and so on, down to the poor labourer who cultivated the land, but to whom a very small proportion of the fruits of his labour was left for his own support.

"The exclusive administration of the country was conferred on the regents, an appellation given to the native chiefs, who had acquired their lands from the Dutch, by contract or agreement, binding them annually to deliver partly for payment and partly not, a quantity, in some cases fixed, in others uncertain, of the produce of such lands, obliging them also to the performance of feudal services, both of a military and other nature.

"The titles of these regents are either Adipáti, Tumúng'gung, or Ang'ebái. The Prince of Madúra, styled Panambáhan, and the Prince of Súmenap, who is called Pangéran, are however only regents as well as the rest. The Prince of Madúra enjoys that tide as being of the imperial family, and the Prince of Súmenap purchased his by a large payment to a Governor-General.

"These regents are only officers of government, and possess not the smallest right to hereditary possession or succession. Yet when one of them dies, he is in general replaced by one of his sons, considered most fit for the office, provided he can afford to pay the customary present to the governor of the north-east coast of Java; for if he is unable to do this, or if any other person offers a more considerable sum, a pretence is easily found to exclude the children in favour of the more liberal purchaser. [Vol I Pg 303]

"These presents form a principal part of the emoluments of the governor of the north-east coast, and consequently all new appointments of regents are for his advantage. The present chief regent of Samárang paid 50,000 dollars for his promotion, and all the children of his predecessor were superseded. The others pay in proportion to the value of their regencies; and as this is arbitrary and uncertain, it is easily to be conceived, that they find means to recover the amount of their place-money[77].

"These Regents although very proud, are, with very few exceptions, ignorant and idle persons, who give themselves little concern about their lands and their people; of whom, indeed, they frequently know nothing, but only endeavour to squeeze and extort from them as much as possible, both for their own subsistence and pleasure, and to satisfy the cupidity of government and of their immediate superiors. They leave the administration of affairs entirely to their Pátehs, who are also appointed by the Dutch, and are held accountable for every thing[78]. [Vol I Pg 304]

"To their brothers, wives, children, and other near relations, they assign villages or désas, sufficient for their maintenance, for all these consider themselves born not to work, [Vol I Pg 305]and look upon the peasantry as only made for the purpose of providing for their support.

"In order to collect the rice and other kinds of produce, which they are by contract obliged to deliver to the Company as contingents, they compel the inhabitants of the district to furnish as much of it as is at all possible, without any fixed ratio or calculation, and without any kind of payment, leaving them scarcely what is absolutely necessary for their own support and that of their families, and even sometimes not nearly so much, especially in the event of failure in the crops; on which occasions the miserable inhabitants desert by hundreds to other districts, where, at least in the first instance, they may expect a less rigorous treatment. Several regents also, when distressed for money, are compelled by want, to let out many of their best désas to the Chinese: these bloodsuckers then extort from such villages as much as they can possibly contrive, while the inhabitants of the other désas are alone obliged to deliver the contingent required from the whole aggregate. It may easily be conceived, how oppressively this demand must fall upon those unhappy individuals; and how greatly these and other acts of injustice, which are the natural consequences of the present faulty administration, must tend to the ruin of the country, it would be superfluous reasoning to prove."

The only restraint upon the will of the head of the government is the custom of the country, and the regard which he has for his character among his subjects. To shew what that character ought to be, what is expected of a good prince, and what are the reciprocal duties of a prince, prime minister, and people, I may here quote a few sentences out of the Níti Prája, a work in very high esteem, and constantly referred to by the Javans.

"A good prince must protect his subjects against all unjust persecutions and oppressions, and should be the light of his subjects, even as the sun is the light of the world. His goodness must flow clear and full, like the mountain stream, which in its course towards the sea enriches and fertilizes the land as it descends. He must consider that as the withered foliage of the trees awaiteth the coming of[Vol I Pg 306] rain to flourish anew, so are his subjects waiting for his benevolence, to be provided with food, with raiment, and with beautiful women. If, on the contrary, a prince neglects to extend his benevolence and protection towards his subjects, he exposes himself to be abandoned by them, or at any rate to lose their confidence; for it is an undeniable truth, that no one will be faithful or attached to a man upon whom no dependence can be placed.

"When a prince gives audience to the public his conduct must be dignified. He must sit upright and not in a bending posture, and say little, neither looking on one side or the other, because, in this case, the people would not have a proper sight of him. He must assume a pleasing appearance, which will enable him to observe his subjects who surround him, and then enquire if any one has any thing to say to him; and if there is, he must animate him to speak openly.

"In his discourse he must not speak loud, but low, and with dignity, and not more than is necessary for the purpose; for it does not become a prince to withdraw his words if once given, and much less to give them another turn.

"It is, above all, the duty of a prince to take notice of every thing going on in his country and among his subjects, and, if possible, to turn every thing to a good end: if he passes over unnoticed the least crime, he may create numerous enemies. It is further the duty of a prince, besides knowing the merits of his subjects and the state of his country, to explain all abstract and difficult expressions, particularly such as occur in writings.

"It is a disgrace to a prime minister for any hostile attack to be made on the country intrusted to his charge without his knowledge, or that he should be careless or inattentive to the same, rather thinking how to obtain the favour of his prince than to secure the safety of the country. So it is when he does not understand how to administer the country properly, or fails to invent what is useful; when he makes many promises, but fulfils few; when he is careless with regard to public affairs, and talks much about what is of no consequence, seeking to be admired by the people, and putting on fair appearances when his intentions do not cor[Vol I Pg 307]respond; when he cares nothing about the misfortunes of his inferiors, provided he gets money himself; when, finally, he is not faithful, but deceitful. Such a prime minister is like the hawk, which soars high in the air, but descends low on the earth to seize and steal its food.

"But a good prime minister is he who is upright in his heart, moderate in his fear of the prince, faithfully obedient to all his orders, kind-hearted, not oppressive to the people, and always exerting himself to the utmost for the happiness of the people and the welfare of the country.

"And a prime minister is good beyond measure who can always please his prince in every thing that is good; who knows every thing that is going on in the country, and takes proper measures accordingly; who always exerts himself to avert whatever is likely to be injurious; who considers nothing too trifling to merit his attention; who accumulates not wealth, but offers to his prince whatever comes in his way that is curious; who heeds not his own life in effecting what is right; who considers neither friends, family, nor enemies, but does justice alike to all; who cares not when he is praised or reviled, but trusts to the dispensations of Providence; who possesses much experience; who can bear poverty, and cares not for the enjoyment of pleasures; who is polite to every one; who with good will gives alms to the poor and helpless; who consults much with his brother officers, with whom he ought always to advise on affairs of business. Against such a prime minister it is impossible for any one to speak, for he will be feared at the same time that the people will become attached to him: the people will then live quiet and happy, perform their labours with cheerfulness, and wish that his administration may be lasting.

"A prime minister ought, nevertheless, not to be too confident in this, but always remain on his guard against the designs of bad men.

"There are many examples of such prime ministers: among which is Rája Jájahan, (prime minister of Mesir Egypt,) to whom all the people of the country, great and small, were much attached.

"Whenever his brother officers intended to visit the prince[Vol I Pg 308] for the purpose of paying their respects, they always assembled at the prime minister's house, where they generally partook of a meal: after this they proceeded to the court, followed by the prime minister on foot, dressed in white, with only three attendants, carrying a spear and other articles of state before him. By this conduct he supposed that he was screened from reproach, and that he was freed from enemies; but at the very time there were enemies conspiring against his life, as was afterwards discovered: therefore ought a prime minister not only to be virtuous, but cautious also, and always armed against his enemies, in the same manner as a sportsman arms himself against wild beasts.

"A subject going into the presence of his prince must be clean and well-dressed, wearing proper chelána (pantaloons.) He must have a good girdle and a sharp krís, and be anointed with aromatic oils. He must range himself with his equals, and convince them of his abilities and good breeding; because from this it is that he has to expect favour or disgrace, grief or joy, happiness or misery; for a prince can either exalt or humble him.

"A prince is like a dálang (wáyang player,) his subjects like wáyangs, and the law is as the wick of the lamp used in these entertainments: for a prince can do with his subjects what he pleases, in the same manner as the dálang acts with his wáyangs, according to his own fancy; the prince having the law, and the dálang the lamp, to prevent them from going out of the right way.

"In like manner, as it is incumbent on the dálang to make magnanimity and justice the principal subjects of his representation, in order that the spectators may be instructed and animated thereby, so should a prince, a prime minister, and chief officers of the court, direct the administration of the country with such propriety, that the people may attach themselves to them; they must see that the guilty are punished, that the innocent be not persecuted, and that all persons falsely accused be immediately released, and remunerated for the sufferings they may have endured."

The judicial and executive powers are generally exercised by the same individual. The written law of the island, ac[Vol I Pg 309]cording to which justice is administered and the courts are regulated, is that of the Koran, as modified by custom and usage. The Javans have now been converted to the Mahomedan religion about three centuries and a half, dating from the destruction of the Hindu kingdom of Majapáhit, in the year 1400 of the Javan æra. Of all the nations who have adopted that creed, they are among the most recent converts; and it may be safely added, that few others are so little acquainted with its doctrines, and partake so little of its zeal and intolerance. The consequence is, that although the Mahomedan law be in some instances followed, and it be considered a point of honour to profess an adherence to it, it has not entirely superseded the ancient superstitions and local customs of the country.

The courts of justice are of two descriptions: those of the Panghúlu or high priest, and those of the Jáksa. In the former the Mahomedan law is more strictly followed; in the latter it is blended with the customs and usages of the country. The former take cognisance of capital offences, of suits of divorce, of contracts and inheritance; they are also, in some respects, courts of appeal from the authority of the Jáksa. The latter take cognisance of thefts, robberies, and all inferior offences; its officers are employed in taking down depositions, examining evidence, inspecting the general police of the country, and in some measure acting as public prosecutors: these last functions are implied in the title of the office itself, jáksa meaning to guard or watch[79]. [Vol I Pg 310]

At the seat of government are supreme courts of the Panghúlu and Jáksa: to these there is an appeal from similar but inferior tribunals, established within each province. Petty tribunals, under like names, are even established under the jurisdiction of a Demáng, or chief of a subdivision, and sometimes of a Bákol, or head of a village; but in these the authority of the Panghúlu and Jáksa extend no further than to take down evidence to be transmitted to some higher authority, to settle petty disputes, and perform the ordinary ceremonies of religion, inseparable among the Javans, as well as all other Mahomedans, from the administration of justice.

Such however is the nature of the native government, that these officers are considered rather as the law assessors or council of the immediate superior officer of the executive government, than as independent ministers of justice. In such cases as come before them, they examine the evidence, and point out the law and custom to the executive officer, who is himself generally too ignorant and indolent to undertake it. When the evidence is gone through, and the point of law ascertained, [Vol I Pg 311]the whole is brought before him, at whose discretion it rests to pass judgment. It is however admitted, that in matters of little moment, where his passions and interests are not concerned, the division is frequently left to the law officers; but in all matters of importance he will not fail to exercise his privileges of interference.

The court of justice in which the Panghúlu or high priest presides, is always held in the serámbi, or portico of the mosque; a practice, which, as it inspires the people with a considerable share of awe, appears judicious. It is also convenient for the administration of oaths, which among the Javans are always administered within the mosque, and usually with much solemnity. The forms of the court are regular, orderly, and tedious; all evidence is taken down in writing, and apparently with much accuracy.

The court, at least at the seat of government, consists of the Panghúlu, the officiating priest of the mosque, and four individuals, also of the religious order, called Páteh nagári, meaning literally the pillars or supports of the country, to whom, after the examination of evidence in capital offences, the point of law and decision is referred. At the seat of government the sovereign or his minister passes judgment.

The court of the Jáksa at the seat of government consists of the head Jáksa, who may be styled the law officer of the prime minister, and the Jáksas of his Klíwons or assistants, for they too have their law councils. The functions of this court being of less importance, of a more mixed nature, and less solemn because less connected with religion, are still more subject than that of the Panghúlu to the rude interference of the executive authority[80]. [Vol I Pg 312]

The Javan code of law is divided into two departments, that of the Mahomedan law and that of custom and tradition. The former is distinguished by the appellation of húcum állah, the commands of God, from the Arabic; the latter by the Javan words yúdha nagára, meaning consideration for the country, or in other words, allowance for the state of society.

The decisions in Mahomedan law are chiefly guided by several works in the Arabic language. In all the courts of Java these works are said to be consulted in the Arabic language, but reference is more frequently made to a collection of opinions extracted from them, and translated into the language of the country.

The law of custom is chiefly handed down by oral tradition, but has in part been committed to writing in the following performances.

The earliest work relating to jurisprudence which is now referred to, is that of Júgul Múda Páteh, or minister of Sri Ma Púng'gung (of Méndang Kamúlan), now Wirosári: it is computed to be about six hundred years old. The second bears the name of Rája Kápa, said to have been the son of Júgul Múda, and like him minister of his sovereign Kandiáwan, also prince of Méndang Kamúlan.

By the authority of the Sultan of Demák, the first Mahomedan prince, a compilation of the Javan laws was made, in which they were in some measure blended with the Mahomedan jurisprudence. Probably this was intended to pave the way to an entire introduction of Mahomedan law. The body of regulations, &c. compressed in these codes is curious, from the laborious refinement of their distinctions, from the mixture of moral maxims and illustrations with positive law, from the most incongruous combinations, and from their casuistical spirit. In the Appendix will be found the translation of a modern version of the Súria Alem, a work of this description in high repute, as well an abstract of the laws and regulations said to have been in force in the earliest periods to which Java tradition refers[81]. [Vol I Pg 313]

The proclamations (úndang-úndang), and the laws and regulations (ánger ángeran) of the sovereign, form another source of deviation from the Mahomedan law. Collections of these have been committed to writing.

The prince, by himself or his officers, is always supposed vested with a discretionary power of adapting the Mahomedan law to the circumstances of society, a prerogative liberally exercised. This power, which sanctions every deviation from the letter of Musselman law, the Javans also express by the term of yúdha nagára. The krising of criminals instead of beheading them, the combat of criminals with tigers, the severe penalties for infractions of the sumptuary laws of the Javans, the constant commutation of corporeal punishment for a pecuniary fine, and in the case of persons of rank found guilty of murder, the commutation of the strict law of retaliation for a fine, without regard to the wishes of the relations of the deceased, if the latter be of no consideration, were among the deviations from the Mahomedan law sanctioned by the Yúdha nagára.

Such was the composition of the courts, and the code of laws that existed on Java before the arrival of the Dutch, and remained unchanged at the conquest of the island by the British. The Dutch legislated for the colonists, but took little interest in the system by which the judicial proceedings of their native subjects were guided, excepting in so far as their own advantage or security was concerned in them. The following statement contains the changes introduced by the Dutch.

Besides the colonial laws and regulations, enacted from time to time by the Governors and Council at Batavia; besides some standing orders of the Court of Directors, and some rules and provisions contained in the successive charters of the Company, and in what was called the article brief; the Dutch law, which was always considered the foundation of the colonial law, was of authority, as far as it remained unaffected by these institutions.

A collection of the colonial statutes and regulations, called the Placart Book of Batavia, and an abstract of them, entitled the Statutes of Batavia, were made under the authority of the colonial government; but as the latter never underwent[Vol I Pg 314] a regular promulgation, the rules contained in it were not considered as possessing the force of law, except in so far as they might be found to be conformable to the orders, proclamations, and regulations of the Indian government, or of the Directors of the East India Company.

The power of the Directors and of the Council of Batavia to enact local laws and regulations, seems not to have been very circumspectly defined in the first charters of the Company, those charters conferring on them, in general terms only, authority to provide for the administration of justice and establishment of police.

But from the nature of the occasion it seems evident, that this power of making colonial laws, as far at least as related to the Council of Batavia, could only have been a limited one, to be exercised with considerable discretion, and only upon points requiring an immediate provision, subject always to the approbation of the authorities at home; and even the Directors could hardly be considered to have possessed a greater extent of legislative power, than was necessary for the security of their new territories, and of their rights and privileges, or to have been authorised to deviate wantonly from the established law of the country, or neglect the dictates of justice and equity.

In the great variety of matter comprehended in the colonial statutes, no subject seems to have occupied more attention than the laws respecting slavery. These, as already observed, appear to have been formed in general upon principles of humanity and consideration for the condition of the unfortunate beings to whom they related.

In consequence of a resolution of the year 1760, the Council of India ordered that the customs of the Mahomedans, in matters of inheritance and successions ab intestat, &c. should be sanctioned and published.

In civil matters, natives and Chinese in the districts of Batavia seem to have been governed by the same laws as the European inhabitants.

Crimes committed by natives or Chinese in the city of Batavia and its environs, had, from the first settlement of the Dutch on the island, always been tried by European judges, and according to European law. [Vol I Pg 315]

In Bantam the criminal jurisdiction over the natives was left to the Sultan, and that over the Chinese resident there, was exercised as at Batavia according to the European law.

The Jakatra and Priáng'en Regencies seem formerly to have enjoyed a peculiar and fortunate state of tranquillity. Almost entirely removed from every communication and intercourse with Europeans, Chinese, and other foreign settlers found in the neighbourhood of Batavia, engaged in agriculture, and ruled by their own native chiefs, these districts seem to have been in a high degree free from crime; but whenever enormities did happen, the offenders were sent down to Batavia, and tried according to European law. It is to be observed, however, that on the first submission of those districts to the Company, their chiefs or regents reserved to themselves the jurisdiction over the inhabitants of their respective districts; but this stipulation appears to have been disregarded in the latter times of the Dutch Company, and under the late administration of Marshal Daendals, a court was established for these districts, the rule of which was European law.

From Chéribon the Chinese were amenable, as from Bantam and Batavia; but the natives were subject to a landraad (or local court), of which the Resident was president, and the Sultans members; and this court was, partly at least, directed by a papákam, or native code, compiled under the sanction of the government.

In the Eastern districts of the island, the Javans seem always, in criminal matters, to have enjoyed their own laws, founded on ancient custom and the precepts of the Koran. Of these laws the Council of Batavia caused abstracts to be printed, for the guidance of the great landraad or high court at Semárang, to which all the Javans in the European provinces, from Losári to Banyuwángi were amenable.

Under the native government, the prime minister (Ráden Adipáti) is the head of the police, as well as every other department of authority. The higher class of functionaries is most frequently to be found in those parts of the country most remote from the seat of government, where, as governors of provinces, they possess some extension of powers. The great and fertile provinces near the capital, on the other hand, are divided into small appropriations, of from two hundred to one[Vol I Pg 316] thousand cháchas, or families, placed under the administration of division officers, whose authority is limited to the duties of police.

Each village is possessed of a distinct organization within itself, has its chief, its Kabáyan or assistant, and if of any considerable size, its priest, whose advice is frequently had recourse to, and who generally decides petty disputes, especially respecting divorces and matters of inheritance. The chief of the village is not without his share of judicial authority, and often takes upon himself to punish by fine and imprisonment. In each village the inhabitants keep regular nightly watches and patrols.

The manner in which these little societies have been recently formed in the districts to the east of Surabáyu, where the European authority had not interfered, and where the influence of the Mahomedan government was scarcely felt, will tend to illustrate their nature and constitution.

The frequent wars, in which the people had been engaged with the inhabitants of Báli and Madúra, as well as with the Dutch, had reduced those provinces to a state of wilderness towards the middle of the last century. The encouragement held out to the people of the neighbouring island of Madúra brought over several adventurers, who were allowed to occupy the land they cleared; first rent-free, and afterwards at a fixed assessment. If several persons came together, their leader was invested with the authority of Petíng'gi over the new village which they formed. When individuals associated to construct a village, the chief was elected by themselves, subject to the approval of the landlord; and they possessed the privilege, common in all the districts east of Surabáya, of annually electing their chief, or Petíng'gi.

The nature of the duties rendered by this person was so essential to the well-being of a village, that this privilege was most intimately connected with its existence. Whenever a new assessment was imposed on the lands, it was the business of the Petíng'gi, if the amount was too high, to represent the matter to the superior, and to state the inability of the people to make good the demand: the consequence was, either a reduction of assessment on the part of the principal, or desertion on that of the people. But when the amount of the[Vol I Pg 317] assessment was considered reasonable (and any amount less than three-fifths seems to have been so considered), the Petíng'gi had to assemble all the people, and to distribute to each, in the common presence of all, his individual proportion of land, with a statement of the produce to be paid. He had to keep a roster of all duties required of the people, and to see that every man took his proper turn. When the harvest ripened, he had to watch the collectors, that they exacted no more from each man than his proportion; and the cultivator, that he did not embezzle any part of the due of government. In large villages he had an assistant, called a Kabáyan, who represented him during his absence, and with the Kamitúah and Múdin (priest), formed a court for settling petty village disputes; subject, however, to a reference, if the parties should be dissatisfied.

It was customary for the people of the village to cultivate the lands of their Petíng'gi without payment. This and the honour of chiefship rendered the office an object of village ambition; while an annual election, and the fear, if turned out, of being called upon to justify his conduct, rendered this officer generally a steady and careful representative of his constituents.

All strangers passing through the country were expected to apply to the Petíng'gi for the assistance they required; and if payment was tendered, all procurable necessaries were furnished. The Petíng'gi also took charge of the strangers' property, examined the same in the presence of the other head-man, and was bound to return the whole undiminished the next morning, or to pay the value. If, however, the stranger preferred keeping his property under his own charge, and rested himself for the night under some of the public sheds, the loss he might sustain fell on himself alone, and all he could procure from the village was assistance to trace the offenders.

It was customary, as well to deter beasts of prey as thieves, for a part of the men of each village to keep a night watch round it, and to perform this duty in successive rotation.

Such appears to have been the internal regulation of these villages; and it seems to have been framed according to the ancient usage of the island, the similarity of which to that of[Vol I Pg 318] Western India has been adduced as a strong instance of one common origin[82].

[Vol I Pg 319] It follows from the above, that each village has in itself the materials of a good police, and that a right of choosing their chiefs gives to the people a considerable share of real liberty[83]. This right of election in the inhabitants of the village, as before observed, would appear at one time to have been general throughout the island. It is still respected in the districts of Surabáya, where the office of Petíng'gi was always elective, for although the same person might hold it for many years, a ballot for the situation was regularly held at specified periods, varying from one to three years[84].

The right of election is also clearly acknowledged in the districts of Japára and Jawána. "That the Petíng'gi is elected by the inhabitants of a village," observes the officer who introduced the settlement into those districts[85], "there cannot be a doubt; and even the right of election is foregone by the people, though I have not met with a single instance of the kind, it may be taken for granted, that it is so only, in consequence of the influence of the Regent, to serve some particular purpose. While the Petíng'gi continues in office, he is looked up to and obeyed by the people of the village to which he belongs as the immediate chief. He generally occupies the paséban usually to be found in villages of consequence, and has two or more men, inhabitants of the village, appointed to attend him wherever he goes. A Petíng'gi was usually elected for one year, during which time he could not, according to the ancient usage, be removed, except in consequence of some [Vol I Pg 320]gross misconduct, but if his conduct was such as to give satisfaction to the inhabitants, they continued him for several years. As far as I could learn," continues the same officer, "the Regent, or other superior native authority, seldom interfered in the election of a Petíng'gi; but it was generally understood, that although he could not force a Petíng'gi upon them who was disliked by the people, his confirmation was required before the person elected could act with effect."

In the Súnda districts of Chéribon and Tegál, the appointment to this office is invariably made, if not by the election of the villagers, generally from among themselves, and always with their concurrence. It is a common practice for the people of a village, even where the right of election is not in use, to represent in a body the conduct of their chief, if incorrect; and it has always been necessary for the chief native authority to remove him, if the complaints were justly founded.

A reference to the judicial regulations in the Appendix[86] will show how desirous the British government on the island has been to protect the privileges of these societies, and in particular the right of electing their chief.

When the British authority was established on the island, it was immediately seen that something must be done to supply the deficiencies, and to correct the imperfections of the native code. All the other changes in contemplation for the encouragement of industry and for the abolition of oppressive and impolitic exactions, would have been nugatory, without such an improvement in the judicial and police regulations, as would secure, by a full and impartial administration of justice, the rights and privileges about to be conferred. It would have been in vain to define the limits of power, to issue directions for guiding the conduct of public servants in their transactions with the people, or to have abrogated the oppressive privileges of the chiefs, and to have assured the people of the intention of government to protect them against all invasion of their rights, either by open violence, by the exaction of services, or by oppressive contributions, without[Vol I Pg 321] establishing effective means of obtaining redress when aggrieved. The system acted upon was at once barbarous and revolting. Practices prevailed under the sanction of native law, which were abhorrent to the criminal jurisdiction of any enlightened nation, without being at all necessary to the due administration of justice[87]. I allude particularly to torture and mutilation. These the Earl of Minto immediately abolished, by his proclamation of the 11th September 1811, in which, besides this beneficial and humane enactment, he laid down clearly and distinctly the liberal and enlightened principles which should guide the local government in the subsequent revision of the civil and criminal code of the colony. The result was the enactment of the code of judicial and police regulations which will be found in the Appendix to this work[88]. The outlines of these regulations, and the principles which dictated them, are contained in a Minute which I recorded on the 11th February 1814, when they were [Vol I Pg 322]completed and promulgated; and the following quotations from that document may be sufficient to put the reader in possession of the change which was effected.

"It was essential, in conducting the revenue arrangements, that the measures taken for the establishment of a good and efficient police, and the full and impartial administration of justice throughout the island, should preserve an equal pace.

"Rights were not to be bestowed and defined, without a suitable provision for their being effectually guarded against any invasion; and it became an object of the first moment, to form such an adequate and consistent code of regulations, as should serve, in every instance, to guide the executive officers of government in the performance of their duty, and to make known, and secure to the people, the means of obtaining redress, whenever they felt themselves in any way aggrieved.

"The system found existing on our first arrival was at once complicated and confused. In the principal towns there were established courts, but these were constituted in all the troublesome formalities of the Roman law; and in the different residencies were provincial courts, styled land-raads, where the native form and law was left to take its course, with all its barbarities and tortures.

"The Dutch government, proceeding entirely on the system of commercial monopoly, paid very inferior attention to their internal administration. They had little other connexion with their best subjects, the cultivators of the soil, than in calling on them, from time to time, for arbitrary and oppressive contributions and services; and for the rest, gave them up to be vassals to the various intermediate authorities, the Regents, Demángs, and other native officers. These either at first purchased their situations, or stipulated for a certain tribute, in service or money, in consideration of which all the inferior classes of inhabitants were made over, to be dealt with by them as most pleasing to themselves. Policy, and the common attention to their own good, suggested to these a certain equity of procedure, and it was generally the custom to leave each village to its own management, with respect to police and settling the petty[Vol I Pg 323] quarrels that occurred within its limits; but for the continuance of what was good in such a system, there was no security whatsoever, and oppression and injustice must have constantly occurred. Where the will of the lord was the paramount law, his vassals could only have depended on his natural goodness of disposition for being equitably treated. No remedy was afforded where the reverse was the case, and they possessed, in short, no security, no freedom whatsoever.

"On the propriety of the measures to be adopted by us to remedy such evils, no doubt could exist.

"The first proclamation of the enlightened founder of the present government adverted immediately to this subject. As a step that could not, consistently with British ideas, admit of a moment's delay, it instantly ordained, that torture and mutilation should no longer make part of any sentence to be pronounced against criminals; and it then proceeded to define clearly the relative situation of the English and Dutch inhabitants, laying down rules for the future guidance of government concerning them. This proclamation, dated 11th September, 1811, has long been before the world, and it would be superfluous, in this place, to dwell on that love of justice and benevolence of disposition, which is to be traced through every part of it. It forms the basis of the present respective European rights in this colony[89].

"As a continuation of the measures so ably sketched out by my predecessor, I issued the proclamation, dated the 21st January, 1812.

"In this I attempted to simplify the clumsy and unwieldy structure of the former courts, by abolishing some, lessening the number of the judges in the remaining ones, and by defining, as accurately as I could, the limits of their respective jurisdictions.

"It was found that, formerly, there were separate courts for investigating the conduct of the immediate European servants of the Dutch Company, and of Europeans not included in that service. This distinction, as Lord Minto observed, never could have been grounded on any sound[Vol I Pg 324] principle, and it being resolved, that justice, under the British government, should be administered equal and alike to all classes and denominations, the judicial power of the College of Schepenen was abolished, and transferred to the jurisdiction of the courts of justice.

"The great number of judges who, under the Dutch administration, formed a court, was reduced in each to a president and three members.

"One court was established in each of the three principal towns, Batavia, Semárang, and Surabáya, the jurisdiction of which extended over its European inhabitants; proceeding, in civil cases, in the mode before established, but in criminal ones, so as to conform as much as possible to that established in Great Britain; in all cases confronting the prisoner with the evidence, and a jury being called to judge of the fact on the evidence so adduced.

"To relieve these courts from numerous inconsiderable causes, courts, of the nature of Courts of Requests, were also established in these three towns, for the recovery of small debts.

"For matters of police within the towns, magistrates were appointed; but they were ordered to confine themselves entirely to this branch.

"An abuse which had been discovered to be usual, the compounding crimes and offences, in consideration of a sum of money paid to the Fiscal or other officer, had also met with Lord Minto's most severe reprehension, as being one of an abominable nature, and to be suppressed without delay. The practice was accordingly strictly prohibited, and consonantly with British ideas was termed scandalous.

"Thus much had been done with regard to Europeans, and it has been found fully sufficient.

"But with respect to the native inhabitants of the Island, it was to be expected that much greater changes would be necessary.

"In the first instance, it was ordered that courts should be established in the different districts, in which the chief civil authorities should preside, aided by the Regents and other native officers, for the purpose of hearing and trying all causes in which natives only were concerned; the[Vol I Pg 325] amount of their civil decisions, when exceeding fifty dollars, being submitted for confirmation to the courts of justice; and all criminal cases, of a capital nature, being made over by them to judges of circuit, who were ordered to be sent on this duty twice a year, from among the members of the superior courts.

"Thus much was known not to militate either against the principles of universal and natural justice, or against the particular laws and usages of the country; and thus much was only, at first, done, because it was resolved to obtain the fullest knowledge of the subject, with regard to the manners, habits, and institutions of our native subjects, before we established one general code of regulations for the internal administration of the country.

"In effecting this grand object, it was rather my wish to have it maturely and well done, than by accelerating it too much, to run the risk of taking up a crude system, which would require to be afterwards re-considered, and perhaps entirely new modelled.

"On the principle, however, which would eventually guide me, there was no doubt, nor is it necessary for me to dilate on the impolicy, the inconvenience, or the injustice, of subjecting the natives of Java to any other laws, than those of their ancient government and established faith.

"The tranquillity of the country and the duties of police have been provided for, by preserving the original constitution of the villages, and continuing the superintendence and responsibility in the hands of those, whose rank enables them to exert a due influence, and to command respect. For the administration of justice, the duties of the Resident, as judge and magistrate, have been considerably extended. In civil cases, the mode of proceeding, and the establishment of petty courts, are founded on the practice of the country; in criminal, the jurisdiction and authority of the Resident has been considerably extended. Hitherto, his duties had been strictly confined to police; but considerable delay and injury to the parties accused, as well as to the witnesses, had been occasioned by allowing all causes of a higher nature to lie over for the Court of Circuit: and as the separation of the collection of the Revenue would afford[Vol I Pg 326] more time to the Resident, it was resolved to extend the criminal jurisdiction of the Provincial Courts to all cases, in which the punishment for the crime alleged does not amount to death. In these courts, which instead of being termed Landraad, as heretofore, are now styled the Resident's Courts, the Panghúlu, or chief priest, and the superior, Jáksa, or native fiscal, attend to expound the law. The Bopátis, or Regents, with their Pátehs, are present, to aid and assist the Resident with their opinion in the course of the investigation, but they have no vote in the decision. If the opinion of the law officers appears to the Resident to be according to substantial justice, and is in accordance with his own opinion, the sentence is immediately carried into effect, provided the punishment does not extend to transportation or imprisonment for life.

"In cases where the punishment adjudged is more considerable, or wherein the opinion of the law officers may be at variance with that of the Resident, a reference is to be made to the Lieutenant Governor; and in all cases where the punishment for the crimes charged is of a capital nature, the prisoner is committed to jail, to take his trial before the Circuit Judge.

"On the first establishment of the Courts of Circuit, it was directed that the President and one other member of the Courts of Justice, should proceed once in six months, or as much oftener as circumstances might require, to the different Residencies in their several jurisdictions, for the trial of offenders. Much inconvenience, however, was found to arise from the absence of those members of the courts from the towns in which they were established, as it necessarily followed, that all civil business was at a stand while they were away. On the other hand, to prevent delay on the trial of criminals, it was necessary that they should visit the Residencies more frequently than once in six months.

"To remedy this in future, and to provide for the prompt and due administration of justice among the native inhabitants, in a manner that is not repugnant to their notions of right and wrong, one member of each of the courts of justice has been appointed a Judge of Circuit, who will be present in each of the Residencies at least once in every three[Vol I Pg 327] months, and as much oftener as necessary. In the mode of proceeding, they are to avoid the formalities of the Roman law. A native jury, consisting of an intelligent foreman and four others[90], decide upon the fact: the law is then taken down, as expounded by the native law officers, and the sentence, with the opinion of the Judge of Circuit, and on the application of the Dutch and Colonial law on the cases, is forwarded for the modification or confirmation of the Lieutenant Governor.

"Hitherto the jury required by the Court of Circuit, did not exceed five in number, and these, as justly observed, 'were chosen from a class of men (Europeans) who had no common feelings, no common rights; who were, in no shape or consideration, the equals of the person tried. The law was the law of Europe. The jury, under their best prejudices, were influenced by that law; and its meanings and penalties were applied to people who reason in a different manner, and who often never knew any thing of the laws of Europe, before they found themselves its convicted victims.'

"The general jurisdiction of the Courts of Justice at Batavia, Semárang, and Surabáya, is now confined to Europeans and foreigners and to the inhabitants of those towns and their suburbs; and a line has been drawn, which distinctly separates the police of the country from that of the towns.

"Collections of the different law-books and institutions of the country are now making, and a native establishment has been formed at Buitenzorg, under my immediate superintendence, for examining and revising the judicial proceedings, and for affording to the native inhabitants that facility of appeal, which the remoteness of the Government, and the rules of Dutch administration, did not formerly admit of, but which is so consonant to the principles on which the new system of internal economy has been established."

Under the native government, the whole of the male population[Vol I Pg 328] capable of bearing arms was liable to military service; but the number of people required to cultivate the land, and to perform other public services, did not admit of more than one-third being spared for military purposes, except in cases of extraordinary emergency. The extent of the force permanently kept up by the sovereign in time of peace varied, of course, with the probability of approaching hostilities: when this was smallest, the number seldom exceeded what was required for the state and pomp of the court, and might have amounted to four or five thousand men. Until within the last sixty years, when the Dutch first obtained a supremacy over the whole island, the provinces under the native administration had for several centuries been in a continual state of warfare; but since that period the military spirit has been gradually subsiding, and, by the existing treaties with the native princes, they are restricted in the number of troops which they may maintain. Those of the Susuhúnan are limited to a body guard of one thousand men: such further number as may be required for the tranquillity of the country, the European government undertakes to furnish.

Before the native sovereign was under this restriction, he used to raise the requisite force by a demand upon the governor of each province for a specified number, to be furnished at a certain time, varying according to circumstances. The governor or chief of the province apportioned this demand among the subdivisions, and the village chiefs selected from among the villagers as many as were required of them; and thus, in a country where every man wears a kris or dagger, and the spear or pike is the principal military weapon, an army, or rather a numerous armed mob, was easily collected in a few days. The men furnished from the villages, and of whom the mass of every large army necessarily consisted, were distinguished from the soldiers by profession (prajúrit), by the term árahan, or prajúrit árahan. During their absence from home, they were provisioned by the sovereign, and their wives and families were maintained by the head of the village, who required of the remaining cultivators to assist in working their fields or gardens.

The sovereign, as the head of the military and the fountain of military honour, assumes among his titles that of Senapáti,[Vol I Pg 329] or lord of war. When an army is to be raised, he appoints a certain number of his chiefs to be widánas, or commanders of corps of three hundred and twenty men. Under each widána are four lúrahs or tíndihs, who command companies of eighty men, and have each two subaltern officers, called babákals or sesábats, each having the command of forty men. The widánas were remunerated for their services by grants of land, to the amount of a thousand cháchas, from which they had again to make assignments for the maintenance of the inferior officers, who were always nominated by them.

When troops march through the country, or supplies are required, a demand is made upon the neighbouring districts, which are obliged to contribute according to their means, without payment. When in an enemy's country, the troops, of course, subsist by plunder, the disbursement of money for provisions or supplies being unknown.

The native armies of Java consisted chiefly of infantry, but the officers were invariably mounted, and when cavalry was required, each province furnished its quota: the troops, whether on foot or mounted, joined the army properly equipped for action. It was thus unnecessary for the sovereign to keep up a store of arms. Each village has its provision of spears, and sometimes of fire-arms; the officer of subdivision keeps a further reserve for contingencies; and as the chief of the province is responsible for the proper equipment of the men, he generally has also a further store to supply any deficiency.

Of the different weapons used in Java, the most important and the most peculiar to the Eastern Islands is the krís, which is now worn by all classes, and as an article of dress has already been noticed.

The Javan krís differs from the Malayan, in being much more plain, as well in the blade as in the handle and sheath: it differs also in the handle and sheath from the krís of Madúra and Báli, as may be seen in the plate. The varieties of the blade are said to exceed an hundred; and as a knowledge of the krís is considered highly important by the Javans, I have, in a separate plate, offered specimens of the most common.

In the plates are also exhibited the different kind of spears, darts, and other weapons, either said to have been in use for[Vol I Pg 330]merly, or actually used at the present day. These are the bow and arrow (gendewa, pana) which are seldom used in modern days, except on state occasions. The arrows, termed chákra, paspáti, trisúla, waráyang, diwál, róda dedáli, and others of a similar form, as well as the clubs called indán, gáda, and dénda, are represented as the weapons used by the gods, demigods, and heroes of antiquity, and are constantly referred to in the mythological and historical romances of the Javans, and exhibited in their scenic and dramatic entertainments. The túlup and páser represent the tube and the small arrows which are rendered poisonous by the úpas: these have not been used on Java for centuries, but they are common in less civilized islands of the Archipelago, and particularly on Borneo. The gánjing is an iron bar, formerly used by the Javans. The bandríny, or sling, is still used with considerable effect, and was employed in resisting the British troops in 1812. The pedáng, bandól, badík, golók, mentók, lámang or klewáng, and chundrík, are varieties of the sword. The kúdí-tránchang is a weapon which was formerly general on Java, but not now much used. The wedúng is a peculiar weapon, in the shape of a chopper, worn on occasions of state by all chiefs when in presence of the sovereign. Of spears and darts, there are several varieties distinguished by different names. Small round shields are still in use; the long shield is not. The matchlock exhibited in the plate is a representation of a piece manufactured on Báli.

Besides these instruments of war, the Javans have long been acquainted with the use of cannon, muskets, and pistols. Previous to the reduction of Yúgya-kérta, in 1812, by the British forces, the Sultan cast brass guns of considerable calibre, and at Grésik they are still manufactured for exportation. Round the kráton of Súra-kérta are mounted several very large pieces of artillery, and great veneration is paid to some of them supposed to have been the first introduced on the island: two, in particular, are considered to be part of the regalia. For muskets and pistols they are principally indebted to Europeans. Gunpowder they manufacture, but to no considerable extent, and the quality is not esteemed.

From an army raised only on emergency, and composed of people who do not make the military life a profession, much[Vol I Pg 331] discipline cannot be expected. The veneration, however, which the common people pay to their chiefs, the well defined gradations of rank, and the devotion with which all classes are willing to sacrifice themselves in support of their ancient institutions and independence, seem to render the Javan troops, while acting under their own chiefs, orderly and tractable. In their tactics and conduct they endeavour to emulate the examples given in their ancient romances; and in the plans for their pitched battles, the march of their armies, and the individual heroism of their chiefs, they strive to imitate the romantic exhibitions contained in the poems of antiquity. In the great Matárem war, for instance, the result of which was the establishment of the present family on the throne, the disposition of the army is said to have been in the form of a shrimp or prawn, as represented in the plate. This form is termed mangkára, or the shrimp which hides its soul, alluding to the sovereign who is in the centre and not to be approached. The plan of this order of battle is said to have been taken from the poem of the Bráta Yúdha, and was adopted by Bimányu, the son of Arjúna. The diráda máta is another form, said to have been used by the army of Astína, and has likewise been adopted by the modern Javans[91].

Of the bravery and heroism required of a soldier, some notion has been given in the account of the Javan ethics; and a reference to their history, for the last three centuries, will abundantly prove, that although unacquainted with those evolutions and tactics which contribute so largely to the power of an European army, the Javans, as soldiers, have not been deficient, either in personal courage, or in such military principles as might be expected from the general state of society among them, and as are well suited to the nature of the country and the weapons they are accustomed to carry[92]. [Vol I Pg 332]

It is the national boast, that it was not so much by force of arms as by intrigue and stratagem, that the Dutch obtained the superiority in the country. The history of the Dutch administration on Java will abundantly testify this, and at the same time prove, that among Asiatics, there are few nations who have fought more obstinately in support of their independence than the Javans. It was by corrupting and bribing the chiefs, and sowing disunion among them, that the Dutch succeeded in dismembering an empire, already shaken, at the period of their arrival, by the constant wars which attended the establishment of Mahomedanism. The comparison which has been drawn by the Javans themselves of their own character, in contrast with that of the Dutch, may serve to illustrate the nature of the military feeling still existing in the country. "The Dutch," say they, "are superior to the Javans, inasmuch as they have good heads; they can calculate, and they understand policy better, but then they have cold hearts: the Javans are poor simple beings, but they love their country and will never quit it; their heart glows and often burns."

The phrenzy generally known by the term muck or ámok, is only another form of that fit of desperation which bears the same name among the military, and under the influence of which they rush upon the enemy, or attack a battery, in the manner of a forlorn hope. The accounts of the wars of the Javans, as well as of the Maláyus, abound with instances of warriors running ámok; of combatants, giving up all idea of preserving their own lives, rushing on the enemy, committing indiscriminate slaughter, and never surrendering themselves alive[93]. Even at present, there are to be found among the Javans men who profess to be and are considered invulnerable; and there are some who, by a dextrous manner of receiving the spear, [Vol I Pg 333]and other such artifices, completely impose upon the too credulous people. Nothing is so easy as for an artful man to persuade the common Javans that he possesses supernatural power. At the present day this pretension, and the artifices by which it is supported, are more generally of a religious nature, but during the wars, every fortunate chief was considered as partially vested with it.

The general term for a soldier is prajúrit: the guards of the sovereign are distinguished by the term tantómo. Sara g'ni is the name given to those who carry fire-arms. Gándek are the couriers or messengers who convey the orders of the commanders. In every army there is a certain number called jága béla, whose duty it is to prevent the body of the troops from deserting, and to see that every man does his duty. Pána káwan is the term by which the youths who accompany their fathers and relations to battle are distinguished. Semút gátat is the general term for attendants, retainers, and followers of an army. But besides distinctions of office, there are others purely of merit and honour: those are called niútra who are selected as superior to their comrades in person and strength: the prawireng are those who have once distinguished themselves in battle: magátísh, those who sacrifice all other prospects in life in order to pursue the love of arms: trúna-láyang, gallant youths: jága súra, those whose courage is undisputed, and who keep a good look out: júdi páti, those who hazard their lives in battle, as they would hazard a die in any common game of chance; literally, who play with death: nirbáya, those who are above a sense of pain or fear: jáyeng sekár, flowers of victory[94]. This latter term was chosen by Marshal Daendels for the native militia raised for the service of the Dutch government during his administration.

In the Dutch armies the Javans were considered as inferior to the other islanders as soldiers, and from the facilities offered[Vol I Pg 334] for desertion while serving on Java, it was with great difficulty that they could be disciplined. The men were invariably raised by conscription, and instances have occurred of their deserting by companies. Under the British a corps of about twelve hundred men was raised, with little prospect of advantage for the first two years; but, by the perseverance and ability of the officer who commanded them, they afterwards became a well-disciplined corps, and on all occasions behaved themselves with fidelity and courage when called into action. As individuals, they are, for the most part, physically weaker than the Maláyus and other islanders; and as a nation, their agricultural habits have considerably obliterated the military character which they once possessed. Their country, however, particularly in the interior, is naturally very strong, full of ravines and fastnesses, and their mode of warfare is perhaps the best adapted for its defence. Were the whole energies of the nation united under one chief, with the experience which they now have of European tactics, it may be assumed that they would render it impregnable to any open attack, either of an European or an Asiatic force; but, unfortunately for their independence, it has been their lot, as their history will shew, to be continually disunited, either by religious or political feuds. Their greatest resistance appears to have been made against European influence. They maintain with pride, that although virtually conquered, they still, as a nation and as individuals, pertinaciously adhere to their ancient institutions, and have a national feeling, very different from that which is usually to be found among a conquered people.

The subject of revenue, for the support of the various establishments under the native government, has been so repeatedly touched upon, and came so much into view in the account given of Javan agriculture, that many further details here would appear tedious and unnecessary. All public officers, it has been often observed, from the highest chief to the lowest menial, are remunerated by grants of land revokable at pleasure, and all expences of the courts of justice, all police and military services, defrayed out of the same fund. There is no public treasury. When public works are to be executed, or supplies are to be furnished, each village is called upon to[Vol I Pg 335] furnish its quota of men, of provisions, &c.; and on the equitable regulation of these services and contributions depends the reputation of the native chief. The land constitutes the only treasury of the prince, and this is valuable according to its fertility, and the extent and number of its cultivators. There are, to be sure, certain general taxes and imposts levied throughout the country: but these appear to have been of comparatively modern introduction, and unconnected with the genuine principles of the Javan government. The nature of several of these imposts and taxes has been explained in treating of the landed tenure and the condition of the peasantry. The following statement, extracted from the Report of a Dutch commissioner[95], appointed to inquire into the subject of taxation in the year 1812, though it refers to the particular province of Surabáya, may be considered as applicable to the greater part of the island; and I here produce it in preference to any more general or more concise account of my own, because it will shew that the opinions I have so often expressed, concerning the oppressions of the Dutch authorities, the patient submission, the industry, and other good qualities of the lower classes of Java, are not peculiar to the English, but entertained by some of the subjects of a government which profited by the abuses complained of, and must have been anxious to conceal their enormity.

"The ordinary taxes annually levied in the district of Surabáya are as follow:

"1. The grabág or peték, or as it is sometimes called, the chácha or capitation tax, is generally levied at the rate of four rupees for each chácha a year; that is to say, for such a quantity of profitable land as may be cultivated by one family.

"2. The contingent or contribution of rice to government, being from fifteen to nineteen píkúls of clean rice from each jung, according to its situation and fertility.

"3. Pári pánajúng (from which, however, are excused the distant districts), consisting generally of three ámats of pári, equal to from eight to ten káti of rice, from each jung. This is destined for the maintenance of those Mántris and[Vol I Pg 336] chiefs who were not at all or insufficiently provided with rice fields of their own.

"4. Pári págondíkan, levied only in the districts near the capital, consisting generally of two gédings or double heaps of pari. This was destined for the extraordinary expences of the districts; as the maintenance of the government, state prisoners, native ambassadors from the opposite coast, and the like.

"5. Pàri pakásak, consisted of three gédings from each jung, destined for the maintenance of those who superintend the direction of the water-courses, &c.

"6. Pári zákat, consisted of one ámat of pári from each jung, and was destined for the maintenance of the church and chief priests.

"7. Pítrah, consisted in the payment of twenty káti of rice from each jung, also destined for the maintenance of the priests.

"8. Máláman. This consisted of a payment made to the Regent or chiefs of the districts, at each of the three festivals of Múlut, Púasa, and Besár, of ten káti of rice, and three and a quarter stivers in money from each jung, one large fowl, five eggs, four cocoa-nuts, one bunch of plantains: and from those who held three or four jungs, was further required a bottle of oil, to add to the solemnity of the ceremony, to which persons of this condition were universally invited.

"It is easy to conceive, that the common Javan was not able to make any money after paying these taxes and contributions, at least not so much as he wanted for himself and family; particularly if we take into consideration, that it is very seldom one man is the sole proprietor of a jung alone, but that it is often divided between three and four persons, and that, with the most successful harvest, such a jung does not produce more than thirty to thirty-five ámats of pári. With all this, however, the common Javan would feel himself satisfied, if he had no other taxes to pay, having generally a good many fruit trees, and a little cottage farm, in which he cultivates síri, &c. and sometimes a small fish-pond in the vicinity of his dwelling, which is usually free of tax. But this is not the case; he must submit to other[Vol I Pg 337] oppressions, which not being regulated, are for that reason the heavier, because they are called for in an arbitrary way, and because self-interest does not fail to seize every possible opportunity of extortion.

"When a chief has occasion to travel, when a marriage, birth, circumcision, recovery from illness, or any such subject of festivity, occurs in his family, it is advertized immediately to the subordinate towns and villages, the inhabitants of which feel themselves obliged, each in proportion to his means, to carry him fruits, rice, fowls, and even buffaloes and money. These are called free presents, but in fact, are as much an obligatory contribution as any of the others; to say nothing of the many demands for fowls, eggs, ducks, fruits, &c. for which payment is made, but always at a rate far below their value: or of the numerous fines which are continually exacted from the people, in compensation, or as hush money for disputes and offences of every description; the taking away of bámbus, and sometimes of fruit trees, when wood is required, either for government or the chief; to which must yet be added, that for the execution of the duties of government, and on the conveyance of orders, Mántris, and other subordinate chiefs, were continually, in the neighbourhood of the villages, just like so many voracious birds, who think themselves entitled not only to take something for their trouble, but to be provided during their stay with every thing gratis, even opium, if they require it. This custom, adopted on Java, extends to every other chief, although not in employment, and even to the Regents, their relations, &c. None of these persons will pass through a town or village, without demanding what he wants for his maintenance or journey; and very often he asks what he does not want, to the great oppression of the common Javan. Much is wasted by this practice, and no particular advantage appears to result from it.

"We must, indeed, be astonished to see all the oppressions, &c. to which the common Javan must submit. It is usually said, indeed, that the Javan is not accustomed to an easy life, and ought not to have more than barely enough to keep him alive, with many more such expressions; but this is not the manner of reasoning of any [Vol I Pg 338]well-thinking man, who, though he sees very well the imperfections and weak nature of the Javan, yet bears in mind that he is a man like himself; who, although he has been conquered, it is true, by the greater valour and knowledge of the European, has still an equal right to be treated like a man.

"But, alas! these are not all the vexations and oppressions which fall to the lot of the common people, who bear all without murmuring. The feudal service was as grievous as almost all the other charges united. The origin of those services must be sought for in the feudal system of the native government, long ago adopted throughout Java. It was considered that all the land was the property of the prince, who only made provisional assignments thereof to his subjects, in remuneration for military and other services rendered. This was the cause of all the lands being divided into as many allotments as could be cultivated, called cháchas, each of a size to be cultivated by one man. A certain number of these was assigned to the different chiefs, according to their rank; the custom of the country fixing not only the amount of contributions to be paid from the produce, but the number of men to be constantly kept in attendance upon them. The lands thus assigned to chiefs were exempt from service to them, and the inhabitants were only expected to watch the villages, to make and repair the roads, and to perform other general services of the state. This was the situation of the people with regard to service, when the coast districts were first ceded to the European government. The system of trade and fixed contributions did not admit of any change, and the services were at that time of very little consequence, and such as could be performed without oppression to the inhabitants; but the case is now quite different. Successively and particularly of late years, much heavier services have been demanded than were ever before known, and it naturally follows, that the Javan must be kept more at work than before. Besides, it is not possible to apportion those services equally, on account of the situation of the places where the services are required, and because the chiefs, who have the direction of the works, from indifference and lazi[Vol I Pg 339]ness, generally make a requisition on the nearest village; and it not unfrequently happens, that many people are thus taken for the public service, who have no lands whatever allotted to them.

"Were the requisitions made for the public service alone, it would still be comparatively nothing, it being admitted that the state has a right to the labour of its subjects; but the Regents, their relations, their Pátehs, and the subordinate chiefs of every description, assume the right of disposing of the services of the common people as they think proper, and themselves employ many of them in menial labour of all descriptions[96], from which it arises, that the number of people employed away from their homes, on what is called public services, is almost incredible.

"It is therefore more than time, and highly necessary, that an end be put to this monstrous system of government. Humanity looks forward with pleasure to this step. Government, who are essentially interested, have the most perfect right to take it; but the change must be entire and radical. Where the machine is entirely bad, it would be vain to attempt the repair of a few of the parts of which it is composed: the whole would still remain worthless, and it would only result that the main defects being hidden by a specious covering, the whole labour would be worse than thrown away."

The British government did accordingly alter the whole system of revenue. The subject was forced upon its attention, not only by the desire which every humane and liberal administration must feel, to promote the happiness of its subjects, but by considerations of a prudential nature. The resources of the country had sunk under a capricious and tyrannical system of exaction; industry was paralyzed, and confidence was destroyed. The opportunity for effecting a reformation was favourable, our means ample, and we had nothing to dread from the opposition of those interested in supporting abuses: it was, therefore, resolved to abolish all oppressive taxes, and to come immediately upon the soil for support of our establishments, by appropriating a fixed portion[Vol I Pg 340] of its produce, leaving the full enjoyment of the remainder to the cultivator, with every facility for turning his industry to account. What was done in consequence, by the land revenue arrangements, has been seen in the account given of landed tenure.

The subjects of the colony were freed from the sway of their chiefs, who were no longer permitted to demand at pleasure their services or their property. These chiefs were compensated for the loss of their former influence by salaries in money or allotments of land, which they either held on condition of performing the police duties, or collecting the revenue. When paid by the rent of land, they were permitted to exact no more than the assessment settled by government. No arbitrary power was allowed them to disturb the peasant in the enjoyment of the remainder, or to drag him from his home and his duties to his family, for the purpose of swelling their idle pomp, or performing services about their person or household. The Chinese farmers of the revenue in Chéribon and other districts, having oppressed the people by every rapacious and tyrannical expedient, were, by the discontinuance of the farms, deprived of the power they had exercised over the persons and property of the natives. Forced services and all deliveries of produce at inadequate rates on government account were abolished; and for whatever colonial produce or supplies might be required for the public service, the fair market price was ordered to be paid. Duties on the transport of goods from one part of the country to another, and on the sale of commodities at markets or bazars, were, for the most part, abolished, as injurious to trade and discouraging to agricultural industry. The system of farming the import and export duties, which existed under the Dutch, was likewise annulled, and collectors were appointed to receive the duties immediately for government. Internal duties, of the nature of tolls and market dues, had been universally, though secretly, levied by the Chinese, in Chéribon and other places, in direct opposition to the orders of government and the terms of their engagement. This abuse, engrafted on the farming system, incalculably aggravated its evils and called loudly for redress. The farmer thrust his rapacious hand into every place where there was the least prospect of gain, and limited his demand[Vol I Pg 341] only by the capacity of the merchant to satisfy it, or by an ill-defined custom, which might be perverted almost at pleasure, so as to accommodate itself to any exaction. The evils resulting from this mode of raising a revenue may easily be calculated, when it is stated, that, for a very trifling contribution to government by the farmer, duties were levied upon internal transport amounting to nearly fifty per cent. on the value of the commodities transported. Rice, on its transport from one part of the island to another, had been liable to duties of about forty-six per cent. Regulations were made for fixing the amount of import duties, and equalizing them over the island.

The restoration of the Dutch Indian empire to the sovereign of the Netherlands, at a period when these important changes were only in progress, may have perhaps prevented the full accomplishment by the English of the details in some districts, but the principles of the new system were not only introduced and thoroughly understood in all the more populous districts under the European government, but an experience of three years fully demonstrated the advantages resulting from it to the public revenue. It would have been attended with great immediate loss, without any corresponding future gain, to have abolished at once all the former sources of revenue; but the thorough change of system was declared, and the principles of it were acted upon, as far as was consistent with the security of public tranquillity and the realization of the current resources of the country; and the results of these arrangements, as far as they went, proved that a land rent might, even with the existing taxes in the capitals, &c. be realized at the rate of at least six rupees annually from each cultivator, or after the abolition of the taxes bearing on agriculture, at the average rate of four Spanish dollars from each cultivator, giving in the one case a rental for the whole island of about six millions of rupees, and in the other of four millions of Spanish dollars, or at five shillings the dollar, a million sterling. Of this one-fourth would accrue to the native princes, and the remainder to the European government. The particulars of the land revenue settlement effected in each district, and the detailed resources of the different parts of the island, will be particularly noticed[Vol I Pg 342] in the statistical accounts which will appear in a subsequent part of this volume, when the subject of revenue will be again adverted to; and, in the mean time, it may be sufficient, for the purpose of shewing the general resources, to refer to the annexed table, exhibiting the revenues and expenses of the Javan government for a period of three favourable years under the old Dutch Company, for three years under the administration of Marshal Daendels, when its real resources were first called forth and the revenue was higher than before known, and for the first three years under the British government, of which alone, the accounts are yet closed. The dependencies included in this table do not include the Moluccas or Spice Islands, the administration of which under the British government was kept distinct from that of Java.

By this statement it will appear, that the revenues actually realized in cash, on Java, in the year 1814-15, and before the land revenue arrangements had become fully effectual, amounted to upwards of six millions and a half of rupees: to this may be added one-third more for the revenue of the native provinces, making a total revenue of the island exceeding eight millions and a half of rupees, or above a million sterling.

From a colony which was able to furnish at such a moment so extensive a revenue from its own internal resources, after the drains, checks, and restrictions to which it had been subjected during the last two centuries, what might not have been expected, had confidence been once established in the permanency of the government, and the tide of British capital been once fairly turned into it?

FOOTNOTES:

[74] The inhabitants of these Islands are strikingly alive to a sense of shame; a feeling, which is heightened by the influence of a tradition among the Maláyus, that, on the first establishment of the Malayan nation, the islanders stipulated, that neither they nor their descendants should ever be put to shame. The tradition runs as follows:

"Then Ampu and Maling made obeisance to Sangsapurba (a prince who had arrived in Sumatra from Western India, and who is supposed to have founded the Malayan empire) and represented to him that Demang Lebar Daon (chieftain broad leaf of Palembang), had a daughter. Sangsapurba accordingly sent to ask her in marriage; but he excused himself, alleging, that she would probably be struck with sickness, and that he would only resign her to him as a wife on certain conditions. These conditions were, that, on Sangsapurba marrying his daughter, all the family of Demang Lebar Daon should submit themselves to him; but that Sangsapurba should engage, both for himself and his posterity, that they should receive a liberal treatment; and, in particular, that when they committed a fault, they should never be exposed to shame nor opprobrious language, but if their fault was great, that they should be put to death according to the law. Sangsapurba agreed to these conditions; but he requested, in his turn, that the descendants of Demang Lebar Daon should never move any treasonable practices against his descendants, even though they should become tyrannical. 'Very well,' said Demang Lebar Daon; 'but if your descendants break your agreements, probably mine will do the same.' These conditions were mutually agreed to, and the parties swore to perform them, imprecating the divine vengeance to turn their authority upside down who should infringe these agreement. From this condition it is, that none of the Malayan rajas ever expose their Malayan subjects to disgrace or shame: they never bind them, nor hang them, nor give them opprobrious language; and whenever a raja exposes his subjects to disgrace, it is the certain token of the destruction of his country. Hence also it is, that none of the Malayan race ever engage in rebellion, or turn their faces from their own rajahs, even though their conduct be bad, and their proceedings tyrannical."​—Malàyan Annals.

[75] See Report on the Districts of Japára, by the Resident Dornick, in the year 1812.

[76] See a further account of this work under the head Literature.

[77] This payment is regularly termed by the Dutch, ampt-geld, or place-money, being money paid for the purchase of an office. By the Javans it is termed sorok, which, in its more general acceptation, means a bribe.

[78] With whatever fidelity this character of the Javan regents may have been drawn by Mr. Hogendorp, in the year 1800, it most certainly did not apply to them in the year 1811, nor in the subsequent years of the British government on Java; for, however negligent and corrupt many of them may have been rendered, by the system of government which prevailed under the Dutch East India Company, the changes effected during the administration of Marshal Daendals soon induced a character for energy and activity. His government was military and despotic in the extreme, and the regents were considered to hold a military rank, and required to exert themselves in proportion to its importance. They did so, and works of the greatest magnitude were constructed by their exertions. The chiefs were found active and intelligent, the common people willing and obedient. With regard to their character under the British Government, it would be an act of injustice, if not ingratitude, were I to neglect this opportunity of stating, that, as public officers, the Regents of Java were almost universally distinguished by an anxiety to act in conformity with the wishes of the government, by honesty, correctness, and good faith; and as noblemen, by gentlemanly manners, good breeding, cheerfulness, and hospitality. In the observations made upon the Javan character in the text, I have spoken of the Javans as a nation generally; but I might select instances where the character of the individual would rise very far above the general standard which I have assumed. I might, for instance, notice the intellectual endowments and moral character of the present Panambáhan of Súmenup, Náta Kasúma. This chief is well read, not only in the ancient history of his own country, but has a general knowledge of Arabic literature, is conversant with the Arabic treatises on astronomy, and is well acquainted with geography. He is curious in mechanics, attentive to the powers of mechanism, and possesses a fund of knowledge which has surprised and delighted all who have had an opportunity of conversing with him and of appreciating his talents. Of his moral character I have given an instance, in the manner in which he liberated his slaves. He is revered, not only for his superior qualifications and talents, but also for the consideration and attention he pays to the happiness and comfort of the people committed to his charge.

Of the capacity of the Javans to improve, of their anxiety to advance in civilization, and of the rapidity with which they receive knowledge and instruction, an instance might be given in the case of the two sons of the Regent of Semárang, Kiái Adipáti Súra Adimangála. This Regent, who, next to the Panambáhan of Súmenap, is the first in rank as well as character, shortly after the establishment of the British government on Java, sent his sons to Bengal, in order that they might there receive an education superior to what they could have had at home. They remained there for about two years under the immediate protection and patronage of the late Earl of Minto, and on their return not only conversed and wrote in the English language with facility and correctness, but evinced considerable proficiency in every branch of knowledge to which their attention has been directed. The eldest, in particular, had made such progress in mathematics before he quitted Calcutta, as to obtain a prize at a public examination, and had acquired a general knowledge of the ancient and modern history of Europe, particularly in that of Greece and Rome. He is remarked for his graceful and polite manners, for the propriety of his conduct, and for the quickness and correctness of his observation and judgment. As this is the first instance that has been afforded of the capacity of the Javan character to improve under an European education, it may enable the reader to form some estimate of what that character was formerly in more propitious times, and of what it may attain to hereafter under a more beneficent government. Among all the English on Java, who have had an opportunity of conversing with this young nobleman, there has not been one who has hesitated to admit, that his mind, his qualifications, and conduct, would be conspicuous among their own countrymen at the same age, and that, as an accomplished gentleman, he was fitted for the first societies of Europe. This young man, Ráden Sáleh, is now about sixteen years of age, and when the British left Java was an assistant to his father as Regent of Semárang.

[79] The following description of the office of a Jáksa, and of the qualifications requisite for fulfilling his important duties, is taken from the Niti Prája, a work already referred to.

"A Jáksa must, in all cases, be impartial, to enable him to weigh all causes which come before him with the same exactness as merchandize is weighed in a scale, and nicely balance the equilibrium, nothing adding or taking from either side.

"He must be above all bribery, either by words or money, and never allow himself to be induced to commit an act of injustice; for were a Jáksa to commit an act of this kind, the consequences could not but be highly injurious to the country.

"He must not accept presents of any kind from the parties whose cause comes before him, not only because he cannot expect to derive advantage therefrom, but also because the public will hold discourse concerning him highly injurious to his reputation.

"All causes in dispute must be decided upon by him with the least possible delay, according to law, and not kept long in suspense, to the injury of the parties concerned, lest he be considered like a holy man, who, for the sake of money, sacrifices his good name.

"A Jáksa must inquire into every circumstance relating to the causes brought before him, and duly investigate the evidence; after which he must take the cause into consideration. He must not, in the least, listen to what is false, and on all occasions must decide according to truth.

"A Jáksa who attends to all these points is of high repute. Of less repute is a Jáksa who, in the decision of causes which come before him, listens to the advice of others: such a one is like that kind of bird, which in order to procure for itself the necessary food, dives under water, without thinking of the danger to which it is exposed of losing its life from the want of air. But entirely unfit for employment is a Jáksa who is haughty in his demeanour, and at the same time low enough to take advantage of persons who come before him: such a one is like a bat, that in the dark steals the fruit from the trees; or like a sportsman, who though destined to chase what is useful only, indiscriminately destroys whatever comes in his way, whether useful or not. In the same manner is it with a priest who every day attends at the temple, for no other purpose but to make profit by it: or with a writer, who knows not how to make any thing but by the prostitution of his writings; or with the head man of a village, who imposes upon the villagers; or a devotee, who gains his livelihood by necromancy."

[80] The following was the usual course of proceeding in Jápara, and generally in the provinces subjected to European authority, previous to the interference of the British government. The plaintiff went to the Jáksa and made his complaint. If the case was important, the Jáksa took down the deposition in writing in the presence of witnesses, summoned the accused, and communicated the deposition to him. The latter then either acknowledged or denied the facts, witnesses were examined, and the proceedings of the suit laid before the Regent, who after perusal transmitted the same to the Panghúlu for his advice, with which the latter complied, referring at the same time for a sentence to some of the collections on Mahomedan law. The Regent having compared the sentence with the law and with equity, and finding the same correspondent with both, judgment was pronounced by the Jáksa.

[81] See Appendix C.

[82] With the exception, perhaps, of the right of election, which I have not seen noticed in any account of Continental India, the constitution of the Javan village has a striking resemblance to that of the Hindus, according to the following statement in the Fifth Report of the House of Commons on Indian Affairs. "A village, geographically considered, is a tract of country comprising some hundreds or thousands of acres of arable and waste lands; politically viewed, it resembles a corporation or township. Its proper establishment of officers and servants consists of the following descriptions: the Potail or head inhabitant, who has generally the superintendance of the affairs of the village, settles the disputes of the inhabitants, attends to the police, and performs the duty of collecting the revenues within his village, a duty which his personal influence and minute acquaintance with the situation and concerns of the people render him the best qualified to discharge. The Kurnum, who keeps the accounts of cultivation, and registers every thing connected with it. The Tallier and Totie, the duty of the former appearing to consist in a wider and more enlarged sphere of action, in gaining information of crimes and offences, and in escorting and protecting persons travelling from one village to another; the province of the latter appearing to be more immediately confined to the village, consisting among other duties in guarding the crops and assisting in measuring them. The boundary man, who preserves the limits of the village, or gives evidence respecting them in cases of dispute. The superintendent of tanks and water-courses, distributes the water therefrom for the purposes of agriculture. The Bramin, who performs the village worship. The schoolmaster, who is seen teaching the children in a village to read and write in the sand. The calendar Bramin or astrologer, &c.

"These officers and servants generally constitute the establishment of a village; but in some parts of the country it is of less extent, some of the duties and functions above described being united in the same person: in others it exceeds the number of individuals which have been described.

"Under this simple form of municipal government, the inhabitants of the country have lived from time immemorial. The boundaries of the villages have been but seldom altered; and though the villages themselves have been sometimes injured, and even desolated by war, famine, and disease, the same name, the same limits, the same interests, and even the same families, have continued for ages. The inhabitants give themselves no trouble about the breaking up and division of kingdoms; while the village remains entire, they care not to what power it is transferred, or to what sovereign it devolves; its internal economy remains unchanged. The Potail is still the head inhabitant, and still acts as the petty judge and magistrate, and collector or renter of the village."

In examining the interior of a village on Java, we find that, in common with the Hindu usage, it possesses a constitution within itself, independent of the supreme governing power. Here, as in Western India, it will be found that each village possesses its Petíng'gi or chief; its Kabayan, who is the deputy or assistant to the head of the village; its Kamituah or elders, generally men who have formerly been chiefs of the village; its Múdin or priest; its Ulu-ulu or Kapala Bandang'an, or superintendent of water-courses; its Jeru-tulis or writer, &c.

[83] See Report of Mr. Hopkins on the districts of Surabáya.

[84] See Report of Colonel Adams on Surabáya.

[85] Mr. Mc. Quoid. See his Report on the Districts of Japára and Jawána.

[86] Appendix D.

[87] Among many others, the following enactments, which were in force in some of the Eastern districts when the English arrived, will serve to shew the barbarities of the law then existing, in its operation on the people, and its leniency towards the great.

"Any person murdering his superior shall be beheaded, his body quartered and given to the wild beasts, and his head stuck upon a bambu.

"Any person disobeying his superior and attempting to murder him, may be killed by the superior, without giving any intimation thereof to the chief town.

"Any person daring to destroy any public advertisement promulgated by government shall forfeit his right hand.

"A Demáng, or other chief of a désa, being acquainted with any conspiracy tending to the injury of the state, and not giving intimation thereof, shall be punished by losing one ear, his head shall be shaved, and he shall be banished.

"Any person daring to offer violence to a priest in the mosque or among the tombs shall forfeit one hand.

"If a woman kills a man she shall be fined 500 reals batú.

"If a superior kills an inferior he shall be fined 1000 doits.

"If a person puts out the eyes of another he shall be fined 500 reals batú; if one eye only 50 reals."

There were also different fines for maiming different parts of the body. "For cutting out the tongue, 500 reals; for knocking out the teeth, 25; for breaking the thumb, 500; for breaking the finger, 100; and the like." See Collection of Native Laws at Banyuwangi.

[88] Appendix D.

[89] See Appendix D.

[90] The number required to compose the jury was fixed in conformity with the ancient usages of the country, in which five persons are considered necessary to assist in the deliberation upon any matter of importance.

[91] In joining the battle it is usual for the warriors to shout, and for the trumpets (sarenen), gongs, and drums used in the martial music of the country to be sounded.

[92] The following verse from the Níti Sástra Káwi may be adduced, in further illustration of the notions entertained by the Javans regarding the bravery of a soldier:

"The brave man who has been successful in war obtains his heart's desire.

"The brave man who dies in war is received into heaven and cherished by the Widadaris.

"If a man is cowardly in war and die, the keepers of hell seize upon him in a rage:

"Should he not die, he is reprobated and despised by all good men, even to his face."

[93] It is on these occasions that the parties frequently increase their desperation by the use of opium.

[94] "As to their military character, it is certain," says Plutarch, "they were able commanders, both by sea and land. But as the champions, who in one day gain the garland, not only in wrestling, but in the pancration, are not simply called victors, but by the custom of the games, the flowers of victory; so Cymon, having crowned Greece with two victories gained in one day, the one at land, the other at sea, deserves some preference in the list of generals."​—Langhorne's Plutarch: Cimon and Lucullus compared.

[95] Mr. Rothenbuller.

[96] This was the practice of the Europeans also. [Vol I Pg 343]


CHAPTER VII.

Ceremonies of the Court​—Deference paid to superior Rank​—Regalia​—Processions​—Pomp​—Rank and Titles​—Ambassadors​—Ceremonies attending Births, Marriages, and Funerals​—Account of the People called Kálang, and of the Inhabitants of the Téng'ger Mountains​—The Bedui​—Festivals​—Amusements​—The Drama​—Wáyangs​—The Dance​—Tournaments​—The Chase​—Tiger Fights​—Combat of Criminals with Tigers​—Bull Fights, &c.​—Games of Skill and Chance​—Other Customs and Usages.

Having, in the preceding Chapter, endeavoured to pourtray the natural and moral character of the people of Java, and to convey to the reader a general idea of the nature and principles of the government to which they have been subjected, I shall now proceed to detail some of the usages and customs which prevail among them.

Of these the ceremonies of the court are the most obvious, and a stranger cannot fail to be struck with the extreme deference and respect towards their superiors, by which the Javans are characterized. Respect for rank, for experience, for parents and old age, have been already noticed among the features of their character; but the excess to which deference to rank is carried by the political institutions of the country, deserves more particular remark, whether we consider it as illustrative of the nature of the government and the quiet and orderly disposition of the people, or endeavour to trace, in the early periods of their history, the causes which may have contributed to the existing constitution of society among them.

The respect shewn to superior rank on Java is such, that no individual, whatever his condition, can stand in the presence of a superior; neither can he address him in the same language in which he is spoken to. Not even the heir apparent, or the members of the royal family, can stand in the presence of the sovereign; and the same restriction applies to the family of each subordinate chief. Were this mark of respect[Vol I Pg 344] confined to the royal family alone, it might perhaps find a parallel in other eastern countries, where it is usual for the subject to prostrate himself before the sovereign, but in Java the nature of the government is such, that each delegated authority exacts the same marks of obeisance; so that, from the common labourer upward, no one dares to stand in the presence of a superior. Thus when a native chief moves abroad, it is usual for all the people of inferior rank among whom he passes, to lower their bodies to the ground till they actually sit on their heels, and to remain in this posture until he is gone by. The same rule is observed within doors; and instead of an assembly rising on the entrance of a great man, as in Europe, it sinks to the ground, and remains so during his presence.

This humiliating posture is called dódok, and may be rendered into English by the term squatting. The practice is submitted to with the utmost cheerfulness by the people: it is considered an ancient custom, and respected accordingly. It was, however, in a great measure discontinued in the European provinces during the administration of the British government, who endeavoured to raise the lower orders, as much as was prudent, from the state of degradation to which their chiefs, aided by the Dutch authority, had subjected them; but it continued in force in the native provinces, in Madúra, and to a certain extent in most of the districts at a distance from the seats of European government.

In travelling myself through some of the native provinces, and particularly in Madúra, where the forms of the native government are particularly observed, I have often seen some hundreds drop on my approach, the cultivator quitting his plough, and the porter his load, on the sight of the Túan besár's carriage. At the court of Súra-kérta, I recollect that once, when holding a private conference with the Susúnan at the residency, it became necessary for the Ráden adipáti to be dispatched to the palace for the royal seat: the poor old man was as usual squatting, and as the Susúnan happened to be seated with his face towards the door, it was full ten minutes before his minister, after repeated ineffectual attempts, could obtain an opportunity of rising sufficiently to reach the latch without being seen by his royal master. The mission on which he was dispatched was urgent, and the Susúnan[Vol I Pg 345] himself inconvenienced by the delay; but these inconveniences were insignificant, compared with the indecorum of being seen out of the dódok posture. When it is necessary for an inferior to move, he must still retain that position, and walk with his hams upon his heels until he is out of his superior's sight.

Besides this deference in the posture of the body, a deference, equally striking and still more defined, is shewn in the language used to a superior. The vernacular language of the country is never allowed to be used on such occasions, but only an arbitrary language, distinguished by the term bása, the language, or bása kráma, the polite language, or language of honour. The common people are thus not permitted to use the same language as the great, or in other words, are by the political institutions of the country, in a great degree, deprived of the use of their mother tongue. This subject will however be more particularly treated of in another chapter. That a set of people who have received some mental culture will necessarily discover it in their language, and that a line of distinction will be thus drawn between the well informed and the ignorant, is natural; and of the employment of a different number of persons in the verbs and pronouns, according as supremacy, respect, or familiarity is to be expressed, the modern European languages afford abundant example: but that one class of words should be exacted from the lower orders as a homage to the powerful, and another class given in exchange, serving to remind them of their inferiority, is a refinement in arbitrary power, which it would be difficult to parallel.

Having thus seen the nature and extent of the general deference paid to a superior on Java, the reader will be prepared, in some degree, for the still further humiliations which are expected from a subject on public occasions. No one approaches his sovereign or immediate chief, no child approaches his father, without súmbah, (to that is, obeisance) closing his hands and raising them to his forehead, in token of respect. On public or festival days, it is usual for the inferior chiefs, not as in Europe, to kiss the hand, but to kiss the knee, the instep, or the sole of the foot, according to the relative distance of rank between the parties. [Vol I Pg 346]

The royal seat is a large stool or bench of gold or silver with a velvet cushion: it is called dámpar, and attends the sovereign wherever he may go.

Among the regalia (upachára), which are always carried in procession when the sovereign moves abroad, and are arranged behind him while seated on the dámpar, are the following golden figures:​—the hásti or gája, that of an elephant; the hárda walíka or nanágan, that of a serpent; the jajáwen sánting, that of a bull; the sángsam, that of a deer; and the sáwung gáling, that of a cock fowl; each of a size to be borne in the hand. These, with the kútuk and chapúri for tobacco and síri, the pakachohán or golden spitting-pot, and a variety of golden salvers, bowls, &c. distinguished by the respective names applicable to their different purposes, have descended as pusákas, or heir-looms, in the royal family, and are esteemed with the highest degree of veneration.

When the sovereign moves abroad, he is attended by numerous spearmen (wáhos), the duty of eight of whom is to attend the figures of the sacred elephant and bull, near which are also led four horses richly caparisoned. The royal páyung, or state umbrella, is carried in front of the procession on these occasions, in which are also invariably carried four trunks or boxes (brókoh), each borne by two men, and containing the clothes of the sovereign, caparison for his horses, his personal arms, implements, provisions, and in short every thing required for an establishment: this rule is observed whenever the sovereign moves out of the palace. His mat (lánté) is likewise borne in procession, together with two saddle horses for his use when necessary.

The ceremonies and state of the native courts have lost much of their genuine character, from the admission of European customs, introduced by the Dutch after the last Javan war. Salutes are regulated after the European order, and the Javans have availed themselves of many of the customs of Europeans, to render the ceremonies of state more striking. Thus both the Susúnan and Súltan are furnished with large gilt carriages, after the fashion of those used by the Lord Mayor of London. When the former drinks wine with the governor, the rest of the company are offered white wine,[Vol I Pg 347] while they alone drink red, and a flourish of trumpets sounds as the glass approaches their lips.

It may be observed, that few people are more attached to state and show than the Javans; that, in general, the decorations employed and the forms observed are chaste, and at the same time imposing, calculated to impress a stranger with a high idea of their taste, their correctness and yet love of splendour. The ornaments of state, or regalia, are well wrought in gold; the royal shield is richly inlaid with precious stones, and the royal krís is hung in a belt, which, with its sheath, is one blaze of diamonds. In processions, when the European authority is to be received, each side of the road, for miles, is lined with spearmen in different dresses, and standing in various warlike attitudes; streamers flying, and the music of the gámelán striking up on every side. Páyungs, or umbrellas of three tiers, of silk richly fringed and ornamented with gold, are placed at intervals, and nothing is omitted which can add to the appearance of state and pomp. Among the ensigns displayed on these occasions are the Monkey flag of Arjúna, and a variety of other devices taken from the poems of antiquity, as well as the double-bladed sword, and a variety of inscriptions from the Arabs.

The chiefs of provinces, and the petty chiefs in their gradation below them, keep up as much of the form and ceremony of the chief court as is consistent with their relative rank and means; and, in their turn, exact from their vassals the same degree of respect which the sovereign exacts from them.

On occasions when the Regents are anxious to shew particular respect to Europeans, as on the entrance of the Governor, or other high officer travelling, it is the custom, particularly in the Súnda districts, to erect triumphal arches of bámbu at the entrance of the principal villages; and the taste and variety displayed on these occasions have been often noticed, as evincing a refinement beyond what the general results of their present state of civilization might justify.

In a former place I noticed, that the gradations of rank among the Javans were, in some instances, marked by the dress they wore, and by the manner of putting on the krís; but a more defined line is drawn by the páyung, or umbrella,[Vol I Pg 348] which is subject to the following regulation from immemorial custom:

1. The Sovereign alone is entitled to the golden páyung[97].

2. The Rátu, or Queen, and the members of the royal family, to the yellow páyung.

3. The family of the Rátu, and the family of the Sovereign by his concubines, to the white páyung.

4. The Bopátis and Tumúng'gungs to the green páyung, edged and mounted with gold.

5. The Ang'ebáis, Ráng'gas, Mántris, &c. to the red páyung.

6. The heads of villages, and other petty officers, to the dark páyung.

In order to convey an idea of the different titles and the gradations of rank among the Javans, it becomes necessary, in consequence of the confusion which has arisen among them of late years, to revert to what they were supposed to be in the days of Májapáhit and previously, when the Hindu faith and institutions exclusively prevailed.

The usual term for the sovereign was then Rátu, and in the literary compositions which have descended to us, he was either distinguished by such epithets as Nára-náta, Nára-dípa, Nára-páti, Naríndra, Narária, Aji, Prábu, Kátong, Ajung, or Máharája. The queen was called Pramiswári. The children of the sovereign were called, the princes Ráden, and the princesses Déwi, which titles were hereditary in their families. The brothers of the sovereign had the title of Ráden aria.

When a sovereign was advanced in age, and quitted his government to become a devotee, he was called Begáwan.

The minister who administered the country in the name of the sovereign, and issued his orders to the governors of provinces, &c. was always termed Páteh; and the chiefs employed in administering the government of the provinces, or otherwise in the government of the country, were entitled either Pratíiwa, Pung'gáwa, Niáka, or Bopáti. The chiefs below these, and subject to their orders, such as Ráng'ga, [Vol I Pg 349]Ange'bái, Demáng, Praméa, Ménak, Klíwon, and others were included in the class of Mantris.

The heads of villages were called either Umbul, Patíng'gi, Babákal, Babáhu, Lúra, or Kúwu.

The commanders-in-chief in war had the title of Senapáti. The general term for soldiers was prajúrit; and those employed in guarding the country from the approach of an enemy were called either Pechát tánda, Támping, or Ulu-bálang.

In judicial affairs the Jáksa was the chief. His assistant or deputy was Paliwára, and the officers of his court Kérta.

Wadána gédong was the title given to the officer entrusted with the charge of the sovereign's purse and personal property, and with the collection of his revenues: the secretary or writer was called Chárik. Tánda and Sabándar was the title of the officers who collected the duties in the markets and along the high roads.

When it was necessary for the sovereign to move from one part of the country to another, there was always a class of Mántris in attendance, to whom the title of Pang'alasan or Kajíneman was given.

On the establishment of the Mahomedan religion, in the Javan year 1400, a new gradation of rank and order of titles was introduced by the sultan of Demák, as follows.

The sovereign, instead of being called Rátu, took the name of Susuhúnan[98], or Sultan, and the queen was called Rátu. The title of Panámbahán was conferred as the highest in rank next to the sovereign, and above the princes of the blood, who were now termed Pang'éran or Pang'éran ária; the princesses born of the queen were termed Rátu, and the daughters by concubines Ráden áyu. The sons of the princes were called Ráden mas, until they were married, when they were termed Ráden only; their daughters before marriage were called Ráden ajéng, and after marriage Ráden áyu. The Susuhúnan's great grandchildren by his wife were allowed to assume the title of Ráden, and those by his concubines bore the title of Mas, the latter title continuing to [Vol I Pg 350]descend in the family to the offspring by a wife, those by a concubine taking the title of Bágus, which is considered as the lowest title appertaining to royalty. It would be tedious, in this place, to detail the minor titles common in the Súnda districts; they will be more particularly noticed in the statistical accounts of those districts.

When a Bopáti, or governor of a province, is appointed, he is furnished with a piágam or nawála, or letter patent, fixing his rank, and the extent of assignment of lands conferred upon him[99]; also with a báwat, or stick, similar to that of the páyung, or umbrella, measuring about eight feet long, with which it is his duty to measure the sáwah or rice fields.

When a chief of the rank of Mántri is appointed, he is furnished with a krís handle and with a mat, which is carried[Vol I Pg 351] behind him when he moves about, as well for use as to shew his rank.

The Javans include in the general term of Priáyi all persons above the rank of common people, a term which in its general application on Java is not very unlike that of gentlemen, or latterly of esquires, in England.

Among the forms of an eastern court, few are more particularly observed than those relating to ambassadors. The Javans have long ceased to send or receive ambassadors, but the following extracts from the Níti Prája, will shew what they conceive ought to be the qualifications and conduct of such an officer.

"A person entrusted with a message from his prince, must never abuse the trust placed in him, but always keep in sight that on such occasions he is the representative of the prince. And chiefly, if he is sent with a letter from the prince to a foreign country, in this case he must be less submissive than before his own prince. According to circumstances he must conduct himself with dissimulation, and before he enters any foreign country, by some secret means or other, occasion his own name, and that of the prince his master, to be spread over the country, at the same time that he obtains every possible information regarding the state of the country and people. On entering the country, he must assume a dignified appearance, and not speak or look about him more than is necessary. Such conduct will inspire the people with respect for him.

"The letter must be carried on the shoulder, and in his gait and speech he must conduct himself with propriety. In delivering the letter he must present himself with dignity, approach first, and then retire from the person to whom the letter is directed, speak with him at a distance, and not too familiarly.

"In all cases he must be careful not to go beyond his orders. His deportment must be unassuming yet dignified; and having received an answer for his prince, it is his duty to depart immediately, and to proceed with it direct to the prince, without even going to his own house first. If the letter is from some person lower in rank than his master, he must not immediately shew it, but conceal it for a time; but[Vol I Pg 352] if it is from a prince of equal rank, then must he carry the letter before him. When a letter is from a prince to one of his subjects, it must be carried high. Coming in the presence of his prince, he must carefully watch his eye, that he may deliver the letter on the first intimation given by the prince that he is ready to receive it.

"Whoever dictates a letter must be careful that a letter to a superior is not couched in the same terms as a letter to an inferior."

The three most remarkable events in the history of the individual are his birth, his marriage, and his death; to these accordingly have the greatest number of forms and ceremonies been attached.

As soon as it is observed that a Javan woman is in the third month of pregnancy, the event is communicated to all the nearest relations, to whom, at the same time, presents are made, consisting of yellow rice, sweet-scented oils, and wax candles. People of condition add some cloths, gold, silver, or brass cups, as also needles, either of those metals or of iron.

After seven months' pregnancy, a festival is given to the relations and friends, at which yellow rice forms invariably a part of the entertainment.

The pregnant woman must afterwards wash her body with the milk of a green cocoa-nut, on the shell of which has been previously carved two handsome figures, one of each sex, by which the parents intend to represent a standard of beauty for their expected offspring, and to engrave on the imagination of the mother, impressions which may extend to the lineaments of her infant. The nut must be opened by the husband. She is next to bathe in water, into which many sweet-scented flowers have been thrown, and to dress herself with a new cloth, making a present of the old one, together with money, raw rice, sírí, and cocoa-nuts, to the midwife, who assists in her lustrations. On the night of these ceremonies there must be a wáyang or scenic shadow performed, the object of which is to represent the life and adventures of a certain prince in the line of Déwa Batára Bráma.

If the woman is delivered of a son, the after-birth is immediately cut off with a very sharp knife of bámbu, wrapped in[Vol I Pg 353] a piece of paper on which is written the Javan alphabet, then laid in a new pot, and buried in the ground, at which place a lamp, covered with a basket of bámbu, and adorned with leaves of the pandánri, is put, and kept burning till the umbilical cord of the child falls off. When this takes place, the child is watched the whole night, by persons who read the history of the Déwas, or of famous princes, or amuse themselves with a wáyang.

As soon as the child is nine months old, the parents entertain their relatives and friends with a wáyang and festival.

Marriages are invariably contracted, not by the parties themselves, but by their parents or relations on their behalf. Such interference (which was common among the Greeks, without the same apology) is rendered necessary by the early age at which the matrimonial union is formed, and the incompetence of either of the intended couple to form a discreet and prudent choice. During the period that intervenes between the application of the friends of the boy to the parents or guardians of the girl for their concurrence in the match, and the obtainment of it, her condition is distinguished by the term tétákon (enquired for): when the consent of her parents is obtained, it is termed lámar (solicited). According to ancient custom, after matters proceeded thus far, a present of different valuables, termed paníng'sat is sent by the intended bridegroom to the bride, and her acceptance of it, implying that she concurs in the previous steps taken towards her settlement, renders the contract binding. The general prevalence of similar customs cannot fail to strike those who are acquainted with the nature of the sponsalia dona of the Romans, and the marriage ceremonies detailed in various passages of Scripture (Genesis, ch. xv. 2; xxiv. 5, &c.) A present of this kind is described as being sent by Pánji Kérta Páti to the Princess Chándra Kirána of Dahá[100], and we are told that it thence became a custom among the Javans. [Vol I Pg 354]

By any reluctance to complete his engagement, the bridegroom forfeits to his betrothed these earnest gifts (as they may be called); while, on the other hand, if the obstacles to the completion of the marriage originate with her, she is bound to return them. This present is also called patiba sámpir.

This custom, however, is now not so common as formerly: it is in a great measure discontinued or confounded with the next ceremony, termed sárahan (delivered up.) This consists in making various presents to the bride a short time before the day fixed for the marriage, after the delivery of which, the bride and bridegroom are confined to the house, until the ceremony takes place. The period varies; but with people of distinction there generally elapses an interval of forty days between the sárahan and the marriage.

On the day of the marriage (for which one that is considered fortunate[101] is previously selected) the father of the bride proceeds to the mosque, accompanied by the bridegroom, and informing the Panghúlu that the lad whom he presents has agreed to give the sri káwin (generally about two dollars), requests him to marry him to his daughter: on which the Panghúlu inquires of the bridegroom whether he has paid the amount, or is willing to do so? and upon the affirmative being declared, he sanctifies the marriage by words to the following effect:

"I join you, ráden mas (bridegroom), in wedlock with sátia (the bride), with a pledge of two reals weight in gold or silver[102]. You take (sátia) to be your wife for this world. [Vol I Pg 355]You are obliged to pay the pledge of your marriage (sri káwin), or to remain debtor for the same. You are responsible for your wife in all and every thing. If you should happen to be absent from her for the space of seven months on shore, or one year at sea, without giving her any subsistence, and are remiss in the performance of the duties which you owe to your sovereign, your marriage shall be dissolved, if your wife requires it, without any further form or process; and you will be, besides, subject to the punishment which the Mahomedan law dictates."

Should any circumstance occur to prevent the bridegroom from attending at the mosque on the day selected for the marriage, he follows the singular custom of sending his krís[103] to the ceremony, which is deemed sufficient by the Panghúlu; and afterwards he may appoint a proxy to represent him in the processions which follow. But this is seldom done when a man marries for the first time.

After the ceremony, the bridegroom pays the priest the marriage fees (saláwat), which ought, according to strict Mahomedans, not to exceed fifteen stivers. In most instances, the fees are raised to five times that sum in money, besides in many places a fowl, a hank of cotton-yarn, four kátis of rice, two cocoa-nuts, síri, and fruit.

On the wedding day, or sometimes the day following, the bridegroom dressed in his best clothes, mounted on horseback, accompanied by all his friends, and attended with music in the front and rear, proceeds at noon to the dwelling of the bride, who, on his approach, comes out to meet him at the door. In some districts, before their nearer approach, the bride and bridegroom throw simultaneously a bundle of síri at each other with considerable force, with the intention, it is said, of learning, from the dexterity with which the parties, respectively perform this singular feat, and the success that attends it, which of them will be able best to maintain their privileges, or gain an ascendancy during the continuance of their union. They prognosticate that, if the bundle of the[Vol I Pg 356] bridegroom touch the head of the bride, it is an infallible sign that he must rule; otherwise, the reverse.

The bride, after this, receives the bridegroom with a low obeisance, in testimony of her regard for him, extending similar marks of respect to his parents, who attend him. The married couple are then placed in a situation elevated above the rest of the company; and in token of their afterwards living together, and sharing the same sustenance, commence eating síri from the same síri-box.

In some districts, after leaving the mosque, the bridegroom and his father proceed to the house of the bride's parents, where they obtain her company in a procession through the village or town. On these occasions, the bride is carried on a litter, which is generally fashioned in the form of a garúda, and the bridegroom is mounted on horseback. All the relations and friends of the parties attend, carrying flowers and refreshments, together with the presents made to the bridegroom on his marriage. The procession moves on to the sound of the national music, and the occasional firing of cannon. A feast is given in the evening at the house of the bride's parents, at which the new married couple remain for the night. The term given to the bride and bridegroom is peng'ánten, and the marriage ceremony is called láki rábi.

On the next day in some districts, and on the fifth in others, the bridegroom (or peng'ánten lánang), and bride (peng'anten wádon), together with the whole train of relations and friends, visit in like manner the house of the bridegroom's father. This ceremony is called únduh mántu (accepting the daughter-in-law.) There they both again sit down to eat síri in some place of distinction; similar entertainments are repeated, and on the following day they return with the same pomp and form to the bride's dwelling, the ceremony being now completed.

With the exception of the delivery of the sri káwin, and the procession to the mosque, there is very little in these ceremonies conformable to the Mahomedan precepts.

Marriages are frequently contracted between children, and then termed gántung káwin (hanging-on marriages); but in this case the parties are kept separate, and the principal ceremonies are reserved till they attain the age of puberty.[Vol I Pg 357] Such contracts proceed from a laudable solicitude, on the part of parents, to provide a suitable and advantageous match for their children as early as possible; and to the same cause, as much, perhaps, as from the influence of climate and intemperance of manners, may be attributed the early age, at which matrimonial engagements are sometimes consummated.

Whatever may be the reasons for such early marriages, one of the most serious consequences is the facility with which they are dissolved. The multiplication of divorces is mentioned by the poets, the moralists, and the historians of the Roman empire, as one of the greatest causes and symptoms of the corruption and degeneracy of the period in which they lived; and certainly it had proceeded to great lengths, when Seneca could say that a woman computed her age, not by the annual succession of consuls, but of husbands[104]. The Javans, though a simple people, are in this respect too like the profligate and dissolute Romans.

In no part of the world are divorces more frequent than on Java; for besides the facilities afforded by the Mahomedan ordinances, a woman may at any time, when dissatisfied with her husband, demand a dissolution of the marriage contract, by paying him a sum established by custom, according to the rank of the parties: about twenty dollars for a person of the lower orders, and fifty dollars for those of the degree of Demáng or Mántri. The husband is not bound to accept it; but he is generally induced to do so, from a consideration, that the opinions and custom of the country require it; that his domestic happiness would be sacrificed in a contest with his reluctant companion; and that, by continuing his attachment, he would incur the shame of supporting one who treated him with aversion or contempt. This kind of divorce is termed mánchal. The husband may at any time divorce his wife, on making a settlement upon her sufficient to support her according to her condition in life. [Vol I Pg 358]

A widow may marry again at the expiration of three months and ten days after her husband's death.

When a person of rank or property dies, all his relations, male and female, meet at the house of the deceased, to testify their grief at the death and their respect for the memory of the departed. On that occasion, what is termed selámat money is distributed among all according to circumstances. The priests, who are to perform the service at the place of interment, receive a Spanish dollar, a piece of cloth, and a small mat each.

When the corpse is washed[105] and wrapped in a white cloth, it is carried out of the house on a bier covered with coloured chintz, on which garlands of flowers are hung as drapery. On this occasion, no means of costly pomp or impressive solemnity are neglected in the use of umbrellas (páyung), pikes, and other insignia of honour. All the relations and friends accompany the corpse to the grave, where the priest addresses a prayer to heaven and delivers an exhortation to the soul of the deceased; of which the substance commonly is, "that it should be conscious of being the work of the Creator of the universe, and after leaving its earthly dwelling, should speed its way to the source whence it issued." After this ceremony the corpse is interred, and the other priests continue their prayers and benedictions.

For seven successive nights, the same priests meet and pray at the house of the deceased, in the presence of his relations.

On the third, seventh, fourteenth, hundredth, and thousandth day or night after the death of a person, are observed particular festivals or solemn feasts in his commemoration, on[Vol I Pg 359] which occasions prayers are offered up for the happiness of his soul.

The body is interred after the usual manner of the Mahomedans, and a sambója tree is usually planted by its side. It is the universal practice of the relatives of the deceased to strew the graves several times in the year with the sweet-scented flowers of the sulási (the tulsi of Bengal), which are raised exclusively for this purpose. The burial-grounds are, in general, well chosen. In Kedú, where the most beautiful eminences have been selected for this purpose, and where the cambôja tree grows with the greatest luxuriance, they form very interesting objects in the landscape. The burial-places of the royal family and of the nobles of the country are usually called astána; they are surrounded by one or more high walls, and in general by stately waríng'en trees. The tombs are sometimes ornamented with sculptural devices and well-executed inscriptions, either in the Javan or Arabic character. They are kept clean and repaired by contributions from all parts of the country, under the superintendence of priests appointed to that particular duty, and are respected and guarded with religious veneration and zeal. The burial-place of the family now on the throne is at Megíri, in the province of Matárem, a few miles distant from the modern capital of Yúgya-kérta.

As the Javans are still devotedly attached to their ancient customs and ceremonies (few of which they have sacrificed to their new faith), I shall, in order to give a better idea of those still observed on the most remarkable occasions, present a short account of their state anterior to the introduction of Mahomedanism, as far as it can be ascertained. Though, as Mahomedans, they are averse to an open avowal of Pagan practices, they still preserve them more or less, according as the parties happen to be less or more under the influence of Arab priests.

When a woman was pregnant with her first child, at the expiration of four months a feast was given, at which yellow rice was served up. This entertainment was insignificant compared with that which was observed at the expiration of seven months, when the guests were presented with cloth, gold, silver, and steel, according to the means of the parties,[Vol I Pg 360] a piece of steel never failing to be one of the gifts, though it did not exceed the size of a needle. On this occasion a new bath was prepared in the evening, and watched during the night by the light of a lamp. At the side of the bath were laid two stalks of the dark coloured sugar cane, as an offering to Batára Kála, a painted cloth of the pattern túwuh wátu, and a young cocoa-nut (chénkir gáding), on which was engraved the resemblance of Pánji Kérta Páti and his wife Chándra Kirána of Dáha. In the morning the wife, after putting on the cloth, entered the bath, when the water from the young cocoa-nut was poured over her: during the day it was also incumbent on her to change her dress seven times. At the feast given on this occasion, fish, flesh, and fowl were invariably served up, and performances of the wáyang were exhibited.

Immediately on the birth of the child it was placed in a kind of basket made of bámbu (in form similar to the sieve or farming basket used for separating the chaff from the rice), the relations were assembled, and the remains of the umbilical cord were carefully cut off by means of a piece of sharpened bámbu. The part abstracted by this operation was deposited in the interior of a cocoa-nut, with a lump of turmerick placed under it. This cocoa-nut was ornamented on the outside with the twenty letters of the Javan alphabet. It was afterwards put into an earthen pot, and either buried under ground or thrown into the sea. A stone rolling-pin, dressed up like a baby, was placed in the basket in its stead. The female relations relieved each other through the day and night, in constantly supporting the child in their arms, till the navel was healed; the male relations all the while reading and reciting the history of Ráma, and other mythological and historical romances. As soon as the child was recovered, a grand feast was observed, with performances of the wáyang. Near the Dálang (director of the wáyang) was placed a bowl of pure water, into which fresh and sweet-scented flowers were cast, two black sugar-canes, a cloth of the túwuh wátu pattern, and a piece of white cloth, together with a bundle of pári and different kinds of eatables. On this occasion was exhibited the drama of Batára Dúrga and Sang Yang Jágat Náta (one of the designations of Gúru), at that passage where, during[Vol I Pg 361] the first two quarters of the moon, the former appeared in her amiable character of Uma[106], and where, in the city of Kúru Sétra Gándamáyu, she is delivered of a son, Batára Kála, having the form of a Rasáksa, "greedy to destroy and devour mankind." At that part of the performance when Sang Yang Jágat Náta takes the child on his lap, the Dálang did the same with the infant, repeating the invocation, "hong! ila-heng!" several times, and afterwards returning it into the hands of the father. On this occasion the wáyang was performed from seven o'clock in the evening till eight o'clock in the morning.

When the child was forty days old, its head was shaved, as directed by the parent, and the ceremony took place of giving it whatever name should be determined on by the father and the elders.

The Dúkun (midwife) who attended at the delivery, was entitled to receive for her trouble fourteen wang (about a rupee) if it was an ordinary birth, but in difficult cases her allowance was proportionately increased. Her attendance continued for the mornings and evening of forty days, at the expiration of which she was further entitled to receive a present of two pieces of cloth, one small and one large, four kátis of rice, two cocoa-nuts, and some síri. If required to attend beyond that period, she was paid accordingly. A Dúkun once employed, could not be exchanged on any account during the forty days. Women invariably acted as midwives; in other cases the medical art was practised exclusively by the men.

On the child's attaining its seventh month, a feast was given, when it was for the first time placed with its feet on the ground. At this entertainment rice cakes and sweetmeats of different colours and kinds were served up; and if it happened that the child had come into the world either as the sun was just rising or setting, a bundle of grass or rubbish was thrown into the basket, upon the top of which it was placed for a few minutes; after which one of the elders taking the child into his arms repeated the following words: "Hong! 'amilam mastúna [Vol I Pg 362]masidam! súming'gáha yéwang Kala'ing w'ru ajal amúla-níra ana-níra, Sang-yang Sába lan Batári Dúrga:" which after an invocation to the Deity would express, "Begone, oh God Kála, for I am not ignorant of thy nature, nor of thy being descended from Sang Yang Sába (Gúru) and Batára Dúrga[107]."

When the child attained the age of one year, another feast was given in commemoration of its nativity, and this universally among all classes of people; those who possessed the means kept the anniversary of their birth-day until their death.

Marriages were invariably contracted by the relations of the parties, by the paternal grandfather or grandmother if living, if not by the parents, and in case of their demise, by the natural guardian. Thus the brother, on the death of his parents, was permitted to dispose of the hand of his sister; and a deviation from this course was deprecated, as laying a foundation for quarrels and dissensions.

The consent of the relations being obtained, the bridegroom was bound to serve the parents of the bride for a year[108].

For forty days previous to the celebration of the marriage, the parties were not allowed to go to a distance from their homes, or to be employed in any severe labour.

At sunset on the wedding day, the bridegroom went in procession to visit the parents of the bride, after which she was [Vol I Pg 363]visited by his parents, who on these occasions gave the married couple their blessing, wishing them happiness as lasting as that enjoyed by the god Kámajáya with his consort Kámaráti.

One of the elders, or an Ajar, then repeated the following benediction:

"Hong! Gáng'ga-trigáng'ga? pináyung hana kala chákra kinásih hána pra-dewáta hipáta'ing sapudénda tulúsa amándan waríng'en." "Hail! holy water, thrice holy water! be it as a covering to shield you from harm: may the gods be merciful unto you: henceforth be nourishing as the pándan and waríng'en trees."

In these processions the bridegroom was obliged to prepare whatever ornaments, trinkets, or gifts, the mother of the bride had fixed her fancy upon, either at the birth of her daughter or on any other occasion, whether they consisted in the representation of a white elephant, a white tiger, or the like.

Five days after the consecration of the marriage, the parents of the bride, with whom she staid for that period, prepared a feast, at which was invariably served up among other things yellow rice. This entertainment was given to mark the period of the consummation: and after celebrating such an event, it was thought proper that the bride should be on a visit to the parents of her husband, remain under their roof, share their protection, and subsist at their expense for forty days without going abroad, at the expiration of which the new married couple were at liberty to go to their own house and pursue their own plans of life, becoming liable to contribute their share to the revenues and demands of the state.

The dresses worn on the nuptial day are thus described in the romance of Pánji.

"It being arranged that at the same time when Rádin Pánji was to receive the princess Déwi Chándra Kirána in marriage, Rétna Jinóli, his sister, should also be married to Gúnung Sári, son of the Prince of Dáha, the Prince of Dáha departed with a joyful heart, and gave the necessary directions to prepare the clothing and ornaments necessary for the two brides.

"Klána Jáyang Sári[109], accompanied by his sister, Rétna [Vol I Pg 364]Jinóli, and his numerous followers then entered the dálam of the prince. Klána Jáyang Sâri wore on the occasion a dódot of silk stamped with flowers of gold; his chelána were of the green chindi ornamented with golden lace round the bottom, and studded with kúnang-kúnang (golden ornaments made to represent the fire-fly); his sumping (ornaments at the back of the ear) were of golden flowers studded with diamonds. On the third finger of each hand he wore two diamond rings. His waistband or belt was a painted cloth, of the pattern gríngsing sang'u-páti; his krís of the kaprábon; his jámang, or head ornament, of gold set with diamonds, and scented with all kinds of sweet-scented oils. He appeared more beautiful than a deity descended from heaven, all looking upon him with delight and astonishment.

"His sister, Rétna Jinóli, was dressed nearly after the same fashion as the Princess Ang'réni.

"The dress of Déwi Ang'réni, when married, was as follows: her dódot was of a pink colour stamped with flowers; her kéndit (zone, of which the ends hang in front) was mandála gíri (yellow with red at each end); her jámang of golden flowers; her golden ear-rings of the bápang fashion, with a diamond in the centre; her hair according to the glung málang (a particular kind of knot), in which were placed beautiful and sweet-scented flowers; the fine hair round her forehead fashioned into small curls, with a sprinkling of powder; her eyebrows shaped like the ímba leaf. She wore golden armlets of the kálung pattern, ornamented with drops. Her kálung, or necklace, was of the méng'gah fashion. She wore two rings on the little and third finger of each hand, like unto a widadári."

There were three modes of disposing of the body of a deceased person: by fire, termed óbóng; by water, termed lárung; or by exposing it upright against a tree in a forest, where it was left to decay, termed sétra. When the body of a chief or person of consequence was burnt, it was usual to preserve the ashes, and to deposit them in a chándi or tomb.

It was the custom with all classes of people on Java to give an entertainment or feast on the decease of their friends and relations[110]. The first feast was given on the day of the [Vol I Pg 365]death, a second on the third day after, a third on the seventh day, a fourth on the fortieth day, a fifth on the hundredth day, and a sixth on the thousandth day after the decease of the party; after which an annual feast was observed, with more or less pomp, according to the respect in which the deceased was held, or the circumstances of the friends and relatives who celebrated his memory.

Besides these regular feasts and ceremonies, others prescribed by the wúku[111] were religiously observed. When the day ang'gâra fell on the páncha klíwon, it was considered a propitious time for preferring petitions to the gods. On the seventh day of the wúku galingán, sacred to Batára Kámajáya, they relaxed from all worldly pursuits, and offered praises and prayers to the gods collectively, it being supposed that they were assembled on that day. On the wúku gúmreg, sacred to Batára Sákra, every villager joined in a feast sacred to the earth (púja búmi); and this wúku was particularly observed by the people termed Kálang, who, during the seven days performed no work, but employed themselves in visiting the tombs of their deceased friends and relations, or in feasting with their living relatives. During the whole of that period they kept in their houses a lighted lamp, which they carefully preserved from extinction.

It may not be inappropriate to introduce in this place a short digression, containing an account of some of the customs peculiar to the people termed Kálang, and to the inhabitants of the Teng'ger mountains. The former are said to have been at one time numerous in various parts of Java, leading a wandering life, practising religious rites different from those of the great body of the people, and avoiding intercourse with them; but most of them are now reduced to subjection, are become stationary in their residence, and have embraced the Mahomedan faith. A few villages in which their particular customs are still preserved, occur in the provinces of Kendál, Káliwúng'u, and Démak, and although the tradition of the country regarding their descent from an unnatural connection between a princess of Mendang Kamúlan and a chief, who had been transformed into a dog, would[Vol I Pg 366] mark them out as a strange race, they have claims to be considered as the actual descendants of the aborigines of the Island[112]. They are represented as having a high veneration for a red dog, one of which is generally kept by each family, and which they will, on no account, allow to be struck or ill-used by any one. When a young man asks a girl in marriage, he must prove his descent from their peculiar stock. A present of rice and cotton-yarn, among other articles, must be offered by him, and carried to the intended bride, by an elderly man or woman of his own race, which offering must, in like manner, be received by an elderly relation of the girl: from this moment until the marriage is duly solemnized, nothing whatever is allowed to be taken out of either hut. On the marriage day, a buffalo's head, covered with white, red, or black rice-powder, is placed on the ground near the place intended for the bride to sleep upon, and the elderly people and relations being assembled, they dance by pairs, at the end of each dance presenting the bride to the bridegroom, and making such offerings as they think proper. The bridegroom is, on this occasion, accompanied to the house of the bride's father by as many friends as he can procure, and is bound to bring with him not less than a pair of buffaloes, a plough, harrow, hoe (pachul), and whip, with a bundle of pári. Those who are in good circumstances are further bound to add a cart (pedáti) to the above-mentioned stock. Prior to the equipment of the bride and bridegroom for the entertainment, it is essential that their bodies be rubbed over with the ashes of a red dog's bones. At sunset they both eat rice together off the same leaf. On the following night they jointly partake of the buffalo's head, which is previously laid by the side of the place where they sleep. On the third day they proceed to the house of the bridegroom's father, making as much show as possible, and go round the extent of the village confines, preceded by people carrying a bed, cooking utensils, a spinning-wheel and loom. On the death of a Kálang, the body is carried in procession to the dwellings of the relations, who join in the ceremony, and proceed with it to the place of interment: they then pass round the corpse three times before [Vol I Pg 367]it is lowered into the grave, the women crying aloud. A young cocoa-nut is then split in two, and the water from it poured into the grave, one-half of the shell being placed at the head, the other at the feet of the deceased. On their return home, the feasts and ceremonies are the same as those noticed in the practice of the other inhabitants of Java. Whenever the Kálangs move from one place to another, they are conveyed in carts, having two solid wheels with a revolving axle, and drawn by two or more pairs of buffaloes, according to the circumstances of the party. In these they place the materials of which their huts are constructed, their implements of husbandry, and other articles of necessity or value. In this manner, until of late years, since they have been subjected to the regulations of the Javan chiefs, they were continually moving from one part of the island to another. They have still their separate chiefs, and preserve many of their peculiar customs. Those who are Mahomedans employ in their religious functions priests who differ from others in being less scrupulous. They have always been treated with so much contempt by the Javans, that Kálang is an epithet of reproach and disgrace.

To the eastward of Surabáya, and on the range of hills connected with Gúnung Dásar, and lying partly in the district of Pasúruan and partly in that of Probolingo, known by the name of the Teng'ger mountains, we find the remnant of a people still following the Hindu worship, who merit attention, not only on account of their being, (if we except the Bédui of Bantam, who will be hereafter noticed) the sole depositaries of the rites and doctrines of that religion existing at this day on Java, but as exhibiting an interesting singularity and simplicity of character.

These people occupy about forty villages, scattered along this range of hills in the neighbourhood of what is termed the sandy sea. The site of their villages, as well as the construction of their houses, are peculiar, and differ entirely from what is elsewhere observed on Java. They are not shaded by trees, but built on spacious open terraces, rising one above the other, each house occupying a terrace, and being in length from thirty to seventy, and even eighty feet. The door is invariably in one corner, at the end of the building, opposite to[Vol I Pg 368] that in which the fire-place is built. The building appears to be constructed with the ordinary roof, having along the front an enclosed veranda or gallery, about eight feet broad. The fire-place is built of brick, and is so highly venerated, that it is considered a sacrilege for any stranger to touch it. Across the upper part of the building rafters are run, so as to form a kind of attic story, in which are deposited the most valuable property and implements of husbandry.

The head of the village takes the title of Péting'gi, as in the low-lands, and is generally assisted by a Kabáyan, both elected by the people from their own village. There are four priests, who are here termed Dúkuns (a term elsewhere only applied to doctors and midwives), having charge of the state records and the sacred books.

These Dúkuns, who are in general intelligent men, can give no account of the era when they were first established on these hills; they can produce no traditional history of their origin, whence they came, or who entrusted them with the sacred books, to the faith contained in which they still adhere. These, they concur in stating, were handed down to them by their fathers, to whose hereditary office of preserving them they have succeeded. The sole duty required of them is again to hand them down in safety to their children, and to perform the púja (praise-giving) according to the directions they contain. These records consist of three compositions, written on the lóntar-leaf, detailing the origin of the world, disclosing the attributes of the deity, and prescribing the forms of worship to be observed on different occasions.

When a woman is delivered of her first child, the Dúkun takes a leaf of the álang álang grass, and scraping the skin of the hands of the mother and her infant, as well as the ground, pronounces a short benediction.

When a marriage is agreed upon, the bride and bridegroom being brought before the Dúkun within the house, in the first place bow with respect towards the south, then to the fire-place, then to the earth, and lastly, on looking up to the upper story of the house, where the implements of husbandry are placed. The parties then submissively bowing to the Dúkun, he repeats a prayer, commencing with the words, "Hong! Kendága Bráma ang'-gas síwang'ga ána ma siwáha[Vol I Pg 369] sangyang g'ni sira kang[113]", &c.; while the bride washes the feet of the bridegroom. At the conclusion of this ceremony, the friends and family of the parties make presents to each of kríses, buffaloes, implements of husbandry, &c.; in return for which the bride and bridegroom respectfully present them with betel-leaf.

At the marriage feast which ensues, the Dúkun repeats two púja. The marriage is not, however, consummated till the fifth day after the above ceremony. This interval between the solemnities and the consummation of marriage is termed by them úndang mántu, and is in some cases still observed by the Javans in other parts of the island, under the name únduh mántu.

At the interment of an inhabitant of Teng'ger, the corpse is lowered into the grave with the head placed towards the south (contrary to the direction observed by the Mahomedans), and is guarded from the immediate contact of the earth by a covering of bámbus and planks. When the grave is closed, two posts are planted over the body; one erected perpendicularly on the breast, the other on the lower part of the belly; and between them is placed a hollowed bámbu in an inverted position, into which, during seven successive days, they daily pour a vessel of pure water, laying beside the bámbu two dishes, also daily replenished with eatables. At the expiration of the seventh day, the feast of the dead is announced, and the relations and friends of the deceased assemble to be present at the ceremony, and to partake of entertainments conducted in the following manner.

A figure of about half a cubit high, representing the human form, made of leaves and ornamented with variegated flowers, is prepared and placed in a conspicuous situation, supported round the body by the clothes of the deceased. The Dúkun then places in front of the garland an incense-pot with burning ashes, together with a vessel containing water, and repeats the two púja to fire and water; the former commencing with "Hong! Kendága Bráma gangsi wang'ga ya nama síwáha," [Vol I Pg 370]&c.; the latter with "Hong! hong gang'ga máha tirta ráta mejil sáking háti," &c.; burning dúpa or incense at stated periods during the former, and occasionally sprinkling the water over the feast during the repetition of the latter.

The clothes of the deceased are then divided among the relatives and friends; the garland is burned; another púja, commencing with "Hong! áwigna mastúna ma sidam, hong! aráning," &c. is repeated, while the remains of the sacred water are sprinkled over the feast. The parties now sit down to the enjoyment of it, invoking a blessing from the Almighty on themselves, their houses, and their lands. No more solemnities are observed till the expiration of a thousand days, when, if the memory of the deceased is beloved and cherished, the ceremony and feast are repeated; if otherwise, no further notice is taken of him: and having thus obtained what the Romans would call his justa, he is allowed to be forgotten.

Being questioned regarding the tenets of their religion, they replied that they believed in a déwa, who was all-powerful; that the name by which the déwa was designated was Búmi Trúka Sáng'yáng Dewáta Bâtur, and that the particulars of their worship were contained in a book called Pángláwu, which they presented to me.

On being questioned regarding the ádat against adultery, theft, and other crimes, their reply was unanimous and ready, that crimes of this kind were unknown to them, and that consequently no punishment was fixed, either by law or custom; that if a man did wrong, the head of the village chid him for it, the reproach of which was always sufficient punishment for a man of Teng'ger. This account of their moral character is fully confirmed by the Regents of the districts under whose authority they are placed, and also by the Residents. They, in fact, seem to be almost without crime, and are universally peaceable, orderly, honest, industrious, and happy. They are unacquainted with the vice of gambling and the use of opium.

The aggregate population is about twelve hundred souls; and they occupy, without exception, the most beautifully rich and romantic spots on Java; a region, in which the thermometer is frequently as low as forty-two. The summits and slopes of the hills are covered with Alpine firs, and[Vol I Pg 371] plants common to an European climate flourish in luxuriance.

Their language does not differ much from the Javan of the present day, though more gutturally pronounced. Upon a comparison of about a hundred words with the vernacular Javan, two only were found to differ. They do not marry or intermix with the people of the low-lands, priding themselves on their independence and purity in this respect[114]. [Vol I Pg 372]

The Bédui are in numbers inconsiderable, and found in the interior of Bantam: they are the descendants of those who escaped into the woods after the fall of the western capital of Pajajáran[115] in the fifteenth century, and would not change their religion, remaining firmly attached to that of Prábu Séda. There is a tomb of one of them which they hold sacred, and will not allow any one but themselves to approach even to this day. When the Bédui subsequently submitted to the Sultan of Bantam, and shewed no disposition to oppose the Mahomedans, they were not compelled to become converts; but it was agreed, at the same time they admitted, that the number of the Rowá-ian (the name given to their little societies) should be limited to three or four.

The Bédui attend to all orders they receive through the medium of the village chief. They subsist by cultivating rice: all they raise beyond what is required for their own consumption they sell to the hill people, who are in the habit of going to them for it once a year, on account of the superior quality of the rice, or rather superior estimation in which it is held. It is an established rule among them to allot but one day for each of the different successive operations of husbandry: one day for cutting down the trees and underwood, one day for clearing what has been so cut down, one day for sowing the grain, one for weeding the field, and one for reaping, one for binding up the grain and one for carrying it home. If any part of what has been reaped cannot be carried home in one day, it is left and neglected. The Gírang póhon [Vol I Pg 373](which is the title of the chief) is the first who commences the work of the field, and many of the hill people follow him in regard to the period for sowing their pári.

Their dress consists of white and black cloths. They wear rings and silver scabbards to their krises, but gold and swasa they dislike. Spanish dollars are the only coin they prize.

The festivals or feasts of the Javans are of three kinds: the grébeg, or religious festivals; the bancháki or nealamáti, so called from the Arabic salámat (a blessing), held on the celebration of marriages, births, and circumcision; and the sedékah, appointed in honour of the dead, and for the celebration of their memory.

The principal and most important of these are the national entertainments corresponding with the Mahomedan festivals of múlut, pása, and bésar; the two first answering to the half-yearly festivals of the Arabs of moháram and ramázan, and the latter with that of kháji, in the month of dulkhija. On these occasions the sovereign appears in public, and the álun álun is crowded with an assemblage of people from all quarters, every one being dressed in his most splendid attire, and accompanied by all his armed followers. The same is observed in the more distant provinces of the country, where the petty chiefs, in like manner, assemble in the álun álun of the Regent. Presents of fruit, poultry, and other kinds of provisions, are brought from every part of the country: offerings are made by the chiefs to the mosques, and a public festival is given by the chief authorities. The men only partake of these public feasts; but the female part of the family of the chiefs assemble together, and enjoy corresponding entertainments within their chambers. The festival seldom lasts above one day.

Of the bancháki and nealamáti it may be only necessary to observe, that those given during the ceremonies consequent upon the birth of the first child are most important.

The sedékah are solemnities observed on the occasion of the funeral, or in honour of the memory of a departed relative, on the seventh, fortieth, one hundredth, or thousandth day after his decease: they are distinguished from the feasts of grébeg and nealamáti by the absence of music. Those[Vol I Pg 374] who intend to observe them, assemble on the preceding evening in order to read some portion of the Koran. Before the guests partake of the meal, the principal person present generally addresses the Almighty in a prayer, which alludes to the occasion, and expresses gratitude for the repast which his bounty has provided. Thankfulness to the earthly donor of the entertainment often mingles itself with gratitude to heaven, and the praises of both are celebrated at the same time. This grace before meals is called dúng'a.

Reserving for a subsequent chapter a sketch of the music and poetry of the Javans, I shall in this place endeavour to give some account of their national drama and dances, as constituting, next to music and poetry, the most conspicuous and refined of their amusements.

The dramatic entertainments are of two kinds; the tópeng, wherein the characters are represented by men, who except when performing before the Sovereign wear masks; and the wáyang, in which they are represented by shadows.

The subject of the tópeng is invariably taken from the adventures of Pánji, the favourite hero of Javan story. In the performances before the Sovereign, where masks are not used, the several characters themselves rehearse their parts; but, in general, the Dálang, or manager of the entertainment, recites the speeches, while the performers have only to "suit the action to the word." The music of the gámelan accompanies the piece, and varies in expression, according to the nature of the action or the kind of emotion to be excited. The actors are splendidly dressed after the ancient costume, and perform their parts with grace, elegance, and precision; but the whole performance has more the character of a ballet than that of a regular dramatic exhibition, either of the tragic or coming kind, in which human passions, human follies or sufferings, are represented in such appropriate language and just action, as to seem only a reflection of nature. Love and war are the constant themes, and the combats of contending chiefs generally close the scene. Those who perform before the sovereign and repeat their parts, previously study their characters from written compositions expressly prepared for the purpose; but in other cases, the Dálang, well versed in the principal incidents, descriptions, and speeches of the[Vol I Pg 375] history, furnishes the dialogue between the actors extempore. A party of tôpeng generally consists of ten persons, besides the Dálang, of whom four play the gámelan and six perform the characters. They are engaged to play by the night, for about ten rupees (twenty-five shillings) and a supper.

Buffoonery is sometimes introduced, to increase the zest of these entertainments with the multitude, but it does not interfere with the regular course of the performance, the actors being only disturbed occasionally by the actions of an extraneous character, who whether representing a dog, a monkey, or an idiot, seldom fails to excite considerable mirth, and not unfrequently in the most interesting part of the performance.

There is also a kind of pantomime, or rather an assemblage of wild beasts called Barúng'an; in this entertainment men dressed up to represent various animals are made to appear in procession and combats. This is generally performed for the amusement of children, and is only accompanied by the beat of the góng and drum.

In the wáyangs, or scenic shadows, the subject of the performances is taken from the earliest period of history and fable, down to the destruction of the Hindu empire of Majapáhit. These are distinguished according to the periods of the history which they represent, by the terms wáyang púrwa, wáyang gédog, and wáyang klítik.

The different characters in the history are in these wáyangs represented by figures, about eighteen inches or two feet high, stamped or cut out of pieces of thick leather, generally of buffalo's hide, which are painted and gilt with great care and at considerable expense, so as to form some supposed resemblance of the character to the individual intended to be personified. The whole figure is, however, strangely distorted and grotesque, the nose in particular being unnaturally prominent. There is a tradition, that the figures were first so distorted by the Susúnan Mória, one of the early Mahomedan teachers, in order to render the preservation of the ancient amusements of the country compatible with a due obedience to the Mahomedan precept, which forbids any exhibition or dramatic representation of the human form.[Vol I Pg 376] "By these means," said the Susúnan with much ingenuity, "while the world in general will not imagine the figures to be human, the Javans, from recollecting their history, will yet be able to comprehend the characters they are intended to represent, and enjoy in secret their national amusements. Or if, in time, they should forget the originals, and confound them with the distorted resemblance, they will be impressed with the idea, that it was only after conversion to the faith of the Prophet that their ancestors assumed the present shape of man." But the comparatively recent alteration in the figures is rendered doubtful from the circumstance of similar figures being found on many of the more ancient coins, thus affording ground for an opinion, that they existed nearly in their present form before the introduction of Mahomedanism. Their antiquity is further confirmed, by the existence of similar figures in the Hindu island of Báli, where, though not so much distorted, they are still far from natural. These figures are fastened upon a horn spike, and have a piece of thin horn hanging from each hand, by means of which the arms, which are jointed at the elbow and shoulder, can be moved at the discretion of the manager. A white cloth or curtain is then drawn tight over an oblong frame of ten or twelve feet long and five feet high, and being placed in front of the spectators, is rendered transparent by means of a hanging lamp behind it. The several figures are made in turn to appear and act their parts. Previous to the commencement of this performance, the Dálang, who is seated behind the curtain, arranges the different characters on each side of the curtain, by sticking them into a long plantain stem which is laid along the bottom. The gámelan then commences, and as the several characters present themselves, extracts of the history are repeated, and the dialogue is carried on, generally at the discretion and by the invention of the Dálang. Without this personage nothing can be done; for he not only puts the puppets in motion, but repeats their parts, interspersing them with detached verses from the romance illustrative of the story, and descriptive of the qualities of the different heroes. He is the soul which directs and animates the whole order and machinery of the piece,[Vol I Pg 377] regulating the time of the music with a small hammer which he holds in his hand, while he recites the speeches suited to the occasion.

In the wáyang purwa, or wáyang of the most ancient times, the subject is taken from the earliest periods of fabulous history, down to the reign of Parikésit inclusive. This is the age of interesting story and marvellous fiction, the reign of the gods, demigods, and heroes of the Hindu and Javan mythology, who in these representations are exhibited with the attributes, and in the situations with which their names are connected in the most popular poems and romances. The fables thus turned to account, are generally taken from the poem of Ráma, the poem of Mintarága containing the penance of Arjúna on the mountain Indra, and the celebrated epic of the Bráta Yúdha, or the war of the Pandáwa. These poems are all written in what are termed the high measures, and are accompanied in their recital by the gámelan saléndro. In the performance of this wáyang, the Dálang first recites a few verses in the Káwi language, chaunting afterwards an interpretation of the passage in Javan, for the use of the unlearned. As the several characters are brought forward, he himself supplies the minor dialogue between the dramatis personæ, keeping in general close to the original story, when there is any person present who could detect his deviations: if he is performing before the ignorant, however, he frequently digresses from the main story, in any way which he thinks may most readily amuse his audience; and on this account, the practice of rendering the Káwi into Javan, which furnishes an opportunity for such deviations, is termed charángan, literally a branch from a tree. In the course of the entertainment, all the varieties of ancient weapons named in these poems are represented behind the transparent curtain. The interest excited by such spectacles, connected with national recollections, is almost inconceivable. The eager multitude will sit listening with rapturous delight and profound attention for whole nights to these rude dramas. By means of them, the lower class have an opportunity of picking up a few Káwi terms, and of becoming acquainted with the ancient legends of the country. [Vol I Pg 378]

The subject of the wáyang gédog is taken from the period of history subsequent to Parikésit, commencing with the reign of Gandra-yána and including the adventures and reign of the celebrated Pánji, and that of his successor Laléan, until he established himself at Pajajáran. These poems being composed in a different measure, the gámelan pélog is employed as the accompaniment; and although the history of the early part of this period is written in the Káwi, the Dálang always employs the Javan translation. The adventures of Pánji compose the most popular portion of it. The characters are numerous, and the figures in general more highly coloured and better finished than those of the wáyang púrwa. In bringing any hero on the stage, the Dálang recites those verses of the history which relate to him, and introduces such dialogue as may give a dramatic effect to the exhibition, together with such explanations as may make it intelligible to common capacities.

In the wáyang klítik the figures exhibited are more properly puppets than shadows: they are of wood, about ten inches high, and made to perform their parts without the intervention of a curtain. In these are represented that portion of the history commencing with the establishment of the western empire of Pajajáran and ending with the destruction of the eastern empire of Majapáhit. Of this, by far the most favourite scenes are found in the popular story of the adventures between the Ménak Jíng'ga, a chief of Balambáng'an, and Dámar Wúlan (the light of the moon), on account of the Princess of Majapáhit.

The compositions which thus serve as the basis of these popular and interesting entertainments, comprise the legends from which the account of the earlier periods of Javan story, detailed in another part of this work, is principally derived. The most popular and interesting events and adventures are preserved and related in various compositions, whilst more recent actions and events, which possessed less interest, have fallen into oblivion. The constant exhibition of these plays in every part of the country, but more particularly in the eastern districts, has served to keep alive the recollections of "days long since gone by," and to disseminate a general[Vol I Pg 379] knowledge of native legendary history among many, with whom, from the ignorance of letters, the stories might otherwise have been irretrievably lost or more grossly distorted.

The Dálangs, who manage and conduct these amusements, are treated with considerable respect. In many points, their office strongly resembles that of the ancient bards. The ceremony of giving his blessing to the first born infant, in the repetition of some particular passages of the ancient legends, gives this part of his office a very peculiar interest. The usual payment to the Dálang who owns a set of wáyangs, and brings his own gámelan players, is from two to three dollars for the night; but the nobles and chiefs generally have several sets of wáyangs of their own, and keep a Dálang in their service.

Another representation of this nature is that of the adventures of Ménak Jing'ga and Dámar Wúlan, which are exhibited, but not very commonly, by means of drawings on folded leaves of strong paper, while the Dálang repeats the story and furnishes dialogue to the characters. This is termed wáyang béber. An entertainment of a similar description, though not accompanied by the exhibition of figures, is termed trébang: it was invented in the time of the kingdom of Démak. The story is taken from the Arabic account of Begínda Ambia, which being rendered into Javan, is repeated by the Dálang, who with a small drum before him, and accompanied by the music of the gámelun, gives spirit to the different parts, by beating time with his hand, and varying the strength of the sound or quickness of time according to the subject. These two latter are of comparatively modern invention, and not much esteemed.

The dance with the Javans, as with Asiatics in general, consists in graceful attitudes of the body, and in the slow movement of the arms and legs, particularly of the former, even to the distinct motion of the hand and fingers.

Of the dancing girls who exhibit at public entertainments, the first in rank and the most skilful in their profession are the concubines of the sovereign and of the hereditary prince. They alone are allowed to perform the s'rímpi, a figure dance by four persons, distinguished by an unusual degree of grace and decorum.

The dancers are decorated according to the ancient cos[Vol I Pg 380]tume of the country, and nearly in the same manner as a modern bride. The tápih, or petticoat, is of silk of different colours, often green stamped with golden flowers, and hanging in the most graceful manner, a part of it falling between the feet and serving as a short train, which in the course of the dance is frequently thrown aside by a quicker motion of the foot than ordinary. The údat, or waistband, is of the chíndi pattern; and on these occasions is worn the mer, or cestus, composed of plates of gold highly ornamented with diamonds at the clasp in front. The body is enclosed in a kind of corset (pemákak) passing above the bosom and under the arms, and confining the waist in the narrowest possible limits. The ends of the sémbong, or sash, fall gracefully on each side on the back of the hip and reach the ground. Sometimes, indeed, this graceful appendage to the dress is brought from the back to a point between the breasts, whence being fastened in a rosette, the ends flow towards the ground in front of the person, the usual bending attitude during the dance causing them to hang distinct from the rest of the apparel. The triple necklace, richly chased armlets, bracelets, and tiara, are of gold, studded with precious stones; and the hair is gracefully ornamented with buds of white and sweet-scented flowers. On their fingers they generally display brilliant rings, and the face, neck, shoulders, and arms, which remain uncovered, are tinged by a delicate shade of yellow powder. The music is slow and solemn, and the performance is on the gámelan saléndro; verses from the romances of Pánji, descriptive of the attire and beauty of the wives and concubines of that hero, being chaunted as a prelude to the entertainment and during its continuance. On occasions when the s'rímpi are exhibited before Europeans at the Residency house, they are brought with great care, and under a guard, from the kráton, in a large enclosed palanquin, or rather box, borne on men's shoulders. When they reach the door of the residency, they glide behind the prince into the chamber appropriated for his accommodation, and when they come forth for the dance, seat themselves on the ground in front of him. On his intimating that they should commence, they slowly, and to the sound of music, close their hands, and raising them to the forehead, bend in reverential awe,[Vol I Pg 381] and gradually extending their arms and swaying in unison with each other from side to side, assume an erect posture. The dancers seldom exceed the age of fourteen or fifteen. The birth of a child generally puts an end to their performances, and removes them from the profession. They are the choicest beauties of the country, selected for the royal bed. Throughout the whole performance their eyes are directed modestly to the ground, and their body and limbs are by slow movements thrown into every graceful attitude that the most flexible form is capable of exhibiting. In the figure of the dance they occasionally approach and recede from each other, and sometimes cross to the opposite side. It frequently happens, that the delicate corset by falling too low, exposes more of the body than is considered correct. On such occasions, one of the trusty matrons always in attendance raises it again, without interrupting the dance or embarrassing the movements of the dancer. At the conclusion of the dance they gradually place themselves on the ground, in the same manner as before its commencement, and after closing their hands, and raising them to the forehead in token of respect, remain seated with a downcast look and captivating modesty, until the signal is given to the matrons to relieve them by others, when they again glide into the same apartment.

The bedáya, who perform a figure dance of eight persons, are in some respect to the nobles what the s'rímpi are to the sovereign: but, at present, few of the nobles can afford to maintain a sufficient number of youthful concubines to compose this dance; it is frequently therefore performed by boys trained for the purpose. They are dressed nearly in the same manner as the s'rímpi, though not so expensively. The action moves to the same music and song.

But the common dancing girls of the country, who appear to approach more nearly to the usual dancing girls of Western India, are called róng'geng, and are generally of easy virtue. They make a profession of their art, and hire themselves to perform on particular occasions, for the amusement of the chiefs and of the public. Though to be found in every principal town, their performance is most highly esteemed in the western, and particularly among the rude mountaineers of the Súnda districts, where the superior graces of the bedáya are[Vol I Pg 382] unknown. Here they are constantly engaged on every occasion of festivity, and the regents frequently keep the most accomplished in their service for years. Their conduct is generally so incorrect, as to render the title of róng'geng and prostitute synonymous; but it not unfrequently happens, that after amassing considerable wealth in the profession, they obtain, on account of their fortune, the hand of some petty chief. In this case, they generally, after a few years retirement and domestic quiet, avail themselves of the facility of a divorce, and repudiating their husbands, return to their former habits. The róng'gengs accompany the dance with singing, the words being generally extempore to the music of the gámelan saléndro and pélog. Their dress is coarse, but in other respects resembles that of the more select dancers. They do not, however, wear any tiara on the head, nor armlets; bracelets are only worn occasionally. Their hair is dressed after a peculiar fashion, abundantly oiled, and ornamented with flowers of various kinds. They sometimes exhibit singly and sometimes in groups, following and approaching each other, or receding at pleasure. They perform at any time of the day, but chiefly in the evening, and endeavour to exhibit their best attitudes round a lamp which hangs suspended. Generally speaking, both their action and their song are rude and awkward, and on that account often disgusting to Europeans, although there are some among them whose performance does not deserve to be so considered. Their action is usually distorted, their greatest excellence seeming to consist in bending the arms and hands back in an unnatural manner, and giving one or two of the fingers a tremulous motion. The voice, though sometimes harmonious, is often loud, dissonant, and harsh to an European ear. They generally have a handkerchief thrown over the shoulder, and usually a fan in their hand, which occasionally serves to conceal one half of the face, not so much out of any affectation of bashfulness, as, in the manner of a huntsman, to assist the louder tones of the voice. At other times it is employed to strike against the back of the arm, so as to give a greater effect to different parts of the action and music. Generally speaking, the róng'gengs do not descend to the performance of those disgusting and disgraceful postures and motions, which are[Vol I Pg 383] stated to be so frequent on the continent of India, but they are not free from the charge of impropriety in this respect. Their song, though little esteemed and less understood by Europeans, sometimes possesses much humour and drollery; and in adapting their motions to the language, they frequently excite loud bursts of laughter, and obtain great applause from the native audience.

The nobles of the highest rank are accustomed, on particular occasions of festivity, to join in the dance with a róng'geng. To dance gracefully, is an accomplishment expected in every Javan of rank; and in the western districts, particularly, all the chiefs are, on days of festivity, accustomed to join in the exercise, one after the other, commencing with the youngest. On these occasions, the nobles of the highest class vie with each other in pointing the toe with grace, in exhibiting elegance of movement, in displaying adroitness by intricate evolutions, or beauty of person by an ingenious management of attitude. So devoted are they to this exercise, that although their wives and daughters never dance, the happiness of a festive occasion is considered incomplete, where an opportunity is not afforded to the chiefs themselves of introducing their favourite amusement. In the Súnda districts, there are some individuals distinguished as regular posture or dancing-masters.

It is not unusual for the performances of the róng'gengs to be varied by the action of a fool or buffoon. Mimicry is a favourite amusement, and beside imitating, in a ludicrous manner, the actions of the róng'gengs, there are not wanting performers of this description, who occasionally direct their wit against all classes of society, and evince a considerable degree of low humour.

These are the only public exhibitions of the female sex; but the posture dances by the men are numerous, and contribute to the state of the sovereigns and chiefs. Among these, the Gámbuh, with a shield on one arm, gracefully raises the dódot (or petticoat) with the other hand; the Niutra, having a bow and arrow in the hand, goes through the motion of its exercise, stringing and unstringing it to the sound of the gámelan. Both throw their limbs and body into the most graceful postures, as they slowly move in procession before[Vol I Pg 384] the chiefs, or are arranged on the side of the passage through which he is to pass. Both the Gámbuh and Niutra are naked from the waist upwards, while the dódot hangs to the ground on one side in the manner of full dress, shewing the knee on the other. Their bodies are generally covered with yellow powder, and from round their ears hang suspended in front, strings of the young meláti flowers.

The Gámbuh are occasionally employed to exhibit before the prince, when with a krís in their right hand and a shield on their left arm, they go through all their evolutions to the sound of music.

But the chief description of male performers are the Béksa kémbang or Béksa rong'geng, who have flowers, shields, or serpents in their hands, and in dancing seem to resemble the South Sea Islanders, though more elegant in their attire, and perhaps more graceful in their motions. Neither have any covering above the waist; but the yellow, and sometimes green powder which is upon the body, gives it an appearance very like dress. The term Béksa láwung is applied to the petty chiefs, who on public days dismount from their horses, and go through the exercise of the spear for the amusement of the prince. Another description of performers are termed Unchelang; their art consists in throwing the spear into the air, and catching it again as it falls with great dexterity. Similar exhibitions of these persons combating with sticks, called újung, were formerly common.

In the domestic circle, the women and elderly people are partial to a peculiar amusement termed sintren, which paints very forcibly the notions they possess of the power of music. A boy or girl, properly attired and skilled in the dance, is placed under a reversed basket which is carefully covered with cloth. Round it music and song are struck up by all present; those who do not play on any instrument, or who do not sing, joining in beating time by clapping their hands. When the excitement has continued sufficiently long to be supposed to have effected the charm, the basket is seen to move, and the boy or girl rising from under it, apparently unconscious of what is doing, moves and dances gracefully but wildly, in unison with the music. At length tired out, the dancer falls and seems to sink into sleep, and when[Vol I Pg 385] awakened pretends not to recollect any thing that has passed. The perfection of this amusement consists in the performer's giving himself up so completely to the power of music as to be charmed by it, and perfectly unconscious of every other sense.

For the amusement, principally however of children, a cocoa-nut shell is carved with the features of a man, and affixed to the top of a reversed basket, covered with cloth. This basket, after being for some time exposed by the side of a river, or under a large tree, in order, as is supposed, that some supernatural spirit may enter into it, is brought again into the house, and rocked according to the swaying motion of the Javan dance by two children, to the music of the gámelan. An amusement of this kind is termed bríndung.

Tilts and tournaments (wátang) form a favourite and constant diversion with the Javans: they are exhibited principally in the álun álun, or great square in front of the kráton, or palace, and compose an essential part of the ceremony of the pásar senén, or the day in which the sovereign and regents appear in public. This, with the sovereign, is Saturday; with the chiefs, Monday. On the afternoon of this day, all the princes, nobles, and public officers assemble, and arranging themselves in the places assigned to their respective ranks, await the coming out of the sovereign, who, as soon as he descends from the setíngel, mounts a horse richly caparisoned, and rides round the waríngen trees, the several chiefs joining in his suite as he passes the circle. Several of the chiefs, and particularly their sons and youthful relations, then join in pairs, tilting and striking their long and blunted spears as they pass the sovereign. The same thing is observed on the afternoon of every Monday, at the capitals of the different provinces throughout the island, where the native government and institutions are at all preserved. The assemblage of people on these occasions is frequently very great. The trappings and housings of the horses are extremely rich, and the riders perform their feats with some dexterity, being seldom unhorsed[116]. At the conclusion of the exhibition on horseback, [Vol I Pg 386]it is not unusual for the youths and petty chiefs who have contended in the saddle to dismount and practice the attack and defence of the spear on foot: they are then termed Béksa láwung. Tilts are likewise exhibited in the álun álun on the days of public festival, when the chiefs appear.

The Javans have long advanced beyond that state in which the chace was considered as connected with their subsistence.

The stag is hunted chiefly in the eastern and western extremities of the island, by the descendants of the Báli and Súnda races: the Javans inhabiting the central districts are not practised in the diversion, nor much acquainted with it. They uniformly pursue the animal on horseback. In the eastern districts he is killed with a spear: in the western he is cut down with a kléwang or cutlass; here the chace is conducted with more regularity and method, and many of the inhabitants, particularly the chiefs, are passionately addicted to it, employing the best and swiftest horses and dogs they can procure for the purpose.

A favourite and national spectacle is the combat between the buffalo and the tiger. A large cage of bámbu or wood is erected, the ends of which are fixed into the ground, in which the buffalo is first and the tiger afterwards admitted, through openings reserved for the purpose. It seldom fails that the buffalo is triumphant, and one buffalo has been known to destroy several full grown tigers in succession. In these combats the buffalo is stimulated by the constant application of [Vol I Pg 387]boiling water, which is poured over him from the upper part of the cage, and of nettles, which are fastened to the end of a stick, and applied by persons seated in the same quarter. The tiger sometimes springs upon the buffalo at once; he very generally, however, avoids the combat, until goaded by sticks and roused by the application of burning straw, when he moves round the cage, and being gored by the buffalo, seizes him by the neck, head, or leg. The buffalo is often dreadfully torn, and seldom survives the combat many days. In these entertainments the Javans are accustomed to compare the buffalo to the Javan and the tiger to the European, and it may be readily imagined with what eagerness they look to the success of the former. The combat generally lasts from twenty minutes to half an hour, when, if neither of them is destroyed, the animals are changed, and the tiger, if he survives, is removed to be destroyed in the manner called rámpog, which is as follows.

On receiving information of the retreat of a tiger the male inhabitants are sometimes called out in a body, by the order of a chief, each man being obliged to be provided with a spear, the common weapon of the country. The place where the animal is concealed is surrounded: a double or triple range being formed, according to the number of hunters, and he is roused by shouts, by the beating of gongs, or by fire. The place where he is expected to attempt his escape is carefully guarded, and he is generally speared on the spot.

In many districts, where the population is not deficient, the appearance of a single tiger rouses the neighbourhood, and he is infallibly destroyed by the method described[117].

When the rámpog is resorted to by way of amusement at the capital of the sovereign, a hollow square of spearmen, four deep, is formed on the álun álun, in the centre of which are placed the tigers in small separate cages, or rather traps, with a sliding door, in the manner of a rat-trap. Two or three men, accustomed to the practice, at the command of the sovereign,[Vol I Pg 388] proceed into the centre of the square, and placing plaited leaves in front of the cage, to supply the place of the wooden door, set it on fire, and drawing the wooden door up, throwing it on one side, themselves retreating from the spot at a slow pace, to the sound of music. As soon as the tiger feels the fire he starts, and in endeavouring to make his way through the spearmen is generally received upon their weapons. Instances, however, have occurred, in which the animal has made good his retreat, but he was soon afterwards killed; sometimes the tiger, particularly if he has been opposed to the buffalo, will not move from the centre of the square; in which case the sovereign generally directs six or eight of his choice men (gándek) to advance towards him with spears. This they do with surprizing coolness and intrepidity, never failing to pierce the animal, by fixing their spears into him at once. The smaller species of the tiger is generally selected for this amusement.

The exposure of criminals in combat with tigers was formerly practised, and it is said to have been common on the first establishment of the Matárem empire; but of late years, such a method of deriving amusement from the infliction of judicial punishment had almost become obsolete, and is now, as well as mutilation and torture, altogether abolished by treaty. Several instances are said to have occurred during the reign of the sultan of Yúgya-kérta who was deposed by the British Government in 1812. In an exhibition of this kind, which took place about ten years ago, two criminals were exposed for having set fire to a dwelling. They were provided each with a krís, which was long, but broken off or blunted at the point, and the tiger was let in upon them separately in a large cage constructed for the purpose. The first was soon destroyed, but the second, after a combat of nearly two hours, succeeded in killing the tiger, by repeated cuts about the head and under the ears and eyes. On this a smaller tiger, or rather leopard, was let in upon him, and the criminal being equally successful in this combat was released. His success, as in the judicial ordeals of the dark ages, was taken for a manifestation by heaven of his innocence, and not only secured his pardon, but procured for him the rank of a Mántri, as a recompense for the danger to which he was exposed in its[Vol I Pg 389] vindication. Although this barbarous practice appears so recently to have been resorted to, it is not to be inferred that, as a spectacle, it is held in any estimation by the Javans in general. It seems to have been of comparatively late introduction, and adopted only in the policy of a known and avowed tyrant. The concourse of spectators to witness the combat can no more stamp the general character of the people with barbarity, than the crowds which are always present at public executions in Europe. The bare relation of the fact excites feelings of horror in the mind of the ordinary chief.

Bull-fighting is common on Madúra and in the eastern parts of the island; but it is perfectly different from any species of sport derived from the courage or ferocity of that animal in Europe. Here, neither dogs are employed as in England, nor men and horses as in Spain, but the bulls themselves are directed against each other. The population form an extensive ring round the álun álun, within which the animals are first led up to a cow, until they are sufficiently excited, when the cow being withdrawn they are set at liberty and contend with each other, until one of them gives way, and is driven from within the ring by the victor. The small well formed bulls of Súmenáp afford considerable amusement in this way, while considerable bets are laid on the result of the combat.

The combat between the ram and wild hog, which generally terminates by several dogs being let in to complete the destruction of the latter, is an exhibition which furnishes frequent amusement; a small stand is raised for the ram, to which he can retreat when in danger, and from whence he can take advantage of a favourable moment of attack upon his antagonist.

Quail-fighting (áduh gemár) and cock-fighting (áduh jágu) were formerly very prevalent, the latter particularly, among the common people, but by no means to the same extent as practised in the other islands of the Archipelago, in many parts of which, particularly among the Maláyus, it forms almost the whole source of diversion and interest. On the establishment of the British power, cock-fighting and gaming, which had formerly proved a productive source of revenue to the European government, were prohibited, and[Vol I Pg 390] are now in consequence rarely resorted to. The Javans were not in the habit of fixing spurs to their cocks: this practice, they say, belongs to the Maláyus[118]. The common people still amuse themselves with betting upon the issue of a fight between two crickets (ádhu jangkrik), which are daily exposed in the markets for that purpose. The little animals being confined in small bámbus partially opened, are said to afford an amusement of considerable interest.

Among the games of skill may be reckoned those of chess, drafts, and several minor games played with pieces or balls, on boards of a somewhat similar construction.

In chess (chátur) the pieces are named, the rátu, or king; the pateh, or minister, corresponding with the queen; two práhu, or vessels, corresponding with castles; two mántri, corresponding with bishops; two járan, or horses, corresponding with knights; the bídak, or pawns; and are arranged as in the English game, except that the kings are placed on the left hand of the queens, and opposite to the adversary's queen. The moves are also the same; except that the king, if he has not been checked, may move two squares the first time, either as a knight or otherwise; and that the pawn may move two squares the first move, even though it should pass the check of an adversary's pawn. When a pawn reach the adversary's first line, it must retrograde three moves diagonally before it can become a queen, except it has reached the castle's square, in which case it is a queen at once. There maybe any number of queens on the board at once.

The king cannot castle after having been checked. Castling is performed by two moves; the castle must first be brought up to the king, after which the king may pass over the castle at any future move, provided he shall not have been checked, or that no piece has occupied the square he would move into. A piece or pawn must remain on the board till the last; if the king is left alone it is considered as stale mate, and he wins.

This game was formerly more general than at present. [Vol I Pg 391]

Besides chess, there are a variety of games played upon checkers; and next to it in estimation may be considered the games of chúki and dákon. In chúki, the board has one hundred and twenty angular points, formed by cross lines on a checkered board, and the same is played with sixty white and sixty black pieces. The object here is to clear the board of the adversary's pieces, and the victor is he who does so first. The parties toss up who shall take off the first piece or break the board. The moves are in all directions, and the person who commences goes on as long as he can take one, three, or five of his adversary's pieces. When he cannot do either, he stops, and the other goes on in the same way. Dákon is played with fourteen or eighteen balls on an oblong board with holes, and is much practised by women.

Dandáman, or drafts, is not very unlike the Indian game, but has more pieces.

Machánan, is a game in which two chief pieces represent tigers, one conducted by each party, and twenty-three pieces representing cows: the tiger who destroys the most wins the game. Máling'an is played on squares with eighteen pieces, and the object is to surround your adversary's pieces.

Of games of chance there are many. That denominated telága tári is accounted the most ancient: it consists in guessing the number of beans enclosed within the hand. Three or four people commonly join in it. One of the party having dried beans in his lap, take a certain number in his hand, requiring each of the others to fix by guess upon a number; if there are three persons, upon a number from one to four, and the two numbers left fall to the share of the person who holds the beans. If the number in his hand exceeds four, every four beans are thrown aside, and the residue, until they are reduced to that number or below it, only counted.

Dadu, or dice, as well as cards, are borrowed from the Chinese, and not included among the national games. The most common species of gaming, and that which is practised by the numerous and dissolute class of báturs, or porters, in the central districts, is a kind of pitch and toss, denominated képlek. Four farthings, whitened or marked on one side, are tossed into the air; if the whole or three of them fall on the[Vol I Pg 392] side that is marked, or on the reverse, the party who tossed them wins; if only two he loses the stake.

Bets are frequently laid on the hardness or otherwise of a particular nut, known among the Maláyus by the term búa kras and called áduh gemíri. Bets also frequently depend on the flying of kites (layáng'an).

I shall conclude this chapter by referring to some peculiarities, which, although partially explained elsewhere, and falling perhaps more correctly under other heads, may not be improperly noticed in an account of the national usages and customs.

The practice of filing and dying the teeth black, and that of lengthening the lobe of the ear to an enormous size, both of which have been already noticed, appear to have extended over the whole of the eastern peninsula of India, as far as China, and throughout the islands of the Archipelago, as far at least as Papua or New Guinea.

The practice of covering the face, body, and limbs with yellow powder on state occasions, and the use of yellow silk or satin for the envelope of letters between princes, evinces the same esteem for this colour which prevails in the other islands, as well as in Ava, Siam, and China.

The kríses worn by the Javans are only varieties of that which is found in the islands, and on what is termed the Malayan peninsula. The Javans have a tradition that it was first introduced by one of their early Hindu sovereigns, Sakú-tram (others call him Sa Pútram), who is said to have come into the world with the krís by his side. This krís is supposed to have been of the kind called pasopáti, which is consequently considered as the most honourable at the present day. In the chapter on History will be found an account of the krís deposited in the tomb of the Susúnan Gíri, and of the virtues attributed to it by the superstitions of the country. There is a tradition, that the inhabitants of all those countries in which the krís is now worn, once acknowledged the authority of the Javans, and derived that custom from them. Another tradition attributes the introduction of this weapon among the islanders to the celebrated Pánji. The practice of poisoning the blade of the krís seems to have been attributed to the[Vol I Pg 393] Javans and their neighbours without any foundation. In order to bring out the damasking, it is usual to immerse the blade in lime juice and a solution of arsenic, which, by eating away and corroding the iron, may probably render the wound more angry and inflamed, and consequently more difficult to cure, but it has never been considered that death is the consequence. After this application of the acid and arsenic, the blade is carefully smeared with some fragrant oil, to prevent it from rusting, and this is all that is ever done to it.

It has been usual to condemn these people as blood-thirsty, prone to immediate revenge, because they invariably use the deadly krís; but however frequent the appeals to this weapon may be in some of the more wild and uncivilized of the Malayan states, experience has proved to us, that on Java it may be universally worn without danger. I have elsewhere remarked, that the custom of wearing the krís among these islanders has, in its effects upon the manners of the people, proved in many respects an effectual substitute for duelling among Europeans. In these countries, where there is very little justice to be obtained from regularly established courts, and where an individual considers himself justified in taking the law into his own hands accordingly, the Maláyu is always prepared to avenge with his krís the slightest insult on the spot; but the knowledge that such an immediate appeal is always at hand, prevents the necessity of its often being resorted to, an habitual politeness ensues, and it has often been said, that if the Maláyus are savages, they are by far the most polite savages that we know of. If this effect is produced on the wilder and less civilized Maláyu, and has equal force with the more adventurous and warm-hearted Búgis, it may be easily conceived the Javans have not escaped it. The krís, among them, has for a long period been more exclusively a personal ornament, than a rapier was in Europe fifty years ago, being among the higher classes even seldomer resorted to, as a weapon of defence or offence, than the latter.

The condition of absolute slavery, as understood by Europeans, seems to have been unknown to the ancient constitution of society in these islands, and throughout all the fragments of their history, of their laws, usages, and customs,[Vol I Pg 394] no trace is to be found of its ever having existed among the Javans[119].

Throughout the more ancient laws and institutions of the country, a property of the subject in the land is clearly recognized, and it is probable that it continued to subsist till the subversion of the Hindu government. From various definitions and enactments respecting property, some of which may be seen in the Súria Alem[120], it is obvious, that money transactions took place formerly, to a greater extent than they do at present. The change is probably attributable to the European policy of the last two centuries. Four per cent. per month when a valuable pledge is deposited, and double that amount otherwise, is the common rate of interest in small transactions between the natives and Chinese of the present day.

In the transaction of money concerns, the women are universally considered superior to the men, and from the common labourer to the chief of a province, it is usual for the husband to entrust his pecuniary affairs entirely to his wife. The women alone attend the markets, and conduct all the business of buying and selling. It is proverbial to say the Javan men are fools in money concerns.

When speaking of their fondness for show and state, [Vol I Pg 395]I noticed that the Javans were at the same time distinguished by neatness and cleanliness, qualities not often combined with the former. That they are in most respects remarkable for their neatness cannot be denied: to their personal cleanliness there are exceptions. This is however chiefly true of the higher classes, and especially those who mix with Europeans; but the common Javan, though more cleanly than the Chinese and even the European, would suffer by a comparison in that particular with the natives of Western India.

The common people generally bathe once a day, others once only in two or three days. None of any rank anoint the body with grease, as is the case with the natives of Western India; but they abundantly oil their hair, which among the common people, on account of its length, is too often filthy in the extreme. They are accustomed to arrange the hair with a coarse comb, but the use of the small-toothed comb is unknown, its office being invariably performed by the hands of women. Near Batavia, and some of the low capitals on the coast, it is not unusual to see on the road side women thus employed for the benefit of passengers, at a certain rate per head, who submit to it as naturally as an English labourer goes into a barber's shop to be shaved for a penny. The Maláyus accuse the Javans of eating what they find on these occasions: "ítu órang Jáwa," say they, "mákan kútut." This, however, appears to be a calumny: the Javans confess to biting, but deny the swallowing. The practice of the women cleaning the men's hair is referred to by the Javans as of very ancient date. It was from this practice that the mother of Wátu Gúnung, in the very earliest period of Javan traditionary story, discovered her lost son[121].

Passing from this disgusting particular, and referring the reader to the details of the native history for the leading features of the political character of the Javan, and to the other divisions of this work, which may afford him information how to estimate their former and present state of civilization, I cannot but regret, that I am compelled to reserve, until a future occasion, a more detailed account of the constitution, usages, and customs of the village societies. It is by these that the private virtues and vices of the people are perhaps best illustrated, and an account of the municipal regulations by which the little property and happiness of each individual is protected, of the internal precautions of police, and of the mode of adjusting disputes, could not fail to be interesting, on account of their simplicity, their equity, and efficacy. Independently of the degree of rational independence and importance which the existence of these societies insures to the common people, and of the protection which, under all circumstances of greater political revolutions, they have afforded to them, it is hoped that their influence in maintaining the police and tranquillity of the country, will ever prevent the European authority from interfering in their constitution or internal arrangements.

It has long been the opinion of the Dutch authorities, that a system of European police, and the employment of European officers of police are necessary; but under the British government the contrary has been satisfactorily proved. Let the higher departments of justice be scrupulously superintended and watched by Europeans of character; let the administration of justice be pure, prompt, and steady; let what is bad in the native practice of police be gradually removed, but let the system, in its application to the common people, be supported. It is one which has grown with them, one which they are accustomed to and understand. Under the native system, the rice block of the village is used as the alarm; and according to the manner in which it is beaten, the inhabitants know whether it is to announce a single thief or a banditti, a tiger or a fire, and arm themselves suitably. As it is usual for a thief to have but little covering on his body, and to oil himself all over, that he may slip from the hands of any one who may seize him, the Javans make use of a long wooden pole, with branches of brambles inverted within a fork at the end, and by means of this simple contrivance they avoid the risk of being wounded, and effectually secure the offender, who cannot escape without tearing his skin. These, and other simple expedients, adopted from immemorial custom and according to the circumstances of the country, are certainly preferable to the watchmen's rattles and constables' staves which Europeans would wish to introduce.

FOOTNOTES:

[97] The same is assumed by the European Governor, or his representative.

[98] The titles at present assumed by the Susúnan are Susuhúnan Páku Buána Sena-páti heng Alága Abdul Ráhmen Sáyedin Pánatagáma.

[99] Form of a Piágam, or Patent of Javan Nobility.

Let it be observed, this is the writing of me, the Sultan, &c. &c. &c.

Be it known to the Nayáka (high officers of the palace), Bopátis (the class of Tumung'gungs or Regents), and Mantris (the petty noblesse) of Yúgya-kérta and Mánchanagára, that I have invested ... with this letter, to raise him from the earth, and permit him to bear the title of ..., and wear the dress appointed for the ..., bestowing upon him for his subsistence lands to the amount of eleven hundred cháchas, the labour of eleven hundred men (families).

These are the names of the land bestowed. * * *

Translation of a Nawála for the Mánchanagára, or distant Districts.

Let all persons observe this, the royal letter of us, the exalted Sultan, &c., which we give in charge to....

Be it known to you, our servants, chiefs of Yúgya-kerta Adiníngrat, whether Bopátis or Mántris, and to you our Bopátis and Mántris, chiefs of Mánchanagára, that our royal letter is given in charge to ..., in order to exalt him. Moreover we prefer our servant to the rank of a Bopáti, to be chief of the Bopátis of Mánchanagára, bearing as heretofore the name of ... We also entitle him to wear such dress as is appointed for the Widána of Mánchanagára, and we give for his estate (seat), our own royal lands ..., amounting to two thousand chachas: ... thousand productive (living), of which last ... thousand are assigned for a maintenance and ... thousand are charged with rents, to the amount of ... dollars annually, payable twice a year, viz. at the festival Mulud ... and at the festival of Puasa ..., each dollar to consist of thirty wangs, and the whole to be subject to an office fee of one wang in each dollar. Moreover we direct, that each year an account be rendered to us of the increase or decrease of the sáwah (rice lands). The date of giving the royal order is the....

[100] "Thereupon Klána Jáyang Sári (another name for Pánji Kérta Páti), called his sister, and the Princesses of Báli and Balem-báng'an, and directed them to proceed to the Prince of Dahá, and to present to him a handsome present, composed of the most beautiful and rich ornaments and articles of dress for adorning a princess, placing the same in a kendága (or box), in order that if the prince was pleased to allow it to be delivered to his daughter Déwi Chándra Kirána, it might be a proof that he confirmed the contract with Klána Jáyang Sári, and that his daughter, Déwi Chándra Kirána, would be accepted by Klána Jáyang Sári, in which case he was ready to attack the enemies of the prince."​—See the Adventures of the celebrated Pánji.

[101] Fortune was so much considered in the making of these matches among the Romans, that the augurs were always called along with the witnesses to a marriage contract, to pronounce upon the happy results of the settlement which the latter attested:

"Veniet cum signatoribus Auspex."​—Juvenal.

[102] The Jews marry in nearly the same way, the husband delivering a sum of money as a pledge. The Greeks were in the habit of presenting gifts on similar occasions.

[103] A description of this instrument, on account of the importance attached to it among the Javans, the constancy with which it is worn, and the care with which it is preserved through different generations, will be found in another place.

[104] "Non consulum sed maritorum numero annos suos computant." Seneca, de Benef.​—But this is short of Juvenal's account: "Fiunt octo mariti, quinque per autumnos."

[105] The Romans likewise were in the habit of washing the dead body several times before interment with water, which in their case was warm.

"Pars calidos latices et ahena undantia flammis
Expediunt: corpusque lavant frigentis et ungunt."

Virgil: Æneidos, lib. vi. lin. 218.

By referring to the Old and New Testament, the same practice will be found to have prevailed among the Jews: indeed, it seems to have been very general.

[106] During the two latter quarters of the moon she is considered as appearing in the form of a Rasáksa, and is then more properly called Dúrga.

[107] A custom somewhat similar to this is said to be practiced in South America.

"They lighted a great number of torches, and the midwife taking up the child carried it through the yard of the house, and placed it upon a heap of leaves of sword-grass, close by a basin of water, which was prepared in the middle of the yard, and then undressing it said, 'my child! the gods Ometeuctti and Omicihautl, Lords of Heaven, have sent thee to this dismal and calamitous world: receive this water, which is to give thee life:' and after wetting its mouth, head, and breast, with forms similar to the first bathing, she bathed its whole body, and rubbing every one of its limbs said, 'where art thou, ill fortune? in what limb art thou hid? go far from this child!'"​—History of Mexico by Clavigero, translated by Cullen, vol. i.

[108] It is curious to observe how exactly this corresponds with the patriarchal history of Scripture, and the early accounts of the manners of ancient nations. The daughter was always considered the property of the parent, the wife as the purchase of the husband, and the marriage contract as the deed of transfer.

[109] One of the names of Pángi.

[110] The prevalence of this practice must strike every one.

[111] See Astronomy

[112] See Historical Chapters.

[113] These prayers will be found at length in the Transactions of the Batavian Society, vol. ix. The word hong! used by the Javans at the commencement of their invocations to the deity, is doubtless the mystical om! of the Hindus.

[114] The following are the only traditions respecting these people which are current in the eastern provinces. "The people of the Teng'ger mountains say, that they received that name from a person from Matáram, of an inquisitive and travelling turn (wong malána), who having ascended the highest of them, and being struck with astonishment at the view of all around, gave them the above-mentioned name of Teng'ger, from the Javan word angeng'ger, which signifies wonder or astonishment.

"Before Gúnung Bràma had received that name, or had become a volcano, there lived a man called Kiai Géde Dádap Pútih, who had no children. He petitioned of his deity to grant that he might have children, to the number of twenty-five, promising, in that event, that he would cast away one of them into the sea. In the course of a short time children began to be born unto him. As soon as he had the number he had prayed for, the people of Teng'ger were inflicted with a pestilence, so dreadful in its effects, that those who were attacked by it in the morning never failed to die before the evening. Dádap Pùtih was so distressed and afflicted at the lamentable situation of the Teng'ger people, that he loathed his food and neglected his rest, till it was communicated to him in a vision, that the pestilence had been sent in consequence of his having omitted to perform his vow, of casting into the sea one of the twenty-five children whom the deity had granted him. Dádap Pútih then assembled all his children, and inquired which of them was willing to be sacrificed, in order to appease the angry deity. All of them signified their unwillingness to become the victim except the youngest child, who voluntarily came forward and agreed to suffer, in which ever way its father thought proper. Dádap Pútih, however, reflecting that the sea was at a very great distance, carried this child only to that extensive sand plain at the foot of Gúnung Bráma, which bears the name of Sagára wédi or Lout Pásir, and there abandoned it. No sooner had he done so, than Gúnung Bráma began to send forth hollow sounds, and immediately burst forth into a volcano. Sagára wédi is so called from the resemblance of its sandy surface, to a sea when surveyed from Bráma's heights: its original name is Dassar.

"Bima being asked by Kresna if he was able, in the course of one night, to make an inland sea below the Teng'ger mountains, and having answered in the affirmative, Kresna challenged him to do it, telling him at the same time, that it must be done before the cocks were heard to crow, or the people of the villages began to weave or beat out rice. By three o'clock in the morning his work was so far advanced, as to convince Kresna that it would be completed in the prescribed time. To prevent this, therefore, Kresna immediately went, and rousing all the cocks and people of the villages, caused the former to crow and the latter to begin to weave and beat out rice. By this manœuvre, Bima was obliged to leave off the work, which otherwise would have been completed within the fixed time; and so incensed was he against the people, who had so untimely began to weave and beat our their rice (whereby he failed to perform the task which was given to him to prove his power) that he cursed them, and swore that they should never again perform either the one act or the other, and to this day the Teng'ger people neither weave cotton nor beat out rice."

[115] See History.

[116] It has already been noticed that the island is plentifully supplied with a fine breed of small horses. Almost every petty chief and public officer is mounted, and those who possess the means pride themselves upon a respectable establishment. They have an aversion to some colours, and there are particular marks, the possession of which renders a horse valuable to the natives; if a few hairs on the neck curl, or have the appearance of a star, the horse is highly prized. Previously to the cession of Kedú to the European government in 1812, the native princes maintained a very respectable stud in that province. Horses are never shod on Java, nor are they secured in the stable, as is usual in Europe and Western India. A separate enclosure is appropriated for each horse, within which the animal is allowed to move and turn at pleasure, being otherwise unconfined. These enclosures are erected at a short distance from each other, and with separate roofs. They are generally raised above the ground, and have a boarded floor.

The Javans use an extremely severe bit, and in consequence have the horse always under command. The saddle, bridle, &c. are extremely heavy, and disproportioned to the size of the animal.

[117] "The fruit of a species of contorta, called kálak kámbing, has a deadly effect on tigers. It is prepared by the admixture of other vegetables, and exposed on a piece of rag at the places frequented by them. In some districts their number has been sensibly diminished by this poison."​—Horsfield.

[118] The cocks reared for this purpose are of the large game breed. The cock which we improperly call the Bantam, is not found on Java, except as a curiosity: it comes from Japan.

[119] A peculiar feature in the state of society in the Eastern Islands is the law between debtor and creditor. Throughout the Archipelago, where the European government has not interfered, confinement for debt is unknown. The creditor universally has a right to the effects of the debtor, to the amount of the debt, on proving it before the proper authority, and if the effects are not sufficient to satisfy the demand, he has a right to the personal services of his debtor, and of his debtor's wife and children if necessary. Hence arises that extensive class of people commonly called slave debtors, or more correctly bondsmen. In Java they are termed bédol. In the provinces of Java subject to the European authority, this practice has for some time been checked; and during the administration of Marshal Daendels, in 1810, when it was usual for the common Javans to lend themselves in pawn for a certain sum of money, it was declared illegal. As an ancient institution of the country, it will perhaps be better explained hereafter, in detailing the existing practice on Báli, which may be considered to assimilate, in a great measure, with what the practice once was on Java.

[120] See Appendix D.

[121] See Javan History.

[Vol I Pg 396]
[Vol I Pg 397]

CHAPTER VIII.

Language​—Little known to Europeans​—Different Languages or Dialects​—Those of Súnda, Madúra and Báli compared with that of Java Proper​—The polite Language, or Language of Honour​—The Káwi, or Sacred and Classic Language​—Numerals​—Chándra Sangkála​—Literature​—Compositions in the Káwi Language, and in the modern Javan​—Influence of Hindu Literature​—Introduction of Arabic Literature​—Poetry​—The Bráta Yúdha, a Poem​—Music​—Painting​—Sculpture​—Architecture​—Arithmetic​—Astronomy.

The extensive prevalence of the Javan language, and its connexion with the languages of continental India, were not overlooked by those intelligent Europeans who visited these islands at an early period; for we find Valentyn[122] quoting the authority of Flaccourt, who published in 1661, and the Portuguese Jan de Barros, for conclusions with regard to the extent of Javan commerce in remote ages, drawn from the resemblance then traced between the languages of Java and those of Madagascar and Ambon (Amboina.) "The Javans," observes this author, "must doubtless have visited Coromandel and Malabar, for the high or court language is, in three parts out of four, derived from the Sanscrit or Brahminical language. Many Malabar words also enter into the composition, and it is besides composed in a great measure from the Dekan, which is the ancient language of India, in the same manner as the Sanscrit is the sacred language."

The alphabet has been exhibited, though imperfectly, by Valentyn, Le Brun, and Reland, and an Alphabetum Bantemense is said to have been found amongst the posthumous papers of the learned Hyde; but the language does not appear to have been regularly cultivated by Europeans until within the last very few years. Some of the outlines of th[Vol I Pg 398]e Javan mythological stories had previously appeared in a Dutch dress, in the transactions of the Batavian Society; and these, with the translation of the Lord's Prayer in the high and low languages, published by Valentyn, some short vocabularies, and a short comparative view of the Javan and Malayan languages, which appeared in a Dutch work entitled "Begin en vortgang den Oost Ind Compen," or the Rise and Progress of the East-India Company, are the only contributions to our knowledge of Javan literature with which I am acquainted.

The native population of Java, Madúra, and Báli, islands most intimately connected with each other in every respect, use exactly the same written character, and it appears that one generic language prevails throughout these islands. Of this generic language, however, there are four dialects, differing so materially from each other as to be generally considered separate languages. It is, however, rather by admixture of other languages than by mere difference of dialect that they are distinguished. These dialects or languages are the Súnda, spoken by the inhabitants of the mountainous districts of Java west of Tégal; the Jáwa or Javan, which is the general language of Java east of Chéribon, and throughout the districts lying on the northern coast of the island; the Madúra and the Báli, being the dialects or languages belonging to those islands respectively.

How far these dialects or languages radically assimilate with each other, and justify the opinion that one generic language prevails throughout, may be determined by an inspection of the annexed vocabulary[123]. The Lampung is added on account of the vicinity of that part of Sumatra to Java, and the intimate political connection which at all times subsisted between the people; and in order to enable the reader to compare them all with the prevailing language of the Archipelago the Maláyu is prefixed. Under the Javan is included the Bása kráma, or polite language, which will be more particularly noticed hereafter.

In this vocabulary such words only have been introduced[Vol I Pg 399] as are used in conversation, and in ordinary epistolary composition; but the inhabitants of these islands possess further a classic language, altogether distinct from the ordinary languages of the country, and which is to them what the Sanscrit is to the Pracrit language of Hindustan, and what the Pali is to the Birman and Siamese. This language is termed Káwi[124]. The annexed vocabulary, No. 2[125], which affords a comparison between the Sanscrit, the Pali, and the Káwi, will shew how nearly these languages are allied.

These two vocabularies may serve to convey a notion of the extent, peculiarities, and antiquity of the Javan language, which will be found as intimately connected with the Maláyu, or general language of the Archipelago, on the one hand, as it is with the Sanscrit and Pali on the other.

The Súnda language, though now confined to the mountainous districts, seems to have been formerly, and probably down to the period immediately preceding the revolution occasioned by the Mahomedan conversion, the general language of the western districts, and is perhaps the most ancient vernacular language of the country. It is a simple uncultivated dialect, adapted however to all the purposes of the simple and uneducated mountaineers who speak it, and has perhaps escaped the influence of foreign innovation, from the peculiar nature of the country and the independent character of that race. It possesses a considerable portion of Maláyu words, and some of Sanscrit origin; the latter being, generally speaking, proper names or terms of art and science or polity, have probably been borrowed from the eastern or proper Javans, in common with whom the Súnda people have adopted a B'hasa dálam, or Bása kráma, which, however, is by no means extensive. The Súnda, with reference to the Javan, may be viewed in much the same light as the Welch is to the English. The proportion of the people who now speak it does not exceed one-tenth of the population of the whole island; the remaining nine-tenths speak Javan.

The language of Madúra, which is again divided into the [Vol I Pg 400]dialects of Madúra proper and Sumenáp, will be found to contain many words in common with that of Súnda, but a much more extensive portion of Maláyu, varied in the termination by a peculiarity of dialect.

The languages of Báli are intimately connected with those of Java and Madúra. In the historical part of this work it will be shewn that it was in Báli the ancient religion, and with it the literature of Java, took refuge in the fifteenth century of our æra; and although, from the difference which is at this day found to exist between the vernacular languages of the two countries, as well as in their institutions, it is evident that the language, literature, and institutions of Java were there engrafted on a more rude and savage stock, still it is chiefly to Báli that we must look for illustrations of the ancient state of the Javans. The relation of the political revolutions by which these islands have been convulsed at different periods of their history, will, in a great measure, account for the distinctions of language which at present exist; while, at the same time, these distinctions and peculiarities must serve to confirm many of the facts, for which we should otherwise have only the authority of tradition to rely.

At Bantam the language is much mixed with Maláyu and Súnda. The language in ordinary use at Batavia and its immediate vicinity is a jargon of Dutch, Portuguese, Chinese, Javan, and Maláyu, the latter forming the principal component. In Bógor and Chai-ánjur, the Súnda is pronounced in a more drawling manner than in Chéribon, where it is probably most correctly spoken, as in the word náh, what? which at Chéribon is pronounced short and sharp, naù. At Tégal the Javan words are in like manner lengthened in pronunciation, while at Semárang they are spoken short and full. At the courts of Sura-kérta and Yugya-kérta, the words are pronounced short, strong, and full. In the provinces east of Surabáya, the language partakes much of the Madurese, and in the extreme district of Banyuwángí, the Báli is discernible.

The alphabet of Java is peculiar: it consists of twenty consonants (y and w are of the number), termed aksára or letters. In common with all other characters properly Indian, these letters may be considered as syllables, composed[Vol I Pg 401] of a consonant and an inherent vowel sound, which is invariably expressed, unless contradicted by a particular sign.

Besides the aksára, there are twenty auxiliary characters, termed pasáng'an, which in this application means corresponding or similar. They have the same power as the aksára against which they stand, except that they are only used in connexion with and immediately after the aksára, for the purpose of suppressing their inherent vowel sound. Three of them are always placed after the aksára, the others below them.

When the inherent vowel sound in the aksára is not contradicted, the aksára is termed lagána. The vowel sound in this case is that of a in "water," or of o in "homo;" the o being at present invariably used at the native courts and their vicinity for the inherent vowel of the consonant, instead of a. The latter, however, is still preserved on Madúra, Báli, and in the districts of Java, west of Tégal, and was doubtless the original inherent vowel. The consonant sounds correspond with the sounds usually attributed to the English consonants, with the exception of a second d and t, which correspond with similar sounds in the Devanágari alphabet; ch, which is used as ch in "church;" nia, and ng', which latter is frequently used as an initial letter.

Besides these there are five vowel signs, which supplant the inherent vowel. These signs are termed sandáng'an, the clothing or dress. The répa consist of certain contractions of consonants and other signs used in composition. These, with a pángkun, or sign of elision, corresponding with the báris máti of the Malayu, which has no sound of its own, but being placed at the end of a word or sentence denotes its termination in a pure consonant, and some few other marks corresponding with the Devanágari, complete the orthographical arrangement, which though complex and intricate, is remarkable for its precision.

Some of the letters occasionally occur under a capital, or rather peculiar form, for they are of the same size; but these are seldom used, and when they are, it is not as capitals are employed in European languages. They are principally found in proper names, and titles of office, and are placed alike in the beginning, middle, or end of a word. [Vol I Pg 402]

The annexed table is intended to exhibit the powers and application of the different letters and orthographical signs. No. 1. exhibits the characters now in general use. No. 2. contains the square characters in which the Káwi is usually written, and in which the different inscriptions in that language, cut in stone and copper, are found. No. 3. contains specimens of the varieties which the alphabetical characters have at different times assumed, arranged, according to the judgment of the native writers, in the order of their relative antiquity.

AKSÁRA JÁWA, or LETTERS of the JAVAN ALPHABET.

CONSONANTS.
ha na cha ra
ka da ta sa
wa la pa da
ja ya nia ma
ga ba ta ng'a
AKSÁRA PASÁNG'AN,
(Used in forming Compound Consonants).
ha na cha ra
ka da ta sa
wa la pa da
ja ya nia ma
ga ba ta ng'a

[Vol I Pg 403]

RÉPA,
(Or Contractions of certain Consonants used in composition with other Consonants).
signian or wignian is placed after the letter, and is used to supply the place of the letter h, when not followed by a vowel sound.
chákra is placed round two letters, and introduces r between the consonant and its inherent vowel.
láyar is placed above the letter, and is used to supply the place of the letter r when not followed by a vowel sound.
péngkal is placed partly below the letter and partly after, to introduce a medial y in the same manner as chákra introduces r.
chechak is placed above the letter, and is used to supply the place of the letter ng', when not followed by a vowel sound.
chákra-gántung is placed below the letter, and is pronounced re.
pángkun is placed after a letter, and serves as a mark of elision, destroying the final vowel sound.
VOWELS.
Single or unconnected Vowels. Sandáng'an, or Corresponding Medial and Final Vowels.
a
i wulu is placed above the letter.
u súku is placed below the letter.
é táling is placed before the letter.
o táling-tárung with the letter between.
e pápet is placed above the letter, and is pronounced as le in French.
ng'a lálet gives the sound of le, and pachérak gives the sound of re, as in Sanscrit.

[Vol I Pg 404]

AKSÁRA GEDÉ,
(Being peculiar forms under which some of the letters occasionally occur).
N T S S
P Nia G B
ÁNGKA or NUMERALS.
1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8
9 0
AKSÁRA BÚD'DA, or ANCIENT ALPHABET.
ha na cha ra
ka da ta sa
wa la pa da
ja ya nia ma
ga ba ta ng'a
ANOTHER FORM.
ha na cha ra
ka da ta sa
wa la pa da
ja ya nia ma
ga ba ta ng'a

[Vol I Pg 405]

RÉPA.
(Or Contractions of Consonants, &c., their Position being the same as in the modern Javan).
wignian pronounced as h.
chákra r.
láyar r.
péngkal y.
chéchak ng'.
chákra gántung r.
pángkun the mark of elision.
SANDÁNGAN or VOWELS.
(Their position being the same as in the modern Javan).
wúlu pronounced as i.
súku u.
táling é.
táling tárung o.
pápet e.
ng'a lélet le.
[Vol I Pg 406]

The Javans write from left to right. Every consonant (aksára) is written separately, not being joined to that which precedes it, and no space is left between the words. One or two short diagonal lines are used at the close of every poetical stanza, and sometimes a comma, and this is the only mark in the language which simply indicates a stop.

In Java the natives usually write with Indian ink upon paper manufactured by themselves, as already described, and sometimes on European and Chinese paper; but in Báli the natives invariably use an iron style, and cut the letters on a prepared palm leaf, in the same manner as in Western India. This practice is still partially continued in some of the more eastern parts of Java, and was no doubt, at a former period of their history, general throughout the island. The leaf is called lóntar (from ron a leaf, and tal the palm tree, the first and last letters being transposed), and the leaves or manuscripts are strung together to form books in the same manner as on continental India. Of these I have several specimens, containing nearly all the interesting compositions of the country.

As in the Maláyu, by far the greater proportion of primitive Javan words are dissyllables, pronounced with a slight stress or accent on the former of the two. There are a great number of derivative words, formed after the same manner as those in the Maláyu, by prefixing or annexing certain inseparable and otherwise non-significant particles. Compound words, formed by the junction of two or more significant terms, are frequently met with, though they by no means form an extensive portion of the language.

Many words, in their primitive sense, are not confined to one particular part of speech, but are common to two or more. Nouns, as in the Maláyu, cannot be said to possess the distinctions of either gender, number, or case. The males and females of all animals are, with few exceptions, as in the instances Pútra​—Pútri, Déwa​—Déwi, Bramána​—Bramáni, and some few others, denoted by adding to the general terms words applicable to the different sexes. Number is not denoted by any variety of termination or change in the form of the noun, but by separate words, expressive of plurality or singularity; a duplication of the singular sometimes occurs,[Vol I Pg 407] though rarely, to denote plurality. Where the terms bíji, ékor, buáh, képing, &c. are used in the Maláyu to specify a particular number, the term wíji is used indiscriminately in the Javan, whatever may be the thing spoken of. The nouns have no cases.

The adjectives are indeclinable, and generally follow the noun; and these are sometimes formed from nouns by prefixing a particle. The comparative degree is sometimes formed by prefixing a word meaning higher or larger, but more frequently by placing adverbs, significant of "with," before that with which the comparison is made, as if we should say "by the side of." The superlative degree is formed by annexing adverbs signifying "very, exceedingly, entirely, alone."

The cardinal numbers are placed sometimes before and sometimes after the nouns to which they are attached. When prefixed, they undergo, for the sake of the sound, a variety in their termination, or drop the first syllable. The ordinals are formed by prefixing a distinguishing word to the cardinals. Ten characters, which are all either alphabetical letters or signs slightly altered in form, serve to express all numbers, the notation being decimal, and the numerals being combined in the same manner as the Indian and Arabian.

The pronouns of the first and second person are always significant, and vary with the relative rank of the parties. There is no proper pronoun of the third person, but a word signifying "alone, self," with the addition of the possessive particle, is used as a personal pronoun of the third person. The personal pronouns may all be used as possessive pronouns, by being placed as such after the noun to which they belong. The relative and demonstrative pronouns correspond very nearly with those of the Maláyu.

With regard to the verb, it may be noticed that many of the observations in Mr. Marsden's grammar, on the nature and formation of the different parts of the Maláyu verb, are applicable to the Javan. It belongs rather to the detail of the grammar to point out these; but it may be remarked, that the use of these inflexions in the Javan appears to be so varied and undefined, that it is impossible, without a much more extensive knowledge of the language than Europeans at[Vol I Pg 408] present possess, to make out a perfect conjugation, or to lay down any fixed rules for them. All that could perhaps be done, in the present state of the language and of our knowledge of it, would be to give a number and variety of correct idiomatical expressions in the Javan, by which their nature and irregularity may be shewn; and our present limits do not admit of this.

The Javan language has never been reduced within the grammatical rules adopted by Europeans, nor have the Javans themselves any notion of grammar. The construction is generally simple and regular; but owing to prosodial refinements (every writing of importance being written in verse), syllables and words necessary to express a perfect sense are often omitted; at other times, unnecessary syllables or words are added, and letters at the beginning, middle, and end of a word are transposed. Hence, and also from the usual ellipsis of the verb transitive and personal pronouns, the meaning of many passages appears obscure.

The language is remarkable for the profusion of words which it contains, for the minute distinctions and shades of meaning, and the consequent extent of synonymes, and for difference of dialect.

Of the profusion of words it may be observed, that the Javan, in this respect, may be put in competition with many of the more cultivated languages of Europe and Asia, and that a dictionary would perhaps be far from complete, if it comprehended less than twenty thousand.

Of the extent of synonymes, and the minute shades of distinction which are found in this language, some notion may be formed from the extracts from the Dása Náma which are annexed[126]. In order to facilitate the acquirement of the language, it is usual to collect all the words in the different dialects, with their synonymes, and to connect them together by stringing them in classes following each other, according to the natural chain of our ideas. Thus, after commencing with the word man, and giving an explanation of every word in the vernacular, polite and Káwi languages, applicable from his birth to his death, as infant, boy, youth, and the like, it [Vol I Pg 409]proceeds to woman, child; from thence to the deities, afterwards to the various avocations of mankind, &c. This collection of synonymes is called Dása Náma, literally the "ten names," a term probably given to it on account of few important words in the language having less than ten synonymes. Children are no sooner taught to know the letters of the alphabet (which they first describe on the sand), and to connect them in syllables and words, than they are instructed in the Dása Náma, without a partial knowledge of which, no youth is considered competent to enter upon any public office, or can advance to a knowledge of the written compositions of the country. These collections are varied in their contents and order of arrangement, according to the acquirements and notions of the compiler. As books of reference they may be considered to supply the place of dictionaries, and if less convenient for this purpose than works alphabetically arranged, they have certainty an advantage over them, in the comparative facility with which their contents are impressed on the memory.

But there is no feature in the language more deserving of notice than the difference of dialect, or the distinction between the common language, and what may be termed the polite language or language of honour. The latter contains many words of Sanscrit origin, and a portion of Maláyu; and in those instances in which it appears to have been borrowed from the vernacular language, which may perhaps be loosely estimated at a fourth of the whole, a slight alteration is commonly made in the orthography and pronunciation, to mark the distinction. To render this distinction intelligible to those who are not locally informed, it may be necessary to explain, that from whatever cause the distinction may have originated, so clearly is the line drawn on Java, between the higher and the lower classes of society, that on no account is any one, of whatever rank, allowed to address his superior in the common or vernacular language of the country. This language is exclusively applied when addressing an inferior, or among the lower orders or uneducated, where distinction of rank may not be acknowledged. Persons of high and equal rank, when discoursing among themselves, sometimes use the polite language, but in general they adopt a medium, by intro[Vol I Pg 410]ducing words belonging to both branches of the language; and this is generally adopted by them in epistolary correspondence.

It is probable, that in the earlier stages of society, the terms of respect used towards a superior were comparatively few: that this second dialect, which now forms so extensive a branch of the general language, has been gradually formed with the growth of arbitrary power; and that, at one period, the extent of these terms did not exceed what is to be at this day found in the less cultivated dialects, and among the more independent races of Madúra and Súnda. Such, however, is their present extent in the Javan, that nearly one half of the words in the vernacular language, have their corresponding term in the Bása Kráma or polite language, without a knowledge of which no one dare address a superior; and although the general construction of the language, and its grammatical principles are not altered, so effectually is the language of inferiority contrasted with that of superiority, that it is possible to suppose a case in which a person might be well acquainted with one dialect, without being able to understand one sentence of the other.

It is not, however, to be inferred, that the one is studied and attained exclusively of the other, for while the one is the language of address, the other must be that of reply, and the knowledge of both is indispensable to those who have to communicate with persons of a different rank with themselves. Children are accustomed from their infancy to employ the polite language in addressing their parents and relations, and this added to the mode of instruction by the Dása Náma above described, early impresses upon their memory the corresponding terms to be used according to the occasion. The Bása Kráma, as has been before noticed, consists of a more extensive class of foreign words, and where different words from the common language have not been introduced, a variation in the orthography and termination is adopted; and the more effectually to render it distinct, not only are the affirmatives and negatives, as well as the pronouns and prepositions varied, but the auxiliary verbs and particles are different.

I have already mentioned, that besides the ordinary and the polite languages of the country, the inhabitants of these[Vol I Pg 411] Islands possess a poetic or classic language, called Káwi. In this are written all the historical and poetical compositions of note, as well as most of the ancient inscriptions on stone and copper, which are found in different parts of the Island. In a short vocabulary already referred to[127], the relation of the Káwi to the Sánscrit and Páli is shewn; and in order to enable the Sánscrit scholar to extend the comparison, I have annexed a further vocabulary of Káwi words, with the meaning which the Javans at present attach to them[128].

At what period this language was introduced into Java, whence it came, and whether it was ever the sacred or vernacular language of any foreign people, remains to be decided. Of the words of which it is composed, as far as we may judge from the annexed vocabulary, and the compositions which have come down to us, nine out of ten are of Sánscrit origin, and less corrupted than the present Páli of Siam and Ava appears to be: if, therefore, it was ever the same language with the Páli, it must have been before the Páli was corrupted, and therefore probably at a very remote period.

In Báli the Káwi is still the language of religion and law; in Java it is only that of poetry and ancient fable. In the former, the knowledge of it is almost exclusively confined to the Bramána (Bramins); in the latter, a slight knowledge of it is deemed essential for every man of condition. In Báli, the ancient, mythological, and historical poems, are however preserved in more correct Káwi than on Java: and it is to the copies obtained from thence, that reference will be principally made in the observations which follow on Javan literature.

In noticing "the accessary tongues from whence the Maláyan acquired such a degree of improvement, as removed it from the general level of the other cognate dialects, and gave it a decided predominance in that part of the east," Mr. Marsden observes, "that the earliest, as well as most important of these, appears to have been, either directly or mediately, that great parent of Indian languages, the Sanscrit, whose influence is found to have pervaded the whole [Vol I Pg 412]of the eastern (and perhaps also of the western) world, modifying and regenerating even where it did not create. That the intercourse, whatever its circumstances may have been, which produced this advantageous effect, must have taken place at an early period, is to be inferred, not only from the deep obscurity in which it is involved, but also from the nature of the terms borrowed, being such as the progress of civilization must soon have rendered necessary, expressing the feelings of the mind, the most obvious moral ideas, the simplest objects of the understanding, and those ordinary modes of thought which result from the social habits of mankind; whilst, at the same time, it is not to be understood, as some have presumed to be the case, that the affinity between these languages is radical, or that the latter is indebted to any Hindu dialect for its names for the common objects of sense[129]."

The same observations apply still more extensively to the Javan; and in the Káwi or classic language, we may presume to have discovered the channel by which the Javan received its principal store of Sanscrit words, for it is the practice, even at present, among the better educated of the Javans, for the party to display his reading, by the introduction, particularly into epistolary correspondence and literary compositions, of Káwi words, by which means the colloquial, but more particularly the written language of the country, is daily receiving fresh accessions of Sanscrit terms. From the vocabularies now presented to the public, and the account which will be given of their literary compositions, it will appear, that few languages, even on the continent of India, have been more indebted to the Sanscrit than the Javan. One original language seems, in a very remote period, to have pervaded the whole Archipelago, and to have spread (perhaps with the population) towards Madagascar on one side, and to the islands in the South Sea on the other; but in the proportion that we find any of these tribes more highly advanced in the arts of civilized life than others, in nearly the same proportion do we find the language enriched by a corresponding accession of Sanscrit terms, directing us at once to the source[Vol I Pg 413] whence civilization flowed towards these regions. At what period, however, the light first broke in upon them, or at what period the intercourse first took place between the enlightened inhabitants of Western Asia and the islanders of this extensive Archipelago, is a question which, perhaps, may be more properly discussed, when treating of the antiquities and history of the country, and at best is involved in so much obscurity and fable, that much must be left to conjecture.

The letters of the Javan alphabet, as well as the orthographical signs, are decidedly on the principle of the Devanágari; but it is remarkable, that the letters of the alphabet do not follow the same order, notwithstanding that order is preserved in all the alphabets of Sumatra as well as in that of Celebes. This deviation has been considered presumptive of the alphabet having been introduced into the island anterior to the period when this order might have been established for the Devanágari itself, or before the refinement supposed to have been effected in that alphabet by the Bramins; but the deviation may, perhaps, be sufficiently accounted for, by the circumstance of a meaning being attached to the words formed by the order of the Javan alphabet as the letters are at present arranged, thus: hána charáka dáta sawála páda jayánia mága batáng'a; means, "there were two messengers disputing with each other, equally courageous, till they both died[130]." That this is not accidental may be inferred, not only from the common laws of chance, but from the probability of such an arrangement being preferred, both on account of its convenience, and in conformity with the spirit which in the Chándra Sangkála seeks to select such expressions for the particular numerals that are required, as may make a sentence.

Near the ruins of Brambánan and Sínga-sári, are still found inscriptions in the pure Devánágari character of a very ancient form. A specimen of these, together with one of the square Káwi, is exhibited in the accompanying plate, corresponding in size with the original. Annexed to each letter in the Devanágari character found on Java, is the modern character,[Vol I Pg 414] and in the same manner the modern Javan letters are placed under the Káwi; and, in order to enable the reader to compare the forms of the consonants used in the alphabets of Ava, Siam, and Java, with the Devanágari, they have been placed against each other in another plate. It will be seen that many of the letters of the Káwi correspond so exactly with the square Páli of the Birmans, as to leave no doubt of their having originally been the same. It is probable, also, that were our acquaintance with the Páli more extensive, a similar coincidence would be found between the languages.

Upon the overthrow of the Hindu empire on Java, the natives may be considered to have lost most of their knowledge of the Káwi language; for although numerous compositions in it are still to be found among them, and these compositions are recited in their national entertainments, they would not be generally understood, but for the versions which have long since been rendered of them into the modern Javan. The Panambakán of Sumenap is perhaps, at present, alone entitled to be considered as a Káwi scholar, and he knows so little of the language as to acknowledge, while assisting in translating from it, that he was often under the necessity of guessing at the meaning.

The knowledge of the ancient characters seems, on Java, to have been for many years almost exclusively confined to the family of this chief, and it is stated, that they owe their knowledge of it, and of the Káwi language itself, to the circumstance of one of them having visited Báli, to which island it is that we must now look as the chief depositary of what remains of the literature and science which once existed on Java.

It is not unusual for the Javans, in carrying on any secret or political correspondence, to adopt a mystical language, known only to the parties themselves; and on occasions where attempts have been made to stir up the common people to commotion, scrolls have been distributed in various unintelligible characters, which, for the most part, appear to have had no other object but to impose on the credulity of those who were too willing to believe them sacred and mysterious. Were the characters intelligible, the mystery would cease, and the charm be dispelled. Of the manner in which the letters of the[Vol I Pg 415] alphabet are applied in forming this mystical language, an instance is given at the conclusion of the vocabulary of Káwi words[131].

Unlike the Malayan, the Javan language owes little or nothing to the Arabic, except a few terms connected with government, religion, and science, which have been admitted with the religion and laws of Mahomet. The language, as well as the ancient institutions of the country, have been but little affected by the conversion. The Javan language was abundantly copious before the introduction of Arabic literature, and had few or no deficiencies to be supplied.

The general character of the language is strongly indicative of a former advanced state of civilization, and illustrates, in some degree, the present character of the people. It is rich and refined; it abounds in synonymes and nice distinctions; it is mixed and easily made to bend, and suit itself to every occasion; it is, in a high degree, expressive of power and servility[132].

As the languages of the whole Archipelago are so intimately connected with each other, and that of Celebes in particular is so little known, I have subjoined in an Appendix some further comparative vocabularies of the languages of Java, with some observations on the Búgis and Mangkásar nations[133].

For ordinary purposes, the Javans, as already described, use a modification of some of the letters of their alphabet as numerals, and a representation of these numerals has been given in the table of the Javan alphabet, page 404; but on occasions of importance, it is usual to employ certain signs or symbols in lieu of these ordinary numerals, and this practice appears to be of great antiquity among them. These symbols [Vol I Pg 416]are termed chándra sangkála, "reflections of royal times," or "the light of royal dates," and consist in a certain number of objects, &c. either represented in design or named, each of which is significant of one of the ten numerals. Of the former class are said to be those found in most of the ancient buildings and coins, which in that case usually bear no inscription. The latter is found in most of the ancient inscriptions, and in such of the written compositions as possess any date at all, and is adopted in all proclamations and public writings by the sovereign of the present day.

The Appendix G. contains an account of these peculiar numerals, as far as they are at present understood by the Javans. In the use of them, they endeavour to select such objects from the list, as when read in succession, may afford some meaning illustrative of the fact the date of which is recorded; but this is not always attended to, or at least is not always to be traced. The date of the destruction of Majapàhit (1400), the most important in the history of Java, is stated as follows, the numbers being always reversed.

Sírna ílang kertáning Búmi
Lost and gone is the work (pride) of the land.
0 0 4 1

In like manner, the date of the long graves at Grésik, near the tomb of the Princess of Chermai (1313), is thus stated:

Káya wúlan pútri íku
Like unto the moon was that Princess.
3 1 3 1

Other examples will be given, in detailing some of the principal events of Javan history.

However imperfect the foregoing general account of the languages of Java may be, it will have served to convey to the reader some notion of the extent to which it has been indebted to a foreign source for its copiousness and refinement, and to prepare him for that extensive influence of Hindu literature, which is still to be found in the compositions of the country. Of these the most important, and indeed all that have any claim to literary distinction, are found either in[Vol I Pg 417] the Káwi or in Javan versions from that classic language. On Java the establishment of a Mahomedan government for nearly four centuries, has tended in a great measure to obliterate that general knowledge among the better educated, which, there is reason to believe, once existed; but in Báli, the Hindu faith, however blended with the local customs of the island, and however perverted and distorted in its application by a semi barbarous people, is still the established religion of the country. Mahomedanism has gained but little ground there, and no part of the island has yet submitted to European authority. It was in this conveniently situated island that the adherents to that faith took refuge, when the sword of Mahomed prevailed on Java, carrying with them such remnants of the sciences and literature as they were able to rescue from the general wreck.

An account of the present state of the island of Báli, of the religious and political institutions, and of some of the peculiar customs and usages which subsist there, is essential to the illustration of Javan history; and although the limits of the present volume will not admit of our enlarging so much on this interesting subject as we could wish, it is hoped that a general notion may be formed, from the particulars which will be inserted in the chapter on the religion and antiquities of Java. In the following account of the literary compositions of Java, I shall avail myself of the more correct copies, which I was fortunate enough to obtain from Báli, confining myself in the explanation of them to the existing notions of the best informed of the Javans, it being the present state of their literature, rather than that of Báli, that I am now to describe.

The literature of Java may be considered under the general heads of ancient and modern, the former and more important division consisting of compositions in the Káwi language, which appear connected with the mythology and fabulous history of continental India.

It is to be regretted, that the work which treats most extensively of the ancient mythology of the country, and of the earliest periods of fabulous history to which the Javans of the present day refer, is not to be found in the Káwi. The Javan work, termed Kánda, is probably a translation[Vol I Pg 418] from the Káwi, and, in the absence of the original, claims our first attention. It is to this work, and the Mánek Móyo, of which an abstract will be given in the chapter on religion, that the modern Javans constantly refer for an explanation of their ancient mythology.

This composition is frequently called Pepákam. It contains the notions of mythology which appear to have been general throughout the Eastern Islands, with imperfect portions of their astronomical divisions, and of ancient history. It is to be regretted, however, that the Javan copy from which the following account is taken, though otherwise written in a very correct style, abounds in passages unfit for a chaste ear, and that it has been almost impossible entirely to purify it.

It opens with an account, first of Sáng yáng Wénang (the most powerful), who was sixth in descent from Purwáning Jan (the first of men, or Adam), and who had a son named Sáng yáng Túng'gal (the great and only one), the first, who (as is inferred from the meaning of his name) conceived that he was above all, and who setting aside the ways of his father, established the heavens, with all that they contain, under the name of Suréndra Buána, or Suraláya.

Plucking a leaf from the kastúba tree, and paying adoration to it, the leaf assumed the form of a beautiful woman, by whom he had four sons:​—1, Sáng yáng Púgu; 2, Sáng yáng Púng'gung; 3, Sáng yáng Sámba; 4, Sáng yáng Pang'at. When these children attained maturity, Púgu quarrelled with Púng'gung, on account of the splendour and riches of the dwelling of Sáng yáng Túng'gal, which each of them desired to possess. Sáng yáng Túng'gal became enraged at this: not being able to reconcile them, the heavens became disturbed; he, in consequence, seized hold of both of them, Púgu by the right and Púng'gung by the left hand, and cast them aside. To the former, who fell on Sábrang (the opposite coast), he gave the name of Sécha Túng'gára; to the latter, who fell on Java, he gave that of Náyan-taka (the same with Sémar, the attendant on Arjúna). He converted them into monstrous figures, ridiculous in appearance and speech, exciting laughter by their actions, and with an inclination to follow in attendance on warriors.

Sáng yáng Tung'gal, who is said to have been invisible,[Vol I Pg 419] and who in the Wáyangs of the present day is designated by a sun or glory of light, transferred the government of heaven to his son, Sáng yáng Sámba, directing him not to separate from his remaining brother, whose assistance he would require, and conferring upon him the title of Níla Kánta (blue necked), on account of his being of bright appearance, but having a tinge of blue on the front of his throat. To Pang'at, his brother, he gave the name of Kaníka pútra.

Srí Níla Kánta subsequently assumed various names and titles; the most pre-eminent of which was Pramésti Gúru, by which name and title he is acknowledged as supreme throughout the Eastern Islands. This title was first conferred upon him when the deities in Saraláya were numerous, and when all looked up to him as an instructor or Gúru. Kaníka Pútra took the name of Rési Naráda.

The thoughts of Sáng yáng Gúru turning one day upon women, he took a leaf of the kastúba tree, and paying adoration to it, it was immediately converted into a most beautiful female, who took the name of Uma. While she was young he looked upon her as a daughter, but when she arrived at maturity, he felt a stronger passion. Uma disliking this fled, and Sáng yáng Gúru being unable to catch her, it occurred to him that he might be more successful if he employed four hands and arms; whereupon, at his desire, two additional arms sprang from his shoulders, and Uma was immediately within his embrace. But she still resisted his desires, and during the struggle Káma Sála and Máha Praláya, both Rasáksas, but the latter in the form of a man, were produced, by an event similar to that which gave birth to some of the children of Jupiter[134]. Sáng yáng Gúru still observing the repulsive conduct of Uma, said to her, "your appearance is like that of a Rasáksa," whereupon she immediately assumed the form of one; and grieving sorely at this transformation, beseeched that she might again become what she had been, but Sáng yáng Gúru was deaf to her entreaties, and he conferred upon her the name of Káli Dúrga.

Káma Sála and Máha Praláya, when they arrived at maturity, mutually sought from each other to discover their descent, but not succeeding, they agreed to proceed in company[Vol I Pg 420] to Suraláya, to demand information from Sáng yáng Gúru, resolving that, if they were not satisfied with his reply, they would make war against him. Arrived at Suraláya, they overcome the opposition of Rési Naráda, and reach the presence of Sáng yáng Gúru, who informs them that they are not his children, though they sprang from his body, and that it was the fault of the woman only that they had their present form. He tells them that he cannot allow them to remain in Suraláya, but will provide for them a place in which with their mother they may reside. He then appoints the mother to be sovereign of Naráka (Tambráka múka), under the title of Yáma Dipáti. To Káma Sála he gives the title of Batára Kála; the other retained the name of Máha Praláya. To Kála he assigns the charge of the bridge between earth and heaven, called Wot ágal ágil (the tremulous or swinging bridge, over which a good man may pass in safety, but from which, on account of its being shaken by his sins, a bad man falls into the gulph below), and to Máha Praláya that of the souls of men when they die, in order that he may direct to the bridge such as, from good conduct on earth, have a chance of passing it, and cast the others into Naráka, to his mother Yáma Dipáti.

Sáng yáng Gúru was again inclined to take another leaf of the kastúba tree, but apprehending that it might turn out as before, he restrained his inclination. Then purifying himself, there appeared before him, at his desire, a beautiful boy, to whom he gave the name of Sámbu, and after five more purifications, there successively appeared, secondly, a boy of a high colour, beautiful and very powerful, to whom he gave the name of Bráma; thirdly, a boy, appearing extremely powerful and enraged, to whom he gave the name of Máha déwa; fourthly, a boy beautifully white, bright, and fierce looking, and having sharp and sparkling eyes, to whom he gave the name of Basúki; fifthly, a boy of a deep black colour, but extremely beautiful, to whom he gave the name of Wísnu (Vishnu); sixthly, a girl of a bright yellow colour, beautiful and slender, to whom he gave the name of Warsíki.

Rési Naráda[135] following the example of his superior, there [Vol I Pg 421]appeared before him after several purifications, five boys. The first was brilliant and bright as a pure flame; on him Sáng yáng Gúru conferred the name of Súria. The second was very weak and delicate, but well formed and beautiful; he received the name of In dra. The third was short and strong, and was named Sákra (or Chákra). The fourth was of a blue colour, and looking as if he would grow to a great height, with curled hair like a Papúa[136]; on him, was conferred the name of Báyu. The fifth was most beautiful, but appeared sad and sorrowful; to him Sáng yáng Gúru gave the name of Chándra.

This effected, Sáng yáng Gúru considered that a sufficient number of deities had been created for the charge of Suraláya.

Sáng yáng Gúru then turned his amorous thoughts towards Warsíki, but all the deities opposing it, Rési Naráda advises him to take a woman from the earth, and offers himself to go in search of one. This being agreed to, Naráda descends upon the earth, and discovers a most beautiful virgin, not yet arrived at maturity, at a place called Mádang; Sáng yáng Gúru no sooner beheld her than he became enamoured of her, and giving the name of Sri, he places her under the charge of Batára Sákra, with especial injunctions to take care of her. When she arrived at maturity she became most beautiful, and it so happens that Batára Wísnu beholds her by accident: they immediately feel a mutual passion, and Wísnu obtains his desire. When Sáng yáng Gúru hears of it, he becomes highly enraged; Batára Wísnu is cast out from Suraláya and thrown upon the earth, at a place called Waríngen pítu, or seven banyan trees.

[Here the narrative breaks off, and the story of Wátu Gúnung commences as follows.]

There was a woman of the name of Sínta, who resided on the earth, and who had a younger sister named Lándap. Sínta dreamt one night that she was sleeping with a Pandíta, named Rési Gána: after a few months she felt herself pregnant, and at the expiration of nine she was delivered of a most beautiful boy. This child, however, soon became[Vol I Pg 422] unruly; and it happened that one day, when he had enraged his mother excessively, she struck him on the head with the wooden spoon which was in the rice vessel, on which he fled into the woods, and afterwards becoming a devotee, his mother long searched for him in vain.

At length having concluded his penance, he wandered about in quest of subsistence, until he came to the country of Gíling Wési, where he sought alms at a feast; but not being satisfied with the provision afforded to him, the parties became enraged, and hostilities ensuing, the Raja of the country was slain, and this boy succeeded him, under the title of Rája Séla Perwáta, which in the common language is the same as Wátu Gúnung, a name conferred upon him from his having rested on a mountain like a stone, and obtained his strength and power thereby, without other aid or assistance.

Becoming a great and powerful sovereign, he was still unmarried when his mother and sister arrived in the country. Ignorant who they were, and admiring their beauty, he espoused them both, and by his mother Sínta had twenty-seven children, when being one day restless and anxious to sleep, he requested her to comb and scratch his head, in doing which she discovered the wound and recognized her son. Her grief became excessive, and explaining the circumstance to him, she urged him to obtain another wife from among the Widadári of Suraláya, and recommended Sri as a proper object of his choice.

Wátu Gúnung thereupon sent an embassy to Suraláya, but the gods opposing his desires, because Sri had been delivered of a child by Wísnu, he assembled his forces and nearly defeated those of Suraláya, when Naráda pointing out the danger to Sáng yáng Gúru, urged the advantage that would arise from the recal of Wisnu. Naráda was accordingly authorized to call him back, with a promise that if he should be victorious on the present occasion, he should be pardoned, and permitted to return to his former abode in Suraláya. Wísnu was no sooner engaged in the cause, than he formed a stratagem with Wilúwuh, a demon Rasáksa, with whom he had become intimate at Waríngen pítu, and directed him to proceed to the sleeping place of Wítu[Vol I Pg 423] Gúnung, in order to ascertain his secret. This spy had no sooner concealed himself in a place where he could overhear the conversation that was going on, than he heard the following discourse between Wátu Gúnung and Sínta.

Sínta. "What think you; shall we be successful or not in this enterprise?"

Wátu Gúnung. "If the gods are so nearly destroyed by those who are subordinate to me, what must they not suffer when I go myself? for I shall not then have occasion to use force. I need only say a few words, and if they don't understand the meaning of them, they will forthwith be destroyed, and I shall myself become sovereign of Suraláya. Should they, however, comprehend the meaning of what I say, then I shall know that my power is gone; but still there will be trouble in putting me to death."

Sínta. "Tell me what are the words you mean to use, and why they have not the power to put you to death?"

Wátu Gúnung. "I shall enclose in my hand the Sástra or description of my country, and holding it out, demand of them to tell me what it is. Then I shall repeat these words: dáka wói díki, and also díki wói dáka. The meaning of these words is easy enough, but the gods don't understand it: a great tree has small fruit; great fruit has a small tree. The great tree with small fruit means the waríngin tree; the great fruit and small tree means the gourd. I am invulnerable by all weapons, but if they pull my two arms asunder, then will they find it easy to put me to death; but this the gods know not."

With this intelligence the spy immediately hastened to Wísnu, who arrived at Suraláya when the gods were nearly beaten by the twenty-seven sons of Wátu Gúnung. After this success, Wátu Gúnung approaching Sáng yáng Gúru, put the intended questions to him. The latter referring to Wísnu, they were immediately recognized by him, on which Wátu Gúnung attempted to escape, but was soon overtaken by Wísnu, who laying hold of one of his arms, while his son, Sri Gáti, held the other, they soon succeeded in putting him to death. As he expired a voice was heard by Wísnu, saying, "think not that it will end here: hereafter trouble will again arise in Suraláya, in the time of Rája Sumáli, of the country[Vol I Pg 424] of Séla gríng'ging, who will have a brother named Mang'liáwan. Forget it not."

When the twenty-seven sons of Wátu Gúnung heard of their father's fate, they wished to sacrifice themselves; but Wísnu disposed of them as follows, saying, "let there be a sign to the world of this victory. I will once in seven days put to death one of these twenty-seven, so that they may be killed in rotation." The grief of Sínta being excessive, she wept for seven days, and afterwards was received into Suraláya, and Wísnu added her name, as well as those of her sister and Wátu Gúnung, to the twenty-seven, and established the thirty wúku, as everlasting signs, in commemoration of this victory. From the grief of Sínta for seven days, it is said that rain always falls during the wúku which bears her name[137].

Then seizing the Pepáteh and three assistants, who with Wátu Gúnung had constituted the council of five, he declared that they should serve to commemorate the four great revolutions or Nága (serpents:) Nága Búmí (of the earth,) Nága Dína (of the day,) Nága Wúlan (of the moon,) Nága Táhun (of the year.) He struck out both the eyes of Nága Búmi, that the earth might never again see to attack the heavens, and afterwards the left eye of Nága Dína, and the right eye of Nága Wúlan.

[Here that part of the relation which has an astronomical reference breaks off.]

Bráma then following the example of Naráda, purifies himself, and at his desire, first there appears before him a boy of strong make, on whom he confers the name of Bráma Táma; secondly, a boy, also of strong make, whom he names Bráma Sudárga; and thirdly, a beautiful girl, on whom he confers the name of Bramáni Wáti.

The two boys, when they attained maturity, descended from Suralága. Bráma Sudárga united in marriage with a female of the earth: from them, in the third degree, were descended Raja Sumáli and Mangliáwan. In the reign of the latter of these a destructive war is stated to have taken place. Mangliáwan laid waste Suraláya and slew Sri Gáti, but afterwards,[Vol I Pg 425] when he shewed a desire to possess Sri, Wísnu exerted all his strength, and put him to death. As Mangliáwan expired Wísnu heard a voice saying unto him, "The work is not yet complete; hereafter, when there shall be on earth a man named Rahwána, who will be descended from Bráma Táma, beware of him: in his time the peace of heaven will be again disturbed, and he will lay it waste." Bráma Táma espoused a princess of Chámpa, named S'ráti Déwi, by whom he had a son, named Bráma Rája, who became Raja of Indrapúri, and had a son named Chítra Bahár or Angsárwa, to whom, when he became advanced in age, he delivered over charge of the country, proceeding himself into the forests as a devotee, and assuming the name of Rési Táma.

Sumáli had a daughter, named Sukési Déwi. This prince, alarmed at the accounts of Mangliáwan's death, fled with her to Chítra Bahár, and requested him to protect her as a maiden, giving him authority to sanction her marriage on any proper occasion which might offer. He himself fearing the vengeance of Sáng yáng Gúru, fled further into the woods for concealment, but died on the way. Chítra Bahár, forgetting the nature of his charge, became enamoured of the girl. This happened when he was performing a penance; for he had two sons, named Mísra Wárna and Bísa Wárna, to the former of whom he had intrusted the charge of his government. The girl resisted on account of his age, but he at last succeeded. During the first amour he received from her nine strokes on the head with a stone. In due time she became pregnant and was delivered of a boy, having nine marks or excrescences on his head, which added to his natural face, making as it were ten fronts to his head: he was thence called Dása múka (ten-faced.) In the second attempt she pulled the lobes of both his ears with great strength, and when delivered she produced a child in the form of a Rasáksa, and having immense lobes to the ears: this child was named Amba kárna, or long-eared. In the third she scratched him all over, and the fruit of it was a girl, born with long nails and claws at the end of each finger: she was named Sárpa kanáka, or serpent-nailed; the wounds inflicted by these nails are said to have been mortal. But the fourth being un[Vol I Pg 426]resisted, she was delivered of a most beautiful boy, who, having a countenance and mouth beautiful like those of a girl, was named Bibisána.

When these children were grown up Chítra Bahár carried them to Mísra Wárna, saying, "these are your brothers and sister, assist them, and they will be of use to you in your government." Mísra Wárna had a great dread of thunder. He possessed a weapon called límpung, which descended to him from Bráma Rája, and Dása Múka, desirous of possessing it, ingratiated himself into his favour, but no sooner obtained possession of it than he formed a design against his brother's life, in the hope of succeeding him. He accordingly performed a penance and prayed for thunder, and as soon as it was heard he slew his brother, and gave out that he disappeared during the thunder. At the moment, however, that he struck Mísra Wárna with the weapon it vanished; still he became Raja.

In the mean time Bísa Wárna became beloved by the gods, and they presented to him a car, named jaladára, in which he could be conveyed through the clouds. When Dása Múka heard of this he became enraged, and demanded the carriage for himself; but he had no sooner made the request than he perceived his lost weapon descend upon the lap of Bísa Wárna. Still more enraged at this, the altercation did not cease until Bísa Wárna, with one blow, laid him senseless on the ground; at which moment the father, Chítra Bahár, coming up, he succeeded in reconciling them, and with impressing upon Dása Múka the futility of his attempts against his brother. Chítra Bahár on this occasion repeated several invocations to the deity, which were treasured up in the recollection of after ages: such as Hong! Awígna; Hong! Widadánia; Hong! Widadáni, &c.

The father, however, had no sooner withdrawn, than Dása Múka again took courage, and another combat ensued, which ended in his being a second time struck senseless on the ground, blood issuing from his mouth. Bísa Wárna then laying hold of his body was about to cut his throat with the limpung, when Rési Naráda appeared and arrested his hand, saying, "forbear, Sáng yáng Gúru does not permit that you slay your brother. By attending to this advice you will[Vol I Pg 427] hereafter become a deity in heaven. Give your weapon to your brother, who is Raja of Indrapúri." Bisa Wárna assenting, Rési Naráda then brought Dása Múka to his senses, and delivering over to him the weapon and car, conferred upon him the name of Rah-wána[138], from his blood having flowed in such quantity as to reach the adjoining forest.

[In some copies of this work it is said that Dása Múka was called Rahwána, because in his youth he delighted in the destruction of children and to spill their blood. There is also some variation in this part of the story, and Citrá Bahár is termed Chátor Bója (four-shouldered), on account of the great strength he exhibited in the war with Níli Kewácha].

Rési Naráda then presented Rahwána to Sáng yáng Gúru, who taking a liking to him adopted him as his son, giving him a saléndang[139] as a mark of his affection. Rahwána, however, was soon dazzled by the appearance of a bright flame, when forgetting the attachment of Sáng yáng Gúru, he pursued it, until he came into the presence of Sri, from whose beauty it proceeded. She, however, ran to her husband Wísnu for succour, and a severe combat ensued, during which the heavens were disturbed, and many of its most valuable contents were destroyed by Rahwána. Rési Naráda at length approaching, separated the combatants, saying, "this is not the proper place for your contention; better had you descend to the earth. As for you, Wísnu, as you are a god, and may be ashamed to shew yourself as such on earth, it is the will of Sáng yáng Gúru that you be permitted to appear there in the form of a man, and to do there as you like." On which Rahwána was cast out of Suraláya, and Wísnu, with his consort Sri, disappeared, without any one knowing whither they went.

Bísa Wárna was then, in fulfilment of the promise given by Naráda, called up to heaven, to supply the place among the Déwas vacated by Wísnu, and approaching the presence of Sáng yáng Gúru received from him the name of Batára Asmára or Kamajáya (the god of love), and presented him with a consort, named Káma Ráti or Batári Ráti. [Vol I Pg 428]

[Here ends the Kérta Yoga, or first age of the world, and the Tréta Yóga, or second age, commences.]

Wísnu, after his descent upon the earth, first became incarnate in the person of an illustrious sovereign, named Arjúna Wijáya, of the country of Mauspáti, and reigned for a period of seventeen years, during which he was successful in two wars. One, in which the Rája of Tánjung-púra, having a beautiful daughter, named Chítra Wáti, in whom Sri had become incarnate, offered her in marriage to the prince who should overcome in wrestling all the others assembled: Arjúna Wijáya, however, carried her off from the place in which she was secreted (Gedóng Brahála) which produced a war, wherein he was victorious. The other war was with Rahwána, who attacked him at Mauspáti: in this Rahwána was taken prisoner and confined in a cage; but on the solicitations of his father, Chítra Bahár, he was forgiven, and allowed to return to his country, on condition that neither he nor his descendants would ever again make war on Arjúna Wijáya.

Wísnu afterwards quitting the body of Arjúna Wijáya became incarnate in the person of Ráma, son of Dása Ráta (who when young was called Murdáka), entering the body of his mother during conception, and coming into the world with the child. About the same time Batára Basúki, who had a son named Baswárat, united to Bramáni Wáti, becoming sorrowful, quitted Suraláya, with a determination to follow the fortunes of Wisnu, who after quitting the body of Arjúna Wijáya roamed for some time round the skirts of the earth until he fell in with Basúki. Wisnu then said to him, "there is a Raja of Mándra-púra, named Bása Ráta, who has two wives, named Déwi Rágu and Mánwa-dári. I am younger than you, but on earth I must be older. I will enter the body of Rágu, and become incarnate in the child she will bring forth; do you the same with the other." Mánwa-dári was delivered of a child named Lakasamána, in which Basúki accordingly became incarnate.

[The portion of the work, which also includes a relation of the feats of Báli son of Gotáma, the founder of Astíno, brings the story down to the period of the poem of Ráma. The history is then carried on to the period of the Pendáwa[Vol I Pg 429] Líma or Bráta Yudha, and may be concisely stated as follows:]

Baswárat, son of Basúki, had by Bramáni Wáti two sons, Mánu-Manára and Mánu-Madéwa. The daughter of Mánu-Madéwa, named Siráti, was married to Bramána Rája, and from this marriage proceeded Rahwána. The Pendáwa Líma were tenth in descent from Mánu-Manára, as in the following pedigree:

The Tréta Yóga or second age, is supposed to have ended, and the Duapára Yóga, or third age, to have commenced on the death of Ráma, which happened about the time of Sákri.

The Wiwáha káwi is a regular poem, and contains three hundred and fifty-five páda, or metrical stanzas. The subject is as follows:

Erang Báyu had a son, whose form was that of a Rasáksa, and who became sovereign of the country of Ima-ímantáka, under the name of Détia Kéwácha. The father, desirous of getting rid of him, urged him to go to Suréndra Buána, in search of a flower, called Turáng'ga játi, which was worn by all the Widadáris. The Rasáksa accordingly goes in search of it, and no sooner comes into the presence of Batára Gúru, than a Widadári sitting by his side, named Su Prába, the daughter of Batára Sámba, presents one of these flowers to him, with which he returns to his father, who alarmed at his success, immediately delivers over to him the government of his country.

After Détia Kéwácha had thus become sovereign, he desired to be united in marriage with the Widadári who had given him the flower, and dispatches a Rasáksa named Kolángkía, with a letter addressed to Batára Gúru, soliciting[Vol I Pg 430] Su Prába in marriage, and threatening to destroy the heavens in case of refusal. When the messenger reached Suréndra Buána he presented the letter to Batára Sákra, who knowing its contents without reading it, immediately replied in a rage, "then let your sovereign carry his threat into execution, for Bitára Gúru will never consent that a Widadári be married to a Rasáksa."

When the messenger had disappeared, Batára Sákra communicated to the gods the state of affairs, on which Batára Gúru became enraged. As he curbed his passion, Naráka becomes disturbed; smoke issued from its deepest recesses and the heavens rocked to and fro. Rési Naráda then apprised Batára Gúru that there was a man on the earth, named Bagáwan Wardiníngsih, or Mitarága, who had long performed his devotions on the mountain Indra-kíla, and suggested that it might be better to employ him against Detia Kewácha than for the gods, who were ignorant of the art of war, to await in heaven the coming of the Rasáksa. Batára Gúru approves of the suggestion, and Rési Naráda descends accordingly to Indra-kíla, accompanied by seven Widadáris, in the hope that by the influence of their charms, he might succeed in abstracting Wardiníngsih from the severe penance which he was performing. The names of the Widadáris who accompanied him were Su Prába, Wilotáma, Leng-leng-Mandana, Sumartáka, Ang'impuni, Su Prába-sini, and Dérsa-nála. In their train followed a thousand of the young and beautiful maids of heaven.

Wardiníngsih was performing a long and rigid penance, for the purpose of recovering the kingdom of Astína; and when Naráda arrived at Indra-kíla, the sun had climbed half way up the heavens. The Widadáris immediately displayed their charms, and employed every artifice to attract his attention, but they could not succeed. One of them, who resembled his wife, even threw off her upper garments, and exposing her bosom embraced him with transport; but it did not avail.

Batára Sákra then descended to Indra-kíla, in the disguise of a Dervise, assuming the name of Panjíngrum, and approaching Wardiníngsih, as if in grief, threw off his disguise, and resuming the god, addressed Wardiníngsih as[Vol I Pg 431] follows: "My visit to you is on three accounts; first, I request your assistance in this war; secondly, I wish to apprise you, that Batára Gúru will in a short time appear to you; thirdly, to advise you, that when you see Batára Gúru, and he asks you whether you have courage to engage in the war or not, you answer that you have; requesting, however, in return, that when the war Bráta Yúdha takes place, the Pandáwa may be successful. You may then request two arrows, called paso páti and trisula, and the crown cháping basunánda, the vest ánta kasúma, the slippers márdu kachárma: these slippers, when you wear them, will enable you to fly, and to enter heaven in person. Request, moreover, the chariot mánik, which is drawn by elephants and horses of the heavenly race (sambráni), and called chípta waláha, and that if you are successful in the war with Détia Kewácha, Batára Gúru, as well as the other gods, may each present you with a Widadári." Batára Sákra having made an impression on the mind of Wardiníngsih returned to heaven.

In the mean time Mang-máng Múrka, the Peptáeh of Détia Kewácha, who had a face like a hog, received orders to lay waste the mountain of Indra-Kíla. He no sooner arrived there, and began to destroy the cultivation, than Sémar gave information of it to Wardiníngsih, who coming forth with his bow and arrow, immediately struck the Rasáksa; upon which Batára Gúru appeared in the form of a forester, holding in his hand a bow without an arrow. Then straggling with Wardiníngsih to withdraw the arrow with which the Rasáksa had been struck, each pulled at it ineffectually until a quarrel ensued, in which Batára Gúru accused Wardiníngsih of having a bad heart, and of following the dictates of his Gúru Dúrna, who was at Astina, and who had a crooked nose and mouth. Wardiníngsih being enraged at this, a severe combat ensued, when Batára Gúru having laid hold of his adversary's hair, the other attempted to retaliate, on which Batára Gúru vanished. A fragrant odour immediately arose, and Wardiníngsih reflected upon what Sákra had told him, and instantly perceived a bright arch, like the rainbow, with Batára Gúru appearing within it, attended by Rési Naráda and a suite of Widadáris: bowing profoundly to the ground, he felt himself permitted to approach the deity[Vol I Pg 432] and kiss his feet; Batára Gúru then informed him of his object in coming to Indra-kíla, and requested that he would make war upon Détia Kewácha, who was the enemy of the gods; to which Wardiníngsih consented, making the requests which had been suggested by Batára Sákra. To these Batára Gúru assented, adding, "If you have success in this war, I will appoint you sovereign of the heavens for one year. You shall have power over all the gods, and the Widadáris shall be your attendants; and as long as you live you shall have power to visit Suraláya at your pleasure." This said, Batára Gúru disappeared.

On the next day Wardiníngsih prepared for his journey to Ima imantáka, the country of Détia Kewácha, and on his way thither fell in with the Widadáris, Su Prába and Wilá Táma, who had been sent by Batára Sákra. Wardiníngsih, on his arrival at the Rasáksa's capital, commissioned these Widadáris to enter the palace and feign an attachment for Détia Kewácha. Détia Kewácha no sooner beheld them, than being thrown off his guard, he declared, that the object of the war being thus attained without trouble, he would enjoy himself at his ease. Then dressing himself in his princely robes, and perfuming himself as a bridegroom, he approached Su Prába, and taking her on his knee chaunted a song, which so delighted her that she fell asleep. Wardiníngsih, on this, entered into her ear-stud, and awoke her. Detia Kewácha then urged her to gratify his passion, but she refused, and required, as a mark of confidence, that he would trust her with the secret of his power. This he refused, until she was about to stab herself, when he whispered in her ear that he was invulnerable except within his throat; if any one injured that part in the least he must instantly die. Wardiníngsih thus ascertaining his vulnerable point, escaped with the Widadáris, and ascended to Batára Sákra in Suraláya.

Détia Kewácha, then collecting his forces, proceeded to the war with a countless host, laying waste the country, until he arrived near Tánda Wáru, where he halted to make preparations for the attack. The heavens now shook, and Naráka emitted smoke. The gods trembled with fear, and the wind, charged with the gross stench of the Rasáksa, almost overpowered them.

Wardiníngsih having arrived at the abode of Sákra, the[Vol I Pg 433] great bell (gatíta) was struck, when the gods immediately assembled. The forces of Suraláya then moved on, Wardiníngsih following in a splendid chariot. Having thrown off the Pandíta's garment, he now appeared richly clothed in the character of Arjúna, adorned with gold and costly gems. The chariot had formerly belonged to Ráma, and had been preserved by Batára Gúru, when Ráma committed himself to the flames.

The battle commenced, and the forces of the Rasáksa being most numerous and powerful, were about to carry all before them, when Gatot Kácha arrived, and taking part with Wardiníngsih, turned the tide of the battle in favour of the gods, plucking up the mountains by the roots, and casting them upon the Rasáksas. Détia Kewácha escaping the general overthrow, and attended by Sécha Tung'gára, shot an arrow at Wardiníngsih, which the latter caught under his arm, and feigning death, fell to the ground. Great was the grief of Sémar and of all his other attendants; but Détia Kewácha approaching burst out into a loud laugh, when Wardiníngsih, who had watched his opportunity, observing the Rasáksa's mouth open, instantly rose, and struck the arrow into it, and so killed him.

Gátot Kácha, who, in consequence of the absence of Arjúna on a penance for three years, had been sent to recall him, and who had discovered him by the appearance of his attendant Sémar, now approached Wardiníngsih, and kissing his feet, informed him of the sorrow of Séna and Dérma Wángsa at his absence, on which Wardiníngsih desired him to return and report what he had seen.

He then proceeded, attended by the victorious host, to the dwelling of Batára Gúru, called Papáriwárna; on which Batára Gúru assembling the gods, and permitting Wardiníngsih to approach and kiss his feet, declares to him that he was not forgetful of his promise, and would forthwith fulfil it. He then declared him sovereign of Suraláya, under the title Prábu Aníli Kíti, and gave him free access to every part of the heavens. Arjúná then visited the seven quarters of Suraláya, in which was the abode of the Widadáris, and assumed the sovereignty accordingly; while Gatot Kácha, proceeding to Amérta, informed Séna and Dérma Wángsa of what had[Vol I Pg 434] passed. There were also present at his relation Nakóla Sa déwa, Batára Krésna, Sámbu, and Panchawála, all equally anxious to know the fate of Arjúna. Déwi Kúnti, the mother of Pandáwa, having calculated on the death of Arjúna, and made preparation for burning herself in consequence, was overjoyed at this unexpected good news; and Dérma Wángsa, the sovereign Amérta, gave a grand entertainment, in which the Bedáyas danced to the sound of the music, while Gàtot Kácha related the feats of Arjúna.

The Ráma Káwi is usually divided into four parts. The first, called Ráma Gán-drung, contains the history of Ráma, from his infancy until his marriage; the second, Ráma Bádra, from his marriage until his consort, Síti Déwi, is carried off by Rahwána; the third, Ráma Táli, from the first employment of Hánuman as a dúta or messenger, until he builds the bridge from the continent to the island Ang'lángka-di púra; and the fourth, called Ramayána (by which is understood Ráma when arrived at his full power), from the beginning of the war of Dána Lága on Lánka till the end of it, when Ráma regains his consort Siti Déwi, and returns to Nayúdía, leaving Rahwána's brother, Bibisána, sovereign of Lángka. Of these the Rámayána is the most common on Java. The Ráma Táli has been recently obtained from Báli. This composition, as one poem, is by far the most extensive of any which the Javans possess.

The mythology contained in the Ráma differs, in some measure, from that of the Kánda. Ráma is here made to relate to Bibisána, in Artáti measure but Káwi language, that Bráma, in the first instance, sprang from Wísnu; that in the beginning of the world, Wísnu existed in that part of the heavens named Antabóga, the place of serpents; that Bráma first communicated the knowledge of the Sástra. Nine incarnations of Wísnu are then detailed: the first, when he appeared as Iwak Mokúr-mo (the tortoise); the second, as Sing'ha (the lion), when he was called Barúna; the third, as Arjúna Wijáya; the fourth in Winákitáya or Ráma. In the fifth he was to appear as Krésna; and after the sixth, seventh, and eighth, in the ninth when he would become incarnate in the person of a great sovereign, named Prábu Purúsa.

Anráka Súra (the courageous child of the sun) is written in[Vol I Pg 435] Káwi, but translated into Javan, under the name of Búma Kalantáka, or Emba táli. The period to which it refers is that occupied posterior to that of the Wiwáha, and prior to that of the Bráta Yúdha. It relates almost exclusively to the exploits of Búma, who was the son of Déwi Pratíwi, of the race of Widadáris.

Déwi Pratíwi being enamoured of Wísnu, her thoughts were continually turned towards him, notwithstanding he had been cast out of Suraláya. One night having dreamt that her passion for him was gratified, she conceived a child. She afterwards heard in her sleep a voice saying to her, "Descend to the earth in search of Krésna, for Wísnu is become incarnate in his person: his colour is deep black." She descended accordingly; and established herself at Praju-téksna, where she was delivered of a son, whom she named Búma Kalantáka. When he arrived at maturity, she informed him who was his father, and when he discovered him he was received and acknowledged by him. Krésna had afterwards another son, named Sámba, who having insulted the wife of Búma a quarrel arose between the two brothers, in which Búma put Sámba to death in a most disgraceful manner, mangling and exposing his body. Krésna, enraged at this, threw his Chákra at Búma, desiring Gátot Kácha to raise him from the earth the moment he is struck, lest the power of his mother should restore him. Gátot Kácha obeys his orders and Búma is destroyed. Séna, one of the sons of Pándu, is one of the personages of this poem.

The history of the succeeding period is contained in the Bráta Yudha, or holy war, the most popular and esteemed work in the language. This poem is identified in its subject with the Mahabárat of continental India, in the same manner as that of Ráma is with the Ramáyan. An analysis of this poem will be given under the head poetry.

Next, in point of time, to this story, follows that of the poem called Parakísit, which abounds with the praises of that prince, who was the son of Bimányu and grandson of Arjúna, and is descriptive of the tranquillity and happiness which universally prevailed during his reign. It also contains an historical relation of the sovereigns who succeeded him,[Vol I Pg 436] and brings down the line of princes from Parikísit through ten descents to Aji Jáya Báya, as follows.

It was during the reign of the last of these princes that the first intercourse with Western India is supposed to have taken place; an account of the historical composition relating to a subsequent period is therefore reserved for the chapters on History.

The Súria Kétu (or lofty sun) contains in a few stanzas the history of a prince, the fifth in descent from the Kuráwa, who by dint of prayer to the gods obtained a son named Kérta Súma.

The Níti Sástra Káwi is a work on ethics, comprized in one hundred and twenty-three stanzas, each of which contains a moral lesson: it is considered coeval with, if not more ancient than the Bráta Yudha, and the Káwi is considered the most pure extant. The modern version of this work has already been referred to, and translations of some of the stanzas have been introduced. The following are taken indiscriminately, and translated immediately from the Káwi.

A man who is moderate and cool in his desires will do good to a country. A woman is like unto Déwi Manuhára when her desires are moderate, and men cannot look upon her without delight. A Pandíta must act up to his doctrines; although it may be in war and difficulty, still he must act up to what he professes.

This must be the conduct of the Pandíta. If attacked by a serpent, he must not be moved by it, nor even by a lion: still the same, he must be firm and unmoved, and[Vol I Pg 437] neither the serpent nor the lion will have power to hurt him.

As the surája flower floats in the water, so does the heart exist in a pure body; but let it not be forgotten, that the root of the flower holds to the ground, and that the heart of man depends upon his conduct in life. The conduct of a Pandíta must be distinguished by mercy, charity, firmness, and prudence. His speech should be soft and gentle, and in accordance with and like unto written instruction, so as to moderate and calm the mind and desires of mankind.

It is mean and low for a rich man not to dress well: it is still more mean and low for a man of understanding to mix with bad company. So it is when a man attains a high age and knows not the Sástra; but when a man, through the whole course of his life, does not reflect upon his conduct, such a man is of no use in the world whatever.

A man should wear that sort of apparel which in the general opinion is considered proper, and should also eat that kind of food which is generally approved of. If he does this, he will appear like unto a virgin, who has just attained maturity. Let him not follow implicitly the advice and instruction he may receive, but let him weigh them, and select what is good by his own understanding.

In war, let there be no fear on any account, but let the whole thoughts be directed to the main object of urging the warriors to the attack of the foe. Moreover, let the thoughts be directed to what may be the enemy's plans: this done, let the heart feel fire.

When a man engages another in his service, there are four points on which he should satisfy himself respecting him. First, his appearance: secondly, his conduct; thirdly, his intelligence; and fourthly, his honesty.

The most valuable property is gold; and whoever has much of it, if he does not assist those who are poor and in want, is like unto a house without a fence, and he will soon be deprived of the property which he possesses.

As the moon and the stars shed their light by night, and the[Vol I Pg 438] sun giveth light by day, so should the sayings of a wise man enlighten all around him.

Follow not the seeming wisdom of a woman's discourse; for as a man is more powerful and better informed than a woman, it is fitter that he should stand on his own ground.

A man who knows not the customs of the country (yúdya Nagára), is like a man who would bind an elephant with cords made from the tánjung flower. It is not necessary for the elephant to be enraged: with the least motion he breaks the cords asunder.

Deprive not another of the credit which is due to him, nor lower him in the opinion of the world: for the sun, when he approaches near to the moon, in depriving her of her light adds nothing to his own lustre.

There is nothing better in the world than a man who keeps his word; and there is nothing worse than a man who swerves from his word, for he is a liar. There are five witnesses, which may be seen by every one: Yang-anála or Bráma (fire), Súria (the sun), Chándra (the moon), Kála (time), Báyu (life). And they are the great witnesses always present throughout the three worlds; therefore let men recollect never to lie.

There are three things which destroy a man's character, and they are as three poisons: the first, to disgrace his family or lower himself; the second, to take delight in bringing misfortunes and unhappiness upon others; the third, to be a hypocrite, and assume the character of a Pandíta.

Several works have been recently discovered in Báli, called Agáma, Adigáma, Púrwa Digáma, Súrcha, Muscháyagáma, Kantára or Sástra Menáwa, Dewagáma, Maiswári, Tatwa, Wiya Wasáha, Dásta Kalabáya, Slákan Taragáma, Satmagáma, Gamíga Gamána. Of many of these, copies have been procured, and the Sástra Menáwa, or institutions of Menu, have been partially translated into English. This is a book of law comprised in about one hundred and sixty sections, evidently written on the spot, and with reference to the peculiar habits and dispositions of the people for whom it was framed. As a code of civil law, it is remarkable for the proof it affords of[Vol I Pg 439] the existence of actual property in the land; and as a criminal code, for the frequency of capital punishment, and the almost total absence of all degrading or minor corporeal punishment.

Of the more modern compositions, and which may be considered as more strictly Javan, the following are the principal:

Angréné is an historical work, which commences with the reign of Sri Jáya Langkára sovereign of Médang Kamúlan, the grandfather of the celebrated Pánji, and concludes with the death of Pánji. This is the longest work to be found in the modern literature of Java, and contains the most interesting and important part of Javan history immediately antecedent to the establishment of Mahomedanism. It is composed in several measures of the Sékar Gángsal, and is usually divided into several smaller works, to each of which the name of Pánji is prefixed, as:

Pánji Mordaningkung. The history of that part of the Pánji's life, when his consort, Sékar-táji, is carried off by a deity. This is replete with relations of his adventures in war, and partly written in the Sékar Sépoh and partly in the Sékar Gángsal.

Pánji Magát-kung relates to that period when the object of Pánji's love was not yet attained.

Pánji-áng'ron ákung, containing the particulars of marriage ceremonies observed by Pánji.

Pánji priambáda, containing an account of the success and completion of Pánji's love, and ending with his marriage.

Pánji Jáya Kasúma. This is one of the names assumed by Pánji after the loss of his consort, Sékar-táji and contains an account of his expedition to Báli, where he regained her.

Pánji Chékel Wáning Páti (when young brave even to death) contains the juvenile exploits of this hero.

Pánji Norowangsa includes the period of his life, when the Princess of Dahá transforms herself into a man.

Neither the date of the principal work from which these minor compositions are taken, nor the name of the author is known; but it is supposed to have been written subsequently to the time of Majapáhit, the language being modern Javan.

Literary compositions of the higher cast are generally classed by the Javans under the head of Pepákam or Bábat, the latter[Vol I Pg 440] of which includes all historical works and chronicles of modern date.

Srúti is a work which contains regulations for the conduct and behaviour of an inferior to a superior. It is written in the Káwi language, but Artáti measure, and has not yet been translated into Javan. It is of the same length as the Níti Sástra Kâwi.

Níti Prája is composed in the same measure as the Srúti, and contains regulations for the conduct of sovereigns and chiefs, partly in the Káwi and partly in the Javan.

Asta Prája is a work of the same nature and similarly composed.

Siwáka contains regulations for behaviour when in the presence of a superior, in the Javan language and Artáti measure.

Nagára Kráma, regulations for the good administration of the country, in the same language and measure.

Yúdha Nagára, the customs of the country, containing rules for the behaviour of persons of different ranks, in Javan and in the Artáti and Pamíjil measures.

Kamandáka contains instructions for inspiring respect and fear in the exercise of authority, partly Káwi, partly Javan, and in Artáti measure.

The seven last mentioned works are supposed to have been written about the same period. The Chándra Sangkála of the Srúti is 1340 of the Javan era. From the allusion to Islam customs which they contain it is concluded that they were all composed on the decline of Majapáhit, at a period when the influence of that religion was rapidly gaining ground. These works are in pretty general circulation, and form the basis of the institutions and regulations of the country. The translation already given of a modern version of the Níti Prája will serve to shew their nature and tendency.

Jáya Langkára is a work supposed to have been written by a chief of that name, when sovereign of Médang Kamúlan, and which contains regulations for the highest judicial proceedings.

Júgul Múda, supposed to have been written by Júgul Múda the Páteh or minister of Kandiáwan, chief of Médang Kamúlan, containing rules for the guidance of Pátehs in the judicial department of their office. [Vol I Pg 441]

Gája Múda, a similar work, supposed to have been written by Gája Múda, the Páteh of the great Browijáya of Majapáhit.

Kápa Kápa, regulations for the guidance of the sovereign in the administration of justice.

Súria Alem, a similar work for the guidance of all persons entrusted with authority, supposed to have been composed by Aji Jímbon, the first Mahomedan sovereign of Java.

None of the above works are written in verse. They form the basis of what may be called the common law of the country. The translation of the modern version of the last of these, contained in the Appendix, will serve to convey some idea of the nature and spirit of this class of compositions.

Besides the above may be noticed another work called Jáya Langkára, a romance, supposed to have been written in the time of Susúnan Ampel, in the Javan language and modern measures. This is a moral work of considerable length, written in allegory, and pointing out the duties of all classes.

The Jówar Maníkam is of a more recent date, and a general favourite: it may convey some notion of the modern romances of the Javans.


That is true love which makes the heart uneasy!

There was a woman who shone like a gem in the world, for she was distinguished by her conduct, and her name was Jówar Maníkam.

Perfect was her form, and she was descended from a devotee, from whom she derived her purity and the rules of her conduct.

Her beauty was like that of the children of heaven (widadáris), and men saw more to admire in her, than was to be found on the plains, on the mountains, or in the seas.


Pure was her conduct, like that of a saint, and she never forgot her devotions to the deity: all evil desires were strangers to her heart.

She rose superior above the multitude from following the dictates of religion, and in no one instance was her[Vol I Pg 442] heart disturbed by a bad thought or desire, so that her life was without reproach.

What pity it is she hath not a lover, for when a young and handsome woman obtains a husband of high character and qualifications, it is as milk mixed with sugar!


When her virtue was assailed by the Panghúlu, she was astonished, and exclaimed, "why dost thou thus take the course of a thief? why dost thou act in this manner?

"Art thou not prohibited from doing thus? forgettest thou thy Rája, and fearest thou not thy God?

"And thinkest thou not either of thyself? Greatly dost thou astonish me! Is not thy conduct bad even before the world? but being forbidden by the Almighty, art thou not afraid of his anger?"


"If such be thy desire, I can never consent to its indulgence, for I fear my God, and for all such deeds the punishment from heaven is great.

"Rather let me follow the course pointed out by the prophet: let me imitate the conduct of his child Fatima.

"How comes it, that thy inclination is so evil towards me? Verily, if my father knew of this proceeding, wouldst thou not justly receive severe punishment?"

The Panghúlu thus frustrated in his design, writes in revenge to her father, and informs him that his daughter has made a fruitless endeavour to seduce him: upon hearing which the deceived parent orders her to be put to death. Her brother is about to put this order in execution, when placing his hand before his eyes while he inflicts the blow, he stabs a small deer in lieu of his sister, who escapes into the woods.

With rapidity she fled to the woods, and then taking shelter under a wide spreading waríng'en tree, the still unripe fruits of the forest attained maturity, and seemed to offer themselves as a relief to her.

[Vol I Pg 443]

All the flowers, though the season for opening their petals was not arrived, now expanded, and shedding their fragrance, it was borne by a gentle zephyr towards her, while the bramára, attracted by the odour, swarmed around, and the fragrance of each flower seemed to vie with the other in reaching her presence.

The wild animals of the forest, the tiger, the wild ox, the rhinoceros came towards the princess, as if to watch and guard her, crouching around her, but occasioning not the least alarm.


Being in want of water, the princess put up a prayer to heaven, when close by her feet a spring of pure water issued.

On which the sarója flower soon appeared, opening its petals, and offering the shade of a páyung to the smaller water-plants floating beneath.

Her heart now became easy; and delighted at what she beheld, she proceeded to bathe and perform her devotions.

The father, on his return, learns the treachery of the Panghúlu, and having recovered his daughter, she is subsequently married to a neighbouring prince, by whom she has three children. Her trials, however, are not yet at an end, for being on a journey to visit her father, accompanied by the Pepáteh of her husband, who is appointed to guard her on the way, the Pepáteh forms a design upon her virtue. He is represented as saying:​—

"If you, oh princess, submit not to my desires, it is my determination to put your eldest child to death."

The princess on hearing this became so affected as to be deprived of speech.

When the Pepáteh again repeating his threat in a solemn manner,

She replied, "what would you have me say? Whatever may be the will of God I must submit. If my child is to die, how can I prevent it?"

The Pepáteh, on hearing this, forthwith drew his sword,[Vol I Pg 444] and slew the child, again demanding of the princess whether she would submit to his desires? To which she answered, "No!"

He again urged her: but the princess hanging down her head was silent, and in the hope that God would give her resolution, her mind became more easy.

The Pepáteh then shaking his sword before the princess, again urged her to submit, threatening that if she refused he would slay her second child.

But the princess could only reply, "you must act as you say, if it is the will of God that you should do so."

He then slew the second child, and again urging her to submit, threatened, in case of refusal, that he would slay the third child, then at her breast.

Snatching the child from her arms, he put his threat into execution, and the blood flew on the mother's face, on which she swooned and fell to the ground.

The Pepáteh having succeeded in recovering her, again attempted to effect his purpose, threatening that if she still refused he would slay her: to this the princess at first made no reply.

But placing her sole reliance on the Almighty, a thought at last struck her, and she said:

"Do as you will with me; but seeing that I am disfigured with blood, allow me first to bathe in an adjacent stream."

The Pepáteh assenting to this, she went away and effected her escape into the woods. There she remained in safety, until discovered by her husband, who in revenge put the three children of the Pepáteh to death.

It has already been shewn, that notwithstanding the intercourse which has now subsisted for upwards of four centuries, and the full establishment of the Mahomedan as the national religion of the country for upwards of three centuries, the Arabic has made but little or no inroad into the language; and it may be added, that the Arabic compositions now among them are almost exclusively confined to matters of religion. Books in the Javan language are occasionally written in the Arabic character, and then termed Pégu, but[Vol I Pg 445] this practice is by no means general. The Kóran was first translated, or rather paraphrased, about a century ago, and rendered into Javan verse by a learned man of Pranarága, to whom the title of Kiai Pranarága was in consequence given.

Arabic books, however, are daily increasing in number. The principal works in this language, with which the Javans are at present acquainted, are the Umul brahin, by Sheik Usuf Sanusi; Mohárrar, by Iman Abu Hanífa; Ranlo Taleb, by Sheik Islam Zachariah; and Insan Kamil, by Sheik Abdul Karim Jili. The doctrines of Sheik Mulana Ishak, the father of Susúnan Gíri and one of the earliest missionaries, were those of Abu Hanífa, which are the same as the Persians are said to profess; but these doctrines have, subsequent to the time of Susúnan Gíri, been changed for those of Shafihi. There are, however, some who still adhere to the doctrines of Hánifa; but their numbers are few, and the chiefs are all followers of Shafihi. The number of Arabic tracts circulating on Java has been estimated at about two hundred.

Several institutions have been established in different parts of the island, for the instruction of youth in the Arabic language and literature. At one of these, in the district of Pranarága, there were at one time (about seventy years ago, in the time of Páku Nagára), not less than fifteen hundred scholars. This institution has since fallen into decay, and the number at present does not exceed three or four hundred. Similar institutions are established at Meláng'i, near Matárem, and at Sídamârmar, near Surabáya; and at Bántam, about eighty years ago, there existed an institution, of nearly equal extent with that of Pranarága.

Literary compositions are almost invariably written in verse. The measures employed are of three classes. First, the sekár[140] káwi, or measures in which the káwi compositions are generally written; secondly, the sekár sepoh, high or ancient measures; thirdly, the sekár gángsal, or five modern measures. [Vol I Pg 446]

A complete stanza is termed a páda (literally a foot); a line is termed ukára; the long syllables are termed gúru, the short láku; and although rhyme is not used, the several measures of the sekár sepoh and gángsal are regulated by the terminating vowels of each line, which are fixed and determined, for each particular kind of verse[141], by the number of syllables in each line, the disposition of the long syllables, and the number of lines in each stanza or páda.

Of the sekár káwi there are twelve radical stanzas, most of which occur in the Níti Sástra and other principal Káwi compositions. They are named:

Each of these stanzas consists of four lines, as in the following example of the Sradúla Wíkrindita, from the Níti Sástra Káwi.

"Reng jánma di kámi ta chíta reséping sárwa prája ng'enaka
"Ring s'tri matdia manuára pría wawus andé mána kung lúlut
"Yen ring Madiáni kang pinandîta mochap tetóah pa désa prîen
"Yen ring matdía nikáng mosa mochap-akan wakchúra sing'a k'roti.
[Vol I Pg 447]

A man who is moderate and cool in his desires will do good to a country.
A woman is like unto Déwi Manuhára when her desires are moderate, and men cannot look upon her without admiration.
A Pandíta must at all times and on all occasions act up to his doctrines:
Whether it be in war or in difficulty, still he must act up to what he says.

Examples of several other measures of the sekár káwi and of the metre will be given hereafter in the analysis of the Bráta Yudha.

Of the sekáh sepoh there are great varieties, several of which are exhibited in the following examples.

MEGÁTRUH.

(Consisting of five unequal lines, terminating with the vowel sounds u, e, u, i, and o.)

"Wong ahurīp | aywa tā | ang'gung | katungkūl ||
"'Ing kawibawān | kamuktēn ||
"'Aywa ta | ang'gung gumung'gūng ||
"Manawā | dinadung eblīs ||
"Kajarāh | temah wurung wōng ||

Men of this world! give not yourselves up
To the pleasures of power and sensual gratification:
Neither be vain nor open to flattery.
Lest caught in his toils,
You fall into the hands of the devil.

PÚCHUNG.

(Consisting of four unequal lines, terminating with the vowel sounds u, a, i, and a. )

"Den prayitnā | wong agūng | aja pitambūh ||
"Barāng | rahing prajā ||
"Kawruhanā | den atitī ||
"Supayani | 'ing tindāk aywa | ng'alentār ||

[Vol I Pg 448]


Watch well, ye great, and be not unmindful
Of what takes place in the country;
But observe it narrowly,
That the administration of it may not be neglected.

BALÁBAK.

(Consisting of three long lines, each terminating in é.)

"Wong ahurīp | aja anggung mang'an minūm | jarenē ||
"Ananungkūl | íng dría kang tan sayogyā | gawénē ||
"Lamun orā | ing nalika mangsa Kalā | Kalanē ||

Men of this life! devote not yourselves to the pleasures of eating and drinking;
For it is a passion of which the indulgence is vicious,
Except on grand and particular occasions.

KÚSWA WIRÁNGRONG WIRÁNGRONG.

(Consisting of six lines, terminating in the vowel sounds i, o, u, i, a, and a).

"Lir dawūh dawūh | ing margī ||
"Sang d'yāh parayāng | paroyōng ||
"Supe duk aniandāk | wastra ng'rangkūs ||
"Kawingkin kang wēntīs ||
"Lumarāp | kadi kilāt ||
"Murub padāng | Kang pasebān ||.

Stumbling as she went,
The Princess walked with faltering pace.
Laying hold of her under garment, she unconsciously drew it up,
When from the exposed calf of her leg
A flash like lightning darted,
Which illumined the Hall of Audience.

SUMEKÁR.

(Consisting of eight lines, ending in the vowel sounds i, a, a, i and e).

"Gugunung'ān | lor-wetan tuhu 'angrawīt ||
"Pinārigī ing selā kakarang'ān ||
"Pandan-janmā | jinemb|ang'ān ||
"Sri jata winujīl | wujīl ||
"Pisang tatār | lir tunjūng | Sikarī |

[Vol I Pg 449]


Beautiful are the hills to the north-east,
Adorned and interspersed with walls of stone,
With the pándan jánma growing in pots,
And overgrown with the s'ri játa,
And the písang tátar, having a blossom like the túnjung.

PALUGÓN.

(Consisting of eight lines, terminating with the vowel sounds a, u, o, u, o, a, u, and o).

Yen tan hanā | adedangkān ||
Punggawa satryā agūng ||
Miang mantrĭ | rempeg āgolōng ||
Obah osīk | ing prajekū ||
Iku arjā | prajā katōng ||
Lawan pang'wā | saning natā ||
Tan hanā | panasten kalbū ||
Nora cheng'īl | datan leniōk ||

When none are selfish,
And the great officers of state, the nobles,
And the petty officers, are all united together,
Whatever may be the convulsions or the troubles of the kingdom,
Still will the kingdom be great and prosperous.
When the power of the sovereign
Is envied by none,
All are then united and none are disloyal.

PAU-GÁNGSA.

(Consisting of six lines, terminating in the vowel sounds a, e, e, a, a, and i).

Pada salāmet sadayā ||
Sapung gawā | mantri lān satriyānē ||
Yata Rajā | adil malī | andikānē ||
Eh ajunan pirāng prakárā ||
Kabechikān | m'ring kawulā ||
Pateh yunān | awōt-sarī ||

All will be prosperous and peaceful,
The chiefs of provinces, the nobles, and the petty chiefs.
[Vol I Pg 450] On which Raja Adil (the just king) thus spoke again:
"Oh Yúnan, how many rules are there
"For the prosperity of the subject?"
To which Páteh Yúnan returned for answer.

KÚSWARÍNI.

(Consisting of seven lines, terminating in the vowel sounds u, a, u, a, i, a, and e).

"Sampun katāh | aniyasāt wadya prabū ||
"Balik ng'egung'enā ||
"Turasing wōng | bangsa luhūr ||
"Yen turaīsng | bangsa andāp ||
"Nang'ing prayugī | kīnantī ||
"Den pratelā | hing panejā ||
"Ang'inggahaken | wād'yanī ||

Treat not the subjects of your majesty with cruelty,
But respect
The descendants of honourable families;
To the descendants even of low families
Also shew kind treatment;
Yet be careful how you take a liking to any one,
And raise him in the world.

MÁHISA LÁNG'IT (THE BUFFALO OF THE SKY).

(Consisting of five lines, terminating in the vowel sounds e, u, i, u, and o).

"Yen sampūn | wontēn kagunānē ||
"Miang kraprawirānipūn ||
"Punjuling | sasami sāmī ||
"Pantes jenunjūng | kang lunggūh ||
"Nora lingsēm | ing piyāngkōh ||

If there is one who has merit
And abilities
Surpassing his equals,
It is proper to raise him,
And there is no shame in such an act.

[Vol I Pg 451]

KÉNYA KEDÍRI,

(Consisting of nine lines, terminating in the vowel sounds, u, i, u, u, u, a, e, u, and i.)

"Inggih lamūn | dereng wontan labetipūn ||
"Guna Kaprawirānekī ||
"Upama yen jinunjūng'a | lungguhipūn ||
"Sayektī | kochaping jāgāt | datan arūs ||
"Makan darāh | yen dereng yog'ya jinūnjūng ||
"Lan sampūn | 'akaryā | lūrāh ||
"Wong durjanā | dursilekī ||
"Lan sampun atantūn ||
"M'ring pung'gawā | mantrī jahīl ||

But if one having neither merit,
Ability, nor capacity,
Should be promoted in his stead,
Then would the world say it was improper;
For one raised above his merits must mákan dárah (swallow blood).
Make not a chief
Of one who is a knave or bears an ill character,
And ask not advice
From one who is ill-disposed.

Other measures, which may be classed under the sekár sepoh are júrudemúng, lúntang, gámbuh, kulánté, lámbang, káswa rága, ránsang, pamur'ántang, ontang-'anting, 'mas-kumámqang, tárub-agúng, pa-mijil s'lang'it or kinánti, irun-írun lung-gadúng, lára-katrísna.

The sekár gungsal, or five modern measures, are those in which the ordinary compositions of the present day are written. Of these there are again several varieties in different districts, as follow:​—

ASMARANDÁNA,

which, according to the manner in which it is chaunted, is called salóbog, jákalóla, súrup-sasi-bawaraga, séndon pradápa, paláran. [Vol I Pg 452]

(Consisting of seven lines terminating in the vowel sounds i, a, o e, a, a u, and a.)

"Sun 'amurwā | lang'it inggīl ||
"Dadalan ikū | pan dāwā ||
"Chok jurang'ā | pasti lēdōk ||
"Lumrahi g'ni āpānas ||
"Sanady'an lawē | petāk ||
"Yen winedēl | dadi wūlūng ||
"Yen mahidū | ayonānā ||

Lofty is the sky,
Roads too are always long;
Every valley is low,
And fire is naturally hot;
White thread will even be black
If jet you do but dye it,
And if you don't believe it, try.

ARTÁTI, DÁNDANG GÚLÁ, (sugar crow), or SADÁNA CHÍTA,

which, according as it is chaunted, is called renchasih, majásih, lindur dálang-karahínan, bárang míring, gúla kentar, or paláran.

(Consisting of ten unequal lines, terminating in the vowel sounds i, a, e or o, u, i, a u, a, i and a.)

"Benjang ingsūn | mari brangta kingkīn ||
"Yen mamalā | malaning kanang rat ||
"Dūrjanā | dusta līnyokē ||
"Chelā | cholong chalimūd ||
"Wong ambīgāl | ng'etal katāhil ||
"Kichū kampāk karūmpak
"Babotoh | kābutuh ||
"Babangsāt | puda malesat ||
"Baya kōnō | mari analian​—wiyādī ||
"Dadining susī | lārja ||

The painful feeling of my love will only cease
When the wicked of the world,
The knaves, the thieves, and the liars,
The scandalous and those who steal,
And the banditti, are all held in contempt;
When robbers and plunderers are all destroyed,
[Vol I Pg 453] And cock-fighters are in despair;
When gamblers are cast out.
Then, perhaps, the sadness of my heart may cease;
Then may I be restored to peace and happiness.

SINOM, SRI NÁTA, OR PERDÁPA,

which, according to the chaunt employed, is called béngak, garúndel, gádung-maláti, jáyeng-asmára, babarláyar, merák ngúwuh, hagók-surabáya and paláran.

(Consisting of nine lines, terminating in the vowel sounds, a, i, a, i, i, u, a, i and a.)

"Wusinā | ing'amban saksāna ||
"Layōné | dewi angrēni ||
"Binaktā | minggah kēng pālwa ||
"Indrajalā | dan tītihī ||
"Dening Rahadēn Pūnjī ||
"Dewi oneng'ūn tān kantūn
"Tumut dateng kāng | raka ||
"Akatāh | pawong'ān chéti ||
"Kang binakta | sagung'ingkang rajābranā ||

Having taken in his arms
The body of the departed
Princess Ang'réni,
It was borne
On board the vessel Indrajála
By Ráden Pánji.
The Princess Oréng'an was not left behind,
But accompanied her elder brother,
With many companions and female attendants,
The whole treasures being carried along with them.

PÁNGKUR,

which, according as it may be chaunted, is termed paláran and kadáton.

[Vol I Pg 454]

(Consisting of seven lines, terminating in the vowel sounds, a, i, u, a, u, a, and i.)

"Nīhan kramanīng | tumītah ||
"Dan tatīla | tumulad 'ing réh titi ||
"Wechanā | den pindā | pūnggūng ||
"Dan amēm | nayéng gitā ||
"Pagutēnā | yen wus samekta éng wūwūs ||
"Den panggah | ay'wa miyāgāh ||
"Pilih tā | kawadēng wadī ||

The manners of men should be correct;
And in adopting an accurate conduct,
Let your speech be modest and unassuming.
When thinking, let your countenance appear unruffled;
And when your words are prepared, deliver them.
Be firm, but on no account bigotted,
Lest you be held in contempt.

DURMA,

which, according as it is chaunted, is called seráng, rángsang, bedáya, madúra, and Paláran.

(Consisting of seven lines, terminating in the vowel sounds, a, i, a, a, i, a and i.)

"Masjidé kā | kabatulah ika prayōgā ||
"Payū | tinirū sami ||
"Gawi kabatūlah ||
"Sigra mantuk prasamia ||
"Wōng Abesah | sireng prapti ||
"Ing nagarania ||
"Anulia | yasa sami ||

The temple of Kabatúlah is most excellent,
Come, let us all imitate it,
And build another Kabatúlah.
They then returned to their home,
And when the people of Abésah arrived
At their country,
They immediately commenced the work.

[Vol I Pg 455]

The sekárs, kinánti, and míjil are sometimes classed under the common or modern measures. The following are examples of those measures.

KINÁNTI,

(Consisting of six lines, terminating in the vowel sound, u, i, a, i, a, and i.)

"Ake wong | sanak sadūlūr ||
"Tan kadiā | Sugriwā bali ||
"Sapolāh | tingkaniā pada ||
"Moang suarā | rupa anūng'gīl ||
"Kadia n'gilu | lan wayang'gā ||
"Kewran sāng | rama ēng ati ||

Most people have brothers and relatives,
But not such as Sugriwa and Báli.
Their actions and conduct were both alike,
And their voice and form was one and the same.
They were like each other even as a substance and its shadow,
And the mind of Ráma himself was confused in distinguishing between them.

MIJIL,

(Consisting of six lines, terminating in the vowel sounds, i, o, e, i, i, and u.)

"Rima panjāng | memak tur awīlīs ||
"Urāb urāb āwōr ||
"Lir manj'āngān | katarwan solāhē ||
"Brang'os lemēt | yayah lir mināngsī ||
"Dia wirun tinūlīs ||
"Warnani abāgūs ||

His long and waving hair was of a greenish hue
Intermixed with flowers,
His action like that of a wounded deer,
And his mustachios fine and dark, as if pencilled.
He resembled the picture of Wírun (the brother of Panji).
Most beautiful was his complexion.

[Vol I Pg 456]

The following are examples of some of the measures adopted by the inhabitants of Báli. The three first are in the language of the country people; the others are extracted from one of their modern compositions.

"Kadi jaran
"Pang'aruk duag mapola
"Pang'ang'gong niane lueh
"Mapelag-pelagan
"Mandadi
"Paleng'gian
"Atut sayang
"Kategah-keng
"Tundung ne balan
"Lamput tina chamáti

Like unto a horse
Graceful in action,
Richly caparisoned
With various ornaments
Becoming
The royal saddle-horse;
Truly pleasant and agreeable
To ride,
His back shewing the mark
Of the stroke of the whip.

"Chahi santri
"Bajang bajang gobah m'lah
"Dapati manu huking
"Deman hatini memadat
"Chahi
"Bajang taruna
"Nu liyu
"Demanin chahi
"Ing'atan awah
"Bikasé dali santri

Young man! you are a sántri[142],
Young and handsome:
[Vol I Pg 457] Curb your inclinations
And don't smoke opium.
Young man!
Yet unconnected with woman,
There is much
To which you must incline.
Think of yourself,
And that you have become a sántri.

CHECHANG KRIMAN.

(Sung by a Mother to her Child on her Arm.)

"Niahi ayu kapakan maniankil wakul
Kalang mabalanjar lakuné manolé-nolé
Sada gisu
Dayanin tuah kablag'gandang"

My handsome girl! in bringing a purchase from the market,
When you have paid the price, cast not your eyes behind,
But move quickly,
Lest men may seize upon you.

The following are examples from the written compositions of Báli.

"Sang'nata ika wus mati
Penadang deneng joarsa
Yata nulia kesa mangko
Medal saking pupungkuran
Prapta
Heng jawi kita
Awatara
Teng'ha dalu
Tanana wong kang ng'uning'a"[143]

Then that sovereign died,
Being destroyed by Joarsa,
Who thereupon went out,
[Vol I Pg 458] Retreating by the back part of the dwelling;
And having arrived at the outside of the fort
At the time
It was midnight,
No one knew of it.

"Wus lepas lampa ireki
"Handung kaping parang parang
"Sumung kaking ukir halon
"Tumaruning lebah lebah
"Mantuk
"Maring Nagara
"Heng Sahalsa
"Sina dia
"Hiku kalang'an chobayang suks'ma"

When he had passed the road
He ascended the mountains,
And moved on slowly,
Ascending and descending,
Proceeding in search of his country,
Named Sahálsa,
Which he descried;​—
But here he was opposed by the will of Providence.

In order the better to illustrate the poetry and literature of Java, and to exhibit the nature and spirit of the compositions in the Káwi, I request to present the reader with an analysis of the Bráta Yudha, the most popular and celebrated poem in the language. Versions of this poem in the modern Javan are common throughout the island, and the subject is the theme of the most popular and interesting amusements of the country.

The Brata Yúdha Kawi, of which the following is the analysis, and from which the illustrations which are interspersed are taken, contains seven hundred and nineteen páda or metrical stanzas, of four long lines each, the measures varying with the subject, so that most of the twelve Káwi measures are to be found in it. Considering how little was[Vol I Pg 459] known on Java of the Káwi language, and how likely that little was to be lost for ever, I felt a strong interest in analysing and translating, as far as practicable, one of the principal compositions in that language; and availing myself of the literary acquirements of the Panambahan of Sumenap, to whom I have already adverted, and of the assistance of a gentleman of my family, and Raden Saleh, the son of the regent of Semaráng, I have it now in my power to lay the following analysis of this ancient poem before the public. It is far from being as complete, or correct, as I could have wished, yet imperfect as it is, it may serve to convey some idea of the original. I have endeavoured to keep as close to the original as possible, and have, in every instance, given the interpretation of the Káwi, as far as it was understood by the Panambahan. The Sanscrit scholar will probably find imperfections, and possibly might be able to render a better translation; but it is the Káwi language, as it is understood by the Javans of the present day, that I am anxious to illustrate. The original stanzas are given in the Káwi, and I only regret that the limited knowledge of the language possessed by the Panambahan himself, and my own want of time to study and trace the grammatical construction of it, have not admitted of my doing more justice to the original. I can safely affirm, that independent of the interest which the subject loses by translation into a foreign language, the illustrations now given afford but a very imperfect specimen of the beauty, sublimity, and real poetry of the original.

This celebrated work would appear from the Chándra Sangkála included in one of the verses, to have been composed by one Puséda, a learned Pandíta, in the year 1079. Some copies, however, admit of a different interpretation regarding the date, and the general opinion is, that it was composed in 706 of the Javan era, during the reign of a prince on whom was conferred the title of Jáya Báya. Whether the poem was actually written on Java, or brought by the early colonists, may be questionable; but the Javans of the present day firmly believe, not only that the poem was written on Java, but that the scene of the exploits which it records was also laid on Java and Madúra. The annexed[Vol I Pg 460] sketch, with the subjoined note, will explain the situation of the different countries, according to this notion[144]. [Vol I Pg 461]
[Vol I Pg 462]

NAMES OF THE PANDÁWA PRINCES, PRINCESSES, &c.
Names. Genealogical and Descriptive Account. Different other Appellations under which known.
Krésna An incarnate deity, who is favourable to the Pandáwa, the particular friend and guardian of Arjúna. His father was brother to Déwi Kúnta Narayána.
Janardána (performers of austerities).
Patmanába.
Esa.
Wijáya mólia.
Kesáwa.
Pándu The son of Abiása, husband of Déwi Kúnti and Déwi Madrim and father of the Pandáwa Pandu Déwa Nata.
Déwi Kúnti Daughter of Basuketé, King of Madúra, and wife of Pándu.
Déwi Madrim Daughter of Chándra Wàti, King of Mandaráka, and wife of Pándu Déwi Metrim.
The Padawa, or five Sons of Pándu. Dérma Wángsa The chief and eldest of the Pandáwa by Déwi Kúnti Dérma Kasúma.
Chantáka púra.
Gunan tali kráma.
Yudistíra.
Bíma Son of Pándu by Déwi Kúnti Waikudára.
Judipáti (death seeking).
Bayu-pútra (son of strength).
Séna (chief in war).
Arjúna Son of Pándu by Déwi Kúnti Palgúna (of powerful[145] thumb).
Jaya Ningrat (victor of the world.)
Wintarája.
Parta (the middle one).
Wardiníngsih (devotee, enthusiast).
Janárka.
Damarjáya (victory-giving).
Kerséti.
Nakula Son of Pándu by Déwi Madrim.
Sedéwa Son of Pándu by Déwi Madrim.
Naráda In attendance on Krésna.
Kánwa
Jenáka
Parásu
Pancha Kumara Son of Dérma Wángsa.
Gatot Kacha Son of Bíma.
Abimányu Sons of Arjúna.
Oráwan
Drupáda Brother of Déwi Kúnti.
Satiáki Servant of Krésna.
Mangsa Páteh King of Wiráta.
Kakarsána King of Madúra, and eldest brother of Krésna.
Sumbádra Sister of Krésna, wife of Arjúna, and mother of Abimányu.
Destadriumna Son of Drupada.
The regal titles of Aria, Narária, Naranáta, Naríndra, &c. are occasionally applied to the different chiefs on both sides.
[Vol I Pg 463]
NAMES OF PRINCIPAL KURÁWA PRINCES, PRINCESSES, &c.
Names. Genealogical and Descriptive Account. Different other Appellations under which known.
Drupadi Daughter of Drupada and wife of Dérma-Wángsa.
Sirikándi, or Sikándi Do. ... do. and wife of Arjúna.
Sitisundári Do. ... do. of Krésna and wife of Abimányu.
Utári Do. ... of Mángsa Páteh or Wiráta, and wife of Abimányu.
Utára Son of ... do.
Séta, or Soita Do. ... do. Sang Wirata Suta.
Sangka Do. ... do.
Dresteráta Eldest brother of Pándu and father of the Kuráwa, born blind. Dresterája.
Dreterája.
Suyudána King of Astína, and eldest son of Dresteráta. Genderea.
Kurupati.
Kuranata.
Durya dana.
Kurawendra.
Korawe Swara.
Durusána One of the Kúru.
Kérna Son of Batára Suria (the Sun) by Déwi Kúnti when a virgin, King of Awáng'ga. Suria-putra, | (Child of
Arka-putra,  | the Sun).
Radea
Rawi Suta.
Jáya-dráta Brother-in-law of the Kuráwa.
Sália King of Mandaráka, and uncle to the sons of the Pandáwa, Nakúla and Sedéwa. Norasuma (his early name).
Dang yang drúnu An aged Pandíta, revered by all parties.
Aswatáma His Son. Duija Suta.
Krépa The younger brother of Dang yang Deruna.
Bísma An aged Pandíta, revered by all parties, son of a former king of Astina. Dewa-brata.
Aria Bisma.
Sakúni Brother-in-law of Dresteráta.
Begedénta The friend and companion of Suyudána.
Satia-wáti Wife of Sália and daughter of Gunawijaya, a worthy Rasaksa
Bannwáti Wife of Suyudana.
[Vol I Pg 464]
NUMERICAL TERMS MADE USE OF IN THE BRÁTA YÚDHA.
100 Rátus.
1,000 Rébu.
10,000 Láksa.
100,000 Kéti.
1 million 1,000,000 Yuta.
10 ditto. 10,000,000 Bára.
100 ditto. 100,000,000 Memeng.
1 billion 1,000,000,000 Pante.
10 ditto. 10,000,000,000 Chamo.
100 ditto. 100,000,000,000 Ekso'eni.
1,000 ditto. 1,000,000,000,000 Pertana.
10,000 ditto. 10,000,000,000,000 Gulma.

FOOTNOTES:

[122] Vol. IV. Book 2, Chap 1.

[123] See comparative vocabulary of the Malayu, Javan, Madurese, Báli, and Lampung languages. Appendix E.

[124] The term Káwi seems to have been borrowed from the Sanscrit Káwi, meaning, in that language, poetry or poetical.

[125] See Appendix E. No. 2.

[126] Appendix E, No. IV.

[127] Appendix E. No. II.

[128] See Appendix E. No. III.

[129] Marsden's Malayan Grammar.

[130] See Historical Chapter, for an account of the introduction of the alphabet by Aji Saka.

[131] See Appendix E. No. III.

[132] "The style of the address in Mexican is varied according to the rank of the persons with whom, or about whom, conversation is held, by adding to the nouns, verbs, prepositions, and adverbs, certain particles expressive of respect. This variety, which gives so much refinement to the language, does not however make it difficult to be spoken, because it is subjected to rules, which are fixed and easy; nor do we know any language that is more regular and methodical."​—History of Mexico, by Clavigero, vol. 1.

[133] See Appendix F.

[134] The centaurs.

[135] See Appendix.

[136] Who is represented as the Páteh, or minister, of Sáng yáng Gúru.

[137] See Astronomy.

[138] From rah, blood, and wána, wood, forest.

[139] A narrow white cloth, usually thrown over the shoulders, still worn by the Bramanas of Báli, and called sámpa álang álang.

[140] Sekár literally means flowers, and is the usual term for poetry, flowers (of the language.)

[141] "The tegála verse is only regulated by the rhythm of the syllables, and the similarity of the vowels in the close. This similarity of the terminating vowels does not amount to regular rhyme, for the consonants may be totally different though the vowels are similar, as in the Spanish rhymes termed Asonantes. Thus laglag and taltal, sut and cahug, silip and bukkir, however imperfect as rhymes, are all that is required in the termination of the tegála verse."​—Leyden on the Indo-Chinese. Asiatic Researches.

[142] Priest.

[143] This and the following stanza are from the poem of Joarsa, being the history of two brothers of the country of Sahalsa.

[144] Under this impression, the city of Astina (Hastina pura) is believed to have been situated near the modern Pakalong'an; Gendara Désa, the country of Sanghoni, near Wiradesa; Amerta, the country of Derma Wangsa and the Pandawa, near Japara; Talkanda, the country of Bisma, and Banjar jung'ut, the country of Dursa Sána, in Lurung Teng'ha; Awang'ga, either near Kendal, or the modern Yug'ga-kerta; Pring'gadani, the country of Bima, near Pamálang; Purabáya, the country of Gatot Kacha, near Surabáya; Mandura, the country of Bála dewa, or Kákrá Sáná, the western provinces of the island Madúra, and Mandaráka, the country of Salia, the eastern provinces of that island, towards Sumenap; Diára Wati, or Indoro Wati, Krisna's country, the modern Pati. In the same spirit, the modern capital of the sultan of Matarem, called by the Dutch Djocjo carta, but more correctly Ayog'ya Kerta, was so named by its founder, about sixty years ago, after Ayudya the celebrated capital of Rama.

There are three peaks in different parts of the Island, which still retain the name of Indra Kíla, the mountain on which Arjúna performed tapa; one on the mountain Arjúna, near Surabáya, one on Morea at Japara, and another on the Ung'arang mountain, near Semárang.

At the foot of Semiru, the name of one of the highest mountains on the eastern part of the island, is supposed to have been situated the country of Newata, better known as the residence of Detia Kewacha, who reigned before the war of the Bráta Yudha.

On Gunung Práhu, a range of lofty mountains inland between Pakalungan and Semárang, are the remains of nearly four hundred temples, or buildings, with the traces of an extensive city. This is supposed to have been the burying-place of the ancestors of the Pandáwa, as well as of Arjúna. The site of the temples was formerly called Rah tawu, the place whence blood was washed, from a tradition, that when Pula Sara was born, his mother immediately died, on which the Déwa came and received the infant on its coming into the world.

In the performance of the wáyang, in which the heroes of these historical romances are exhibited, the common people of Jawana never exhibit that part of the history which relates to the juvenile days of Krésna, from a superstitious apprehension, that the alligators would, in such event, overrun the country, these animals being supposed to be the transformed followers of Kángsa. At Pamalang, also, there is a similar prohibition with regard to representing Arímba, the brother-in-law of Bíma, under a dread, that if the Dálang should, by accident, not represent the story with exactness, he would inevitably fall sick on the first mistake.

The country of Parakisit, after the Brata Yudha, is supposed to have been near Semárang, and on that account the Dálang will not perform that part of the history which relates to his reign, although it forms a very principal portion in the performances elsewhere.

To these superstitions may be added, that although with these local exceptions the wáyang may represent any portion of the Bráta Yudha, or of the preceding or subsequent histories of the same class, there is a prevalent superstition, that a great war will be the inevitable consequence of performing, at one sitting, the whole of this poem. It is gravely asserted, that a chief of Kendal tried this experiment about fifty years ago, but that the performance was no sooner completed, than his country was laid waste and destroyed: and also that, previous to the Javan war, the grandfather of the present Susunan, Sida Langkungang, ordered the whole of the Bráta Yúdha to be performed at once; the consequence of which was the dreadful war which ensued, and the dismemberment of the empire.

These impressions and superstitions may seem to evince, how deeply rooted is the belief that the scene of this poem was in Java.

The scene of the Rámayan, on the contrary, is not believed to have been on Java; but there is an impression, that after the death of Rawána, Hánuman fled to Java, and took refuge in the district of Ambaráwa, near Semárang, on a hill called Kandali Sáda, the place named in the Ramayan where Hanuman performed tapa (penance). There is still a post or pillar preserved to distinguish this spot at the summit of the hill; and such is the superstition of the neighbourhood, that they never perform the wáyang representing any part of the history of Ráma, lest Hanuman should pelt them with stones.

The annexed plate shews the situation of the principal places mentioned in the Bráta Yúdha, according to the prevailing notions of the Javans.

[145] The Padawa, or five Sons of Pándu. [Vol I Pg 465]


AN ANALYSIS
OF
THE BRÁTA YÚDHA,
OR HOLY WAR; OR RATHER THE WAR OF WOE:
AN EPIC POEM,
IN THE KÁWI OR CLASSIC LANGUAGE OF JAVA.

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.

The wife of Santánu, king of Astína, dying on giving birth to Déwa Bráta (Bísma), Santánu asked Pulásara, the Prábu-Anom (or younger prince), of Wiráta, and brother-in-law of Mángsah Páti, prince of that country, to allow his wife Ambarsári, who at that time had a child (Abiása) at the breast, to suckle and so save the life of his infant boy Déwa Bráta.

Pulasára, offended at the proposal, went to war with Santánu, but was afterwards persuaded by the Déwa Sang yang Naráda to comply, on condition of Santánu resigning his kingdom to him; to which Santánu agreed. Pulasára, when his son Abiása was grown up, gave him the kingdom of Astína, and turning hermit, went and passed the rest of his days on the mountains.

By his wife Ambalíka (the old maiden daughter of Baliétma, a hermit of Gúnung Chámaragándi, whom he was forced to marry against his inclination) Abiása had three sons, viz.

  1. Drestaráta, who was blind.
  2. Pándu, whose head was inclined to one side.
  3. Aria Widúra, who was lame.

[Vol I Pg 466]

Pándu, the least exceptionable of the three sons, being raised to the throne, Abiása turned hermit, and went and passed the remainder of his days among the mountains.

On the death of Pándu, Drestaráta persuaded his father Abiása to allow him to rule the country during the minority of the Pándáwa (or five children of Pándu). These were Dérma Wangsa, Bíma, and Arjúna, born of his wife Déwi Kúnti, and Nakúla and Sedéwa, born of his wife Déwi Madrim.

Drestaráta however afterwards persuaded them to go to a wild uncultivated place called Amérta, and establish a kingdom there, furnishing them, for that purpose, with the requisite implements, and a thousand men to enable them to clear away and cultivate the country.

Through the assistance of Mangsáh Pati, the king of Wiráta (uncle to Abiása), the country of Amérta was completed; but not until the thousand men had all been devoured by demons, of whom Párta was the chief.

Drestaráta retained possession of Astína, and afterwards resigned it to his sons, the Kuráwa, in number ninety-seven.

The hundred was completed by the addition of Kérna, the son of Déwi Kúnti before marriage, by Batára Suria, and of Jaya-dráta and Aswatáma.

The incarnate Déwa, Krésna, having been deputed by the Pandáwa, whose part he takes, to propose to the king of Kuráwa an equal division of the kingdom of Astína between the Kuráwa and Pandáwa, and his proposal being rejected, the Pandáwa go to war for the kingdom which was left them by their father, and which in justice they ought to have had. The Kuráwa are ultimately beaten, and the kingdom of Astína recovered by the Pandáwa.

The scene of the poem lies chiefly in the hostile plains of Kuruksétra, close to Astína, whither it sometimes shifts. The time of it is about a month, the same being the fifth of the year. [Vol I Pg 467]

The poem opens as follows:​—

(Measure Jagadíta.)

1. In war 'tis the prayer of the brave to annihilate the foe,
To see the braids of fallen chiefs scattered like flowers before the wind.
To rend their garments, and burn alike their altars and their palaces,
Boldly to strike off their heads while seated in their chariots, and thus to obtain renown.
2. Such was the prayer (of Jáya Báya) offer'd to the three worlds for success in battle;
Such was the resolve of Batára Náta[146] against those whom he knew to be his enemies.
And the name and power of Padúka Batára Jáya Báya became famous throughout the world,
Confirmed and approved by all good men and by the four classes of Pandíta[147].
3. The lord of the mountains descended with all his Pandíta,
And the prince approached him with respect and a pure heart.
The deity was pleased, and said, "Aji Jáya Báya," be not afraid:
I come to thee not in anger, but according to thy desire, to endow thee with the power of conquest.

Awigno mastutina masidam.

(Tem bang Jágadíta.)

1. Săng sūră m'rī ayā|niă rīng sămără mā|yoănĭ ĭlăng'ăni kāng | părāng-mŭkă ||
Līlā kēmbăng ng'ŏrā | sĕkār tăjĭnĭ kĕsā|nīng'ări pĕjăh hĭng | rănāng'-gănă ||
Urnā nīng rătu mā|tĭ wĭjă nĭră kūn|dănĭ năgărănīng | mŏsū gĕsăng ||
Sāhītiā ŭtĭ tēn|dăsī rĭpŭ kăpāk|ka nĭrătā sŭ|ră sŭsrămeng lăga ||
2. Da samangkana kastawa nira tekeng tri Buana winuwus jaying rana
Kapia sabda Batara Nata sa mosu nira tekapi huwusnia kagraha
Ng'ka lumra ti tohor ta Paduka Batara Jaya Baya panangga hing sarat
Mang'go sampun ninastoakan sujana len duijawara Resi Siwa Sugata
3. Ng'ka ragrian tumurun Batara Giri Nata lawana sira sang'gia len resi
Yetna s'ri pamasa mamurista mang'argia ri sira sang'a chintia nir mala
Yekan tusta mana Batara sa wuwus Aji Jaya Baya ayua sang saya
Ta tan kroda tekangku yen sira saka sung'a wara karananan ka dik Jaya

[Vol I Pg 468]


4. Receive from me a blessing, oh my son Jáya Báya!​—Hear me! In thy country
Thou shall become the chief of the whole circle of princes, and in war victorious over the enemy.
Be firm and fear not, for thou shalt become as a Batára.
This declaration pronounced with solemnity, was treasured in the memory of all the holy Pandíta of heaven.
5. Thus having bestowed his blessing, the Batára vanished;
And the enemies of the prince being overcome with fear, submitted to him.
Tranquil and happy was every country. The thief stood aloof during the reign of this prince,
And the lover alone stole his pleasure, seeking his object by the light of the moon.
6. It was at this time Puséda[148] rendered memorable the date, risang'a kuda suda chandrama[149],
When the brilliancy with which the enemy was defeated was like unto the brightness of the sun at the third season,
And the mercy which was shewn to them was like the moon at the full.
For in war he looked upon the enemy, as the lord of the wild beasts would eye his prey.

4. Tang'gap tosna nograha ku ri wukang ku Jaya Baya rang'e nikang Praja
Satiastu prabu chakra wartia kita ring sabuana Jaya satru ring mosu
Tekuan lang'gen'a satmaka na ku lawan kita tulusa Batara ring Jagat
Yekan sabda nira tro telasi nastoakan nira resi sang'gia ring lang'it
5. Sampun mangkana suksma reh nira Batara telasi ramawé ka nograha
Tanduan nut samusu nareswara pada pranata teka rihing mabupati
'Enak tand'li reng sarat maling awah layata wadi risakti sang Prabu
Hangheng tan udi sapsabé wang ng'atajeng teka sumilip pipajang'ing wulan
6. Nowan don Puseda makirtia sasakala risang'a kuda sud'da Chandrama,
Sang saksat ari morti yen Katiga nitia maka palaga saktining musu
[Vol I Pg 469] San lir lek prati pada sukla pinalaku nahurip pawijil nireng ripu
Ring prang derpa pasu prabu pamanira Yuni Kadung'ola ning parang muka

7. Then Batára Séwa came and said to him,
"This is the time proper to relate the war between the Pandáwa and the princes of Kóra,
A relation which is not intended for the regulation of the country or the conduct of men, but is like síri with burnt lime,
Which affects not the teeth, but gives inward satisfaction and delight."
8. In former times, Naráría Krésna was the friend of Naranáta Pandáwa,
And he urged them saying, "Request from Suyudána, the chief of the Kúru.
"Nothing less than a division of the country of the Kúru:
"If he accede, it is well; if not, a great war shall be raised."
9. Thus having advised he hastily departed, and quitted Wiráta, followed by Satiáki,
He mounted his chariot of swift-footed coursers, which sped through the air as if with wings,
And soon discerned the city of Gajahúya[150], breaking through the clouds. Sad
Looked her waríngen tree[151], like unto a sorrowful wife separated from her husband.

7. Biakta chamana pada Pangkaja Batara seiva mara ng'omastawa sira
Yogya mang'galaning mikat prangira Pandawa maka laga Korawé s'wara
Dan Duran kawasa alip kadi s'ru pama hugi mahapu susu gesang
Mang'so tan sedap panya ring waja tuhon pamurna mang'on resēpi ng'ati
8. Ng'ani Kala Narario Krisna pinaka seraya nira Naranatu pandawa
Sinoé Kara Kinon lumakqua dateng'ing kurupati mang'aran Suriodana
Tan lean don nanira malaku rika paliani pura Nararia Kurawa
Yukpuan pasra atut ta ratqua yedi tan pasung'a karana ning prang'at Buta.
9. Dan mangka sira sigra Sakari Wirata dinolur ri ng'anama Satiaki
Heng'gal prapta tekap nisacti ni turang'ga Nirata nira pinda hanglayang
[Vol I Pg 470] Kong'ang desa nikang Gajahuya pura awu Kinemol laneng udan riwut
Uruk warnani wandirania kadi soka makemoli paning'gal ling pria.

10. The corners of the gateways seemed to bow as he advanced,
And their turrets to beckon to Janardáni to hasten on.
The branches of the serpent flower[152] waved in the wind, as if in obeisance,
And all the beauty of the city of the Kúrus appeared to enquire whether he were followed by the Pandáwa.
11. But Narária Kesáwa had left the sons of Pándu at Wiráta.
The appearance of every thing on the road was sad: sorrowful was the sound of the bird chúchur,
And the jring plant was drooping and fallen, bearing down with it to the ground the pándan flower;
Mournful was the moaning of the bird walikitádáhasi crying on the branch of a tree.

10. Punchak punchaki gopuran'ia aturang ng'adang'a ri sira mong'gu ri ng'nu
Kadio gir ri tekar Janardana panambahi pataka nekang nawe Katon
Warna nambahi pang nikang bujaga puspa magiu anu mimba kang'-inan
Saksat laxmini kang puri kuru matakoana ri milu Nararia Pandawa.
11. Dan Bahnan kari Pandu Patra ri Wirata tekapira Nararia Kesawa
Yéka soka lang'an ikang awana kunda manang'isa sekal chuchur neka
Mangka j'ring malumi dawu pudaki Pandani ka makilusu aning Watu
Hing hing sabdani kang Waliktadahasi pada manang'isi pang nikang tahan

[Vol I Pg 471]


12. Bright and beautiful was the city of Gajahúya, till it was known that the Pandáwa did not follow.
The champáka flower was full blown and ready to fall;
The faded flowers of the tanjung were caught in the spider's web,
And the dark beetle[153], almost lifeless, in sadness sought the flowers of Angsána, which floated on the waters.
13. Dry was the course in which the rivulet had flowed,
And the stone images looked in sadness at the marks which the water had left on the rocks.
The shell-fish[154] had deserted their covering.
And the dead shells were left on the banks by the retiring waters.
14. Unlike this was the appearance of the ráwas[155], which resembled an assemblage at the paseban[156].
On their banks grew the flower rajása[157], entwined by the suwárna[158], as a golden ornament worn by men.
The white flowered tánjung having reclosed its petals, hung like a closed páyung[159],
And the small fish were frisking with delight in the waters.

12. Kapua sa leng'ang'ing Gajahuya ri tan padulur rira Nararia Pandawa
Hunia champaka malugas Kusuma paksa Malabua jurang nikang parung
Lampus tanjung ng'ika ng'anas layati gantung'i panawang ng'aning jaring jaring
Tan patma Bramara kusa nang'isi layuani ng'asana manot yiriaking banyu
13. Mangkania sani panchurania pada soka ri taya nira sang danang jaya
Unia lek magegeng molat kapenatan rika patini lumot nikang watu
Sangsara Karachakechap mulati pandaga nika ri pipinya tan padon
Ka res res ni susunya mati manolat tiba tiwati mukar juning sela
14. Tan mangka kalang'ang nikang rawarawen Masemu lumiating wang hing saba
Tirania nadar Rajasa kayu suwarna Mamolacti atur gelang kuning
Mang'ka tunjung'i kang sekar wali ping'olani ka pada payung ping'ol
Sarwecha pachuring sunhunbras ika yan pabanyubanyu mang'anti ring renek
[Vol I Pg 472]

15. And as he came close to the city, the approach was cleared:
The wúng'or flowers hung in abundance like reclining pillows,
The tanjúng flower was open, like an expanded payúng,
And the pétung[160] was surpassed by the beauty of the gáding[161] sprouts, which shewed like the gáding flower.
16. And the woods were as if no one could tell whether there was good or bad in them, and the rocks were as if deaf and dumb.
The beetle buzzed at a distance from the flowers of the dádap and the síri, for it knew not the taste of them;
The bird chat-da played like unto the bird kiong[162], when in its glory in the woods;
And the joints of the sugar-cane attracted not the eye.

(Measure Suandána.)

17. Delightful and pleasant were the roads of Astína.
And soon on the plains[163] of Kúru did the good Krésna arrive:
There was he joined by the heroes Kánwa, Janáka, and Narádá,
Who were found by him on the plain, and who entered his service.

15. Sing'gi yan maparek puraraja mahalep alep anoluhi ri nika ng'enu
Banonia Suraga tulis makalasa bari tuwuni nika sinang rateng
Mangka tinkahi patmaraga nika sayana sekara pajeng pajeng dadu
Tan pasri tekapi petung gading bung'nia pada tumota pawahan gading
16. Lir tanuru hihunadika alas apinda bisu tuli watunia ring jurang
Monya Kumbang'i kumbang'i rang'en ado weruha rechap'ika puspa ning seda
Chang'gang chang'ga manuknia chutda nachading kiong atuwa Kalang'aning wukir
Tekuan tan kahanan w'las harep pula nisi paha nika tan lumis mata

(Tembang Suandána.)

17. Leng'ēng gatine kāng | awān sabasabā | nikīng āstina ||
Samāntarā tekēng | tegāl kuru nar|ārya krēsnān laku ||
Sirāng para sūra makā|no'a janakā | dulūr nārada §
[Vol I Pg 473] Kapāng'gē irikāng | tegāl milu rikār ya sāng būpati ||

18. Immediately the excellent Krésna took the charioteer's seat,
Giving up his own in the chariot to the three Pándita, and making obeisance to them.
They returning the salute,
Inwardly prayed for the welfare of Krésna.
19. The Pánditas were much pleased by Krésna's taking the charioteer's place:
And as they were borne along, they talked of their journey to the King of Astína,
And also discussed many weighty matters,
While mildly flowed their words like a gentle stream.
20. When the worthy Krésna was yet on the plain of Kúru,
Drótarája soon heard of his coming,
And gave orders to clean and dust the palace;
Directing, at the same time, the finest cloths to be spread on the ground from the royal seat, outside, as far as the great square.
21. It was at the same time required of all to show respect.
Such were the orders of Aria Bísma and Dratarástra.
Sakúni, Kerna, Duryodána, alone refused to obey, turning away and shewing their backs.
This they did, perceiving intuitively that the great among men was acting in concert with the Pandáwa.

18. Wawang sira nararya kresna numaring gwaning sarate
Sirang parama sapta pandita gumanti mung'gweng rata
Turawin sira telas winorsita malas mawe nastute
Monagya keni ayu'a sang prabu yan non nera ng'astawa
19. Lengeng alapira daran pinaka sarati yang resi
Tohor muchapi doniran lari mereng narape Astina
Datan'nia juga rakwa gostinéra sarwa tat'wa dika
Lumot wijili sabda sang resi kabe mawerna merta
20. Sedeng anari kang tegal kuru nararya kresnan laku
Rika ta drotaraja sigra rumeng'o dateng sang prabu
Nimitani lebu nekang pura kinon naken busanan
Pada natara wastra mulia tekaring wang'ontur batuk
21. Tuwen pada ginositan sira kabe kinon sambrama
Tekap nira sangarya bisma dratarasta motus tinut
Kunang sira wi'ang ming'e sakune karna duryodana
[Vol I Pg 474] Apan warui mana janardana sapaksa ring pandawa

22. The various viands in the interior of the palace being prepared and laid out,
Kesáwa[164] arrived before the city.
When grateful sounds struck up from various musical instruments,
As slowly advanced his chariot to the hall of audience.
23. The people, desirous of beholding the royal arrival, and afraid of being too late,
Hurried in crowds to where they might have a view of him,
Adjusting their dress and tying up their hair as they ran along;
And some, who had left the operation unfinished, came with their teeth partly black and partly white.
24. While others, among the women, held up their breasts with both hands,
As if they were going to present them to the exalted among men[165].
Children, too, bore along in their arms their ivory dolls,
And caused them, when they came to the looking place, to acknowledge and bow to him, whom they pointed out as their royal father.

22. Sedeng masaji boga sadrasa samong'gu ring jero puri
Samantara dateng ta kesawa anengarepning kuta
Lengeng tekapikang garangtung ngamapak umong gurnita
Tuwen rata nera rere lakunekan dateng ring saba
23. Ikang wang aharap tumingala risang naréndran dateng
Pada garawalan maring pangu'ngangan wedi kantuna
Ana mahayu kesa ta pana gelung rusak ringenu
Dudu tanga sisik atur inaliwa katen tan tulus
24. Wane tangalayu manag'gari susunya karwéng tangan
Ya pwan sunga keneng janardana aturnya nang'giwakna
Ana nakanakan gadeng makilayu mamhban leng'en
Tekeng pangu ngangan kinon ika mangakua rama aji

[Vol I Pg 475]


25. There were also seen among the throng, those who, leaving off the duties of the toilet, and taking with them their looking-glass and paint-brush,
Appeared as if they were hastening to officiate for the prince.
Others there were, whose hands contained unfinished garlands of flowers, which they had been making, and
Which they seemed to be running to give to his highness.
26. Others ran so fast, that they dropt and lost their garments by the way;
Such was their fear of being too late to see the prince go by.
The overloaded ladders broke down with the weight of people upon them,
And the extended mouths of those who fell prostrate, gave them the appearance of persons under the influence of liquor.

(Measure Basánta tiláka).

27. It would be endless to describe the various sights which presented themselves among the astonished multitude,
Enough that the royal Krésna reached the palace.
But it was not the palace of the King of Astína which he went into;
It was that of the Aria Drastarésta.

25. Wane tanga payas wa'u saha sipatnia mung'geng sadak
Yaya ngotusa mahiasan ni patane naréndra dateng
Mewah tanga ngiket sekar ana ri asta tapwan tulus
Sawang kapalajeng makana kusuman paninjo aji
26. Nian tang hamregen umirakani kenya sak ringenu
Rires nika kasépa yan lumiyati 'alintang aji
Kuneng pwari saraknya mung'ga hirikang Saganya tikel
Datan dua kawedar nekang kadi tutuknya ngato'a bo'ajeng

(Tembang Basánta tilaka).

27. Tāng'ēh ya dīn | kawuning'ān rarasīng | maniīnjo ||
Sīgrān datīng | nerpatī krēs|na rīkāng kadāt-'wan ||
Tūtān dunāng | ri kurunā|ta sīran t'kāngka ||
T'kāni narār|yā dratarēs|tra sirān chumūnduk ||

[Vol I Pg 476]


28. There he found assembled Drúna, Bísma, Krépa, and Sália;
As also Aria Widúra, Dratarája, and Kérna.
Then quickly before him did the Aria place
Viands, served up in dishes of gold set with precious stones, befitting the dignity of a prince.
29. Delighted was the mind of Krésna,
When he saw the hospitable manner in which he was treated by the Aria and by Bísma.
Then came the King of Astína to present him with dainties;
But his coming was fruitless, for Krésna would have none of them, spurning the offer.
30. On which the King of the Kuráwa, addressing the blessed among men[166] in an angry tone thus spoke:
"O! thou pure among men, who lovest to over-rate thyself,
"Disdaining to receive the proffered food which I prepared for thee,
"It is not fit that thou shouldst be numbered among the good and worthy of the earth."
31. Such were the words of the King of the Kuráwa addressed to Krésna.
To whom, in reply, the latter said: "Being deputed by others,
"To accept of the articles presented to me by thee, would be as if I were to take poison,
"Not having yet finished the work I am come about."

28. Ka drona bisma krepa salya kapanggi arpat
Lawan sang arya widura drata-raj'ya karna
Sig'ran sumung'akni kang pasaji nararya
Bogo paboga saha mas mani raj'ya yog'ya
29. At'yanta tustané manah naranata Krésna
Yanton segeh nira pararya makadi bisma
Yekan dateng prabu ri astina sopa boga
Datan tinanggapira Kresna aturnia nir don
30. Yekan panant'wa kurunata risang narind'ra
He sang janardana hade juga denta mambik
Tan tanggamé pasaji nistura tan pananggap
Tan yukti totenira sang tuhu sadu ring rat
31. Naling nirang kurupatin pang'uchap ring Kresna
Mojar janardana t'her puri ing kinongkon
Tan sambramé pang'upakara ritap'waning don
[Vol I Pg 477] Apan mamukti wisa rak'wana sida karaya

32. So spake the pure among men, losing for a moment the character of a Pandíta,
Krésna then returned home, followed by his principal Mántrí[167]:
And on reaching his residence he immediately kissed the feet of the wife[168] of Pándu,
Who very graciously and kindly received the honour done her.

(Measure Bangsa patra.)

33. As soon as Batári Kunti[169] perceived Krésna approaching,
Her mind suddenly expanded, like an opening flower, but immediately after became oppressed with grief.
Then addressing the royal youth, she said, his coming to her was as welcome as that of the Pandáwas.
She then quickly threw her arms round the neck of the well-pleased Krésna,
34. And immediately told him of all the sad grief and consequent shame which filled her mind,
With a choked utterance and a strenuous effort to suppress the rising tear,
"O! my friend and protector," said she, "thou bringest consolation and comfort to my breaking heart,
"Making me feel as happy as if I were at this moment in the delightful company of all the sons of Pándu."

32. Naling janardana ri sang resi sangga suks'ma
Sang Kresna mantuki niring nira sang sumantri
Prapténg g'reha ngusapi jeng nira pandu-patni
Somia b'wata t'wang'i t'las nira yan panembah

(Tembang Bangsa patra.)

33. Saliyati ra Batā|ri Kūnti Krēs|na wahu datēng ||
Kadi sinekari kāng | t'yās māhār|sa puwarā sekel ||
Atutu rī | n'repa sūnu lwīr sāng | pāndawa datēng'a ||
Karana nirā | tekā n'gol teng | gēk sāng teka marārem
34. T'hĕr awarahi geng ning duka ngande hirisira
Saha wuwus ira mas'ret déning luh lagi pinegeng
Kita tiki bapa tambang kun mariyang regepa lara
[Vol I Pg 478] Sawulata saguyu m'wang sang pandut'maja saweka

35. Such were the words of the great Dewi Kunti, causing Krésna to shed tears.
To whom the latter, in reply, thus spake: "Grieve not, oh princess,
"What is, has been ordained by the Almighty, whose humble instrument I am."
Thus said, he forthwith returned, and went to the palace of Wára-widúra.
36. Leaving Krésna to the hospitable entertainment of Widúra, who administered to all his wants,
Let us proceed to speak of the King of the Kuráwa,
Whose gifts had been disdainfully rejected,
And who thereby was sorely vexed.
37. He consulted with Dusasána and Sakúni upon the subject.
But the first on the list of advisers were Krépa and Kérna. They wishing to kindle the ire of the king of Kuráwa,
Asked, "Why should you be afraid to refuse giving up half of the country,
"On account of Krésna's being the friend and ally of the Pandáwa;

35. Na wuwus ira su déwi kunti Krésna saha tang'is
Sang inujaran irojar tan soba n'repa mahisi
Sakarepa Batara manggeh ng'wang w'kasanika
Ling'ira t'her umantuk ring g'wan sang warawidura
36. H'neng'akena kamant'yan sang kresnan s'deng'iniweh
T'kapira widura pah ramia tut samanahira
Da tuchapa kurunata karya sa sinala hasa
Sapasaji nira eman dé sang kresna tana árep
37. Karana nira na hemhem m'wang dusasana sakuni
Maka muka k'repa karna t'yan téng dusta mangapui
Ling'ira mapa tahé t'wan ta wéha pura sateng'ah
Apan iki n'repa k'resna b'yekta pandawa sasisih

[Vol I Pg 479]


38. "Therefore it is that the offered food was so much slighted.
"If not accepted of (by Krésna) care not, but give it away elsewhere.
"Be the enemies of our leader who they may, our bweapons are ready."
Having thus said, Krépa and Kérna departed, and were followed by Dusasána and Sakúni.
39. All having departed, and gone home,
The king of the Kuráwa, alone and sad,
Went to the apartment of his wife,
Who was said to be exquisitely beautiful, even exceeding the females of heaven, and containing more sweetness than a sea of honey.
40. When he reached the place where his wife was, he spoke not, but continued silent,
Oppress'd with grief, and lost to every thing;
In this mood he remained, till the coolness of evening came, and
The sun shone bright in the west.
41. The sun about to disappear, looked as if descending into the bosom of the deep,
And cast a beautiful and pleasing appearance on the palace;
But it assumed all at once a pale and sombre aspect,
While the women within were happy and joyful.

38. Niha niki teka panian sampa é-ke pasaji aji
Tarimanen niki ay 'wang kewéra métukaraken
Sapa karika musuh sang nata was gati rasika
Ling ira t'her umantuk m'wang dusasana sakuni
39. Da'i moli ira kap'wa ngungsir wésma nira uwus
Kurupati kari sokang kaneng g'wan warama 'isi
Tuchapan niki sawang sang déwi ngant'yani ngahajeng
Ratih ajapana wung'wa m'wang yanging jeladi madu
40. Sadateng'ira ri déwi tan warnan aneng'akena
Lawani wing'iti chita sri dur'yudana na sumeng
Lalu déwasa kalungha tistis ng'wé kirana matis
Ririsa dulura ngen mar mam'wat ganda ningasana
41. Rawi mangayati moksa kane lot masilurupa
Dana s'mo kama tresnan ton rumneng pura ridalem
Karana nerana nolih moruk pinda kamadelen
'Lala lumiating s'tri ring jero mahawuhawu

[Vol I Pg 480]

42-46. [Description of the loves of both sexes, and the graces and attractions of women.]

47-50. [Moonlight scene described, with the sports and blandishments of the maids of the palace.]

51-53. [The maids of Astína continue to talk and amuse themselves by the light of the moon.]

54. [Midnight follows, when all are at rest, and a solemn stillness prevails, disturbed only by the Bramins proclaiming the midnight hour.]

55-63. [Description of morning. Sunrise, &c.]

64-66. [Suyudána, king of Kuráwa, comes forth in state into the hall of audience to meet Krésna, who has been waiting for him there, along with many princes and chiefs of the place.]

67-73. [Krésna announces to Suyudána the object of his mission, viz. to ask for half the kingdom of Astína for the Pandáwa, &c. The father and mother of Suyudána and all the old and grave Pandítas recommend compliance with the proposal of the Pandáwa, in order that there may be an amicable adjustment of affairs. Kérna, Dusasána, Sakúni, and Krépa, shake their heads, in token of their disapprobation of the measure, and evince their readiness to attack and kill Krésna on the spot.]

(Measure Sekaríni.)

74. Then the servant Satíáki related to Krésna from his own knowledge,
That at the time the plan of Duriodána was to take away his life,
For he had collected together and assembled his people in arms;
Whereupon Krésna issued orders for his forces to be in like manner assembled.

(Tembang Sekarini.)

74. Samāngkā yoda sā|tiaki majari sāng | Krēsna saduga ||
Ri tīngkā sāng Durio|dana arap pam|ātia nāri sira ||
Tuwin sampūn naidāng | yadū bala kabē | sāstrani sita ||
Umi rātniā s'ri Krēs|na kārana nikīn | tān warang'en ||

[Vol I Pg 481]

(Measure Basánta tiláka.)

75. Krésna then giving way to his anger, arose from his seat,
His passion swelling and rising within him like unto the fury of the god Kála.
His speech no longer soft, was harsh and loud, and he represented the all-powerful Wísnu[170],
His appearance uniting the force of the three powers and of the three worlds.
76. From his shoulders were seen to extend four arms, and above them were three heads and three eyes[171].
The power and divinity of every deity now entered into his person:
Bráma, the saints, the powerful deities, the chiefs of the Rasáksas,
With the power of all the people and chiefs of the immaterial world, and of all that possessed power.
77. Then swaying his body from side to side, and breathing hard like the roar of a lion,
The earth shook to its base, disturbing the foundation of every thing:
The mountain tops nodding, and the mountains themselves rocking to and fro;
The waves of the sea rising like mountains, forming whirlpools and casting the deep sea-fish on the adjacent shore.

(Tembang Basanta tilaka. See 26.)

75. Angka kroda Kresna mang'adĕk sakaring pahman
Mong'ging natar sira wibuh Kadi Kala merchu
Mintonakan krama niran tuhu Wisnu murti
Lila tri wikrama maka waki kang tri loka
76. Takkuwan chatur buja siran tri sira tri netra
Sakoé Batara pinaka wakira samoa
Brahma r'si dewa gana rasaksa yaksa sura
Moang detia denawa pisacha manusia sakti
77. Yekan lumangka asigap kraka singha nada
Lindu tikang siti pado lawa ng'ambek Kambek
Yang parwoto gra gumiwang manawang ginanjuh
Kombak wayi tasi kanyakra panyunya kabeang

[Vol I Pg 482]


78. In an instant fear and panic overspread the hundred Kuráwa.
Silent and speechless they stood, and with a pale and wan look, which extended to the prince Kérna himself.
Even Súyudána and Yuyútsu lost their senses from fear;
They remained as without life, and having no will of their own.
79. It was then that Drúna and Bísma, and the good Pandíta Naráda,
Offered prayers and praise, and sprinkling a shower of sweet-scented flowers before him,
Thus entreated: "Are you not, in truth, the God of Day, why become greater?
"Have mercy upon the world and all that it contains.
80. "If you resolve upon the destruction of Kurunáta, his destruction must ensue:
"But think once more of the agreement of Nahária Bíma,
"And of the pledge of Drupádi, who has vowed not to bind her hair
"Until she shall have bathed in the blood of the hundred Kuráwa."
81. At this the god relented, and his heart became softened
When he listened to the words of the holy Bísma;
For the wisdom of Krésna was pleased with the praise,
And in an instant he resumed the form of Nahária Krésna.

78. Tanduan kawus gatini kang sata Kurawa ras
Diem tan pasábda mawenes Narepa Karna Nata
Mangkang Suryodana Yuyutsu Wikarna morcha
Biak tan geseng tekap irang arepi ilangnia
79. Ng'ka Druna Bisma ng'uniwé resi Narada di
Asrang mang'astuti umong saha puspa warsa
Mojar Batara hari ayowa magung weyung ta
S'wasta nikang Buana kasihi tulihenta
80. Yedian kita mejahani kurunata nang'ga
Bahna pratitnia gati sang Prawaria Bima
Moang Dropadi basa matan pag'lung gatinia
Yen tan pakadiusa rirah sata kuraweng prang
81. Da kantananya lesunen poa geleng Batara
Ling sang watak resi lawan paramarsi Bisma
Karunya budi nira Kresna renan pinuja
Rap saksana noluya rupa Nararia Kresna
[Vol I Pg 483]

82. The Pandítas then went each his way,
And Krésna proceeded to the dwelling of the widow of Pándu.
No sooner was he arrived than he said: "I offered my advice to the princes of Kúra,
"But they have resolved to be destroyed in battle.
83. "Such, O Naranáti Déwi, is the conduct of Kurunáta."
To him the princess then replied, "Inform my sons, the sons of Pándu, of this:
"And since they must fight, let them select warriors who cling to life;
"And let Swárga receive those who may fall in the war."
84. Thus spake the princess to Nahária Krésna,
Who closing his hands in respect, requested to withdraw.
Then quickly mounting his resplendent chariot,
He was followed by Widúra, Sanjáya, and Yuyútsu.
85. Kérna alone was seated in the chariot by the side of Krésna,
And him he advised to follow the cause of Pándu.
But the Prince of Wáng'ga replied: "I hold to my resolve,
"And long to try my strength in battle against Kiríti."

82. 'Ngka tant tinut nira muli resi sangga suksma
Sang Kresna mantuk kumari sira Pandu Patni
Sigran teka jari wiang nira Kura wendra
Kewalia mayun nirikang rana matia ring prang
83. Yekan pasabda Karuna Naranati dewi
Bota siasi wara-akan ta ripandu Putra
Heng sura darma ngosirangnia matoha jiwa
S'warga ngola pej ahimatdia nikang ranang'ga
84. Nahan wuwus narepa wadu Rinararia Kresna
Yekan tinut nira napatgata semba amit
Sigran mijil sira tohor mahawan rata bra
Sering lawan Widura Sanjaya len Yuyutsu
85. Sang Karna rowang nira Kresna aning rata krem
Sinoé kinoni tumota ri Pandu Putra
Dan sang Nararia Riawang'ga kedah sudira
Mayon makola guna sakti lawan kiriti
[Vol I Pg 484]

86. Such was the speech of Narapáti Kérna, who would not hear but of war;
"To the battle will I go, for I pant for war, and instant war.
"In the fifth season, and on the first day of the moon, shall the war commence,
"And ere the tenth night of Krésna shall it be terminated."
87. Rawisúta having thus declared himself in speech bold and fierce,
Requested to depart in company with Widúra, Sanjáya, and Yuyútsu,
And said not a word until he reach'd his home.
Janardána gave speed to his course and went on.
88. Narapáti Krésna spoke not a word as he proceeded;
But Srí Kúnti, when she heard the intelligence,
Became sad at heart that her children should go to war,
And well she recollected what Krésna, had formerly said.
89. This she thought should be the course of Naranáta Kérna,
He should not listen to Kurunáta, for he is bent upon war;
And thus she advised her son, Arka Pútra[172],
For she had borne him when yet a virgin.

86. Nahan wuwus Narapati Karnu wiyang tanamoas
Metoeng ranang gana juga heng ujar neragia
Mamui taneng kalima tué sedang tumanggal
Rapuan Masampuna nipancha dasinia Kresna
87. Nahan wuwus Rawisuta piakakas rasania
Mamoet lawan Widura Sanjoya len Yuyutsu
Tan warnanan Sira wuwus tekaring swa wisma
Lampa Janardana makin kalepas kemantian.
88. Da titanen narapati Krésna sedang lumampa
Sri Kunti boja tana yeki reng'an kamantian
Sokan rasi wekan niran mijiling' ranang'ga
Ngu'nin datang nerepati Kresna matakon ningdé.
89. Na doniran patari Sang Naranata Karna
Motus kumona Kurunata tanagrah heng prang
Kunti yaling nira mowa risang Arka putra
Biak tan nanak'nira ri kalaniran sukanya.
[Vol I Pg 485]

90. But Kérna would not hearken, but averted his head.
His wish was that nothing should avert the war;
For he feared the loss of his character for courage,
And he had received great benefits from the princes of Kóra.
91. The widow of Pándu then departed in grief,
And in silence bent her way to the abode of Sumántri.
Janardána, meanwhile, continued his course
Attended by Satiáki, the good and the brave.
92. So rapidly did the chariot go that the time could not be counted,
Till reaching Wiráta, he met the assembled Pandáwa.
To them Krésna related, that the people of Astína rejected his advice,
And were resolved upon trying their prowess in war.
93. Transfix'd with rage, the sons of the Pándu,
Bíma, Arjúna, Yenakúla, spoke with fierceness and defiance,
When they heard the words of Pándu Pátni
That they should try their power and skill in war.
94. It was then that all the assembled princes
Consulted and declared for war.
And Drupáda said to his son, the prince of Wiráta,
"Give orders and make ready the warlike implements, collect the chiefs and warriors."

90. Dan Kerna langana saha dara lot manamba
Mang yang ritan wurunga ning mijiling ranang'ga
Kak satrian juga palai yuana ling ning raswi
Apan kalindi anisih nira kora wendra.
91. Na étu Pandu dayeta numuli sasoka
Tan warnanan sira teking graha sang Sumantri
Lampa Jenardana mowa wuwusen wisata
Siring lawan prawara Satiaki weresni wira
92. Heng'gal wawang tanuchapan takap ping rata dras
Prapteng Wirata katamo nerepa Pandawa hém
Ng'ka kesawa jri wihang nira Astinindra
Mayuan mang'ongsira yasa takran prabawa
93. Yekan padang getam masabda sapandu putra
Bimar, Junar, Yenakula s'ru lawan sang'anten
Tekuwan deng'ar ripa wakas mira Pandu patni
Motus mang'on sire yasi teng'a hing ranang'ga
94. Mangka watak ratu sapaksa risang narindra
Kapua sarak wuwusiran mijiling ranang'ga
Ayuhé nuchap Drupada sunu Wirata putra
Sabda nomangkata ri kalanikang pranata

[Vol I Pg 486]

(Measure Sragdára.)

95. At the dawn of day, the Pandáwa arose and march'd forth from the capital of Wiráta,
Resplendent as the morning sun, when rising above the mountains, he first sheds his rays over the earth;
In numbers great, compact, and like an overwhelming sea. And a sound, like distant thunder in the hills,
Was the sign, that the elephants, horses, and chariots, with the rich and splendid trappings of gold were in motion.
96. Many and numberless were the flowers scattered in clouds upon them by the Pandita;
Loud was the sound of the martial strain, breathing victory and triumph to the sons of Pándu.
And when the flowers ceased to fall, there arose a strong wind, as if propitious to their march;
For the gods were assembled on high, and wished them success in the war.

(Tembang Sragdára.)

95. Yiri āngkāt sāng Pāndawēng|'jeng Sakari Kuta nikāng | Rājia dāni Wirāta ||
Tān pēndā Sūria sāng|ke ngudaya giri mijīl | māyuwan nāng dipa nīngrat ||
Lūmra wurāsākpenu līr | jalinidi mang'alīh|muang 'ngukīr guntūr āgrah ||
Chīnāniā n'wēh tekāp nīng | gaja turāngga ratā | reng'ga rāta pradīpta ||
96. Ny'kan lumrang puspa warseng gana Sina Wurakan Sang watak sit dia sing ga
Lawan ungkara mantri jaya jaya ri jaya Sri Maha Pandu Putra
Matrang Warsa rarap mang'galani laku nira pang ruhun sidu ngadres
Apan Sang yang Surendrang duluri ngawang-awang mastoakan yen jayeng prang

[Vol I Pg 487]


97. In the front of the march Bíma, the bold and the brave, took his station;
Wild with impatience for battle, and heedless of opposition,
He remained on foot, tossing his gáda into the air for amusement;
For he was accustomed to conquer, as well on the sea as on the mountains, and elephants and lions became his spoil.
98. In his rage he was all-powerful as the elephant of the forest:
And now that he was in motion, he panted for the hostile chief, and gave the challenge aloud:
His voice being like the roar of the lion was heard by all,
The sound thereof resounding throughout the three worlds.
99. Behind him followed Arjúna, seated in a splendid chariot of variegated gold, and shaded by a golden páyung,
Flaming like a burning mountain and threatening destruction on Astína and its princes.
His banner, the monkey, floated high in the air, flapping the clouds in its course;
And as his retinue shone and glittered, lightning flashed with the thunder-clap in presage of victory.

97. Pang'anjur ning lu mampa sang ngino chapa ngaran Bima surang'ga Kara
Wang momoring Sarira wang'i molimola mok tan idap sakti ning len
Takwan tan Sang'grahing Wahana lumaku juga moang gada geng inunda
Apan derpa tawan sagara giri gehana pet gaja singha berwang
98. Towen Kroda lawas mataka di gaja alas geng galatan panampar
Munin mahiwun luma kiwo prihawaka mapagiring ritang'guh Narindra
Mangken totus lumumpat Kawigara Nang'uhuh wi brama Singananda
Lunpat ring burbua s'waranira ibkan sekanangka tri loka
99. 'Ngka ni wuntat Nararia Rijuna Marata manik Sarwa warna pajeng mas
Montap lir parwata pui lari gumaseng 'ani Astina moang ratunia
Kumlap tung gulnira Wanara mang'ada dutur sabdani megha makrak
Lumrah ring dikwidik mang kilata wetu gelap biakta mang dé jayeng prang

[Vol I Pg 488]


100. Next to Palgúna came Aria Nakúla, with Sedéwa, mounted in a chariot of green of exquisite workmanship.
In beauty resembling two deities of heaven, and thirsting for the attack on the youths of Astína,
They shone resplendent. Their banner floating in the air like a dark cloud threatening rain, and scattering the petals of sweet-scented flowers.
Ready for the combat, as thunder before the lightning flash; and as they moved, the sound resembled the humming of bees in search of food.
101. Then slowly followed Aria Utára, with Soíta, alike mounted in a chariot of war;
And next Drásta driúmna and Drupádi, with Sikándi by her side;
With countless chariots, elephants, and horses bringing up the cavalcade and filling up all space:
The whole elevated in spirit, as fish when enlivened by a sudden fall of rain.
102. And now appeared Drupádi, borne on a litter of gold, and shaded with a páyung of peacocks' plumes:
She was like a deity when represented by a golden image; her long hair hanging loose and floating in the wind.
She had not bound it: but while it hung like a low'ring cloud, she awaited the coming of the rain of blood;
For she held to her vow, that until she bathed in the blood of the enemy, she would not collect her hair or tie the knot.

100. Wuntat Sang Palgunang Karia Nakula Saha dewa rata Jong bang'un j'ring
Endah lir Kamah Kambar lumaku rumabasas-tri puri Astinendra
Leng leng tung'gul nira pinda jelada mawudan sarining kitaka mrik
Wagiut pata gelap tan prakata kadi ketar ning prang'ing sat padawu
101. Len Len sangke sirar Yotara masiring'a ring Soita mong'ging rata brah
Moang Drasta-driúmna lawan Drupada pada tumot niwang Sikandi tanimba
Pasrang ning siandana moang gaja kuda maduluring awan Siu penu sek
Ler mining lot manung sung Jawu ahulapula sang huwus drada ring prang
102. Da ngka sang dropadi lampa ararasa awan dampa ima pajang merak
Lir dewi yang yang ing réka kanaka mang'ori rima antan katampuan
Mawian kesa nawang meg'ha mang'ajara keni landung 'ania n'godan rah
[Vol I Pg 489] Biaktan rah ning musu rakua karamasa niran mimponing kang glung sak

103. Then in her train followed Dárma Súnu, mounted on a white elephant,
His attire complete; his pustáka yellow, and the case of the purest gold;
Evincing that Dárma Mórtia desired to slay Sália, the chief warrior of Duriodáning:
And that when he raised his pustáka as an instrument of war, there was not his equal in power or courage.
104. Next Krésna advanced in his golden chariot, and shaded by a white páyung;
For it was his pleasure to bring up the rear, with the elder princes and the royal host.
Not far off were his chákra and conch, and the princes of his retinue were borne on white elephants;
The cry of the elephants rose loud and high, uniting with the mingled sounds which issued from all quarters.
105. Behind Krésna came Bimányu, the son of Arjúna,
With his instruments of war, borne in a splendid chariot, studded with precious stones, and playing with his chákra,
With him was Satiáki, seated on an elephant, and accompanied by numerous followers.
Richly adorned with golden vests, the surprise and admiration of all beholders.

103. Lila Sri Dárma sunu miring ngakaning sira nong'ganing mata Hasti
Sarwecha jong kuning pustaka winawa nira nane ratna pradipta
Sing'gi yan Darma Mortia arapi rapoaning Salia Duriodaning a prang
Yapoan tan pindowang Gang galaka rika ikang pustakang dadia bajra.
104. Sampun mangka tumot krisna saha rata suwarna pajang soweta warna
Lila ning kari lampa pararatu pinati sang watak partiva keh
Chakra moang sangka tan sa mareki sira padabra matangran kagendra
Yekang nerek gurniteng ngambara siniring'a ning jera ning uning merdang'ga.
105. Wuntat Sang Kresna partatmaja sira mang'iring sang manama Bimanyu
Sangkap ring sanjata marga rata mani maya n'gonda chakra pradipta
Lawan Sang Satiaki moang yedu bala mahawan mata matang'ga makeh
[Vol I Pg 490] Sampurnang busana bra maka wacha kanakan de ulap ning tuming'al.

106. And then came on the two sons of the Pandáwa, Panchawála, and Wítia,
Complete in their habiliments, and mounted in a war-chariot, ornamented with gems and flowers of gold:
Their dress of linen and of silk. A delightful fragrance surrounded them.
Beautiful was their páyung, for it was of the wings of the mardukára, and dazzled the eye like the glare of the sun.
107. Many and various were the characters and attributes of the different warriors hastening to their work, were they all to be described.
Arrived at Kuruksétra, they soon raise a fort of very great strength;
And the palace built therein being finished, they invite the wife of Pándu,
Who quickly arrives, and enters the palace, accompanied by Widúra.
108. Then Widúra went back, and safely reached her home.
While Déwi Náta and all the sons of Pándu, met together with mutual delight,
And discoursed in turn of the hardship of her being incessantly obliged to retreat to the hills;
The more she poured out her grief, the greater was the joy that followed, even to shedding tears.

106. Mong'geng wuntat watak Pandawa suta mang'aran Panchawala du Witia
Kapoéka bro numung'geng rata mapapati ang'reng'ga ratna rawis mas
Sangkap ring busana wastra chaweli linaka m'lek penuh kasturi m'rik
Sarvecha jong larneng madukara mahulap katrangan suria téja.
107. Akoé ting'ku watek wira yanahchapakenang lampa agya tekéng don
Da ngka prapténg kuruksetra sira t'lasi tingkah kuta tianténg durga
Sampurna m'wang kadeto an rika ta sira maha pandu patni iuundang
Sigra prapténg niring sang widura sira uwus manjing nging jero kadat'o'an.
108. Sampun mangka molih sang widura tanuchapen ramnya mong'gwéng swawisma
Warnan Sang nata dewi pada saka mapupul mwang watek pandu putra
[Vol I Pg 491] Kapwa hemhem sili pajari laranera tansa mangungsir wanadri
Mangken ramnya guwug ya wetu suka dadi luh dunawas arsa étu

109. Long would it take to relate all the pleasure felt by the wife of Pándu while in the interior of the palace.
Then all the Pandáwa, together with Krésna, the first and the mightiest, with many other chiefs, debated
Who was the fittest, from his knowledge of military positions, to be elected Séna-dípa[173],
As one of undoubted ability and skill in managing an army.
110. Dérmat-mája, addressing Krésna and all the assembled chiefs, then said,
"Seven only out of all the number appear to be fit to hold the chief command
"Of the army, which consists of seven hundred millions of fighting men.
"And first of these Soétan[174], skilled in the direction of soldiers."

109. Tange yan warnanan tustane mana ira sang pandu patne aning jero
Sigra hem sang watek pandawa maka muka sang Kresna len partiwa kweh
Rehning sena dipa ring samara ya ginonem sang 'wru'ing byu'a durga
Tan manman pandengen sakti nera saha bala yogya tangwana ring-prang
110. Ling sang dermat maja jar inagingan nera sang Krésna len partiwa koeh
Sapte ko'e sang ginantang wunang'a rika wawa sang watek wira wira ring prang
Rapwan mang'gah subada bala gana pitungak so ini kwenya sakti
'Ngka sang so'etan pinuja wuruha ri gelara-ning sura yoding ranang'ga

[Vol I Pg 492]

(Measure Suandána.)

111. Whilst all the Pandáwa were appointing chiefs over the army,
Narapati Kuráwa[175] held a council of war,
For he had heard of the arrival of many enemies at Kuruk-sétra[176].
It was Aria Widúra who gave him the intelligence.
112. Then Prábu Gajawáyan[177] marched forth with all his chiefs.
All the Kuráwa, too, were in company, making a noise as they moved along, like the roaring of the sea.
In the neighbourhood of the hostile plain they construct a place of strength.
Soon was the work completed, for the Narapati's authority extended over all the princes around.
113. Then was Aria Bísma first made a leader in battle.
Raised above all others, he is seen crowned with flowers.
From all quarters the crowded and restless multitude send forth shouts
While the sound of gongs and conchs rend the skies.

(Tembang Suándana.)

111. Sedēng mang'abisekā | brātya pati sāng | watāk Pāndawa ||
Ulā nerepati kō|rawē swara na hēm | pirēng ng'wā kena ||
T'lās wuruhe dateng|ne sātru nera ring | kurūk setra sek ||
Tekāpni pawarā | sang Aria widurnā | datēng mānglawat ||
112. Rika prabu gajahwayan laku lowan watek partiwa
Sakorawa marempaka tri gumuruh bangun sagara
Akarya kuta durga meh tegalika pradéseng kuru
Wawang 'uwusa pan sirang nerepati chakra warting sarat
113. Samang kana sang arya Bisma pinaka gra sénapati
Katone nabiséka sampuna sekar sira busana
Penuh pas'luring prawira masurak masang'garuhan
Lawan Pada ibera sangka tinolup umong ring langit

[Vol I Pg 493]


114. Next all the princes and chiefs are regaled;
The troops and followers have all they want, and are provided with conveyances.
The length of one line was twelve millions one hundred thousand;
While the thronged legions extended to the hills and to the woods.
115. Then altogether they set out for the field of battle,
Moving towards the west, and leaving their strong hold and the king of Astína behind.
Arrived on the hostile plain, loud resounded the conchs;
While the warriors, animated by the sound, testify by their actions and gestures, their impatience to engage in the fight.
116. At the same time they are formed in battle array on the hostile plain.
Ráwan was the name of the order which was first founded by the king of the Pandáwa:
That of king of the Kúru was according to the wish of the Bramána,
Who with all their relations swore they would conquer or die in the battle.
117. And now let us proceed to speak of the Pandáwa.
Having come out from their strong hold and arrived at the field of battle,
They advance eastward, towards the formed bodies of the Kuráwa:
Both sides shout and brandish their weapons in front of each other.

114. Tu'e pwa niniwe watek ratu kabé pinujakrama
Tekéng bala samoa yoda pada purna ring wahana
Pinanding ngatarung wilenya sawelas gananya yuta
Ya karanane kin penuh tekaring kawukir mwang wana
115. Samang kana pareng mijil sakari kang tegal paprangan
Mangula'ana ngawuriakan kuta watek naropé Astina
Tekèng pag'laran pada s'ranga nulup sungo jerah pareng
Ya étuni girang nikang bala kabé pada ge'a pranga
116. Tu'en pada t'las makarya bisuwéng tegal paprangan
Rawan ngarane kang tawur nereparti Pandawa morwane
Kunang tawuri sang nerepéng Kuru yakari lut Brahmana
Rikan sira sinapa sang du'ija sagotra mati'a laga
117. Ri mangkana nikanda tochapa tasang watek Pandawa
T'las metu sakeng dalam kuta samipaneng panchaka
Lumampa angawétan angarepaken g'lar korawa
[Vol I Pg 494] Pada pranga ngawuh mangunda winawanya kapwa ngadeg

118. Loud and confused were the mingled sounds of the armies.
The stoutest and bravest seemed to have been placed in front:
The only persons who did not engage in the fight were the musicians and standard-bearers.
Those in front were seen prancing and nimbly moving about with their brandished weapons.
119. Quickly the contending armies mutually and fearlessly rush upon each other,
Amid the roar of elephants, the neighing of steeds, the beating of drums, and the shouts of the troops,
Till the whole air and sky is filled with the jarring sounds,
And the earth is shaken with the tumultuous din of war.
120. Prawára Bísma then formed his troops into the resemblance of the sea and mountains:
While the princes and chiefs of Astína seemed like towering and immovable rocks;
The warriors in front dashing upon the enemy like the waves of the sea,
And like the ocean bearing down before them stones as large as mountains.

118. Rikan pada gamoeanane sawateknia sawang pareng
Sinangwo'a sinilan risan mokane sang prawireng rana
Ritan anane ngapranga mawa meredang'ga tung'gul kunang
Lawan gatine kang katon mawusana regep sanjata
119. Risampunera mangkanan dana pareng mase sehasa
Umong swarane kang gaja kuda lawan gaber mwang surak
Samantara ngati gurniteng langita monto'ane dikvidik
Gumetere lema nikang rana saba ketugnia selur
120. Sireng Prawara Bisma sigra mag'lar ukir sagara
Watek ratu anéng gaja-swa karangenya durga ruhur
Pama gunong nganeng balamuka ngalun tuanut musuh
Ya bano'ani kagunturang gulunganeng sela marwata

[Vol I Pg 495]


121. Prawára[178], Pandáwa, formed the order of bajára tíksna lúngit[179].
Dananjáya[180] and Werkodára[181] were there with Sikándi[182] in front;
Wiráta's[183] son, Satiáki, and the son[184] of Drupáda, were in the rear,
Yudestíra with all the princes being in the centre.
122. The mind of Arjúna, when he viewed the enemy, was divided between joy and sorrow, and he was moved with love and pity towards them;
For they were chiefly composed of his own kindred.
Some of them were the sons of his father and mother: the younger and elder brother of his father were also there;
As also the Gúrus[185], Krepa, Sálea, Bísma, and Duijéng'ga.
123. Therefore quickly addressing Narária Krésna,
He intreated that the battle might not take place, being afflicted at the sight of the Kuráwa.
But Janardána compelled him to command that the fight should begin,
It being dishonourable for men to hold back at the hour of battle.

121. Kuneng Prawara Pandawa g'lari bajara tiksna lungit
Dananjaya lawan Werakodara tomot S'ikandi arep
Wirata suta Satiaki Drupada sunu waktré wuri
Yudistira lawan watek ratu kabé manganténg tenga
122. Mulat mara sang Arjuna s'mu kamanusan kas'repan
Ri tingka'i mosu neran pada kadang taya wang waneh
'Ana wang anakeng yaya mwang ibu l'en uwa go paman
Makadi Krepa Salea Bisma sera sang Duijeng'ga Guru
123. Ya karananeran pasabda ri nararya Kresna teher
Aminta wurunga laga pana welas tumon Kurawa
Kuneng sira Janardana sekang'a kon sarosa pranga
'Apan ilailang kasinatria surut yaning paprangan

[Vol I Pg 496]


124. Then was seen Dérma-pútra stealing away
Towards Aria, Bísma, Krépa, Sálea, and Dúija.
With ardour he kissed and clung to their feet;
For it was customary, with Gúrus, to make obeisance to them before the battle.
125. Then spoke those who were thus made a brilliant object of adoration and respect:
"Our noble child, suffer no uneasiness of mind, for you have already deprived us of life.
"Child of ourselves, may you be successful in battle and soon obtain possession of the country.
"And may Narapáti Krésna witness the truth of our words."
126. This done, he forthwith returned to his own side;
Quickly ascending his chariot and laying hold of his weapons,
While each sounded his conch;
And various were the sounds of the kéndang and its accompaniments.
127. Instant the contending armies rush upon each other, mingling together in long, obstinate, and close fight.
Ten elephants to a chariot, and ten horses to an elephant:
These ten horses being mounted by such as fear not to die in battle,
And their duty being to watch when they can cut up and exterminate the enemy.

124. Caton pwa sira Derma-putra mangenes rika tan tumut
Mare sira sang Arja Bisma Kropa Saléa len sang Duija
Masocha ri sukunera nenabi wada dé sang prabu
'Apan purihi ngang lawan Guru mapur'wa pujan arep
125. Kunang sa'uri sang kinarya pinaka gra chudamane
Bapangku laki ayo'a sang saya uripku ta lap huwus
Kita naku jayéng ranang'gana teher madre wi'a pura
Sirang Nerepati Kresna saksi'a yadi'an merosa ringwuwus
126. Ri sampunera mangkana dan nomalia maréng paprangan
Kasana krama numung'ga ing rata pada regep sanjata
Sahasa manulup risangka nera so'angan nya 'umung
Pareng mo'ang ngonening gubar saragi koté kotia nguwuh
127. Wawang pamuki kang bala s'ranga selur mawenta jemur
Ratéka sapulu gajanya gaja tung'gul aswa dasa
Kudéka sapulu pada tinika sura manténg laga
Kenohnya 'ana pada raksaka yadin wisirnan winuk
[Vol I Pg 497]

128. The number of the chiefs who were mounted on elephants
Were a thousand millions: those that accompanied them were ten and one thousand billions.
Those on horseback amounted to one billion, while they that followed were ten billions.
Great therefore was the battle and many were the slain.
129. Many days did the Kuráwa oppose the Pandáwa.
Soon fell the brave sons of Wirátes Swára.
He named Wira Sángka was slain by Duija:
Dea Utra fell by the hand of Narapáti Sálea, the hero in battle.
130. Enraged at the fall of these two heroes, Soéta[186]
Rushed like a mountain on ten billions of the foe.
A shower of arrows at once destroyed the chariot of Náta Sálea, and carried death to many of the brave;
Sálea himself and his charioteer narrowly escaping with their lives.
131. The whole army of the Koráwa hastened to his support.
Amongst them were seen Bíma, Dróna, Wérahat-bála, and Jáya, Séna, armed with their clubs;
Rukmaráta, too, the son of Narapáti-Sálea, supporting his father.
Soon did Ari Soéta, powerful as a lion, make them feel his superiority.

128. Aneka tekaping wibaga yan sangséna dulur
'Anun saka sapanti len sapretana sagulmé naseh
Dudung merang ngaturang'ga ara sachamo mwang ngakso-eni
Ya karanane kang prangat buta magenturan sek pejah
129. Pirang dina kuneng lawas kurukula lawan pandawa
Datando'a ana sura mati uka sang wirates swara
Prakasa wara sangka namanera mati de sang Duija
Dea utara paraptra de nerepati salea sureng rana
130. 'Ngka sweta numasa masungeti pejaneng sura kali pisan
Sigran tandang 'amagunung saha bala 'ngamba teka eksoeni
Yekan s'yu rata nata salea pinana mwang wira yodan pejah
Tambis méh sira matia karwa kerta warma pan makarwan rata
131. 'Ngkan pinrih tinulung tekap nera watek yoda aning korawa
Bisma drona lawan werahat bala jayat sena dulur ma gada
Mwang sang rukmaratat maja nerepati salea nimbangi gang yaya
[Vol I Pg 498] Datando'an kawenang tekap nera sang arya so'éta singot 'tama

132. Dínang Rukmaráta fell and lay prostrate on the seat of his carriage.
Soéta fought furiously and killed many of the Kuráwa:
None would face him, but all fled in terror.
Great too was their dread of Gátut-kácha, Drupáda's son, and Kirítiatmája.
133. Then Rési-Bísma rapidly advancing opposed the furious attack of all the Pendáwa,
Aiming at Soéta he unceasingly shot the best of his sharp arrows;
But Soéta, the commander in battle, unhurt, grew more and more courageous, and shot his arrows in turn.
Bíma and Dananjáya came to his aid: their arrows poured like a shower of rain from the heavens.
134. The King of the Kuráwa advancing, no sooner came upon Bíma, in the middle of the field of battle,
Than he suddenly stopped and started backwards, making a precipitate retreat, running and falling, and stopping not till he had got to a great distance.
But Bísma, intent only on Bíma, maintained an incessant attack, which Bísma, standing up in his carriage, watched and repelled,
While Bísma was greatly exasperated against Wiráta-tináya, for his attempt to exterminate the Kuráwa.

132. Dinangrukmaratan peja magulingan 'ngkane salening rata
Sang so'étan lurugen pamok nira mating yoda aneng korawa
Mangkin sirna luyuk datan ana mulat kapwa kukud atakut
Tekwan wira gatot-kacha drupada putra mwang kiriteat-maja
133. Yekang so resi bisma sigra mapulih mok-wok watik pandawa
Sang so'étan dinunong neran pamana'in diwi'estra teksna susun
Datan pami'ati mangki nujuala pana sang so'éta sénapati
Lut sang bima dananjaya nolunge ringh'ru lir udan ring langit
134. 'Ngkan mangsa kurunata sigra pinapag dé bima ring sayaka
Kang'gek mundura ngong'gutung'guta layu mung'gwéng kado'an kawes
Ang'ing bisma lineksa pinri inerup stira ngadeg ring rata
Déra kroda risang wirata tanaya ndé sirnaning korawa
[Vol I Pg 499]

135. Then, alarmed, Wirá-ta-sáta, the leader of the Pandáwa,
Shot one of his best arrows at him, the tiger of the Kuráwa.
The flight of the arrow resembled that of the bird garúda;
And striking the shoulder of Déwa-bráta broke it into seven pieces.
136. On this Wiráta-tanáya alighting and laying hold of a large club of iron,
Would have struck Súra-bráta therewith on the side of his head; but he leaping from his chariot avoided the blow.
Destroyed, however, was his carriage, and slain were the horses and charioteer:
And the death of many elephants and chiefs ensued.
137. Terrified at the sight of Wiratamája, Wára-Bísma would have fled in dismay,
When a voice from heaven told him that the hour for Soéta to die was come.
Whereat encouraged, he talked boldly; and seizing a chariot and arrows,
He aimed at the heart of Soéta with the sharp pointed weapon of fire[187].

135. Mangkén garjita sang wirata suta séna nata ring pandawa
Mandug ring wara tomaré sanga ngaran santana wagréng kuru
'Ngkan pinri pinana sedeng niki numur lir naya rotang layang
Datandua papitu danéka tumiba nyiuh baw déwa-brata
136. Da yékan tumedun wirata tanaya nambut gada bisana
Paksa malo'a wahang sura brata rikan lumpat maharsi lemah
S'ya tékang rata kélu sarati nika lawan kudanya repa
Mwang matang'ga pirang pulu kunang ngikang matia dulur partiwa
137. Képwan sang warabisma paksa muruda res ton wiratatmaja
Ngka sabdeng langita jare tekane patya so'eta de sang resi
Nahan étunira ebang-ebang nanbut sing rata mwang panah
Prana so'eta tikang minusti nera ring b'hramastra tiksna lungit

[Vol I Pg 500]


138. Quickly pierced through the heart, Sang Wiráta Sáta fell lifeless on the ground.
Grieved and distressed were the Pandáwa thus to see Soéta killed on the field of battle.
Not so the hundred Kuráwa, who shouted with joy when their enemy perished.
While Sang Dusásána danced fantastically, delighted with the sight of the fallen Wirátamja.

138. Tandu'a trus dada sang wirata-suta mar murcha tiba ring lemah
Yekan soka sang pandawa lara tumon sang soéta matia laga
Béda mwang sata kurawa surakawur arse peja ning mosu
Sang dusasana tusta mata mangegel yan ton wiratat maja

139. [Vexed and enraged at the death of his son, Mángsah Páti makes a furious and desperate attack upon the enemy. The Pandáwa, too, heedless of their lives, join and support him.]

140-144. [The followers of Bísma are routed and pursued with great slaughter. Night comes on, hostilities cease, and the contending armies respectively withdraw. Mangsáh Páti and his wife weep over the dead bodies of their three sons slain in battle, and lament their misfortune in losing them:​—they shake them and endeavour to call them to life.]

145. [They then burn the dead bodies on the field of battle by the light of the moon.]

146-147. [The Pandáwa consult about the election of a fit person to take the lead in battle. Drestadriúmna is appointed. Morning arrived, the army of the Pandáwa is formed into the terror-inspiring order of kágeng-páteh, or that of the royal vulture. Situations of the different princes and chiefs detailed.]

148-151. [Suyudána causes the army of the Kuráwa to be formed into a similar order. The battle rages. The different chiefs, on either side, who engage each other.]

152-153. [The dust stirred up fills and darkens the air. The dust clearing away, the field of battle appears like a sea of blood, in which the carcases of elephants, horses, and men, with the fragments of chariots, weapons, &c. resemble so many rocks and stones.] [Vol I Pg 501]

154-156. [Bísma beheld with delight and admiration by all the chiefs and people of Kuráwa, distinguishes himself by his prowess. He engages Arjúna, and shoots ten arrows for every one discharged by him.]

157. [Ráwan, the son of Arjúna, is killed by the Rasáksa Séreng'gi.]

158-159. [Krésna, enraged at Bísma, descends from his chariot and is going to shoot at him, when Bísma evinces his ready willingness to be killed by Krésna's chákra, and so gain admittance to his heaven.]

160. [Arjúna then descends from the chariot, and dissuades Krésna from killing Bísma.]

161. [Krésna and Arjúna both re-ascend the chariot, while Bísma remains deprived of all his strength, in consequence of the fright he had undergone.]

162-164. [Bísma makes a sign to Dérma-Wángsa, who recollecting that the former had made a surrender of his life to Arjúna and S'ri-kándi, goes to them and tells them not to be afraid, but to shoot at Bísma; whereupon S'ri-kándi discharging an arrow, hits him in the breast. The arrow not having penetrated far, Arjúna shoots, and drives it home with another arrow. Bísma falls down in the chariot but is not killed. His blood ascending to the regions above, is converted into flowers, and in that form returns to the earth.]

165. [The Kuráwa fly and are pursued by the Pandáwa.]

166-167. [Dérma-Wángsa, Arjúna, Nakúla, and Sedéwa, all go and kiss the feet of the respected Bísma; but the haughty and unbending Bíma remaining in an angry posture, makes no obeisance to the wounded Gúru. The Kuráwa chiefs, with Suyudána at their head, wish to come up and bow respectfully before Bísma; but seeing the stern Bíma they are afraid to approach.]

168. [A truce takes place between the hostile chiefs, when all shew their respect for Bísma. The Kuráwa wish to place him upon a mat, but the Pandáwa insist upon his litter consisting of arrows joined together.]

169. [The Pandáwa withdraw, and the Kuráwa alone are left in charge of Bísma. Bísma refuses to take the water[Vol I Pg 502] offered him in a vessel by Suyudána, and calls to Arjúna, who presents him with some in a quiver.]

170-171. [Bísma defers dying till the period of the sun's greatest declination, which he reckons to be about seven months off.]

172. [Suyudána appoints Dangyang Drúna commander-in-chief, whereupon it rains blood.]

173. [The Kuráwa are too uneasy in their minds to go to rest.]

174-177. [The following morning they go to battle. Both armies are formed into the order of battle called gája, or the elephant. A furious engagement ensues, in which many are slain on either side. Arjúna destroys the order of the Kuráwa army, is shot by Bágadéta, and afterwards brought to life again by medicines administered by Krésna, when he returns to the attack, and kills Bágadéta and the elephant he is on. Many of the Kuráwa are killed by Bíma and Arjúna.]

178. [Night coming on the battle ceases. It was at the eighth pánglong (or about the twenty-fourth) of the moon. The Pandáwa regale themselves, while the Kuráwa lament the death of Bágadéta.]

179-181. [Dangyang Drúna undertakes to kill Dérma Wángsa, provided Arjúna and Bíma are out of the way. Ten Kuráwa chiefs, with Trigérta at their head, draw away Arjúna to fight against them to the south of the hills: ten more, under Dráta Púra, draw off Bíma, in a similar manner, to the north of the hills. Krésna, as usual, accompanies and watches over the safety of Arjúna.]

182-185. [Dangyang Drúna forms his men into the order chákra-búhia (or that of the circle with a well-defended entrance). Dérma Wángsa, in his perplexity what to do, calls upon Bimányu, the son of Arjúna, to attack and break the order of the enemy. Bimányu, decoyed by Suyudána, pursues him into the ring purposely formed by the enemy, when it closes, and he is cut off from all assistance and support from the Pandáwa.]

186-194. [Bimányu kills Leksána-kumára, the son of Suyudána, but is overpowered by the number of the enemy. His situation is described by many similes. He is slain.] [Vol I Pg 503]

195-196. [Night comes on and hostilities cease.]

197-199. [The effect which the death of Abimányu produces on his wife Déwi Sundári. She adorns and prepares to burn herself with the corpse of her husband.]

200. [His other wife, Utári, being eight months gone with child, is deprived of this honour.]

201-205. [Bíma and Arjúna return victorious from their respective engagements. The latter is angry with Dérma Wángsa, for having caused the death of his son, but is appeased by Krésna, and induced to treat the old man with respect. Dérma Wángsa explains how Abimányu's death was occasioned by Jáya Dráta's preventing the Pandáwa from entering the ring of the enemy, and from his defending it so well. Arjúna vows vengeance against Jaya Dráta, and hopes that he himself may be killed and burned, if he does not on the following day send him to the other world.]

206-207. [Jáya Dráta advised of Arjúna's intentions, begs of Suyudána to be allowed to withdraw from the field of battle. Dangyang Drúna, upon this, upbraids him, and persuades him to remain and try his hand against Arjúna, promising to support him.]

208-211. [Arjúna and Krésna consult together how Jáya Dráta may be killed, and Krésna himself escape.]

212-213. [For this purpose Krésna makes Arjúna purify himself and offer up prayers to the Batára. Batára Sákra descends, and informs Arjúna that he will succeed in killing Jáya Dráta, if he only makes use of the arrow called pasopáti, and then vanishes.]

214-228. [The two wives of Abimányu talk much together of the death of their husband. Their different situations and feelings. Their separation, and meeting again under various forms, &c.; after which Sundári burns herself with the body of Abimányu.]

229-231. [With the rising sun, the Pandáwa chiefs, &c. repair to the field of battle, where they find the Kuráwa forces drawn up in the order chákra báhui, with Jáya Dráta, for safety's sake, in the centre.]

232. [The diameter of the circle formed by the enemy round Jáya Dráta, is ten times the distance at which men can be distinguished by the eye.] [Vol I Pg 504]

233-235. [The Pandáwa observe the same order of battle, and attack the Kurawa. Both armies mingle in close and obstinate fight.]

236-237. [The Pandáwa being oppressed with thirst, Arjúna strikes an arrow into the earth; whereupon water springing forth, men and beasts drink and are refreshed.]

238-240. [Krésna makes Arjúna shoot at Suyudána, whose chariot is thereby broken to pieces, and his charioteer and horses killed, himself narrowly escaping with his life. Arjúna and his men fight furiously, and kill many of the enemy.]

241-244. [Satiaki kills Tuyasáda, Kambujána, and Sang Ambisúki.]

245-252. [Bíma kills Chitra Yúda, Jáya Suséna, Cháruchítra, Durjáya, Jáya Chítra Séna, Chítraka, Sangupu Chítra Derma, and nine more chiefs.]

253-257. [Burisráwa opposes Satíaki. They fight, and after their weapons are broken, they close and wrestle. Satíáki is on the point of being killed, when Arjúna, at the urgent request of Krésna, discharges an arrow at Burisráwa, which, breaking his arm, causes him to drop the weapon with which he was going to kill Satiáka. While Burisráwa and Arjúna are expostulating with each other on their respective conduct, Satiáki seizes the opportunity to dispatch the former. Bíma and Arjúna slay thousands of the enemy, and endeavour to get at Jáya Dráta, but are prevented by the numbers of the Kuráwa, who rush in between and try to save him.]

258-259. [Seeing Bíma and Arjúna tired and nearly exhausted, without the latter's being likely to effect the death of Jáya Dráta within the promised time, Krésna has recourse to an artifice. He discharges his chákra at the declining sun, whereupon the clouds following the course of the weapon, collect round and obscure the luminary, making it appear like night. The Kuráwa thinking the fatal day past on which Arjúna was to kill Jáya Dráta, triumphantly and insultingly call out to Arjúna to fulfil his promise of meeting death and being burned.]

260-262. [Taking advantage of the darkness, and of the Kuráwa being off their guard, Krésna, accompanied by Arjúna, wheels his chariot past the Kuráwa, till he reaches[Vol I Pg 505] the spot where Jáya Dráta is. Arjúna then shoots at Jáya Dráta, and kills him. Jáya Dráta's head being struck off by the arrow, Krésna causes a wind to rise and carry it to Jáya Dráta's father, who was doing penance in the mountains, in order to obtain of the gods, that if his son was killed in the battle, he might live again. In his surprise at beholding the head, he inadvertently exclaimed that his son was dead, which sealed his doom. Krésna then recalled his chákra, whereupon the sun again shone forth before it went down. Thus the vow of Arjúna was fulfilled.]

263-264. [Suyudána accuses Dangyang Drúna of being the cause of Jáya Dráta's death, in not suffering him to retire from the field of battle when he wished to do so. Dangyang Drúna defends his conduct, and uses high words to Suyudána.]

265-266. [Suyudána invites Kérna to go and attack Arjúna. Kérna goes, and Suyudána with his men follow.]

267-271. [The sun sets and the battle continues. Enemies and friends are with difficulty distinguished in the dark, and many of the latter are killed by mistake.]

272-275. [Sang Dwa jáya-ráta, the adopted brother of Kérna, is killed by Bíma. Pratipéya is on the point of killing Sangá sáng'a, the son of Satiáki, but is prevented from doing so by Bíma, by whom he himself is slain, after having wounded Bíma.]

276. [The sons of the Kuráwá chiefs, exasperated at the death of Pratipéya, all fall upon Bíma, but are every one of them killed by that potent hero.]

277. [Three younger brothers of Sakuni are killed by Bíma.]

278-280. [Suyudána talks with Kérna of the carnage occasioned by Bíma and Arjúna. Kérna makes light of their power, and engages to kill them both. Krépa accuses Kérna of being a boaster, and intimates his inferiority in prowess to the two hostile heroes, whereupon they are going to fight with each other, when Suyudána interposes and prevents them.]

281-284. [Kérna attacks the Pandáwa army and causes great havoc. A consultation is held among the Pandáwa respecting the fittest person to oppose Kérna. Krésna objects to Arjúna's doing so, as being unskilled in fighting by night.[Vol I Pg 506] Gatot Kácha, the son of Bíma, is then selected to fight against Kérna.]

(Measure Basánta lila.)

285. Wherefore Sang Gatot Kácha was directed to seek the child of the sun
By Krísna and Parta, who complimented him for his superiority and power:
Quickly roused at the call, he presented himself with joy,
And said, "Happy am I and fortunate, thus to be distinguished by his highness.
286. "And so that I continue to serve the king according to my duty,
"Let my body be severed to pieces, and death itself ensue.
"However arduous the service required, I will nevertheless perform it."
At these words the advanced in years were struck dumb.
287. Thus spake Sang Gatot Kácha. The heart of Kesáwa failed,
So well did he know how to awaken tender feelings:
Therefore did the heart of his uncle melt away,
When he saw the boy daring enough to encounter the King of Awáng'ga.
288. Therefore did Krésna and Parta remain speechless.
Moved with compassion, and grieved that they had thus called upon Gatot Kácha.
Instantly the hero hurried to the attack;
But as he was about to engage the child of the sun, he stopt short in terror.

(Tembang Basánta lila.)

285. Irika ta sang | gatot kacha kinon | mapag arka suta ||
Teka pira kresna parta maneher | muji sakti nera ||
Sang ngenojaran | wawang masemo garjita arsa marek ||
Mawachana bege'a yan ana pakon repatik nerepati ||
286. Pakena neki lana marki jeng aji yugya neka
Dadaha rikalaning baya aturnya matoa pati
Kunenga paniwoa rahatane gate karya temen
Situtua tan paneng'ha mené sigegen sakarang
287. Na wuwusing sang gatot Kacha lumad ati Kesawa mar
Tekapira yan weruh ujara ngalap maniking redaya
Nguni-nguni nalaning to'a sira sang paman arda tenyu
Molati rare neran lumawane sang awang'ga pati
288. Ya Karana Kresna parta mamuwue damené sakareng
Asemo Kamanosan Kaluputan tekaping mangutus
Kuneng iki sang gatot Kacha wawang sira sigra mase
[Vol I Pg 507] Mapagi pamok sang arka suta tando'a nomandek ares

289. Then all his potent arrows
Issuing from his hands and from his mouth,
With celerity flew to the child of the sun, who overpowered in battle,
Gave way to the left, while the numerous torches of the Pandáwa army shed their glare around.

289. Apitui sarwa sanjata wisesa yatas stranera
Mijili tangan dudung mijili chang Kema nuta ngohuh
Yata rumujak sang Arka suta Kéwerana pinda jemor
Muruda kiu mowa metu sulu bala pandawa bap

290-299. [Sialambána, a blind Rasáksa chief, joins the Kuráwa against Gatot Kácha, by whom he is slain; whereupon his band of blind Rasáksas take to flight. Three other blind Rasáksa chiefs, with separate bodies of blind Rasáksas, successively oppose Gatot Kacha, and share the same fate as the first.]

300-308. [Gatot Kacha fights with Kérna, flies, and is ultimately killed by him.]

309-314. [The Pandáwa, enraged at the death of Gatot Kacha, all fight with desperate fury. Arjúna alone is restrained and withheld by Krésna.]

315-321. [Dowi Arimbi, the mother of Gátot Kácha, burns herself on the funeral pile of her son.]

322-334. [The following morning Dangyang Drúna, a Pandíta on the side of the Kuráwa, causes great havoc among the Pandáwa; to save whom from the destruction which threatened them, Krésna spreads a false report of Aswatáma's death, and makes all the Pandáwa proclaim it. Dangyang Drúna hears and believes the rumour of his son's death, and faints away; upon which Drestadríumna approaches him and cuts his throat.]

335-343. [Aswatáma hearing that his father is killed, makes a furious attack upon the enemy, but perceiving Bíma is afraid and retires.]

344. [The sun is about to set and hostilities cease.] [Vol I Pg 508]

345-349. [Description of the field of battle after the fight.]

350-351. [The King of the Kuráwa asks Kérna to engage Arjúna. Kérna agrees, but requests to have some one to attend and support him in battle. Sália is selected and appointed for the purpose.]

352-356. [Kérna and Sália, before they go to fight, go home to take leave of their families, &c. What passes on the occasion.]

357-365. [Kérna's wife relates to her husband a dream she had. The particulars of the conversation which takes place between them.]

366-393. [Dérma Wángsa, Krésna, and Arjúna, set out in the night for the purpose of finding and putting together the head and body of their respected Gúru, Dangyang Drúna, and in order to pay due respect and homage to his remains, and to entreat forgiveness on account of what had happened to him. Description of all they see and meet by the way.]

394-407. [Morning. The Pandáwa prepare for battle.]

408-413. [The Kuráwa army is formed into the position báhui-makára[188], or that of the prawn. Kérna in the mouth, Drumúka in the right fore claw, Sakuni in the left, Suyudána in the head, all the princes and chiefs in the body.]

414-415. [The Pandáwa army is put into the order called wúlan-tumánggal, or that of the new moon. Arjúna forms the right horn of the crescent, Bíma the left, Dérma Wángsa and all the princes and chiefs compose the centre.]

416-426. [Kérna and Sália, mounted in one carriage, proceed to the field of battle. The two contending armies engage. Their various success described.]

427-440. [Bíma attacks, upbraids, and pursues Suyudána. To save the latter, Dusasána fires an arrow at Bíma and hits him. Bíma turns about, and finding it was Dusasána that shot him, he seizes him by the hair, and having called out to all the princes and chiefs to bear witness to the fulfilment of his promise, he tears him in pieces and drinks his blood.]

441-449. [The battle continues to be fought with various success, sometimes one army giving way and sometimes the other.] [Vol I Pg 509]

450-467. [Arjúna and Kérna fight against each other. The arrows shot by each at the other are immediately converted into various elements or destructive animals. Kérna shoots rain; Arjúna shoots and dispels it. Kérna shoots fire; Arjúna shoots rain and quenches it. Kérna shoots dragons; Arjúna shoots griffins which destroy them.]

468-469. [Kérna aims an arrow at the throat of Arjúna, whom Sália beckons to incline his head. Ardawilíka, a Rasáksa, in the form of a dragon, is killed by Arjúna, while in the act of shooting at him.]

470-476. [Kérna twice shoots at Arjúna, but his arrow only strikes and loosens his top-knot of hair.]

477-479. [Arjúna, invited and challenged by Kérna to shoot at him, in his turn tells him, if he wishes to save his life to surrender and pay obeisance. Kérna refusing to do this is shot in the throat by Arjúna: his head falls back into the chariot. On the death of Kérna, the child of the sun, that bright luminary grows dim with grief, and expresses his deep sorrow by groans of thunder and showers of tears, while his twinkling eyes emit incessant flashes of lightning.]

479. Disheartened at the death of Kérna, the army of the Kuráwa take to flight,
And pursued by numbers, conceal themselves, out of fear, in holes and cavities,
The earth shakes, and at the same time a drizzling rain descending from the clouds, washes the blood-stained corpse.
The evil-portending cloud is seen, and the grumbling noise of thunder is heard.
480. Thus it was with him who died in the field of battle. Lost was the sweet expression of his countenance,
Shining were his polished teeth, and uplifted and still the black of his fixed eye!
No longer erect, his hair lay flat on his pale face, and frightful yet becoming was his severe wound.
Such is the appearance of the brave who die in battle.

479. Ri lina sri Karna lara laruti Kang Korawa bala
Tinut ginreg mukséng wana Kateduning lo'ah juranga res
Pareng mwang lindu mega sumara riris rah sumarasah
Kawanda lirning téja patrà keter wana tangisa
480. Nian lir sang mating rana pada elang mwang manesira
Waja nerang seidenta sepi irengi Kang nitra lumayep
[Vol I Pg 510] Alandung sang sri tang muka lalu Kuchem syu brana luwes
Datanlen sang waneng baya mapalupu'i ring rana saba

481-483. [The Kuráwa having taken to flight are pursued by the Pandáwa into Astína.]

484. [Night coming on, the Pandáwa return.]

485-489. [Suyudána comments on the misfortune of the Kuráwa in losing Kérna, and consults about the fittest person to succeed that hero.]

490-497. [Advised by Sakúni, Suyudána asks Sália to assume the chief command.]

498-500. [Sália endeavours to excuse himself; whereupon Aswatáma comes forward, and accuses him of being friendly to the Pandáwa, and on that account unwilling to become the leader of the Kuráwa.]

501-502. [Aswatáma and Sália quarrel and are going to fight, when Suyudána interferes and draws Sália away, exhorting him to take the command.]

508-511. [Sália at last consents, and then withdraws to his wife.]

512-516. [Nakúla is sent by Krésna to Sália to dissuade him from fighting. Description of Sália's palace.]

517-524. [At sight of his nephew Nakúla, Sália's resolution fails him, and he promises not to fight against the Pandáwa. He declares he will readily and willingly surrender his life to Dérma Wángsa, but to no one else, and that that worthy person has only to make use of the arrow called pustaka akalíma asáda.]

525-527. [Nakúla returns and informs Krésna and Dérma Wangsa of the success of his mission to Sália, and of all that passed on the occasion.]

528-553. [Sália relates to his wife Sátia Wáti, the result of his interview with Nakúla, and of his intention to sacrifice himself, whereupon she is grieved and sheds tears. Then follows a long and detailed description of Sátia Wáti, her person, manners, disposition, &c., and the particulars of[Vol I Pg 511] a conversation which takes place between her and her husband, wherein they display great affection for each other; after which they yield to the power of love, and then fatigued with amorous dalliance, sink into each other's arms and fall asleep.]

554-556. [In consequence of Sátia Wáti's declared determination to accompany him, Sália steals from her when she is asleep; and having got fairly away from her, he dresses himself without, and is honoured by the Pandíta, who cast flowers upon him.]

559. [Sália reaches the field of battle.]

560. [The Pandáwa army forthwith appears, and an engagement takes place.]

561. [The army of the Pandáwa are hard pressed and obliged to fall back.]

562-564. [Bíma comes to their support and routs the enemy with great slaughter.]

565-567. [Sália deserted by his army remains alone, and as he discharges his arrows they change into thousands of Rasáksas, dragons, and evil spirits, which lighting among the enemy occasion great consternation; whereupon Krésna ordering all the people to throw down their weapons and fold their arms, the whole of the demons disappear without doing any harm.]

568-581. [The good and quiet Dérma Wángsa is reluctantly persuaded by Krésna to save the Pandáwa by killing Sália.]

582-583. [Dérma Wángsa discharges the arrow pustáka kalíma asáda: it penetrates and sticks in the breast of Sália, who immediately dies.]

584-586. [On the death of Sália the Kuráwa forces are routed and pursued in all directions by the Pandáwa, with great slaughter.]

587. Suyudána was on the point of being taken, but he bravely resisted;
And quickly bounding away in great alarm, he narrowly escaped with his life.
But Sakúné, trembling with fear, fell into the hands of the enemy;
And weeping, implored mercy, exclaiming, "this is the reward of my kindness and hospitality."

587. Suyudana sireki meh kawananga takis lagawa
Lumompata layu luput lepasa met urip katresan
Tuwen sakuni sang sedeng ngkakatran kakesa graha
[Vol I Pg 512] Asambata nangis dine kwenargan buja sestawa

588. "Silence! thou vile and infamous dog!
"With what restless labour hast thou sought to vex and offend me;
"But now will I fail not to take my revenge;
"Death shall seize thee, and great shall be thy torture."
589. Thus spake Bíma, and trampling him beneath his feet,
He thereby and with his gáda reduced to atoms the body of Sakúne.
The story goes, that he tore it in pieces, and sucking the blood,
Scattered them among the villages of the north and of the south.
590. The enemy being totally extinguished, filled was the field of battle with mountains of the slain,
While downward, in its deep bed, a sea of blood rolled with noisy rush.
Suyudána having escaped, there yet remained to seize him.
He is pursued and sought for, but cannot be found, having plunged in the water.
591. Abandoning their fruitless search after Suyudána, the five Pandáwa returning, homeward bend their course.
Déwi Sátia Wáti is then informed that Sália had fallen in battle.
Aged and creditable persons, bowing respectfully, communicate to her the dire news:
Concealed amid the heaps of slain lay her lord, they alone escaped to tell the tale.

588. Ada nara'neng tako ngasu kanistane chadama
Datan werga weh laram beka ngupaya ri banchana
Kunang nea tana lepaté ki pamales kuh duké riko
Ikang yama ngala pwapang idapana pwageng ning lara
589. Nahan wachana bimaséna tehera dedel sahasa
Renyo sawanira sang arya Sakuni linut ring gada
Biatita sinesep sesep nera senempal uwus
Dinuka kena mancha desa mapado aning lor kidul
590. Uwus para-wasang musu penu ikang sawa marwata
Iline rudiranya gurnita mangarnawa lo'a dalam
Kunang pwa riluput Suyodana dume turung ning'gawé
Tinot mara pinet datan katemo ya ine ar mowa
591. Da rarean mara pancha pandawa murutsaha ba la ri luput Suyodana
Dewi Satia-wati sireki charitan winara ipati salea ring rana
[Vol I Pg 513] Wanten bretya kaparchaya tuha yata jari sira teka namya torasih
Dan rakweki dumenya tan pajaha sing lara ngeduku samendeming sawa

592. The news quickly spreading, all the Gúrus of the country weep on every side.
Trembling and distressed, Déwi Sátia Wati no longer retains the power of speech.
Blind with grief and with a heart full of sorrow, she reels and cannot stand:
Lost and insensible to all around, she seemed as if life itself had forsaken her.
594. Coming to herself, by the pains and assistance of her friends, she rises and adjusts her disordered dress:
Then loosening and combing her hair, she is bent on repairing to the field of battle.
First grasping her petrem[189], wherewith to deprive herself of life when she reaches the place where the joy of her heart is lain,
She forthwith ascends her chariot, and sets out, favoured by a grateful breeze.

592. Sang siptan pawaranya tando'a guruwing sanagara pada gurnita nangis
Dewi Satia Wati kitan wenanga sabda kumetere pangunchanging lara
Leng leng tan anara teka ton tekapiran kapeting-ane anekne kang ati
Tan patma kalinger datanuru'i pasambang ng'ya saha pakraking sakit
594. Antukning manulung nimitanera nang lilira mahayu lungsuring tapih
Roma werata ninombara nera naminta tumotura mareng rana
Patrem nitea minusti pangelanga jiwa na pupula mene lawan sineng
Ngkan mangkat mahawan rata nela sama dresan kani sarantaning manah

[Vol I Pg 514]

565-602. [Accompanied by Sagandíka, she wanders over the field of battle by night in quest of his corpse, looking for it among the number of prostrate slain. Appearance of the different dead bodies and carcasses of horses, elephants, &c. described. She often thinks that she has found it: her repeated mistakes and disappointments.]

603. Wearied with fruitless search, and despairing of finding him to whom she would make her obeisance, the princess
Unsheathed her dagger, resolved to stab herself, her heart being wholly devoted to her husband.
But the Almighty, in pity, sent lightning to guide her to the spot where he whom she had long sought for lay,
And inspired her with strength and desire to renew the search.
604. All this while the chariot[190] lay buried among flowers which had been showered down upon it.
As if the growling thunder wept, tears fell in small rain, in grief for the death of the prince[191].
Such was the mark the princess followed till she came to and perceived the body of Sália,
Who seemed as if looking at her with a side glance as he lay with grinning teeth.

603. Meh tan diria mahas narendra ma'isi ri taiyani sang enesti sambahan
Paksa patrema sampunang lugasi kang ati sumaivaka nama sang pria
Sih ningyang ukasan manambaya tuduh ri kaha-nanera sang pinet nira
Nahan etuniran panging kina ng'ebang abanga maka sama ngosir kilat
604. Oniang warsa sekar sumarsa akuwung kuwunga menoi ring'ganing rata
Genter lu'era nangis malu'a rarab'ing-rereba lara rilina sang prabu
Na tang chihna tinut nareswara wadu teka lumi-ati getra sang kakung
Kadia nung sung'a reh nikang mata atur lumiringa reja kesisan waja

[Vol I Pg 515]


605. Then quickly seizing the feet of him, now lifeless, who stole from her bed,
Not knowing what she did, she patted, pressed, and kissed the body,
His lips she rubbed and stained red[192]; supporting his head with her encircling arm, and wiping his face with the end of one of her garments: but long were his eyes without twinkling.
To cure his wounds she constantly applied her chewed síri.
606. "Ah! ah! my princely lord, thou whom having sought I have at last found, why dost thou remain silent?
"Wilt thou not speak to her who has thus sought thee out?​—Who else is there to be kind to me, unfortunate?
"Tired and worn out am I with searching for thee, and now with averted glance thou refusest to look at me,
"Shall I weep, or what is it thou wouldst have me do?​—Speak and tell me, instead of preserving this unmeaning smile.
607. "Am I to understand that thou hast no regard for me? Come, quick, speak comfort to me, and make my heart glad."
With words sweeter than honey, and nicely selected, did she thus hold converse with the dead; but it was all in vain.
"Was it thus to meet death," said she, "that thou didst steal from me when I was asleep,
"And depart alone, without my knowledge, to the regions above? but I will follow thee.

605. Yekan pakrakir a mekul sukune sang peja aneliba ting'galing tilam
Tanwreng da tinepak tepak nera hanan kinisapu kinsuan sinukeman
Lambe lot linuga tekeng magala ginusa pira ura lama tan kedap
Lawan tang kanining kapwa warasa dening sepa ira lana jinam-peaken.
606. Ah! ah! mah prabu sungsungen manemahta tuhana pani mita ning heneng
Tan pangling ringana seraya siapa tika sia mowa gatingku kasian
Ngel kwa met riwekas tiring paberatan katemo sahaja ewa tan wulat
Wanten ta wekase tangis kwa mene kite suma'ora ayo'a ta minge
607. Nanten weruh ngo'angi tan sianti bapa meng'gepa 'ngamera raras priambada
S'ojar tan pāsirat sirat madu tuhun ane saji saji tan tekeng ati
[Vol I Pg 516] Pangling'gan rilalis ta 'ngone nalis layata nilibi pamremeng ulun
Nes tanyan lepasi sura laya yaya ku tumutura sadenya tan ling'en

608. "It is my request that thou wilt meet and carry me across the úgalágil stone[193].
"Trembling and fearful should I be without thy support and assistance,
"Although thou shouldst have many Windadáris at thy command, yet still reserve a place for me before them all,
"What must not be thy regard for her, who has thus wandered about after thee, and who is now going to die for thee?"

(Measure Basánta tiláka.)

609. Tedious would be the relation of all that Satía Wáti said.
Oppressed with a load of grief, great as a mountain,
When she beheld her lord
And determined to meet death.

608. Ngeng pintangakwa tuan papag nga'ang ngirikang watu gala-gila namba eng'gung an
Tistisnya 'ngoang ngikana tan wani lumampaha gigu ri tayenta raksaka
Yadiastun jeneka 'ngamer surawadu kita sumalanga ayo'a nestura
Pali tapwa welasat ring wang angomeng pati lumaku lana morang morang.

(Tembang Basanta tilaksa).

609. Tangi ujar satia watin pasambat
Ikang lara marwata mangke nabuat
Tuen katon tahananing iner er
Matang nera dan pejahang kasang kas

[Vol I Pg 517]


610. Seizing her dagger with firm grasp
She drew it from its sheath, glancing as it came out,
Then boldly buried it in her breast.
Like shining gold was the blood that issued from the wound.
611. Not dying instantly, with expiring voice
Sugandíka she called and thus addressed:
"My old and faithful friend and attendant, return thou to Mandaráka,
"And tell the people there that I now send
612. "My last request to the good and worthy,
"That they will commemorate the history of my sufferings,
"In order that my story may be heard and known;
"When the gentle heart will perhaps be moved with love and pity, and tears will flow at the sad tale."
614. "Oh! my mistress, when was the time that I ever quitted thee?
"Into whatever state of being thou may'st pass, I will accompany thee.
"Whom wilt thou have to send for water,
"And who will wash my noble mistress' feet if I am not with her?"

610. Minges marang kedga lana minusti
Uwus kasaring sarungan pradipta
Inan-deman denira tan anangres
Ila nikang rah kadi datu munchar
611. Datan wawang mati magentak entak
Sugandika lot tinawe sinabdan
Kakangku mantuk ta ri mandraraka
Wara tikang wang ri ukasku mangke.
612. Paminta kasi tari sang kawendra
Larang-ku dadiakena gita basa
Rengine ngogang idepe gating ku
Malar ngeresi twasnea mamang wa waspa
614. Aduh Tuan ring kapana, saha ngoang
Tumuta mon 'jenma nejenma rakrian
Siap'eka konen ta mangengswa socha
Ye tan ngwenga damo'a rijeng ta masku

[Vol I Pg 518]


617. Thus weeping, the female attendant, affected with grief,
The buried dagger drew (from the body of her mistress),
And stabbing herself, instantly expired
At the feet of the princess, where her body lay.
618. Forthwith delighted their happy spirits together fled.
The astonished spirit of prince Sália quickly said:
"Uneasy and impatient have I waited for thee among the clouds,
"With many Widadáris, Panditás, and Déwas."
619. Having taken the princess in his arms,
He returned with her by the road which leads to heaven.
There arrived, they find it extremely beautiful.
Of silk were the houses and brilliant were the precious stones.
620. Amusing herself, the princess
Was delighted with the abundance of food which was there,
Great being the bounty of the Almighty to mankind,
And there was no difference susceptible in the ages of those that were there[194].

617. Nahan tangis ning pari charaka n'gres
Tanemne kang katga ye tenunusnea
Inandeman ngeng eksans yan paratra
Sawanya tan sa ridagan sudéwi
618. Tatandua ngetma madulur wijata
Naréswaratma nera gerjitang ling
Alal mangauting jalada mangun res
Sahap sari mwang resi déwa Sang'ga
619. Telas pinangkwa Kenerang Sudéwi
Molih sera marga wimana ramya
Dateng rikang swarga layep alepnya
Graha sinang baswara sarwa ratna
620. Mengen mengen téki naréndra patni
Mangu Kawahan suka sek binokti
Wiwal neran manusa janma nguni
Apan tanantuk tumulu'i dugan nwang
[Vol I Pg 519]

621-624. [The Pandáwa hear that Suyudána is in the middle of the river: delighted, they repair to the spot. Bíma calls him a dastardly coward afraid to die, and assures him that his arm will reach him, whithersoever he may betake himself, to the lowest depth of the earth or the highest region of heaven.][Vol I Pg 520]

625-628. [Suyudána comes out of the water and assures[Vol I Pg 521] Bíma that he betook himself to the river, not out of fear, but for the purpose of making adoration to the gods, challenging Bíma, or any other of the Pandáwa, to combat. Krésna represents that Dérma-Wángsna is too peaceable and benevolent to fight against Suyudána; that Arjúna's forte consists in using the bow mounted in a chariot; that Nakúla and Sedéwa are too young and inexperienced, and that Bíma is therefore the fittest of all the Pandáwa to oppose Suyudána.] [Vol I Pg 522]

629-631. [Kakrasána is informed by Naráda of the Pandáwa and Kuráwa forces being engaged, and withdraws to see the issue of the contest. Bíma and Suyudána go and make their respects to him, and each receives from him a charm.]

632-639. [Bíma and Suyudána fight. Missing each other, they strike and cut the earth, trees, and every thing about them, without being able to hurt each other. They then throw away their weapons, and closing, wrestle. So closely are they united, that they seem to be one person and to have one voice.]

640-656. [Arjúna repeatedly striking his hand on his left thigh, reminds Bíma of Suyudána's being vulnerable in that particular place only. Bíma recollecting the circumstance, seizes his club and strikes Suyudána with it in his vulnerable part. Suyudána falls, and expiring under the blow is trampled upon by Bíma, who continues to insult and triumph over him, till out of all patience with his relentless and ungenerous conduct, Kakrasána seizes his spear and is going to slay Bíma, but is withheld by Krésna, who says that Bíma is not to be blamed for such just retaliation.]


(Here end the Javan copies of this work; the following abstract is from a copy of the Bráta Yúdha Káwi presented to me by the Rája of Báli Balílíng in Báli.)

657-667. [Suyudána dead, and night coming on, the Pandáwa retire from the scene of battle to the city of Astína, and there feast and rejoice, on account of their victory. Satiated and fatigued with their revelling, all except Krésna go to sleep. He alone remains awake, pitying in his own mind the fate of Suyudána, and recollecting with feelings of regret the indignant and unkind manner in which he was treated by Bíma. Withdrawing by stealth, he goes to the mountains, and wanders about oppressed with grief and much agitated.]

668. [Next morning the Pandáwa missing Krésna, go in search of him, and find him among the images on the hills. Portentous signs take place. A raven croaks till blood issues from its beak, it rains blood, and all the wild animals fight with each other.] [Vol I Pg 523]

669. [Next morning all these omens are gone.]

670-693. [News arrives from Astína of Aswatáma's having entered the city by night, and assassinated Drésta-dríumna, Sérikándi, and Pánchakumára, and of all the mántris having fled for fear. Half are inclined to give credit to the report, and half believe that it must have been the spirit of Sália. The Pandáwa return to Astína, and find the women there all in tears, and bewailing the loss of those who had been murdered during the night. Krésna consoles them, and reconciles them to what has happened.]

694-696. [Krésna makes the Pandáwa accompany him in search of Aswatáma, whom they find among the hills.]

697-699. [Bíma is going to strike Aswatáma, when the latter discharges an arrow at Bíma, and at the same time tells him he is not a fit opponent, inviting Arjúna to contend with him. Arjúna and Aswatáma fight, causing the earth and mountains to shake, &c.]

700-705. [Sáng yáng Naráda descends from above, and tells Arjúna that they will cause the destruction of the world if they continue the dreadful conflict. Sáng yáng Naráda at the same time goes up to Aswatáma, and advises him to desist from opposing the Pandáwa, as he will certainly be beaten, and recommends his surrender and resignation to the Pandáwa of his pusáka of Chúda-manik, also called Chúpu-mánik Estígéna, a charm which gives its possessor the power of getting eight different things.]

706-707. [Aswatáma refuses to give it to the Pandáwa, but is willing to part with it to the unborn grandson of Arjúna, of whom Utári was then pregnant, and whom he directed should be called Parikísit.]

708-709. [Krésna offers to bear witness to the promise; after which Aswatáma gives the pusáka to Bíma, to deliver to the grandson of Arjúna.]

710-714. [Krésna and the Pandáwa again return to Astína, and inform Arjúna's wife of what has happened. Aswatáma remains aloof from the Pandáwa, wandering about in the woods and among the mountains. Yuyútsuh, the only surviving Kuráwa chief, joins and lives with the Pandáwa. All the sons of the Pandáwa having been killed in the battle, without a single descendant being left to be made a king of[Vol I Pg 524] Astína, excepting the yet unborn son of Abimányu, whom Utári was about to bring forth, Dérma Wangsa, the eldest of the Pandáwa (although all of them had arrived at an age when they should withdraw from the world) is appointed sovereign, until such time as he can be relieved and succeeded by the yet unborn Parikísit. Description of Dérma Wángsa; the beauty of his person; his many good qualities and accomplishments, for which and for his character for justice, wisdom, prudence, &c. he is universally beloved, and his praises celebrated in song.]

715-719. [Dérma Wángsa receives the name and title of Batára Jáya Báya. Under his wise and excellent administration the kingdom of Astína flourishes, crimes are unknown, and the inhabitants are happy. The neighbouring princes of Java, who had survived the war, all acknowledge the authority of the king of Astína, and pay homage to him.]


The musical instruments of the Javans are peculiar. Several of them are necessary to compose a gámelan, set, or band: of these there are several varieties. The gámelan salíndro, which is the most perfect, consists of the several instruments represented in the plate. In the gámelan pélog, the instruments are much larger and louder; the bónang or krómo, has sometimes only ten, and sometimes as many as fourteen notes. Both of these gámelans are employed as accompaniments to the wáyangs. The gámelan míring partakes of the two former, and is employed to accompany the wáyang klítik. In the gámelan múng'gang, called also kódok ng'órek, from its resembling the croaking of frogs, the bónang has fifteen notes, and the kécher resembles the triangle: neither the génder, salentam, sarón, nor chalémpung are included in this set; this gámelan is considered the most ancient, and is played at tournaments, in processions, &c. In the chára báli, or chára wángsul, the rebáb, or viol, is not used: in other respects the instruments are the same as in the salíndro, except that they are as large as in the pélog. The gámelan sekáten, which resembles the pélog, except that the instruments are still larger and louder, is restricted to the use of the sovereign, and seldom played,[Vol I Pg 525] except on great occasions, as during eight days of the festival of Múlut. The gámelan srúnen is used in processions of state and in war, being properly the martial music of the country, in which, besides the ordinary instruments, a particular gong and trumpets are introduced.

The plate will afford a better idea of the form of these instruments than any verbal description. Most of them resemble the staccáto or harmonica, and the sound is produced by the stroke of a hammer. The gámbang káyu has wooden plates, sixteen or seventeen in number: the gámbang gángsa, of which there are several in each band, has metal plates.

In the génder the metal plates are thin, of a different form, and suspended by strings. The gong, represented (No. 9) in the plate, is usually three feet in diameter. The bónang, kénong, and ketók, are of metal, and are suspended by tightened cords to favour the vibration. The kécher, shewn in the plate, corresponds with the cymbal. The hammers with which the larger instruments are struck are either wound round at the end with cloth, or the elastic gum, in order to soften the sound. The drum is struck with the open hand and fingers only. The chalémpung is a stringed instrument, with from ten to fifteen wires, which are sounded with the finger, after the manner of the harp.

The person who leads the band performs upon the rebáb (No. 17), an instrument which, having a neck, and two strings pitched by pegs, is capable of producing perfect intonation and a variety of sounds, by shortening the strings with the pressure of the finger.

The gámbang káyu (No. 2) is a kind of staccáto, consisting of wooden bars of graduated lengths, placed across a kind of boat, which, when skilfully struck with a sort of mallet, produce pleasing tones, either grave or acute. The lowest and highest sounds of the instrument differ from each other by the interval of three octaves and a major third: the intermediate sounds of each octave from the lowest note are a second, third, fifth, and sixth. This instrument is general throughout the Archipelago, and is frequently played alone, or accompanied only by the drum and a small gong. Ráden Rána Dipúra, a native of Java, who accompanied me to England, played on[Vol I Pg 526] this instrument several of his national melodies before an eminent composer, all of which were found to bear a strong resemblance to the oldest music of Scotland, the distinctive character of both, as well as of Indian music in general, being determined by the want of the fourth and seventh of the key, and of all the semitones[195]. By reiteration several of the sounds are artfully prolonged much beyond their noted length, which produces an irregularity of measure that might both perplex and offend the educated ear of an accompanying timeist. The rhythm of the sections (from extention and contraction) appears very imperfect.

The bónang or krómo (No. 3) the sáron (No. 5) the démong, (No. 6) and selántam (No. 7) are staccátos of metallic bars, and a sort of bells placed on a frame. They contain a regular dianotic scale, and nearly two octaves. These, however, are never played singly, but harmonize with the instrument on which the air is played.

The gongs (No. 9) are perhaps the noblest instruments of the kind that have been brought to Europe: I am assured that they are very superior to that which was admitted in the terrific scenes of the serious ballet representing the death of Captain Cooke. Suspended in frames, and struck by a mallet covered with cloth or elastic gum, they sustain the harmonious triad in a very perfect manner, and are probably the most powerful and musical of all monotonous instruments. They might be introduced with advantage in lieu of large drums. They have the advantage of being mellifluous, and capable of accompanying pathetic strains. The two gongs differ from each other by one note.

The above observations apply particularly to the gámelan pélog, which usually accompanies the recitation of the popular poems of the country. The gámbang káyu of the salíndru appears only to differ in being in another key, which is considered better suited to the occasions in which that kind of gámelan is used.

The airs which are exhibited in the plate are selected from several written down by a gentleman at Semárang,[Vol I Pg 527] as they were played on the rebáb of the gámelan pélog, and may afford a further illustration of the nature of their music.

But it is the harmony and pleasing sound of all the instruments united, which gives the music of Java its peculiar character among Asiatics. The sounds produced on several of the instruments are peculiarly rich, and when heard at a distance have been frequently compared to those produced on the harmonic glasses. The airs, however simple and monotonous they may appear of themselves, when played on the gámbang káyu, or accompanied by the other instruments, never tire on the ear, and it is not unusual for the gámelan to play for many days and nights in succession.

The Javans do not note down or commit their music to writing; the national airs, of which I have myself counted above a hundred, are preserved by the ear alone. Those which are exhibited in the plate are among the most popular: but there are a variety which are played on occasions of rejoicing and festivity, which it would be difficult to note down; if, indeed, they can be called airs at all, the sounds produced rather resembling the chiming of bells than a melody. Thus, when a great man arrives at the native seat of government, the tune of kébu gíru, "buffaloes frisking," is played, and a variety of others of the same nature, which diffuse the same kind of joy and gaiety among all assembled, as the quick ringing of bells in the churches of England.

A complete set of the gámelan pélog costs from a thousand to six hundred dollars (£250 to £400,) but second-hand sets are frequently disposed of. The principal manufacture is at Grésik, and the gongs in particular furnish a valuable article of export. Every native chief in authority has one or more gámelans, and there are more or less perfect sets in all the populous towns of the eastern provinces.

In some of the interior, and in particular in the Súnda districts, the inhabitants still perform on a rude instrument of bámbu, called the ángklung, of which a representation is given in one of the plates. This instrument is formed of five or more tubes of bámbu, cut at the end after the manner of the barrels of an organ. These, which are of graduated lengths, from about twenty to eight inches, are placed in a frame, in such a manner as to move to a certain extent from their posi[Vol I Pg 528]tion, and to vibrate on the frame being shaken. A troop of from ten to fifty mountaineers, each with an ángklung, and accompanied by one or two others with a small drum played with the open hand, always perform upon this instrument on occasions of festivity in the Súnda districts. The upper part of the instrument, and the parties themselves, are generally decorated with common feathers, and the performers, in their appearance and action, are frequently as grotesque and wild as can be imagined. There is something, however, so extremely simple, and at the same time gay, in the sound produced by the rattling of these bámbu tubes, that I confess I have never heard the ángklung without pleasure. The Javans say the first music of which they have an idea was produced by the accidental admission of the air into a bámbu tube, which was left hanging on a tree, and that the ángklung was the first improvement upon this Æolian music. With regard to the music of the gámelan, "that," they say, "was procured from heaven, and we have a long story about it."

A wind instrument, of the nature of a flute, but in length some feet, with a proportionate diameter, is sometimes introduced in the gámelans; but this is not usual in Java, though, in Báli it is general.

The trawángsa is a stringed instrument, not very unlike a guitar[196], which is occasionally found in the Súnda districts: it is by no means general. I recollect to have once heard an old blind bard at Chiánjur play upon this instrument, reciting at the same time traditions respecting Pajajáran, and the ancient history of the country, which had probably never been committed to writing.

The Javans have made no progress in drawing or painting; nor are there any traces to be found of their having, at any former period of their history, attained any proficiency in this art. They are not, however, ignorant of proportions or perspective, nor are they insensible to the beauty and effect of the productions of other nations[197]. Their eye is correct and their [Vol I Pg 529]hand steady, and if required to sketch any particular object, they produce a very fair resemblance of the original. They are imitative, and though genius in this art may not have yet appeared among them, there is reason to believe that, with due encouragement, they would not be found less ingenious than other nations in a similar stage of civilization. They have a tradition, that the art of painting was once successfully cultivated among them, and a period is even assigned to the loss of it; but the tradition does not seem entitled to much credit.

The Javans do not appear to possess any peculiar method or system in their arithmetical calculations. They generally compute without putting down the figures in writing. In this process they are slow, but generally correct. The common people, from an entire ignorance of arithmetic, or to assist their memory, sometimes use grains of pári or small stones on these occasions.

The many vast and magnificent remains of edifices found at this day in different parts of Java, bear witness to the high degree of perfection in which architecture and sculpture were at one period practised in that island. But whether the natives themselves designed these edifices and their ornaments, or only worked under the direction of ingenious artists from other countries, is a question connected with their history, which we shall at present forbear to inquire into.

The art of sculpture is entirely lost to the natives. The only modern buildings they possess, of any architectural importance, are the krátons, or palaces of the chiefs, which have already been described.

The Javans of the present day have no pretensions to astronomy [Vol I Pg 530]as a science. The seasons are determined by reference to a system no longer perfectly understood, either in its principle or application; but from the Hindu terms still in use for the days of the week, &c. and from the similarity of many of their superstitions to those of continental India, it seems probable that if they ever possessed an astronomical system, it was derived from that quarter. Thus when an eclipse takes place, the people shout and make all the noise they can, to prevent the sun or moon from being devoured by the great nága, or dragon, which they suppose to be invading it. Some of the better informed have derived a few notions of astronomy from the Arabs; but their knowledge, in this respect, is at best extremely imperfect, and it is rather to the traces which are to be found in the ancient manuscripts, and to the remains of what they knew in former days, that it is interesting to refer.

The Javans, in common with other Mahomedans, have, for upwards of two centuries, if not for a longer period, adopted the lunar year of the Arabs; but they still retain their own era, and seldom adopt that of the Hejira. The Javan era is called that of Aji Sáka, on whose arrival in Java it is supposed to have commenced; but as sáka is a Sanscrit term, variously applied, as connected with the establishment of an era, it was probably adopted by the Javans at the period of the introduction of the era itself[198], which corresponds almost exactly with the Hindu era of Salavaharna, being seventy-four years short of the Christian era. The present is accordingly the year 1744 of the Javan era, or era of Aji Sáka. On Báli, where the same era is likewise adopted, there is a difference of about seven years, the Báli year being 1737. This difference is supposed to have arisen from the people of Báli, who are still unconverted to the Mahomedan faith, continuing to use the solar year.

The Javans usually divide the day and night each into five portions, as follows:

Division of the Day.
The period from six o'clock in the morning till eight is called ésuk;[Vol I Pg 531]
That from eight to noon teng'angi;
That from noon till one o'clock bedúg;
That from one till three lingsir kúlon;
That from three till six ásar;
Division of the Night.
The period from six o'clock in the evening till eight is called sóré;
That from eight till eleven o'clock sirapwóng;
That from midnight till one o'clock teng'awéng'i;
That from one o'clock till three língsir-wéng'i;
That from three o'clock till daylight báng'un.

The twenty-four hours of the day and night are also occasionally divided into what is called the líma wáktu, or five periods of time, namely: from sunset until eight o'clock in the morning; from that hour till twelve; from twelve till three; from three till four; from four till sunset.

Each of these divisions is considered sacred to one of the five deities, Sri, Kála, Wísnu, Maheswára, and Bráma, supposed to preside over these divisions of the day and night in rotation, the order being changed every day, until at the commencement of every fifth day and night it returns to the same again. The division which thus becomes sacred to Sri is considered fortunate; that to Kála unfortunate; that to Wísnu neither good nor bad; that to Maheswára as still more fortunate than that to Sri; that to Bráma as peculiarly unfortunate.

The terms páhing, pon, wági, kalíwon, and mánis or légi, are applied to the days of the panchawára, or week of five days, which is common throughout the country, and by which the markets are universally regulated[199]. [Vol I Pg 532]

Besides this week of five days, which seems to be by far the most ancient as well as the most generally adopted among them, the Javans have a week of seven days as follows.

Díti, Sunday, which corresponds with the Hindu Rowi.
Sóma, Monday Soma.
Ang'gára, Tuesday Mangala.
Búdha, Wednesday Budha.
Raspáti, Thursday Vrihaspati.
Súkra, Friday Sukra.
Sanischára or Túmpah, Saturday Sani.

The Arabic terms are usually employed to express the months.

The weeks of seven days, considered with reference to the seasons, are termed wúku. Thirty of these are said to have been established in commemoration of the victory obtained over Wátu Gúnung[200]. These thirty have again six principal divisions, each consisting of thirty-five days, and commencing on the day when díti and páhing fall together.

Each wúku, is dedicated to its particular deity, and has its appropriate emblems in the Javan system of judicial astrology. The names of the wúku and of the deities to which each is considered sacred are as follow:

WÚKU. DÉWA OR DEITY.
1. Sínta Batara Yáma.
2. Landáp Súria.
3. Wúkir Maheswára.
4. Kurántil Puru Senkára.
5. Tálu Báyu.
6. Gúmbreg Sákra.
7. Waríga Asmára.
8. Warigájan Pancháresi.
9. Júlung Wáng'i Sámbo.
10. Sung Sang Gána Kumára.
11. Galúng'an Kamajáya.
12. Kuníng'an Indra.[Vol I Pg 533]
13. Lángkir Kala.
14. Mandásia Bráma.
15. Julung-pújud Páncha Rásmi.
16. Paháng Tántra.
17. Kuru Welút Wísnu.
18. Maraké Gána.
19. Támbir Séwa.
20. Mánda kung'an Basúki.
21. Maktal Chandrása.
22. Woyé Kawéra.
23. Manáhil Chitra Gáta.
24. Prang-bákat Bísma.
25. Bála Dúrga.
26. Wúku Lódra.
27. Wáyang Sri.
28. Kuláwu Sewandána.
29. Dukúd Kanéka.
30. Wátu gúnung Gúru.

The twelve seasons, Mángsa, of which an account has been given, when treating of the agriculture of the Javans, are said to be determined by reference to the sun's course at the commencement of each of these divisions.

When a want of rain is experienced, it is a custom for the people of the village or town to assemble, and for a wáyang to be performed upon the story of Wátu Gúnung and Déwi Sínta. On these occasions two sticks of the dark coloured sugar-cane, two young and two old cocoa-nuts, two bundles of different coloured pári, two bundles of the flowers of the areca-nut, a piece of white cloth, sweet scented oils, two fowls and two ducks, are placed by the side of the dálang during the performance, and are afterwards considered his property.

The term wíndu is used to express a revolution or cycle of years. The Javans refer to wíndu of eight years, a wíndu of twelve years, a wíndu of twenty years, and a wíndu of thirty-two years. The wíndu of eight years, now in use, seems to have been borrowed from the Arabs; but this is more frequently considered of seven years, each year taking its name from one of the following animals, according to the day of the week on which it begins. [Vol I Pg 534]

Mangkára, Prawn, if on a Friday,
Ménda, Goat, Saturday,
Klábong, Centiped, Sunday,
Wichítra, Worm, Monday,
Mintúna, A species of fish, Tuesday,
Was, Scorpion, Wednesday.
Maisába, Buffalo, Thursday.

The names given to the year comprised in the wíndu of twelve years appear to be the same with the signs of the zodiac, which, according to the manuscript discovered at Chéribon, are as follow:

1. Mésa or Mesáris, the Ram, corresponding with the Hindu Mesha,
2. M'rísa or M'resába, the Bull, Vrisha,
3. M'ritúna or M'rikaga the Butterfly, Mithuna (the pair),
4. Kalakáta or Kkala kadi, the Crab, Karkata,
5. Sing'ha or Grigréson, the Lion, Sinha,
6. Kanya or Kangerása, the Virgin, Kunya,
7. Tula or Tularási, the Balance, Tula,
8. Mri-Chika or Priwitarási, the Scorpion, Vrishchica,
9. Dánu or Wánok, the Bow, Danus,
10. Makára, the Crawfish, Makara (sea monster),
11. Kúba, the Water-jug, Kumbha,
12. Ména, the Fish, Mina[201].

The Javans, though they occasionally apply the signs of the zodiac to the twelve years of the cycle, have at present no knowledge of these signs as connected with the sun's course. In the Chéribon manuscript, which contains an explanation of each sign, they seem to have been considered only as giving names to particular years. Thus in the explanations of the first sign it is stated: [Vol I Pg 535]

"This year, the year of Mesa-arsi, there is a mark in the horn of the ram; the deity who presides is Batára Wisnu; the rain is for five months; it is profitable to plant gágas, but birds destroy great quantities; this may be prevented by administering obat (medicine) composed of the oil of the káwang, with the flowers of the cotton plant and those of the kasúmba; rats also do great mischief in the sáwahs, which may be prevented by administering the bud of síri on a lucky day, named ang'gara, and diti on the panchawára Mánis; when administering it the following words should be repeated; 'Hong! Kíro-Wísnu-Sówa! tung'gal sih ning Buána!' 'Hail Wisnu! who art beheld clearly to be the only one in the world!'"

In the same manuscript, which appears to be entirely of an astronomical or astrological nature, the year appears to be divided into four portions, each distinguished by the peculiar position of a nága, or serpent.

The first of the three divisions includes Jista, Sáda, Kásar; the form and shape of the great nága in these seasons is first stated, and represented by a drawing, the head being during these months towards the east and tail to the west. "In these months, if any one wishes to plant rice, it must be white and yellow pári; and at this time alms must be given, consisting of white rice ornamented with the flowers called wári, and in the name of or in honour of Déwa Yáma, and on the seventh day. It will not be profitable to go to war in these months.

"If a child is born in these months he will be liable to seven sicknesses through life. Great care and caution must be taken in these months against sickness."

The second is as follows:

"In the seasons of Káru, Katíga, and Kaphat, the head of the nága is to the north and tail to the west. These times are neither good nor bad; it is proper to plant yellow pári; alms should be given of búbur ábang, red rice and water, &c. in honour or in the name of Déwa Sarasáti. Success will attend wars undertaken in these months.

"If a child is born in the month it will be unfortunate, and great care and caution must be taken regarding it; and if[Vol I Pg 536] the child attains an advanced age, unhappiness will befal the parent.

"In the third nága, which includes the fifth, sixth, and seventh seasons, the head of the nága" it says, "is to the west, his tail to the east, his belly to the north. The offering then to be made is yellow rice, and a small ivory-handled knife ornamented with gold. The deity of these months is Batára Sarastati. In going to war in these seasons, be careful not to face the head of the nága[202]."

FOOTNOTES:

[146] One of the titles of Jaya Baya.

[147] Duijawara, Pandita of society or village priests.

Resi, Pandita who do penance in the woods.

Sewa, Pandita who fast and constantly watch.

Sugata, Pandita who communicate advice and give instruction.

[148] The supposed author of the poem.

[149]

Risanga kuda suda chandrama,
9 7 0 1

making 1079 of the Javan æra. But other interpretations render it 708, which latter is the date generally attributed to the work on Java, and the period in which Jaya Baya is said to have reigned.​—See History.

[150] Astina.

[151] The Indian fig or banyan.

[152] Nagasari.

[153] Bramára.

[154] Kuráchékéchup.

[155] Swamps.

[156] Paseban, assemblage of chiefs in front of the palace.

[157] The same with the kasang'a.

[158] The same with the masmas.

[159] Umbrella.

[160] A large head of bambu.

[161] The yellow bambu.

[162] Kiong, Chiong, or minor.

[163] Tegal.

[164] Another name for Krésna.

[165] Krésna.

[166] Kresna.

[167] Satiaka.

[168] Déwi Kúnti.

[169] The mother of the Pendáwa, the same with Déwi Kúnti.

[170] Vishnu.

[171] Three pair of eyes.

[172] Child of the sun.

[173] Commander-in-chief.

[174] Seta.

[175] King of the Kuráwa.

[176] The plain of Kuru.

[177] Or Elephant Carcass, another name for Astína. The Javan tradition is, that an elephant made the country, in order to obtain Ratnádi, who, thinking it impracticable, had imposed that task on him, as a condition of her favour. When it was effected, she got Gatáma to kill him, and then married him. It was called Astina, from Asti, which also signifies an elephant.

[178] The princes on the side of the Pandawa.

[179] Or that of a sharp-pointed weapon.

[180] Arjúna.

[181] Bima.

[182] Wife of Arjúna.

[183] Sita.

[184] Dresta Drijúmna.

[185] Religious instructors.

[186] Their brother, being also a son of Wirátes Swára.

[187] B'hramástra.

[188] See plate of the position of the Matàrem army.

[189] Dagger.

[190] Of Sália.

[191] Milton says:

"Sky lowered, and muttering thunder, some sad drops,
"Wept at completion of the mortal sin."

And a modern poet selected the passage as an example of the exercise of a truly poetical imagination.

[192] With Síri juice.

[193] Bridge.

[194] Having since my return to England put these illustrations of the Brata Yudha in the hands of a relative (the Rev. Thomas Raffles, of Liverpool,) he has been kind enough to give the translation a poetical dress, and I regret that the limits of the present volume do not admit of their insertion in this form, in justice to the poetry of Java and the talent which he has displayed. The following example of the last stanzas may serve as a specimen of the style and spirit in which the task has been executed.

603. Wearied with fruitless search, and in despair
To find the object of her pious care,
Her murder'd lord, who on the battle plain
Lay all neglected mid the thousands slain,
She drew the dagger from its sheath of rest,
Intent to plunge it in her heaving breast.
Just then, as if in pity to her grief,
Flash'd the red light'ning to the maid's relief,
And shew'd with horrid glare the bloody way
To where her husband's mangled body lay.
604. Another flash, indulgent from the skies,
Points to the spot where Sália's carriage lies,
And Sália's self, whom living she adored,
The bleeding body of her murder'd lord.
The richest flowers by heavenly influence shed
Their sweetest odours o'er his honoured head,
The muttering thunder mourned his early tomb,
And heaven in showers bewailed the hero's doom.
605. With eager grasp the livid corpse she press'd
In frantic wildness to her throbbing breast;
Tried every art of love that might beguile
Its sullen features to one cheerful smile;
Kiss'd those dear lips so late of coral red,
As if unconscious that the soul had fled;
Then in her folded arms his head she rais'd,
And long on those beloved features gazed.
With síri-juice his pallid lips she died,
And to his wounds its healing balm applied;
While with the skirt of her embroidered vest,
She wip'd the blood-drops from his mangled breast.
606. "Ah! then, my princely lord, whom I have found
"Bleeding and mangled on this cursed ground!
"Why are thy lips in sullen silence sealed
"To her who sought thee on this battle field?
"Wilt thou not speak​—my love, my lord, my all,
"Or still in vain must Sátia Wáti call!
"Say, shall my copious tears in torrents flow
"And thus express my agony and woe?
"How shall I move thee, by what art beguile
"The ghastly air of that unmeaning smile?"
607. Thus soft and tender were the words she poured,
To move the pity of her murder'd lord;
But ah! no sound the unconscious dead return'd,
No fire of love within his bosom burn'd;
While at each pause a death-like stillness stole
O'er the deep anguish of the mourner's soul.
"And was it thus to bow thy honour'd head
"Amid the thousands of the mingled dead,
"That on that fatal morning thou didst glide
"With gentle footsteps from thy consort's side?
"And thus to reach the glorious realms above
"Without the faithful partner of thy love?
"But earth has lost its fleeting charms for me,
"And, happy spirit, I will follow thee!
608. "Oh! meet and bear me o'er that fatal stone,
"Nor let me pass it, trembling and alone.
"Though Widadáris shall obey thy call,
"Yet keep for me a place above them all.
"To whom but me does that first place belong,
"Who sought and found thee mid this ghastly throng;
"And who, unable to survive thy doom,
"Thus sheds her blood and shares thy honour'd tomb?"
610. Then with a steady hand the noble maid
Drew from its peaceful sheath the gleaming blade;
From her fair bosom tore th' embroidered vest,
And plunged it deep within her heaving breast.
Rich was the blood that issued from the wound,
And streamed like liquid gold upon the ground.
611. And while the ebbing tide of life remained,
And thought and reason were a while sustained,
She called her maiden with her feeble breath,
And thus address'd her from the arms of death.
612. "Oh! when my spirit soars to realms above,
"Take this my last request to those I love:
"Tell them to think of Sátia Wati's fate,
"And oft the story of her love relate;
"Then o'er her woes the tender heart shall sigh,
"And the big tear-drop roll from pity's eye."
614. "Ah my lov'd mistress," cried the faithful maid,
"In every scene by thee I gladly staid.
"Whate'er the state of being thou must know,
"Thy faithful maiden will partake it too.
"What hand but mine the cooling stream shall pour,
"Or bathe the feet of her whom I adore?"
617. Strong in despair, and starting from the ground,
She drew the dagger from her mistress' wound,
With deadly aim she plunged it in her breast,
And with her mistress sunk to endless rest.
618. Then did their happy spirits wing their way
To the fair regions of eternal day.
The astonish'd shade of Sália linger'd there,
Borne on the pinions of the ambient air,
To bid the object of his earthly love
An eager welcome to the realms above.
619. Then in his arms his lovely bride he bore
Up that resplendent path he trod before,
Till earth and time had vanished all away
Amid the splendours of eternal day:
Where fields of light and silken mansions stand,
The glorious work of a celestial hand.
620. Th' enraptured princess, dazzled with the sight,
Gazed o'er the boundless realms of living light,
With heavenly fruit the eternal groves were crowned,
And joy and rich profusion smiled around.
All bore the bloom of an immortal youth,
All breathed alike the air of love and truth;
And all adoring one eternal mind,​—
The Almighty, rich in bounty to mankind.

[195] The same observation has, I believe, been made on the character of the Grecian music.

[196] See Plate.

[197] We can hardly suppose them to have been as ignorant of the art of design as their neighbours on Borneo, at the period of their being first visited by Europeans. The following story is translated from a note in Joao de Barros, 4 Decade, Book I. Chap. 17. "Vasco Lorenco-Drejo Cam and Gonzala Veltoza, were sent to the King of Borneo on a treaty of commerce. Among their presents was a piece of tapestry, representing the marriage of Henry VIII. of England and Catherine, Princess of Arragon. The king received them well, but on delivering the presents, the piece of tapestry was displayed, with the figures as large as life. This to the king was matter of alarm and suspicion, for he imagined that the figures must be enchanted, and that the Portuguese wished to introduce them under his roof to deprive him of his kingdom and his life. He ordered the tapestry to be immediately removed, and that the Portuguese should immediately depart, as he did not chuse to have any more kings beside himself in the country; and all attempts to pacify him were fruitless."​—Vol. IV. Part I. p. 107.

[198] See Chapter on History.

[199] "Each Mexican month of twenty days was subdivided into four small periods of five days. At the beginning of these periods every commune kept its fair, tianquiztli."​—Humboldt's Researches, Translation, vol. i. page 283.

"In respect to civil government, they divided the month into four periods of five days, and on a certain fixed day of each period their fair, or great market day, was held."​—Clavigero, Translation, vol. i. page 293.

[200] See Literature, account of the Kanda.

[201] Each of the years represented in the Chéribon manuscript, and distinguished by the signs of the Zodiac, is considered sacred to one of the following deities: Wísnu, Sámbo, Indra, Suria, Místri, Barúna, Sang Místri, Wandra Kurísia, Purusiah, Tabada, Aria, or Gána.

[202] See an account of this manuscript under the head Antiquities.

END OF VOL. I.

LONDON:

PRINTED BY R. GILBERT, ST. JOHN'S SQUARE.

[Vol II Pg i]

THE

HISTORY

OF

JAVA.

BY THE LATE

SIR THOMAS STAMFORD RAFFLES, F.R.S.

FORMERLY LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR OF THAT ISLAND AND ITS DEPENDENCIES, AND PRESIDENT OF THE SOCIETY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES AT BATAVIA.

IN TWO VOLUMES.

VOL. II.

SECOND EDITION.

LONDON:
JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE-STREET.

MDCCCXXX. [Vol II Pg ii]

GILBERT AND RIVINGTON, PRINTERS,

ST. JOHN'S SQUARE, LONDON. [Vol II Pg iii]


CONTENTS
OF
VOLUME II.

CHAPTER IX.
PAGE
Religion​—Introduction of Mahomedanism​—How far its Tenets and Doctrines are observed​—Priests​—How provided for​—How far the ancient Institutions of the Country are superseded​—Antiquities​—Edifices​—The Temples of Brambánan​—Bóro Bódo​—Gúnung Práhu​—Kedíri​—Sing'a Sári, Súku, &c.​—Sculpture​—Images in Stone​—Casts in Metal​—Inscriptions on Stone and Copper​—Coins​—Ruins of the ancient Capitals at Médang Kamúlan, Majapáhit, Pajajáran, &c.​—Island of Báli​—Conclusion 1
CHAPTER X.
The History of Java from the earliest Traditions till the establishment of Mahomedanism 69
CHAPTER XI.
History of Java from the establishment of Mahomedanism (A. J. 1400) till the arrival of the British Forces in A.D. 1811, (A. J. 1738.) 147
Line of Mahomedan Sovereigns of Java 254
Chronological Table of Events 255
Account of the several principal Divisions of Java and Madura 265
APPENDIX.
A. Unhealthiness of Batavia i
B. Account of the Japan Trade xvii
C. Translation of a modern Version of the Súria Alem xxxviii
D. Proclamation of the Governor General, and Regulation passed by the Hon. the Lieutenant Governor in Council for the more effectual Administration of Justice in the Provincial Courts of Java [Vol II Pg iv] liv
E. A comparative Vocabulary of the Maláyu, Javan, Madurese, Báli, and Lampung Languages lxxvii
​— Extract from the Dása Náma lxxix
​— Comparative Vocabulary of the Sanskrit, Kawi, and Pali lxxx
​— Vocabulary of Káwi Words, with the Meaning attached to them, by the Panambáhan of Sumenap lxxxi
​— Specimen of the mystical Meaning attached to the Letters of the Alphabet, &c. according to the Interpretation of the Panambáhan of Sumenap lxxxii
F. Account of the Island of Celebes lxxxv
​— Comparative Vocabulary of the Búgis, Makásar, Mándhar, Búton, Sásak, Bima, Sembáwa, Tembóra, and Endé Languages cv
​— Comparative Vocabulary of the Gunung Tálu, Menadu, Ternati, Sang'ir, Sirang or Ceram, and Saparúa Languages cvii
G. Numerals according to the Chandra Sangkála cix
H. Translation of the Mánek Máya cxii
I. Translations of Inscriptions in the ancient Javan or Káwi Character cxxvii
K. Account of the Island of Báli cxxxviii
L. Proclamation declaring the Principles of the intended Change of System cxlviii
​— Revenue Instructions cli
M. Memorandum respecting Weights, Measures, &c. clxv

AN ACCOUNT

OF THE

ISLAND OF JAVA.

[Vol II Pg 1]

CHAPTER IX.

Religion​—Introduction to Mahomedanism​—How far its Tenets and Doctrines are observed​—Priests​—How provided for​—How far the ancient Institutions of the Country are superseded​—Antiquities​—Edifices​—The Temples at Brambánan​—Bóro Bódo​—Gúnung Práhu​—Kedíri, Sing'a Sári, Súku, &c.​—Sculpture​—Images in Stone​—Casts in Metal​—Inscriptions on Stone and Copper​—Coins​—Ruins of the ancient Capitals at Médang Kamúlan, Majapáhit, Pajajáran, &c.​—Island of Báli​—Conclusion.

It has already been stated, that the established religion of the country is that of Mahomed. The earliest allusion to this faith made in the Javan annals is in the twelfth century of the Javan era (A.D. 1250), when an unsuccessful attempt appears to have been made to convert some of the Súnda princes[203]. Towards the close of the fourteenth century, several missionaries established themselves in the eastern provinces; and according to the Javan annals, and the universal tradition of the country, it was in the first year of the fifteenth century of the Javan era, or about the year of our Lord 1475, that the Hindu empire of Majapáhit, then supreme on the island, was overthrown, and the Mahomedan religion became the established faith of the country. When the Portuguese first visited Java in 1511, they found a Hindu king in Bantam; and subsequently, they are said to have [Vol II Pg 2]lost their footing in that province, in consequence of the arrival and establishment of a Mahomedan prince there; but with the exception of an inconsiderable number in some of the interior and mountainous tracts, the whole island appears to have been converted to Mahomedanism in the course of the sixteenth century, or at least at the period of the establishment of the Dutch at Batavia in 1620.

The natives are still devotedly attached to their ancient institutions, and though they have long ceased to respect the temples and idols of a former worship, they still retain a high respect for the laws, usages, and national observances which prevailed before the introduction of Mahomedanism. And although some few individuals among them may aspire to a higher sanctity and closer conformity to Mahomedanism than others, it may be fairly stated, that the Javans in general, while they believe in one supreme God, and that Mahomed was his Prophet, and observe some of the outward forms of the worship and observances, are little acquainted with the doctrines of that religion, and are the least bigoted of its followers. Few of the chiefs decline the use of wine, and if the common people abstain from inebriating liquors, it is not from any religious motive. Mahomedan institutions, however, are still gaining ground, and with a free trade a great accession of Arab teachers might be expected to arrive. Property usually descends according to the Mahomedan law; but in other cases, the Mahomedan code, as adopted by the Javans, is strangely blended with the more ancient institutions of the country[204]. [Vol II Pg 3]

Pilgrimages to Mecca are common. When the Dutch first established themselves on Java, it was not unusual for the chiefs of the highest rank to undertake the voyage, as will be seen in the course of the native history. As soon, however, as the Dutch obtained a supremacy, they did all they could to check this practice, as well as the admission of Arab missionaries, and by the operation of the system of commercial monopoly which they adopted, succeeded pretty effectually. It does not, however, appear that this arose from any desire to check the progress of Mahomedanism on Java, or that it was with any view to introduce the doctrines of Christianity, that they wished to cut off the communication with Mecca; their sole objects appear to have been the safety of their own power and the tranquillity of the country. Every Arab from Mecca, as well as every Javan who had returned from a pilgrimage thither, assumed on Java the character of a saint, and the credulity of the common people was such, that they too often attributed to such persons supernatural powers. Thus respected, it was not difficult for them to rouse the country to rebellion, and they became the most dangerous instruments in the hands of the native authorities opposed to the Dutch interests. The Mahomedan priests have almost invariably been found most active in every case of insurrection. Numbers of them, generally a mixed breed between the Arabs and the islanders, go about from state to state in the Eastern Islands, and it is generally by their intrigues and exhortations that the native chiefs are stirred up to attack or massacre the Europeans, as infidels and intruders.

The commercial monopoly of the Dutch, however injurious to the country in other respects, was in this highly advantageous to the character of the Javans, as it preserved them from the reception of many of the more intolerable and deteriorating tenets of the Kóran.

I have already mentioned, that every village has its priest, and that in every village of importance there is a mosque or building set apart adapted to religious worship. The usual Mahomedan service is performed; and the Panghúlu, or priest, consulted, and decides in all cases of marriage, divorce, and inheritance. He is bound also to remind the villagers of the[Vol II Pg 4] proper season for the cultivation of the lands. He is remunerated by a tithe of the produce of the land, certain fees which are paid on circumcisions, marriages, divorces, and funerals, and presents which are usual at particular seasons and on particular occasions.

In every chief town there is a high priest, who with the assistance of several inferior priests, holds an ecclesiastical court, and superintends the priests who are appointed in the subordinate districts and villages. His emoluments consist of a share, which varies in different districts, of the zakát levied by the village priests, of fees of court, presents, &c. These chief priests are usually either Arabs, or descendants of Arabs, by women of the islands. Their number in some of the large towns is considerable; at Pakalóngan and Grésik they have amounted to some hundreds. The village priests are mostly Javans. On entering the profession, they adopt a dress different from that of the Javans in general, wearing a turban and long gown after the manner of the Arabs, and encouraging, as much as possible, the growth of a few hairs on the chin, as a beard. It is probable, that the total number of priests is not less than fifty thousand, which forms a ninetieth part of the whole population of the island.

In common with other Mahomedans, the Javans observe the ceremony of circumcision (sónat), which is performed at about eight years of age, and in a manner somewhat differing from that usual in other countries. The ceremony is usually attended with a feast and rejoicing. Girls, at the same age, suffer a slight operation, intended to be analogous, and called by the same name.

In their processions and rejoicings on religious festivals and other occasions, the Javans are free from that noisy clamour and uproar, which is usual with the Mahomedans of continental India. The ceremony of húsen hásen, which on the continent excites such a general noise throughout the country, here passes by almost without notice, and the processions of the Sepoys on this occasion, during the period of the British government on Java, excited the utmost astonishment among them, on account of their novelty, noise, and gaudy effect; but nobody seemed inclined to join in, or to[Vol II Pg 5] imitate them: indeed the Javans have too chaste an ear to bear with pleasure the dissonant sounds and unharmonious uproar of the Indians[205].

The Mahomedan religion, as it at present exists on Java, seems only to have penetrated the surface, and to have taken but little root in the heart of the Javans. Some there are who are enthusiastic, and all consider it a point of honour to support and respect its doctrines: but as a nation, the Javans by no means feel hatred towards Europeans as infidels; and this perhaps may be given as the best proof that they are very imperfect Mahomedans. As another example of the very slight hold which Mahomedanism has of them, may be adduced the conduct of the reigning prince (the Susúnan) in the recent conspiracy among the Sepoys serving on Java. The intimacy between this prince and the Sepoys first commenced from his attending the ceremonies of their religious worship, which was Hindu, and assisting them with several idols of that worship which had been preserved in his family. The conspirators availing themselves of this predilection of the prince for the religion of his ancestors, flattered him by addressing him as a descendant of the great Ráma, and a deliberate plan was formed, the object of which was to place the European provinces once more under a Hindu power. Had this plan been attended with success, it would probably have been followed by the almost immediate and general re-conversion of the Javans themselves to the Hindu faith[206]. [Vol II Pg 6]

Whatever of their more ancient faith may remain in the institutions, habits, and affections of the Javans, the island abounds in less perishable memorials of it. The antiquities of Java consist of ruins of edifices, and in particular of temples sacred to the former worship; images of deities found within them, and scattered throughout the country, either sculptured in stone or cast in metal; inscriptions on stone and copper in ancient characters, and ancient coins.

The antiquities of Java have not, till lately, excited much notice; nor have they yet been sufficiently explored. The narrow policy of the Dutch denied to other nations facilities of research; and their own devotion to the pursuits of commerce was too exclusive to allow of their being much interested by the subject. The numerous and interesting remains of former art and grandeur, which exist in the ruins of temples and other edifices; the abundant treasures of sculpture and statuary with which some parts of the island are covered; and the evidences of a former state of religious belief and national improvement, which are presented in images, devices, and inscriptions, either lay entirely buried under rubbish, or were but partially examined. Nothing, therefore, of the ancient history of the people, of their institutions prior to the introduction of Mahomedanism, of their magnificence and power before the distraction of internal war and the division of the country into petty contending sovereignties, or of their relations either to adjacent or distant tribes, in their origin, language, and religion, could be accurately known or fully relied on. The grandeur of their ancestors sounds like a fable in the mouth of the degenerate Javan; and it is only when it can be traced in monuments, which cannot be falsified, that we are led to give credit to their traditions concerning it. Of these monuments, existing in great profusion in several places, and forming, if I may so express myself, the most interesting part of the annals of the people, none are so striking as those found at Brambánan in Matárem, near the middle of the island, at Bóro Bódo in Kédu, on Gúnung Práhu and its vicinity, in Kedírí, and at [Vol II Pg 7]Sing'a Sári in the district of Málang, in the eastern part of the island.

In addition to their claims on the consideration of the antiquarian, the ruins at two of these places, Brambánan and Bóro Bódo, are admirable as majestic works of art. The great extent of the masses of building covered in some parts with the luxuriant vegetation of the climate, the beauty and delicate execution of the separate portions, the symmetry and regularity of the whole, the great number and interesting character of the statues and bas-reliefs, with which they are ornamented, excite our wonder that they were not earlier examined, sketched, and described.

With respect to the ruins at Brámbanan, we find, upon the authority of a Dutch engineer, who in 1797 went to construct a fort at Kláten, on the highway between the two native capitals, and not far from the site of the temples, that no description of its antiquities existed at that period. He found great difficulty in clearing away the rubbish and plants, so as to obtain a view of the ruins and to be enabled to sketch them. The indifference of the natives had been as great as that of their conquerors, and had led them to neglect the works of their ancestors which they could not imitate. They had allowed a powerful vegetation, not only to cover the surface of the buildings, but to dislocate and almost to overthrow them. They still viewed with veneration, however, the most conspicuous statue in the ruins, and in spite of their Mahomedan principles, addressed it with superstitious reverence. The temples themselves they conceived to have been the work of a divinity, and to have been constructed in one night; but unfortunately this belief did not restrain the neighbouring peasants from carrying off the stones of which they were constructed, and applying them to their own purposes. Enough, however, still remains, to shew the style of architecture that was followed in their construction, the state of sculpture at the period of their erection, and the nature of the religion which then prevailed.

In the beginning of the year 1812, Colonel Colin Mackenzie[207], so well acquainted with the antiquities of Western [Vol II Pg 8]India, visited Brambánan, took an accurate survey of the ruins, and sketched the fragments of the building, the architectural ornaments, and the statues found there. His journal, accompanied with much ingenious and interesting speculation on the nature and origin of the worship indicated by them, he kindly permitted me to publish in the seventh volume of the transactions of the Batavian Society.

Considering it as a matter of importance, that a more extensive and detailed survey should be made while we had the best opportunity of doing so, I availed myself of the services of Captain George Baker of the Bengal establishment, employed in the provinces of the native princes, to survey, measure, and take draughts of all the buildings, images, and inscriptions, which this magnificent mass of ruins presented. The following is an abstract of his report on the subject.

In the province of Matárem, and between the native capitals of Súra kerta and Yúgya kérta, lies the village of Brambánan, and at a distance of a mile from the high road, there are hills which run east and west, for about a mile and a half. On one of these, within about one hundred yards to the south-east of the Bándar's[208] house, stands

THE CHANDI KÓBON DÁLAM,

but so covered with trees and shrubs, that it is not visible till you are within two or three hundred yards of it. I could find no remains of the ancient enclosure, but the fields for some distance round have been enclosed in later days with the stones which have fallen from the temple. About forty yards westward of the temple, formerly stood two colossal images or réchas[209], both now overthrown, and one broken in two: these evidently faced each other inwards, as if to guard the approach. Each of these, including the pedestal, is of a single block, seven feet high; the head is two feet high; the square of the pedestal about three feet, and its height thirteen inches and a half: the stone block coarse grained, and apparently the same as the outer coating of the temple. The door-way is three feet [Vol II Pg 9]and a half wide, and now ten feet long, so that allowing two feet for dilapidation, the thickness of the walls must have been more than twelve feet. This leads directly to an apartment twenty feet square, the terrace of which, or original floor, is now covered to an unknown depth with masses of stone fallen from the walls and roof. The present height of the interior of the building is about twenty-eight feet.

The roof is a square pyramid about fourteen feet high, formed of stones which overhang each other like inverted steps. The stone composing the interior of the apartment is whitish and close grained, and breaks in flakes something like flint. The whole is uniformly cut and neatly morticed together without cement. The interior is perfectly plain, the exterior could never have possessed more than the simplest architectural embellishment.

Excepting the two réchas, or porters, I saw no remains of statuary; but it is probable that images of Hindu deities lie buried in the rubbish. These porters or giants seem to have been posted as if to guard the approach to the sanctuaries of the gods. The hair of each is plaited and wound round his head, after the fashion of the mendicant priests of India. He wears large cylindrical ear-rings, like those of the Javan women, bracelets and necklace of beads. His waistband, which is very bulky and reaches almost to his knees, is confined by a chain of square links, and receives on the right side a small square-hilted dagger. Between his legs and under the waistband there passes a lungofa or kopina, the ends of which hang down before and behind. In his right hand he holds an octagonal club; in his left a snake, coiled and darting its tongue along the breast: small twisted snakes also form his armlets, and one passes over his left shoulder diagonally across the body, the head and tail forming a kind of knot. His head is broad; his forehead and chin short but wide; his eyes quite round, large, prominent, and staring; his lips thick; his mouth open, and shewing two very large dog teeth and four others of the upper jaw. Singular as the countenance is, it has generally an open good humoured expression. The Sepoy who attended me, and who had resided two years among the Bramins at Benares, and, of a corps of upwards of eight hundred Sepoys, was acknowledged to be the best acquainted[Vol II Pg 10] with such subjects, informed me that similar figures were common guardians of the entrance to the temples of India, and seemed perfectly well acquainted with their history, purpose, and distinctive accompaniments; but he was lost in surprise at the number, magnitude, and superior execution of those at Brambánan, to which he said that India could in no respect furnish a parallel. Every thing here, he said, was manifestly the work of the gods, as no human power could have effected such things. The temples at Brambánan are entirely composed of plain hewn stone without the least mixture of brick, mortar, or rubbish of any kind, even in the most extensive solid masses, or to fill up the floors and basements of the largest structures. Large trees have made their way through many of them, and give an air of high antiquity.

Close by the road side at Brambánan, and in front of the bándar's house, there are several pieces of sculpture deserving of notice. One is a very well executed relievo on two small stones, of about eighteen inches by five, within the bándar's kámpung: it represents elephants completely caparisoned in the Hindu fashion. Another is a piece of sculpture representing the wide-extended mouth and erect curled proboscis of the elephant, having a figure (I believe of a Gôpie or inferior deity or demi-god) seated in an erect posture on the animal's tongue, surrounded with a formidable array of teeth. This is found on either side of the top or bottom of flights of steps, grand entrances, or portal of all the Brambánan buildings. There is also a more finished specimen of the same kind as the last, but having instead of a Gópia a lion, decorated with a necklace, to whose head descends from the lotos flowers which crown the elevated proboscis of the elephant, a very rich cluster of beads. Two stones are sculptured in relief with the figures of seven apes traversing a wood: they are each about two feet six inches high by two feet wide. These pieces are more damaged by time and weather than any others I met with, and perhaps more ancient. They appear to be entirely historical, and probably formed together the memorial of some legendary event, which the learning of my Brahmin did not reach: he seemed however positive that Hanumán was not of the number. The shield occurs twice, a reptile of the lizard kind led by a string once, and all the figures appear armed with sticks. [Vol II Pg 11]

The only other piece of sculpture found here is of a headless naked figure, sitting on a double throne, surrounded with foliage, opposite the Bandáran at the corner of a field. The journal of Colonel Mackenzie, which had previously appeared in the Transactions of the Batavian Society, had so fully persuaded me that all these rude figures in a sitting cross-legged posture were Jain or Budhist, that I by accident only asked my companion if he knew what this was? To my astonishment he replied, that this, with all other similar images, were tupís wurri, or Hindus in the act of devotion, and that this figure was evidently a Brahmin (from the sacrificial or sacred string over his left shoulder) employed in tupísya. I asked him whether it might be Budh? to which he replied, No; that Budh held a very low rank in the estimation of the Brahmins, who, in consequence of the schism between Brahmins and Budhists, did not choose to make tupísya before him, or erect his likeness in their temples; and that, as all the temples at Brambánan were entirely Braminical, or had their origin from the same sect of which he himself was a member, it was not likely that any images of Budh should be found thereabouts. When we afterwards came to examine the temples at Lóro Jóngran and other places, where the same figure complete appears seated in the small temples, surrounding the great central one, I pointed out to him the long-extended ears, short curled head of hair, and other marks, which I had understood served to distinguish the Jain or Budh images from all others. He said he was only more convinced that they were all simple Hindu devotees in the act of making tupísya, in the presence of the principal deity enthroned in the grand temple in the midst of them; that this was frequently the case in India, and wherever practicable the Brahmins placed images of devotees, of exactly similar form and attitude, around the fanes of Brahma and their inferior gods; that what I called curled hair was nothing more than a peculiar kind of cap (topi he called it) worn by devotees when in the most sacred acts of tupísya, which caps are common, he said, throughout Bengal or Hindustan, and are made for the purpose, by a particular class of people. I found the lower part of two counterpart decorated stones, having the part of the body of Ganésa in the centre of each.[Vol II Pg 12] They were extremely well executed and in good preservation.

CHÁNDI LÓRO JÓNGRANG; or TEMPLES OF LÓRO JÓNGRAN.

These lie directly in front (north) of the village of Brambánan, and about two hundred and fifty yards from the road, whence they are visible, in the form of large hillocks of fallen masses of stone, surmounted, and in some instances covered, with a profusion of trees and herbage of all descriptions. In the present dilapidated state of these venerable buildings, I found it very difficult to obtain a correct plan or description of their original disposition, extent, or even of their number and figure. Those that remain, with any degree of their primary form or elevation, are ten, disposed in three lines, running north and south. Of those on the western line, which are far the largest and most lofty, that in the centre towers high above the rest, and its jutting fragments lie tumbled about over a large area. Nothing can exceed the air of desolation which this spot presents; and the feelings of every visitor are attuned, by the scene of surrounding devastation, to reflect, that while these noble monuments of the ancient splendour of religion and the arts are submitting, with sullen slowness, to the destructive hand of time and nature, the art which raised them has perished before them, and the faith which they were to honour has now no other honour in the land.

After repeated visits to the place, I am perfectly clear, that the temples of Jongrángan originally consisted of twenty separate buildings, besides the enclosures and gateway; that of these, six large and two small temples were within the second wall, and twelve small ones, exactly similar to each other, formed a kind of square about the exterior of the inner wall. The first temple that occurs on entering, is the small central one on the right hand of the present pathway; and though its roof is gone, a most beautiful terrace appears, which supported the building, and measures twenty-three feet six inches by twenty-two feet ten inches. At present the height of it is barely three feet and a half. The lower part contains five small niches on either side, profusely decorated and resting on small pilasters, each niche occupied by a lion, seated ex[Vol II Pg 13]actly similar to those described in the elephant's mouth. The intervals between the niches are very neatly filled with diminutive pilasters and other ornaments, displaying real taste and skill, which again support a double fillet projecting all round. One carved most beautifully, with a running festooned beading, with intermediate knots and pendents, each festoon filled with a lively representation of a parroquet with expanded wings, the other fillet with a fancy pattern more simple. On the opposite, or north side, was a building similar to this, but now a mound of stone.

The largest temple, apparently about ninety feet in height, is at present a mass of ruin, as well as the five others connected with it; but ascending to its northern face, over a vast heap of stones fallen from it and the third temple, at the height of about thirty feet, you reach the entrance: the whole is of hewn stones, fitted and morticed into each other, without rubbish or cement of any kind. Directly in front of the door-way stands the image of Lóro Jóngran. I had previously found a very similar, and I think a more beautiful representation of Dévi, as the Bramin called it, in the village of Kuwíran, about fifteen miles north-east from Brambánan. The image of Lóro Jóngran here has exactly the same attributes and accompaniments as that found at Kuwíran, but it is larger, not at all damaged, perfectly smooth, and with a polished surface: the buffalo is entirely recumbent; the character of the countenance, general figure, and attitudes, are very different, and the shape, attitude, and visage of the goddess, far less elegant and feminine. The figure at Brambánan is six feet three inches by three feet one inch in the widest part at the pedestal; that at Kuwíran is three feet nine inches high by twenty inches. The general description of this goddess, as read to me by the Bramin from a Sanscrit paper he copied at Benares, will serve to illustrate both these images, in the literal precise manner in which I took down his words.

"Bhawáni, Dévi, Soca, Juggudumba, Mahamya, Lutala, Phulmuttis, and Mata, are the designations of this powerful goddess, who resides at Shasi or Basini (Benares), at an angle of the sacred Ganges. Her adoration is called urchit with oblations of flowers, chundun, kundun, and mugt.[Vol II Pg 14] In her hand she holds a tulwar, called khug: round her neck she has a mala of sumpurun, toolsi, or chundun. Her weight is very great, and wherever her effigy is placed the earth trembles and becomes much heavier. The name of her buffalo is Mahisa, and the Dewth who attempts to slay it is Ussoor. She sleeps upon a bed of flowers."

Thus much could I understand, and repeat verbatim of this goddess's power and attributes. For the rest, in her eight arms she holds, 1st. the buffalo's tail; 2d. the sword called khurg; 3d. the bhulla or janclin; 4th. the chukur or whut; 5th. the lune or conch shell; 6th. the dhat or shield; 7th. the jundah or flag; and 8th. the hair of the Dewth Mahikusor, or personification of vice, who, while attempting to slay her favourite, Mahisa is seized by the goddess in a rage. He raises a dhat or shield in his defence, and a sabre, or some offensive weapon, should be in his right hand.

The apartment in which this image and some other sculptured stones are placed, rises perfectly square and plain, to the height of ten feet, and there occurs a richly carved cornice of four fillets, a single stone to each. From this rises the roof in a square pyramid, perfectly plain or smooth, for ten feet more.

Proceeding over the ruins round to the west face of this building, you pass the intermediate angular projection, carved alternately in a running flower or foliage, which Colonel Mackenzie has called Arabesque, and with small human figures of various form and attitude in compartments, above representations of square pyramidal temples, exactly like those on so many of the entablatures of Bóro Bódo, and similar, I understand, to the Budh temples of Ava, &c. &c., the whole extremely rich and minute beyond description. The western door-way is equally plain with the former, and the entrance is still lower. The apartment is ten feet two inches square, apparently more filled up (that is, the floor raised higher than the other), but in all other respects exactly the same. In front is seated a complete Ganésa, of smooth or polished stone, seated on a throne: the whole a single block, five and a half feet high and three wide. In his hands he has a plantain, a circlet of beads, a flower, and a cup to which the end of his proboscis is applied: a hooded snake[Vol II Pg 15] encircles his body diagonally over the left shoulder. His cap is high, with a death's head and horned moon in front, and as well as his necklaces, waistband, armlets, bracelets, anklets, and all his habiliments, is profusely decorated. The only damage he appears to have sustained, is in losing all but the roots of his tusks.

The Javans to this day continue to pay their devoirs to him and to Lóro Jóngran, as they are constantly covered with turmerick, flowers, ochre, &c. They distinguish Ganésa by the name of Raja Demáng, Singa Jáya, or Gana Singa Jáya. Going still round over heaps of fallen stone to the south face, you with some difficulty enter by the door-way (nearly closed up by the ruin) into the third apartment, where there is scarce light enough to see a prostrate Siva with his feet broken off and lost. What remains is four feet ten inches and a half long, and two feet two inches wide.

The whole of the apartment on the east side has fallen in, or is closed up by the dilapidation of that entire front.

From the elevated situation of the entrances to all the apartments first described, it is evident that there must formerly have been flights of steps to them. The plan of this temple, and as far as I could judge of the two adjoining ones, north and south, was a perfect cross, each of the four apartments first described occupying a limb or projection of the figure, and the small intermediate protruding angles between these limbs of the cross could only be to admit of a large apartment in the centre of the building, to which, however, no opening was practicable or visible. Moreover, as all the grand entrances to the interior of Hindu temples, where it is practicable, face the rising sun, I could have wished to ascertain from this (the largest and most important at Jongrángan) whether or not the main apartment was in existence, as I had made up my mind, that were I possessed of the means to clear away the stone, I should have found Brahma himself in possession of the place: the smaller rooms being occupied by such exalted deities as Bhawani, Siva, and Ganésa, scarce any other, indeed, than Brahma could be found presiding on the seat of honour and majesty.

The three large temples on the eastern line are in a state of utter ruin. They appear to have been very large and lofty,[Vol II Pg 16] and perfectly square. The upper terraces, just under the supposed entrances, were visible in some places, at the height of about sixty feet.

CHÁNDI SÉWU, or THE THOUSAND TEMPLES.

In the whole course of my life I have never met with such stupendous and finished specimens of human labour, and of the science and taste of "ages long since forgot," crowded together in so small a compass as in this little spot; which, to use a military phrase, I deem to have been the head quarters of Hinduism in Java. These ruins are situated exactly eight hundred and thirty-five yards north-north-east from the northern extremity of those of Lóro Jóngran, and one thousand three hundred and forty-five yards from the high road opposite the bándar's house. Having had in view all the way one lofty pyramidal or conical ruin, covered with foliage, and surrounded by a multitude of much smaller ones, in every stage of humbled majesty and decay, you find yourself, on reaching the southern face, very suddenly between two gigantic figures in a kneeling posture, and of terrific forms, appearing to threaten you with their uplifted clubs; their bulk is so great, that the stranger does not readily comprehend their figure. These gigantic janitors are represented kneeling on the left knee, with a small cushion under the right ham, the left resting on the retired foot. The height of the pedestal is fifteen inches, of the figure, seven feet nine inches to the top of the curls; total, nine feet. The head twenty-six inches long: width across the shoulders, three feet ten inches. The pedestal just comprises the kneeling figure, and no more.

The character and expression of the face I have never met with elsewhere: it belongs neither to India nor to any of the eastern isles. The countenance is full, round, and expressive of good humour. The eyes are large, prominent, and circular; the nose is prominent and wide, and in profile seems pointed; the upper lip is covered with tremendous mustaches; the mouth is large and open, with a risible character, shewing two very large dog-teeth; the under lip thin, and the chin very strait and short; forehead the same; no neck visible; the breast broad and full, with a very prominent round belly; the lower limbs, as well as the arms, extremely short and[Vol II Pg 17] stout. But the most extraordinary appendage of these porters, is a very large full-bottomed wig, in full curl all over, which, however, the Bramin assured me (and I really believe) is intended to represent the usual mode in which the Moonis are supposed to dress their natural hair; these gigantic genii, whose duty it is to guard the sanctuaries of the gods, requiring as formidable an appearance as possible. In other respects the images are in the Hindu costume. The lungota passes between the legs, the ends of it decorated, hanging down before and behind, over the waistband, and a curious square-linked chain, which encircles the waist. A snake entwines the body diagonally over the left shoulder, the tail and head twisted on the left breast. A small ornamented dagger is stuck in the girdle on the right loins. A pointed club of an octagonal form is held up in the right hand, and rests on the knee; the left hand, dropped down his side, grasps a circled snake, which seems to bite the fore-part of the left arm. The necklace is of fillagree-work (such as is called star); and the ears, which are large and long, are decorated with the immense ornamented cylindrical ear-rings worn by the Javan women of the present day. Round the two arms are twisted snakes, and round the wrist bracelets of beads. The waistband extends nearly to the knees. From the waist upwards the figure is naked.

The same description is applicable to the eight other pair of images, which guard the other approaches of Chándi Séwu; at twenty feet distance from the exterior line of temples, and facing inwards to each other about twelve feet apart. Each of these statues and its pedestal is of one piece of a species of pudding-stone, which must have required great care in working.

The whole site or ground-plan of these temples forms a quadrangle of five hundred and forty feet by five hundred and ten, exactly facing the cardinal points. The greater extent is on the eastern and western sides, as there allowance has been made for wider avenues leading up to the grand central temples situated within, while on the north and south sides the spaces between the small exterior temples are all alike. There is no vestige of an exterior boundary wall of any kind. The outer quadrangle, which is the limit of the[Vol II Pg 18] whole, and which encloses four others, consists of eighty-four small temples, twenty-two on each face: the second consists of seventy-six; the third of sixty-four; the fourth of forty-four; and the fifth, or inner parallelogram, of twenty-eight; in all two hundred and ninety-six small temples, disposed in five regular parallelograms. The whole of these are upon an uniform plan, eleven feet and a half square on the outside, with a small vestibule or porch, six feet two inches long, by four feet and a half externally. Within is an apartment exactly six feet square, with a door-way five feet nine inches high, by three feet four inches wide, directly opposite to which stands the seat or throne of the statue which occupied the temple. The walls inside rise square to the height of seven feet ten inches, and quite plain; thence the roof rises about five feet more in a plain pyramid, and above that a perpendicular square rises two feet more, where the roof is closed by a single stone. The interior dimensions of the porch or vestibule in front were three feet and a half by two and a half. The thickness of wall to each temple was about two feet nine inches, and of the vestibule one foot four inches. The exterior elevation of each must have been about eighteen feet, rising square to the cornices about eight or nine feet, according to the irregularities of ground, and the rest a fanciful superstructure of various forms, diminishing in size to the summit, which was crowned with a very massive circular stone, surmounted with another cylindrical one rounded off at the top. The whole of each superstructure thus formed a kind of irregular pyramid, composed of five or six retiring steps or parts, of which the three lowest appeared to me of the figure of a cross, with intermediate projecting angles to the two lower, and retired ones to the upper step, which varied in position also from the lower ones. Above that the summit appeared to rise in an octangular form, diminishing gradually to the stones above described. The same kind of stone appears also to have been placed on the four projecting angles of at least the lower part of the elevation above the body of the building. I saw none that were complete; but from the detached views I had of all, I think either nine or thirteen similar ones were disposed at the various points of the roof. Besides these, the roofs had little in the way of[Vol II Pg 19] decorations to attract notice, beyond a profusion of plain cornices, bands, fillets, or ribands, forming a kind of capital to the crest of each stage of the superstructure, and on one of them small square pilasters cut in bas-relievo at intervals.

I have already stated, that the small temples appeared to be all upon one uniform plan, differing however according to their situation. The decorations, internal and external, are alike in all, except that the interior niches are all variously filled with the endless variety of Hindu mythology.

Proceeding inwards from the southern récha, and reckoning from the centre, the distances are as follow: to the exterior line of the outer quadrangle twenty feet; depth of these temples, including porch, sixteen feet; space from thence to the next line of temples eleven feet; depth of the second quadrangle sixteen feet; thence to the third quadrangle thirty feet; supposed depth of this line sixteen feet; thence to the fourth quadrangle thirty feet; depth of the fourth quadrangle sixteen feet; thence to the fifth or inner quadrangle thirty feet; depth of the inner quadrangle sixteen feet; thence to the bottom of the flight of steps leading up to the grand temple fourteen feet; in all two hundred and fifteen feet from the centre of the porters to the bottom of the steps. The spaces between all the temples on the same line are about twelve feet and a quarter, but on the east and west sides the central avenue is larger. Between the inner quadrangle and the central temple, at a distance of five feet from the bottom step of it, runs a line of stone fourteen inches high, and two feet four inches wide.

We now come to the great temple. You ascend from each of the cardinal points by a flight of fourteen stone steps, all rough hewn, and now mostly disjointed or displaced. The length of each flight was about sixteen feet to the edge of the upper step, the breadth eight over all, and the height about ten feet, that being the elevation of the terrace of the temple. The walls of this elevated terrace projected on either side of the steps, so as to form with the walls that received the steps three sides of squares, which the Sepoy who was with me immediately said must have been intended for small tanks, one at each side of every flight of steps, for the devotees to purify themselves in before their appearance[Vol II Pg 20] at the shrine of the deity. On the third step from the bottom, on each side of it, was a figure of Hastu Singh (or the lion seated in the elephant's mouth), looking outwards and having a very fine effect. The same figures, facing outwards, supported each side of the four entrances to the vestibules. The terrace has a breadth of three feet and a half, clear of the walls of the temple all round, and as far as I could discern in the ruin, following the angles of the edifice.

The form of the building, like that at Lóro Jóngran, is a cross, with the same intermediate angular projection, in order to afford room for the grand central apartment. Entering from the east you pass through a portal, five feet eight inches in width by five feet nine inches in length (which is the thickness of the walls), into an outer vestibule, twelve feet wide by ten deep. The walls of this vestibule are ornamented with three niches, a large and two smaller ones, with pointed arches, and all the profuse decoration of Hindu architectural sculpture. In most of these niches remained the throne of the inferior deities, who the Sepoy said must have originally occupied them: not one was now to be found. The throne was generally a single stone, decorated in front with a vase and profusion of flowers, filling the whole space in a natural easy manner. Leaving this room you pass on through a door-way four feet five inches in width, and four feet in depth (the thickness of the wall), but of uncertain height, to a second vestibule, fourteen feet nine inches wide, and four feet four inches deep. At either end of this vestibule is a door, twenty-six inches wide in the clear, four feet two inches deep in the passage or width of the wall, and barely five feet and a half high, which communicates with the surrounding terrace. This vestibule is perfectly plain, with the exception of a raised spiral fluting, which surrounds the large portal or gate leading into the central apartment, and terminates near the bottom steps in the representation of the elephant's mouth and trunk, simply cut in relief on the wall, with no other addition but several strings of beads descending from the top of his proboscis. The roofs of the vestibules or limbs of the building, though entirely fallen, were originally shaped like the Syrian, that is pointed and falling down to the upper cornice of the walls, with a gentle double swell or[Vol II Pg 21] curve. The northern limb is an entire mass of confusion and ruin; but the description just given of the double vestibule on the east side of the temple, answers with a very trifling variation of dimensions to those on the south and west, but that instead of the large and spacious portal to be seen on the east, there are five very lofty niches let into the main walls about a foot, with pointed Indian arches, standing on square pilasters of the same fashion, the capitals of each of which are supported by a small, squat, doubled-up human figure, having its arms embowed over its head, which my Cicerone informed me was very common in the like situations in India. He concluded also, that images of the gods had occupied the niches in front against the main walls of the temple, on the north, south, or west sides; but we saw not one, and only the centre niches had even the thrones remaining. The niches and pilasters are surmounted with a very deep elaborate projecting cornice, crowned again with five representations of small temples on each side, and immediately over these are seen the two swells or curves of the original Syrian roof.

So far we have gone on a level with the external terrace or platform which surrounds the whole; but on the east side you ascend by a flight of eight steps, at least six feet high, through the spacious portal before mentioned, which is twelve feet high from the top of these stairs, and six feet eight inches wide in the clear, formed entirely of massive blocks of stones, well squared. The depth of the passage or thickness of the wall is ten feet. The top of the portal, which is flat or square externally, surmounted in the centre with a very large and terrible gorgon visage, changes with the ascent of the stairs, in a very artful manner, to the pyramidal form, internally, formed by the overhanging of the stones to resemble inverted square steps closed at the top with a single stone. You thus find yourself in the sanctum sanctorum, the spot which has rewarded the toil and zeal of many a weary pilgrim. My expectations were raised, and I imagined I should find the great and all-powerful Brahma seated here, in glory and majesty proportionate to the surrounding splendour and magnificence of his abode. Not a single vestige, however, remains of Brahma, or of any other deity. The apartment is a plain,[Vol II Pg 22] unadorned square, of twenty-one by eighteen feet. Four feet from the eastern wall or door is a raised platform, three feet and a half high, extending all across the room (north and south), surmounted with a deep projecting capital or crest, to ascend which are two small flights of six steps each, situated at the extremities on either hand. The walls of this sanctuary, to the height of about forty feet, rise square and plain, and are composed of uniform blocks of greyish stone, well squared, and fitting closely without cement, grooved into each other, according to the general manner of all the buildings at Brambánan. Above this is a projected cornice of three or four stones, from which the roof assumes the pyramidal form of overhanging stones, or inverted steps, to the height of ten feet nearly; thence it rises perpendicular, plain and square, for about ten feet more, and hence to the top in an octangular pyramid of overhanging stones, approaching each other gradually by tiers or layers, for nearly fifteen feet more, where it closes finally with a stone, about two and a half or three feet across.

The exterior of this great temple contains a great variety of ornamental sculpture; but no human or emblematical figures, or even niches in the walls, as in all the small temples surrounding it. The capitals of the pilasters (as in the niches against the body of the temple) are indeed supported by the very diminutive figures before mentioned; but nothing further appears in that way throughout the whole structure. The style, taste, and manner of execution, are every where light, chaste, and beautiful, evincing a fertile invention, most delicate workmanship, and experience in the art. All the figures occupying the niches of the smaller temples (and there were thirteen to each of the two hundred and ninety-six) are a wonderful variety of mythological characters, which the Brahmin said figured in the Hindu legends.

Of the small temples, at least two-thirds are strewed along the ground, or are mere ruined heaps of stone, earth, and jungle. On the third quadrangle no more than six large heaps of dilapidation remain: fields of palma christi, sugar-cane, and tobacco, occupy the place, and many detached spots on the site of the temples. Not one, in fact, is at all perfect: large trees and many kinds of herbage have shot up and split[Vol II Pg 23] them asunder. They are covered with the foliage which has hastened or produced their destruction, certainly prematurely; for the stone itself, even externally, and where it would be most perceptible, on the sculpture, exhibits not the least token of decay. The whole devastation is caused by a most luxuriant vegetation. Towering directly over the temples the waríngin, or stately banyan, is conspicuous, both for its appearance and the extraordinary damage it has caused. In short, hardly twenty of the temples give a satisfactory notion of their original form and structure.

Under such circumstances it can hardly be supposed that I examined the interior of many of them. Few could boast of the original four walls alone; but within such as I did examine I found only five of the original images occupying their places. As these five, however, were found in points very remote from, and bearing no relation to each other, and were all exactly counterparts in size, shape, character, and general appearance, I may safely conclude, that each of the two hundred and ninety-six smaller temples contained a similar image. Of these five, which are exactly the same with those Colonel Mackenzie calls Jain, only one was perfect: the others had lost their heads and received other damage in the fall of their habitations; but all were manifestly intended to represent the same figure. The Bramin maintained that these were all tupés-wurri, or devotees, represented by the Braminical founder of these temples in the act of tupísya, around the sanctuary of the divinity himself, situated in the centre of them.

Returning from Chándi Séwu towards Lóro Jóngran, about half-way on the left of the road, two hundred yards distant, are the remains of a small assemblage of temples, which, on examination, proved to consist originally of a small square of fourteen temples, with a larger one in the centre. Five temples were on the east and west faces, and four on the north and south, including throughout those at the angles. The only difference, however, between these temples and the small ones of Chándi Séwu was, that they were rather smaller, and the elevated terraces raised much higher, those of Chándi Séwu not being a foot above the ground, while these were raised nearly four feet, and had a small flight of steps and a door-way inwards towards the middle temple. The exterior[Vol II Pg 24] of all these buildings was perfectly plain, excepting a very simple square pilaster and cornice surmounting it. The central building alone possessed the very same kind of decorative sculpture which is seen on those of Chándi Séwu, was about twice the size of its neighbours, and about four feet larger either way than those of Chándi Séwu, from which it only further differed from having no porch. I shall only add to this brief notice, that the whole site of this cluster seems comprised in an area of eighty feet by sixty; that the spaces between the temples of this quadrangle are equal to the extent of each building; that only nine of the exterior temples, of which one is a mere heap of stones, exist in any form indicating their primitive order or position; and lastly, that no statuary of any kind remains, to indicate the deity in whose honour they were erected, except the relievos in the eleven niches round the central building, which certainly seemed, as the Bramin asserted, to be of the tribe of Gopias, or demigods and goddesses, which occupy the walls of the two hundred and ninety-six temples of Chándi Séwu.

The only name the Javans could give this assemblage was the generic term chándi, or temples. The inclosures of the surrounding fields attest the extent to which the farmers have turned to account the devastations made by the waríngen trees.

REMAINS at DINÁNG'AN, or RÁNDU GÚNTING.

Taking the road from Brambánan to Yúgya kérta, a little beyond the seventh furlong, you arrive at an angle bearing nearly south-west. At this angle, about sixty yards off the road to the left, a very large statue is conspicuous, standing close to the corner of the village of Dináng'an, which is behind it. Searching about I found the broken scattered remains of five other images exactly similar to it. Twenty yards in the rear of the erect image, and just to the westward of the village, a very extensive heap of blocks of hewn stone (particularly large hollow cylinders intended to hold the water used in ablution in India) intermingled with earth, points out the site of what must once have been a spacious temple, long since prostrate. The principal image is called by the Javans Béga Mínda. [Vol II Pg 25]

CHÁNDI KÁLI SÁRI, or TEMPLE of KÁLI SÁRI.

Returning to the angle of the road which I had left to inspect Béga Mínda and his maimed and headless brethren, and proceeding along the high-road, at a distance of little more than two furlongs further, I crossed the small stream now called Káli Béning, formerly Káli Búhus. A hundred and twenty yards beyond this, having the village of Káli Sári, which gives its name to the temple, close to the right hand, you turn up a path between two hedges in that direction, and at the south-western side of the village, about two hundred yards off the road, you come upon the south-east angle of a large and lofty quadrangular building, having much the appearance of a two-story house, or place of residence of a Hindu Raja. It resembles a temple in no point of view even externally. It is an oblong square, regularly divided into three floors, the ground-floor having in front a large door between two windows, and on the sides two windows corresponding to the others. The first floor appears to have three windows in front, and two in the depth, answering to the apertures below, and through the foliage which decorates and destroys this monument of grandeur, may be seen several small attic windows at intervals, seemingly on the slope of the roof: these, however, are false, as the structure has but the two floors and no other.

The external appearance of this edifice is really very striking and beautiful. The composition and execution of its outer surface evinces infinite taste and judgment, indefatigable patience and skill. Nothing can exceed the correctness and minute beauties of the sculpture throughout, which is not merely profuse, but laboured and worked up to a pitch of peculiar excellence, scarcely suitable to the exterior of any building, and hardly to be expected in much smaller subjects in the interior of the cabinet. It originally stood upon an elevated terrace of from four to six feet in height, of solid stone. The exterior dimensions of this building are fifty-seven feet and a half by thirty-three and a half, measured along the walls just above the terrace or line of the original basement, which is divided obviously enough into three parts,[Vol II Pg 26] by the centre projecting nearly a foot, and the general correspondent composition or arrangement observable in each. The door in the centre is four feet eight inches and a half wide, surmounted with the wide-gaping, monstrous visage, before described at Chándi Séwu, from which runs round each side of the portal a spiral-fluted chord, ending near the bottom in a large sweep or flourish, inclosing each a caparisoned elephant in a rising posture; the space left over its hinder quarters being filled with the face of a munnook, or human being, all in the usual style of relief. At either side of the door the original coat of stone has fallen, as far as the extremities of the vestibule, which covered the whole central compartment of the east or front of the building. In the middle of each of the other divisions is an aperture or window, nearly a square of eighteen inches, having a very deep and projected double resemblance of a cornice beneath, resting on the upper fillet of the terrace, while the same single projection crowns the top of the window, surmounted with a more lofty and elegant device of two elephants' heads and trunks, embellished and joined in a most tasteful way, with a profusion of other devices. On either side of the windows is a small double pilaster, having a space between for the figure of a small garúda, an effigy well known by the Hindus, which is human down to the waist, and has the body, wings, and talons of an eagle. Beyond the second pilaster, on each side of the windows, is a large niche rising from the terrace to the cornice or division between the upper and lower story. The niche is sunk in the wall about four inches, and is formed by the adjoining pilasters rising straight to their capitals, whence the top of the niche is formed by a very beautiful series of curved lines, leaving the point clear in the centre, which I can hardly compare to any thing but rounded branches of laurel, or some such foliage. This is crowned with a square projecting fillet, which reaches the central cornice dividing the two floors. Beyond the last pilaster of the niches, a single stone brings you to the angle of the building, which is covered from top to bottom with the running arabesque border, most delicately executed. On entering the building, the mind of every one must be fully satisfied that it was never constructed for, or dedicated to, mere religious purposes. The arrangement is[Vol II Pg 27] entirely adapted to the domestic residence of a great Hindu chieftain or raja.

The whole building, within and without, was originally covered with a coat of very fine chunam, or lime, about one-sixth of an inch thick, of surprising tenacity.

CHÁNDI KÁLI BÉNING.

Pursuing the high-road from the spot at which you leave it to visit the palace of Báli Sári, at the distance of about three furlongs and a half, a lofty, massy pile is seen, about one hundred yards off the road to the left. This ruin is of the same general form and appearance as the larger temples at Chándi Séwu and Lóro Jóngran, but on a closer examination is found to be superior to the whole, in the delicate and minute correctness of execution of all its decorative parts. It is a cross, with the intermediate angles projected to give space to a large central apartment, which is entered from the east side only. The building is about seventy-two feet three inches in length and the same in breadth. The walls are about thirty-five feet high; and the roof, which appears to have fallen in to the extent of five feet, about thirty more. Only one front or vestibule is perfect.

On the south face is seen a small door, five feet seven inches high, and three feet five inches and a half wide, situated in a deep niche, which also receives in the recess above the door a small figure of Síta, (as the Sepoy called it) in a sitting posture. Beyond the door a small projection contains probably more various elaborate specimens of the best sculpture, than were to be found any where within a small compass, and on similar materials. A very large and well defined monster's head projects over the door, surrounded with innumerable devices of excellent workmanship. I know not how to describe them, nor the niche beneath, containing Síta, which, amongst other accompaniments is supported by two small pilasters, the capitals of which are upheld by the small naked figures before described, under the generic term of munnook. The central compartment of this southern limb (which is formed by the niche and door below, and the gorgon head above) terminates at the top in a point, by a gradual elliptical slope upwards on both sides. These sides of the slope are filled, on either[Vol II Pg 28] hand, with a succession of small naked munnook figures, all seated on various postures on the steps formed for their reception, along the edges of this ellipse, and closed by a similar one above.

On either side of the door-way is a small niche, three feet high and six inches wide, supported by small pilasters, and filled with relievo figures of the fraternity of Gópias and their wives. That occupying the niche to the right, my Cicerone recognised to be Krésna. He was peculiarly happy to find Síta seated over the door, which he declared to be a decisive proof of the sense and devotional excellence of the founders of this superb temple, which he very justly extolled, as far excelling in sculptural beauty and decorations, any thing he had ever seen or heard of in India, or could possibly imagine had existence any where. This surprise and admiration at the superiority of the Javan architecture, sculpture, and statuary, over those of India, was manifest in every Sepoy who saw them. Nothing could equal the astonishment of the man who attended me throughout this survey at every thing he saw; nor did he fail to draw a very degrading and natural contrast between the ancient Javans, as Hindus and artists, and their degenerate sons, with scarce a remnant of arts, science, or of any religion at all.

The arch of all the niches is surmounted with a very lofty and magnificent representation, in bas-relievo, of a grand pyramidal temple, on a small scale, though superior in size, and far more so in execution, to those at Lóro Jóngran or at Bóro Bódo. Beyond these niches to the angles of the building, are a series of pilasters, rising to the cornice, which surmounts the whole face of each projecting vestibule. In the centre, just at the point of each niche, is a gorgon head of the usual aspect, which is surrounded by the lofty temples just described.

The exterior sides of the vestibules occupy an extent of eleven feet and a half, in the centre of which is a niche, much larger and deeper than those in the front, being about six feet high and two wide, and one deep in the clear, supported on either side by a real Hindu pilaster, already described, and the top of the niche surmounted with the gorgon head and pyramidal temple, equally well known by description. Each[Vol II Pg 29] of these niches was formerly occupied with solid statues, I imagine of Gopia. On either side of these single niches are the same series of terminating pilasters (three in number), which occur also on the fronts of the vestibules, of which the centre one is a very magnificent running arabesque, from top to bottom; the two others are plain without any variation.

A very fine coat of stucco, of excellent quality, covers the whole exterior surface of the temple, and is made so to follow the most minute and laboured strokes of skill on the stone underneath it, as even considerably to add to their effect, particularly in concealing the junction of the stones. The walls are surmounted with a deep projecting double cornice. No principal image was found in the temple or vestibules.

REMAINS OF AN ANCIENT HALL OF AUDIENCE, &c. AT KÁLI BÉNING.

The temple which I have just described stands close to the north side of the village of Káli Béning, east of which is the river of that name; and as I had never before heard of any thing further in this quarter, I fancied my work was over. I was, however, most agreeably surprised, on being told by my Javan guides that there was something more to be seen directly south of the village behind us. We accordingly passed through it, and barely one hundred and fifty yards from the temple, in a high sugar-cane and palma christi plantation, we came suddenly on two pair of very magnificent gigantic porters, all facing eastwards, each having stood about twelve feet from the others. The pedestals of all these statues are nearly covered, or rather entirely sunk into the ground. The height of each figure, from the top of the pedestal, is five feet one inch and a half, and breadth at the shoulders three feet six inches. They are generally much better executed, defined, and consequently more marked and striking in their appearance, than those I had seen. The countenance is much more marked and expressive, the nose more prominent and pointed, the eyebrows meeting in a formidable frown. The hair flows all round and down the back in large ringlets and curls, and on the ankles, instead of[Vol II Pg 30] beads, are the small circular bells common in India, under the name of googoor. These figures are called Gopolo. Behind the second pair of porters, or west of them, is a heap of ruins of brick and mortar, which proved on examination to be the remains of an ancient hall of audience or state, originally standing on fourteen pillars, with a verandah all round it standing on twenty-two pillars. The porters guarded this building exactly in the centre of its eastern front: the nearest pair scarcely thirty feet distant from it. The greatest length of the building was east and west. The inner apartment over all gave forty-seven feet in length, including the pillars: the width of the hall was twenty-eight feet and a half in the same way. A verandah, of twelve feet and a half wide all round over the pillars, surrounded the hall.

It struck me forcibly, that the house at Káli Sári was formerly the residence of some great Hindu Raja of Java; the superb temple at Káli Béning, the place of his devotions and prayers; this hall, a little south of it, that of state or audience, perhaps also of recreation after his devotions. Other ruins of brick-work, without any mixture of stone, were close by, and perhaps served as out-houses.

BÓRO BÓDO.

In the district of Bóro, in the province of Kedú, and near to the confluence of the rivers Elo and Prága, crowning a small hill, stands the temple of Bóro Bódo[210], supposed by some to have been built in the sixth, and by others in the tenth century of the Javan era. It is a square stone building consisting of seven ranges of walls, each range decreasing as you ascend, till the building terminates in a kind of dome. It occupies the whole of the upper part of a conical hill, which appears to have been cut away so as to receive the walls, and to accommodate itself to the figure of the whole structure. At the centre, resting on the very apex of the hill, is the dome before mentioned, of about fifty feet diameter; and in its present ruinous state, the upper part having [Vol II Pg 31]fallen in, only about twenty feet high. This is surrounded by a triple circle of towers, in number seventy-two, each occupied by an image looking outwards, and all connected by a stone casing of the hill, which externally has the appearance of a roof.

Descending from thence, you pass on each side of the building by steps through five handsome gateways, conducting to five successive terraces, which surround the hill on every side. The walls which support these terraces are covered with the richest sculpture on both sides, but more particularly on the side which forms an interior wall to the terrace below, and are raised so as to form a parapet on the other side. In the exterior of these parapets, at equal distances, are niches, each containing a naked figure sitting cross-legged, and considerably larger than life[211]; the total number of which is not far short of four hundred. Above each niche is a little spire, another above each of the sides of the niche, and another upon the parapet between the sides of the neighbouring niches. The design is regular; the architectural and sculptural ornaments are profuse. The bas-reliefs represent a variety of scenes, apparently mythological, and executed with considerable taste and skill. The whole area occupied by this noble building is about six hundred and twenty feet either way.

The exterior line of the ground-plan, though apparently a perfect square when viewed at a distance, is not exactly of that form, as the centre of each face, to a considerable extent, projects many feet, and so as to cover as much ground as the conical shape of the hill will admit: the same form is observed in each of the terraces.

The whole has the appearance of one solid building, and is about a hundred feet high, independently of the central spire of about twenty feet, which has fallen in. The interior consists almost entirely of the hill itself.[212] [Vol II Pg 32]

Near the site of this majestic edifice was found a mutilated stone image of Brahma, and at no great distance, situated within a few yards of the confluence of the rivers Elo and Prága, are the remains of several very beautifully executed and interesting temples, in form and design corresponding with those in the neighbourhood of Brambánan. In niches and on the walls of these are designed in relief numerous figures with many arms, evidently of the Braminical order, most of them having their several attributes perfect. It is remarkable that at Bóro Bódo no figures of this description occur.

The image of the harpy (No. 1. of the annexed plate) was taken from the temple at Bóro Bódo and brought to England: it is of stone, in length about twenty inches, and exceedingly well executed. The other subjects in this plate were not found in this neighbourhood. No. 2 is a stone box about a foot square, containing a small golden lingam: it was recently dug up near Málang by a peasant, who was levelling the ground for a cooking place. No. 3 and 4 are representations of ornamental stone water-spouts, collected in the vicinity of Pakalung'an. No. 5 is an ornamental corner stone, now lying among the ruins of Majapáhit, the figure carved upon which is nearly as large as life.

Next to Bóro Bódo in importance, and perhaps still more interesting, are the extensive ruins which are found on Gúnung Díeng, the supposed residence of the gods and demigods of antiquity[213]. This mountain, from its resemblance to the hull of a vessel, is also called Gúnung Práhu. It is situated northward and westward of the mountain Sindóro, which forms the boundary between Kedú and Bányumas, and terminates a range of hills running east from the mountain of Tegál. There are no less than twenty-nine different peaks of this mountain, or rather cluster of mountains, each of which has its peculiar name, and is remarkable for some peculiar production or natural phenomenon.

On a table-land about six hundred feet higher than the surrounding[Vol II Pg 33] country, which is some thousand feet above the level of the sea, are found the remains of various temples, idols, and other sculpture, too numerous to be described in this place. A subject in stone, having three faces, and another with four arms, having a ball or globe in one hand and a thunderbolt in another, were the most conspicuous.

The ascent from the country below to the table-land on which these temples stood is by four flights of stone steps, on four different sides of the hill, consisting of not less than one thousand steps each. The ascent from the southern side is now in many parts steep and rocky, and in some places almost inaccessible, but the traveller is much assisted by the dilapidated remains of the stone steps, which appear to be of the greatest antiquity. Time alone, indeed, cannot have so completely demolished a work, of which the materials were so durable and the construction so solid. The greatest part of this wonderful memorial of human industry lies buried under huge masses of rock and lava; and innumerable proofs are afforded of the mountain having, at some period since the formation of the steps, been in a state of violent eruption. Near the summit of one of the hills there is a crater of about half a mile diameter.

At no great distance from this crater, in a north-west direction, is situated a plain or table-land, surrounded on all sides but one by a ridge of mountains about a thousand feet above it. At some very remote period it was perhaps itself the crater of a vast volcano. On its border are the remains of four temples of stone, greatly dilapidated, but manifestly by the effect of some violent shock or concussion of the earth. The largest of them is about forty feet square: the walls are ten feet thick, and the height about thirty-five feet. The only apartment which it contains is not more than twenty feet square, and has only one entrance. The roof is arched to a point in the centre, about twenty feet high above the walls, so that the whole building was almost one solid mass of masonry, composed of the most durable cut stone, in blocks of from one to two feet long and about nine inches square. Yet these walls, so constructed, are rent to the bottom. It was particularly observable, that little or no injury had been done by vegetation, the climate being unfa[Vol II Pg 34]vourable to the waríngen, whose roots are so destructive to the buildings of the lower regions. The entablatures of these buildings still exhibit specimens of delicate and very elegant sculpture. Several deep excavations are observed in the neighbourhood. These, it is said, were made by the natives, in search of gold utensils, images, and coins, many of which have, from time to time, been dug up here.

The whole of the plain is covered with scattered ruins and large fragments of hewn stone to a considerable distance. In the centre are four more temples, nearly similar to those before mentioned, but in a much better state of preservation, the sculpture being in many places quite perfect. Numerous images of deities are scattered about.

On a more minute examination of this plain, traces of the site of nearly four hundred temples were discovered, having broad and extensive streets or roads running between them at right angles. The ground-plan of these, as far as it could be ascertained, with sketches of the different images, ornaments, and temples, which distinguish this classic ground, have been made by Captain Baker, who devoted three weeks to the accomplishment of this interesting object. At present I have it only in my power to exhibit a drawing of one of the temples, in the state in which it was found in 1815, with the same temple restored to what it originally was.

The whole of the country lying between Gúnung Díeng and Brambánan, in a line nearly crossing the central part of the island, abounds with ruins of temples, dilapidated images, and traces of Hinduism. Many of the villagers between Blédran and Jétis, in the road from Bányumas through Kedú, have availed themselves of the extensive remains to form the walls of their buildings. In the enclosures to several of the villages (which are here frequently walled in) are discovered large stones, some representing gorgon heads, others beautifully executed in relief, which had formed the friezes and cornices of temples, all regularly cut so as to be morticed together, but now heaped one upon another in the utmost confusion and disorder.

Along the fields, and by the road-side, between Jétis and Mágelan, are seen in ditches or elsewhere many beautiful remains of sculpture, and among them many yonis and lin[Vol II Pg 35]-gams, where they seem not only to be entirely disregarded by the natives, but thrown on one side as if in the way.

Thee following is the account given by Dr. Horsfield of the ruins found in the Eastern Provinces of the native princes, in the year 1815.

KEDÍRI, &c.

In the districts of Jagarága, Charúban, Ráwa, Kalángbret, Trengáli, Pranarága, and Magetán, these antiquities are dispersed solitary at occasional points, and consist principally of images or réchas. The remains of buildings, and of towns and cities, generally distinguished by the name of Kóta-bedáh, are also noticed; but Mádion, Kértasána, Kedíri, and Sreng'át, contain very important and interesting antiquities.

In regarding them, the vicinity of the former capital of the princes of the house of Majapáhit strikingly offers itself for consideration; and a traveller perceives them to increase in number, as he proceeds from the western to the eastern districts.

Commencing my notices from the westward, I have to point out in Mádion four monuments, or stones covered with inscriptions: these, with several pedestals and other remains of ancient buildings, have been collected and employed at Mauspáti, the capital of Mádion, lately established by Ráden Ráng'ga, the well known rebel of the Yúgya-kerta court. On the largest of these monuments the characters of the inscription are still in a great degree distinguishable, and these I have carefully taken off; on the others, which are smaller, the characters, although completely perceivable, are too much obliterated by the decomposition and decay of the substance of the stone to afford a copy. Besides these inscriptions; remains of buildings, pedestals, and réchas of different sizes, have also been collected from various parts of this province, and employed to decorate a well and bath near the capital. After a considerable interruption, which contains no remains at present, I discovered, in a direction almost due east from Mauspáti, in the district of Anjóg, a monument with an inscription, in a more perfect state. In form this, as well as the[Vol II Pg 36] others, resembles the common tomb-stones of our burial grounds, exceeding them only in size: its dimensions have been carefully taken. Four sides are covered with characters; two of these were in a state sufficiently preserved to be copied with only occasional deficiencies. This stone was placed near a chándi, of which the ruins only remain. It was two stories high, built of elegant bricks, according to the usual plan and distribution. In size, it nearly agrees with that of Jábung, near Probolíngo. It is obvious, that both the dimensions and the general plan of the numerous chándis found in these eastern districts, built of these materials, are similar; at least they do not exhibit that variety, both in size and distribution, that is observed among the larger edifices built of stone.

Anjóg is connected in the east to Kértasána. In this province I found two monuments covered with inscriptions, a kótah bedáh, or destroyed capital, and various réchas. The district of Brébeg has lately been separated from Kértasána. The newly-appointed Tumúng'gung, in clearing and levelling the ground for a dwelling and for a new capital, on the site of the village Brébeg, discovered, by following the indication of water oozing from the surface, in a slight concavity covered by a wild vegetation, the remains of a bath, constructed with neatness, and not without taste and art. The principal excavation, which appears to have been employed as a bath, is oblong, and about ten feet in length. Six small outlets or fountains pour the water into it, which was conducted from a rivulet flowing at some distance, by small canals cut of stone, but bedded in a foundation of brick. The fountains discharging the water are covered with sculpture in relief, tolerably executed: one of these is a female figure pouring small streams from the breasts. Adjoining to this bath are several other reservoirs of water, included in the same square, and receiving the supply by the same channels. Every thing is constructed massy of regular and elegant bricks. The present Tumúng'gung has collected, near this bath, many réchas and other antiquities from various parts of the district: among these was found one small inscription. Towards the foot of mount Wílis, in a southern direction from Brébeg, I visited, at the village Ng'etos, a chándi constructed of brick, and still[Vol II Pg 37] entire, with only partial dilapidation of the ornamental parts. It is on the whole very similar to the appearance exhibited by the remains of the chándi at Anjóg, and to the others constructed of bricks in the eastern districts above mentioned. Near this is a smaller chándi, of the same construction, in ruins, with various other remains of antiquity.

The environs of the capital of Kediri abound with antiquities of every kind; but it is evident that here, more than at other places, great expense and labour has been bestowed to demolish the buildings and to mutilate the images. In all parts of the site of the present capital I noticed fragments covered with sculpture in relief, broken réchas, and regularly chiselled oblong stones, of that kind which was employed in the construction of the chándis, besides very extensive foundations, in brick, of walls, buildings, &c. I am further led to suppose, from the regularity and elegance of the materials employed, that a Mahomedan temple and grave have been constructed almost entirely from an ancient building demolished for the purpose, at the period of the introduction of the Mahomedan religion. This temple is called Astána Gedóng, but none of the present inhabitants can give any information as to the period of its construction. As it is of Mahomedan origin I took only a very slight view of it, to avoid the disagreeable gesticulations which the natives always exhibited on the approach of one of their sanctuaries; and it is a very comfortable circumstance that a traveller is freely permitted to examine undisturbed, all those antiquities which are unequivocally derived from a period preceding the introduction of Mahomedanism, or from what the natives call "wong kúna, kapir, or buda."

I shall shortly enumerate the principal antiquities of Kedíri which I visited, and only mention the names of those villages where the greatest number of réchas are dispersed. These are Pápar, Kebo-gádung, Gadúngan and Págot.

The cave of Séla-mángleng is situated about two miles in a western direction from the capital, at the foot of the hill Klótok, an appendage to the large mountain of Wílis: it consists of four small apartments cut into the solid rock composing the hill, on a very gentle eminence. The apartments are adjoining to each other, forming a regular series, which[Vol II Pg 38] stretches from north to south. The two middle apartments, which are the largest, have each an entrance from without, while those at the extremity communicate by an interior door, each with the apartment next to it. They differ but little in size. Their form is square or oblong; the largest is less than twenty feet in length. The walls of the two principal apartments are covered with sculpture, and various platforms and projections indicate the places of devotion or penance. Several réchas now arranged in the avenue leading to the cave, as well as the sculpture covering the walls of the apartments within, are handsomely worked; but the external sculpture of the rock is coarse, and the steps by which one ascends, which are cut out of the same general mass of rock, appear to have been made intentionally rude. Several niches for réchas, lamps, &c. are cut in various parts of the walls; a lingam, several reservoirs of water, and other figures are arranged on the vestibule. Of an inscription on the external rock, one regular line, stretching from the door of the outer apartments to the northern extremity of the rock, is still discernible, but many of the characters are probably too much effaced to afford an explanation.

In an eastern direction from the capital of Kedíri, the antiquities of Séntul and of Prúdung are the most remarkable. Séntul is situated near the district of Tiga-wángi, in a forest, the condition of which indicates an undisturbed vegetation for many successive ages. The dimensions of the principal edifice, now remaining nearly entire, are comparatively inconsiderable, but the workmanship is executed in a style of elegance, equal to that of any antiquity found on the island. By the present inhabitants the building is denominated a chúnkup, which word, in as far as it admits of a precise translation, denotes a place of burial or a repository of the dead. It appears to resemble, in its general scheme, several of the other principal antiquities of Java, being a solid massy structure, without any internal apartment or chamber, as a chándi, but affording, on the summit, an extensive platform or place of devotion, to which one of the sides is appropriated to furnish an ascent, while the others are perpendicular. The access to the chúnkup was from the west. Not only the sides of the stairs, but the perpendicular walls of the building, are ornamented[Vol II Pg 39] by entablatures, the internal divisions of which are covered by elegant sculpture, while the projections are carved into a great variety of forms, which can only be represented clearly by a drawing. A few images, removed from their original situation, are dispersed through different parts of the surrounding area, displaying an exquisite workmanship. On the summit remains an highly elegant reservoir of water of uncommon dimensions. The plan of this building is a nearly regular square, the sides of which are about thirty-six feet in length.

It contains in its foundation a subterraneous cell, to which the descent is by very narrow steps, leading from the south: this consists of three compartments, gradually decreasing in dimensions as they extend into the body of the building. The height of the cell does not permit a person to stand erect, and no vestiges indicate its former appropriation, whether as a place of devotion or penance, or for the reception of the remains of the person to whose memory devotion was paid on the summit.

Near this chúnkup is a smaller building of the same kind, equally ornamented by handsome sculpture. The remaining bases of numerous walls shew the division of the surrounding court into many compartments, and the whole adjoining territory was included within a wall constructed of brick, of which I found the vestiges in various points, and numerous separate foundations and detached fragments of chiseled stone remain within the exterior wall in the confines of the chúnkup.

In proceeding from Séntul, in an eastern direction, to the extremity of the province of Kedíri, solitary remains of antiquity are occasionally found; and it is probable that these extend, without considerable interruption, towards the celebrated antiquities of Málang. Among these, túgus or landmarks are also observed.

The chándi of Prúdung is situated about eight miles south-west of Séntul. Though constructed entirely of brick, this edifice deserves particular notice. It exceeds in its dimensions and importance all other edifices built of the same materials that I have seen. Besides a principal apartment, the entrance to which is from the west, it contains in the east, the north, and the south, smaller apartments on the same floor,[Vol II Pg 40] whose entrance corresponds to the niches usually observed in the walls. The projecting base containing the stairs has been destroyed, and one ascends at present to view the interior of the chándi by a ladder, the height of about twenty feet. The dimensions of the ornaments and figures on the sides correspond to the size of the building, and the sculpture is executed in a superior style. Following a southern direction, réchas, reservoirs of water, mortars, fragments of buildings and ornaments, are found at almost every village. Near the boundary, but within the province of Sreng'át, a chándi of brick, of the usual size, still remains entire near the village Genéngan.

The réchas which have been accumulated at the capital of Sreng'át from the vicinity, indicate the condition of the ancient establishments, as the general review of the antiquities found in this province, strongly points out that its former culture was very different from its present rudeness. Places which are now covered with almost impenetrable forests, like those surrounding the chúnkup of Séntul, the first appearance of which would indicate an undisturbed growth from the origin of vegetation, are found to conceal the most stupendous monuments of human art and labour. During various botanical excursions which I made through this province, I discovered (or rather was led to them by the natives) the chándi of Gedóg, the antiquities at Penatáran, and various monuments covered with inscriptions, which I shall separately enumerate below.

The chándi of Gedóg is a structure in the usual style of brick, but executed with superior excellence, while much of the ornamental work is supplied of stone. Several of the sides are still entire, but the base of the entrance or steps has gradually separated. Gedóg is situated near Blitar, formerly a capital, but now reduced to a simple village. Here, also, interesting antiquities are found, among which the site of a deserted capital, with its walls and many stone pedestals, attract the notice of the traveller.

Proceeding in a nearly north-east direction, I visited the antiquities at Penatáran. These, if not of the first rank, must doubtless be considered as belonging to those of second importance and interest, both on account of extent and execution; but a complete and accurate description would require a detail too extensive for my present purpose. The greatest[Vol II Pg 41] part of these antiquities is now in ruins. Their general plan indicates an appropriation both to purposes of devotion and habitation. They comprize an extensive area of an oblong form, which was surrounded by an external wall of which the foundations can be traced throughout, and the whole was divided into three compartments. The principal edifice is situated in the eastern compartment, and was only accessible after passing three separate gates, which are all discernible, although much decayed. They are individually guarded as at Chándi séwu and Sínga-sári, by porters resting on their hams, while a knee is drawn up to support the hand clasping a club of proportionate size. The principal gate, in ancient times probably the only entrance, is of huge dimensions, and guarded by porters of gigantic size. This led to the first subdivision of the whole area, in which two elevated plains, of an oblong form, confined by walls rising above the surrounding territory, and in all probability the floors of former places of dwelling, are the most interesting objects that now remain.

One of these plains extends to the north-east extremity, having been in contact with the external wall, as appears from its relative situation to the gate, and to the foundations that still exist; this is of great dimensions: the other inclines more to the middle of this compartment, and is somewhat less in extent. Both exhibit the appearance of having supported a building, and are elevated at present about three feet above the level of the surrounding forest, while the same depth is concealed by a layer of vegetable mould, accumulated during many successive ages. The sides of the smaller plain are covered with elegant sculpture in relief, the detail of the design of which would alone require a considerable time. Four entrances are indicated by as many flights of steps, the sides of which are elegantly decorated, and the pedestals still remaining at regular intervals along the confines, having the form of truncated pyramids, appear to shew that it was covered by a roof supported by wooden pillars, somewhat in the style of the pasébans of the present Javans. Similar pedestals are likewise placed in regular order along the sides of the large plain, which has the same number of entrances as the smaller, of which those in the north and south are guarded by porters of comparatively small stature. [Vol II Pg 42]

The second compartment is less extensive than the western: a small chúndi of excellent workmanship, built of stone, here attracts particular notice. The remains of various buildings, pedestals, and broken ornaments, are also observed, and it is probable that others are concealed by the forest and mould which covers this compartment, which must be considered as the vestibule to the third or eastern division, containing the principal edifice: this of the various remains of the whole area deserves the most attention. It is indeed a surprising and a wonderful work: both the labour required in the construction, and the art displayed in the decoration are incalculable. The general base is a large square, but each of the sides has a particular projection in the middle, the largest being in the west, where the ascents are placed, by which the outline exhibits twelve angles. It belongs to the same class of buildings as that at Séntul, containing no chamber or vacancy within, but exhibiting a solid mass, highly decorated at the sides, and affording externally places of devotion. It consists of three different compartments, successively of smaller dimensions. Two pair of steps, one to the north, the other to the south of the most projecting part of the western side, lead to the area furnished by the lower compartment, the form of which agrees with the general base. From the middle of the most projecting part of the western side of this area, a single flight of steps conducts to the second, and is immediately continued to the third area on the summit of the whole building. The second compartment does not agree in form with the general base, but by means of the diverging of the sides in a direction opposite to the most projecting parts of the lower area, it furnishes in the west a plain before the steps, and in the north, the south, and the east, extensive areas or squares, which were probably destined for particular worship. By the form of the second compartment the second area is likewise modified; but to demonstrate this a plan would be required; and I shall only add, that the upper area was a regular square, but as appears from the remains of various foundations, subdivided into partitions.

Here the figure of Bráma (the récha with four faces) is placed alone, of a workmanship and finish superlatively excellent. It is to be remarked in this place, that besides this,[Vol II Pg 43] only one image is found on this structure, attached to the walls of the second compartment, facing the smaller area on the base, from which it appears to have been worshipped. I shall not enter into a detail of the sculpture which covers all the sides of the three compartments: its diversity far exceeds the bounds of my examination or description. In the intelligent visitor it excites astonishment, and displays a degree of art and of taste, equal, as far as my opportunities for observation have extended, to that of any of the other remains of antiquity found on Java.

In clearing up part of the rubbish that surrounded the southern sides of this edifice, I was fortunate enough to discover a monument covered with an inscription of the usual size and form; but the characters have suffered much from time.

Of other antiquities which fell under my observation in the province of Sreng'át, I shall only mention those at Semánding and Sangráhan. These, from their semblance to the edifice at Séntul, appear to have contained the remains of the dead, and to have been employed to celebrate their memory. They are considered as chúnkups by the natives. Each has something particular in its structure and appropriation; but I shall not extend these details. Various spots were mentioned by the inhabitants, which are now covered with a close forest, in which less considerable remains, réchas, &c. are found, and others are probably concealed or unknown. They existed also on the south side of the large river flowing from the east, a branch of the river of Kedíri and Surabáya, in the tract of Ludáya, celebrated at present only on account of the wildness of the territory. Among these I visited a monument covered with inscriptions in a highly preserved condition. In my botanical excursions through this and the neighbouring districts, I also met with various caverns and other remains, the retreat of fakirs, hermits, &c. to which the approach is difficult or painful: they are distinguished by the denomination of Ber-tápa.

Proceeding further east, the ruins in the district of Málang next attract our attention. These I visited in 1815. [Vol II Pg 44]

RUINS AT SINGA SARI, &c. IN THE DISTRICT OF MALANG.

We first proceeded from Pasúruan to Láwang, mounting our horses at the ruins of a fort, which for some time withstood the Dutch arms on their first taking possession of these districts. Further on, between Láwang and Málang, the scene of a famous battle fought at that time was pointed out to us. The family of the present Regent were first appointed to the office for services rendered on that occasion. The road from Pasúruan to Láwang lay principally through forests, in which we observed the waríngen to predominate.

On the next morning we visited the ruins of Singa Sári, which are situated a few paces within the entrance of a teak forest, about four miles from Láwang, and on the right of the high-road leading to Málang.

The first object which attracted our attention was the ruins of a chándi or temple. It is a square building, having the entrance on the western side: its present height may be about thirty feet. Over the entrance is an enormous gorgon head, and a similar ornament appears originally to have been placed on each of the other sides of the building, over the niches, which correspond with the entrance on the western side. In one of these niches we observed an image lying flat on the ground, with its head off: in another, the pedestal of an image, which we were informed had been taken away by Mr. Engelhard; and where the traces of a third niche appeared, the stones had been removed, and a deep hole dug, so as to disfigure, and in a great measure demolish, this part of the building. This was also attributed to Mr. Engelhard's agents.

On entering the chándi, to which we ascended by stones which had evidently been once placed as steps, we observed a very deep excavation, and a large square stone upset and thrown on one side. We ordered it to be filled up and the large stone replaced. There was a round hole passing completely through the centre of this stone, which, whether it had been an altar, the pedestal to some image, or a yóní, we could not ascertain. [Vol II Pg 45]

Without the building, on part of the ruins which appeared to have been the lower terrace, we noticed two porters, with clubs in their hands, resting on the shoulder. The features were entirely defaced, and the images rude; but we easily recognized their similarity to the porters at Brambánan. They were, however, not above three feet high.

The devices, ornaments, and general style of this temple are not very different from those of the great temple at Brambánan: the cornices and mouldings are no less rich and well executed. The external form of the building may differ, but the recess, or chamber within, seems on the same principle. There is no inlet for the light from above.

Proceeding a short distance further into the forest, we found several images of the Hindu mythology, in excellent preservation, and more highly executed than any we had previously seen in the island. In the centre, without protection from the weather, was the bull Nándi, quite perfect, with the exception of the horns, one of which was lying by the side of it. This image is above five feet and a half long, in high preservation, and of excellent proportion and workmanship.

Near the bull, and placed against a tree, is a magnificent Brahma. The four heads are perfect, except that there is a mutilation about the nose. The figure is highly ornamented, and more richly dressed than is usual.

Not far off we noticed Mahadéwa, known by his trident. On the stone from which this is cut in relief are several Devanágari characters.

Another stone, with a figure nearly similar, stood by it. A Hindu Sepoy, who accompanied us, asserted that it represented a Bramin, but it was too mutilated for us to ascertain the point.

A car or chariot of Súria, or the sun, with seven horses, of which the heads were wanting, was the only other object of antiquity in this groupe. The horses are at full speed, with extended tails, and the square of the chariot seems to have once formed the pedestal of an image.

At the distance of about a hundred yards from this spot, we were conducted to a magnificent Ganésa of a colossal size, most beautifully executed, and in high preservation.[Vol II Pg 46] The pedestal is surrounded by skulls, and skulls seem used not only as ear-rings, but as the decoration of every part to which they can be applied. The head and trunk are very correct imitations of nature. The figure appears to have stood on a platform of stone; and from the number of stones scattered, it is not improbable it may have been inclosed in a niche or temple.

Still further in the wood, at a short distance, we found another colossal statue, of the same stamp as the porters at Brambánan. This statue was lying on its face at the entrance of an elevated stone terrace: but the people having excavated and cleared the earth around, we were enabled distinctly to examine the face and front. It measures in length about twelve feet, breadth between the shoulders nine feet and a half, and at the base nine feet by five, and is cut from one solid stone. The figure is represented as sitting on its hams, with the hand resting on each knee, but no club, although it is not impossible it may have been broken off. The countenance is well expressed and the nose prominent; but this feature, as well as the mouth and chin, have suffered injury from partial mutilation.

The statue seems evidently to have fallen from the adjacent elevated terrace, which is about eighteen feet high in its present dilapidated state, and is built of stones, the upper ones being immense slabs of five feet by four, and three feet thick. A second figure of the same dimensions was afterwards found in the vicinity; these were no doubt porters who guarded the entrance to these temples.

Having visited all that could be traced in the vicinity of Singa Sári, we proceeded on to Málang, distant thirteen palls from Láwang, and in the evening we visited the ruins of Súpit-úrang, usually called Kótah Bédah, or demolished, fort, the site of the last establishment of the refugees from Majapáhit.

The wall of this fortification is of brick, and the foundation is traced without difficulty. We rode round it within side, and as far as we could calculate it could not measure less than two miles round. It is of an irregular figure, but in a position rendered remarkably strong by two rivers, which run their course round three-fourths of the wall, and then unite.[Vol II Pg 47] The depth from the wall to the rivers is from fifty to a hundred feet, and in some places still more; in many parts the descent is nearly perpendicular. Where the rivers do not encircle the walls, a deep moat is cut from one river to the other, which is easily flooded by stopping the course of either river. It is about seventy-five feet wide and not less than fifty deep, even in its present state, filled up no doubt considerably, and in many parts cultivated. There appear to be several dwellings, if not villages, within the walls, and a good deal of cultivation, principally of tobacco.

The next morning we proceeded to visit the ruins at Kédal and Jágu, the former about seven miles, the latter nearly four from Málang, in a south-easterly direction.

At Kédal are the remains of a very beautiful temple of stone: its present height about thirty-five feet. The building is supported by a lion at each of the four cornices, and one on each side of the steps of the entrance. In the centre of each of the lower departments, between the lions, are figures in relief upon the wall. The mouldings and sculpture on this temple are in the same style as those of Brambánan and Bóro Bódo, but of still greater beauty. The building is surrounded by a square wall, and in the front is a raised terrace. The chamber appears to be of the same form as most of the temples in Java. Over the entrance is an immense gorgon head, and in the chamber itself a deep hole.

There are no Hindu images or other traces of Hindu mythology, except what may be afforded by the lions, and the figures in relief above mentioned. These represent the same principal figure, but with different attributes. On one side three immense serpents entwine over the head, the tail of one of them evidently held in the right hand; on another a water-pot, with a serpent's head attached to it, is on the head of the figure; and on the other there is a female figure with a serpent, the female reclining over the head.

This temple is just within the skirts of a forest.

At Jágu, also, we found the ruins a few yards within a forest, but these appeared to have been more extensive than the preceding.

The base of the principal building is much larger than any[Vol II Pg 48] of the temples we visited in the eastern part of the island, and there appeared to have been originally two or three terraces rising one above the other to the height of thirty feet. The form of the entrance still appears, but the roof, sides, and back part of the building, have entirely given way. Behind the ruin, and apparently in the same spot on which it originally fell, lies a dilapidated image of a Hindu deity. The pedestal of this image is perfect, and lies near it. The head had been carried to Mélang some years ago by a Dutchman. On the back stone we observed an inscription, evidently in the Devanágari character, and which the Sepoy who accompanied us declared to be Sanscrit. The characters on each side were extremely distinct, but those at the back of the head of the figure were defaced.

This building is most richly ornamented with carved work, and various devices in relief are cut in the first, second, and third stories. One of these relievos represents a battle between an army of apparently polished people and an army of Rasáksa. The figures are very rudely carved and disproportioned, but in general richness of effect may be compared to the style of the ornaments at Bóro Bódo. There are a variety of processions and achievements represented in different parts, but no where could we observe any image or particular object of devotion. Along the cornices, which are most splendidly rich, we noticed birds and beasts of various descriptions interwoven. In one part a palm tree between two lambs approaching each other, in another a perfect boar, apparently led to the sacrifice.

At a short distance from this principal building, say fifty yards, stands the remains of what would appear to have been an elevated terrace of about twelve feet high. The ascent is on one side, by regular stone steps, still perfect.

Previously to leaving Málang we took sketches of two images brought in from the fort, and also of the image of a man, peculiar from the manner in which the hair was tied. At Málang, also, I received from the Tumúng'gung a small square stone-box, containing a golden lingam; this had been discovered three months before, about a cubit under ground, by a peasant, while digging for stones to build his cooking[Vol II Pg 49] place. The lingam had originally two very small red stones within it, something like rubies; one of them was lost before it was delivered to me, the other by the party examining it.

TEMPLES AT SÚKU.

The remains of antiquity still existing at Súku, though not to be compared with those at Brambánan and Bóro Bódo in extent and magnificence, seem to claim a peculiar interest, on account of the indication they afford of a different form of worship. These ruins were not known to Europeans until a short time previous to my visit to the central districts, in May 1815. When I visited them, the native inhabitants of Súra-kérta were also ignorant of their existence, and we are indebted for the discovery to the British Resident at that court, Major Martin Johnson.

They lie in an eastern direction from Séra-kerta, and are distant from that capital about twenty-six English miles, being situated on the summit of one of the smaller hills to be found on the base of the mountain Láwu. From Súra-kérta our road was a continued ascent, which increased as we approached the hills: the country most highly cultivated, and in the immediate vicinity of the hills, where the dry cultivation predominated, beautiful beyond description.

Súku is the name of the village to which the lands in the neighbourhood of these ruins are annexed; and we were not able to ascertain that they were designated by any other name, or that the term Súku had any immediate reference or application to the buildings.

The principal structure is a truncated pyramid, situated on the most elevated of three successive terraces. The ruins of two obelisks, having the form of the section of a pyramid, are also observable in the vicinity of the principal building, and on each side of the western front appear several piles of ruinous buildings and sculpture. The length of the terraces is about one hundred and fifty-seven feet; the depth of the first, eighty feet; of the second, thirty; and of the highest, one hundred and thirty feet.

The approach is from the west, through three porches or gateways, of which the outermost alone is now standing; but enough remains of the second and third to indicate a similarity of construction. This porch is a building of about six[Vol II Pg 50]teen feet high, in tolerable preservation, of a pyramidal form. The entrance is seven feet and a half high, and about three feet wide; a gorgon head forms the key-stone of the arch. The ascent is first by seven, and shortly after by three steps; and in relief, on the centre of the flooring under the porch, is a representation of the male and female pudenda.

On the outer face of the porch several figures are sculptured in relief. On the right side, the principal figure is that of a man of monstrous appearance devouring a child: to his right a dog sitting, the head wanting, and a bird of the stork kind near the root of a tree, on one of the branches of which a bird not unlike a dove or pigeon is perched; over the figure is a bird on the wing, either the hawk or eagle. Above the figure of a man with the tail of a writhing snake in his mouth, is another which appeared to us to be that of a sphynx; it is however represented as floating in the air, with the legs, arms, and tail extended. The tail is similar to that of the lizard species, and the hands appear to be webbed claws, but the body, limbs, and face, are human: the breasts distinguish it as female. Over this again is a small curling reptile, like a worm or small snake, reminding us of the asp.

On the north and on the south face of the gateway there is a colossal eagle with extended wings, holding in its talons an immense serpent, plaited in three folds, its head turned towards the eagle and ornamented with a coronet.

It was impossible to reflect on the design of these sculptures, without being forcibly struck with their reference to the ancient worship of Egypt. The form of the gateway itself, and of all the ruins within our view, was pyramidal. In the monster devouring the child we were reminded of Typhon; in the dog, of Anoubis; in the stork, of the Ibis: the tree, too, seemed to be the palm, by which the Egyptians designated the year; the pigeon, the hawk, the immense serpents, were all symbols of Egyptian worship.

Lying on the first terrace we observed several scattered stones, having various devices sculptured on them, some of human figures, one of a tiger wanting the head, which had been broken off, and several of elephants and oxen. On one we noticed the representation of a man on horseback, followed by five spearmen and a páyong bearer. We then ascended[Vol II Pg 51] by five steps to the second terrace, on which were also some scattered ruins of buildings and sculpture. Ascending again three steps we came to the third terrace, when the principal building appeared in front, at the distance of about ninety feet. The ruins of several other temples and buildings also appeared in irregular heaps on each side of its front.

This building is on the centre of the terrace. Its base is a perfect square, of forty-three feet and a half to the side, decreasing in size at each successive layer of stones, so as to form steps to the height of nineteen feet; above this is a sort of cornice, four feet nine inches high. The roof is twenty-one feet two inches from north to south, and nineteen feet nine inches from east to west. In the centre of it we observed a part raised, of about a foot square, pierced by a small round hole. It had the appearance of being intended as a pedestal, or step, to some object which had been removed.

The sides of the pyramid face the cardinal points. The western side contains a flight of narrow steps. At the top, in the front of the building, we noticed two serpents, which appear to have been used for water-pipes; with this exception, the whole building was plain and unornamented by sacred emblems. The sides of the staircase are faced with flat stones. The upper story or cornice is constructed with greater delicacy than the building generally. We were not able to ascertain whether there was any chamber within, and the point cannot be decided without material injury to the edifice. The eastern side seems to have suffered most from the effects of time.

Upon the ground on each side of the ascent is a large stone, in the shape of a tortoise, measuring not less than eight feet in length; the back flat, but the head well executed. A little advanced in front there is a third of the same description.

Near these, on the south side of the entrance, stand the remains of two temples, in one of which we discovered the ashes of fire recently kindled. The natives who attended informed us that the peasantry of the neighbouring villages were still in the habit of burning incense and kindling fire in this temple, and that when they suffered under or dreaded any misfortune, they made an offering of this nature in the hope of averting it. The building is about seven feet square, and on all sides various images are sculptured on it. [Vol II Pg 52]

The other building, which is still further south, has a terrace in the centre, the steps ascending to which are still perfect. The building appears to retain nothing of its original pyramidal form, except at the south-east corner.

On different sides of this pile of building we noticed two inscriptions, each consisting of four characters. As they both agreed with various other inscriptions in this neighbourhood, except in the last character, which was different in all, we concluded that they were dates. To the north of the principal building, and almost contiguous to it, is an oblong structure, running east and west. On this there has evidently been a low terrace with a raised wall at the back. On the upper part of this terrace, and near the principal building, is a raised platform, from which rises an obelisk, somewhat similar to that noticed in the south, but of a much larger base, and ornamented with various devices on all sides. The spiral top is incomplete. Resting inclined upon the west front of the obelisk, is a statue, about four feet high and three feet broad[214].

On each side of the terrace, which is narrow and long, we observed, both above and below, various devices cut in relief; also a stone vase for containing water, respecting which a tradition runs, that it could never be empty. We also raised from the ground and took sketches of several slabs and stones in the vicinity, which had been thrown down on their faces. Of these, one represents a horned boar[215]. On another is an elephant, tolerably well executed. In another the chief figure is represented striking off human heads[216]. On another there is a dog standing erect, and dressed like a man, with some buildings remarkable for the correctness of the perspective. On another is a representation of the monkey flag[217], the standard of Arjúna, and even used at the present day by the Gládak[218] established at Súra-kérta.

We discovered, nearly buried in the ground, two gigantic statues with human bodies and limbs, but winged from the arms like bats, and with spurs above the heel like those of a [Vol II Pg 53]cock. This figure occurs frequently in relief with some variation: sometimes with a fan-tail, and its wings extended, so as almost to form a circle[219]; in another the face appears devoid of flesh, and the figure is standing with one foot on an elephant and the other on a tortoise[220].

On the lappet of the waistband of one of these colossal statues we noticed an inscription of several lines; but the most interesting and perfect was discovered on the back of the other, after we had with much difficulty raised it to an erect posture. This last inscription is in excellent preservation, and consists of lines, in each of which there are characters. The perfect state of this part of the stone must be attributed to its having been protected from the weather by its position along the ground. This inscription, as well as all the others which we discovered, are raised from the stone in relief, in the same character as that first noticed, which differs from most which had previously been discovered on the island[221].

We noticed particularly, as forming an exception to the sculptures in general, another figure with four hands. It has a coronet on the head, and ear-rings, and from the back of the ear on each side appear to spring wings, which are half expanded over the back of each shoulder. The arms and hands were too mutilated to enable us to distinguish the attributes.

A little nearer to the north of the tortoises, in front of the principal building, stands a large erect statue[222], apparently in its original position; at the back of which, on a scroll hanging from the waistband, is an inscription of several lines; a figure holding a double-headed trident in each hand and having three spikes on each elbow, rudely executed, and elsewhere a phallus, upwards of six feet long and not less than five in circumference. It had been broken in halves, but the two parts were easily brought together: round the upper part are four large balls of equal dimensions: along the urethra is an inscription in two lines, the letters being one above the other, and on the upper part of one of these lines is the representation of a kris blade, and two squares crossing each other just [Vol II Pg 54]above the point, with a circle and other ornaments in the centre, so as to represent the sun; to the right of this is a representation of the moon in the first quarter; and further again to the right a small circle, representing a star: the whole in relief, very correctly executed, and in good preservation.

On one of the temples adjacent there are representations of a similar symbol cut in relief.

We observed several monstrous figures with clubs of different sizes. One in particular fronting the principal building, grinning most horribly, and two near the steps leading to the upper terrace from the south.

Below the upper terrace, on the south side, we noticed the foundation of a building of an oblong shape, with three large slabs, on which were sculptured several objects which appeared much to interest the Javans. On one we observed a manufacturer of kris blades in the act of striking the steel. Above him are placed, as in his workshop, among several blades of different forms, a trident, a water-pot, a pair of shares, and something not very unlike Mercury's wand. On another stone is seen a man with the proboscis of an elephant, and in his hand a dog; on the third is a man blowing a Javan bellows.

The natives informed us, that the country people were in the habit of making offerings to these sculptures, which they highly esteemed, from a tradition that they represented the original Javan túkang bési, or workman in iron and steel.

The workmanship is ruder than that in the temples at Brambánan, Bóro Bódo, or Málang, and the worship must have been different.

Most of the images which are not in relief have been decapitated, and the heads are not to be found; but there still remains enough to enable a person well acquainted with heathen mythology, to decide on the classes to which they may generally be referred.

I could find no traditions regarding these temples; but subsequent examination has enabled us to decide that the character found in the inscriptions is an ancient form of the Javan, and that the dates are, on one of the stones, 1361, and on the larger phallus, 1362.

Besides the ruins of temples in brick noticed by Dr. Hors[Vol II Pg 55]field in the eastern provinces of the native princes, numerous buildings constructed of similar materials, are found extending from the site of Majapáhit eastward as far as Probolíngo, near which, a few yards off the high road, are situated two temples in brick. The larger temple may be about sixty feet high.

All the temples of this class (that is to say, constructed in brick, for they all vary in their style) were probably built during the latter years of the Hindu religion. Those constructed of stone must be referred to a much earlier period.

Near Buitenzorg, and also at Récha Dómas, a few miles further inland, both places adjacent to the site of the ancient capital of Pajajáran, are found several rude images in stone, and among them a figure with three faces (trimúrti). Images of the same kind, as well as casts in metal, are also found in Chéribon. The latter are particularly prized by the chiefs of Telága, who are descended from the princes of Pajajáran, and consider these relics as representations of their forefathers. In the possession of the present Tumúng'gung of Telága is an ancient manuscript written on Javan paper, and folded up in the manner of the manuscripts of Ava. The characters appear to be ancient Javan or Káwi, but ill written. This manuscript contains drawings of deities, of the signs of the Zodiac, and numerous other astronomical, or perhaps rather astrological devices[223]. Of the history of the manuscript nothing is known, further than that the Tumúng'gung and his family believe it to have come with the relics before-mentioned from Pajajáran. A copy of it has been brought to England.

Besides the extensive remains of temples and other edifices already mentioned in the districts east of Chéribon, where alone the antiquities deserve attention as works of art, there are to be found on the mountains of Ung'árang the ruins of several very beautifully executed temples in stone, with numerous dilapidated figures, and among them several chariots of Súría, or the sun. Most of them are sadly mutilated, but enough was left to authorize a sketch of their original design[224].

The Chándi Banyukúning (yellow water), which are so [Vol II Pg 56]called from their vicinity to the village of that name, are situated within a few yards of a small volcanic crater, which at the time I visited them was in many parts too hot to be trodden with safety. They appear to have been built on extensive terraces cut out of the mountain, and rising one above another at intervals of some hundred yards. The natives assert, that the temples were formerly far more extensive, and that near the summit of several of the adjoining peaks other temples are to be found. But here, as in most parts of Java, the mountains for a considerable way below the summit have been covered for ages, with an almost impenetrable forest: and where this is not the case, the mountains have either been rent near their summit, or are covered with lava or ashes from volcanic eruptions, so that whatever may have formerly been the extent and grandeur of the edifices which once crowned these towering heights, they are at present either concealed or more frequently destroyed. Notwithstanding the diligent search made by the British during the short period of their stay on Java, there are doubtless many very interesting discoveries to be made.

In Banyuwángi, the most eastern province of the island, besides figures of Hindu deities, several others are to be found of extraordinary and grotesque appearance, which appear to represent the local deities of the island, and corresponding with those which are still worshipped on Báli. But whether they are to be considered as the deities of the Javans or Bálians is doubtful, as the Bálians long had possession of this province; and it is remarkable, that no such figures are to be found in the provinces further westward.

The traditions of the country concerning the former seats of government, enable us to trace at this day the site of Médang Kamûlan, Jang'gála, Gegélang or Sínga Sári, Dahá or Kedíri, Pajajâran, and Majapáhit, existing in remains of immense tanks, heaps of building materials, and other unequivocal vestiges of former cities.

Médang Kamúlan[225] was situated in the district of Wirasába, where in the centre of an extensive forest is pointed out the site of the Setíngel, distinguished by heaps of stones and bricks; and at no great distance from it are the walls and excavations of an extensive tank, several hundred feet [Vol II Pg 57]in length and breadth. These ruins, of which little more can be said than that they are clearly discernible, are situated between Penwadádos and the most eastern of the volcanic wells alluded to in a former part of this work. The natives have a superstition, that the site of this ancient capital cannot be visited without some misfortune attaching to the party who undertake the visit. Those whom I had, with some difficulty, induced to accompany me to the spot, did not fail to assure me that I should lose my government within the year. As the event justified the prediction, it is probable that the superstition has rather gained ground than otherwise. Many Javans maintain, that Brambánan was the original of Médang Kamúlan; it is at least highly probable that it was once the seat of empire.

The site of Jang'gála is still pointed out in the district of that name in the division of Surabáya, and the country around is strewed with antiquities. The same may be said of Síng'a Sári and Kedíri. At Pajajáran, a heap of stones is pointed out as the ruin of the Setíngel, and numerous lines crossing the country between rivers, attest the care with which this position was entrenched. They may be seen close by the road side, at a few hundred yards from the governor-general's country residence, and in many places they have been cut through to make a passage for the high road.

At Majapáhit, in the district of Wirasába, the marks of former grandeur are more manifest. Here the walls of the tank, upwards of a thousand feet in length, and not less than six hundred in breadth, are quite perfect. They are of burnt brick, and about twelve feet high. The whole area of the tank, when I visited it, was one sheet of beautiful rice cultivation, and almost surrounded by a noble forest of teak.

A village adjacent is called Tra Wúlan, or Tráng Wúlan (the light of the moon): here we found the tomb of Pútri Chámpa. Proceeding through three regular squares, each enclosed with a wall, and in each of which were erected several pendápas or sheds, we came to the interior on ascending a few steps. On the right side of this enclosure, and elevated a few feet, was the tomb of the princess and her nurse; the tomb being in the Mahomedan style, and having upon it, in ancient Javan characters, the date 1320, perfectly[Vol II Pg 58] distinct and in relief. On the other side are the tombs of Kiái Tumúng'gung Jáya Báya, Den Mas, and nine other chiefs whose names are mentioned. The tomb is religiously guarded by several priests.

The ruins of the palace and several gateways of burnt brick are to be seen; but the whole country, for many miles, is thickly covered with a stately teak forest, which appears to have been the growth of ages, so that it is difficult to trace the outline of this former capital. Ruins of temples, mostly executed in brick, are scattered about the country for many miles, and attest the extent and grandeur of this "pride of Java."

I observed near the former site of Majapáhit two images of Ganésa, and some other mutilated deities of the Hindu mythology. Near the tank was the figure represented in one of the plates[226], partly human and partly of the form of a bird, and a distorted figure, which the Javans called Ménak Jing'ga; but in general the vicinity of Majapáhit is remarkable for the absence of any representations of the Hindu deities. The temples are beautifully decorated with representations of flowers, and other peculiar ornaments, which it would be difficult to describe.

The only collection which appears to have been made by Europeans of these interesting remains of antiquity, previously to the establishment of the British government in 1811, was by Mr. Engelhard, formerly governor of Semárang. In the garden of the residency of that station, several very beautiful subjects in stone were arranged, brought in from different parts of the country. Of them, and of several others, which appear to have been brought into some of the native villages from the vicinity of the different temples, drawings have been taken, and the representations of Ganésa[227] and Dúrga (called Lora Jóngran), both from subjects as large as life, wrought in close-grained stone, will serve to convey some notion of the beauty and delicacy with which they are executed.

I shall conclude this very general and imperfect account of sculpture on Java, by referring the reader to the plate, containing representations of several subjects in stone[228], collected and arranged in the Chinese temple of worship in the [Vol II Pg 59]neighbourhood of Batavia. The period at which they were collected is not known, and the subjects in general are not so well executed as those found in the eastern parts of the island; but it is remarkable, that the Chinese, whose form of worship is at present so different from that of the Hindus (however similar it may have been formerly) should in a foreign land thus prize and appreciate the idols of the people whom they affect to hold in contempt[229].

Another plate exhibits several subjects in stone, collected from the vicinity of Bóro Bódo in Kedú. The originals are as large as life, and the sculpture and ornaments are executed with great skill. No. 2 is an image with three heads (or trimúrti,) similar to one on Gúnung Dieng. No. 3 is a mutilated image of Bráhma, having four faces; this was found in a field within a few hundred yards of the great temple of Bóro Bódo. The image No. 4 also occurs on Gúnung Práhu.

The casts in metal which have been discovered in the central districts of Java are numerous. The subjects represented in the plates annexed were selected from a collection of about a hundred brought by me to this country. They had most of them been found at different times near the ruins of the temples, and preserved in the families of the petty chiefs. I am indebted to Mr. Lawrence, the Resident of Kédú, for many of them, which were brought in to him by the natives, on its being generally known that subjects of the kind were interesting to the British authorities.

These casts are generally of copper, sometimes of brass, and rarely of silver. The majority and best executed were found in the vicinity of Gúnung Dieng; and it is asserted that formerly many gold casts of a similar description were discovered, which have been melted down. The village of Káli Béber, situated at the foot of the mountain, is said from time immemorial to have paid its annual rent, amounting to upwards of a thousand dollars, in gold, procured by melting down the relics of antiquity discovered in the vicinity; but for some years past, no more golden images being found, the rents are paid in the coin of the country.

Among the casts which are now exhibited will be observed two images of Bráhma; one with eight arms, standing upon[Vol II Pg 60] a male and female figure; the other with four, on a pedestal surmounted by the lotus, having a fragment of the goose in front. The former, in particular, is most beautifully executed.

The casts vary from three to six inches in height, and abound in a variety of delicate ornaments, which it has not been attempted to represent in the plates.

Several copper cups, varying from three to five inches in diameter, and having the signs of the zodiac and other designs represented upon them in relief, have likewise been discovered in different parts of the island. A fac simile (reduced) of them is given in the annexed plate.

As the Javans of the present day attach no particular designation to the different deities, except that of Gána and other terms to Ganésa, and that of Lóro Jóngran to Dúrga, I have not thought it necessary to attach to all the representations the names which some of them may bear in the Hindu mythology of continental India. Many of them do not occur in Moor's Pantheon: some are decidedly Braminical, others Budh, and some it is difficult to class under either head.

A variety of bells, tripods, and ornaments of various descriptions, occur in casts of metal, and form part of the collection brought to England. These are of a small size, seldom exceeding a few inches in length, although bells sometimes occur much larger; several of them are represented in one of the plates.

The inscriptions engraved on stone, and in characters no longer understood by the people of the country, are innumerable: similar inscriptions engraved on copper have also been found in particular districts. The whole may be classed under the following heads:

1. Inscriptions in the ancient Davanágari character of continental India.

2. Inscriptions in characters which appear to have some connection with the modern Javan, and were probably the characters used by the people of Súnda.

3. Inscriptions in various characters, not appearing to have any immediate connection with either the Davanágari or the Javan characters, and which it has not been practicable to decypher.

4. Inscriptions in the Káwi or ancient Javan character. [Vol II Pg 61]

Of these the first seem to lay claim to the highest antiquity. The principal inscription of this kind, and indeed the only one of any length, is that found at Brambánan, and noticed by Colonel Mackenzie in his interesting account of the ruins of Brambánan, as a real Hindu Sassanum. The stone, which is now broken into six parts, was originally six feet nine inches long and three feet six wide, in the shape of a tomb-stone, and the whole of one face is covered with characters, which appear to have been very well executed.

Fac-similes of this inscription having been brought to Europe, the characters were immediately recognized by Mr. Wilkins as an ancient form of the Devanágari, in use upon the continent of India, probably about eight or nine centuries since. It is to be regretted, that from the constant exposure of the stone, and the fractures which it has received, the characters are in many parts effaced, so as to render it almost impossible to connect the sentences. No date can be discovered, nor any name which might afford a clue to the object or origin of the inscription. From such detached parts as are legible, it appears to be a record of some grant of honour or riches to the party whose praises it records. A specimen of a sentence from this inscription, of the same size as the original, with the corresponding characters in the modern Devanágari[230], appears in the chapter on Language and Literature.

Similar characters, though apparently somewhat more modern, are found on several images at Sínga Sári, transcripts of some of which will be seen in the plates to this work.

Of the second class are the inscriptions on the Bátu túlis, or engraved stone, standing near the ruins of the ancient capital of Pajajárán, and those found at Kwáli, in the province of Chéribon, to which place it is related that some of the princes of Pajajárán fled on the overthrow of that capital by the Mahomedans. The characters on these inscriptions appear very nearly to resemble each other. The stone at Pajajárán, as far as I could decypher it, with the assistance of the Panambáhan of Súmenap, appears to be a record in praise of a certain Maharája, whose name is not mentioned. One of these at Kwáli, a fac-simile of which is exhibited in the plate, we were enabled to translate as follows: [Vol II Pg 62]

"The Pandíta is able to check the evil course of men, by washing away their evil inclinations, and he can shew them the right way, and prevent covetousness and slander by his good advice. 1363."

At Kwáli there are several other inscriptions in the same character, but in common with the whole of this class very rudely executed. Several of the characters and signs were found, on strict examination, to be on the same principle as the Javan.

Of the third class the reader will find a fac-simile on a reduced scale[231].

But the inscriptions of the last of these classes are the most numerous, the best executed, in the highest state of preservation, and as they admit of translation, are of perhaps higher interest than the others. Of these some have been already noticed in Dr. Horsfield's account of the remains of antiquity in the vicinity of Kedíri (formerly called Dahá); many have been found in the vicinity of the supposed site of the ancient capital of Jang'gála, in the division of the modern Surabáya, and some at Bátu, near Sínga Sári. These are invariably engraved on large flat stones, in the shape of tomb-stones, resting upon a kind of throne of lotus leaves[232]. Fac-similes of the whole of these have been brought to England, and several have been translated into English.

In the collection of inscriptions at Surabáya, the following dates appear:

On a stone found near Jang'gála 863
On another found near the same place 845
On another from the Kendang hills 865

Several prior dates, as 116, 363, 647, 773, are mentioned in the body of these inscriptions, which seem to refer to historical events of preceding centuries; but the dates above mentioned, with some others, appear in the usual place to shew the actual date of the inscription itself.

The date of a similar inscription found in Kedú is 505, and of another stone found in the central districts, 506; but it has not yet been ascertained what particular events these inscriptions record. The annexed translations from three of [Vol II Pg 63]the stones collected at Surabáya, were made by Captain Davey at my request, with the assistance of the Panambáhan of Súmenap[233].

Inscriptions in the same character have likewise been found on copper, very beautifully executed, and in a high state of preservation. The date on one of these has been ascertained to be 735, and on another, 865. I found several collected in the Museum of the Society of Arts and Sciences at Batavia[234].

The Panambáhan of Sumenap was able to read the latter without difficulty; but finding them to be filled with terms of praise and devotion which he could not comprehend, it was not attempted to render a literal translation. One of the plates (No. 3), to which at my request he devoted particular attention, contains an invocation to Sang yang Bráma, to favour and prosper the country of Gegélang (Sínga Sári), and to give assistance, by means of Jáya Kátsang, in repelling all evils and attacks, so that the country may become celebrated and flourishing.

The country of Gegélang (Sínga Sári) flourished in the time of Pánji.

Another of these plates (No. 9) contains an invocation of a similar nature, in favour of the country of Dahá (Kediri), which flourished at the same time.

In some of the eastern districts of the Native Provinces and at Súku, near the mountain Láwu, inscriptions on stone occur in relief. Some of them occupy stones several feet high, and are written in well executed letters, above an inch square. The date of one of these is 1363. A fac-simile of another of the same kind reduced, is given in the plate[235].

The following is a translation of this inscription, as far as it could be rendered into modern Javan by the Panambáhan of Súmenap.

"This is an advice to mankind, whose ignorance arises out of a covetous desire to obtain more than they possess. If mankind were not by their disposition inclined to be covetous of what others possess, and to scandalize each other, [Vol II Pg 64]where would be the use of advice; when they are receiving advice, they have a confidence in doing what is right, but afterwards they follow their natural inclinations. Therefore, oh ye men of the city, be advised by this, not to follow such dispositions, but to do what is required of you by the times and the customs of the country, and be not singular."

In the present burial place at Grésik are the tombs of several of the early Mahomedan missionaries, most of them of stone, bearing inscriptions with dates. That of Sheik Mulána Ibrahim is in marble, and in good preservation, having the date 1334 (409 years since). Here is also the tomb of Mulána Mach'ríbi, who was antecedent to Ibrahim. This has, however, fallen to decay, and has no legible inscription.

The entrance to the cemetery is through several squares enclosed by walls and gateways, some of them very ancient, and in the same style of architecture as distinguishes those of Majapáhit. On the side of the gateway leading to the division in which are the most ancient tombs, is a small stone pillar, with the date 1340 upon it in relief. Passing on to the division in which the family of the regents is interred, are also to be noticed many relics in stone, brought from some of the Hindu ruins. Among these is a gigantic toad or frog, and an oblong vessel of three feet long, having in relief the date 1246. On the side of the tomb of the great grandfather of the present regent, is a Yóni, said to have been brought from Majapáhit, and in this Mahomedan sanctuary serving as a kneeling or resting place to the tomb. Similar relics are to be found in other burial places in the eastern part of the island, most of the chiefs priding themselves upon having some remnant of Majapáhit. At the residence of the regent of Surabáya are also collected several curious remains; and in particular a large bath, excavated from a solid stone about six feet long.

In the central and eastern districts of Java, in the vicinity of the dilapidated temples, are found numerous ancient coins in brass and copper, exhibiting various subjects in relief, and invariably with a hole in the middle for the convenience of stringing them. Those which are represented in the plate[236] are taken indiscriminately from a collection of upwards [Vol II Pg 65]of a hundred brought to England, the dates annexed to each being determined by the Chándra Sangkála, as explained for each particular coin by the Kiái Adipáti of Demák. Thus the last, which has the date 1568, is explained as follows:

Naga hoba wisaya jalma
Snakes move work men
8 6 5 1

That is to say, "snakes are moving while men are working:" alluding to the two snakes which appear entwining together between and above the two men who are mastering an animal. The coin with the date 1489, bears a Javan inscription of Pangéran Rátu, the title by which a prince of Bantam, who reigned in that year, is recognized by the Javans.

The mode of determining these dates by the Chándra Sangkála, appears however so uncertain and ill understood, that perhaps but little reliance is to be placed on it. I have, nevertheless, given them, in order to show the notion of the Javans on the subject, and as it is not improbable they may be found useful in illustrating the early history of the country. Many of the coins not European or Indian, found in the Archipelago, as well as in China and Japan, have a hole in the centre. These coins seem to have been of home manufacture: the execution is rude; but the figures, such as they are, in general well defined and clearly expressed. In the vicinity of the principal temples have been found small silver coins, about the size of a Madras pagoda, bearing the impression of a small cross, and of some rude and unintelligible characters.

But perhaps the most striking and interesting vestige of antiquity which is to be found in the Eastern Seas, is the actual state of society in the island of Báli, whither the persecuted Hindus took refuge on the destruction of Majapáhit, and where the Hindu religion is still the established worship of the country. This interesting island has hitherto been but little explored by Europeans, and what we know of it is only sufficient to make us anxious to know more. I visited the island in 1815, and such particulars concerning it as the[Vol II Pg 66] limits of the present work admit of will be found in Appendix K.

In the course of the present work it has been my object to convey to the public, in as compressed a form as my time permitted, and without bias from previously conceived opinions or new theories, the information which I possessed. The antiquities of Java, however, afford such an ample and interesting subject for speculation, that I shall presume on the reader's desire for some opinion concerning their origin and purpose.

With respect to the remains of architectural grandeur and sculptural beauty which have been noticed, I shall simply observe, that it seems to be the general opinion of those most versed in Indian antiquities, that the large temple of Bóro Bódo (a corruption perhaps of the Bára Búdha, or the Great Budh,) and several others, were sacred to the worship of Budh. The style and ornament of this temple are found much to resemble those of the great Budh temple at Gai-ya, on the continent of India, and it is probable that it may have been constructed by the same people, perhaps even by the same artists. The Devanágari characters on the inscription found at Brambánan are recognized by Mr. Wilkins to be such as were in use on continental India eight or nine hundred years ago. The date of several inscriptions in the ancient Javan characters, found in the central part of Java, is in the sixth century, supposed to be of the present Javan era, and the traditions of the Javans concerning the arrival of enlightened strangers, and an intimate connexion between Java and continental India, for the most part refer this intercourse to the sixth and three following centuries, that is to say, to the period of the empires of Medang Kamúlan and Jáng'gala.

Mahomedanism having become the established religion in the year 1400 (A.D. 1475,) all the great works of a Pagan character must, of course, be referred to an earlier period.

The ruins at Majapáhit and its vicinity are distinguished by being principally, if not entirely, of burnt bricks, a circumstance which justifies us in assigning an anterior date to most of the edifices constructed of a different material. The date found on the ruins at Súku, and some few other places, may[Vol II Pg 67] be an exception to this rule; but the sculpture of these is coarse and rude compared to the magnificent remains in stone found elsewhere. On this account it is reasonable to conclude, that the arts at that period had considerably declined. The edifices and sculptures at Sínga Sári were probably executed in the eighth or ninth century, that being the period of the greatest splendour of this state; and as the style and decorations of the buildings, as well as the execution of the sculpture, appear very nearly to resemble those of Brambánan, Bóro Bódo, &c. it is probable that the whole were constructed about the same period, or within the same century, or at any rate between the sixth and ninth century of the Christian era.

From the extensive variety of temples and sculpture, as well as from that of the characters found in the ancient inscriptions, it is probable that Java has been colonized from different parts of the continent of Asia.

The Budhist religion is by many deemed of higher antiquity than what is now called the Braminical; and it seems generally admitted, that the followers of Budh were driven by the Bramins to the extremes of Asia and the islands adjacent. The Jains and Budhists had probably the same worship originally, from which the Bramins or priests may have separated, after the manner in which it has been said the Jesuits of Europe once aimed at universal empire; and when we consider that the religion of Budh, or some modification of it, is still the prevailing worship of Ceylon, Ava, Siam, China, and Japan, we are not surprized to find indications of its former establishment on Java.

To trace the coincidences of the arts, sciences, and letters of ancient Java, and those of Egypt, Greece, and Persia, would require more time and more learning than I can command. Such investigations I must leave to the reader, deeming myself fortunate, if in recording their vestiges in the traces of a high state of civilization, to be found in the ruins, languages, poetry, history, and institutions of Java, I have succeeded in obtaining any share of his interest and respect for a people whom I shall myself ever consider with peculiar esteem and affection.

In the archives of the princes of Java are deposited histories of their country, extending from a remote antiquity to[Vol II Pg 68] the latest date. It is principally from abstracts of these, made at my request, in three different parts of the country, by the Panambáhan of Súmenap, the late Kiái Adipáti of Demak, and the secretary of the Pangéran Adipáti of Súra-kérta, all distinguished among their countrymen for literary attainments, that the two following chapters have been compiled. The abstract presented by the Kiái Adipáti of Demák being the most continuous, forms the main stream of the narrative.

Copies, versions, and detached fragments of history, are found in the possession of every family of distinction. Of these I have occasionally availed myself.

So much of the native accounts as relates to the period anterior to the establishment of the empire of Jang'gala, in the ninth century, is confused, obscure, contradictory, and interpolated with the fabulous and heroical histories of continental India; but from that epoch they correspond essentially, and from the subversion of Paganism (A.D. 1475) they are circumstantial, and claim attention, not only as illustrative of the character of the people, but as historical records of the transactions of the times. Much abridgment has been requisite: the passages between inverted commas are however literal translations from the native writings; and those so distinguished, subsequent to the arrival of the Dutch, are from the original histories. In the course of the narrative, a Dutch abstract of the native history, by Mr. Middlecoop, has occasionally been consulted.

Besides these historical relations, called Bábat, as Bábat Jang'gála, Bábat Matárem, &c. the native princes and chiefs have been in the habit of keeping a register of the principal events, in the form of a chronological table. These are not very consistent in what regards events anterior to the Mahomedan conversion. From these tables is formed that which is annexed to the following history. All that is subsequent to the establishment of Matárem is translated from the records of the court of Suru-kérta.

FOOTNOTES:

[203] See Chapters on History.

[204] "The religion of the Javans is in general Mahomedan, but mingled with many superstitious doctrines derived from the ancient Pagan worship. The Javans, however, are far from bigots to their religion, as other Mahomedans generally are. They are mild and tractable by nature, and although they do not easily forget or forgive an injury, they would be a quiet well disposed people under good laws and a mild government. The murders, and other crimes, which are now committed in some places, are to be attributed more to the present faulty administration than to any bad dispositions in the people. The same may be remarked of the indolence and indifference which now characterize them. Property in the land, with personal and commercial freedom and security, would soon render them industrious."​—Hogendorp's Memoir on Java, 1800.

[205] The Javans observe of the Mahomedans of continental India, that they would rather drink wine than eat pork; while the Javans, on the contrary, would rather eat pork than drink wine.

[206] In the account which has been given of the literature of the Javans, the most esteemed compositions connected with their ancient faith have been referred to; but as most of these, such as the Ráma, Bráta Yúdha, Níti Sástra, and others, are in many respects similar to corresponding works on the continent of India, it may not be uninteresting, while treating of the religion of the country, to give some account of the Mánek Máya, a composition in prose, which in its origin and story appears to be perfectly local, and which contains many of the peculiar notions still entertained by the people of the beginning of the world, &c. It is a work in high estimation among the modern Javans, and continually referred to. The copy in the Javan language from which the annexed translation was extracted, was procured as an especial favour from the present Susúnan. It has obviously been compiled since the establishment of Mahomedanism, but neither the time at which it was written, nor its author, is known.

[207] Now Surveyor-General of India.

[208] Bándar is the term given to the Chinese farmer of the toll ports or transit duties; whence bandáran, the place or residence of the bándar.

[209] Récha is the term given by the Javans to all the remains of antiquity generally, but particularly to the images of their former worship.

[210] So termed by the people of the neighbouring villages. Bóro is the name of the district, bódo means ancient.

[211] These figures measure above three feet in height in a sitting posture, and with the images found in the towers exactly resemble those in the small temples at Chándi Séwu.

[212] Drawings of the present and former state of this edifice, and illustrative of the sculptural ornaments by which it is distinguished, have been made, and have been long in the hands of the engraver.

[213] Here, according to the tradition of the Javans, are to be found the ruins of Arjúna, Gatut Kácha, Bíma, Derma Kasúma, Sa Déwa, and other characters who figured in the Bráta Yúdha, or war of the Pándus.

[214] See No. 7 of the Plate, from the ruins of Subru.

[215] See No. 2, same Plate.

[216] See No. 1, same Plate.

[217] See No. 3, same Plate.

[218] An establishment consisting of a certain number of men and horses always kept in readiness for the public service.

[219] See No. 4, same Plate

[220] See No. 6, same Plate.

[221] See No. 8, same Plate.

[222] See No. 10, same Plate: others of the same kind were subsequently discovered at Kedíri and farther east.

[223] For the signs of the Zodiac and extracts from this manuscript, see Astronomy, vol. i.

[224] See Plate.

[225] See chapter on History.

[226] See Plate from subjects in stone, No. 5.

[227] See Plate.

[228] See Plate from a subject in stone, brought from Brambanay.

[229] See Plate.

[230] See Plate.

[231] See Plate of an inscription in the district of Balongan.

[232] See Plate.

[233] See Appendix I.

[234] See a fac simile of one of them in the Plate.

[235] See Plate of an ancient inscription at Suku.

[236] See Plate, Ancient Coins, with their supposed dates. [Vol II Pg 69]


CHAPTER X.

The History of Java from the earliest Traditions till the Establishment of Mahomedanism.

Amongst the various traditions regarding the manner in which Java and the Eastern Islands were originally peopled, and the source whence its population proceeded, it has been related, that the first inhabitants came in vessels from the Red Sea (Láut Míra), and that, in their passage, they coasted along the shores of Hindustan; that peninsula then forming an unbroken continent with the land in the Indian Archipelago, from which it is now so widely separated, and which, according to the tradition, has since been divided into so many distinct islands, by some convulsions of nature or revolution of the elements[237].

These people are supposed to have been banished from Egypt, and to have consisted of individuals professing different religious persuasions, who carried along with them to the land of their exile, their different modes of worship and articles of belief. Some are said to have adored the sun, others the moon; some the elements of fire or water, and others the trees of the forest. Like all other uncivilized men, they were addicted to the arts of divination, and particularly to the practice of astrology. In other respects, they are described as savages, living in hordes, without fixed habitations, without the protection of regular government, or the restraint of established law. Respect for age was the only substitute for civil obedience. The oldest man of the horde was considered its chief, and regulated its simple movements, or prescribed its political duties. When the crop was gathered and[Vol II Pg 70] the accustomed devotions performed, it was he who appointed the mode and time of its departure from one place to another. On these occasions, the horde, after offering their sacrifices and feasting in an open plain, left the remains of their repast to attract the bird called úlunggága[238]; and the young men shook the ángklung[239], and set up a shout in imitation of its cry. If the bird did not eat of the meal offered to it, or if it afterwards remained hovering in the air, perched quietly on a tree, or in its flight took a course opposite to that which the horde wished to pursue, their departure was deferred, and their prayers and sacrifices renewed[240]. But when the bird, having eaten of its meal, flew in the direction of their intended journey, the ceremony was concluded by slaying and burning a lamb, a kid, or the young of some other animal, as an offering of gratitude to the deity; and for the favourable omen a second feast was enjoyed, which ended with the most violent demonstrations of joy, the whole party dancing and springing to the music of the ángklung. Every thing being arranged for the journey, the eldest of the horde, with his wife and children, were either placed upon an elephant, or carried in a litter shaded by mats; the rest moved on foot, preceded by young men and boys, shaking the ángklung and shouting aloud, for the double purpose of doing homage to the chief and of frightening away the wild beasts, which at that time abounded in the island[241]. [Vol II Pg 71]

But it is only from the supposed arrival of Adi or Aji Sáka, that the Javans, even in their traditions, enter with any confidence into details. This event is generally referred to the first year of the Javan era, which corresponds with the seventy-fifth of the Christian era, and in some accounts is thus related.

"Prábu Jáya Báya was a great and powerful prince of Astína, and the fifth in descent from Arjúna, the son of Pándu Déwa Náta; after whom had reigned successively, Bimányu, Parakísit, Udayána, and Gandra Yána. His Peng'gáwa, or chief minister, being a man of great enterprize and ability, was sent to visit and civilize foreign countries. In the course of his travels, he landed on Java, then the abode of a race of Rasáksa, and known by the name of Núsa Kéndang. This happened in the first year of the Javan era, and is distinguished in the Chándra Sangkála by the words, nir, ábu, tánpo, jálar, meaning literally, 'nothing dust, not any thing (but) man,' and metaphorically the figures 0001.

"He here discovered the grain called jáwa-wut, at that time the principal subsistence of the inhabitants; and, in consequence of this discovery, he changed the name of the country from Núsa Kéndang to Núsa Jáwa. In his progress through the island he met with the dead bodies of two Rasáksa, each holding a leaf with an inscription on it, one in púrwa, (ancient), the other in Siamese characters: these he united, and thus formed the Javan alphabet of twenty letters.

"He had several combats with the Rasáksa, particularly with one Dewáta Chéngkar; and after fixing the date of his different discoveries, and leaving mementos of his visit wherever he went, he finally returned to Astína, and delivered to his sovereign a written account of all he had seen and done." [Vol II Pg 72]

The accounts of the real character of Aji Sáka are various. Some represent him as a great and powerful prince, who established an extensive colony on Java, which a pestilence afterwards obliged him to withdraw; whilst others consider him as a saint and deity, and believe that on his voyage to Java he sailed over mountains, islands, and continents. Most, however, agree in attributing to him the first introduction of letters, government, and religion; the only trace of anterior civilization being a tradition, that before his time there existed a judicial code, under the title of sun and moon, the punishments of which appear not to have been severe: a thief was bound to make restitution of the property stolen, and to pay in addition a fine in cattle or produce; and if the theft was considerable, he became the slave of the injured party or his relations, without, however, being transferable to another master: murder was not punished by death, but by a heavy fine, and perpetual servitude in the family of the deceased. This code Aji Sáka is represented to have reformed; and an abstract collection of ordinances, said to have been made from his instructions, is believed to have been in use as late as the time of Janggála (A.D. 900), and even of Majapáhit (A.D. 1300).

In the Sanscrit language Sáka means an era, and is applied to the founder of an era; and in the chronology of the Hindu princes of India, Sáka is a name or title, which has so often been assumed, that it is sufficient to say to whom it is most appropriately due. According to Sir William Jones, Sáka is a name of Budha. In the chronology of the kings of Magádha[242], by Major Wilford, the Hindus are stated to have divided the Kaliyúga into six unequal portions, or subordinate periods, called Sákas, because they derived their origin from six Sákas, or mighty and glorious monarchs, of whom three have already made their appearance and three are still expected. The third Sáka was Salavahana, who is believed to have lived at the same time with our Saviour, and is represented to have corresponded with him in some of the principal features of his life. The era which bears his name commenced from his death (namely, seventy-eight years after the Christian era), and is doubtless that adopted by the Javans, which corresponds [Vol II Pg 73]with it within about three years: and the slight difference between them may be accounted for, by the introduction of the Mahomedan mode of reckoning during the last three centuries.

The same writer informs us, that the first Bála Rája, a title peculiarly given to the ancient sovereigns of Guj'rat, and who is supposed to have lived in the seventh century of the Christian era, was called Di Sáka, or Déva Sáka; which being also one of the titles of Salivahana, might induce an opinion that they were the same person, if, as Major Wilford acknowledges, the confusion and uncertainty of the Hindu records did not almost deter us from forming any fixed opinion whatever. According to the Japanese historians, Sáka lived a thousand years before our Saviour; and the worship of that country is still denominated by them the religion of Sáka or Siáka[243].

According, however, to a prophetic chronology of the Javans, which is now in the possession of the Susuhúnan, and is ascribed to the pen of the Aji Jáya Báya, but is doubtless of a more modern composition, the supposed arrival of Aji Sáka did not take place till after the year 1000. In this chronology, the author himself is described as sovereign of Kedíri in the year 800 of the Javan era.

"What was first known of Java," says this account, "was a range of hills, called Gúnung Kéndang, which extends along the north and south coasts; it was then that the island first came into notice, and at that period commenced the Javan era.

"After this the Prince of Rom sent twenty thousand families to people Java; but all of them perished, except twenty families, who returned to Rom.

"In this year, twenty thousand families were sent to Java by the Prince of Klíng (India). These people prospered and multiplied. They continued, however, in an uncivilized state till the year 289, when the Almighty blessed them with a prince, named Káno, who reigned for one hundred years, at the end of which period he was succeeded by Básu Kéti. The name of the sovereignty was called Wiráta. [Vol II Pg 74]Básu Kéti dying, he was succeeded by his son, Mángsa Páti. The father and son together reigned three hundred years.

"Another principality, named Astína, sprung up at this time, and was ruled by a prince, called Púla Sára who was succeeded by his son Abiása, who was again succeeded by his son Pándu Déwa Náta; the reigns of the last three princes together amounting to one hundred years.

"Then succeeded Jáya Báya himself, who removed the seat of government from Astína to Kedíri.

"The kingdom of Kedíri being dismembered on the death of its sovereign, there arose out of its ruins two other kingdoms, the one called Brambánan, of which the prince was called Báka; the other Péng'ging, of which the prince's name was Angling Dría.

"These two princes having gone to war with each other, Báka was killed in battle by Dámar Máya, the son-in-law of Angling Dría. On the death of Báka, the kingdom of Brambánan was without a prince, and continued so, till Angling Dría dying a natural death, Dámar Máya succeeded him and ruled the country.

"Dámar Máya dying, and the sovereignty becoming extinct, there arrived from a foreign country a person named Aji Sáka, who established himself as Prince of Méndang Kamúlan, in the room of Dewáta Chéngkar, whom he conquered.

"In the year 1018 the Chándi Séwu (thousand temples) at Brambánan were completed.

"The empire of Méndang Kámulan and its race of princes becoming extinct, the kingdoms which rose up and succeeded to it were;

1. Jang'gála, of which the prince was Ami Luhúr.
2. Kedíri, Lémbu Ami Jáya.
3. Ng'aráwan, Lémbu Ami Sésa.
4. Sing'a Sári, Lémbu Ami Lúeh.

"These kingdoms were afterwards united under Pánji Súria Ami Sésa, the son of Ami Luhúr.

"Pánji Súria dying, he was succeeded by his son, Pánji[Vol II Pg 75] Laléan, who removed the seat of government from Jang'gála to Pajajáran. This took place in 1200[244]."

In some accounts it is stated, that the religion and arts of India were first introduced into Java by a Bramin named Tritrésta, who with numerous followers landed on Java about this period, and established the era, in consequence of which he is considered the same with Aji Sáka. The descendants of Tritrésta are accordingly said to have succeeded to the government of the country; and a list of eighteen princes is adduced, to bring down the history to the ninth century, in which the empire of Jang'gála was established. From these accounts, with some minute details regarding the different adventurers, who are supposed to have arrived during the three first centuries, it has been inferred, that these were probably followers of the religion of Búdha, and that those who crowded to Java, about the close of the fifth century, are to[Vol II Pg 76] be considered as the first settlers professing the Braminical faith; but whatever authority this inference may derive from the knowledge we possess of the religious revolutions which have taken place elsewhere, and however probable it may be, that the followers of Búdha were at an early period established on Java, we apprehend that the conclusion will derive but little support from a chronology which, on the slightest investigation, will be found borrowed from continental India. Even the names of the principal characters, who are thus represented as having ruled Java for a period of so many centuries, will be readily traced in the accredited lists of Indian sovereigns[245]; and when it is considered, that the princes of Java pretend to derive their descent from Parakísit, the descendant of Arjúna, that the scene of the celebrated war of the Pandáwa, which forms the subject of the most popular poem in the country, as well as that of the great Indian poem, called the Mahabárat, is believed to have been laid on Java, and that not only the countries mentioned in that war, but the dwelling places and temples of the different heroes who distinguished themselves in it, are at the present day pointed out on Java, it is easy to account for the indistinctness and inaccuracy of the line drawn between the princes of India and those who may have actually ruled on Java.

Without entering into the mythology of the ancient Javans, which has been more particularly treated of in another place, it may be sufficient to observe generally, that in some of the copies of the Níti Sástra Káwí, a work of the highest antiquity and celebrity, the following is the duration prescribed for the several ages of the world.

"The kérta yóga was of one hundred thousand years duration; the tréta yóga was of ten thousand years; the duapára was of one thousand years; the sandiníka (which began A.D. 78) is now in its course."

The kérta yóga is considered to have terminated with the expulsion of Víshnu from Suraláya. The tréta yóga commences with his becoming incarnate in the person of Arjúna [Vol II Pg 77]Wijáya, sovereign of Mauspáti, and ends with the death of Ráma, an event supposed to have taken place about the time of Sákri, in the following line of princes.

Many of these princes, with their descendants, are in the traditionary accounts of the country, believed to have established themselves on Java; and while we find Tritrésta founding a colony in the first year of the Javan era, or about seventeen hundred and forty years ago, it is the less surprising that the war of the Pándus should have been transferred from the duapára yóga to the present age, and believed to have taken place in Java about twelve hundred years ago.

In the Javan, or modern version of the Níti Sástra, the following periods are assigned to the principal events of fabulous history. "In the beginning every thing was at rest and quiet. During the first years, kings began to start up, and wars arose about a woman named Déwi Darúki; at this period writing was introduced. One thousand five hundred years after this, another war began, about a woman named Déwi Sínta. Two thousand years after this, a third war broke out about a woman named Déwi Drupádi; and two thousand five hundred years afterwards another war took place, about the daughter of a spiritual man, not named in history."

The following account of princes, commencing with Tritrésta, who is believed to have established his government at Gíling Wési, at the foot of the mountain Se Míru, with the dynasties which they severally established, and the dates at which they respectively succeeded to the government, while it shews the manner in which these islanders have interwoven their fabulous history with that of the continent, will[Vol II Pg 78] prove how little credit is due to those accounts, which furnish local details during a period so remote and obscure.

This account is extracted from a collection of the legends of the country, compiled by Náta Kasúma, the present Panambáhan of Súmenap; a man who is not only distinguished among the Javans for his eminent erudition and information, but who, from the superior endowments of his mind, would command a high degree of respect among the more civilized people of Europe.

"Before there were any inhabitants on Java, Wísnu (Vishnu) presided therein; but having offended Sang yáng Gúru, Tritrésta, the son of Jála Prási, and grandson of Bráma, was sent to Java as sovereign of the country. This prince was married, at ten years of age, to Bramáni Káli, of Kámbója, and with eight hundred families from the country of Kling, established the seat of his government at the foot or Gúnung Semíru, the capital of which he called Gíling Wési. He had two sons, Mánu Manása, and Mánu Madéwa, and his people increased to 20,000.

"In the country of Kling there was a man named Watu Gúnung, son of Gána, of Désa Sangála, who heard of the fame of Sínta and Lándap, two beautiful women residing at Gíling Wési. Wátu Gúnung went in search of them, and finding them under the protection of Tritrésta, attacked and defeated him. Tritrésta was slain, and Wátu Gúnung reigned as sovereign of Gíling Wési for one hundred and forty years. Under his government the country became very flourishing. He adopted forty sons and as many daughters of the princes of the country, and gave them the names of the deities of Súrga (Swerga), for which, and for other acts, he was in the end punished with death by Wísnu, in the year 240[246].

"After this Batára Gúru sent Gutáka from the mountain Sawéla Chála in Kling, to be sovereign of Gíling Wési, where, after a reign of fifty years, he died, and was succeeded by his son, Ráden Sawéla, in the year 290. This last prince reigned twenty years, and was succeeded by [Vol II Pg 79]Gutáma, who removed from Gíling Wési while yet unmarried, and went to a country (Astína), which was possessed by an elephant that desired the princess Endrádi in marriage. He fought and killed the elephant, and married the princess, and afterwards proceeded to Lagrestína.

"There was a Pandíta of Gúnung Jáli, in the country of Kling, who had a son called Ráden Dása Wirià, who, when twelve years of age, having obtained leave of his father to go to Java, took up his abode at the foot of the mountain Láwu. His son, Dása Báhu, when ten years of age, determined to make himself independent, and travelled with one hundred followers, until they smelt the dead elephant which had been killed by Gutáma. There he established himself, calling his capital Gája-huia, or Astíná Púra. This was in the year 310.

"Dása Báhu was succeeded by his son Suantána, who had wars with the giant Púru Sáda. This prince had a son, named Déwa Bráta, whose mother died immediately after the birth of the child; and the prince finding no one from whom the child would take milk, was obliged to carry it about in search of some one to whom it might take a liking.

"Of the descendants of Tritrésta were first, Mánu Manása; second, Sutápa; third, Sapútram; fourth, Sákri. The last begot Púla Sara, who had a son named Abiása. It happened that Abiása, when an infant, was borne in the arms of his mother Ambu Sári, at the time when Suantána was in search of a wet nurse for his son. Upon seeing her the infant Déwa immediately cried out and wanted milk from her, which, however, she would not consent to give, until after much altercation Suantána agreed to give his country in exchange; so that Ambu Sári received the country of Astína for her son Abiása, who, when arrived at a proper age, succeeded as sovereign in the year 415. Déwa Bráta was made Prince of Kumbína.

"Abiása was married to a woman advanced in years, by whom he had three sons: Drésta Ráta, who was blind; Pándu Déwa Náta, who was very handsome; and Ráma Widára, who was lame. After twelve years he retired, and transferred the government to his second son. [Vol II Pg 80]

"Pándu Déwa Náta, at the age of fourteen, then succeeded as sovereign of Astína, and married Déwi Kúnti, daughter of Básu Keti, Prince of Madúra, by whom he had three sons, Kúnta Déwa, Séna, and Jináka. Déwa Náta also married Madrín, daughter of the Prince of Mandarága, and died, leaving her pregnant. She was delivered of two sons, and died also; but Déwi Kúnti gave the children milk, and called the one Sadéwa and the other Nakúla. At that time the children of Pándu Déwa Náta were very young; Drésta Ráta was therefore nominated protector during their minority; but instead of resigning the kingdom to them, he gave it to his own son, Suyudána; who, becoming sovereign of Astína, the five children were sent by Abiása, with a thousand families, to establish a new country, to which they gave the name of Amérta.

"Suyudána married the daughter of the Prince of Mandarága, by whom he had a son, and the country became great, flourishing, and happy. There was none more powerful; and the dependant chiefs were the Princes Kérna of Awáng'ga, Bísma or Déwa Kráta, of Kúmbina, Jáya Páta of Dála Sejána, Jákar Sána of Madúra, and Sália, of Mandarága. But Púnta Déwa and his brothers in the country of Amerta were not satisfied: they wished for their father's inheritance, and sent their cousin, Krésna of Diarawáti, to confer with Suyudána, and to demand their rightful possessions. For the sake of peace with their cousin, they offered to accept of half: but Suyudána rejected their demand and replied, 'that without the decision of the sword they should have none.' Then began the war called Bráta Yúdha, because it was a contest for their just rights. The war lasted long, and during its continuance the sons and followers of both parties were nearly all killed: at last Suyudána himself fell, after a reign of fifty years[247].

"Púnta Déwa then became sovereign of Astína in the year 491; but after two years he transferred the government to Parikísit, son of Abimányu, and grandson of his brother Jenáka. After defending the country successfully against the giant Usi Aji, of Surabáya, whom he slew, he[Vol II Pg 81] was succeeded by his son Udayána, who died after a reign of twenty-three years. His son Jáya Dérma succeeded. This prince had two sons, named Jáya Misána and Ang'ling Dérma. The former succeeded his father after a reign of twenty-seven years, and died at the expiration of five years. During the reign of Jáya Misána there was a dreadful pestilence and a violent earthquake, which destroyed the country, and his son removed to Miláwa, where he became a tápa.

"To this country Ang'ling Dérmá had already removed with three thousand families, during the lifetime of his brother, and was acknowledged as sovereign of Miláwa Páti, where he reigned in prosperity for ten years. At the expiration of this period, it is related that his princess burnt herself, in consequence of being refused the knowledge of a certain prayer, by which she might understand the language of all animals. The prince afterwards became insane, wandered about, and was transformed into a white bird.

"The son of Jáya Misána, Jáya Purúsa, begat Púspa Jáya, who begat Púspa Wijáya, who begat Kasúma Wíchítra, who again begat Ráden Aji Nirmála, who reigned for twenty years at Miláwa Pati, but in whose days the country was greatly afflicted with pestilence. In consequence of this, his son, Bisúra Champáka, departed with his followers, and proceeded to Méndang Kamúlan, where he abode as a Pandíta. He had, however, a son, named Ang'ling Dérma, from whom descended Aji Jáya Báya, who became sovereign of the country, and gave it the name of Púrwa Chiríta; under his government the country greatly increased, he acquired large possessions, and all under his administration was flourishing and happy. It is related of him, that he dictated the poem of the Bráta Yúdha, by order of Déwa Batára Gúru, in the year 701. He was succeeded by his son, Salápar Wáta, in 756, whose son, named Kandiáwan, afterwards came to the government, under the title of Jáyu Langkára. This last named prince had a sister, called Chándra Suára, four sons, Subráta, Pára Yáta, Játa Wída, and Su Wída, and a daughter, named Pambáyun. His Páteh was named Jáya Singára,[Vol II Pg 82] and among his dependents were Gaja Iráwan of Ludáya, Lémbu Súren Gúna of Jang'gála, Wíra Tíkta of Kedíri, and the Arias of Síng'a Sári and Ng'ráwan.

"In course of time this prince became very wicked, and married his sister, Chándra Suára. When his Páteh, chiefs, and followers, heard of it, they rose in arms, but feared to attack the prince, as it had been predicted that he could only be killed at the full of the moon. The prince, in the mean time, being informed of the conspiracy, immediately attacked the party, and killing the Páteh, committed great slaughter among his followers.

"When the battle was over, he assembled his sons, and after telling them they were not ignorant of his deeds, and that it was his intention to burn himself at the full of the moon, he desired that they would thereupon remove from the place, and leave the country of Méndang Kamúlan to become a wilderness. He then divided his possessions into four parts: to the eldest son, Subráta, he gave the country of Jang'gála; to his second son, Pára Yára, he gave Kedíri; to his third, Játa Wída he gave Síng'a Sári; and to his fourth son, Su Wída, he gave Ng'aráwan: and these princes severally became independent chiefs of those kingdoms.

"When the full of the moon arrived, Sri Jáya Langkára, with his wife and sister, Chándra Suára, went to the Sáng'gar of Déwa Pabayústan, where they burnt themselves. The families of the Páteh and the chiefs slain in the late battle also accompanied him, and committed themselves to the flames. Pembáyun, his daughter, was not however permitted to sacrifice herself, in consequence of which she bore great ill will to her father; and it is related that she is the same person who afterwards went to Jáng'gála, and abode at Wána Kapucháng'an, where she assumed the name of Kíli Súchi, and went about from place to place, being much beloved; for she was very learned, and made inscriptions upon stones, one of which is called Kála Kérma[248]." [Vol II Pg 83]

But other accounts, which attempt to draw a line between the Indian and Javan princes, date the commencement of the [Vol II Pg 84]latter, five centuries subsequently to the first landing of the Aji Sáka, and consider the kingdom of Méndang Kamúlan as the first regular establishment on Java. As these, if not the most consistent with the historical data which have been admitted on continental India, have the advantage of being the least confused, a more particular account of the first establishments may be interesting. With regard to the statements that commence with a more remote antiquity, it may be sufficient to shew, at one view, the line of princes who are represented to have ruled on Java, according to the two different authorities which have been referred to. [Vol II Pg 85]

LINE OF HINDU SOVEREIGNS
Who ruled on Java, according to the Manuscript ascribed to Aji Jáya Báya, in the Possession of the present Susuhunan.
Date of Accession, Javan Year. SEAT OF GOVERNMENT. SOVEREIGNS.
289 Wiráta 1 Bàsu Keti.
2 Mángsah Pati.
700 3 Púla Sára.
4 Abiása.
5 Pándu Déwa Nàta.
800 Kedíri 6 Aji Jáya Báya.
Péng'ging 7 Angling Dría.
900-2 Brambánan. 8 Báka.
9 Dámar Máya.
1002 Méndang Kamúlan 10 Aji Sáka.
1082-4 Kedíri Lémbu Ami Jáya. [249]
Ngaráwan Lembu Ami Sésa.[249]
Singa Sari Lembu Ami Lúeh. [249]
Jang'gala 11 Lembu Ami Luhúr. [249]
12 Panji Súria Ami Sésa. [249]
1200 Pajajáran 13 Laléan.
14 Banjáran Sári.
15 Méndang Wáng'i.
1301 Majapáhit 16 Jáka Sura, or
Browijáya 1st.[250]
17 Browijáya 2d.[250]
18 Browijáya 3d.[250]
19 Browijáya 4th.[250]
1381 20 Browijáya 5th.[250]
[Vol II Pg 86]
LINE OF HINDU SOVEREIGNS
Who reigned on Java, according to the Manuscripts of the Eastern Parts of Java, Sumenap, and Bali, as collected by Náta Kusúma, the present Panambahan of Sumenap.
Date of Accession, Javan Year. SEAT OF GOVERNMENT. SOVEREIGNS.
1 Gíling Wési 1 Tritrésta.
140 2 Wátu Gúnung.
240 3 Gutáka.
290 4 Sawéla.
310 Astina 5 Gutáma.
6 Dása-báhu.
7 Sawantána.
415 8 Abiása.
427 9 Pándu Déwa Náta.
480 10 Suyudána.
491 11 Pónto Déwa.
533 12 Parikísit.
575 13 Udiána.
588 Maláwa Páti 14 Ang'ling Dérma.
598 15 Jáya Misána
16 Púspa Jaya.
17 Púspa Wijaya.
18 Kasúma Wichítra.
638 19 Aji Nirmála.
658 Méndang Kamúlan 20 Bisura Champáka.
671 21 Ang'ling Dría.
701 22 Aji Jáya Báya.
756 23 Séla Prawáta.
818 Jang'gála 24 Kandiáwan, or Jaya Langkára.
868 25 Subráta, or Déwa Kasúma.
927 Kóripan 26 Laléan.
27 Banjáran Sári.
28 Múda-níng-kung.
29 Múda-sári.
1084 Pajaráran 30 Ráden Pánkas.
31 Siung Winára.
1158 Majapáhit 32 Jáka Susúru, or Brá Wijáya.
33 Prábu Anom.
34 Uda nínkung.
35 Prábu Kánya, a Princess
married to Dámar Wúlan.
36 Lémbu Ami Sáni.
37 Bráma Túnggung.
38 Ráden Alit, or Browijáya.
[Vol II Pg 87]

The following is the chronology of the Javan princes, according to the legends abstracted by Kiai Adipáti Adi Mang'gála, formerly Regent of Demák, and in which the Javan princes commence in the sixth century.

Date of Accession, Javan Year. SEAT OF GOVERNMENT. SOVEREIGNS.
525 Méndang Kamúlan 1 Sawéla Chála.
2 Ardi Kasúma.
3 Ardi Wijáya.
4 Rési Déndang Géndis.
846 Jang'gála 5 Déwa Kasúma.[251]
6 Lémbu Ami Luhúr.[251]
7 Panji Kérta Pati[251]
1000 Pajajáran 8 Pánji Maisa Tandráman, or
Laléan.
(2) 9 Múnding Sári.
10 Múnding Wángi.
11 Chiong or Siung Wanára.
1221 Majapáhit 12 Tandúran.
13 Bro Kamára.
14 Ardi Wijáya.
15 Mérta Wijáya.
16 Anáka Wijáya.

"When Prábu Jáya Báya of Astína died, he was succeeded by his son and descendants, named Ami Jáya, Jaya Ami Sána, Páncha Dría, and Kasúma Chitra. During the reign of the last of these princes, either the seat of government had been removed, or the country had changed its name, for it was then called Kúj'rat or Gúj'rat; and it having been foretold that it would decay and go to ruin altogether, the prince resolved to send his son[252] to [Vol II Pg 88]Jáwa, and possessing the written account of Aji Sáka, which had been preserved in his family, he gave it to his son, and embarked him with about five thousand followers for that island. Among these followers were Jálma-táni, Jálma-undági, Jálma-újam-dudúkan, Jálma-pangniárik, Jálma-prajúrit; that is to say, people skilled in agriculture, artificers, men learned in medicine, able writers, and military men.

"They sailed in six large ships and upwards of a hundred small vessels, and after a voyage of four months reached what they conceived to be the island of Jáwa, and many landed; but as it did not accord with the account given by Aji Sáka, they re-embarked. In a few months, however, they came in sight of an island with a long range of mountains, and some of them, with the prince at their head, effected a landing at the western extremity, while a part were driven to the southward. They soon met with the grain jáwa-wut, as described by Aji Sáka, and ascertained that they had at last reached their destination: then opening the book of Aji Sáka, the days of the week and the panchawára[253] were named. The prince, however, did not long remain in this part of the island; for on clearing the forest, a lingering sickness appeared among his followers, and many died from drinking the water: so he moved to the south and east, in quest of a more salubrious position, and with the hope of falling in with their companions. These they found at that part of the island now known by the name of Matárem, when the high priest opening the book of Aji Sáka, and referring to the prophecy, that Jáwa should become an inheritance to the descendants of Prábu Jáya Báya, he summoned the whole party together, and formally proclaimed the prince sovereign of the country, under the title of Browijáya Sawéla Chála. The name of Méndang Kamúlan was then given to the seat of government.

"The prince now found that men alone were wanting to render it a great and flourishing state, and he accordingly[Vol II Pg 89] applied to Gúj'-rat for assistance. The ambassadors whom he sent proceeded down the river and embarked at Grésik, so called from Gíri-sik, in consequence of the hills (Gíri) running in this part of the island close to the sea shore (sik); and when they reached Gúj-rat, the father of Sawéla Chala, delighted to hear of his success, immediately sent him a reinforcement of two thousand people. The kindred and friends of the new colonists were permitted to proceed in great numbers to Jáwa, where they established themselves principally in the southern and eastern provinces. The prince lost no time in improving his capital, which became an extensive city in the year 525. From this period Jáwa was known and celebrated as a kingdom: an extensive commerce was carried on with Gúj'rat and other countries, and the bay of Matárem, then a safe place for shipping, was filled with adventurers from all parts."

In some of the accounts, the father of Sawéla Chála is named Bália Achar; and previously to the establishment of Méndang Kamúlan, Sawela Chéla himself is usually known by the name of Awap.

"Nothing, however, is represented to have tended more to the prosperity of this establishment, than a supposed union which is said to have taken place between the family of Sawéla Chála and that of Aru Bándan, a prince who had recently arrived from the Moluccas, and established himself on Balambángan. Hearing of the arrival of Sawéla Chála, this prince, with his followers, proceeded to Méndang Kamúlan and submitted to his authority, on condition that the eastern provinces, including Balambángan, should be confirmed to him and his descendants. According to the tradition of the country, this prince was principally induced to submit, in consequence of the other party being able to explain the inscription and signs of Aji Sáka, which he himself could not, and in consequence of the production of the writings, in which it was prophesied that the country should become the inheritance of the family of this prince.

"Sawéla Chála, after a long and prosperous reign, was succeeded by his son, Ardi Kasúma; and he again, on his death, by his son, named Ardi Wijáya. [Vol II Pg 90]

"During the sovereignty of these princes, the country advanced in fame and prosperity, and the city of Méndang Kamúlan, since called Brambánan or Prambánan, increased in size and splendour. Artists, particularly in stone and metals, arrived from distant countries; the temples, of which the ruins are still extant, both at this place and at Bóro Bódo in Kédu, are stated to have been constructed during this period, by artists invited from India; and the remains of the palace, situated on a range of low hills near the site of the thousand temples, still attest the existence of this first capital of Java.

"Ardi Wijáya had five sons, besides a numerous illegitimate offspring. The eldest was appointed chief of the class of cultivators, the second of the traders, the third to the charge of the woods and forests, the fourth chief of the manufacturers of oil, sugar, and spirits, and the fifth, named Rési Déndang Géndis, remained as assistant to his father.

"When this prince died, his youngest son, Rési Déndang Géndis, found himself in charge of the capital, and invested with the general administration of the country; but his brothers having formed independent governments in other parts of the island, refused to acknowledge his supremacy. One of them was established at Bágalen, another at Japára, and a third at Kóripan. He is said to have died of a broken heart, in consequence of these secessions, leaving a numerous progeny, who established themselves in different parts of the country.

"The next prince who," according to these accounts, "appears to have succeeded to the government of Méndang Kamúlan, was Déwa Kasúma, who being of an ambitious character, is said to have proceeded eastward, and established the kingdom of Jang'gála, the capital of which, so called from his attachment to the chace (jang'gála signifying "a dog" in the Javan language) was built in the forest of Jeng'áwan, a few miles to the eastward of the modern Surabáya, where its site, with many interesting remains of antiquity, is still pointed out. This event is supposed to have taken place about the year 846."

Of the earlier history of Java it is probable, that each of these three accounts contains some true particulars; but with[Vol II Pg 91]out unnecessarily discrediting the claims which that country asserts to a higher antiquity, we must confess ourselves unable, in the present state of our information, to separate truth from fable, till we arrive at a period when its records are more consistent. Unconnected with the line of princes whose names have been brought forward, many small states, petty dynasties, and separate interests, no doubt existed on Java in earlier times: of which little mention is made by tradition, which seldom busies itself, except with extensive and sanguinary wars, or great political changes. Among these may have flourished the celebrated Jáya Báya, in whose reign the Bráta Yúdha is said to have been composed by the Pandíta Puséda. In the account obtained from Súra-kérta, this prince, as we have seen, is related to have reigned in the eighth century in the country of Kedíri.

The temples at Brambánan (the extensive remains of which, with the numerous casts in metal found in their vicinity, prove the high state which the arts had attained in a remote age, and afford incontestible evidence of the establishment of the Hindu worship in the earliest periods of Javan history), are stated in some accounts to have been constructed in the year 525, and in others in the year 1018; but as far as the general tradition may be relied on, it seems most probable that they were the work of the sixth or seventh centuries. This opinion derives confirmation from the fact, that during this period idol worship increased in Japan. Abundance of idols and idol carvers, and priests, arrived in that quarter from several countries beyond sea; and local traditions assert, that at that time similar emigrations first took place to Java and the eastern islands[254]. [Vol II Pg 92]

Déwa Kasúma is represented by the Javan writers to have been a prince of great talent and enlarged views, and by his [Vol II Pg 93]mild and beneficent government to have induced many of his relations to submit to his authority, which in a short time extended over all the provinces eastward of Jawána. But the most interesting fact related of him is, that he sent his children, consisting of four sons and a daughter, to India (Kling), in order that they might there be educated and instructed in the religion of Bráma; from whence the eldest son having married the daughter of one of the greatest princes of the country, returned to Java with three large ships, laden with long cloth and other valuable manufactures, and bringing with him able artists of different professions, and a thousand chosen troops presented to him by his father-in-law as a body guard. How far this relation is correct it may be difficult to determine; and a suspicion may even be entertained, that it was a fiction invented by national vanity, for the purpose of concealing from posterity the successful invasion of foreign adventurers. What we know for certain is, that during the reign of the reputed sons of this prince, the Hindu religion, institutions, and literature, with the ornaments of continental India, were very generally introduced and diffused; and it is from this date that we may speak with some degree of confidence as to history.

Déwa Kasúma, on the return of his children from India, divided his kingdom among them. To the eldest, Ami Luhúr, he gave the succession to Jang'gála, with a jurisdiction of limited extent; to Ami Jáya he gave the country of Gegélang or Sínga Sari; to Lémbu Meng'árang he gave the country N'garáwan or Browérno, and to Lémbu Ami Luhúr he gave [Vol II Pg 94]the country of Dahá or Kedíri; so that, when he died, the island of Java became divided into four kingdoms. His daughter, who was the eldest of his children, and named Déwi Kilí Súchi, remained unmarried, and performed a conspicuous part in the transactions of those days. The temples at Síng'a Sari, the ruins of which still remain, are stated to have been constructed by that princess.

The reign of Ami Luhúr is celebrated for the extensive intercourse which at this period took place with foreign nations, and still more on account of the exploits and adventures of his son, Pánji Ino Kérta Páti, the issue of his marriage with the Indian princess, and who, under the name of Pánji, became the most renowned hero of Javan story. The adventures of Pánji are described in numerous romances, which form the subject of still more numerous dramatic exhibitions, and constitute a principal portion of the polite literature, as well as of the popular amusement of Java. In these romances the hero is represented as devoted to love and war. At an early age he marries Angréné or Sékar'táji, the daughter of his father's Pepati, to whom he is passionately attached. His father, desirous of uniting him with his cousin, the daughter of the chief of Kedíri, causes the first object of his affections to be put to death. Pánji on this embarks with the dead body, and a storm arising, most of the vessels which accompanied him being lost, he is supposed to have perished. He, however, reaches the island Tanábang in safety, and after burning the body of his lamented Angréne, proceeds with all the followers he can muster to Báli, where he assumes the name of Klána Jáyang Sári. Having obtained assistance from the prince of the island, Andáya Prána, and received in marriage the princess his daughter, usually known under the name of the Pútri or princess of Báli, he crosses to Balambángan, the most eastern province of Java, and also uniting in marriage with the princess of that country, he obtains numerous auxiliaries, and moves westward to Kedíri, in quest of the princess Chándra Kirána, the fame of whose beauty and accomplishments had been widely celebrated. Here, in consequence of his change of name, and the general belief that he had perished in the storm, he is considered as a powerful Raja from Sábrang, or the opposite shore,[Vol II Pg 95] and joining the chief of Kedíri, he secretly makes himself known to his daughter, and marries her.

According to some of the romances, a prince from Núsa Kanchána, or the Golden Isle, with numerous followers, and accompanied by two princesses from Núsa Rétna arrives at Jang'gála about this period, and giving himself out for the long-lost Pánji, imposes on the credulity of the father, who receives him as his son. This prince is represented as the son of a Bramána possessing supernatural gifts, which enable him to succeed in the deception, and is said to have been lord of many rajas, among whom were Báka, Mordáda, and many others who are named. He is reported to have had a sister, named Angréna Suára, excelling in beauty, and in every respect resembling the princess Angréné, who with her nurse accompanied his four wives and numerous concubines to Java.

Klána Jáyang Sári now resuming his name as the real Pánji, his father, the prince of Jang'gála, proceeded to Kedíri with the auxiliaries brought over by the impostor, when a combat takes place between the two princes, and the true Pánji becomes manifest.

According to other accounts, the storm in which Pánji was supposed to have perished, occurred when the princess Angréné was living. She is cast on the Báli shore, where assuming a male habit, and becoming a favourite of the prince, she in time obtained the sovereignty of that island under the title of Jáya Ang'ling Dára. Pánji is thrown on the south shore of Java, and afterwards sent by his father to reduce the refractory chief of Báli, in whom he recognizes Angréné. In another romance his second wife, Chándra Kirána, is represented as becoming chief of Báli, under the title of Kuda Narawáng'a.

It is also related, that, about this period the Prince of Sínga-sári being attacked by the Bálians under Klána Ráng'ga Páspíta, and defeated in an engagement near Arára Bidáli, applied for assistance to Jang'gála and Browérno. The forces sent as auxiliaries from Jang'gála, were defeated, and it was not until the arrival of a celebrated warrior from Browérno, that the Bálians were obliged to retreat. The river which flowed by the scene of action still[Vol II Pg 96] bears the name Káli Géti, from its stream having been converted into blood on this occasion.

With regard to the Raja of Núsa Kanchána, it is related that he possessed very extensive influence over all the islands of Sábrang. He is sometimes called Klána Tánjung Púra, and said to have obtained his authority by means of a Bramána, named Kánda or Sakéndo, and sometimes Satírti, who performed a severe penance on the island Tambína. His first establishment was at Goa on Celebes; afterwards he attained supreme power: every island which he visited submitted to his sway. He established himself on Sumatra, in the country which has since been called Palémbang, whence he waged war against Java, in order to obtain the celebrated princess of Dáha in marriage. In other accounts, again, this prince is supposed to have been the son of the chief of Browérno on Java, carried off when an infant by a Bramána, who left his own son in his place.

In the dramatic performances of the Bálians, Klána Tánjung Púra is the same with Si Maláyu, which means a wanderer, and from which it has been supposed probable that the Maláyus have derived their name.

The poetical latitude given to the compositions which describe the life and adventures of Panji, leaves it doubtful whether he was in fact the real son of a Javan prince, or some aspiring adventurer from India, whose attachment the chief of Jang'gála might have found it his interest to secure. In the dramatic exhibitions of the same subject, it is difficult to decide whether the heroes of the piece are intended to represent the real personages whose names appear in history, or whether they are merely invested with historical titles, for the purpose of giving dignity to fictitious characters.

Some idea may be formed of the reverence in which Pánji is held by the Javans, from their representing him as an incarnation of Vishnu, and his second wife, Chándra Kirana, under the name of Déwi Gélu, as an incarnation of Sri.

This belief, together with the miraculous transformations and supernatural events attributed to the interference of the Hindu deities, while heightening the colours of these compositions may have rendered them more popular subjects for dramatic exhibition, but it has deprived them of nearly all[Vol II Pg 97] authenticity and value as historical records. Perhaps the only inferences, with respect to the hero of them, which we can be justified in drawing, is that the prowess, enterprises, and accomplishments of this chieftain, who has been termed the Charlemagne of the East, far excelled those of his cotemporaries, and that he visited Báli. It appears also, that during this period some government was established in the other islands of the Archipelago, in which a similarity of religion, character, and usages prevailed. As descriptive of the manners and customs of the country, and as affording incontestible evidence, not only of the existence of the Hindu religion on Java, but of its universal diffusion as the prevailing worship of these islands at this period of their history, these traditionary remains possess a high value; and with the traces of foreign influence still to be found in their languages, and in the numerous monuments of the arts, will materially contribute to the developement of their earlier history, while they throw light on the character of the people, and the progress that had been made in civilization.

The kris is believed to have been first introduced into the Eastern Islands by Pánji; and some go so far as to assert, that all the countries in which it is now worn acknowledged his supremacy. The gámelan, or musical instruments of the Javans, together with the various dramatic exhibitions which still form so essential a part of the popular amusement, and compose so distinguishing a characteristic of national literature, are all supposed to have been introduced by him.

The adventures of Pánji are related in the Malayan romances, where that hero is represented under the appellation of Chékel Wáning Páti (literally, "when young brave to death"), and in the Malayan annals a particular account is given of a chief of Sábrang, who, according to their story, obtained the princess Chándra Kirána in marriage[255]. [Vol II Pg 98]

About this period the first intercourse with China is believed to have taken place: a large Chinese wángkang was wrecked on the north coast of Java, and the crew landed, some near Japára, others at Semárang and Tégal. The rider of the vessel is represented as bringing with him a magical stone, by which he performed many wonderful effects, and by means of which he ingratiated himself with the chief of Tégal, who allowed him to collect the remainder of his crew into a regular establishment, and conferred upon them many privileges.

The accounts regarding the succession of Pánji to the throne of his father are very discordant. In some he is represented as having succeeded on his death, and having continued to administer the government for several years; in others, he is represented as dying prematurely, during the [Vol II Pg 99]lifetime of his father: Prába Jáya Sangára, chief of Madúra (then called Núsa Antára, or the island lying between), jealous of the power of Jang'gála, is said to have landed, and in a desperate action killed Pánji with an arrow from his own bow, in fulfilment of a prophecy which foretold that he would be invulnerable, except to the iron staff of Jáya Langkára, of which, it is added, this prince had manufactured his arrow. The account of this affair, as related in the Madúra traditions, is as follows:

"Then the prince of Núsa Antára, called Klána Prábu Jaya, consulted with Gúra Bramána Kánda, and others of his council, on the probability of his being acknowledged as chief prince over the adjacent countries. Gúru observed, that while Déwa Kasúma lived he could not permit the attempt; but the prince informing him that intelligence had been received of the death of that prince, then said, 'Gúru, it is well; you are permitted to effect your object by force, if necessary, but in the first instance try negotiation.' A letter written on the leaf of a tree was then dispatched, and when the messenger arrived at Jang'gála, he found the prince Angráma Wijáya seated on his setingel, attended by his patéhs, Kúda Nawársa and Brája Náta. At that time they were discussing the prince's intention of transferring his title to his son, Ino Kérta Pati[256]. The question was not decided when the messenger appeared. The prince declined reading the letter himself, but desired his minister to do so. As soon as Brája Náta read the demand of the prince of Núsa Antára to be acknowledged the superior, and the threat that he would lay waste the lands of Java in case of refusal, he became enraged to the highest degree, and without communicating the contents tore the letter, and seizing the messenger by the neck, threw the pieces in his face, and desired him to return to his master. After his departure Ino Kérta Páti arrived, and being apprized of the circumstances, entreated his father to permit him to go over in disguise to Núsa Antára.

"On the return of the messenger to Núsa Antára, he reported the result of his mission, when preparations were[Vol II Pg 100] immediately made for the attack upon Jang'gála, and the chief, on this occasion, received the title of Jáya Sankára. But before the troops had departed, Ino Kérta Páti contrived to carry off from the palace the wife of the prince, named Dewi Sinawáti, which raised the enmity of the parties to the highest pitch.

"The prince of Jang'gála, when he was informed of these preparations, summoned his brothers from Ng'aráwan and Sínga Sári, who resolved to unite with him against the expected attack. The three princes were in conversation, when information was brought them that the hostile troops had landed in great numbers. Then they drew out their people, and a battle ensued with the prince of Núsa Antára, who lost many chiefs and followers. This prince finding the battle going against him, recollected the advice of Gúru Bramána Kánda, the loss of his wife, and the many insults he had received from Ino Kérta Páti: then throwing off his princely attire, he disguised himself as a common man, and arming himself with an arrow mixed with the people of Jang'gála, and went in search of Ino Kérta Páti. He had no sooner found him, than he discharged his arrow, and Ino Kérta Páti fell dead, it having been foretold that this chief could not be killed except by the iron staff of Jáya Langkára, of which the prince of Núsa Antára had made his arrow, kris, and knife.

"Brája Náta immediately acquainted his prince with the fall of Ino Kérta Páti, who thereupon rose and rushed into the thickest of the fight. The prince of Jang'gála attacked the prince of Núsa Antára with his kris, and slew him. Gúru Bramána Kánda seeing his prince slain, wished to escape, but his supernatural power was no more; and being seized by the prince of Jang'gála, he was put to death, with all the people of Núsa Antára, who did not save themselves by flight. Thereupon Agráma Wijáya assembled his council as before the war, and seated upon his setingel declared, that as Ino Kérta Pati was no more, it was his intention to nominate his grandson, Máisa Laléan, to succeed him. Máisa Laléan accordingly became chief of Jang'gála in the year 927, and after a time made his uncle, Brája Náta, Tumúnggung of Jang'gála, and retired him[Vol II Pg 101]self to the district of Kédu. He had a son, named Banjáran Sari, who succeeded him, after whom were Múdaníngkung, and Múda Sári, who had a son called Ráden Pánkas, who succeeded to the government of Java in the year 1084. This prince established his capital at Pajajáran."

The fame of Pánji naturally throws the other events of the day into the back-ground, and whatever credit may be due to the earlier administration of his successor, it is eclipsed by the brilliancy of his exploits. But it seems agreed that Kúda, or Máisa Laléan, who is the next prince in the line of succession of whom tradition makes mention, at an early period of his reign induced the separate authorities which had been established at Browérno, Sínga Sári, and Kedíri, to acknowledge the supremacy of Jang'gála. Having, however, come to the throne at a tender age, and being under the influence of a crafty and designing minister, named Báka, who, with one of the brothers of the prince, entered into a league to deprive him of his inheritance, he quitted his capital, and on the dismemberment of his eastern kingdom, became the founder of a new one in the west. The causes which induced him to leave his capital are related to have been a dreadful sickness, which at that period prevailed in the eastern districts of Java, and the designs of his minister, who hoped to possess the means of aggrandizing himself in the attempt to form a new establishment. The first eruption of the mountain Klut, of which tradition makes mention, is recorded to have taken place at this time, when the discharges from it are represented "to have been like thunder, and the ashes to have involved the country in impenetrable darkness." The sickness having continued to prevail after the departure of the prince, the inhabitants who had remained at an early period, are said to have embarked in vessels and proceeded to sea, no one knowing whither they went or hearing more of them.

Kúda Laléan, accompanied by his mother Chándra Kirána, proceeded west as far as Blóra, where he laid the foundation of a new capital, under the designation of Méndang Kamúlan, the name of the ancient capital of the island. From thence, however, owing to the treachery of his minister[Vol II Pg 102] Báka, who aspired to the sovereignty, he was soon obliged to fly, and to take refuge with a devotee, until the chief of Gíling Wési, named Prau Chátor, going to war with Báka, an opportunity was afforded him of regaining his authority. Uniting with the forces of that chief, he succeeded in overpowering Báka, and laying waste his capital, which he afterwards burnt.

This Báka is said to have had a criminal passion for his own daughter, and in consequence of her refusing to gratify his desires, to have secreted her in an adjoining forest. In his service was a man named Bándung Prakúsa, descended from Aru Bándung, of Balambángan, and also from Káran Kálang, the last chief of Brambánan. This man aspired to obtain the daughter in marriage. The father consented to the match, on condition that he would remove the temples from the old site to the new Méndang Kamúlan. Having made the usual offerings at the Sáng'gar, and done penance for forty days without sleeping, in the middle of the last night, when his tápa was all but accomplished, it happened that a maiden rose in her sleep, and without awaking, began to beat the rice block. On this, considering it daylight, he quitted his penance, and finding the stars still bright, he called down a curse on the women of Brambánan, that they should never be married till their hair was grey. This man is then said to have been transformed into a dog, or in other words, to have become a wanderer as a dog in the forests, where he met with the daughter of Báka. From their intercourse is born a son, who in time destroys his father and marries his mother. From this union the people known at this day by the term Kálang, trace their descent, although it is more generally believed that they are the real descendants of the first inhabitants of the island.

The brother of Kúda Laléan, Chítra Arung Báya, also called Chamára Gáding, being deceived by Báka, formed a party at Jung'gála, and embarked from thence for the island of Celebes, where he established himself, and is supposed to be the same with Sawíra Gáding, the first prince of whom the Búgis accounts make mention.

Kúda Laléan having been requested by the chiefs of Bányu Mas, Lúrung Téng'a, and Tégal, to render them assist[Vol II Pg 103]ance against the Chinese, who, by their extortions and oppressions, had thus early become troublesome to the people of the country, attacked them, and killing their chief, relieved the inhabitants of these districts from their oppressions. From this period the Chinese have been dispersed over the whole island.

Kúda Laléan with his followers then proceeded westward, as far as Gíling Wési, which was situated in the southern provinces among the mountains of Chidámar, a district of the modern province of Sukápura, and in the fabulous and mythological accounts supposed to have been the ancient capital of Wátu Gúnung. Finding two brass cannon in the neighbourhood, he considered them as the signal for the foundation of his new capital, and built a city and kráton on the spot, to which he gave the name of Pajajáran, where, assuming the sovereignty of the country, he was acknowledged under the title of Browijáya Máisa Tandráman.

This prince was a great promoter of agriculture, and encouraged the common people in the labours of cultivation by his personal example. He was the first who introduced the rice husbandry into the western provinces, and trained the buffalo to the yoke, from which circumstance he is called Maisa, and his descendants Múnding, both signifying a buffalo, the former in the Javan and the latter in the Súnda language. According to the tradition of the Súndas, the wild buffaloes came from the woods of their own accord during the reign of this chief.

This prince had two sons, the elder of whom, not contented to remain at home, engaged in foreign commerce and went beyond sea; and the younger succeeded his father in the year 1112, under the title of Prábu Múnding Sári.

It was seven years before he was enabled permanently to establish his authority; and soon after he had done so, his elder brother returned, who having resided in India and having become a convert to the Mahomedan faith, is known by the title of Háji Púrwa. He was accompanied by an Arab from the country of Koúje, who was descended from Sáyed Abás, and attempted in vain to convert his brother and family to the same faith. The troubles which were occasioned by their intrigues, and the endeavours which they used to effect[Vol II Pg 104] their purpose, and which are allegorically described by the rapid growth and destructive effects of the lagóndi plant, were such as led to the removal of the capital further westward. In this new site it still retained the name of Pajajáran, being situated in the district of Bógor and in the vicinity of the modern Buitenzorg, the country residence of the European governor of the colony.

Háji Púrwa being unsuccessful in his attempts, and fearing the rage of the common people, quitted this part of the country, and is believed to have found an asylum in Chéribon, then an uninhabited wilderness.

This is the first mention of the Mahomedan religion on Java.

The next chief of Pajajáran was Múnding Wáng'i, who succeeded to the government about the year 1179. He had four legitimate children; the eldest a daughter, who refusing to be married was banished to the southern coast, where her spirit is still invoked, under the title of Ratu Kidul; the second, also a daughter, was born white and diseased, and was in consequence sent to an island off Jakatra (named from this circumstance Púlu Pútri), from whence she is said to have been carried away by the white men, who according to the Javan writers traded to the country about this period; the third a son, named Aria Babáng'a, who was appointed Rája of Gálu; and the fourth Raden Tandúran, who was destined to be his successor in the government. He had also a son by a concubine; but in consequence of the declaration of a devotee, who had been unjustly executed by Múnding Wáng'i, that his death would be avenged whenever the prince should have a child so born, he was desirous of destroying him in his infancy, but not being able, on account of the extreme beauty of the child, to bring himself to kill it with his own hands, he enclosed it in a box, and caused it to be thrown by one of his Mántris into the river Kráwang. The box being carried down the stream was discovered by a fisherman, who brought up the child as his own, until he arrived at twelve years of age. Finding him then to possess extraordinary abilities, he carried him to Pajajáran for further instruction, and placed him under the charge of his brother, who was skilled in the working of iron and steel. To the boy he gave the name of Baniák Wédi. [Vol II Pg 105]

The youth soon excelled in the manufacture of all kinds of iron-work, and in the wild tradition of the country, he is said to have fashioned the red hot iron with his fingers. In a short time he was made chief of the Pándi, or ironsmiths, and admitted to the familiar intercourse of his father, Múnding Wang'i. Having constructed an iron chamber or cage, which particularly attracted the attention of the prince, he succeeded in persuading him to sleep in it, when closing the door, he, according to some accounts, burned him alive; or, according to others, caused him to be thrown into the South Sea at Kándang Wési, thus fulfilling the prophecy of the devotee.

Baniák Wédi now assumed the government, declaring who he was; but being opposed by his brother, Tandúran, who had been destined to succeed his father, it was some time before his authority was acknowledged. At length defeating his brother in a general engagement, the latter escaped with only three followers, and Baniák Wédi was declared sovereign, under the title of Browijáya Chióng Wanára.

Ráden Tandúran arriving at the river Gúntung, took refuge at the house of a widow, and afterwards meeting with his sister, who was performing a penance on the mountain Chérmai (the mountain of Chéribon), he was encouraged by her to proceed further east, following the course of a bird which she desired that he would let loose for the purpose, till he reached the district of Wirasába. Here he observed a plant, called the mája, entwined round a tree. He wished to eat of the fruit, but finding it extremely bitter threw it away, and asked one of his followers, Kiái Wíra, the reason of its bitterness. "I have heard," replied Kiái Wíra, "that it was here your forefathers fought in the war Bráta Yúdha." On which the prince said, "Then let us stop here and establish our kingdom, and let us call it Majapáhit" This was in the Javan year 1221.

In the Javan language mája and páhit both signify "bitter;" but the name of this kingdom, also called Mauspáhit, is more probably derived from Maus Páti, the ancient capital of Arjúna Wijáya, in whom the Javans believe Vishnu to have been incarnate.

Ráden Tandúran was first assisted by the people of Túban, who hearing of the arrival of a prince of royal descent, imme[Vol II Pg 106]diately flocked to his standard. Afterwards Aria Babáng'a, who had been driven from Gálu by the forces of Chióng Wanára, joined his younger brother, Ráden Tandúran, and was appointed to the charge of the eastern districts along the Solo river, under the title of Aria Panúlar. In a short time considerable emigrations took place from Pajajáran, in consequence of the heavy demands made upon the people. Among others, Bráma Dedáli at the head of eighty Pándi, or ironsmiths, with their families, are said to have deserted their country. They were pursued as far as the river Pamáli in Brébes, but effected their escape, and were received with open arms at Majapáhit.

Chiong Wanára, on demanding that the Pándi should be delivered up, received a positive refusal, and in consequence declared war against his half-brother, whose authority by this time extended as far as Bátang. Both princes, with their respective armies, moved towards the centre of the island: the forces of Majapáhit encamped at Ung'árang, and those of Pajajáran at Kaliwúngu. A general engagement now took place; which proving indecisive, a personal combat between the two chiefs was about to occur, when it was mutually agreed, that from thenceforth the countries to the west should be subject to Pajajáran, and those to the east to Majapáhit, a line being drawn due south from a stone column placed near the spot in commemoration of the agreement. This column is still to be seen at Túgu, a few miles west of Semaráng. This treaty, supposed to have been made in the Javan year 1247, does not appear to have lasted longer than the life time of Chiong Wanára; for several of the finest provinces, and particularly those to the east of Chi Pamáli, had been laid waste, and the succeeding chiefs not being able to reduce the country to order and submission, appear to have placed themselves under the immediate protection of Majapáhit. They accordingly delivered up the gun ng'ai stómi, and several of smaller calibre, which were considered as the pusáka (inheritance or regalia) of Pajajáran, and are still held sacred by the princes of Java. The gun stómi is now in the possession of the Susuhúnan.

An ineffectual attempt was made by Rátu Déwa, a native of Kuníng'an in Chéribon, who, on the departure of Aria Ba[Vol II Pg 107]-bang'a, had been entrusted with the administration of Gálu, to maintain an authority independent of Majapáhit; but he lost his life in the struggle, and his widow, Torbíta, who persevered, and was for a time successful, was at length overcome, and went over to Majapáhit[257].[Vol II Pg 108]

A different account of the first establishment of the Majapáhit empire is given in a manuscript recently obtained from [Vol II Pg 109]Báli, which may deserve attention, in as far as it differs from the usually received opinion in Java. This account is as follows:

[Vol II Pg 110] "The history of the kingdom of Tumápel, being an account of the origin and rise of the kingdom of Majapáhit, written on the day of Respáti (Thursday,) the 10th of the fifth season. Date

[Vol II Pg 111]
5 6 4 1
wisaya rasa toya wasitan

(literally 1465.)[Vol II Pg 112]

"In the kingdom of Tumápel there reigned a king, named and styled Rátu Sri Jáya Purúsa, who in his demise was [Vol II Pg 113]succeeded by his son, known by the name and title of Sri Láksi Kirána, who on dying left two sons, the elder named and styled Sang Sri Síwabúda, who succeeded to the throne; the younger Ráden Wijáya, who was remarkable for the beauty of his person.

"During the reign of Sáng Srí Síwabúda the state had very much declined. Every district was going to ruin, in consequence of which the páteh, named Mángku Rája Náta, addressed himself to the prince, reminding him of the manner in which his forefathers used to treat the people, and which the welfare of his kingdom required of him to follow. To this, however, the prince would not listen, and as a punishment to the páteh for his presumption, he immediately ordered him to quit Tumápel.

"Sang Sri Síwabúda had a man in his service named Wíra Rája, whom, in consideration of his useful services, he had made ruler over the eastern part of Madúra called Súmenap. On being informed that the king intended to accuse him of a crime of which he was innocent, and considering himself in danger, sent a messenger to Sri Jáya Kátong, sovereign of Kedíri, to say, 'that as the kingdom of Tumápel was almost in a state of confusion, he might attack and conquer it without difficulty.'

"Sri Jáya Kátong, on hearing the intelligence, was very much delighted, and accordingly he ordered his patéh, Kébo Mundárang, to make preparations for the purpose of invading Tumápel.

"When every thing was ready the king gave orders to his patéh that he should march with a considerable force to Tumápel, and attack the southern part of the kingdom, while himself and his followers began the attack on the west.

"Sri Síwabúda being informed that his kingdom was invaded by the sovereign of Kedíri, appointed his younger [Vol II Pg 114]brother, Ráden Wijáya, to command the forces, and meet the enemy coming from the west. Instead of marching out himself to meet the attack from the south he remained in his kadáton, and amused himself with his concubines. This enjoyment, however, was soon interrupted; for Mundárang having reached the kadáton obliged him to come out and meet him, and on his making his appearance, Mundárang and his followers lost no time in deciding his fate. Sri Síwabúda was accordingly killed before the palace gate. Ráden Wijáya and Jáya Kátong had by this time fought several battles, as well as skirmishes, in which a great number of men were killed on both sides.

"They continued to oppose each other when Mundárang came up and attacked Wijáya in the rear. This soon determined the victory in favour of Kedíri, and obliged Wijáya to fly to Súmenap for the safety of his person, where he remained in the house of Wíra Rája, to whom he gave a full account of all the circumstances.

"Among the spoils which Mundárang had taken from the palace was the beautiful wife of Wijáya, who was afterwards delivered to the sovereign of Kedíri. He was very much struck with her beauty, and proposed to make her his lawful wife.

"This proposal was however refused, and the king, instead of being offended by the refusal, adopted her as his daughter.

"Ráden Wijáya had by this time remained a good while with Wíra Rája at Súmenap, and was then advised by him to repair to Kedíri, that Jáya Kátong might forgive him, and employ him in some way or other. He accordingly went over to Jáya Kátong, who received him very kindly; and he had not remained long at Kedíri when Jáya Kátong granted him an extensive forest, with which he might do as he liked.

"Wijáya, with a view of making a large town in the forest, sent a messenger to Wíra Rája to get some assistance. Wíra Rája accordingly sent over a good many people to Wijáya, who, after procuring every thing necessary for such an undertaking, began to cut down the forest. While they were at work they found a large mája tree[Vol II Pg 115] loaded with fruit, but when they tasted the fruit they found it quite bitter; whence the place was called mája páit, (literally the bitter mája.)

"Ráden Wijáya, after making Majapáhit a very large town, assumed the title of Bopáti Sang Browíjáyá, having for his Páteh a son of Wíra Rája, whose name and title was Kiaái Pateh Ráng'ga Láwé.

"The population of Majapáhit increasing very rapidly, Browijáya thought, that with the aid of Wíra Rája he should be able to invade Kedíri. He accordingly sent a messenger to Wíra Rája to request some assistance. Wíra Rája willingly sent a considerable force to Browíjáya, and after the two armies had joined together Browíjáya began his march to Kedíri.

"Jáya Kátong, on being informed that a considerable force from Majápáhit was coming to invade his kingdom, immediately sent out a band of fighting men to meet the enemy. Several battles were fought in which many fell on either side.

"Jáya Kátong, previous to the invasion of Browijáya, had promised his guest, the King of Tátar[258], whose name and title was Srí Laksemána, to give him his adopted daughter (wife to Browijáya) in marriage. This was however delayed. Several times did Laksemána press Jáya Kátong to fulfil his promise, but he never received a positive answer.

"Laksemána therefore being informed that Browijáya of Majápahit had attacked Kedíri, forthwith sent a letter to him, saying that he would co-operate with the people of Majapáhit, provided Browijáya would be on good terms with him.

"Browijáya on receiving this intelligence was very much delighted, and accordingly returned a letter of approbation to Laksemána.

"Láksemána and his followers then joined Browijáya, and fought several battles with Jáya Kátong, in which a great number of men, as well as chiefs, were killed on both sides. [Vol II Pg 116]

"In the heat of the action Jáya Kátong and Laksemána met, and a fierce encounter took place between these chiefs. Jáya Kátong threw his javelin at Laksemána, but missed him; and Laksemána, in return, struck him on the breast with his poisoned spear, and killed him on the spot.

"Páteh Mundárang, and the whole force of Kedíri, perceiving that their king was fallen, immediately surrendered.

"Browijáya then eagerly went into the kadáton, and was received by his faithful wife. They embraced with tears of joy; and Browijáya was so enraptured at recovering her, that without taking further notice of the kadáton, he returned with his wife to Majapáhit. He invited the King of Tátar to visit him. On his arrival Browijáya received him with every attention, and made him a present of a beautiful virgin.

"Laksemána remained for some time at Majapáhit, during which Browijáya gave him two or three grand entertainments. He afterwards embarked on board of his own vessel and returned to his kingdom of Tátar."

The story concludes with stating that Browijáya, with his Páteh, Rang'ga Lawé, reigned at Majapáhit, and governed the whole of the island of Java, and his people were very happy.[259][Vol II Pg 117] [Vol II Pg 118]Under the second prince of Majapáhit, called Brokamára or Brow'yáya the second, the manufacture of arms of various descriptions was brought to the highest perfection; and the first damasked krises were now made by the pándi (smiths) from Pajajáran, who became so distinguished that they were appointed to the charge of districts with a thousand chácha each. The kris, which was afterwards placed on the tomb of Susúnan Gíri, is said to have been manufactured at this time from a piece of old iron found by the prince.[Vol II Pg 119]

The reign of the third prince of Majapáhit was of very short duration, and he was succeeded by Ardi Wijaya, who [Vol II Pg 120]putting to death the prime minister, eventually fell a sacrifice to the just revenge of the minister's son.

This prince, however, is distinguished by the extent of his conquests, and for the victory he obtained over Sri Sin Dérga, King of Sing'apura on the Malayan peninsula, whose subjects lived by piracy, but by this event became tributary to Majapáhit.

To him succeeded the fifth prince of Majapáhit, named Mérta Wijáya, whose minister, Gúja Mada, became celebrated for his virtues and abilities, and for the code of regulations which at this day exists under his name. In his reign the conquest of Indragíri, or Sumatra, which had begun by his predecessor, was successfully completed.

Accounts differ regarding the successor of his prince, some considering Ráden Alit, his brother, to have succeeded at an early age, and others that Ráden Alit is the same with Angka Wijáya, the last sovereign of Majapáhit. According to the latter accounts, many of the principal events reported to have taken place in the reign of Alít are brought under that of Mérta Wijáya.

One of the sovereigns of Majapáhit, according to the Malayan annals, had two sons by the daughter of the Raja of the mountain Sa Guntang; the eldest named Ráden Ino Mérta Wángsa, and the younger Ráden Mas Pamári. The eldest succeeded to the government of Majapáhit, the authority of which then extended over the whole of Java, and all the Rajas of Núsa Tamára (probably Báli) likewise paid allegiance for half their lands. The sovereign of Majapáhit heard of the extensive country of Malacca which did not owe him allegiance, and sent a large fleet against it, under the command of Demáng Wirája. The Javans, however, did not succeed: they were forced to retreat to their práhus and to return to Majapáhit.

Through the wisdom of the minister, Gája Máda, who was continued in office, and the prudent direction of Alit Wijáya, the kingdom of Majapáhit rose to the highest pitch of wealth and glory. Several nations on Sumatra, and among them the people of Palémbang, as well as the inhabitants of the southern states of Borneo, who had no regular government at that[Vol II Pg 121] period, obtained from him protection against the people of Lámpung, and in return acknowledged the supremacy of Majapáhit. The authority of this empire now extended eastward over Balambángan and Báli, and westward over what was then termed the kingdom of Súnda, which included the western districts of Java, part of Sumatra, and all the islands situated in the straits. The inhabitants of the islands situated in the straits of Sunda consisted for the most part of the dregs of all nations, who having fled from the wars, or having been otherwise obliged to desert their own country, had elected a chief, under whom they committed extensive depredations by sea and land.

During the reign of Alit Wijáya, the pusáka kris, named jala sémlang jándring, was carried off by stealth, by emissaries employed by Ménak Dáli Púti, prince of Balambángan; but was recovered by the dexterity of a pándi (or smith) named Súpa, who in reward for his services was made chief of Madirángin (now called Sidáyu), and was the first distinguished by the title of Adipáti. This chief afterwards proceeded with a force to Balambángan, and an engagement took place near the river Káli Tíkus: Ménak Dáli Púti was defeated and put to death, and his family obliged to seek refuge with the chief of Bálí Klóngkong. The enemy was pursued as far as his capital; Máchang púti, and the whole coast was divided into districts, under the sovereignty of Majapáhit.

The chief of Báli Klóngkong sent an embassy to Majapáhit, and concluded a treaty acknowledging its authority.

During this reign, a violent volcanic eruption took place from one of the mountains in the western districts of Balambángan.

Mérta, or according to others, Alit Wijáya, left two children, a daughter named Kanchána Wúnga, and a son named Angka Wijáya, who according to some accounts administered the government jointly. The princess, however, is better known as an independent sovereign, under the title of Prábu Kánya Kanchána Wúng'u. It is related, that during this reign the chief of Balembángan, named Ménak Jéng'ga, made a successful attack on Probolíng'go, and reduced under his authority all the countries which had been dependent on Majapáhit, as far west as Túban, so that the capital was[Vol II Pg 122] nearly surrounded by enemies. In this state of affairs, Ménak Jéng'ga offered terms, on condition of obtaining the hand of the princess in marriage; but she, disgusted by the deformity of his person, and a stench that exhaled from his body, not only rejected his suit, but declared she would give her hand to the man who would destroy him. Dámar Wúlan, the son of a tápa or devotee, named Udára, and a descendant of Aria Babáng'a, obtained a single victory over the rebels at Probolíng'go, and cut off the head of Ménak Jéng'ga: he was rewarded by the hand of the princess; and all the provinces again fell under the authority of Majapáhit. According to some accounts, Dámar Wúlan had also been successful in repelling an invasion from Kambója.

Angka Wijáya having by this time attained a sufficient age, assumed the chief authority; the princess retiring with Dámar Wúlan, to whom was entrusted the charge of Probolíng'go with the more eastern districts, and of Súmenap and Sámpang on Madúra.

The first attempts to introduce the Mahomedan religion in the eastern provinces of Java, appear to have been made at Grésik, about the close of the thirteenth century of the Javan era. In the origin and rise of Grésik, they are thus related by the native writers:

"Mulána Ibrahim, a celebrated Pandíta from Arabia, descended from Jenal Abidin, and cousin to the Raja of Chérmen (a country of Sábrang), had established himself with other Mahomedans at Désa Léran in Jang'gála, when the Raja of Chérmen arrived at Java. This prince, who was a Mahomedan, perceiving with regret that the inhabitants of the large and populous island of Java were still heathens, resolved to attempt the conversion of the King of Majapáhit, Prábu Angka Wijáya, and with this view to present to him his maiden daughter in marriage. Embarking with his daughter, and all his relatives and followers of every description, he reached Jang'gála in safety, and landing at the Désa Léran he immediately built a mosque there, and in a short time succeeded in obtaining many converts.

"The Raja of Chérmen having consulted with his relations whom he found at Léran, deputed his son, Sídek Mahómed, to proceed to Majapáhit, and apprise the king of his in[Vol II Pg 123]tended visit. He afterwards set out himself, with all his party, among whom were forty holy men, his relations, who had come with him from Sábrang.

"The King of Majapáhit came forth, and met Raja Chérmen at the confines, where they both remained under a pasang'grahan, erected for their accommodation. Angka Wijáya evinced the greatest respect for Raja Chérmen, and treated him with every mark of hospitality.

"The Raja of Chérmen now presented to the King of Majapáhit a pomegranate in a basket, in order that, by his acceptance or rejection of it, he might ascertain whether or not he would become a convert. The king accepted of the present, but not without wondering how a Raja from Tána Sábrang could think of presenting him with such a fruit, as if it had been unknown on Java. His thoughts, however, he kept to himself; but Raja Chérmen knew what was working in his mind, and soon after took his leave, and returned with his people to Léran. His nephew, Mulána Máhfar (son of Mulána Ibrahim) alone remained with Angka Wijáya. Some time after this, the king having contracted a kind of giddiness in the head, opened the pomegranate; when, instead of the usual seeds, he found it filled with precious stones (rubies). Surprised at this, he observed to his minister, that Raja Chérmen must indeed be a very superior kind of person, and sent Mulána Máhfar to request the Raja to return; but the Raja refused to do so, and proceeded on.

"When Raja Chérmen had been four nights at Léran, his people fell sick and many died. Among them there were three out of five cousins, who had accompanied him from Sábrang, named Sáyed Jáfar, Sáyed Kásem, and Sáyed Ghárt, whose tombs are known by the name of Kúbur Pánjang[260]. The princess also fell sick, when her father attended upon her himself, and besought the Almighty to spare her and restore her to health, that his intention of giving her to the Raja of Majapáhit might be fulfilled: he prayed, however, at the same time, that if it was ordained that Angka Wijáya was not to be converted, her days [Vol II Pg 124]might be shortened. The princess shortly afterwards died, and was interred near the graves of her relations[261].

"The usual tribute having been paid to the memory of the deceased, on the different days appointed for the performance of the ceremony, and Mulána Ibrahim having been appointed to look after and take care of the graves, the Raja of Chérmen, with all his people, set out to return home. On his way Sáyed Jáfar died. He was sent on shore at Madúra, and his remains were interred to the west of the village Plakára. Sayed Rafidin, the only remaining cousin of the Raja, died near Bovian, and was buried on that island.

"Angka Wijáya, desirous of meeting again with Raja Chérmen, arrived at Léran three days after his departure, and hearing of the death of the princess, observed, that he thought the religion of Rajá Chérmen would have prevented such a calamity as the premature death of the pútrí (princess), that it would have enabled her to hold out against the sickness of Java, and that he must now think meanly of it: to which Muléna replied, that such ignorance was only the consequence of worshipping Déwas instead of the true God. Angka Wijáya became highly enraged at this retort; but being pacified by his followers, returned to Majapáhit, without taking any further notice of it. This happened in the year 1313.

"Múlana Ibrahim, who remained in charge of the tombs of the deceased, afterwards removed from Léran to Grésik, which, however, had not become a separate state. Here he died, twenty-one years after the departure of the Raja of Chérmen; and here his tomb, which is known by the name of Gapúrá Wétan, is still to be seen. He died on Monday, the twelfth of Rabíulawal, in the Javan year 1334.

"It is related, that about this period there was a woman of Kamboja, named Niái Gédi Pináteh, the wife of the patéh, or minister of that country, who on account of her being a great sorceress was banished to Java, where, on her arrival, she went to the king of Majapáhit and implored protection. The king taking pity on her, the more so as she was a[Vol II Pg 125] woman of advanced age without any children, and had been removed from a situation where she had once been comfortable and happy, provided for her by making her a kind of shabándar (chief of the port) at Grésik, where there was already a mosque and a considerable population. Niái Gédi afterwards became very religious and charitable, and was revered for becoming the foster-mother of Susúnan Gíri. Her death took place forty-five years after that of Múlana Ibrahim; being a short time previous to the destruction of Majapáhit, and her tomb is still to be seen at Gresík."

To return, however, to the proceedings of the King of Majapáhit, it appears that early in his reign, Angka Wijáya, hearing from the merchants who resorted to Java of the beauty and accomplishments of a princess of Chámpa, sent an embassy to that country to demand her in marriage; and on her arrival at Grésik, received her there in person, with great attention and state. The princess, nevertheless, for a long time refused to cohabit with him, on account of the great number of his concubines, and particularly on account of the powerful hold obtained over his affections by a Chinese of great beauty, who had been sent to him as a present from one of the chiefs of China, at the request of the merchants and with the consent of the emperor, with a view to obtain greater privileges for their trade with Java.

The princess is represented as the second daughter of the Raja of Chámpa. Her name was Dára Wáti, and her eldest sister had been married to an Arab, by whom she had a son, named Ráchmat.

Previous, however, to this marriage, Angka Wijáya is said to have had an intrigue with a woman, of whom there are various accounts, some describing her as a witch, residing on the mountain Láwu, and others as a rasáksa. The fruit of this illicit connection was a son, called Aria Dámar. Unknown to his father, this youth distinguished himself at an early age, by bringing together all the wild animals of the forest, as an amusement for the prince and his family. In consequence of an exploit so hazardous, he was first appointed chief of a province, and afterwards promoted to the command of an army proceeding against[Vol II Pg 126] Báli, during a war in which the forces of Majapáhit suffered great loss, but were ultimately successful[262]. The capital, called Klónkong, was surprised and carried, and the chief himself, with the whole of his family, except one sister, put to the sword. She being very beautiful, was sent to Majapáhit. The island of Báli became tributary to Majapáhit.

Aria Dámar, on his return, presented the various arms which had been taken as tokens of his success; and his conduct being highly approved of, he was appointed Adipáti, or chief, of Palémbang on Sumatra.

The discontent of the Princess of Chámpa still continuing, the Prince came to the resolution of parting with his Chinese consort, and gave her to Aria Dámar, on condition that he would not cohabit with her until she was delivered of the child, of which she was then pregnant, and that he would afterwards rear up the child as his own. Aria Dámar then accompanied by the princess, and about three hundred chosen troops, given to him by the prince of Majapáhit, embarked for Palémbang, where he was well received, and immediately acknowledged as chief. He soon, however, became involved in a war with the Lámpung states and the neighbouring isles[Vol II Pg 127] of Súnda, the inhabitants of which were continually committing depredations in the territories of Palémbang. He proceeded into the Lámpung country, but before he could reduce it to subjection, internal commotions obliged him to return to Palémbany, where the Chinese princess was now delivered of a son, to whom he gave the name of Ráden Pátah. He had afterwards a son by this princess, whom he named Ráden Húsen; but observing that the people of Palémbang disliked the princess, on account of her Chinese extraction, he took from one of the first families of the place another wife, whose son might become his successor, and resolved to send Ráden Pátah and Ráden Húsen to Majapáhit.

After Aria Dámar had resided about three years at Palémbang, Ráden Ráchmat, son of the Arab priest, who had married one of the daughters of the Raja of Chámpa, arrived there, being the bearer of letters and presents for Majapáhit. Ráchmat was then about twenty years of age, carefully educated, and well instructed in the Mahomedan religion. In a short time Aria Dámar felt inclined to embrace the faith, but on account of the attachment of the people of Palémbang to their ancient worship, he dared not openly profess it. Ráchmat remained two months at Palémbang, and then proceeded on his voyage to Majapáhit, touching at Grésik on the way, where he visited Sheik Mulána Jomadil Kóbra, a devotee who had established himself on Gúnung Jáli, and who declared to him that his arrival at that particular period had been predicted by the prophet; that the fall of paganism was at hand, and that he was elected to preach the doctrine of Mahomed in the eastern parts of Java, where a rich harvest of conversion awaited his apostolic labours.

Arriving at Grésik he proceeded to Majapáhit, where he was kindly received by the prince, and by his relative the princess of Chámpa. Angka Wijáya, notwithstanding he disapproved of his religious principles, and himself refused to become a convert to them, conceived such an attachment for his person and such a respect for his character, that he assigned to him three thousand families, and formed an establishment for him at Ampel, situated in the vicinity of Surabáya, where he allowed him the free exercise of his religion,[Vol II Pg 128] with permission to make converts of those who were inclined. In a short time Ráchmat gained the affection of all those placed under him, and most of them were by degrees converted to the faith, whence he acquired the title of Sunan, meaning, according to some, "messenger from God," or he of whom requests are made, and which title, indifferently termed Sunan or Susuhunan, the sovereigns of Java have since continued to assume[263]. As a further testimony of his regard for Ráchmet, the prince of Majapáhit gave to him in marriage the daughter of his first Klíwon, whose brother, Wíla Tíkta, he had appointed chief of Túban. By this wife Ráchmat had three children, a daughter and two sons, who were afterwards appointed Adipátis of Bónang and Drájat, now called Lasem and Sedáyu.

The next Arab missionary who arrived at Grésik was Mulána Ishak, the father of the celebrated Súnan Gíri. The circumstances attending his arrival, and the establishment of his son, are thus related.

"Mulána Ishak, otherwise called Mulána Alul Islam of Pási Málaca, a celebrated Pandíta, who had given himself up to penance and mortification, having heard that there was at Ampel, on Java, a prince who was busily employed in propagating the Mahomedan religion, and that many persons, through his means, had embraced the faith, went over and assisted Súnan Mákdum in the work of conversion: and having received his sanction to go to Balambángan, for the purpose of teaching the Mahomedan religion, there embarked in a práhu, and set out on the sacred mission.

"It happened that at this time the chief of Balambángan was greatly distressed on account of his daughter, who was very sick, and whose malady would not yield to the power of medicine. One night a voice from heaven told him, that if he would have his daughter speedily recover he must send her to Gúnung Patukáng'an, where there would be found[Vol II Pg 129] a Pandíta from Sábrang, who would cure her, and afterwards become her husband.

"A storm arising, the práhu in which Malána Ishak had embarked was driven close to the foot of Gúnung Patukáng'an, and he landed there, when the chief, having sent his daughter to the mountain, directed that the Pandíta might be conveyed thither, in order that the prophecy might be fulfilled. Malána Ishak first objected to undertake the cure, on the plea that he was not skilled in medicine, but at last agreed to comply, on condition that the chief would embrace the Mahomedan religion if he were successful. To this the latter consented, on which Ishak, addressing the priest, said, 'I am not a person skilled in medicine, neither do I know how to administer it, but if your daughter would be well she has now only to wish herself so.' The princess immediately recovered.

"The prince afterwards bestowed upon the Pandíta his daughter in marriage, and she soon acquired a thorough knowledge of the tenets of Mahomedanism.

"On one occasion, when the prince was sitting in the hall of audience before all his people, the Pandíta went up to him and reminded him of his promise to become a Mahomedan, adding, that he was ready to instruct him in the doctrine of that system. On this the prince became angry, and told him in haughty terms that he never would change his religion. No sooner had he spoken than his mouth was distorted. At this, however, he only became the more exasperated, and approaching the Pandíta, was going to strike him, when his legs gave way under him and he fell to the ground.

"The Pandíta, returning to his wife, took leave of her, exhorting her to adhere to the religion he had taught her, and telling her that he must now proceed upon the mission on which he had originally embarked. Though desirous of accompanying him he would not permit her. After he was gone the land was afflicted with a pestilence, which carried off great numbers of the people.

"The prince, greatly vexed, and enraged at the havock thus made among his subjects, told his minister that it[Vol II Pg 130] must be in consequence of his daughter being pregnant by the Pandíta; and that, as soon as the child should be born he was determined to make away with it.

"The Almighty, however, took the child under his especial protection, and it was safely conveyed to Grésik in a trading vessel, where it was brought up by Niái Géde Pináteh, until it was twelve years of age; when, turning out a promising boy, she resigned him to Ráden Ráchmat, then called Súnan Ampel, for the purpose of his receiving religious instruction. The Súnan soon discovered the boy was of Arab descent, and gave him the name of Ráden Páku, observing, that he would one day become the pepaku (that is, the support-nail, or axle) of Java; he subsequently gave him his daughter in marriage.

"Ráden Páku afterwards, accompanied by Mákdum Ibrahim, son of the Súnan, proceeded on a pilgrimage to Mecca; but touching at Pási Malácca, they were there presented to the great and holy teacher, Mulána Alúl Islam, who persuaded them, instead of prosecuting their voyage, to return to their own country, in order to make converts and become great and glorious; and giving to each of them an Arab turban and a long gown, at the same time conferred upon them the names of Prábu Suswáta and Prábu Anyak Kraswáti. He moreover told them, on their return to Grésik, to erect a mosque at Gíri.

"On reaching Ampel, after their return to Java, the Súnan informed Ráden Páku that the holy man to whom he had been presented at Pási Malácca was his own father, and that by obeying his instructions in building a mosque at Gíri he would fulfil a prophecy, and he and his companion become great princes in Java.

"Ráden Páku then went to Gíri, and having cleared a spot, a mosque and dwelling were soon erected. Numerous proselytes being attracted thither, he was called Prábu Satmáta, and sometimes Susúnan Rátu Ainul Yákin, but more commonly Súnan Gíri. He was afterwards appointed by the king of Majapáhit to be chief of the province of Grésik, in the same manner as Susúnan Ampel had been previously appointed. He was born A. J. 1355. Prábu[Vol II Pg 131] Anyák Kraswáti, his companion, afterwards assumed the title Susúnan Bónang, under which name he was a distinguished character in subsequent transactions."

In the western provinces the work of conversion was also advancing, under the influence of Sheik Ibn' Mulána, who in A. J. 1334 had established himself in Chéribon, where he is better known as Susúnan Gúnung Játi, a name given him on account of his fixing his abode on the hills so named. A woman afflicted with the leprosy (a complaint which has been declared incurable) was recovered by him, and thus procured for him the character of being able to perform miracles. The number of people who in consequence of the cure resorted to Gúnung Játi was so great, that the chiefs, in the first instance, thought themselves bound to interfere, and did so with the hopes of success; but finding afterwards that they could not resist the tide, many of them, among whom were the chiefs of Gálu, Sukapúra, and Limbangan, became themselves converts to the faith.

When Lémbu Pétang, son of Angka Wijáya, by the Princess of Chámpa, was appointed to the charge of the island of Madúra, under the title of Panambáhan, the Súnan Gíri deputed Sheik Sárif, commonly called Kalipha Kúsen, to accompany him, in order to make converts on that island. This missionary was buried at Aros Báya, where he had built a mosque, and is generally known on Madúra by the name of Pangéran Sárif.

In the meantime the name of Majapáhit stood high among surrounding nations; and at no time was the authority of that state more extensively acknowledged. Some disturbances, however, had taken place on Báli, promoted by chiefs of districts, who oppressed their subjects, and interfered with the authority of each other. These commotions were so exasperated by the difficulties which arose in collecting the tribute, that the prince was obliged to send an army thither, under the command of Adáya Níngrat, the Adipáti of Pájang Peng'ging, who soon restored order and tranquillity. In return for this and other eminent services he obtained in marriage Rátu Tímpo, the legitimate daughter of Angka Wijáya. Déwa Agung Kátut, a natural son of the prince by the princess of Báli, being then appointed chief of that island,[Vol II Pg 132] proceeded thither with a select force, and continued tributary to Majapáhit until its downfall.

[The following account is given of the further success of the Majapáhit arms in the Eastern Seas, under Andáya Níngrat, commonly known by the title of Rátu Péng'ging, and of the motives which induced the Prince of Majapáhit first to give him his daughter in marriage, and afterwards to admit him to a share in the government.]

"Every time that the Prince of Majapáhit received accounts of the success of Rátu Péng'ging his alarm and uneasiness increased; for in these accounts it was stated that he wanted no further assistance, as he met with but little opposition, all the rajas of Sábrang submitting to him, among whom were those of Makásar, Góa, Bánda, Sembáwa, Endé, Tímor, Ternáté, Súlu, Síram, Maníla, and Búrni, in short, he and his followers conquered wherever he went, being themselves invulnerable.

"At length the Prince of Majapáhit recollected that Palémbang had not yet submitted, and in consequence sent a handsome present to Ratu Péng'ging, accompanied by a request to subdue Palémbang without delay.

"The Prince of Majapáhit then calling his minister, Gaja Máda, inquired of him how it was that Rátu Péng'ging met with such success, and was becoming so great, that no country could withstand him, and told him, that his alarm was excited even for his own safety, least on his return to Péng'ging the island of Java should become subject to two chiefs. To which Gaja Máda replied, 'he knew not how to account for it, or to remove the uneasiness of the prince, but that he was always ready to obey the orders of his prince: in the present case Rátu Péng'ging had been thrown into the greatest danger possible, and yet his life was preserved; what more could be done?' The prince then said, 'let us both perform penance, and inquire of the Deity how to remove this uneasiness.' Gaja Máda assenting to this proposal, they both kept themselves apart from the people of the court, and fasted for forty days and forty nights, at the expiration of which Batára Naráda appeared to Gaja Máda, saying, 'it is impossible for you to destroy or kill Rátu Péng'ging, for he is a good man, and favoured[Vol II Pg 133] by the gods; but if the Prince of Majapáhit wishes to get rid of his uneasiness, he had better make him his son-in-law, by giving him his eldest daughter, Rátu Pambáyun, in marriage.'

"The prince on hearing this became much astonished, adding, that he had received a similar communication from Sang'yang Túng'gal (the great and only one,) and it was agreed to send for Rátu Péng'ging without delay.

"In a short time Rátu Péng'ging reached Majapáhit, with numerous princes in his suite, in proof of what he had written, that all the rajas of Sábrang had submitted, and were willing to obey the will of Majapáhit. Rátu Péng'ging then informed the prince, that in the conquest of Palémbang the raja of that country had been killed, and that he had himself appointed a person to administer the government provisionally, until the Prince of Majapáhit should nominate a new raja.

"The prince received him with great distinction, saying, he knew not how to reward such eminent service, and offering to him his daughter in marriage.

"After the marriage had taken place the prince assembled all his chiefs, and placing Rátu Péng'ging, now his son-in-law, on the setíngel, appointed him in their presence, under the title of Prábu Anom, to a joint administration of the country with himself.

"The prince, however, some time after, became jealous of the authority of this chief, and removed him to Péng'ging, afterwards called Pájang.

"During the administration of Lémbu Pétang on Madúra, Súmanap with the subordinate islands became a separate province under Járan Panúlan, a native of Pamakásan, who, by his skill and courage, had raised himself to the rank of commander of the Majapáhit cavalry, and was married to an illegitimate daughter of the prince.

"About the year 1360 ambassadors arrived from Pánjar Másin, when the prince sent one of his sons, Kúda Banjáran Sâri, also called Chákra Nagára, to be the chief of that country. He proceeded with many vessels, and numerous followers and troops.

"The prince afterwards gave one of his daughters, the[Vol II Pg 134] sister of Chákra Nagára, in marriage to a celebrated commander, named Járan Línau, who was appointed Adipáti of Lokáno, and appointed Pánji Diwírio chief of Pranarága, with the title of Batára Kátong.

"The prince falling ill of a complaint, declared by the physicians to be incurable, was advised, as the only means of recovery, to cohabit with one of his female slaves, a woolly-haired girl. The fruit of this intercourse was a son, who, on account of his birth, was called Búndan Kajáwan. This child, shortly after its birth, was delivered over to Kiái Géde Tárup Siséla, chief of the prince's sáwa, or rice lands, with directions to bring it up as a foundling."

Returning, however, to the progress of Mahomedan conversion, which is now more rapidly advancing, the history goes on to state that the sons of Aria Dámar, of Palémbang, who were destined to take a most conspicuous part in succeeding events, came to Grésik, the former at the age of twenty, and the latter of eighteen. Ráden Pátah, aware of his extraction, and of the treatment which his mother had received, would not proceed to Majapáhit, but remained with the Susúnan at Ampel for some time. Húsen, however, went to Majapáhit, with injunctions not to say any thing of Ráden Pátah. He was well received there, and soon after was appointed to the command of the troops, and to administer the district of Trong.

Ráden Pátah afterwards marrying the grand-daughter of Súnan Ampel, and leaving her during her pregnancy, proceeded to the westward, in order to form an establishment, which he was directed to fix at a place where he should find the sweet-scented grass, called bíntara. This he discovered in a place where there were but few dry spots to be found, in an extensive swamp, termed in Javan Demalákan, whence the contraction Demák, first called Bintára.

As soon as the prince of Majapáhit heard of this new establishment at Bintára, he directed Húsen to proceed thither and destroy it, unless the chief was willing to acknowledge the authority of Majapáhit. Húsen in consequence prevailed on Ráden Pátah to accompany him to Majapáhit, where he was recognised by his likeness to the prince, and permitted to return to Bintára with the title of Adipáti.

When Ráden Pátah quitted Majapáhit, instead of return[Vol II Pg 135]ing to Bintára he went to Ampel, and communicated to him the shame and rage which he felt on the discovery of his birth and a determination which he had made to destroy Majapáhit. The Súnan, however, moderated his anger, by telling him that while the prince was just and beloved, and he himself received such benefits from him, his religion did not admit of his making war against him, or in any way injuring him.

Ráden Pátah then returned to Bintára, taking with him his wife, but leaving with the Súnan his son, Ráden Abdala. Bintára now rose in consequence and prosperity, proselytes became numerous, and the population daily increased.

Shortly after the mosque had been commenced, intelligence was received of the severe illness of the Súnan Ampel, in consequence of which Ráden Pátah, together with all the chiefs and people who had embraced Mahomedanism, proceeded to Ampel, where, after they had attended him for a few days, he died, previously delivering into the hands of the Súnan Gíri a pusáka kris, which had been given to him by the prince of Majapáhit, and which he required of him never to transfer into unhallowed hands.

The prince of Majapáhit is represented as paying every honour to the deceased, and as having provided the usual feast on the occasion. After this event, Ráden Pátah returned to Bintára, whither eight missionaries, who had assumed the title of Súnan, viz. Súnan Bónang of Túban (son of Súnan Ampel), Súnan Undang of Kúdus, Súnan Gíri of Grésik, Súnan Agum (Mulána Jomadil Kobra of Chéribon), Sunan Káli Jenar, Sunan Káli Jága, Súnan Tanggung (of Tegal), and Súnan Drája of Sidayu, now proceeded to assist in the completion of the mosque. This mosque is still standing, and is of a shape different from those constructed at a later period, having, as it is asserted, eight pillars, to commemorate the circumstance of the eight religious men engaged in its construction. This event occurred in the year 1390.

It was now that Ráden Pátah, finding advisers who were perhaps less scrupulous than the revered Súnan Ampel, gave vent to his deep-rooted animosity against his father, and formed a league with the assembled missionaries to make war upon the pagan empire of Majapáhit. In consequence of this confederacy, which was joined by all those who had[Vol II Pg 136] embraced the Mahomedan faith, with the exception of Húsen and his followers, who remained true to the prince, a numerous army was soon collected at Demák, where Ráden Pátah openly declared war.

Súnan Undang of Kúdus was appointed to the chief command, and under him the Mahomedan army marched towards Majapáhit; but owing to the dexterity of Húsen, who commanded the Majapáhit forces, a general engagement was avoided, and for four years the hostile army was kept at bay. The troops of Majapáhit at last dissatisfied with this uncertain state of affairs and constant harassing, called loudly for action, and in compliance with their wishes a decisive battle was fought near the Sidayu river, in which the Mahomedans were completely routed, and their chief, Súnan Undang, killed. Húsen is accused of not having followed up this victory to the utmost of his power, on account of his fraternal affection for Ráden Pátah. The remains of Súnan Undang were interred in the north side of the temple at Demák.

The prince of Majapáhit, after this success, again endeavoured to reduce Ráden Pátah to obedience by amicable means, and for that purpose invited him to Majapáhit. Pátah promised to comply as soon as he should recover from a distemper which then confined him. By this, and other excuses, which were only urged to gain time, he contrived to deceive the prince; and Bintára, with the other provinces, continuing to pay the usual tribute, his vengeance was disarmed.

Considerable depredations were now made by the Súnda people, who landing on the north coast proceeded by the river Losári into the interior of the country, as far as Bányumas and Dáyu Lúhur, which probably attracted the attention of Angka Wijáya, more than the immediate danger which threatened his empire from the members of his own family.

Ráden Pátah, in the meantime, was very active in making preparations for a fresh attack, and sent to Palémbang, for the double purpose of asking assistance from that state and of reconciling Aria Dámar to the part which he was now taking against Húsen.

To the latter part of the message Aria Dámar replied, "that it was the will of God to extirpate paganism, and to esta[Vol II Pg 137]blish the doctrine of Mahomed; that therefore, if Húsen, who was a Mahomedan, still continued to assist the infidels, he must abide by the consequences, and that he, as his father, would in such case take no vengeance for the death of his son, should it ensue."

The confederates gaining courage from this support, the several chiefs sent numerous troops to Demák, and a second army was soon assembled. The overthrow of the ancient kingdom, if we are to believe the Javans, was not to be effected by human means alone, and supernatural expedients were resorted to. Aria Dámar is said to have sent to Ráden Pátah the box which had been given him by his mother before he quitted Java, directing him to carry it to the wars. Súnan Gúnung Játi sent him a báju ránté, or chain jacket, with an injunction not to open it until the engagement was at its height, when thousands of rats would issue from it, and assist in putting an end to the struggle. Súnan Gíri contributed with the same instructions the sacred kris, from which a swarm of hornets was to issue; and Súnan Bónang sent a magical wand or cane, which in cases of extremity possessed the power of producing allies and warriors on all sides.

Thus provided, the Mahomedan army took the field under Pangéran Kúdus, son of the deceased Súnan. The progress of the confederates is thus described.

"The army of the faithful, highly elated and determined upon the downfall of paganism, were met by the united forces of Majapáhit, under Húsen, and a severe and desperate battle took place, which lasted for seven successive days. In this protracted engagement the former were at first worsted; but the commander, Pangéran Kúdus, availing himself of the enchanted box and miraculous weapons, at last succeeded in driving the enemy before him, and the city of Majapáhit, surrounded on all sides, submitted to the hostile forces, the prince and his immediate followers having previously quitted it in disorder and fled to the eastward."

Thus in the year 1400 fell the great capital of Java, the boast and pride of the Eastern Islands: thus did the sacred city of Majapáhit, so long celebrated for the splendour of its[Vol II Pg 138] court and the glory of its arms, become a wilderness. "Lost and gone is the pride of the land."

The main force of the allies remained at Majapáhit; but Pangéran Kúdus proceeded to Trong, whither Húsen had retreated, raising combatants, by means of the magical wand of Súnan Bónang, as he advanced. Here he attacked Húsen, who had entrenched himself in a strong position, and soon carried his lines. That chief immediately acknowledging his defeat, entered into terms, and accompanied the Pangéran to Demák, taking with him his principal followers and daughter, whom Ráden Pátah was allowed to dispose of. He was well received, and his daughter given in marriage to Pangéran Aria of Túban.

On their way Pangéran Kúdus and Húsen went to Majapáhit, whence the regalia had already been removed to Demák, and assisted in the further removal of all property, public and private, of every description: so that in the course of two years the country was entirely laid waste, 1402.

Kedélang sírna warnáni nagára
2 0 4 1
To be seen nought form city[264].[Vol II Pg 139]

Nothing certain is known of the fate of the prince of Majapáhit. According to some accounts, he, his family, and [Vol II Pg 140]immediate adherents were put to death on the assault of the city; according to others, he fled to Málang, and ultimately to Báli. But the temporary establishment formed at Málang, after the fall of Majapáhit, is ascribed by the tradition of that district, not to the sovereign, but only to the Adipáti of Majapáhit, probably one of the sons of Angka Wijáya, who had remained with his father, and was indifferently termed Depáti Gúgur or Depáti Majapáhit. The date at which Angka Wijáya ascended the throne scarcely allows us to believe that he was living at the period of its final overthrow. This date may be determined from the inscriptions on several tombs still in a state of preservation. The year marked on the tomb of the princess of Chámpa (which is within the ruins of Majapáhit) is 1320; that on the tomb of [Vol II Pg 141]Mulána Ibrahim, who died twenty-one years after the arrival of the Raja Chérmen in 1313, is 1334; and as the princess of Chámpa must have been living at the period of Aria Dámar's being sent to Palémbang, when that prince had at least attained the age of puberty, the accession of Angka Wijáya to the throne of Majapáhit must have been anterior to the year 1320, and a reign of eighty years more than exceeds the limits of probability. All the accounts which are given of the fate of this prince and his family agree in stating that the princess of Chámpa, who must, if living, have been nearly a hundred years of age, fell into the hands of the conquerors, and found an asylum with the Súnan Bónang of Túban: but this statement is disproved by the recent discovery at Majapáhit of the tomb of this princess, who appears to have been buried according to the Mahomedan custom, and on whose tomb-stone the date 1320 is found, in the old Javan characters, in the highest state of preservation.

In those accounts which represent the prince as having retreated from Majapáhit the following particulars are related.

"About twelve months after the establishment of the supreme authority at Bintára, or Demák, the people of the more eastern provinces again reverted to the standard of Browijáya, who had received assistance from his son established on Báli; upon which Pangéran Aria of Kúdus and Húsen were directed to proceed against them with a powerful army. A desperate engagement took place near Málang, in which the Pepáti Sindu Rája was killed. The Mahomedan forces were however victorious, and following up their success, they pursued the Majapáhit people to Grojógan (Balambángan) whence Browijáya and those of his followers who still adhered to his fortune took refuge in boats, and fled to Báli. This event happened in the Javan year 1403."

The following, however, is the traditionary account given by the people of Málang, of the party who retreated thither from Majapáhit.

"When the people of Majapáhit were defeated, and obliged to fly their capital, the Páteh of Majapáhit took refuge at a place now called Sing'gára, to the south-west of Málang, where he met with protection from a devotee,[Vol II Pg 142] named Kiái Gédé Seng'gára, who becoming attached to him gave him his daughter in marriage.

"After the death of the Pátah of Majapáhit, and of Kiái Gédé Seng'gára, the son of the former disagreeing with his wife, quitted Seng'gára, and built a small village at Gedádang, where afterwards he constructed a fort, and assumed the name of Ráng'ga Permána.

"In a short time this new country was known by the name of Súpit úrang: its inhabitants commenced the manufacture of bricks, of which the walls of the town and ramparts were completed; they then dug a moat or ditch round the whole, and rendered it a place of great strength.

"The fame of this new establishment had no sooner reached the ears of the Mahomedan chief of Demák, who had now assumed all the authority formerly possessed by Majapáhit, than he sent his forces against it. The people of Súpit úrang remaining however within their fortification, the besiegers continued a long time before the place without being able to make any impression upon it, and were about to retire, when it occurred to them that a stratagem might be successful. This was to catch ten doves or pigeons, which in the course of the day might come from without the fortification in search of food, and, after fastening to their tails lighted brands, to let them loose into the city. The project succeeded, for the birds, flying towards their homes, set fire to the buildings within Súpit úrang, (which were constructed of light materials,) and all was confusion. The conflagration becoming general alarmed the people, who fled in every direction; the prince proceeded eastward as far as Gúnung Buréng (a rising ground within sight of the town,) where he is supposed to have perished, as nothing was afterwards heard of him. The besiegers then took possession of the place, which since that period has been called Kóta Bedak (the deserted fort.)"

All the chiefs and priests went to Gíri on their return from Seng'gára, to offer up thanks for their victory. The Súnan was much indisposed when they arrived, and soon after died, at the age of sixty-three years. The tomb of the Súnan Gíri is still kept in a state of preservation, and highly revered. It is remarkable for still containing the pusáka kris, which he[Vol II Pg 143] desired should be placed near his grave, and to which superstition has attached many virtues[265].

To return, however, to Ráden Pátah. No sooner had this chief caused the removal of the regalia from Majapáhit to Demák, than the Súnans, Gírí, Bónang, and Káli Jága formally invested him with the government, under the title of Panambáhan Jímbun, and declared him the deliverer from paganism and the head of the faithful. The manner in which Ráden Pátah obtained the sovereignty is otherwise related in other accounts.

While these events were passing in the eastern and more populous districts of Java, the missionaries were not idle in the western districts. Sheik Mulána, of Chéribon, after effecting the conversion of the chiefs and people in his neighbourhood, sent his son, Mulána Hásen-u-din, to Bantam, where, in the vicinity of the mountain Pulasári, a body of eight hundred recluses at once embraced the faith, and his disciples soon became numerous.

Hásen-u-din went afterwards with his father to Mecca. On their return they visited the court of Menangkábau on Sumatra, where they were received with great distinction by the Raja, who at their departure presented the father with a celebrated kris. From Menangkábau they proceeded to the mountain Pulusári in Bantam, whence the father returned to Chéribon, leaving the Menangkábau kris with his son. Hásen-u-din shortly after went to Chéribon, to be married to a daughter of the Súnan Demák (Ráden Pátah), and from thence to Demák, where he found Ráden Pátah engaged in war with the prince of Majapáhit. He there obtained his daughter in marriage, and assisted in bringing the war to a favourable conclusion, after which he returned with his wife to Bantam. Bantam at this period was a province dependent on Pajajáran.

About twelve months after his return to Bantam, where he assumed the chief authority, Hásen-u-din went over to the Lampung country in Sumatra, accompanied by Pangéran Bálu, a chief of Tulangbáwang, and proceeded as far as Indrapúra, where he married the daughter of the Raja as his[Vol II Pg 144] second wife. On this occasion it is said that the Bencoolen river was fixed upon as the boundary of his possessions in that direction; but it does not appear whether, by this new boundary, his possessions became more extended or more circumscribed than before.

During the whole of his progress from Tulangbáwang to Indrapúra, it is said that the sword was never out of the scabbard. It is therefore probable, that his title to these more distant regions was founded upon some previous claim, and either that the Lampung country was transferred to his father, Sheik Mulána, along with the Menangkábau kris[266], or that Palembang and the southern part of Sumatra might have devolved to Bantam, in consequence of Hásen-u-din's marriage with the daughter of Ráden Pátah, who had then assumed the sovereignty of Java and its dependencies.

On Hásen-u-din's return from Indrapúra, he assembled a large body of men, principally from the southern districts of Sumatra, and marched against Pákuan Pajajáran, the chief of which, with his followers, still adhered to the ancient faith, and attacking that capital at midnight completely annihilated its authority. On this occasion Kráwang is said to have been fixed as the boundary between the possessions of Sheik Mulána of Chéribon and those of Bantam, there being at that time no intermediate power.

The manner in which this ancient capital was annihilated, is described with great minuteness in the different traditions of the Súnda people, and the descendants of those who escaped and continued to adhere to their ancient faith, are to be traced in the districts of Bantam, where they still continue distinguished from the rest of the population under the designation of Bedui[267]. [Vol II Pg 145]

Among the articles removed from Majapáhit, and still preserved with superstitious veneration, was the paséban, or hall [Vol II Pg 146]of audience, a large building, supported by a double row of lofty pillars. This was placed in front of the mosque at Demák, where it is still to be seen. At Kúdus there is a carved door belonging to the place of worship which Browijáya used to attend; and in the burial places at Túban, and several of the eastern districts, are still to be found relics of a similar kind, which are reverenced as sacred.

On the destruction of Majapáhit, the numerous pándi, or workers in iron and steel, who were considered the strength of the empire, and who in consequence enjoyed many privileges, were dispersed over the eastern districts of Java, Madúra, and Báli, forming separate establishments under their respective chiefs. At this period the custom of wearing the kris is said to have been introduced among the common people.

FOOTNOTES:

[237] Middlekoop's Collection.

[238] Supposed to have been a crow or raven.

[239] A rude instrument of music still in use, particularly in the Súnda and mountainous districts.

[240] The Dáyas of Borneo still hold particular kinds of birds in high veneration, and draw omens from their flight, and the sounds which they utter. One of the principal of these is a species of white-headed kite, which preys on fish, snakes, and vermin. Before the Dáyas enter on a journey or engage in any war, head-hunting, or indeed any matter of importance, they endeavour to procure omens from these kites, and, for this purpose, invite their approach by screaming songs, and scattering rice before them. If these birds take their flight in the direction they wish to go, it is regarded as a favourable omen; but if they take another direction, they consider it as unfavourable, and delay the business until the omens are more suitable to their wishes.​—Transactions of the Batavian Society, vol. vii.

[241] The manner in which the mountaineers of the Súnda districts still spring and shout to the sound of this rude instrument, as already described, corresponds with this account; and on occasions of public rejoicings or ceremony, the native princes of the eastern part of the island frequently introduce a party of wild men, with dishevelled hair, and covered with leaves, shaking the ángklung, and shouting, springing, and distorting their limbs in the rudest manner: the object being to exhibit the original inhabitants, in contrast with what they have been rendered by civilization.

[242] Asiatic Researches.

[243] Kempfer's Japan, vol. i. p. 148.

[244] This history, which is written in the Mahomedan style of inspiration and prophecy, commences by a declaration on the part of Jáya Báya, that it is clearly ascertained, the island of Java will be annihilated in two thousand one hundred years from the date of its first existence; and after detailing every event, down to the Javan year 1743 (the present year, A.D. 1816), has the following extraordinary conclusion.

"The whole of the above chronological relation of events, from the first year to the present date, was written by the inspired Aji Jáya Báya, who himself lived about the year 800. What follows is a continuation of events which were foretold by him, and which are still to happen, viz.

"In the year 1801, Sura-kerta being no more, the seat of government will be removed to Katáng'ga, which being afterwards demolished, the seat of government will be removed in 1870 to Kárang Báya.

"In 1950, the seat of government will be removed to Kedíri, where it was of old. The Pringi people (Europeans) will then come, and having conquered Java, will establish a government in the year 1955. The Prince of Kling, however, hearing of the conquest and ruin of Java by the Príngis, will send a force which will defeat and drive them out of Java; and having given up the island once more to its Javan government, will, in the year 1960, return to his own country.

"On regaining possession of the country, the new Javan government will desert the former capital of Kárang Báya, as being an unlucky site, and remove it to Waríngin Kúbu, which is near the mountain N'gmárta Láya. This will take place in 2020.

"By the year 2100 there will be an end of Java entirely."

[245] Vide Asiatic Researches.

[246] See account of Watu Gúnung in vol. i. Literature.

[247] See vol. i. Poetry​—Brata Yudha.

[248] To this popular account of the early and fabulous history of Java, it may be interesting to add the equally popular and generally received ancient history of Madúra, formerly called Mandúra, and in the basa, or court language, Mandurétna.

"Batara Rama Yana having completed the wars, and conquered Dasa Muka, of the country of Alinka, thought of making a new settlement from the wilderness. To this he gave the name of Durjayapura; and after a long reign, resigned the government of it to his son, Butlawa, ending his days in solitude. Butlawa reigned for some years over the country of Durjayapura, and was succeeded by his son, Kunti Buja, who married the daughter of his Páteh, named Kasa. This prince removed the seat of government, or rather changed the name of it, to Mandura Rája, and was succeeded by his son, Basu Keti, who ascended the throne at nine years of age. During his reign there arrived a beautiful woman, named Dewi Sani Gatra, daughter of Bengawan Adi Rusa, who had fled from the Prince of Nusa Kambangán, called Jura Mataraja. The prince married her, and was in consequence attacked by Jura Mataraja; but by the assistance of Pula Sara, the father of Abiasa, who afterwards became sovereign of Astina, he defeated him, and remained in quiet possession of his country. By the princess he had four children; three sons, named Basu Dewa, Aria Prabu, and Angrasana, and a daughter named Dewi Kunti. When Basu Dewa was fifteen years of age, his father wished him to marry a princess of the country, but the youth having fixed his affections upon the daughter of Raja Sirwonga, named Dewi Angsa Wati, refused compliance, and was in consequence dismissed from the royal presence.

"Basu Dewa, learning that the daughter of Sirwonga had been carried off by a giant into the woods, succeeded in overpowering the giant, and married Dewi Angsa Wati; but intelligence being given thereof to the chief, the prince of Ambulutiga, a chief called Tiga Warna (tri-coloured) was sent in pursuit of Basu Dewa, whom he overtook on his return to Mandura Raja. Basu Dewa was vanquished and fell into a cave: the princess fell into the hands of Tiga Warna.

"It was about this time that Pula Sara obtained the kingdom of Astina for his son Abiasa, and was desirous of betrothing him to Dewa Ambalika of Astina; but the young prince would not consent; and one day, when he was wandering in the forests, he heard a voice issue from a cave, and discovered Basu Dewa, who related his case and intreated his aid in the recovery of his wife. The young princes then proceeded in search of Tiga Warna, and having discovered him, Basu Dewa discharged an arrow at him and killed him. Dewi Ansga Wati was in consequence restored to her husband. Basu Dewa and Abiasa then exchanged vows of perpetual friendship between themselves and their descendants, invoking a curse upon whomsoever of them should be guilty of breaking it. After this, Basu Dewa returned to Mandura Raja.

"Basu Dewa at length succeeded his father in the government of Mandura Raja, and had several children; of whom one was white, named Kakra Sana, the other black, named Kresna. He was succeeded by a son whom he had exposed in the woods, but to whom he afterwards became reconciled, named Raden Kangsa, to whom he gave the country. At this time Pandu Dewa Nata reigned over the kingdom of Astina. One night a voice said to him in a dream, 'When you meet with children of Madura, white or black, put them to death.' His father, who was still living, apprehensive for the fate of his favourite sons, Kakra Sana and Kresna, sent them to Widara Kandang for concealment, with Angga Gopa. These two princes afterwards hearing of an exhibition of fighting men, proceeded with their sister Sambádra to the Alun alun, where the combatants were assembled, and here they met Raden Aria Jenaka and Sena, sons of Pandu Dewa Nata, from Astina, who when their father died heard of the fame of Madura, and came in quest of the country.

"Raden Kangsa was seated in the paseban, surrounded by his chiefs, when his Páteh informed him that the proscribed children had at last appeared. The prince, delighted that those whom he had so long sought in vain had now appeared of their own accord, ordered his Páteh immediately to seize them; but Kakra Sana fought with the Páteh, and drove him back upon the prince, who then seized him himself, and throwing him on the ground with violence, blood gushed from his mouth. Kakra Sana then called for assistance from Krésna, who with Raden Sena immediately came and overpowered Raden Kangsa. Upon this Kakra Sana put him to death with his weapon Lugúra. The Páteh, ignorant of the fate of his prince, rushed upon the parties, but was pierced with a spear by Kakra Sana, who immediately exclaimed, 'I am Resi Anapita of Repat Kapanasan; I am Resi di Jala dana Baladewa, the son of Basu Dewa of Madura.'

"Then his uncle, Aria Prabu, spoke; and having embraced him, carried him to his father, Basu Dewa, who conferred the country upon him. At night, however, Kakra Sana heard a voice in his sleep, saying, 'to-morrow will I be revenged in the war Brata Yudha: there will be one of the country Chámpala Raja, I am he.' Kakra Sana replied, 'well I dare you.'"

[249] The Chandi Sewu, or one thousand temples at Brambanan, according to this chronology, are supposed to have been completed in the year 1018.

[250] The temple of Boro Bodo is also supposed to have been completed in 1360.

[251] At this time there were also three other cotemporary kingdoms, Daha, Singa Sári, and Ng'arawan.

[252] By these accounts, Sawela Chala is represented as the thirtieth in descent from Nurchaya, and the eleventh from Arjúna, according to the following line of Indian princes who ruled at Astína-púra and Guj'-rat.

[253] For an explanation of the week of five days, so termed, see vol. i. Astronomy.

[254] "King Me succeeded his brother (as Emperor of Japan) in the year of Synmu, of Christ 540.

"He was a very religious prince, and very favourably inclined to the foreign pagan Budsdo worship, which during his reign spread with great success in Japan, insomuch that the emperor himself caused several temples to be built to foreign idols, and ordered the idol of Buds, or Fotoge, to be carved in Fakkusai, that is in China.

"My Japanese author mentions what follows, as something very remarkable, and says, that it happened in the thirty-first year of his reign, and contributed very much to the advancement of the Budsdo religion. About a thousand years ago, says my author, there was in "Tsiutensiku (that is the middle Tensiku, whereby must be understood the country of the Malabarians and the coast of Coromandel in India) an eminent fotoke called Mokuren, a disciple of Siaka. About the same time the doctrine of Jambaden Gonna Niorai (that is, Amida the great god and patron of departed souls) was brought over into China, or Fakkusai, and spread into the neighbouring countries. This doctrine, continues he, did now manifest itself also in Tsinokuni, or Japan, at a place called Naniwa, where the idol of Amida appeared at the entry of a pond, environed with golden rays, nobody knowing how it was conveyed thither. The pious emperor, in memory of this miraculous event, instituted the first Nengo in Japan, and called it Konquo. The idol itself was by Tondo Josijmitz, a prince of great courage and piety, carried into the country of Sinano, and placed in the temple of Sinquosi, where it afterwards, by the name of Sinquosi Norai (that is, the Norai or Amida of Sinquosi) wrought many great miracles, which made that temple famous all over the empire. Thus far my Japanese author. He was succeeded by his son, Fit Atzu, or Fint Atz, in the year of Synmu 1232, of Christ 572. My author makes no mention of his age, but sets down the following remarkable events which happened during his reign.

"In the third year of his reign, on the first day of the first month, was born at the emperor's court Sotoktais, the great apostle of the Japanese. His birth was preceded and attended with several remarkable circumstances.

"The idol worship in general increased greatly in Japan during the emperor's reign. Abundance of idols, and idol carvers, and priests, came from several countries beyond sea.

"In the eighth year of his reign the first image of Siaka was brought over from beyond sea, and carried to Nara into the temple of Kobusi, where it is still kept in great veneration, possessed of the chief and most eminent place in that temple.

"In the fourteenth year of his reign one Moria, a great antagonist and professed enemy of Sotoktais, occasioned great troubles and religious dissensions in the empire. He bore a mortal hatred to all the Fotoge or idols of the country, which he took out of the temples and burnt wherever he could come at them: but within two years time his enemies got the better of him, for he was overcome, and paid with his life for his presumptuous enterprise. It is added, that having thrown the ashes of the idols, which he had burnt, into a lake, there arose suddenly a most dreadful storm of thunder, lightning, and rain."​—History of Japan by Kempfer, vol. i. page 167.

It is remarkable, that a peculiar people seem to have traversed Mexico in the following century, and according to Humboldt in like manner to have left behind them traces of cultivation and civilization. "The Toultecs," says that eminent author, "appeared first in 648, the Chichimecs in 1170, the Nahualtics in 1178, and the Aztecs in 1196. The Toultecs introduced the cultivation of maize and cotton; they built cities, made roads, and constructed those great pyramids which are yet admired, and of which the faces are very accurately laid out. They knew the use of hieroglyphical paintings; they could found metals and cut the hardest stones, and they had a solar year more perfect than that of the Greeks or Romans. The form of their government indicated that they were the descendants of a people, who had experienced great vicissitudes in their social state." "But where," asks Humboldt, "is the source of that cultivation; where is the country from which the Toultecs and Mexicans issued?"​—Humboldt's Political Essay on New Spain.

[255] In these annals, the princess Chándra Kirana of Daha is represented as being demanded in marriage by the son of the Mahomedan Raja of Malacca, and the story, in which an account is evidently given of a visit to Java at a much later period of its history, blended with the earlier romances of Java, after detailing the particulars by which the prince of Tanjung-pura became Raja of Majapáhit, is thus told:

"The Batára had a daughter, named Raden Galu Chandra Kirana, "whose beauty was celebrated far and wide, and many Rajas sought her in marriage. Her fame reached Malacca, and Sultan Mansur became enamoured of her by description. He ordered Paduka Raja, the Bendahara, to fit out a fleet of five hundred large prahus with innumerable small ones. At Singapura were fitted out a hundred with three masts, and at Singi Raya as many more of the same sort.

"Then the prince selected forty nobles of the country, and forty virgins of noble family. He summoned Maha Ruja Merlang of Indragiri, and the Raja of Palémbang, the Raja of Jambi, and the Raja of Linga, to attend him to Majapahit; all the young warriors attending the prince, and all the great men remaining for the government of the country.

"When they reached Majapahit, they were well received by the Batara. At this time the Rajas of Daha and Tanjungpura, the younger brothers of the prince, were present at Majapahit.

"Among the chieftains who accompanied the Raja of Malacca was the celebrated Hang Tuah or Laxamana, who was highly admired, and exhibited wonderful feats.

"The Batara gave his daughter, Chandra Kirana, in marriage to the Raja of Malacca; and the Batara, delighted with his son-in-law, caused him to be placed on a seat of equal honour with himself, both on public occasions and at meals.

"Then being about to depart, the Raja requested to be presented with the kingdom of Indra-giri, which was accordingly given to him. He then bestowed Siantan on Laxamana, from which time the rulers of Siantan are descendants of Laxamana.

"By the princess he had a son, named Raden Galang, who was killed one day by a man running amok."​—Malayan Annals.

[256] Pánji.

[257] According to the traditions of the Sunda people, these two brothers, Chiong Wanara and Raden Tanduran, were descended from a prince of Galu, and their empires were divided by the river of Brebes, thence called Chi Pamali, or the River of Prohibition.

"Raja Galu, otherwise known by the name of Raja Pamakás, and whose country was called Bajong Galu, had two sons, named Raden Aria Bang'a and Tanduran. There was a pestilence in those days, which, carrying off great numbers of the inhabitants, caused the prince to be much afflicted in his mind; whereupon, sending for his patéh (or minister), he thus addressed him: 'Go thou to Bukit Padang, and call one there named Si Ajar, failing not to bring him along with thee, as it may perhaps be in his power to administer relief to my distressed and suffering subjects.' The patéh immediately took leave of his Sovereign, and repaired forthwith to Bukit Padang to summon Si Ajar, who soon after appeared before the Raja, presenting him with some herbs which he had brought for that purpose. When Si Ajar had seated himself in the usual manner before the monarch, the latter thus addressed him: 'Ajar, a great pestilence at present rages in the country, and makes great havock amongst my subjects; it is therefore that I have sent for thee, in hopes that thou mayest be able to put a stop to the mortality which now prevails.' Ajar immediately replied, 'O Raja, it is my opinion, that he to whom the country belongs is the proper person to do what is requisite for the good of it and its inhabitants.' When the Raja heard these words, he was exceedingly wroth; so much so, that he was on the point of putting Ajar to instant death, when the latter thus addressed him; 'Prince! if you are determined to kill me, I resign my life, but depend upon it you will be made to answer for it, and that by your own son.' Si Ajar then returned to Bukit Padang, wherupon Raja Galu thus spoke to his patéh: 'Repair instantly to Bukit Padang, and put Si Ajar to death; let him not longer live.' The patéh accordingly went, and having executed the Raja's orders, returned and reported the circumstance to his prince, who felt much joy on the occasion. Shortly after this the Raja's concubine became pregnant, and when her time was come she was delivered of a son, whose features were exquisitely beautiful. When the prince was informed of this, he desired the child might be brought to him. The prince no sooner cast his eyes upon it, than he thought of the words of Si Ajar; upon which he administered a dose of poison to the child, which however did not cause its death. He then told his patéh to take the child, and having put it in a basket, to send it floating down the river. The patéh took the child, and having disposed of it as he was ordered, returned and made his master very happy by the report of what he had done. The basket in which the child was turned adrift on the river Chitandui being stopped by some stakes placed there by a fisherman, named Ke Balangantrang, it was picked up and carried home by him. He was highly pleased with the child, and adopted it, and gave it the name of Ke Jakah, and cherished it till it arrived at the age of manhood. Ke Jakah then invited his reputed father to accompany him to Bajong Galu. They had nearly got half way, when Ke Jakah looked up and saw a bird fly past. He asked Ke Balangantrang what might be the name of that bird? and was told that it was called chiong (the black minor of India). Ke Jakah then saw a form like that of a human being, and inquiring what it was, he was told that it was a wanara (monkey). Ke Jakah then exclaimed, 'if such is the case, then must my name be Chiong Wanara.'

"After this the travellers prosecuted their journey, and in due time arrived at Bajong Galu, where they went to the house of a relation of Ke Balangantrang, named Ke Haziali, the chief of all the blacksmiths. Chiong Wanara was then delivered over by Ke Balangantrang to Ke Haziali, who treated him as his own son, and instructed him in the art, in which he soon became eminent.

"Chiang Wanara had not been long in this new situation, before Raja Galu, hearing of the circumstance, sent for and begged him of the head blacksmith. The Raja in time owned him for his own son, and was so delighted when he first beheld him, that he sent for his son, Raden Aria Bang'a, and desired him to take every care of his newly-found brother.

"A short time after this, Chiong Wanara went to his royal father, and asked him to give him some hereditary property. When the Raja heard this, he immediately addressed Chiong Wanara thus:​—'My son, the whole of my property I have bestowed on thy eldest brother, and nothing is left except the head blacksmith, whom thou hadst better accept of.' Raden Chiong Wanara said he would take him with much pleasure.

"Soon after the head blacksmith came into his possession, Raden Chiong Wanara went again to his father, and solicited permission (which was granted to him) to construct an iron cage of very great strength, and of the most exquisite workmanship. Chiong Wanara then gave orders to his head blacksmith to have this cage made, and all the blacksmiths in the kingdom having been set about it, it was very soon finished, and had all the strength and beauty that was intended and wished for. Carpets and cushions, such as princes are accustomed to recline on, were spread within it. Chiong Wanara then went and acquainted Raja Galu that it was completed. When the Raja saw it, he was greatly pleased, and being entreated by Chiong Wanara to enter and examine whether or not there might be still something wanting to render it more complete; without suspecting any treachery, he did as he was requested. No sooner was he fairly in, than Chiong Wanara closed and locked the door, saying, at the same time to Raja Galu, 'Now is fulfilled the prediction of Ajar of Bukit Padang, whom you caused to be unjustly put to death.' The Raja answered from within the cage, 'I submit to this just judgment.'

"When Raden Aria Bang'a saw his father shut up in the cage, he could not contain his rage against Chiong Wanara, and a quarrel between the two brothers ensued.

"Raja Galu perceiving this, immediately exclaimed, 'For shame! that two brothers should thus fight with each other; such conduct is strictly forbidden by the elders of the people.'

"Without paying any regard to the words or admonition of Raja Galu, the two brothers engaged in single combat, stabbing, pushing, and striking each other in turn. Both parties being of equal strength, they continued fighting all the way from the place above described until they got far to the eastward, when finding themselves fatigued, they suspended the conflict under a certain tree. Chiong Wanara forthwith asked his brother what the name of the tree was under which they were: Aria Bang'a answered, it is called mája. They then took one of the fruit, and having split it in two, each took a part. That which Aria Bang'a ate was sweet, but that which Chiong Wanara ate was on the contrary very bitter (pait); so Chiong Wanara called the place Majapait, or as more generally pronounced, Majapahit.

"The combat was then renewed with the same vigour as before, and they continued fighting towards the westward, until they came to a row of trees (jajar), where they halted. On being asked by his brother the name of those trees, Chiong Wanara answered paku: Raden Aria Bang'a then said, 'the name of the place must be Pakuan Pa-jajar-an.'

"The two brothers then recommenced fighting, till they came to a river of Brebes, where being both much fatigued, they rested by the side of it and drank of its water.

"Raden Aria Bang'a then said: 'It was declared by our father to be wrong for brothers to fight with each other, it is also contrary to ancient usage, let us therefore put an end to this forbidden contest, and let us call this river Chi Pamali' (that is to say, the river of prohibition). The river Brebes thus obtained the name of Chi Pamali.

"Raden Aria Bang'a then said to his brother: 'do thou go to Pakuan Pajajaran while I go to Majapahit.' They accordingly separated, Raden Aria Bang'a proceeding to Majapahit, and Chiong Wanara returning to Bajong Galu, for the purpose of visiting his father in the cage.

"When Chiong Wanara arrived at Bajong Galu, and found the cage empty, his astonishment was very great. He then addressed himself to one of his people, named Ke Jampang, and asked what was become of Raja Galu. Ke Jampang replied, 'he went out of the cage of himself, without the assistance of any one, and has returned to his usual place of residence at Surga Luka, where he now is, having assumed the name and title of Guru Putra Hinga Baya.'

"When Chiong Wanara heard all this he thought he might as well throw away the empty cage, which he accordingly did, on the beach of the south coast, from whence the place is called Tana Kandang Wesi, or the land of the Iron Cage.

"Chiong Wanara forthwith invited Ke Jampang to accompany him to Surga Luka, in search of his father, Guru Putra Hinga Baya.

"In a short time they arrived at Surga Luka, and Chiong Wanara surrendered himself, entreating his father's forgiveness for what had passed. Guru Putra then said, 'to a certainty there must be two kingdoms on the island of Java, of which the (intermediate) boundary will be the river Pamali. The kingdom of Raden Tanduran will be to the eastward, and shall be called Majapahit; that of Chiong Wanara will be to the westward, and shall be called Pakuan Pajajaran: the latter kingdom will cease first (tunda dahulu.') Whence the people under Chiong Wanara were called Orang Sunda, and their language Sunda.

"Guru Putra then gave Chiong Wanara a black monkey-skin jacket, which the latter forthwith put on, and immediately became in appearance like that animal. He at the same time gave him the name of Guru Minda-sida tanda Prabu lutung Kasarong, and furnished him with some rice-seed, and appointed Ke Jampang to be his follower.

"Guru Minda and Ke Jampang then took their departure: and when they came to a place not far from Bajong Galu they set out about sowing their rice-seed, distributing it among all the poor people of the place for that purpose.

"Pandi Chacha Domas and all the Peng'gawas, as well as all the people of Bajong Galu, who were attached to Chiong Wanara at the time he went to see Guru Putra Hinga Baya of Surga Luka, being without a sovereign, went all of them to the eastward, to reside in the country of Majapahit.

"When Prabu Lutung Kasarong had given orders for the sowing of the rice, he and his follower, Ke Jampang, proceeded to a place on the south sea coast, called Kedu Pondok, where Ke Jampang being left to settle, the place took its name from him, and was ever after called Chutak Jampang.

"After Prabu Lutung Kasarong had left Ke Jampang at Kedu Pondok he went through the woods, till coming near Pakuan Pajajaran he found a very large tree, called pundi, situated on the banks of the river Chili-wong. He remained under it to rest himself, and gave the place the name of Kampung Pundi.

"Kuwu Mangkubumbi, of Jambadipa, in the district of Jelebud, had several children, all of them females. The youngest was called Purba Sari, and was established in the interior, near the tree called gadug, from which the kampung so called took its name.

"Having placed his youngest daughter, Purba Sari, in the interior of the country, he was desirous to send out people to shoot birds with a pellet, and accordingly created and appointed one a pellet-shooter, who went regularly every day to shoot, agreeably to the order of Kuwu Mangkubumi. One day the pellet-shooter came to the large pundi tree, and observing on it what he supposed to be a large black monkey, he wished to shoot it, whereupon Prabu Lutung Kasarong, whom he mistook for the monkey, thus addressed him: 'Don't shoot at me; you had better go home and tell your master to come here to me himself.' When the pellet-shooter perceived that the black monkey was gifted with speech he stood aghast and astonished beyond measure, and returned immediately to his master to acquaint him with the circumstance.

"Kuwu Mangubumi, together with the pellet-shooter, then repaired to the great pundi tree. On his arrival there he called to Prabu Lutung Kasarong, who was upon it. No sooner did the latter hear the summons, than he descended and talked with the Kuwu, who then took him home with him, highly delighted at being possessed of so extraordinary and accomplished a creature. In the course of a short time he wished to present him to his eldest daughter, and on her refusing to accept of him he offered him to a younger one, but neither would receive Prabu Lutung Kasarong.

"He then gave him to the youngest of all, named Niái Purba Sari, who accepted of him with great pleasure.

"In the course of time, Niai Purba Sari built a house at Wangun, and the place was afterwards called Kampung Wangun. He then planted some tagur trees, from which the place received the name of Kampung Tagur. After this, Prabu Lutung Kasarong caused Niai Purba Sari to remove from the gaduga tree to Kampung Wangun.

"When Niai Purba Sari became Prabu Lutung's wife, he laid aside the black monkey's skin with which he was clothed, and immediately resumed his former and usual beautiful appearance.

"He afterwards received the name of Niang Galarang, and established himself at Pakuan Pajajaran, where the Batutulis (inscribed stone) now is, and which was the seat of government of the Maha Raja Prabu Niang Galarang. After this his wife became pregnant, and Prabu Niang Galarang left Pakuan Pajajaran to the care of his Peng'gawas, or ministers of state, and went to Bukit Padang, where he became a Pandita.

"When the time was come, Niai Purba Sari brought forth a son of the most exquisitely beautiful features, to whom she gave the name Silawang'i.

"When Silawang'i grew up, he removed from Pakuan Pajajaran to Sumedang Larang, where he was soon afterwards married; first to Niai Raden Raja Mantu, and then to the daughter of the Peng'gawa of that place, so that he had many wives. He at the same time received the title of Baginda Maha Raja Prabu Silawang'i.

"Prabu Lutung Kasarong had afterwards two other sons, the elder named Ke Glap Nyawang, the younger, Ke Kedang Panjang, both of whom were strong and well made; and when they grew up they went with their father to Sumedang Larang, where they all remained with Prabu Silawang'i.

"Prabu Silawang'i, when he had got a number of wives and peng'gawas, returned to Pakuan Pajajaran, bringing them all with him, as also his two sons, and his man Ke Jampang, who was then called Purwa Kala. In returning to Pakuan Pajajaran, Prabu Silawang'i first went to a place on the south coast, called Nusa Kambangan, and there embarking in a vessel with all his family, he sailed westward, till they came to the anchoring place, to which was given the name of Palabuan Ratu (Wyn Coops Bay), and having disembarked, they all proceeded to Pakuan Pajajáran.

"On his arrival there, Prabu Silawang'i established himself as Raja, and having assembled all the Mantris, Peng'gawas, and other chiefs and officers, together with all the military forces, he caused great rejoicings to be made on the occasion, and each day and night every kind of play was performed to amuse him. Pakuan Pajajaran was crowded with the happy and delighted multitude, and so great and powerful did Prabu Silawang'i become at that time, that all the princes from the river Chi Pamali beyond Java Head (in Bantam) on the west, submitted to him and were subject to Pakuan Pajajaran.

"Prabu Silawang'i then built without the kraton (or palace) a hall of audience (paseban), which was styled Sasaka Domas, or the hall of eight hundred pillars; and in the interior of the kraton another, called Rarawis Kanchana (or that of golden flowers). This was where the Batutulis now is."

The tradition goes on to relate, that Prabu Silawang'i had one hundred and fifty wives, and that his sons-in-law, of whom there were also one hundred and fifty, were made great public officers.

In the course of a little time one of his highness's wives, named Niai Mantri Manek Mayang Sunda, the sister of Ke Marugal Sang Mantri Ayung, became pregnant, and in due time brought forth a beautiful boy, who was called by his father Raden Guru Gatangan, and who was made Raja Muda of Pakuan Pajajaran, with the name and title of Prabu Guru Gantangan.

Both father and son continued as Raja Tuah and Raja Muda to live in the kraton of Pakuan Pajajaran, happy and on good terms with each other; the management and direction of the state being entirely vested in the hands of the Raja Muda.

[258] The Javan traditions furnish no information respecting the locality of this state.

[259] Having thus detailed the traditions which exist among the Javans respecting the establishment of foreign colonies in the Eastern Archipelago, and brought down this part of the history to the establishment of the kingdom of Majapahit, it may not be amiss to transcribe those which prevail among the Malayus, who, it is well known, endeavour to trace their descent from the Macedonian hero, Alexander the Great. The following account is taken from the Sejara Maláyu, or Malay annals, a work written in the year 1021 of Hejirat:

"It happened that Raja Sekander, the son of Raja Darub of Rum, of the race of Makaduniah, the name of whose empire was Zulkarneini, wished to see the rising of the sun, and for this purpose came to the confines of the land of Hind. There was a Raja in Hindustan, named Raja Kideh Hindi, who was very powerful, and whose empire extended over the half of Hindustan. Immediately on the approach of Raja Sekander, Raja Kideh Hindi sent his prime minister to collect his forces, and marched out to meet him. The armies engaged, and a battle ensued, as is fully recorded in the history of Raja Sekander. Raja Kideh Hindi was defeated and taken prisoner, after which he was sent back to his own country. This Raja Kideh had a daughter: after sending his minister, Perdana Mantri, to consult with the minister of Raja Sekander, he gave her in marriage to Raja Sekander, on condition of receiving three hundred thousand dinars of gold.

"Raja Sekander, after tarrying ten days in honour of the ceremony, pursued his journey towards the rising sun, attended by his bride. On their return, however, her father requested her to remain some time with him: Raja Sekander consented and took his leave.

"The princess was already pregnant by Raja Sekander, but he was unacquainted with this circumstance; nor was the princess herself aware of it, till a month after her return to her father. At the expiration of her time, the princess was safely delivered of a son, whom Raja Kideh Hindi named Aristan Shah.

"Raja Aristan Shah was in course of time married to the daughter of the Raja of Turkistan, by whom he had a son, named Raja Aftus.

"After an absence of forty-five years, Raja Sekander returned to Makaduniah, and Raja Kideh Hindi died, leaving as his successor Raja Aristan Shah, who (or rather whose dynasty) reigned three hundred and fifty years. After him reigned the following princes in succession:

Raja Aftus, who reigned one hundred and twenty years.

Raja Askayinat, do. three years.

Raja Kasidas, do. twelve years.

Raja Amastubusu, do. thirteen years.

Raja Zamzeius, do. seven years.

Raja Khuras Khainat do. thirty years.

Raja Ahat Sakayinat.

Raja Kuda Zuguhan, son of Amastubusu.

Raja Nikubus, who reigned forty years.

Raja Ardasir Migan, who married the daughter of Raja Nushirwan Adel, sovereign of the west, by whom he had a son, named Raja Derm Nus.

Raja Tarsia Burdaras, son of Raja Zamarut.

The last of these princes married the daughter of Raja Sulan of Amdan Nagara. This Raja Sulan was the mightiest prince of the land of Hind, and of all the Rajas under the wind. By the princess, his daughter, Raja Narsa had three sons:

Raja Herian, who reigned in the country of Hindostan:

Raja Suren, whom Raja Sulan appointed in his own place; and

Raja Panden, who reigned in Turkestan.

"After a short time Raja Sulan died, and his grandson, Raja Suren, reigned in his place in Amdan Nagara, with still greater authority than his predecessors, and all the lands of the East and West, except China, acknowledged him.

"Then Raja Suren formed the design of subjugating China, and for this purpose marched towards that country. Two months he marched on without any obstruction, and every country submitted, till he approached the country of Gang'ga Nagara, the Raja of which was named Gang'gi Shah Juana. Here an engagement took place, in which Raja Suren smote off the head of Raja Gang'gi Shah Juana, whose subjects having lost their chief submitted to Raja Suren, who married Patri Gang'ga, the sister of the deceased Raja. From Gang'ga Nagara, Raja Suren advanced to the country of Klang Kins, which in former times was a great country, possessing a fort of black stone (supposed to be up the river Johor). The name of the Raja of this country was Chulen, who was superior to all the Rajas of the country lying under the wind. Here another desperate engagement took place, in which Raja Chulen also was killed, and the country submitted to Suren. Then Raja Suren married the daughter of the deceased monarch, and advanced to Tamarak. He returned, however, to the land of Kling without proceeding on to China. On the return of Raja Suren he founded a city of great size, the fame of which became renowned, and the name of which was Bisnagur (a well known and celebrated city of the south of India), which even at the present time is a great city in the land of Kling.

"Raja Suren had by the daughter of Raja Chulen a daughter, named Chandu Wani Wasias, and by Putri Gang'ga he had three sons, one of them named Bichitram Shah, another Palidutani, and the third Nilumanam.

"Palidutani succeeded to the government of Amden Nagara, and Nilumanam was appointed to the government of Chandukani: but on the eldest son, Bichitram Shah, was only conferred a territory of small extent, which so displeased the young prince, that he resolved to abandon the country. He accordingly embarked with twenty vessels, fitted out with all the appurtenances of war, determining to conquer all the maritime countries; but his fleet was dispersed by a storm, and part of them returned to their country.

"Bichitram Shah is then represented as arriving in the country now called Palembang, where Demang Lebar Daon, great grandson of Raja Chulen, was chief. Here marrying the daughter of the Raja, he assumed the government, under the title of Sang Sapurba Trimurti Tribuna, and had by her four children; two daughters, named Chandra Dewi and Putra Sri Dewi, and two sons, named Sang Mutiaga and Sang Nila Utama.

"After some years Sang Sapurba was seized with a desire to view the ocean, and went in search of a good situation for a new settlement, leaving the younger brother of Demang Lebar Daon in the government of Palembang; and the fleet being prepared, they set sail from the river of Palembang, and after steering six days and nights towards the south, arrived at Tanj'ung pura, where Sang Sapurba was very honourably received by the Raja, and a thousand chiefs introduced him into the country, seated him on the throne, and honoured him like a prince. As soon as the news of his arrival reached Majapáhit, the Bitara, who was very powerful, came to make him a visit. Sang Sapurba received him very graciously, and gave him in marriage his daughter Chandra Dewi. After this ceremony the Bitara of Majapáhit returned to his capital; and it is from this marriage (say the Malayan traditions) that the rajas of Majapáhit are descended.

"After a long residence at Tanj'ung pura, Sang Sapurba set out again in search of some other country; but he first married his son, Sang Mutiaga, to the daughter of the Raja Tanj'ung pura, and established him on the throne of that country, giving him a superb crown. After leaving Tanj'ung pura he traversed the sea until he arrived in the strait of Sambor, in view of the hills of Ling'ga (Lingen.) The news quickly reached Bentan, at this time under the sway of a queen, named Pramiswari Sehander Shah. Sang Nita Utama, the younger son of Sang Sapurba, was married to her daughter, named Wan Sri Bini, and afterwards became raja of the country.

"Sang Sapurba then left Bentan, and having sailed for a day and a night, arrived at Ruko, whence he proceeded to the point of Balang, and ascended the river Buantan, where it was reported the country was extremely populous. When he had ascended far up the river he arrived at Menangkabau: all the Menangkabaus were surprized at his appearance, and the splendour of his diadem, and they all came to inquire whence he came. As soon as they heard of his adventures, and that he was a descendant of Sultan Sekander Zulkarneiné, all the chief men of Menangkabau consulted about appointing him Raja, since they had none; and after he had, as a condition, succeeded in destroying an immense snake which harassed the country, he was unanimously elected Raja by the people of Buantan, and of him are descended all the generations of the Rajas of Pagaruyang.

"Sang Nila Utama afterwards quitted Bentan, and founded the city of Singa pura, situated on the southern extremity of the Malayan peninsula. This event is supposed to have taken place A.D. 1160.

"The successors of Sang Nila Utama were Paduka Sri Wikrama, Sri Rama Wikrama, and Sekander Shah, who, being driven out of Singa pura by the Majapáhit forces, afterwards established the city of Malaca. His successor, Mahomed Shah, first embraced Mahomedanism, in the year 1276."​—Malayan Annals.

[260] The long graves which are still pointed out near Léran.

[261] Her tomb is still preserved.

[262] The occasion, of the war with Báli is thus related:​—"At this period the royal family of Báli consisted of three brothers; the eldest of whom was named Maya Dináwa; the second, Dewa Machuwel, who was the chief; and the youngest, Kabu Wihaha. Kabu Wihaha is said to have been of extraordinary size, and to have had a head like a hog, devouring the flesh of that animal in great quantity. He was, moreover, very wicked and destructive, regardless of the rights or property of any one. On this account the people became dissatisfied with his sway, and his brothers, desirous of getting rid of him, advised him to proceed to Majapáhit, in order to obtain in marriage Loro Jongrang, of the family of Browijaya, a lady whom they represented as of a stature similar to his own. The Raja of Báli, as a further inducement to him to go, sent an embassy to make the request; but Browijaya, considering it as the forerunner of war, made his preparations accordingly. He sent for a celebrated painter, named Sung'ing adi Warna, and putting down the dimensions of a large woman, such as had been requested, desired him to paint the figure of a most beautiful woman of the same size, and when it was done dismissed the ambassadors, accompanied by Aria Damar, who had especial instructions to make observations of every thing in Báli, to that the way might be clear for hostilities, should the same become necessary."

[263] Súnan, in the Javan language, means the ridge pole of the roof; and tíang the pillars or supports of a house. The former is the term adopted by the sovereign! the latter is applied to the common people or men in general.

[264] The following account of this great capital, and of the country in general, is given by the Chinese; it was furnished by Han-Cham-pit, a Chinese, whose family have for many generations been settled on Java, and translated into English by Mr. Crawfurd, when Resident of Surabaya.


"Extract from a Chinese book called Bun-kyan-tong-ko, printed at Pekin one hundred and five years ago, in the reign of the Emperor Bang-he, and compiled under the direction of his ministers, Tyn-eng, Ong-un-Chin, Ong-Tam, Tyn-yong-twan, and others.


"There is a country called Jaw-wa, formerly called Cha-po; on the sea-coast of it there is a country called Po-kya-lung, by which is the entrance into the country.

"In the reign of the Emperor Hut-pit-lyat, of the family of Gívan Jaw-wa, it was described as being bounded in the following manner: to the east by Ko-li-gin, to the west by Sam-bu-che, to the north by Ko-ta-sit, and to the south by Cham-Sya.

"Subject to this country of Cha-po are Sokit-tan, Ta-pan, Ta-kong, Te-but, and other countries.

"In coming from Chwan-cha (Emwi) by sea one first makes Cham-Sya.

"The people of that country are of a strange appearance, and exceedingly ugly.

"In genius, habits, and language, they are entirely different from the Chinese.

"Jaw-wa became first known to the sovereigns of China in the reign of Saow-Gil-yang, of the dynasty Song[268]. The intercourse was, however, afterwards interrupted.

"After this, in the reign of Tyo-kong-in, of the family of Tyo[269], the king of Jaw-wa, whose name was Bak-lo-cha, sent an embassy with gifts to the Emperor of China.

"The intercourse was again renewed in the reign of Tyo-kyat, of the same family, when the Javans sent a mission with gifts to China.

"Afterwards, in the reign of the Emperor Hut-pit-lyat, and in the thirteenth year of his reign, soldiers were sent from China, but the Javan subjects were very numerous, and they could not succeed[270].

"The water of that country is called pa-chak-an. Here is the mouth of a river. This is the place to invade the country. It was here that Su-pit and Rohin, the generals of Hut-pit-lyat, fought the people of the country.

"The country of Jaw-wa is divided between two kings, one to the west, and one to the east. In the reign of the Emperor Chee-Te, of the dynasty of Beng, when that prince had sat five years on the throne, the western prince, whose name was Fo-wan-pan, made war on the prince of the eastern half of the island, and overthrew his kingdom.

"In the reign of the same Chinese prince, and in the sixteenth year of his reign, the western king of Jaw-wa, whose name now was Yang-wi-see-sa, sent a mission to China, with a present of a white parrot.

"Half a day's journey to the south-west of the river is the king's palace, close to a tank. Within this are two or three hundred houses. Seven or eight persons wait on the king, clothed in silk of various colours.

"The king's palace is built of bricks. In height the wall is thirty feet. Its circumference is about 30,000 paces. The hair on the king's head is in appearance like growing grass; he wears a cap ornamented at top with gold fashioned like leaves. A piece of silk is wrapped over his bosom; round his waist he has a piece of embroidered silk; he wears a short weapon; his feet are bare. Sometimes he rides on an elephant, and sometimes on a bullock.

"With respect to the people, the hair of the men has the appearance of growing grass. The women tie it in a knot at the top of the head; they wear a coat and a long cloth. The men invariably wear a short weapon at the waist, which is of exquisite workmanship.

"Their laws never punish by corporal infliction. They take no account of the measure of a man's offences; the criminal, in all cases, is secured with rattans, and then put to death by stabbing him.

"In their traffic they use the money of China, but of a coinage older than the present times. These coins bear a value double of what they do in China.

"The inhabitants of the country have names, but no surnames. They are of a quarrelsome disposition. In their persons they are ill-favoured and filthy. Their colour is a blueish black. Their heads are like those of large monkeys, and they go bare-legged. They believe in evil spirits. In sitting and sleeping they neither use chairs nor beds: in eating they use neither spoons nor chop-sticks. With respect to food, they do not reject snakes, caterpillars, worms, and insects. They do not scruple to eat and sleep with their dogs.

"In their marriage ceremonies it is the practice for the man to go to the house of the woman, where he stays five days; at the end of this time the bride is received with music and noise at the house of the bridegroom. The bride wears no coat, her hair is loose, her feet are bare, and she wears a piece of silk round her bosom. Sometimes she wears ornaments of gold, pearls, and precious stones.

"With respect to the dead, some are thrown into the water, some burnt, and some buried; all this according to the will of the person expressed before his death. The exports of the country are gold, silver, pearls, rhinoceros' horns, elephants' teeth, tortoise-shell, beetle-nut, black pepper, sapan wood, garu wood, kanglong, cotton, Sundit birds, green pigeons, and doves of various colours, parrots of various colours, red, green, and white, with white deer and white monkeys."

[265] Various stories are related of this kris.

[266] Known by the name of Kemándang.

[267] The Bedui are to be found at three different places in Bantam. At Gunung Perahiáng, where the chief is called Girang Pohon, there are twelve families; at Gunung Párangkujang, where the chief's name is Wanklang, there are forty men and women; and at Gunang Bungbang, where the chief is called Kiang, there are twelve families. In the Rawayans, the name given to the place in which they respectively reside, this exact number is constantly preserved, by the removal of any increase that may occur, and by supplying any deficiency from those without who have not embraced the Mahomedan faith.

The history of these people, who consider themselves as descendants of Prabu Seda, the last chief of Pajajaran, is intimately connected with the period of which we are now treating, and with the establishment of Mahomedanism in the western districts. The origin of the Bedui is thus related:​—

"During the reign of Prabu Seda, the last prince of Pajajaran, he was informed that a certain recluse, named Seda Sakti, had an incestuous intercourse with his sister, and determined to punish him for thus bringing disgrace upon the country; the man pleaded his innocence to no purpose, and was put to death by being pressed between two large logs of wood, previously making a stipulation, which was deemed reasonable enough, and which obtained the concurrence of all present, viz. that if he had actually been guilty of the crime laid to his charge, his descendants might lose their religion and live in the low lands; if not, that Prabu Seda, with his nobles and court, might lose their religion and place of residence, and become for ever slaves: and as a sign that this stipulation was approved and ratified from on high, immediately the sun was eclipsed, the rain descended in torrents, the thunder roared, the earth shook, and under the mountains were heard sounds like the discharge of great guns.

"Pachukaman, son of Prabu Seda, who resided with his people at Gunung Pulusari, at the period when the Mahomedan religion was about to be introduced, apprehended the consequences of the stipulation made with Seda Sakti, and determining not to change his ancient faith on any account, he quitted the place in secret, leaving his people, of whom eight hundred, who were holy men, went in search of him in vain, and only returned to deplore his loss."

Hasen-u-din subsequently fell in with these eight hundred recluses and converted them. He afterwards invaded Pajajaran. On his return to Pulusari, he was accustomed to come down to Sirang twice in seven days to sell fruit, and in the course of time he became acquainted with every thing relative to the people of Bantam. He afterwards subdued Girang, the ancient capital, situated a few miles inland of Sirang, of which the ruins are still visible, more by means of conversion than by arms, and when firmly established, Prabu Seda and his children, who refused to become converts, were there put to the sword.

The Bedui are the descendants of those who on the fall of Pajajaran escaped into the woods, and who refused to change their religion, remaining firmly attached to that of Prabu Seda. There is a tomb of one of them which they hold sacred, and which they will not allow any one but themselves to approach, even to this day. In after times, when the Bedui submitted to the Sultan of Bantam, and shewed no disposition to oppose the Mahomedans, they were exempted from the necessity of becoming converts, upon the condition, at the time they yielded, that the number in each Rawayan allowed to profess the ancient worship should be limited[271].

When the Mahomedan religion became more generally established, it was declared that all those people who should not have embraced the faith before a certain day, should, with their descendants, be considered as outcasts or slaves. This is the origin of the people termed Abdi, and who are quite distinct from the Bedui.

The name, however, given in the Sunda traditions to the last chief of Pajajaran, is Sila Wangi; and it is from some of his original adherents, who became converts to Mahomedanism, that the present regents of the Sunda districts are descended. One of them, Guru Gantang'an, with many followers, is said to have retired to the forests on the mountain Gedé, since called Recha Domas (eight hundred images), where many rude idols are still to be found. There it is said they afterwards became extinct, and according to the notion of the Sundas, the term Per-hiang'an, still retained by the descendants from Nga-hiang, signifying annihilated, is derived from the fate of this people.

[268] "Thirteen hundred and ninety-four years ago."

[269] "Eight hundred and fifty-one years ago."

[270] "Four hundred and fourteen years ago."

[271] For a further account of these people, see vol. i. page 372. [Vol II Pg 147]


CHAPTER XI.

History of Java, from the Establishment of Mahomedanism (A.J. 1400), till the Arrival of the British Forces in A.D. 1811. (A.J. 1738).

About a year after the establishment of the chief authority at Demák, the Sultan, accompanied by the different heads of the Mahomedan worship, visited Sheik Mulána Ibrahim at Chéribon. On this occasion, the chiefs were distributed over different quarters appropriated for them, in the vicinity of Palimánan, and the places where they resided still bear their respective names.

Kábu Kanigára, the chief of Pájang, second son of Andáya Níngrat by one of the daughters of Browijáya and the princess of Chámpa, was put to death, although he had embraced the Mahomedan religion, for refusing to acknowledge the supremacy of Sultan Demák, by presenting himself at court when required. The following is the account of this transaction, as given by the native writers.

"The Pangéran Kúdus then departed alone, and having entered the dálam was observed by a female attendant of the chief, who demanded his name and errand; to which he replied, that he should have the honour to make himself known to her master. The female observed that the prince was ill, and in mourning for the death of one of his best friends, Kiái Gédé Tingkir. Pangéran Kúdus then desired her to tell her master that he was a messenger from the Almighty, who brought good tidings. Having thus obtained admittance to the chief, he informed him that he was commissioned to require his immediate attendance at Demák, and in case of refusal to put him to death. But Kábu Kanigára still persisted in his refusal, and delivered[Vol II Pg 148] his kris into the hands of the Pangéran, who immediately wounded him in the arm, of which he shortly expired. He had however previously stipulated, that as his wife was pregnant, the circumstances of his death should be kept secret from her, and that her life should be preserved. The widow shortly after quitted the dálam, and found an asylum with the widow of Kiái Gédé Tingkir, where she was delivered of a son, destined to perform a conspicuous part in the transactions of those days."

Panambáhan Jimbua reigned according to some twelve, and according to others nine years after the fall of Majapáhit. He had several children, one of whom, named Pangéran Sábrang Lor, succeeded him as sultan of Demák: another, named Niái Bintára, was married to Mulána Ibrahim of Chéribon, who was in consequence honoured with the title of Panambáhan Makdum Játi.

Panambáhan Jimbun is represented as having resided in a small unadorned dwelling, while the principal buildings at Demák were constructed by Pangéran Kúdus, who had married the daughter of Húsen, and being entrusted with the highest offices, was considered as the second person in the state.

Pangéran Sábrang Lor, who succeeded his father in 1409, after a reign of less than two years, died of an inflammation of the lungs, and was succeeded, in 1412, by his brother, named Pangéran Tranggána, the third sultan of Demák.

On the inauguration of Pangéran Tranggána, he received the benediction of Panambáhan Mákdum Játi, and Pangéran Kúdus was appointed high priest. Two krises and a bádi bádi were made by the celebrated smith named Súra, from the iron wand which was supposed to have wrought miracles in the Majapáhit war. One of them was presented to the new sultan, and became a royal pusáka; the other was delivered to the Pangéran of Kúdus, with the appointment of Susúnan Pangúhu, or high priest. The bádi bádi was sent to Súnan Bónang.

Before the year 1421, the whole island of Java had submitted to the authority of Pangéran Tranggána, the chiefs of the several provinces, from Bantam to Balambángan, presenting themselves at his court, and universal tranquillity was[Vol II Pg 149] restored. The Mahomedan religion was now firmly established throughout the island: the mosque was completed, and treaties of amity and peace were concluded with the princes of Borneo, Palémbang, Báli, Singapúra, Indragírí, and other states of the Archipelago, which had become independent of Javan authority after the fall of Majapáhit.

This prince is represented to have been an intelligent, good, and virtuous man, and to have enforced the strictest obedience to the laws. Under his superintendence was composed a work, entitled Jáya Langkára, in which the principles of the Mahomedan law and precepts were blended with the ancient instructions of the country, and thus rendered agreeable to the people.

It is related, that on the occasion of the assemblage of the different chiefs at the funeral of the deceased Sultan, and the inauguration of Bangéran Tranggánaa, a dreadful storm arose, with much thunder and lightning, when a youth, named Jáka Siséla (the son of Browijáya by Búdan Kajáwan, who had been delivered over to the superintendent of his sáwah or rice fields) going out of the mosque to observe the weather, saw a meteoric stone fall on the ground beside him, without doing him harm. This stone he carried to the Súnan Kali Jága, who declared it to be an omen prophetic of much good to the youth. After thanks were returned to the Almighty for having averted the danger from the mosque, a sketch was made of the stone, which is still exhibited on the door facing the north. This youth Siséla failing in an endeavour to become chief of the sultan's guards, and afterwards in an attempt upon the prince's life, was obliged to fly from the capital.

It is necessary here to advert to Jáka Tingkír, the offspring of Kábu Kanigára, a chief who had been put to death by order of the first sultan of Demák. It having been foretold that he would one day become sovereign of Java, he was taken by his mother to Demák in his eleventh year, where he soon found means to ingratiate himself with the Sultan, who gave him the name of Pánji Mas, and caused him to be instructed in the Mahomedan religion and in the precepts of Jáya Langkára, appointed him to the command of the body guard consisting of eight hundred men, and afterwards, in the[Vol II Pg 150] year 1449, gave him his daughter in marriage, with the administration of the province of Pájang, where, with the permission of the Sultan, he built a kráton; but afterwards having put to death a person who had arrived from the Kedú, applying for an appointment in the body guard, he was banished to the forests. During his exile he visited a village named Bányu-bíru, near the Solo river, where he was instructed by a Pandíta how to conduct himself for the future, the holy man predicting, at the same time, that he would become sovereign of Java and hold his court at Pájang.

Several exploits against alligators are recorded of him; and the opinion that no descendant of the princes of Pájang need fear injury from these animals is so prevalent, that it is not unusual for a Javan of the present day, seeing himself in danger from one of them, to exclaim aloud that he belongs to that family.

Not long after the return of Pánji Mas, the island of Java was again formed into two separate and independent governments, corresponding with the former limits of Majapáhit and Pajajaran. The eastern provinces remained subject to the Sultan of Demák, and the western were ceded in perpetuity to Mulána Ibrahim, with the title of Sultan. To both sultans was reserved the right of dividing their lands on their demise among their children, as they might think proper. The Súnan Káli Jága obtained as an hereditary property, free from all kinds of requisitions, the small district of Adilángu, in the province of Demák, where he was afterwards buried.

From this period until the death of the Sultan of Demák, the eastern provinces enjoyed the most undisturbed tranquillity; but the Sultan of Chéribon found some difficulty in establishing his authority over the western people, and in converting them, particularly those of Bantam, to the Mahomedan faith.

The Sultan of Demák, besides several natural children, had two sons and four daughters. Of these daughters one was married to a Madurese prince, who resided at Lampung; another, Balíga, to a son of the Sultan of Chéribon, who was the chief of Bantám; a third to Ráden Pánji, who after the return of the Sultan from Chéribon was appointed chief of[Vol II Pg 151] Pájang péng'ging; and the fourth to the son of Pángéran Kedíri, who was chief of Japára.

Pangéran Tranggána, the third Sultan of Demák, died in the year 1461, having previously made a division of his dominions among his children.

His eldest son, Aria Ráng'ga, was appointed Sultan of Prawáta, to which was annexed all the land to the eastward along the Solo river, as far as Surabáya, together with Demák and Semárang. His son-in-law, Pangéran Hadíri, was made Súnan of the Kali Niámat, and possessed all the districts of Japári, Páti, Rémbang, and Jawána. The Adipáti of Pájang Péng'ging (Ráden Pánji) received the title of Brébo Páti of Pajang and of Matárem, with the lands attached to it. His son, Mas Timor, was appointed Adipátí, with the lands of Kedú and Bágalen. His son-in-law, the prince of Madúra, was made chief of Madúra, Suménap, Sedáyu, Grésik, Surabáya, and Pasúruan. His youngest son, Ráden Panángsang, was appointed chief of Jípang.

The Sultan of Chéribon, better known by the name of Súnan Gúnung Játi, died in 1428, at an advanced age, leaving three sons by his wife, the princess of Demák, and one son and a daughter by a concubine. His eldest son, Hásen, succeeded him as Sultan of Chéribon and of the provinces lying between the Chi-tárum river and Túgu, and stretching in a southern direction to the Kéndang hills, so as to include all the Priáng'en districts and lands lying to the east of the Chi-tárum. From this prince are descended the present Sultans of Chéribon. To his second son, Baradin, he left the kingdom of Bantam, which extended westward from the river of Táng'ran, to the south-east part of Sumátra, including all the islands in the straits of Súnda. From him are descended the present kings of Bantam. His third son, named Chenámpui, died when young, and was buried at Mándu in Chéribon. To his natural son, Káli Játan, he assigned the lands lying between the Chitárem and Tang'ran rivers, which had formerly formed part of Chéribon and Bantam. This prince assumed the title of Raja of Jokárta or Jákatra, fixing his capital near the kámpung of that name, where he and his descendants continued to reign, until they[Vol II Pg 152] were expelled, in the year 1619 of the Christian era, by the Dutch, who established on its ruins the modern Batavia, the capital of their possessions in the East Indies.

The tomb of the Susúnan Gúnung Játi, situated on the mount so called, at a short distance from the present town of Chéribon, is still an object of the highest veneration and respect.

Thus was the ancient empire of Java divided under no less than eight separate and independent governments. Bantam, Jokárta, Chéribon, Prawáta, Kaliniámat, Pajang Kedú, and Madúra; the several chiefs of which, in general, either assumed the title of Kiái Gédé or Sultan, or the more religious distinction of Súnan.

In about a year after the death of the Sultan Tranggána, the country of Pájang rose to considerable importance; its chief, on account of his possessing the regalia of state, being considered as the first in rank of the several princes in the eastern districts. Hatred, envy, and ambition, however, soon inflamed the breasts of the different princes of Java. The most ambitious among them, and the first who disturbed the peace of the country, was the Adipáti of Jípang, Ráden Panángang. The history proceeds thus:

"The Adipáti of Jípang, by the advice of Súnan Kúdus, dispatched one of his body guard, named Rákut, to Sultan Prawáta, with orders to watch an opportunity and assassinate him. On the arrival of Rákut, it happened that the Sultan was labouring under an indisposition; but when he was sufficiently recovered, he went one evening after prayers, and sat down at the second gate of the dálam, his wife standing behind and holding his head, accompanied only by some female attendants. At that moment, Rákut went up to him, and declared his commission; to which the Sultan replied, 'I am aware that my time is come; execute your orders, but do not hurt any one but me.' Upon this, Rákut drew his kris and stabbed him; after which, retreating a few steps, it occurred to him that the chief might not be actually dead; and returning with an intention of completing his purpose, he missed his aim, and struck the wife. The prince observing this, immediately threw his kris at the assassin, which, striking him[Vol II Pg 153] in the leg, threw him on the ground, where he was soon dispatched by the people, who were assembled by the cries of the women."

The prince and his wife soon after died of their wounds, and left their dominions and property to their brother, the Súnan Káli Niámat, with authority to administer the same until their son, Aria Pangíri, should come of age. Both the prince and his wife were interred in the burial place of their ancestors at Demák; and the provinces of Prawáta thus became incorporated with those of Káli Niámat.

The Súnan Káli Niámat immediately went to Kúdus, and demanded that justice and condign punishment should be inflicted on the persons concerned in this murder; and the Súnan Kúdus, expressing great indignation at the act, promised compliance; but the Sunan, while returning to Káli Niámat, was murdered on the road by persons in the pay of the Adipáti of Jípang. This prince, having thus far succeeded in his designs, then plotted the death of the chief of Pájang, hoping by that means to remove the only obstacle to his obtaining the supreme authority in the eastern districts of Java. The assassins, however, whom he employed for this latter purpose were not equally successful. They found the prince at midnight in an inner apartment, sleeping among his wives: but while approaching him to execute their design, one of them happened to tread upon a woman, whose shriek awoke the prince. He demanded the reason of their visit, and promised them pardon, on their confessing by whom they were employed: they disclosed the whole, and obtained pardon with their dismissal. Thus disappointed in his scheme, the Súnan Kúdus invited the chief Patéh of Pájang to visit Kúdus, and assembled as many religious people as possible, in the hope that an opportunity might be afforded of assassinating him when off his guard; but a letter arriving at this period from the Sultan of Chéribon, upon whose protection the widow of the Súnan Káli Niámat had thrown herself, in which the Sultan declared that he should hold the Súnan Kúdus responsible for the discovery of the murderers, the intended assassination was deferred.

The chief of Pájang having communicated with his sister, the widow of Súnan Káli Niámat, who had made a vow never[Vol II Pg 154] to rest or to leave her home until the death of her husband, brother, and sister, should be avenged, informed his Panambáhan, that if they could find a suitable opportunity to take revenge on Ráden Penánsang, they had his full consent. The meeting which took place between the parties is thus described.

"After having laid the troops in ambush, the chiefs of Pájang crossed the river, and seizing one of the grass-cutters belonging to Ráden Penánsang they cut off a piece of his right ear, and told him to go to his master with a letter, which they hung about his neck, containing a challenge from the prince of Pájang; they then returned to their own camp. In the meanwhile the grass-cutter running with a great noise to the quarters of Ráden Penánsang, who happened to be at dinner, delivered the message.

"At this summons the Ráden came forth in a great rage, and ordering his horse and spear, galloped down to the river side, and called upon the prince to come over to him; but the chief of Pájang answered, that if he was the man of courage he pretended to be, he would himself cross to the side he occupied. The Ráden, accompanied by two Panakawans only, then crossed the river, and inquiring for his opponent, was informed that he remained in his póndok, and had sent his son to fight in his room, and would only appear in the event of his being conquered. Ráden Penánsang then said with a contemptuous smile, 'Is the Brébo Patéh afraid, that he sends me a child with whom he knows I will not fight? I will teach him something. Go, child, and call your father.' He then amused himself galloping about, until one of the chiefs of Pájang let loose a number of mares, on which his horse became unmanageable, and he was thrown, and killed on the spot. Túmung'gung Matáok, his principal chief, now crossed the river with all his followers; but they were soon overpowered, and the Tumúng'gung being slain, his head was stuck upon a pole by the river side."

From this period the provinces of Jípang became subject to the chief of Pájang; and his sister at Kali Niamat, being informed of this success by Panambáhan expressed her readiness to fulfil a promise which she had made, of conferring upon him all her lands and property, Panambáhan declined[Vol II Pg 155] accepting this offer, alleging that he had only obeyed the orders of his sovereign. He however received from her, on this occasion, two pusáka rings, in one of which was set a large diamond, in the other a ruby, which had formerly belonged to the house of Majapáhit.

The spoil taken in the war was then divided according to usage, and to Panambáhan was assigned a population of eighteen hundred working men in the district of Mentáuk, afterwards called Matárem. The lands of Káli Niámat were left in the possession of his sister, and those of Demák restored to his nephew. Aria Pangiri received the title of Sultan of Demák.

The province of Mentáuk or Matárem, at that period did not contain more than three hundred villages, scattered in different parts of the country. On the arrival of Panambáhan near Brambánan, he was received by the Súnan Adi Jága, who would not allow him to perform the usual ceremony of kissing his feet, thus by implication predicting the future greatness of his descendants. At Páser Gédé, then a wilderness, Panambáhan was duly installed, under the title of Kiái Gédé Matárem.

When the government of Kiái Gédé Matárem was fully established, he was desirous of obtaining his son from the prince Pájang, who had retained him as an adopted child, and feared to part with him, in consequence of the prophecy of which he was aware, predicting the future greatness of the descendants of Jáka Sisíla; but on the entreaties of the Súnan Káli Jaga, he consented to part with him, under a stipulation, upon oath, from Panambáhan, that he would not undertake any thing prejudicial to him during his lifetime.

In the year 1490, the chief of Pájang, from religious motives, paid a visit to Súnan Gíri, accompanied by Kiái Gédé Matárem, and a numerous retinue of chiefs and priests. He was mounted on an elephant, and assumed all the pomp which had been customary with the sultans of Bintára. On this occasion he was formally installed as sultan, in the presence of the chiefs of the eastern provinces. The Súnan Gíri, at the same time, noticing Kiái Gédé Matárem, and being informed of his descent, declared that his family would one day rule all Java, and urged the Sultan of Pájang to protect and befriend him.[Vol II Pg 156] It was during this visit that the Sultan of Pájang gave orders for digging the extensive fish-ponds which are now preserved at Grésik for the Ikan Bándang.

On the return of Kiái Gédé Matárem to his capital, he called together his relations, and recommended to their kindness the forty friends who had accompanied him on his first coming to Matárem, and their descendants, enjoining them, on no account whatever, to shed their blood, whatever crime they might commit, but if necessary, to punish them in some other way. To this they most solemnly bound themselves; and from this period, strangling is said to have been introduced as a capital punishment among the Javans.

His son, now called Mas Anghebái Súta Wijáya, had an amour with the grand-daughter of Sheik Wáli ben Húsen, who was intended to become one of the concubines of Sultan Pájang. Upon her becoming pregnant, he fled first to Chéribon, where he implored protection from the Sultan, but to no purpose, and afterwards towards Luánu, where collecting the rabble of the country, he commenced hostilities against the chief. The Sultan of Pájang, however, at length offering him a pardon, on condition of his marrying the girl, he returned, and was again received into favour; but not before he had reduced the chief of Luánu to submission, and rendered that province tributary to Matárem.

The chiefs of Surabáya, Grésik, Sidáyu, Túban, Wirasába, Pranarága, Kedíri, Mádion, Blóra, Jípang, and Pasurúan, declared themselves independent of the prince of Madúra, and elected Pánji Wíría Kráma, the Adipáti of Surabáya, who acted as Widána to Sultan Pájang, to be their chief. About the same time, Sánta Gúná, the chief of east Balambángan, with the assistance of auxiliaries from Báli and Celebes, again reduced the western districts of that province under his authority, subduing the principality of Panarúkan and expelling the prince and his followers.

Kiái Gédé Matárem died in the year 1497, after having, by his mild and equitable administration, converted the province of Matárem, from a wilderness into a fertile and populous country, and induced many of the surrounding districts voluntarily to submit to his authority.

The relations of the deceased appearing at the court of the[Vol II Pg 157] Sultan of Pájang, he appointed his son, Anghebái Súta Wijáya, to succeed him as chief of Matárem, conferring upon him, at the same time, the command of all the troops of the empire, under the title of Kiái Gédé Agung Senapáti Ingalága, commonly distinguished by the single title of Senapáti, enjoining him annually to present himself at his court on the feast of Múlut.

It is noticed, that at this period the island was frequented by Portuguese and other European navigators, who had established factories at Bantam.

The ambition of the court of Matárem being kept alive by various predictions, dreams, and enchantments, by which Senapàti was promised the assistance of Kiái Gédé Laut Kidúl the goddess of the great South Sea, who declared herself wedded to him, he was instigated to build an extensive kráton on the spot where his dálam then stood.

He now placed guards at the limits of his territories, burnt some of the adjacent villages, and assumed an attitude of complete independence, subjecting by degrees many of the neighbouring districts. Ambassadors were immediately sent from Pájang to demand an explanation. They were in the first instance duped by the flattering manner in which they were received; but afterwards discovering the real state of affairs, and reporting it to the Sultan their master, he is represented as having called his son before him, and having said, "the will of Providence rules all events. Senapáti will not, during my life, commence hostilities against me, but after my death he will render you subject to him. Yield to his power, on which depends your happiness and that of your descendants." At length, however, the chiefs of Túban and Demák, apprehensive of the growing power of Matárem, prevailed upon him first to banish the Tumung'gung Pájang, as the instigator of this feud, and afterwards to send a considerable force against Matárem. The Tumung'gung, however, was rescued by forty chosen men dispatched by Senapáti, and a stratagem induced the forces of Pájang to retreat. The Pájang forces consisted of five thousand men, commanded by the Sultan's son: those of Senapáti did not exceed eight hundred. The latter seeing that it was rash to risk an engagement against such a superiority of numbers,[Vol II Pg 158] particularly as the few troops he had raised on the emergency were altogether unexperienced and undisciplined, while those of Pajáng were in the highest order, halted at a short distance from Brambánan, where the enemy's forces were encamped. During the night he burned all the villages in the vicinity, and set fire to the reeds and long grass at some distance from Brambánan, and to the rear of the enemy's camp, by which means he persuaded them that the Matárem forces had taken their departure, in order to obtain Pájang by surprize.

During the succeeding night there was a heavy thunder storm, and on the following morning the mountain Merbábu burst with a dreadful explosion, throwing out ashes and large stones; the rivers overflowed their banks and inundated the low country, occasioning great confusion and destruction in the Pájang camp, and inducing the commander to retreat with his army forthwith to Pájang. Halting at the village Tumpáit, situated near Kárbu Súru, he visited the tomb of the Pangéran of that name, who was descended from Abdálah, the eldest son of Ráden Pátah. Here the sultan is said to have been informed of a prophecy which foretold the immediate downfall of Pájang, and to have fainted and fallen from his elephant in consequence.

Senapáti immediately bent his course to Pájang, where the sultan was again willing to receive him as his adopted son, and to pardon his past conduct; but a youth in the retinue of Senapáti, after first proposing to assassinate the sultan, a proposition to which Senapáti refused to listen, at last of his own accord succeeded in administering poison to him, of which he died. This happened, however, after the return of Senapáti to Matárem.

Being summoned by Ráden Benáwa, son of the deceased, Senapáti immediately repaired to Pájang, where he found already assembled Pangéran Kúdus and the principal chiefs of the country, who after the funeral proceeded to the election of a new sultan. Senapáti was for investing the son of the deceased with the authority enjoyed by his father, but the Súnan Kúdus, who though he had been the cause of his son's death, still breathed vengeance against the Pájang family, for the ignominious manner in which the punishment was carried into effect, opposed this nomination, and favouring[Vol II Pg 159] the pretensions of Sultan Démak, that chief was duly proclaimed Sultan of Pájang, Ráden Benáwa being appointed chief of Jípang. From this period the different states which had acknowledged the supremacy of Pájang successively broke off from their allegiance.

The new Sultan of Pájang commenced his career by removing from office most of the Pájang chiefs, and replacing them by his adherents from Demák, which occasioned a general discontent. At last Ráden Benáwa, who was not inclined quietly to submit to the loss of his kingdom, succeeded in inducing Senapáti openly to adopt his cause, and join the forces which he could himself send from Jípang and the discontents of Pájang.

Senapáti accordingly marched against Pájang, and an engagement taking place, most of the troops deserted the sultan's cause, and the remainder, who continued faithful, were soon put to flight. Ráden Benáwa, alarmed at a dream, in which he heard a voice saying, "Every thing in life has a beginning and an end, all worldly greatness is vanity, and no man can call himself happy until his death; do you always bear this in mind:" withdrew, and having followed the course of the Sólo river down to Grésik, proceeded thence to Kendál, where he attracted many followers by his irreproachable conduct. At last he settled on the mountain Parákan, where he was buried.

Senapáti, after this success, proceeded to carry the kráton by assault, and having entered the front gateway, the wife of the sultan came forth, entreating that her husband's life might be spared; but Senapáti reminding her that he was the friend of her father, and had nothing to fear, desired her instantly to produce her husband, which being complied with, he informed the sultan that the people of Pájang being displeased with him he could no longer remain sovereign, but that he and his followers might return to Demák as soon as they pleased, the sovereignty being now conferred on Ráden Benáwa.

Search was made for Ráden Benáwa without effect, but that chief was duly proclaimed as sultan, and the brother of Senapáti appointed to administer the country until his arrival. [Vol II Pg 160]

The retreat of Ráden Benáwa being at length discovered, and that chief declining to accept the government of Pájang, his brother, Pangéran Gája Búmi, was appointed sultan in his room. The latter shortly after died, and was succeeded by the son of Benáwa, Ráden Sidawíni, on whom the title of Pangéran Pájang was conferred.

As soon as order was again restored, Senapáti returned to Matárem, carrying with him the saddle called gatáya, the head-dress called máchang gúguh, and a set of gámelan called sekar dalíma, which he had taken at the assault of Pájang, as trophies of his victory, together with the cannon called niái stómi, and all the insignia and ornaments of royalty, which had descended for the most part from the princes of Pajajáran and Majapáhit, and which are still preserved in the regalia of the princes of Java.

Senapáti, in consequence of these arrangements and the possession of the regalia, transferred the seat of empire to Matárem, and lost no time in raising his family to the highest dignities. Assuming himself the title of sultan, he elevated his nephews to the rank of Pangérans.

His ambitious views being now so far realized, he consulted the Súnan Gíri, wishing to obtain his opinion, whether the time for the complete fulfilment of the prophecy was not arrived. The Súnan replied, that if the Sultan of Matárem wished to be sovereign of the whole island of Java, it was essential that he should, in the first instance, bring the eastern provinces under subjection. In consequence of this reply, the sultan immediately collected his troops, trained them to the use of arms and regular discipline, and in the month of mohárem marched eastward.

The Adipáti of Surabáya, who had held the supreme authority over all the eastern districts, as Widána to the sultan of Pájang, no sooner heard of these preparations, than he directed all the subordinate chiefs with their forces to assemble at Jípang, there to await the arrival of the army from Matárem; but at the moment when a general engagement was about to take place between the two armies, an open letter was delivered to both chiefs from the Súnan Gíri, requesting them to desist, and proposing an arrangement, by which the eastern provinces were to become subject to[Vol II Pg 161] Matárem, but to continue under the immediate administration of the Adipáti. This arrangement was agreed to by both parties, but the Adipati soon repented of it, who in consequence was preparing for hostilities, when an open rapture was again averted by the interference of the Súnan Gíri; but soon after being joined by the forces of Pranarága and Madion, the Adipáti assembled his troops and marched to invade Matárem.

Senapáti no sooner heard of these hostile preparations, and that the Adipáti was levying the revenue of Pájang, than accompanied by his uncle, Kiái Gédé Páti, he marched towards Madion, and obtained possession of the dálam, the chief having previously fled with his son to Surabáya, leaving behind him a daughter whom Senapáti married. His uncle, displeased at his conduct, returned to Páti; but Senapáti prosecuted his march towards Pasúruan, with an intention to render himself master of that province.

The chief of Pasúruan was inclined to surrender at discretion, but was dissuaded from doing so by his Páteh. One day when Senapáti accompanied by only forty men of his body-guard, was reconnoitering the enemy's camp, he met the Páteh, who had come out with a similar intention, when a skirmish taking place, the Páteh was wounded by a lance and fell to the ground. The sultan lifting him up and placing him on a mare, sent him back to the chief, with a letter tied round his neck. The chief no sooner saw him in this disgraceful predicament, than he repented of having taken his advice, and ordering his head to be immediately severed from his body, sent it to Senapáti in token of submission.

After this Senapáti returned to Matárem, where he married one of his daughters to the son of the late chief of Madion, and appointed him chief of Jipang.

Súra Manggála, a chief of Kedíri, was now willing to submit to the authority of Matárem, but Senapáti returned no other answer to his messenger, than that it was his intention to march at the next mohárem, when it would be the duty of Súra Manggála to surrender that province. Accordingly, in the month of mohárem, an army proceeded against Kedíri: the Matárem forces were successful, and the chief and his three brothers submitted. Senapáti was so pleased with the[Vol II Pg 162] conduct of Súra Mang'gála on this occasion, that he appointed him to the command of the Matárem troops.

This chief, better known by the name of Senapáti Bálek, served the sultan of Matárem with great ability and fidelity. He gained numerous victories, brought all the western provinces, as far as Chéribon, to acknowledge the supremacy of Matárem, limiting the authority of that chief within the rivers of Losári and Indramáyu. He is said to have removed the mud wall which surrounded the kráton of Matárem, and built in its stead a strong wall of stone. He was at last killed in a desperate engagement with the eastern people, which took place in Pájang, in which however the Matárem troops were successful.

Shortly after the death of this chief, Senapáti received intelligence of hostile preparations against Matárem being made by his uncle, Kiái Gédé Páti. He accordingly proceeded to meet him, accompanied by all his sons and a numerous army. After a long and a desperate action, the Matárem forces were again successful, and the sultan returned to Matárem, with the wives, children, and all the valuables of his uncle.

His son, Pangéran Séda Krápiak, being wounded on this occasion, the sultan published a proclamation, declaring that prince to be his successor after his death, by the title of Panambahan Senapáti.

The continued opposition of the eastern people, however, and the revolt of Kedíri and Pasúruan, obliged him again to take the field, when finding the numbers and strength of the enemy far superior to his own, he conducted an able but slow retreat to his capital, and during the whole course of his reign found it impracticable to subject these provinces to his authority. To the provinces, however, of Matárem, Bágelen, Bányumas, Pájang and Jípang, which descended to him from his father, he added those of Páti, Kúdus, Semáráng, Kendál, and Kaliwúng'u.

The days of Sénapati, the founder of the Matárem empire, and of the dynasty which still retains a nominal rule on Java, were now brought to a close, after a reign of continued warfare. As the founder of the last native empire on Java, his memory is naturally held in high estimation; but he is also respected for the discipline he introduced into his army,[Vol II Pg 163] and the valour, ability, and noble-mindedness which he displayed throughout. With the Javans he is considered as another Alexander, and he is the first in their modern history who is considered to have understood the art of war.

He was succeeded, in the year 1524, by his son, since called Séda Krápiak, from the place of his interment, but who during his reign, bore the title of Panambáhan Senapáti. The succession was, however, opposed by his elder brother, Pangéran Púger, who did not attend to kiss the sovereign's feet, as customary, on the day following his installation. This chief proceeding to hostilities, was soon taken prisoner near Ungárang. He was banished to Kúdus, and his minister was put to death, which offended one of his younger brothers, Jajarága, so much, that he instantly quitted Matárem and proceeded to Pranarága, of which province he had formerly been appointed chief, with an intention of stirring up a rebellion in the distant provinces; but the sultan obtaining information of it, secured his person and banished him also. He was shortly afterwards pardoned and permitted to return.

It was during this reign that the Dutch and English first visited Java.

This prince reduced the provinces of Madion and Pranarága, and built a palace, the walls of which are still standing at Krapiak, a place at the foot of a range of hills lying along the South Sea, a short distance from Matárem. He died after a reign of twelve years, esteemed on account of the general tranquillity which prevailed after the firm establishment of his government.

He was succeeded by his eldest son, named Panambáhan Merta Púra, in the year 1540; but this prince not being able to conduct the government, on account of his infirm state of health, or more probably removed by the intrigues of his family, who declared him to be insane, made way for his younger brother, who was raised to the throne in the following year.

This prince, distinguished by the title of Agung, or the great, commenced a flourishing reign by a signal victory over the Surabáyan and Madurese forces, by which he brought the eastern provinces of Málang, Untung, Jápan, Wirasába, Pasúruan and Surabáya, under subjection; and following up[Vol II Pg 164] his success, subdued all the eastern provinces, as far as Balambángan. Dissensions arising at this period between the people of Bantam and those of the Súnda districts, the chief of Súmedang applied to Matárem for assistance; and being invested by the sultan with the chief authority over those districts, soon brought the whole of the western chiefs, alarmed at the approach of Matárem arms, to acknowledge his supremacy. A force was now sent to Madúra, and that island being conquered was united to his dominion, which then extended through all Java and Madúra. An enemy, more powerful than any with whom he had been accustomed to contend, and destined to strip his posterity of all but the semblance of sovereignty, now appeared. The Dutch, availing themselves of the divisions and convulsions by which the empire had been previously distracted, had established themselves at Jákatra.

On their first arrival at Bantam, the prince of that country was absent on an expedition against Palémbang, which country, as well as a great part of the north and west coast of Sumatra, was then subject to his sway. They found the influence of the Portuguese, who had previously established a factory there, on the decline, and with little difficulty entered into a treaty with the chief, on whom the administration of the country was provisionally conferred during the absence of the prince. By this treaty, the contracting parties agreed to trade honestly and fairly with each other, and to afford mutual assistance in case of being attacked by an enemy.

Complaints, however, were soon made of the high tone which the Dutch assumed, and of the insolence of their menaces. Hostilities ensued, and according to the Dutch account, upwards of a hundred of the natives were killed or wounded. The consequence was, that they were obliged to quit Bantam. Touching at Jákatra, Japára, Túban, and Sidáyu, they had an affair with the Madurese, but ill calculated to make an impression in their favour. The prince of that country, anxious to pay his respects to the Europeans, requested, through his interpreter, to be permitted to visit the principal person among them, and an arrangement was accordingly made that he should be received on board a particular ship. As the prince left the shore with his suite, accom[Vol II Pg 165]panied by their women and children, the Hollanders became alarmed at the appearance of so numerous an assemblage, and observing that they did not appear to be proceeding direct to the ship pointed out for their reception, discharged three guns. The terror occasioned by the report threw the procession into the utmost confusion, all the people in the boats falling as if killed. The crews of the other European vessels taking these guns as a signal for action, threw themselves with such impetuosity upon the native boats, that out of this numerous assemblage only twenty-one are said to have escaped. Among the slain was the prince, and his interpreter or high priest, and their bodies, as soon as discovered, were thrown with indignity into the sea.

It is remarkable, that the leading traits which distinguish the subsequent administration of the Dutch on Java (a haughty assumption of superiority, for the purpose of overawing the credulous simplicity of the natives, and a most extraordinary timidity, which led them to suspect treachery and danger, in quarters where they were least to be apprehended) were manifested in their earliest transactions in this quarter. On their first arrival at Bantam, we find the clerks of their trading vessels styling themselves captains; and such was the state and consequence assumed by Houtman, the chief of the expedition, who took the title of Captain Major, that a Portuguese, who had known him before, asked him significantly if he had been created a duke since he last saw him. The murder of the unfortunate prince of Madúra and his followers (for it can be called by no other term) was as detestable and unjustifiable as the subsequent massacre of the unfortunate and unoffending Chinese in the streets of Batavia. In neither case was there a plea to palliate the crying guilt, but such a degree of danger, as the basest cowardice could alone be sensible of.

This aggression did not pass unpunished, for the Dutch Admiral having allowed some of his men to land near Arosbáya, then the capital of the island, they were seized by the Madurese, and their enlargement was not effected without the loss of many lives and the payment of a liberal ransom.

Bantam was already a place of considerable trade: Chinese, Arabs, Persians, Moors, Turks, Malabars, Peguans, and in a[Vol II Pg 166] word, merchants from all nations were established there. The principal produce for the European market was pepper. With this province the Dutch renewed their commerce in the year 1598 A.D., and four years afterwards they obtained permission to establish a factory there. In the following year, accordingly, they erected a permanent building, and formed a commercial establishment. At this time they had granted passes to the vessels belonging to the chief of Túban; and, in 1609, they left an agent at Grésik. A second treaty was now entered into with the king of Bantam, in which the States General stipulated to assist him against foreign invaders, particularly Spaniards and Portuguese; and the king on his side agreed to make over to the Dutch a good and strong fort, a free trade, and security for their persons and property, without paying any duties or taxes, and to allow no other European nation to trade or reside in his territories. The Dutch observing the serious differences which occurred among the chiefs of Bantam during the minority of the sovereign, made overtures, in the same year, to the prince of Jákatra, and removed to that province soon after.

In 1612, a convention was entered into between them and the prince of Jákatra, by which a free trade was allowed to them, together with an eligible place to reside at; both parties contracting to assist each other in war on the territory of Jákatra. It was moreover stipulated, that all goods should pay duty, except such as were imported in Dutch ships, or Chinese junks; and that the prince should prohibit the Spaniards and Portuguese from trading with his dominions.

On the 19th January, 1619, a further treaty was made with the same prince, confirming the former contracts, and stipulating that the fort should remain in its present state until the arrival of the Governor General, and that the English should be obliged to build their factory, and the other nations their houses, at a certain distance from the fort; but on the 1st of February following, in consequence of the success of the English, who had espoused the cause of the native chiefs, we find a convention entered into by the prince of Jákatra, the commanding officer of the English, and the commandant of the Dutch fort, by which the latter promised to deliver over[Vol II Pg 167] the fort to the English, and the treasure, merchandize, &c. to the prince: the English agreeing to furnish the Dutch garrison with a ship and a safe conduct for six months.

On the 11th March, a contract was entered into between the king of Bantam and the commissioners of the Dutch Company, still in the fort of Jákatra, whereby the former promised to protect the Dutch against all hostile attempts, and to permit the re-establishment of a free trade on its former footing. The Dutch, on their part, agreed to keep the fort in good order, and to abandon the same on the arrival of their ships, when they would also deliver to the king (in return for the protection he afforded them) one-fourth of the Company's property, and one-half of the ordnance, &c.

In consequence, however, of the arrival of reinforcements from Europe, under Koen, and of the political understanding which then existed between the English and Dutch nations, the Dutch still maintained their ground, and in the month of August following laid the foundation of their establishment at Jákatra on an extensive scale. They had previously, in the years 1618 and 1619, plundered and laid in ashes the town of Japára, because the chief of that province had, in the former year, taken possession of the factory, made prisoners of the Dutch, and sent them into the interior.

The Javan historians considering the Dutch in the light of other foreign nations, who were in the habit of trading to the sea coasts, do not furnish us with any information concerning the disputes which took place at Bantam, or in the first instance at Jákatra. Even in their accounts of the occasion of the first hostilities which took place with the sultan of Matárem, they convey rather a notion of what is the general impression regarding the first establishment of the Dutch, than any particulars calculated to throw light on the history of that period. "The Dutch," say they, "before they arrived at Jákatra, had formed an alliance with the sultan of Bantam. They subsequently treated with the English, and with Pangéran Jokárta; but in a short time they found the way to play off a foul stratagem on the latter. In the first place, when they wished to ascertain the strength and resources of Jákatra, they landed like máta-mátas (peons or messengers), the captain of the ship disguising himself with a[Vol II Pg 168] turban, and accompanying several Khójas (a term by which the natives of the Coromandel coast are distinguished). When he had made his observations, he entered upon trade, offering however much better terms than were just, and making more presents than were necessary. A friendship thus took place between him and the prince: when this friendship was established, the captain informed the prince that his ship wanted repair; and the prince, at his request, allowed the vessel to be brought up the river. There the captain knocked out the planks of the bottom and sunk the vessel, to obtain a pretence for farther delay, and then requested a very small piece of ground, on which he might build a shed, to store the sails and other property, while endeavours should be made to raise the vessel. This request was also complied with. The captain then made a wall or mound of mud, so that nobody could know what he was doing, and in the mean time courted the friendship of the prince. He afterwards waited on the prince, and requested as much more land as could be covered by a buffalo's hide, on which he might build a small póndok. This being complied with, he cut the hide into strips, and claimed all the land he could enclose with them. To this also the prince, after some hesitation, consented. The captain then went on with his buildings, engaging that he would pay all expenses. When the fort was finished, the mud wall was removed; batteries were unexpectedly displayed, and under their protection the Dutch refused to pay a doit. War then commenced, in which the Dutch were reduced to such an extremity, as to be obliged to use stones in lieu of balls, which were expended. Even this resource failed; and, as a last expedient, bags of the filthiest ordure were fired upon the Javans, whence the fort has ever since borne the name of Kóta tái."

Such is the aversion of the Javans for the Khójas, as well on account of their general character as of their conduct on this occasion, that it is a proverb among them, "If you meet a snake and a Khoja in the same road, kill the Khoja first, and afterwards the snake."

Another account is as follows. "The Dutch having obtained the desired spot built on it a storehouse, and formed a garden for vegetables. When Pangéran Jokárta inquired[Vol II Pg 169] why they did this, they replied, they must have their conveniences, and that it was not the custom of the Dutch to live and eat like the Javans. The Pangéran was satisfied with the reason given, and allowed the work to proceed; but they had no sooner completed several buildings, by means of the people landed from their ships, than they began to surround them with a battery. The Pangéran again was roused, and inquired the reason of this, to which they replied, that there were a great many traders about to arrive, and that it was necessary to protect their property from thieves. When the batteries were completed they planted cannon in them: the Pangéran inquired the reason of this preparation, to which they only replied, it was to keep off bad people.

"In a short time, however, when the Dutch had increased in numbers, they fired one of the guns, and the ball discharged from it fell in front of the Pangéran's palace. The Pangéran inquired why they did so, to which they replied, they were only trying how far the gun would carry, in order that they might be able to assist the Pangéran, should he be attacked by an enemy. The Pangéran, however, was not satisfied with this reason, and demanded a fine of two thousand dollars for the insult, which the Dutch immediately paid. But it was not long before they fired another gun, the ball of which went over the palace, on which the Pangéran became highly incensed, and demanded a fine of four thousand dollars, threatening if it was not paid forthwith, to write to the sultan of Matárem, who would order them immediately to be driven from the island. To this menace the Dutch said nothing, but paid the money, which the Pangéran received with delight. The Dutch, at last, fired a gun, the ball of which fell within the palace, on which the Pangéran conceiving it to be their intention to attack him, immediately considered them as enemies, and collected his people, in order to fall upon them and destroy them without delay. As soon as the Dutch saw the people thus assembled, they fired from their batteries, dealing slaughter all around, and obliged the Pangéran and his people to retreat out of the reach of the shot."

While these events were in progress in the western provinces, a serious revolt took place in the central and eastern districts, in consequence of the intrigues of Aria Mandúra, the favourite and chief minister of the sultan, who by means[Vol II Pg 170] of his treacherous conduct to the chief of Pájang, had obtained the administration of that province for himself. The chiefs of Madúra and Surabáya availing themselves of the disturbance thus occasioned at Pájang, declared their independence of Matárem, and were not reduced to subjection till two armies had been sent to the eastward against them.

Not long afterwards, the chief of Surabáya, Tumúnggung Sapánjang, having refused to give up two beautiful horses which the sultan demanded of him, an army was sent to compel his obedience; but the chief being reinforced from Madúra, repulsed the Matárem forces, obliging them to return to their capital.

The sultan, who had hitherto shown himself anxious to maintain a good understanding with the Dutch, and consented to their enjoying a free trade to the different parts of Java, with permission to establish a factory at Japára, is represented as having acted upon their advice in the present juncture, in marching to the eastward in person with his whole forces; but they no sooner saw him undertake the expedition, than availing themselves of the opportunity, they took possession of Jákatra.

He immediately sent two armies against them, under the command of Tumúnggung Wíra Kusúma, and a battle ensued, in which the Javan chief, with about ten thousand of his followers, were either slain or drowned in the river Chilúang. Tumúnggung Náta Jawána coming up afterwards, collected the fugitives, and joining them with his forces surrounded the town. He posted troops on all the roads towards the south and west, at the distance of cannon-shot from the town, at the same time cutting channels to lead off the streams by which the Dutch were supplied. After an unsuccessful attack made by the chiefs Mandúra Réja and Wíla Tíkta, for which they were put to death by their commander, a sally was made on the part of the besieged with so much success, that Tumúnggung Jawána determined to break up with his army, and no further attempt against the Dutch was made until the year 1629, A.D.

"In this year a second army from Matárem, composed of Javans and Madurese, appeared before Batavia. The siege lasted for a considerable time, and the assaults on the town and fort, as well as the sallies of the besieged, were very[Vol II Pg 171] bloody. Anxious to know the fate of his army, the sultan dispatched his uncle, Pangéran Purbáya, to Batavia, to obtain information. This chief having destroyed the Dutch factory at Japára, embarked in a swift sailing práhu of the size of the trunk of the largest teak tree, which when seen at a distance looked like a serpent on the sea. On reaching the bay of Batavia, Purbáya perceived three ships at anchor. Two of them, after firing upon him, were sunk, and notwithstanding the fire from the third he brought his práhu safe up to Jákatra, when he was fired upon from the fort. On this Purbáya with three followers landed from the práhu, and passing like a shadow to the Dutch fort, which he touched with his hands, proceeded on to the Javan lines, where he informed them that he had come by order of the sultan, to give them a proof how near they might approach the Dutch fort. He then hastened back to Matárem and reported the disastrous state of the war, on which the sultan withdrew his forces to Kaliwúngu."

The Dutch sent an ambassador with rich presents, and the war ended in the Javan year 1551.

During the latter part of this prince's reign the country appears to have enjoyed tranquillity, the only two occasions in which it was disturbed being the revolt of the chiefs of Balambángan and Súmedang, which may be considered as the extreme points of the Matárem dominion, Jákatra and Bántam having been effectually separated from them.

Sultan Agung is represented, even by the Dutch, as a well informed and enlightened prince. He extended his dominion not only over all Java and Madúra, but carried his conquests to Lándak and other states on Borneo. He died in the Javan year 1568, and was succeeded by his son, Pangéran Aria Prábu, or Aria Matárem, then twenty-six years of age.

This prince, on account of his mother being a princess of Chéribon, succeeded, to the prejudice of his elder brother: he held his court at Pléret, and is represented as the most severe and tyrannical of Javan sovereigns. During a visit made by the chief of Chéribon to Matárem, he received the distinction of Abdul Ráchman Sakiden, in addition to the title of Susúnan Amangkúrat Senapáti Ingalága, which he had[Vol II Pg 172] assumed on his accession. On this occasion it is stated, that he again conferred on the sultan of Chéribon all the eastern districts of the island to the westward of Túgu, the supposed limit of the Majapáhit empire, that is to say the districts of Brébes, Tegál, Pamálang, Ulujámi, Wiradésa, Pakalóng'an, Bátang, Kendál, and Kaliwúngu. The Dutch had already firmly established their capital at Batavia, and secured an influence in many of the former dependencies of Java, particularly at Sukadána on Borneo and Palembang on Sumatra.

During the troubled reign of this prince, the Dutch appear first to have entered into a written agreement with the acknowledged sovereigns of Java. A treaty was ratified at Batavia in the second year after his accession, on the 24th September 1646, the conditions of which were that the Susuhúnan should be informed annually, by an ambassador, of the nature of the curiosities which had arrived from Europe; that all priests, or other persons, whom he might be desirous of sending to foreign countries, should be conveyed thither in the Company's ships; that all persons who should desert to either country, for the purpose of evading their debts, should be given up; that the Company and the Susuhúnan should assist each other against their common enemies; that the vessels of the Susuhúnan's subjects should be allowed to trade to all places under the Company's authority, except Ambon, Banda, and Ternáté, and that those bound to Malácca, or places situated to the northward of that settlement, should be obliged to touch at Batavia and to apply for passes.

A treaty was also entered into on the 10th July 1659, between the Dutch and the sultan of Bantam, through the mediation of the ambassadors of the Pangéran of Jámbi, in which it was stipulated, that all prisoners of war and deserters should be mutually restored, with the exception, on the part of the sultan, of those who had embraced the Mahomedan faith more than three months previous to that date, those who had submitted to circumcision since that date to be sent back, or if slaves and unwilling to return, the sultan to pay the value of them to their masters: that the Dutch should, as heretofore, have a permanent residence at Bantam, for which purpose the same building was to be given which[Vol II Pg 173] they had occupied before the war, free of rent, and this building to be secured, at the sultan's expense, against any hostile attempts: that the river of Untung Jáwa should form the boundary of the Bantam territory.

Certain provisions were made also to prevent illicit trading.

Shortly after his accession, the chief of Balambángan, aided by forces from Báli, again revolted, and an army was sent against him. The troops, however, were no sooner set in motion, than a plot was concerted against the prince's life, with the knowledge of his younger brother, Alit; but intelligence of it being communicated to the prince, Aria Salíngsing, who had been the instigator of the plot, was with his son beheaded, on the spot where a new kráton was erecting. On the intercession of Pangerán Purbáya, the prince was disposed to be lenient to his brother, as well on account of his age as a strong affection which he bore towards him. Ascending the royal eminence, the prince ordered the heads of the parties to be brought, and summoning his brother Alit into his presence, placed the heads before him, saying, "behold the reward of those who have attempted to overthrow my authority. Bring before me without delay all your followers." The Pangéran immediately retired, and not knowing what was to be the result, immediately assembled all his adherents and attendants, and informed them of what had passed, when they unanimously agreed to amók the Susúnan's party, urging that, as soon as the Matárem people saw them commence to amók, they would join them. The Pangéran, who was quite a youth, gave into the plan, and they forthwith proceeded to the alun alun, where they were not joined by a single man of the Matárem people. They however commenced amók, and the people fled in every direction, until Pangéran Chákra Níngrat of Madúra approached Alit, kissed his feet, telling him it was the order of the prince, who was aware of this proceeding, that his person should be seized, but on no account wounded or hurt, and implored him to surrender; but Alit, disregarding his proposal, drew his kris and stabbed the Pangéran, who died on the spot. The Madurese, who witnessed this scene, immediately fell upon Alit, who was soon dispatched. The Susúnan was deeply affected at the loss of his brother,[Vol II Pg 174] and in the violence of his agitation, on receiving the account of what had passed, wounded himself in the left arm; and from this period, the Javan historians state, "that he never forgave an offence however trifling. When he was unhappy, he always put to death those who were the cause of his unhappiness, and on the slightest occasions was subject to the most violent gusts of anger."

It is related that the prince evinced great sorrow for the loss of his brother, and that when the time of mourning had expired, he wreaked his vengeance on the supposed authors of this calamity, by a massacre unparalleled in the annals of the country. A rigorous investigation was instituted to ascertain the abettors and accomplices in this attack against the prince's life, and for this purpose a commission was appointed under the direction of his favourites. The chiefs of the four quarters of the capital were directed to inscribe the names of all the priests within their respective divisions, under pretext that the prince intended to confer certain marks of distinction upon those who resided at Matárem, but in fact to prevent their escape; for no sooner were the registers made than a cannon was fired from the palace, as a signal to commence the slaughter, and within less than half an hour all the priests, whether guilty or innocent, with their wives and children, amounting to upwards of six thousand souls, were inhumanly and indiscriminately butchered.

On the following morning when the Susúnan appeared in public, he seemed much agitated, and remained without saluting his courtiers or uttering a word for the space of an hour. He then addressed himself to his uncle Purbáya, saying that the priests, who ought to have set an example to others, had conspired against his life; and to cover the atrocity of the massacre, he brought forward three or four priests, who had been purposely saved from the general slaughter, and from whom it was easy to obtain whatever evidence best suited his purpose.

In the war against Balambángan, although the Matárem forces were successful in obtaining possession of the capital, the chief and his principal adherents fled to Báli. Wíra Gúna was anxious to follow them; but a serious illness breaking out among the troops, he was obliged to withdraw them,[Vol II Pg 175] and retreat with the few who had survived, in number not exceeding a thousand. On reaching Kedíri, intelligence was sent to Matárem of the failure of the expedition, when the Susúnan immediately ordered the chief, Wíra Gúna, with all his family, to be put to death, under the pretext of punishing his want of success, but in reality to satisfy a revenge, which he had long been anxious to gratify against this chief, on account of his having, during the lifetime of his father, preferred a complaint against him for carrying off one of his concubines.

It is said that the father of his first rátu (queen) having a pet fowl, which had been produced from a jungle hen and a domestic cock, brought it as a curiosity into the kráton and gave it to the Susúnan. The Susúnan conceiving it to be an omen, that as soon as the Pangéran Adipáti became of age he would quickly obtain the throne, assembled his pengáwa and informed them of his apprehensions. The Pangéran on hearing of it, immediately called all his family together, to the number of sixty persons, who, on the first day that the Susúnan appeared in public, sat themselves down in tears under the waríngen tree. The Susúnan inquiring their object, they called God and the Prophet to witness, that they were innocent of the bare thought of any thing which should alarm the mind of the Susúnan, and intreated that, if he anticipated sorrow or misfortune from them, he would put them to death immediately, and avert the apprehended calamity. The Susúnan desired them not to listen to people who told them such stories, and retired. Some time afterwards, the Pangéran Adipáti fell desperately in love with a young woman, who from her infancy had been brought up under an aged mántri for the royal embrace. Becoming dangerously ill on her account, he at length communicated the cause to his grandfather, Pangéran Pákik, who prevailed on the mántri to part with her for two thousand rings, one thousand dollars, and a káti of gold. The young pair were immediately married. As soon, however, as the Susúnan became apprized of the transaction, he caused his son, the Pangéran Adipáti, to appear before him with his young bride, and then directed him, in his presence, to stab her to death. He afterwards[Vol II Pg 176] banished his son, and sentenced the Pangéran Pákik, with all his family, to capital punishment; and this aged chief, with his wife, Rátu Pándan, and his relations, to the number of forty, were accordingly put to death on the alun alun.

It is even related, among the atrocities committed by this prince, that he violated his own daughter, Rátu Bráwa, who was affianced to the son of Panambáhan Gíri Láya of Chéribon, and that on the death of one of his wives, Rátu Pamálang, he confined sixty of her attendants in a dark room, and deprived them of food until they all died.

The injustice and severity of the Susúnan became still greater as he advanced in years. His fits of anger became more frequent, and the day and night were employed in barbarous executions. Life enjoyed no security: every one was upon his guard, and fears and apprehensions wrought among people of the highest and the lowest rank. At length the attention of the chiefs having been directed to the Pangéran Adipáti, who had evinced a kind disposition in the presents he was continually making to the poor, they implored him to assume the government; and the young prince, entering into their views, formed an agreement with the celebrated chief, Trúna Jáya, who was the nephew of the Bopáti of Madúra, Chákra Níngrat. It was by these means arranged, that while Chákra Níngrat was at Matárem, Trúna Jáya should forthwith proceed to Madúra, and there heading the Madurese and the people of the eastern provinces, first rear the standard of rebellion, while the young prince himself, to preserve appearances, should remain at the court of his father, in seeming ignorance of what was going on. No sooner had Trúna Jáya, in prosecution of this plan, declared the independence of Madúra, than there arrived at Pasúruan a considerable force from Makásar, headed by Dáin Galéngsong and Dáin Manápok. An army sent against them from Matárem was repulsed, and the provinces of Pásúruan, Probolíngo, Wirasába, and Jápan, submitted to their arms.

The first establishment of the Makásars in Java, appears to have taken place A.D. 1675, when a chief from Celebes, named Kráin Monte-maráni, with numerous followers, left his country in discontent and settled in Java, to the eastward[Vol II Pg 177] of Surabáya, near Besúki, where he collected all the vagabonds of the country, and committed great depredations by sea and land.

In this dilemma, and finding himself unequal either to dislodge the Makásar establishment or to reduce the Madurese to submission, the Susúnan dispatched his son, Pangérán Púgar, to the Dutch, A.D. 1676, with various presents, soliciting their aid.

A second army was immediately assembled, and directed to proceed by the route of Japára, where, according to the Javan accounts, the chiefs had instructions to ask the assistance of all the white people who had factories there, Dutch, French, and Portuguese, and in case of refusal, to drive them from the country. On this occasion the Dutch commandant at Japára is represented as having said, "that this application on the part of the Susúnan, was what the Dutch had been long anxious for, and that he was ready to obey his orders and sacrifice his life in his service."

This army was not more successful than the former in reducing the revolted provinces to submission; but by the aid of the Dutch, who had embarked a considerable force from Japára, the Makásar chief was driven from his post: all the wounded were brought to Japára. They also saved the body of their chief, Pra Wira Trúna, who was killed on the occasion, and sent it to Matárem.

It appears that the assistance sent by the Dutch on this occasion, consisted of four ships and several smaller vessels with troops, which were reinforced at Japára by the Susúnan's troops and vessels. "Having arrived to the northward of Madúra, they landed the troops, during the night, in the forest, and in the morning sent a present to the Makásar chief, requesting his permission to take in fresh water, of which they stood in need, alleging it to be their intention to depart immediately. This request being granted, the guns were landed, and batteries thrown up behind the water-casks. An attack was then made upon the enemy's works, and in a few days the whole were demolished, the chief, Krain Monte-maráni killed, and numerous prisoners taken."

On this intelligence reaching Matárem, the Susúnan assembled all his family and chiefs, and directed another[Vol II Pg 178] attack to be made upon the hostile forces. A third army was soon assembled at Japára, where the Dutch were ready to join them: in the mean time, however, Trúna Jáya formed an alliance with the Makásars.

The Pangéran Adipáti, who was appointed to a command in this army, had charge of the rear division, which he had so arranged as to be able to act as emergency might require: but he was soon released from his doubts, for Trúna Jáya forgetting the agreement which he had entered into with this prince, no sooner saw himself thus successful in the eastern provinces, than he assumed the sovereignty himself, and caused himself to be installed, under the title of Prábu Máduréta Senapáti Ingalága, and confirmed his alliance with the Makásars by giving his daughter in marriage to their chief, Dáin Galéngsong.

The conditions of this alliance are said to have been, that Trúna Jáya should be placed on the throne of Matárem, Dain Galéngsong appointed chief of Surabáya and Pasúruan, Dain Manápok, chief of the eastern and western districts of Balambángan, and Sheik Kajúran, a crafty Arab chief of Madúra.

After a desperate engagement, the forces of Trúna Jáya were again successful. As a last effort, therefore, the venerable Pangéran Purbáyá, uncle of the Susúnan and nearly eighty years of age, summoned all the chiefs to follow him, and going himself into the field of battle, performed extraordinary feats of valour, till his horse having been shot under him, and having himself for some time fought on foot, he was overpowered, and his scattered forces compelled to retreat towards Matárem.

Trúna Jáya being now in full possession of Surabáya and the eastern districts, pursued his success as far as Japára. Here, however, he was effectually resisted by the chief, Angébái Wángsa-dípa and the Dutch, and obliged to retreat.

As another division of his army, under Ráden Dánang Wichána, rapidly approached Matárem, the Susúnan again applied to the Dutch, who sent one of the members of government, Admiral Speelman, to assist him with a considerable force by land and sea. The admiral left Batavia in December, 1676, A.D., and shortly appeared before Chéribon, reducing[Vol II Pg 179] to submission the coast districts from thence to Japára. The fruit of this success, on the part of the Dutch, was the contract of February 1677, of which the chief stipulations were:​—that the Susúnan and Dutch should assist each other against their common enemies, on condition that the expenses of the war should be repaid by the party assisted: that the Dutch jurisdiction at Batavia should extend to the Kráwang river, and the Javans living to the westward of a line drawn from that river to the southern shore, should be considered on the Dutch territory: that the Dutch should be allowed to export and import all species of goods and merchandize duty free, and to establish a factory on any spot which they might deem convenient: that Makásars, Maláyus, and Moormen, who had not Dutch passes, should not be permitted to trade or settle in the states of the Susúnan: that the Susúnan should engage to reimburse the Dutch for the expense incurred in assisting him against the Makásars and Madurese, amounting to two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and three thousand lasts of rice, deliverable at Batavia: that in the event of a peace being concluded between his highness and his enemies, through the mediation of the Dutch, his highness should abide by their decision; but, that if no accommodation was effected by the 30th July following, he should pay to the Dutch monthly the sum of twenty thousand reals, for the expenses of the war: that the Dutch should station an adequate force on Japára hill, in order to preserve that place for the Susúnan, which force was also to be maintained at the expense of his highness.

Admiral Speelman was invested by the Susúnan with full powers to act against the Madurese and Makásars, and to conclude such treaties with them as he should deem proper, without any restriction whatsoever, and all the Susúnan's subjects were commanded to join the standard of the admiral wherever he might arrive.

In May following the allied forces of the Dutch and the Susúnan gained a victory over Trúna Jáya, who was obliged to fly to Kedíri, leaving behind him upwards of a hundred pieces of cannon.

At length, the enemy being still in possession of all the central provinces, and the trifling force which it was in the[Vol II Pg 180] power of the Susúnan to raise being defeated in every skirmish, fear and dismay struck the remnant of the Matárem forces; and the invading army having subdued Pájang, were entering Matárem, when the Susúnan, seeing no hope for safety except in flight, assembled his family in the dead of the night, and collecting the regalia, quitted his capital with his four sons, and mounted on an elephant, took a westerly direction. This was in the Javan year 1600.

On the next day June 1677 the hostile troops entered Matárem, when a force was immediately detached in pursuit of the fugitive prince, who had pushed on to the Kéndang hills, and halted at Kájinar, with an intention of making a stand. Hearing of the strength of the pursuing force, however, he left his family at that place, and proceeded with only his son, the Pangéran Adípáti, to the village Pasiráman, where being seized with a mortal complaint he soon died. On his death-bed, informing his son that he felt his end approaching, he thus addressed him: "You must assume the sovereignty of Java, which has descended to you from your forefathers. Make friends with the Dutch, and by their assistance you may be enabled to reduce the eastern provinces to submission. I deliver over to you part of the sacred pusáka and regalia of the country; and now let my body be carried to a spot where the earth is fragrant, and there let it be buried."

In conformity with the wish of the deceased his body was carried across the country towards Tegál, in search of a spot where the earth was sweet-scented, and deposited a few miles inland from the town. The tomb is still held in high veneration; and it is from this circumstance that this prince is distinguished by the appellation of Susúnan Tegál-wáng'i, or Tegál-árum; árum and wáng'i signifying fragrant.

The rebel forces had, in the mean time, taken possession of Matárem, and found among the articles of plunder the crown of Majapáhit, with several other parts of the regalia, which had been left behind in the hasty departure of the prince, together with two of his daughters, named Keletíng Wúng'u and Keletíng Kúning. The plunder was immediately dispatched to Kedíri, where the rebel chiefs had established their head quarters, and equally divided between Trúng Jáya[Vol II Pg 181] and Dain Galéngsong, with the exception of the regalia and of the daughters of the Susúnan, whom Trúna Jáya espoused.

The loss on the side of the Matárem people is estimated at fifteen thousand killed, and on the side of the eastern people at somewhat less.

It is said in some accounts that the late Susúnan having failed to persuade his son, Pangéran Adipáti, to assume the government, gave to another of his sons, Pangéran Púgar, the pusáka kris, máisa núlar, and the spear kiái paléret, in consequence of which Pangéran Púgar, with his brothers, returned to Bágelen, where, assuming the title of Susúnan Senapáti Ingalága Abdul Ráchmen Sahídin Panatagáma, he assembled a considerable force, and proceeding to Matárem regained possession of it.

After the interment of the deceased Susúnan at Tegál, Márta Láya, the chief of that province, urged the Pangéran Adipáti to assume the government, and first to establish himself at Tegál, until he had collected a sufficient force to attack the eastern people, offering his services to collect for him as many people as would be required; but the prince still declined, not having the courage to attempt the recovery of the authority that belonged to his family, and requested Márta Láya to procure for him a vessel, in which he might proceed to Mecca, being resolved to relinquish for ever the cares of government, and to become a Háji. Márta Láya, although he had vessels at his disposal, evaded a compliance with the prince's request, in the hope that he might alter his resolution, and still be induced to assume the government. The prince retired to Bányumas, and performed a penance in one of the mosques. He is said on the seventh day to have fallen asleep, and to have dreamt, "that the roof of the mosque opened, as if it were carried up in the air, when a full and bright moon appeared, which diffused its lustre over all Java, after which it approached and entered his breast." Encouraged by this omen, the prince changed his determination, and recollecting the words of his father, bethought himself of obtaining the assistance of the Dutch. He in consequence dispatched two messengers to Batavia for aid.

The prince then sent orders to Márta Láya at Tegál to collect as many forces as possible; he likewise dispatched[Vol II Pg 182] trusty people to the Désa Dúnan, in search of the flower called wijáya mála, there being a superstitious notion among the Javans that if in their distress they are able to obtain this flower, whatever they undertake will prosper.

Márta Láya immediately exerted himself with great zeal and effect to assemble his adherents, in the hope that by shewing a large force he might induce the prince to relinquish his idea of receiving succour from the Dutch. On the arrival of this succour at Tegál he addressed him publicly as follows:​—"Sire, I have felt excessive shame in hearing that your highness is desirous of soliciting aid from the Hollanders, as if you were yourself in want of men. I am now ready, with numerous followers, to perform whatever you please, if you will only confer upon me the necessary authority. Give me but your orders and I will myself extirpate your enemies." The prince replied, "What signifies your shame, Márta Láya? I have requested assistance from the Dutch, because it is always agreeable to rely on one's friends; and it was foretold by my great grandfather, Sultan Agung, that the Dutch would assist his descendants." Márta Láya was silent. The messengers now returned with the wíjaya flowers, on which the prince assumed the title of Susúnan Amangkúrat Senapáti Ingalága, &c.; and soon afterwards the Dutch agreed to give him the assistance required.

When the Dutch force was landed, the Susúnan received the visit of the admiral and officers in state. The Dutch officers being introduced, stood in a row with their hats in their hands; but Márta Láya, considering it disrespectful that any one should stand in the presence of the sovereign, ordered them immediately to sit down in the manner of the Javans, and was proceeding to compel the admiral to do so, when the Susúnan, seeing the confusion in which all were thrown, applied to his late ambassador to the Dutch for an explanation. When he learnt that they shewed respect by bowing their heads only, he was satisfied, and desired Márta Láya not to interfere with them.

"The Susúnan then inquired the name of the commander, who after informing him that he had the rank of admiral, approached him, saying, that he was ordered by the government[Vol II Pg 183] of Batavia to proceed to Tegál, with a force of Europeans, Makásars, &c., and to afford him every assistance he might require in the establishment of his authority. There were landed valuable presents for the prince, among which was very splendid apparel as worn by the Hollanders, to which the prince took such a liking that he immediately clothed himself in it. The Dutch force was then divided, and the admiral embarked with one division for Japára, while the other accompanied the prince, who proceded by land to Pakalóngan, and afterwards with his followers by sea to Japára."

"On the arrival of the admiral at Japára, he inquired of Wángsa Dípa, the chief of that place, who had rendered assistance in repelling the rebels, at the time they attacked Japára? To which the latter replied, 'The successful resistance was principally owing to the conduct of the French, English, and Dutch factories.' The admiral then consulted with his officers, and observing that the English and French seemed to be preferred to the Dutch, or at any rate considered on the same footing, he called the chiefs of the French and English factories, and presenting them with twenty thousand dollars, said it was the gift of the Susúnan, who directed that they would quit Japára. The chiefs of the two factories took the money, but did not wish to depart, alleging that there were no vessels to convey them away; to which the admiral replied, that in that case he had the further orders of the Susúnan to provide them with a vessel. The people belonging to the two factories were then, with all their property, public and private, embarked on board a Dutch transport. The vessel sailed, but nothing more was ever heard of the English and French who were embarked in her. The Dutch then repaired their instruments of war."

Another account is as follows: "When the admiral arrived at Japára, he found there two foreign vessels, an English and a French ship, the officers of which said they had put in there in distress, and could not proceed further on account of the bad state of their ships. They also represented that they had assisted the Dutch when the rebels attacked Japára. The admiral thanked them for the service they had rendered, and presented them with ten thousand dollars, and[Vol II Pg 184] ordered them to proceed to their own country in one of his vessels."

"On the arrival of the Susúnan at Japára, he was joined by a considerable force from Tegál and Demák; and among those who were most active in the support of the Susúnan's authority was Márta Láya, whose aversion to the Dutch still continued. The admiral, apprized of his sentiments, applied to the Susúnan for his destruction, supporting his application by a written request to the same effect from the government of the capital, and threatening an immediate departure to Batavia in case of non-compliance.

"To accomplish this end, the Susúnan first attempted to send him to Kedíri against Trúna Jáya; but Márta Láya obtaining information of the demand made by the Dutch for his life, refused to attend the summons, on the pretence of sickness. His disobedience so enraged the Susúnan, that he ordered his instant death, which was effected in the following manner. Márta Púra having received the orders of the prince to put Márta Láya to death, went to his house, accompanied by two hundred followers. Márta Láya having been apprized of the Susúnan's anger, he collected an equal number of men.

"When Márta Púra approached him he was seated on a yellow carpet with a drawn kris in his hand, and being informed that he was to be put to death by order of the Susúnan, Márta Láya replied, 'If it is the wish of the prince that it should be so, do your duty, I am prepared.' Márta Púra then drew his kris and stabbed Márta Láya in the belly; but while he did so his neck received in return the kris of Márta Láya, which separating the throat in two, killed him on the spot. The two chiefs were no sooner wounded than the followers of both parties rushed on each other, and a most bloody and obstinate engagement ensued, which lasted till the bodies of nearly the whole lay weltering round those of the chiefs."

Measures had already been taken for the dispersion of the rebel forces in Kedíri. A Makásar chief, named Kráin Kadádrang, in the service of the Dutch, discovered his relationship to the Makásar chief Galéngsong, and offered to bring[Vol II Pg 185] him to terms. He was in consequence dispatched secretly to Kedíri, where he had an interview with the Makásar chief, who was his brother. On the part of the Dutch, he promised that they would assist him on Celebes. He hesitated to come over immediately, lest he should betray Trúna Jáya, but promised to join the allied forces when they should arrive and attack Trúna Jáya.

Having thus secured an interest with the Makásars, one division of the Dutch forces, under the admiral, embarked for Surabáya, and the other, with the Susúnan, commenced their march by land. A decisive battle took place at Kedíri; on the evening previous to which, it is asserted the Dutch had a communication with Dain Galéngsong, to know his intentions, when the latter told them, "Attack me to-morrow, and I will make arrangements for the flight of my forces." Accordingly the next morning, before the daylight, the Dutch troops marched to the hostile camp, where they found no preparations for resistance. Dain Galéngsong immediately ordered a retreat, and fled himself the first, leaving behind him all the plunder that had been taken at Matárem, and among other things the crown of Majapáhit.

The siege of Kedíri, according to the Dutch accounts, lasted fifty days, and it was at last taken by assault, Trúna Jáya making his escape. Great riches were found in the interior of the palace, and many chests of Spanish dollars, besides ingots of gold and the most valuable part of the regalia. The Susúnan claimed nothing but the crown of Majapáhit, leaving the remainder to be distributed among the troops.

When the crown was delivered to him, it appeared that its most splendid ornament, the large centre diamond, was missing. This the Susúnan immediately noticed, and inquiries were set on foot; but to the great affliction of the Susúnan and all the Javan chiefs, the jewel was never recovered.[272]

Nine Makásar chiefs afterwards surrendered to the Dutch on the 9th December, when they received pardon, and a promise that they should be sent to Makásar.

After this Trúna Jáya collected all his forces, and marshalled[Vol II Pg 186] them upon the plain, as if to receive the enemy; but on the approach of the Dutch troops from the left and the Javans from the right, his army was panic struck and fled in various directions, he himself with his two wives escaping to Antang. The Susúnan allowed the Dutch soldiers to plunder and possess themselves of every thing left by the rebels.

Chákra Níngrat having quitted his place of banishment and joined the Susúnan, was sent to urge the submission of his half-brother, Trúna Jáya. Chákra Níngrat accordingly went in search of Trúna Jáya, accompanied by a very few followers, and having found him at Antang he addressed him as follows. "Brother! what are you doing and whither would you fly? Depend upon it, if you persist in your resistance to the will of the Susúnan, he will disappoint your expectations, and if you compel him to send people to arrest you, you will excite his implacable displeasure. I have come to you as quickly as possible, for my heart yearns towards you, and I dread lest you should come to any misfortune. If you wish it, I will go and meet the Susúnan. Bring your two wives, who are both the sisters of the Susúnan, throw yourselves together at his feet, ask forgiveness for any offence you have committed, and perhaps he will be merciful towards you and grant you pardon. If you come alone in that way, the Susúnan cannot act against you, for are you not married to his sisters?" Trúna Jáya reflected upon what Chákra Níngrat said, and was inclined to follow his advice, saying, "I return abundant thanks to you for your kindness towards me. Your advice is good and I will follow it: I will follow you, accompanied by my wives." Trúna Jáya with his wives afterwards accompanied Chákra Níngrat to Kedíri.

Chákra Níngrat then led Trúna Jáya with his wives to the hall of audience, where the Susúnan was seated with the admiral and numerous Dutch officers. Trúna Jáya on this occasion did not wear his kris, but rolled a chíndi cloth round his body, as if he were a prisoner.

They fell at the feet of the Susúnan, imploring forgiveness for the offence of Trúna Jáya, on which the Susúnan said, 'It is well! Trúna Jáya, for this time I forgive you. Go without and clothe yourself in becoming apparel, and[Vol II Pg 187] then return to me, when I will present you with a kris, and instal you as my minister, in the presence of all assembled.' The Susúnan then gave orders that he should be served with apparel. The heart of Trúna Jáya became highly elated: he went out and received the apparel from the Susúnan's people, and then returned into the presence, but without wearing a kris, as the Susúnan had intimated his intention to present him with one.

"As he approached, the Susúnan desired his women to bring him the kris named Kiái belábar, which was still unsheathed. As soon as it was delivered into the hands of the Susúnan, he said to Trúna Jáya, 'Know, Trúna Jáya, that I have given my word that I would never sheathe this kris except in your body: receive now your death from it in punishment of your offence.' Trúna Jáya was silent, while the Susúnan standing up approached and stabbed him with his kris in the breast. Returning then to his throne he seated himself, and ordered his people who were assembled to finish the work which he had begun, whereupon they all fell upon Trúna Jáya, the unfortunate wretch, stabbing him in a thousand places and cutting his body to pieces. They then severed the head from the trunk, rolled it in the mud, made a mat of it, and at last cast it into a ditch by the express order of the Susúnan. The admiral and all the Dutch officers and party were present at this execution; but though they appeared astonished at the conduct of the Susúnan, they remained quiet spectators of it."

Such is the account given by the Javans, without reference to the share which the Dutch had in the transaction; but from the Dutch accounts it appears that Trúna Jáya delivered himself up under a stipulation with the Dutch that his life should be spared. A young officer of the name of Jengker, who had been placed by the General (Cooper) in charge of the Susúnan's guard, was sent by the Susúnan to treat with Trúna Jáya, without any communication with or authority from his commanding officer. Valentyn says positively, that Jengkér promised him pardon, and assured him of his life; but Cooper, annoyed that the credit of taking this chief should thus have been wrested from him by a junior officer acting without authority, exasperated the Susúnan against Trúna[Vol II Pg 188] Jáya, and threw that unfortunate chief in his way at a moment when his passion was at its height. This catastrophe, says Valentyn, is to be ascribed to no one but the jealous Cooper, who brought it about, in order that his bad conduct, oppressions, and extortions, which were well known to Trúna Jáya, and which he had intended to complain of, should remain concealed.

Trúna Jáya, at the time of his surrender, was dressed in a Portuguese jacket, and wore on his head a black turban edged with lace. He gave short and pertinent answers to the questions put to him. On his coming before Jengker he fell at his feet, saying, that in his youth it had been predicted that, however great his fortune might be, still he should, at one time of his life, be taken prisoner, and that since this was his destiny, he rejoiced in having fallen into the hands of a person so well known for his humanity. He then presented to him his krís with a golden bow, requesting Jengker to keep them in token of his esteem. Jengker lifted him up, promised that his life should be spared, and further, that all his influence with the Dutch government and the Susúnan should be used in his behalf. It is alleged in the Dutch accounts, that the immediate cause of the Susúnan's conduct on this occasion, was the irreconcilable hatred which Trúna Jáya still evinced towards that prince, who, he said, had in his youth encouraged him to the steps he had taken, and afterwards abandoned him.

Trúna Jáya surrendered on the 25th December, 1679, A.D., and general tranquillity ensued, which however was not of long duration. The Panambáhan Gíri having in his possession the kris deposited in the tomb of the first Súnan, it was demanded of him by the Susúnan as royal property; but the Panambáhan not being inclined to part with it, and disapproving of the conduct of the Susúnan, who was guided by Dutch councils, and had even adopted their dress, replied, that he did not wish to know any thing of the Susúnan, or to be acquainted with him; that he wished to wear the kris, kálam múning, himself, and that he preferred his own dignity to that of such a chief. The Susúnan, enraged at this answer, proceeded to Gíri with his Dutch allies, where an engagement took place and the Gíri people were obliged to fly: the Panambáhan was taken and put to death. In this affair, a[Vol II Pg 189] cousin of the Súnan Káli Jága of Adilángo, who had followed the Susúnan, distinguished himself in destroying the brother of the Punambáhan Pangéran Sínga Sári, who was running amók, and doing much mischief; as a reward for which service the Súnan, in the presence of the Dutch commander, declared that, for ever after that, the descendants of that chief should be permitted to reside at Adiláng'o, and not be called upon to perform any duties of the state.

The whole of the eastern provinces having now submitted, the Susúnan returned to Semárang, where when he had made acknowledgments to the Dutch for the assistance they had rendered him, the commander requested that he would give them a small piece of ground at Semárang to build a fort upon, which would not only be convenient for the protection of their trade, but would enable them to come to the assistance of the Susúnan, if necessary, at a shorter notice.

The admiral having promised that he would station a suitable force at Semárang, which the Susúnan might at any time employ as he thought proper, obtained the permission he applied for.

The Javans have a superstitious belief, that when once misfortune has fallen on a place so generally as to extend to the common people (which was the case at Matárem), it will never afterwards prosper; it was therefore determined by the Susúnan to change the seat of empire, and some were for fixing it at Semárang, but at last it was determined to erect it in the wood Wána Kérta, in the district of Pájang, which was good land but uninhabited.

The new capital was called Kérta-súra, the walls of which are still to be seen on the road to Súra-kérta, the present capital of the Susúnan.

During all these transactions Pangéran Pugar remained at Matárem. The Susúnan now, for the first time, sent him information of his establishment, and required his attendance at court. The Pangéran, who having heard that the Susúnan was in the constant habit of dressing after the Dutch fashion, had been strengthening himself as much as possible, under an impression, that the Susúnan supported by the Dutch was not his brother, but a foreigner, whom they had raised to answer their own purposes, received this intimation with great[Vol II Pg 190] surprise, and sent two of his family to ascertain the truth. The messengers, who were interested in upholding the separate authority of their master, determined to encourage his mistake, and they represented the Susúnan as a foreigner from Sábrang, elevated by the Dutch. Upon this report the Pangéran informed the Susúnan that he could not proceed to Kérta Súra, as he preferred remaining at Matárem, where he was established as the legal sovereign. A force, consisting of Dutch and Javan troops, was in consequence marched against Matárem; at first the troops of Kérta-súra were defeated, but in a second attack they were more successful, and the Pangéran was obliged to take to flight.

By means of the Adipáti, the Pangéran was afterwards assured of the Susúnan being his brother, when he agreed to go to Kérta-súra, provided the Susúnan would throw off his Dutch dress and appear in his native costume. To this the sovereign consented, and publicly received his brother with the greatest demonstrations of joy and affection.

The authority of the Susúnan was now firmly established, and general tranquillity prevailed for some years.

A new character now appears on the stage, under the title of Surapáti. This man, whose name was Sí Untung, had been the slave boy of a Dutchman at Batavia, of the name of Mor, who is represented to have been of low origin, but to have been advanced to the highest dignities, even a seat in the high regency, by means of the riches and influence he had acquired through the services of this slave, to whom he became, in consequence, much attached. Mor, however, discovering an improper intimacy between Untung and his natural daughter, chastised him severely, and afterwards had him confined in the public block or stocks. Untung contrived to effect his escape from them during the night, and to release his fellow prisoners. They then fell upon the guard which came to mount at daylight, and taking them unawares massacred the whole. Being thus committed, Untung bent his course to the high lands, and afterwards to Chéribon. While in the high lands he formed a connection with a formidable party from Bantam, where a civil war had been excited, in consequence of the Dutch having elevated to the throne a son of the deceased king, contrary to the express[Vol II Pg 191] directions of the father. One of the brothers, Pangéran Purbáya, was prevailed upon to join a certain Abidin, a fanatic rebel, who had raised about two thousand followers, and with him passed through Jasíngá and the Jákatra and Preángan highlands, increasing their numbers as they went.

Abidin having proposed to proceed by that route to Matárem, there to stir up the Susúnan against the Dutch, the Pangéran being tired of the journey surrendered to the Dutch force sent against them; but Abidin stood a severe engagement, and was only induced to surrender by means of an artifice practiced upon him. An European officer belonging to the Dutch troops disguised himself as an Arab, and being well versed in the Arabic and Malayu languages, obtained an interview with Abidin, to whom he represented, that having himself been once taken prisoner by the Dutch he had been so well treated that he would advise him to go and surrender himself. The unfortunate man took his advice, and was conveyed to the commanding officer, then at Chikálong, who immediately forwarded him to Batavia, whence he was sent to the Cape of Good Hope for the rest of his life.

The party of runaway slaves under Untung, who had now assumed the name of Santána being surprized by the Dutch force, were by special orders from Batavia allowed to remain undisturbed for the present. The chief appears to have been useful to the Dutch, and to have been employed, in order the better to secure the surrender of Pangéran Purbáya. When the Dutch officer went with a small party to receive the submission of this chief, he found that he had already tied his spears together (the sign of surrender) and kept no arms but his kris. Ignorant of the customs of the country, the officer demanded that the Pangéran should also deliver this weapon and his personal ornaments. The demand created the utmost astonishment in the Pangéran, who instantly asked if it was not sufficient humiliation to a prince of the royal blood that he and his people had given up their arms. Santána entreated of the Dutch officer not to urge the delivery of the kris, and to consider "that the bird, although caught, was not yet in the cage," but to no purpose: the officer persisted in his demand, and insulted Santána in presence of all who were there assembled. The Pangéran seeing that resistance[Vol II Pg 192] was now vain, promised compliance next morning; but during the night, to the inexpressible mortification of the officer, he effected his escape. The rage of the officer now fell so violently upon Santána, that a quarrel ensued. Santána and his followers fell upon the Dutch party and killed many of them; the officer however escaped. Santána then moved towards Chéribon, where he had an affair with a chief, named Ráden Surapáti, which being reported to the sultan, that chief was put to death, and his title of Surapáti conferred upon Untung. Surapáti then proceeded towards Kérta-súra to beg assistance against the Dutch, leaving several of his followers in Bányumas, under the direction of two chiefs, who soon became dreaded as noted kramans or rebels. At Kérta-súra he found protection from the prime minister, to whom he related all the particulars of the story, with the exception of that part which related to the establishment he had formed in Bányumas. This district being now declared in a state of revolt, he offered to bring it to submission, and was employed by the Susúnan for that purpose; he accordingly proceeded secretly to Bányumas, where, aided by the plan he had before laid, he caused the heads of the two krámans to be secretly cut off in the night, and the rebels to disperse; when returning to Kérta-súra and producing the heads, he was received into the highest favour by the Susúnan.

The Dutch hearing of his fortune, demanded from the Susúnan that his person should be given up; but the reply of the Susúnan was, "that Surapáti having thrown himself on his protection and performed a signal service to the empire, he could not give him up; but that if the Dutch wished that he should be arrested, they were at perfect liberty to arrest him in any part of his dominions."

The Dutch, accordingly sent a force, consisting of four hundred Europeans and six hundred islanders, under the orders of one Tak, an officer who had incurred the suspicion of having purloined the centre diamond from the Majapáhit crown, and on whom, according to the impression which pervades the Dutch accounts, the Susúnan had determined to be revenged.

On the approach of the Dutch troops, the Susúnan, alarmed lest they should succeed in arresting Surapáti, determined to[Vol II Pg 193] afford him every assistance, and for that purpose directed, that when they arrived, the Ráden Adipáti (prime minister), who had given his daughter in marriage to Surapáti, should openly espouse his cause, and proceed, in the first instance, to attack the lines of the Adipátis of Madúra and Surabáya, who after a skirmish should retreat to the alun alun in confusion, exhibiting all the appearance of a defeat, while the united party of the Ráden Adipáti, and Sarapáti should appear to threaten the kráton. The Pangéran Púgar being strongly attached to Surapáti, received orders, that if, in the affair with the Dutch, the party of Surapáti and the minister should be worsted, he should render them assistance, by sending his people to them clothed in white, the distinction adopted by Surapáti.

When the Dutch arrived, to cover appearances, a new prime minister was appointed. The commander requested assistance from the Susúnan, who pointed out to him the apparent state of affairs, and induced him to believe that he was himself in danger from the attack of Surapáti. Under this impression, Tak made his arrangements; and the Dutch troops appeared on the front alun alun at eight o'clock in the morning, when they were immediately attacked by Surapáti. After four hours of hard fighting, Surapáti was repulsed; but reinforcements being sent by Pangéran Púgar, and by the whole population of the city, the Dutch were completely destroyed. Tak, at his last extremity, ordered out from the fort two hundred soldiers remaining there; but as they could not join their companions, they were immediately surrounded and cut up. Of the two thousand men, eleven hundred and eighty-three lost their lives; and among them Tak, who was mortally wounded in the neck by the celebrated pusáka spear of Pangéran Púgar. The weapon was found blunted at the point by the chain jacket which Tak is said to have worn on the occasion.

The Susúnan now directed the Ráden Adipáti and Surapáti to take refuge in the province of Pasúruan, and assume the habit of devotees; while to the Adipátis of Madúra and Surabáya orders were given to follow them at a certain distance, burning the villages and laying waste the country, as if[Vol II Pg 194] in pursuit of an enemy. When Surapáti reached Pasúruan, he took the name of Adipáti Wíra Nagára.

The few Dutch who had survived made their escape to the fort of Japára, which was then more extensive than that at Semárang.

After this the Susúnan wrote to the commanding officer at Japára, informing him that Tak, with all the party, had been killed by the Ráden Adipáti and Surapáti, who had also attacked him, but that they had at last driven them to the eastward, by the force he had collected under the Adipátis of Madúra and Surabáya. He also informed him that he had elected a new prime minister, in lieu of the one who had espoused the cause of Surapáti. The Susúnan, fearing lest this story might not be believed, and that he might be suspected of having assisted Surapáti, sent with this letter five píkuls of birds' nests, forty oxen, and other articles of value, which he entrusted to the care of a priái gándok (a messenger of distinction) named Jága Rága, with instructions to mark well the thoughts of the commander or officer who was the chief of Japára, and if he shewed the least suspicion of the part the Susúnan had taken, mainly to deny it, and firmly to insist that the Susúnan was true-hearted to the Hollanders. He moreover promised to his ambassador, that if he succeeded in averting the anger of the Dutch, he would reward him on his return.

This messenger accordingly proceeded to Japára, when the chief officer, after reading the letter, said he had heard the Susúnan was of one heart with Surapáti; to which Jága Rága replied, that what he had heard was false, and that perhaps the story might have originated in the part taken by the Ráden Adipáti, whose attachment to Surapáti was well known. He then referred to the circumstance of the country's being laid waste by Surapáti on his flight to the eastward, in proof of his enmity. The commander heard this explanation with patience, and after receiving the presents, with which he was much pleased, returned for answer to the Susúnan, that he had first heard that he was favourable to Surapáti, but was now convinced, from the explanation afforded, that these reports were unfounded, and that he was satisfied of the lasting attachment of his highness to the Dutch. He then[Vol II Pg 195] thanked him for his present, and in return sent one thousand ducatoons, with an assortment of velvets and cloth. The messenger having thus succeeded, was raised to the rank and station of Tumúng'gung of Japára, by the name and title of Kiái Tumúng'gung Márta Púra.

The next indignity offered to the Dutch was by this man, who laid hold of a half cast Dutch soldier at Japára, and insisted upon his sitting on the ground on his hams and dancing the tandák, after the fashion of the Javans, for his amusement. The Dutch, highly incensed, demanded the immediate release of the man; but the Tumúng'gung refusing, an application was sent to the Susúnan, requesting that Márta Púra might be put to death. The Susúnan immediately sent for Pangéran Púgar and his minister, and desired them to communicate with Márta Púra, and if they found he had the courage to oppose the Dutch to give him assistance under hand, or to promote his success by some stratagem, in the same manner as he had done to Surapáti; but if not, to let him be sacrificed, as a punishment for his cowardice. He then replied to the commodore, saying, that he had sent his own people to arrest Márta Púra, and to deliver him to the commander, who might act with his person as he thought proper. When the minister arrived at Japára it was agreed that Márta Púra should be invited into the Dutch fort, and there apprehended early next morning; but in the meantime the agents of the Susúnan had a secret interview with the chief, who declared himself ready to oppose the Dutch, and it was determined that their pretending to seize him should be a signal for all to join and amók the Hollanders: but in the morning the heart of Márta Púra failed him. He twice refused to quit his retreat, and when at last he came into the presence of the party, he appeared trembling and pale, and his knees tottered under him, so that he was scarcely able to stand. They then gave him a chair to sit down upon, and plied him with wine. An officer having taken his kris from behind him, he rose from his chair and attempted to escape, but was bayoneted by a soldier on his way. The agents of the Susúnan, enraged to see him so thoroughly frightened, gave him no assistance, but ordered the dogs to devour his carcase. When the Susúnan heard of the cowardly conduct of Márta[Vol II Pg 196] Púra he ordered that it should be publicly prohibited, on pain of his severest punishment, to harbour or afford assistance to his relations or children.

Afterwards the former Tumúng'gung of Japára, Sécha Nagára, was replaced, and a communication was, through him, made to the Dutch, intimating the willingness of the Susúnan to co-operate against the Surapáti, in consequence of which orders were given for the Dutch troops to proceed from Batavia. When the Susúnan had thus drawn the Dutch into a second attack upon this chieftain, he is represented "as being most delighted at the prospect which it afforded, that on the present occasion more of the Dutch troops might be sacrificed, in the same manner as in the recent affair at Kérta Súra."

The Adipáti of Surabáya and Madúra were immediately dispatched to Pasúruan to meet the Dutch, but having waited some time in vain for the arrival, a mock battle took place with Surapáti, when it was arranged that the Kérta Súra troops should take to flight, burning and laying waste the country as they retreated. A regular communication appears to have been kept up during the whole time between Surapáti and the Susúnan, who allowed him quietly to possess himself of the adjoining districts of Málang and Mádion. The Ráden Adipáti Aúrang Kasúma died about this time.

The Dutch troops now arrived in the eastern districts, and the commandant of Japára applied for the assistance of the Susúnan; but the latter, alleging that his chiefs had been recently beaten and obliged to retreat from Pasúruan, urged delay, on the plea of waiting a more favourable opportunity of attack.

In the meantime family feuds disturbed the peace of the kráton. The hereditary prince, Pangéran Adipáti Amángku Nagára, had married the daughter of his cousin, Pangéran Púgar, but after the expiration of the forty days he disregarded her, and she returned to her father's protection. One of the most distinguished characters at the court was the son of the prime minister. The hereditary prince, jealous of the universal admiration which he enjoyed, determined to lower him by the infliction of the greatest disgrace which could be endured. Naturally of a fiery disposition, he became exces[Vol II Pg 197]sively enraged at an accident which occurred to him while hunting in the forest of Ránda Wahána, and which occasioned a lameness in his legs. As soon as he returned home he sent for this youth, whom he immediately ordered to be bound and severely flogged with a rattan: he then directed him to be tied to a tree abounding with ants, which soon covered his body; a favourite mode of inflicting cruel punishment. There the young man suffered dreadfully, but his tortures were not at an end: he was afterwards flogged till he nearly expired, and then sent to the house of his father, the prime minister, who, although much enraged, was obliged to suppress his resentment. Determined afterwards to revenge himself, he seduced the wife of the Pangéran Adipáti, who had returned to her father's house, as above stated. The connection was discovered, and all parties were put to death.

The Susúnan becoming now dangerously ill, from an affection of the spleen which he had contracted at the time of the massacre of the Dutch under Tak, called into his presence his eldest son, the Pangéran Adipáti, his brother, Pangéran Púgar, and his two firm adherents, the Adipátis of Madúra and Surabáya, and thus addressed them: "The time which is allotted to me in this world has nearly expired; but before I depart let me impress upon you all the necessity and advantage of your mutually supporting each other. If you hold together, then will the sovereignty of Java become pure and strong. The Adipátis of Madúra and Surabáya will be as the surface of the támpa (or sifter) on which rice is cleansed from the husk; the Pangéran Púgar as the wángku (or rim of the sifter); and the Pangéran Adipáti will be as the one who sifts or fans the rice. When the Pangéran Adipáti ascends the throne, let him attach himself to the other three, by which means he will cleanse and strengthen his government, even as the rice is cleansed from the husk in the támpa. Let him study the writings Níti Prája, Níti Sastrá, Srúti, Asta Bráta and Jáya Lángkara; to abandon his vicious habits, never to ill use his wives, and to be kind and constant to his present wife (another daughter of the Pangéran Púgar.)"

In a short time the Susúnan died. The Pangéran Adipáti, who was destined to succeed him, excited much disapproba[Vol II Pg 198]tion and disgust by his ungrateful neglect of the customary rites due to the body of the deceased, and his indecent eagerness to ascend the throne before it was even vacated. The practice of the country required him to wash and purify the corpse with his own hands; but he left the task to the women, while he shut all the gates of the kráton and seated himself in front on the setíngel. The deceased was buried at Megíri, and his widow, Rátu Kanchána, attended the procession, distributing money as she past along, to the amount of one thousand dollars and more.

As soon as the body was removed the Pangéran Adipáti assembled all his chiefs, and addressed them to the following effect: "All ye who are present bear witness, that the Pangéran Adipáti Amángku Nagára has succeeded to the sovereignty of his late father, Susúnan Mangkúrat, and as ye acknowledged and respected the father, now do the same to the son;" to which they all ejaculated assent. To this Ráden Subráta, who wished to shew his attachment to the young prince by raising him in the eyes of the people, added, "the sovereignty descends to you by the will of the Almighty; it has not been assumed by yourself;" but no one answered. All the chiefs present, however, approached the prince and kissed his feet, in proof of their acknowledgment of his authority. The new Susúnan then declared Rátu Kanchána his queen, and nominated the principal officers of state: and as soon as he returned to the dálam addressed three letters, one to the Governor General of Batavia, one to the commandant at Japára, and one to the commandant at Semárang, informing them of his having assumed the sovereignty in succession to his ancestors. He likewise entrusted a letter for Batavia, and another for the Governor General, to the care of Captain Knol at Semárang.

On first granting their support to the deceased prince, the Dutch required that he should enter into a bond, dated 10th October 1677, confirming the treaty of the 25th February preceding, and acknowledging a debt to the Dutch of thirty thousand dollars, together with three thousand kóyans of rice, as a security for which he was required to mortgage to the Dutch all the sea-ports from the river Kráwang to the eastern extremity of the island. The whole revenues of these places,[Vol II Pg 199] including in particular all the rice deliverable to the state, were also to be received by the Dutch in diminution of this debt.

At the same time, also, the Susúnan was called upon to execute a deed of cession, confirming the act of the 28th February preceding, and setting forth that his father, having already verbally expressed an intention to make over to the Dutch his rights on the kingdom of Jákatra (or land lying between the river of Untúng Jáwa and Kráwang and the northern and southern sea-coasts), the said grant was further confirmed, and the whole of the province of Jákatra ceded accordingly, the inhabitants who wished to remain being ordered to acknowledge the Dutch as their lawful sovereign, but all being at liberty to place themselves under the Susúnan and to leave the Dutch territory, till the expiration of twelve months after the publication of this act.

By this deed of cession, the Susúnan also ceded to the Dutch, in acknowledgment of the services rendered by Admiral Speelman against the rebels, the country between the Kráwang and Pamanúkan rivers, in a straight line to the South Sea, with all the immunities and privileges attached to it.

This document further prohibited the importation of cloths and opium by any one except the Dutch, and contained the appointment of Adipáti Mandaráka to be chief of Tegal and the western, and Aria Urawán to be chief of Jápara and the eastern sea coast.

On the 15th January 1678, a charter was procured from the Susúnan, placing the sugar trade of Japára entirely in the hands of the Dutch. A grant was made them of the management of the town and jurisdiction of Sámrang and the village of Kaligwái, that is to say, the right of appointing governors of their own at those places, without the least interference on the part of the Susúnan; on condition, however, that the revenues should be duly accounted for and paid to his highness's officers by those of the Dutch. But as his highness was still in debt to the Dutch, those revenues were provisionally taken in diminution of the debt.

In Bantam the Dutch had made various treaties with the princes. [Vol II Pg 200]

On the 17th April 1684 a contract was signed with the sultan of Bantam, by which it was stipulated, among other articles, that the contract of the 10th July 1659 should be renewed and confirmed; that the sultan should give no kind of assistance to the enemies of the Dutch, and undertake nothing hostile against their allies, particularly the Susúnan and the prince of Chéribon; that the Táng'ran river, from its mouth to its origin, and from thence a line drawn from south until it meets the South Sea, should be the boundaries fixed upon between the Dutch jurisdiction and the Bantam country, it being understood that the whole of the Táng'ran or Untong Jáwa river, with its mouths, should be the property of the Dutch, together with six hundred rods of land to the northward from fort Bábakan to the sea, with liberty to erect such pággars, or forts, on the western banks of the river, as should be deemed necessary for purposes of safety; the inhabitants of the Bantam side to be permitted to fish in the river, and to appropriate its waters to the purposes of cultivation, but no vessels to be allowed to enter the river from the sea without Company's passes; that the claims of the Dutch on the government of Bantam should be reduced to twelve thousand rix dollars, or one-eighth of its original amount; that his highness should give up all claims to the principality of Chéribon; that the fourth article of the contract of 1659 should remain in force, and consequently that no ground or factory rent should be paid by the Dutch, but that the sultan should give as much ground gratis, as the purposes of the factory might require; that his highness should conclude no contracts with other powers contrary to the present treaty.

On the same day, however, a bond was executed by the Sultan, in favor of the Dutch, for the payment of the expenses incurred in assisting his highness against the rebel sultan, and his friend the British resident, who it is stated in this document would have received the punishment due to his conduct but for the interference of the Dutch, to whose protection he was indebted for the moderation with which his highness had restricted his punishment to a final removal from Bantam. This obligation states the sultan's debt to be six hundred thousand rix-dollars, which he promises to pay[Vol II Pg 201] either in specie or pepper, or by remission of duties; and he also grants therein to the Dutch the sole trade in pepper and cloths, in the countries of Bantam, Lampung, and Silebar.

On the 28th April 1684, a deed was executed, by which the sultan of Bantam's debt of six hundred thousand rix-dollars was remitted, on condition that the Company should enjoy the privileges mentioned in the bond of the 17th instant; but whenever the above privileges were violated on the sultan's part, the Dutch held themselves justified in requiring payment of the debt in question.

On the 15th February 1686, an agreement was entered into with the sultan of Bantam, by which, among other stipulations, the Dutch engaged to assist the sultan against his rebellious subjects, with men, ammunition, and vessels, on condition that he would pay the expense; it being stipulated that they should not leave their factory during the night; that they should not be permitted to walk outside the town without the sultan's and the Resident's permission; that they should not enter the houses of the natives, much less stay there during the night; that they should not take away any articles in the bazars without duly paying for the same; that they should not enter any gardens or premises without permission from the proprietors; that they should not enter any temples without previous leave; that they should not detain any females in their houses, nor stop them in the streets; on meeting the sultan in the streets, that they should shew his highness the accustomed honours; that they should not stop whenever the sultan or sultana bathed in the river, but pass without looking at their highnesses; that they should not interfere with the disputes and judicial proceedings of the natives. By the eighteenth article it was mutually agreed, that offenders, of either party, should be punished according to their respective laws, and each by his own nation; and that the whole of the black and white pepper produced at Bantam should be sold to the Dutch at a fixed price.

On the 4th December 1687, on the occasion of the accession to the throne of a new sultan of Bantam, an act of renovation of all former treaties was passed, together with a renewal of the bond for six hundred thousand dollars, and of[Vol II Pg 202] the deed remitting the same, on condition that the privileges heretofore specified were granted to the Dutch at Bantam.

On the 3d March 1691, on occasion of the elevation to the throne of another sultan, an act of renewal was passed of the contracts concluded at different periods between the Dutch and the sultans of Bantam.

On the 6th January 1681 an agreement was signed with the three chiefs of Chéribon, setting forth the gratitude of those princes for the signal services rendered them by the Dutch, and their determination to follow the Dutch Company's advice under all circumstances, and to assist the Dutch government whenever their aid might be required, on condition that they should, in like manner, be assisted by the Dutch in cases of emergency, each party bearing the expense of all armaments undertaken for his benefit. The three princes promised to live upon good terms with the Susúnan.

In the event of one of the three princes, or other persons, committing any acts prohibited by the present articles, or derogatory to his highness the Susúnan, it was agreed, that such conduct should be punished with the utmost severity.

The other stipulations of importance were, that no fortifications should be erected by the princes without the consent of the Governor-General, who should have leave to build a factory at Chéribon, and to cause all species of merchandize to be imported duty free. That all pepper growing in the kingdom of Chéribon should be disposed of to the Dutch at the bazaar price; that the trade in sugar and rice should be free to all, upon payment of an export duty of two per cent. to the princes; that vessels belonging to powers at war with the Dutch should not be permitted to enter the ports of Chéribon, but be dealt with as enemies.

On the 7th September 1680, another contract was entered into with the princes of Chéribon, by which all former differences were declared to be forgotten, and Panambáhan, Chéribon, and sultan Anom, promised to respect and honour their elder brother, sultan Sépu, as the first-born of their Panambáhan Kiái Gíri Láyah. Sultan Sépu promised, on the other hand, not to slight his brothers in any way, but on the contrary to treat them, on every occasion, with the deference due[Vol II Pg 203] to their rank. It was agreed, that there shall be one place only for holding tournaments, where the royal brothers would appear every Saturday in their state dresses, attended by their mántris, and that, to prevent disputes, they should be seated to the right and left of sultan Sépu, and all the mántris below; but that, should indisposition prevent one of them from attending the tournament, they should send due notice thereof on the Saturday morning. At the tournament the sultan only had the right to speak; but sultan Sépú not being present, that right was to devolve on the second, and in his absence on the third chief. In the event of all the princes being prevented from attending, the eldest sons of sultan Sepu and Anom should make their appearance, and the command devolve on the Pangéran. That in consequence of frequent disputes having arisen among the princes, with reference to the appointment and super-cession of prime minister, the right of nominating to that office was vested exclusively in the governor-general of Batavia. That in the event of any difference occurring between the princes, which they could not adjust themselves, the resident of Chéribon should be requested to act as arbitrator on the part of the Dutch. That should one of the princes refuse to comply with this article, the other brothers should on no account molest him, but simply report the matter to the Batavian government, through their ambassadors. The dissenting prince should, however, in that case, voluntarily place himself in the resident's custody, who should not be permitted to convey him out of Chéribon.

Mr. Middlekoop mentions, that during the reign of this prince, the principality of Madúra was conferred by the Susúnan on Chákra Diníngrat; but the inhabitants of Súmenap being discontented with this choice, they informed the Susúnan that they would rather die than submit to that authority; upon which the Susúnan thought proper to divide that country into two parts, giving to Chákra Diníngrat the western district, and the eastern, or Súmenap district, to Mas Yáng Wúlan, who took the name of Yúdha Nagára. In the year 1683, the whole island of Madúra revolted, and became subject to the Dutch government.

But to return to Pangéran Adipáti Amángku Nagára,[Vol II Pg 204] usually called Mangkúrat Más. The authority of this prince seems to have been attacked almost immediately after his accession to the throne; for Ráden Súria Kasúma, a son of the Pangéran Púgar, having accompanied the procession which attended the body of the late Susúnan to the grave, persuaded many of the party to declare him sovereign of Java, under the title of Súnun Panatagáma. The Susúnan Mangkúrat Mas no sooner heard of this, than he became highly enraged with his uncle, the Pangéran Púgar, and sent back to him his daughter, the queen Ratu Kanchána. He afterwards ordered the Pangéran with his wives and children into his presence, and commanding them to be seized, publicly exposed them on the alun alun, in a pen or railing made for that purpose, which the Javans call betek. Ráden Suria was apprehended.

On the one hundredth day after the death of the late Susúnan, the wives of the chiefs being assembled to prepare a customary feast, intended "to give a blessing to the journey of the deceased," the Susúnan conceived a passion for Ayu Pakúwati, the wife of the Adipáti of Madúra, and availed himself of his power over her to gratify it. She, however, soon made her escape, and reported the particulars to her husband, who in revenge concurred with the Adipáti of Semárang, in urging the Pangeran Púgar to assume the sovereignty. "So large a party," said these chiefs, "being in favour of your pretensions, you can never be condemned for assuming the government; for as with men who drink a bottle of wine, if there are few of them they must necessarily become intoxicated, but if there are many, truly it is nothing at all."

Being assured by the Adipáti of Semárang, that the Dutch were not cordial friends of the present Susúnan, the Pangéran was at last prevailed upon to escape with his family and a chosen band to Semárang, where the Dutch received him, and conditionally proclaimed him sovereign of Java.

As soon as the Susúnan Mangkúrat Mas was informed of the departure of the Pangéran, he applied to the commissioners at Semárang to have him delivered up; but received for reply an intimation, that he was under the protection of the Dutch, and that if the Susúnan wanted him he must[Vol II Pg 205] come for him himself. Enraged at this evasion, he ordered that Ráden Súria Kasúma, the son of the Pangéran, should immediately be put to death. The young prince was accordingly brought into his presence for the purpose, when a great eruption suddenly took place from Merápi, the mountain emitting a sound louder than thunder, and flame which enlightened all Kérta Súra. The Susúnan, thinking that his end was approaching, sent the young king back into confinement, when the sounds immediately ceased, and the mountain emitted no more flame. The Susúnan conceiving all danger at an end, once more ordered the execution of the prince, but a more violent eruption than the first instantly rent the mountain asunder. The alarm of the Susúnan was increased, and considering this was a gáro-gáro, or sign, that the prince was favoured by the Almighty, he altered his intentions, received his intended victim into favour, and appointed him a Pangéran, under the title of Pangéran Ang'ebái Saléring Péken, with an assignment of one thousand cháchas of land.

He appointed the Adipáti of Madúra, under the name of Panambáhan Chakra Níngrat, chief over all the coast districts, from Brébes to Banyuwángi, and the Tumúng'gung of Surábaya, under the name of Adipáti Jaeng Rána, to be his Páteh. To the Tumúng'gung of Semárang he also gave the title of Adipáti Súra Adimang'gála.

Immediately after his accession he had written to the Dutch government; but it appears that the letter was not forwarded from Semárang to Batavia until after the Pangérang Púgar had taken part against him. According to the Dutch accounts, the ambassadors of both parties arrived nearly at the same time at Batavia, were admitted to audience the next day, and were received, not like ambassadors, but rather as messengers.

The objections urged by the Dutch to the acknowledgment of the Susúnan were the following:​—1st. Because he was a great tyrant, and well known to have instigated his father to a rupture with the Dutch, and to have himself menaced hostilities against them, as soon as he should have mounted the throne. 2d. Because his embassy did not consist of princes of his family, and the prime minister, as usual, but of two[Vol II Pg 206] common regents only. 3d. Because the letter which communicated his father's death, and announced his own accession, although it contained a request for protection against his enemies, did not apply for their sanction or confirmation, nor declare his readiness to renew the contracts, to acknowledge the debts, and to fulfil the engagements formerly stipulated, though he ought to have known that this was the basis upon which alone the Dutch could have recognized his title as sovereign of Java. 4th. Because letters had been intercepted, in which he invited the prince of Madúra to join him against the Dutch, calling them his mortal enemies, whom he intended to expel from the island of Java.

These combined circumstances induced the Dutch government not to acknowledge him as successor to his father, although they, with a view to gain time until the arrival of a fleet expected from Holland with a reinforcement of troops, wrote to him, merely declining to receive his ambassadors as such, and requiring him to send others, whose family connections and rank might entitle them to more consideration, and with whom they might treat.

After it was arranged that Pangéran Púgar should become sovereign, the three chief Dutch authorities then at Semárang waited upon him, to inform him thereof, at the same time requiring that, in return for the assistance intended to be afforded him, he should, on assuming the authority, cede to the Dutch the provinces of Demák, Japára, and Tégal, in compensation for the expenses they might incur on his account. Pangéran Púgar feeling no inclination to comply with these conditions, though anxious to avoid a rupture with the Dutch, proposed, instead of a cession of territory, that he should become generally responsible for all the expenses of the war; "for," said he, "if it is through the assistance of the Dutch that I am placed upon the throne, of course it would not be becoming in me to refuse them any thing they require: but with respect to this request, is it not better that, at present, we attend to what is necessary to secure the throne, and afterwards talk of minor matters? I am willing to pay all the expenses which it may occasion to the Dutch." With this the commissioners were satisfied; and the troops having[Vol II Pg 207] arrived from Europe, it was resolved, on the 18th of March, 1704, to place Pangéran Púgar upon the throne, and to maintain him on it.

The Dutch ships and troops having reached Semárang in April, and the part they intended to take being now for the first time manifest to Susúnan Mangkúrat Mas, he dispatched three messengers to the Dutch representative at Semárang, with the sum of seventy thousand dollars in specie, and authority to renew former contracts, and comply with every requisition which the Dutch might make, provided they would acknowledge his succession to the throne; but these messengers had only reached Tínker when they fell in with the Dutch troops, and were obliged to secure their safety by flight, leaving the money behind.

The Pangéran Púgar was publicly installed by the Dutch at Semárang[273] on the 19th of June.

The districts of Demák, Grobógan, Siséla, and all the lands beyond Semárang as far as Un'gárang, were immediately taken possession of by the Dutch, and the troops of the Susúnan Mangkúrat Mas, which had moved towards Semárang, were forced to retreat on Kerta Súra.

Before the departure of the Pangéran, the Dutch had again pressed him to cede the provinces of Semárang, Tégal, and Japára, but by the advice of the Panumbáhan of Madúra and his principal chiefs, he still refused compliance, and they were not able to obtain any decided promise from him, beyond reimbursement for the expenses of the war. When they were arrived, however, at Ung'árang, the prince happening to be alone, unattended by any of the Bopáti, the Dutch commander seized the opportunity which he had been so long watching for, to assure him how truly and sincerely the Dutch were inclined to assist him, not only on the present occasion, but hereafter, whenever he might require their aid. "The Dutch," added he, "are in great want of rice, and request your highness will have the kindness to grant them a thousand koyans (two thousand tons) a year without payment." [Vol II Pg 208]

The Pangéran made no reply: he wished for time to think upon it; but the chiefs of the Dutch came up to him, and returned him many thanks and compliments for his having thus, as they said, agreed to their request. The prince, though he wished to say he had not given his promise, yet felt ashamed, after the thanks and compliments he had received, to express what he thought. He therefore bowed his head and was silent. They then entreated him to draw out his assent in writing, and to affix his seal to it, as a proof of his voluntary surrender of the present. With this he complied.

The paper was no sooner obtained, than the Dutch officers again returned their thanks. They then withdrew, and the troops being under arms, a salute was fired on the occasion. When this circumstance came to the ears of the Adipáti of Semárang, he hastened to the Pangéran, and thus addressed him, "Be not offended, my prince, if I presume to open your eyes to the proceedings of these Hollanders, who are so rapacious in their demands. They had already consulted with me on the subject of this rice, and they knew the opinion of your advisers to be against it, they therefore watched for their opportunity to find you alone. I little thought you would have taken upon yourself to act thus, without consulting your chiefs. I imagined the Dutch were satisfied with the answer I had given them, and would not have thought of going to you about it." The Susúnan gave him in return the history of the grant, and promised faithfully that, if ever they made another request of the kind, he would send for his advisers immediately.

Before the Dutch moved towards the interior, they contrived to bribe Jága Diníngrat, the chief who commanded the Kérta-súra troops, and with his assistance possessed themselves without difficulty of the fortified stations of Pedak-páyang, Ung'árang, and Selatíga. The main force of the Kérta-súra troops, consisting of about forty thousand men, was encamped in a strong position, not far from the latter place. After making considerable resistance, they were obliged to retreat in confusion, and the combined army prosecuting its march towards the capital, carried Asem by assault, and reached Kérta-súra shortly after Susúnan Mang[Vol II Pg 209]kúrat Mas had quitted it. All the chiefs who remained submitted to the new authority, and were received under its protection, with the exception of the son of Pangéran Púgar, who was strangled. Susúnan Mangkúrat Mas, called also Susúnan Pínchang, on account of his lameness, was at this time about thirty-four years of age. His reign was short, but remarkable for severity and cruelty.

Pangéran Púgar was fifty-six years of age when he ascended the throne. He had seven legitimate children, Pangéran Matáran, Ang'ebái Léreng Páser (who had remained with the deposed Susúnan), Jága Rága, Mángku Nagára, Mángku Búmi (who was declared hereditary prince, and succeeded his father), Blítar, and Tepa Séna.

The title assumed by Pangéran Púgar, with the concurrence of the Dutch, was Susuhúnan Pakabúana Senapáti Ingalága Abdul Ráchman Panatagáma, which may be rendered "The saint who is the nail of the empire, the chief commander in war, the slave of God, and propagator of the true faith."

An occurrence which took place shortly after the assumption of the government by this prince is noticed by the Javan writers, and argued highly in favour of the justice and impartiality of this prince.

The wife of Mérta Yúdha, writer to the Susúnan, and nephew of the Adipáti of Semárang, presented herself before him, alleging that her life was endangered by the cruel treatment of her husband, and imploring that she might be divorced from him, or protected against his ill usage. The Susúnan inquiring into the particulars, ascertained from the testimony of the woman herself, that she was attached to Pangéran Adipáti, the son of the Susúnan, who had frequently visited at her house in the absence of her husband, and that the severities she had suffered were the consequence of the rage which a discovery of that fact had occasioned. He called upon the Pangéran Adipáti to say if it was correct; and the prince, being ashamed to tell a falsehood, acknowledged the fact: wherefore his father reproved him in the strongest terms, and cautioned him not to be guilty of a like transgression a second time. Then calling for Mérta Yúdha, he thus addressed him: "Mérta Yúdha, your wife has come to me requesting my interference to procure her a divorce from[Vol II Pg 210] you, or that I should prohibit you from again ill-treating her in the same severe manner you have before done, on account of her attachment to my son, the Pangéran Adipáti." To which Mérta Yúdha replied, "Respecting this affair, allow me to explain. She committed an offence towards me, and she now comes to you to complain of me, saying I had beaten her until she was nearly dead. That I did beat her is true, but that I did so until she was nearly dead is utterly false. I beat her when I was enraged; but, as my anger subsided, I quickly became kind to her again; and yet she has the audacity to request a divorce. This completes three offences; in the first place, she committed the fault; in the second, she has told a falsehood; and in the third, she has requested a divorce. These points I submit to the justice of your majesty." The Susúnan then reflected that as the Pangéran Adipáti's conduct had been the cause of this woman's offence, it would not be just to punish her, without also punishing his son; and being disinclined to be severe with him on account of his youth, he felt at a loss how to decide with justice. At length, seeing but one way to get rid of the difficulty, he thus addressed Mérta Yúdha: "Enough, Mérta Yúdha; the fault rests with my son the Pangéran Adipáti, and your wife cannot be condemned to punishment, unless my son be also condemned. Now I have not the power to condemn my son, on account of his youth; therefore, I publicly request your pardon for my son's offence. If you wish to be divorced, the permission is granted, and I will provide you with another wife. You want her immediately​—it is well;​—but I have no women at present except my own, none but the Rátu and my own daughters. Make your choice, and whichever you prefer of them, I will present to you in marriage. Place your confidence in what I say, and believe that I say no more than what I will do."

Mérta Yúdha, struck with astonishment, knew not how to reply. At last, after bowing his head several times to the ground, he declared that he was overcome by this act of magnanimity; that he forgave the young prince from his heart, and would willingly receive his wife back again, and treat her with kindness. The Susúnan then dismissed the parties, giving[Vol II Pg 211] them advice as to their future conduct, and presenting them with a sum of money and several rich presents. Mérta Yúdha and his wife, say the Javan writers, afterwards lived most happily together, and never ceased to praise the justice and magnanimity of the prince.

In the spring of 1705, the Dutch government again sent a force to Semárang, which was joined by seven thousand Madurese, under the command of Panambáhan Chákra Diníngrat.

At this time Surapáti, who, after his first arrival at Matárem, had offered to surrender, again made an application to the Dutch for protection, and offered to send six thousand auxiliaries, promising at the same time to conduct himself as a faithful subject; but his offer was rejected.

On the 5th October, 1705, a contract was entered into by the new sovereign with the Dutch, by which, 1st, the contracts of the 24th September, 1640, and 20th October, 1677, and all privileges and immunities granted by Susúnan Mangkúrat Mas to Messrs. Speelman and Cooper, were confirmed. 2d. His highness ceded to the Dutch the district of Gebáng as situated within the following boundaries; viz. "From the mouth of the Dónan, on the southern shore, in a westerly direction along its banks as far as Pasúruan, where there is an inland lake; thence along the north-eastern sea-shore to the mouth of the river Che-brom, and further on along the north-eastern side of an accessible swamp to Che-satia, near the village Madúra, thence in a north-easterly direction over the mountains of Dáyu-luhur to mount Sumána or Subáng, and then south-east over the mountains of Bonkok, where a northerly direction is taken, and continued to the river Losári, and further on along the banks of that river to its mouth on the northern coast of the island." 3d. The Susúnan acknowledged Chéribon as an independent state, in consequence of that country having, in 1680, been saved by the Dutch from the ravages of a banditti. 4th. The Susúnan resigned to the protection of the Dutch the countries of Súmenap and Pamakásan, stated to have been forced on them during the reign of Susúnan Tegál-arom, by the chief Yúdha Nagára. 5th. The Susúnan renewed and confirmed the cession of Semárang and Kaligawé, as stated in the transfer of 15th[Vol II Pg 212] January, 1678. He further ceded to the Dutch the ports of Torbáyá and Gumúlak, on condition that the tolls continued to be collected for his own benefit, as at Sámárang. The Dutch, on the other hand, agreed to restore about fifty villages which belonged to Demák and Kaligáwe.

It was agreed that the tolls on goods imported into, or exported from, the Susúnan's dominions by the Dutch, should be levied according to the above-mentioned contract of 25th February, 1677, and that the Susúnan should in future require a duty of three instead of two per cent. from individuals trading with Dutch passes, it being left to his highness to fix the duties to be levied on goods belonging to persons who were not furnished with licences from the Dutch. 7th. The Dutch obtained liberty to establish factories in every part of the Susúnan's dominions, for which sufficient lots of vacant ground were to be given them, to answer every purpose of safety and convenience, and also to establish yards for building vessels. The Javan chiefs were bound to supply the Dutch at all times, payment being made for the same, with timber, labourers, &c. but they were to pay no capitation, and only to be considered as Company's subjects, as long as they should be employed by the Company. 8th. His highness promised to supply the Dutch with as much rice as should be required, at the market price, the Dutch being also at liberty to purchase that article from his highness's subjects, who were also allowed to export rice to Batavia, and all countries at peace with the Dutch. 9th. Pursuant to the contract of 1677, the Susúnan agreed to continue to shut his ports against Makásars, Búgis, Maláyus, Bálians, and other foreigners, except such as should obtain the permission of the Dutch. 10th. It was agreed that the Dutch, and all persons authorized by them, should continue to enjoy the exclusive privilege of importing and selling opium and clothes, as granted to them by Susúnan Mangkúrat, on the 20th October, 1677: that the native chiefs should carefully prevent all encroachments on this monopoly, and that all seizures of prohibited goods made by them and by the Company's servants, should be for the profit of his highness, to whose discretion it was left to remunerate the officers making the seizure. 11th. That all seizures made at sea by the Company's cruizers should be for[Vol II Pg 213] the sole benefit of the captors, although afterwards brought into his highness's ports. 12th. The Susúnan's subjects were to be prohibited from trading otherwise than with Company's passes, and their trade eastward was restricted to Bálí and Lómbok, northward to Borneo and Banjarmásin, and westward to Bantám, Lámpung, Jámbi, Indragíri, Johór and Malácca. They were prohibited from visiting the eastern governments, or Búton, Tímor, Bíma, &c., on pain of confiscation of vessels, cargo, &c. It was declared, that whenever his highness should be desirous of sending vessels to these quarters on his own account, the Dutch should attend to his wishes, as far as might be consistent with their regulations. 13th. The balance remaining due to the Dutch of the debts of his highness, adverted to in the contracts of 25th February and 15th October, 1677, was remitted, together with the sum to be paid to Captain Jonker for the delivery of the rebel Trúna Jáya, and all other claims of the Dutch on his highness, for expenses incurred in re-establishing him on the throne, &c. on the express condition that this contract should be faithfully observed; otherwise the said claims and pretensions to retain their former validity. In consideration of this important remission, his highness promised to supply the Company during twenty-five years, commencing in 1706, with eight hundred lasts of good rice annually, deliverable at Batavia by his highness's own vessels. An article was afterwards added to this treaty, by which it was stipulated, that no other European nation than the Dutch should ever be permitted to trade or build factories on Java.

On the 11th October, 1705[274], a further agreement was entered into by his highness, by which he promised to bear the expense of keeping a detachment of two hundred men of the Dutch troops at Kérta-súra, for his highness's protection and security, amounting to thirteen hundred Spanish dollars per month.

On the 12th July, 1706, a treaty for determining the boundaries between the territories of the Susúnan and those of the Dutch was entered into. [Vol II Pg 214]

The deposed prince, Susúnan Mangkúrat Mas, after flying from his capital, proceeded to the eastern districts, and joining Surapáti, reduced the eastern provinces under their authority, and appeared confident of success, being possessed of immense treasures in specie and jewels, which he had carried off with him.

In 1706, however, the army of Surapáti was defeated by the allied Dutch and Javan forces, and Kedíri was taken. Subsequently, the large combined army of Mangkúrat Mas and Surapáti was put to the rout and dispersed. Surapáti shortly after died in the mountains of Bángil, according to some accounts, of the effect of his wounds. He was succeeded in office by his son, Pangáting, who took the name of Adipáti Wíra Nagára, and being allied by marriage to the chiefs of Kedíri, Balambáng'an, and Grésik, brought many of the eastern districts again to acknowledge the authority of Mangkúrat Mas. Additional forces were, in consequence, sent from Batavia by the Dutch, which arrived at Semárang in 1707, and immediately proceeded, first to Kérta-súra, and then to the eastward. Falling in with the enemy of Mádion, they put him to flight, and continued their march to Surabáya, where the disturbances which had broken out on the island of Madúra obliged them to halt.

On the death of the native chief of Madúra his eldest natural son, Sástra Nagára, had declared himself his successor, and placed troops round the island to oppose the landing of his uncle, Ráden Súria Nagára, who had been appointed to the succession by the Dutch. The Dutch, however, found means to satisfy both parties, by conferring the separate charge of Sámpang on Sástra Nagára.

At Súmenap they met with greater difficulty. The native chief, Nága Sidérma, had been stabbed by his secretary: the secretary was afterwards killed by the slave of the chief. A tumult was thus excited, and the Dutch commanding officer having given offence to the principal inhabitants they proceeded with a large proportion of the population to the northern part of the island. The Dutch at length succeeded in establishing the infant son of the deceased as chief of Súmenap, with the title of Ráden Tumúng'gung Príng'ga Ka[Vol II Pg 215]súma, under the guardianship of his mother, Rátu Sidáyu. With these proceedings the campaign closed for that year[275].

In the following year, 1708, the Dutch sent further reinforcements to the eastward, and preparations were making for opening the campaign, when the fugitive Susúnan, hearing of the arrival of the Dutch at Surabáya, sent ambassadors to their representative (Knol,) soliciting his pardon, and an assignment of some lands, independent of any other authority than that of the Dutch government. No sooner had he been promised this than he came to Surabáya, where he was received on the 17th July by Knol, who delivered to him a letter of pardon written in the Dutch and Javan languages, promising to him the independent possession of a district as a principality, subordinate only to the Dutch government. But, alas! these concessions were soon found to be nothing more than a stratagem to get possession of the prince's person. The unfortunate Susúnan, unsuspicious of the treachery, was quietly embarked at Surabáya on the 24th August, and with his three sons, his wife, concubines, and attendants, conveyed to Batavia.

The Dutch accounts relate, that as soon as the prince arrived at Batavia, the commissioners, who had received him on board and accompanied him to the castle, demanded that he should deliver up his kris before being admitted to an audience, which he refused to do. When, however, introduced to the high regency, who had been especially assembled for his reception, he prostrated himself at the feet of the governor-general, surrendered his kris, and implored the fulfilment of the conditions on which he surrendered. The governor-general replied, that Mr. Knol had not been authorized either[Vol II Pg 216] to grant him a pardon or to make promises, yet that government would take the matter into consideration: his krís was then returned to him. He was lodged in the castle as a prisoner of war, and soon afterwards transported to Ceylon.

The account of this transaction by the Javan writers is as follows:

"The Susúnan Mangkúrat Mas and the Adipáti Wíra Nagára (son of Surapáti) had not been long at Málang before they were attacked by Pangéran Blítar, and forced to seek safety in the forests with only a few followers. There they suffered severely from disease; and most of them dying, the rest removed to the land of Blítar, whence the Susúnan sent a letter to the chief Dutch authority at Surabáya, asking him why the Dutch had thus assisted the Pangéran Púgar against him, and deprived him of the sceptre which had descended to him from his ancestors, adding that he was himself equally the friend of the Dutch, that he had never harboured a thought injurious to them, and that if they still believed that he had been guilty of a fault against them, it would be well if they would point it out that he might exert his utmost to make amends: for this they might fully depend on him; 'therefore,' said he, 'let the Dutch place confidence in me, let them consider my youth, and that it is yet but a short time that I have been a sovereign.' To this the Dutch authority replied, 'If the Susúnan wishes to act thus, and his intentions are good, let him come to Surabáya.' Susúnan Mangkúrat then requested, that if the Dutch would not again place him on the throne, they would assign him a province, in which he and his family might reside in peace. A promise being given to that effect he immediately proceeded to Surabáya, where he was received with all honours and the customary salutes, and afterwards entertained with the Dutch officers in the Passangráhan of the Adipáti of Surabáya. The Dutch authority at last said to him, with the utmost kindness and softness of speech, 'If the Susúnan has no objection, I am anxious that we should go to Semárang to see the commissary; from thence the Susúnan can at once proceed to Kérta-súra, and request the Dutch again to acknowledge him as sovereign of Java.' The Susúnan[Vol II Pg 217] immediately assented to this arrangement. He was then, with his family and followers, embarked on board a ship; but instead of being conveyed to Semárang, he was taken to Batavia, and afterwards banished to Ceylon."

It appears, that after the arrival of Mangkúrat Mas at Ceylon he found means to dispatch letters of complaint to the prince of Orange and the Court of Directors in Holland. Two Mahomedan priests were charged with the mission, but the letters being intercepted, the messengers were subjected to severe punishment.

With Mangkúrat Mas was lost the celebrated makóta, or crown of Majapáhit. The regalia of the sovereigns of Java, with the exception of this important article, were duly delivered over, by order of the Dutch, to the acknowledged sovereign Pakabúana, but nothing more was ever heard of the crown, and since that time, the princes have worn a cap, as described in another place. As the Dutch were now become supreme on Java, a crown was perhaps but an empty pageant. It cannot, however, escape notice, that this proud ornament of state should first have been deprived of its brightest jewel, and afterwards, as there is too much room to suspect, filched by the Dutch, who probably stripped it of its remaining jewels, and melted down the gold for its value!

The removal of Mangkúrat Mas did not, however, extinguish the flame of internal discord which still blazed forth in the eastern provinces of Java, and which increased till the year 1712-13. The Susúnan sent several embassies to Batavia, requesting assistance against the chiefs of Balambángan and of the island of Madúra, as well as against the sons of Surapáti, who had their hiding places in the mountains. On this occasion the Dutch sanctioned the nomination of the Pangéran Mángku Nagára as the hereditary prince, and promised the required succours against the rebels, but took care to point out the value which they put upon their assistance: a piece of policy which, on no occasion, they seem to have forgotten. They adverted to the immense sums they had at different times advanced, and the extent of the obligations which the Susúnan lay under to them, admonishing him to act with greater circumspection in future, and to adopt such[Vol II Pg 218] measures as might put a stop to the civil wars and commotions which desolated the country.

It was not long, however, before various circumstances concurred to render the rebels still more formidable. The chiefs of Surabáya, Probolíng'o, and Kédíri, as well as those of Madúra and Balambáng'an, united at the instigation of the chief of Wináng'un (whose life had been unjustly attacked,) in a league to shake off the yoke of the Susúnan, and at the same time to rid themselves of the Dutch, whose aim they conceived to have been eventually to depose the Susúnan, and to render themselves sovereigns of the whole island.

A circumstance is related by the native writers, which is said to have contributed essentially to the distractions which at that time existed in the country.

"The Dutch requested that the Susúnan would immediately put the Adipáti Jaíng Rána of Surabáya to death, alleging that he was attached to the cause of the rebels, and that if an example were made of this chief, it would strike fear into the others. On this the Susúnan became excessively grieved at heart, for he was sincerely attached to the Adipáti; and now that the Panambáhan of Madúra, who had been as his right hand, was dead, if he were to lose the Adipáti of Surabáya also, who had been as his left hand, he would in truth find that he had lost both hands. He wished, therefore, to refuse compliance with this request; but at the same time feared, that if he disappointed the Dutch, there would be an end of his friendship with them. On these two accounts he gave the subject his deepest consideration. At length he wrote a letter to the Adipáti, informing him of the request made by the Dutch; and to the Dutch at Batavia he wrote in reply, that he wished to reflect upon the affair, until the time appointed for the chief to pay his usual visit to the capital should arrive.

"As soon as the Adipáti of Surabáya received these tidings he assembled his brothers and his Páteh, named Wíra Tantáha, and showed them the letter. His brothers immediately advised that they should unite and oppose any one, whoever it might be, who should attempt the life of the Adipáti; for, said they, 'Is it not better to die nobly[Vol II Pg 219] 'in war, and to let one's enemies know how dearly the death of our brother is to be purchased, than to be quietly killed in one's bed? will only know of the death and not of its value.' But the Páteh replied to them, 'What you say is correct, and in the service of the state we are bound to act as you advise; but this is a request made by the general, that the Adipáti should be put to death. Is it not better that he should deliver himself up? for if he does not there will be a rupture between the general and the Susúnan, and then (which God forbid) the land of Jáwa will be destroyed, and universal misery will follow. You have now, for a long time, enjoyed happiness and a good name, and now that you have grown old in honour, it would not be fitting in you to do any thing that could bring sorrow or ruin on your sovereign, or that would disgrace your followers or descendants, which would be the case if you now got a bad name.' The Adipáti was well pleased with the advice of his Páteh, and after considering for a short time, then addressed him, 'What you say is true, oh Páteh! I am old, and have not long to live. It is indeed right that I should deliver up my life for the benefit of my sovereign and the character of my family.'"

This resolution being taken, the Adipáti shortly after set out for Kértasúra, accompanied by his brother and about two thousand followers. When he arrived, the Susúnan inquired how he wished to act; to which he replied, that he preferred to die rather than to be the cause of misfortune to his sovereign or to the people of Java; that he was now old; that if his life was spared on this occasion he could not expect to live many years, and that he was already satisfied with this world. The Susúnan then said, if such was his determination and wish, he must of course follow it, but urged him to speak his mind freely, adding that he would think of it, and do what would turn out best for him: but the Adipáti replied, that he had no other wish than what he had already expressed; that it was much better that he should die, than become the cause of misfortune to others. All he requested was, that after his death the Susúnan would not be forgetful of his family and children, and that until his son was of a proper age, his brother, Ráden Jáya Puspíta, might succeed him in his public[Vol II Pg 220] administration. The Susúnan then said, "It is well. If the Dutch again make the demand you must prepare for your fate; and I promise you that, in that case, your request shall be complied with." At the expiration of about a month, during which period the Adipáti clothed himself in white and gave himself up entirely to his devotions, another letter arrived from the Governor General, making a peremptory demand that the Adipáti should be immediately executed. The Susúnan then sent for the Adipáti, and directed that he should be brought into the dálam. Dressed in white, he immediately attended the summons. When he reached the entrance sri meng'ánti, he quitted his followers, who were not allowed to come further but remained without; and the people who guarded the entrance of the kráton, having received the orders of the Susúnan to that effect, seized him, and plunging their weapons into his body, immediately dispatched him. They then carried out the corpse and gave it to his followers, charging them to give it proper burial. They were all struck with deep grief at the sight, for the Adipáti was much beloved. They interred the body at Lawéan, but immediately afterwards the brother, with about two thousand followers, assembled in the alun alun, determined upon vengeance, and the disturbance was not quelled until the Susunán entered into an explanation. He then appointed Jáya Puspíta to succeed provisionally to the administration of his deceased brother, and otherwise conciliated the parties, who were at last induced quietly to return to Surabáya; not, however, without a determination of one day being revenged on the authors of this calamity. On receiving the appointment from the Susúnan, while Jáyá Puspíta returned their grateful acknowledgments for this mark of kindness, they as openly avowed that they would never rest in peace, until they had given a due return to whoever was the cause of their brother's death.

"In pursuance of this determination, Jáya Puspíta took an early occasion to league with other discontented chiefs, and soon became the most formidable enemy to the tranquillity of the country.

"The forces of the Susúnan were completely defeated in a pitched battle, and the rebels made themselves masters of[Vol II Pg 221] several important provinces to the eastward of Pasúruan, which place they also besieged until the arrival of the Dutch auxiliaries. They were then driven beyond Panarúkan; but being reinforced from Báli, soon forced the combined Dutch and Javan troops to retreat again to Pasúruan."

The effect of this civil war was now severely felt at Batavia. The country was laid waste, cultivation was neglected, and a great scarcity of rice was felt at Batavia. This induced the Dutch to march a more considerable force in 1717, and again to take an active part in re-establishing the tranquillity of the country.

On the arrival of this force at Madúra, it was found that the chief of that island had made two unsuccessful attacks on the troops of Pamakásan and Súmenap, and been forced at last to leave his capital with his son, brother, wives, and relations, and seek safety with the Dutch.

"When Pangéran Chákra Deníngrat," say the Javan authors, "saw that nothing more was to be done against his enemies," he resolved to throw himself on the protection of the Dutch; and a Dutch ship arriving at Madúra he dispatched a letter, soliciting their assistance. This letter the captain forwarded to Surabáya, and received the instructions of the admiral to take the chief and his family on board, and convey them to that capital. The captain immediately sent a messenger on shore to the Pangéran, informing him of the wishes of the admiral, and inviting him to come on board with his family. Pangéran Chákra Deníngrat, who was unconscious of treachery or duplicity, and consequently void of suspicion, with a joyful heart accepted the invitation, and, accompanied by his family, immediately went off in a small fishing-boat. When arrived alongside of the ship, the followers who carried the upachára (emblems of state) were ordered to go on board: after them the Pangéran himself ascended, and then his wife, Ráden Ayu Chákra Diníngrat. When the Pangéran came upon deck, Captain Curtis took him by the hand, and delivered him over to one of his officers, who immediately led him into the cabin. The captain remained till the Ráden Ayu had ascended, and as soon as she came on deck he likewise took her by the hand, and after the European manner kissed her cheek. Not understanding the custom she became[Vol II Pg 222] alarmed, and thinking that Captain Curtis was offering an insult to her, screamed out, and called aloud upon her husband, saying, "the Captain had evil intentions." The Pangéran hearing the cries of his wife became furious, and drawing his kris rushed out, and without further inquiry stabbed the Captain. The attendants of the chief, who had come on board with the state ornaments, following the example of their master, raised the cry of amók and immediately fell on the crew of the vessel. The latter, however, were too powerful for them, and in a short time the whole of the Madurese party were killed, together with the chief and his wife.

When a question arises respecting the chastity of the Javan women, this story is usually referred to.

The rebels, both in the eastern provinces of Java and on Madúra, were joined by auxiliaries from Báli. Those, however, on Madúra were soon overmatched by the Dutch troops, and obliged to fly again to Báli. Jáya Puspíta was more successful. Moving from Surabáya through the central districts towards Kérta-súra, he subjected the provinces of Jápan, Wírasába, Kedíri, Mádion Sukawáti and the neighbouring districts. While his head quarters were at Kedíri, he was joined by Pangéran Dípa Nagára one of the sons of the Susúnan, who setting himself up as sovereign of Java, under the title of Panambáhan Héru Chákra Senapáti Panatagáma appointed Jáya Púspita to be his Páteh, with the title of Ráden Adipáti Panatagáma, and commenced the establishment of a government at Mádion.

An army was sent from Kérta-súra against Mádion, under the command of Pangéran Blítar, another son of the Susúnan; but before they reached that place the Pangéran was summoned to return, in consequence of the severe indisposition of his father. This prince died in the Javan year 1648, and was buried at Megíri. He had previously written to the Dutch authorities, requesting them to select one of his three sons Pangéran Adipáti Amángku-nagára, Pangéran Purbáyá, or Pangéran Blítar, to succeed him in the government.

Thus ended the reign of a prince, which had been one constant scene of commotion and rebellion, directed perhaps not so much against the authority of the prince himself, as[Vol II Pg 223] against the Dutch, who now took so active a part in the affairs of Java, that the power of the native sovereign was merely nominal.

The Javan writers, whether from a desire to exclude from the regal line a prince who thus became the mere puppet of the Europeans, or from a conviction of the truth of the circumstance, seem anxious to prove that he was not the real son of Susúnan Tegál Arom, as related, but a son of the Pangéran Kajuran, father-in-law of Trúna Jáya, and who afterwards, when he established himself in the southern hills, took the name of Panambáhan Ráma. The story runs, that the Rátu of Mangkúrat being delivered of a deformed and imperfect offspring, the Susúnan secretly sent the child to Kajúran, who was supposed to deal in witchcraft, and that the Pangéran took the opportunity of destroying it, and substituted his own child in its place. This child, however, was born of a daughter of Pangéran Purbaya, the younger brother of Sultan Agong; so that on the mother's side it was of royal extraction. "But," say the Javan writers, "as the present princes of Java are descendants from Pakubuána, this story is not talked of in public; although in private societies there are many who put faith in it."

On the 13th of December, 1705, articles were agreed upon with the Sultan of Bantam, to ensure the weight and quality of the pepper to be delivered.

On the 9th of October, 1708, a further contract was entered into with the sultan, with the view principally of renewing and confirming the contracts, bonds, deeds of remission, &c., entered into and concluded with his predecessors.

In August, 1731, another contract was entered into with the sultan, of which the following were the most interesting articles.

That all Búgis, Maláyus, Javans, and other native traders, shall be allowed freely to dispose of their wares at Bantam, without any interference on the part of the Dutch Resident, provided they do not trade in articles which constitute the Company's monopoly. The subjects of Bantam shall be permitted to trade to Java on condition that they do not abuse the confidence thus placed in them by engaging in illicit commerce. The sultan promised to adopt immediate measures[Vol II Pg 224] for increasing the annual deliveries of pepper to the Company, and engaged to hold out every possible inducement to the Lámpung people to extend the cultivation of the article, instead of depressing them by unnecessary acts of severity. A deed was also executed about this time ceding Púlo Pánjang to the Dutch, for the purpose of keeping an establishment on it for assisting vessels in distress.

On the 9th December, 1733, a further contract was entered into with the sultan of Bantam, by which many regulations were made respecting the pepper monopoly.

Being called upon to renew the bond for the sum of six hundred thousand Spanish dollars in favour of the Dutch, the sultan, after previously stating whence this lawful debt originated, bound his kingdom and revenues for the same, and at the same time conferred on the Dutch the exclusive trade in pepper and other privileges. The deed of remission, bearing date 28th April, 1684, was further renewed, by which a conditional remission of the above-mentioned bond was granted. An act of donation from the price of ground, called kámpung báli, was at the same time granted.

Of the three sons of the deceased Susúnan, the Dutch government made choice of the Pangéran Adipáti Amángku Nagára, as his successor; he was accordingly publicly installed, under the title of Susûhunan Prábu Senapáti Ingalága Abdul Ráchman Sahídin Panatagáma.

The first and principal event in this reign was the rebellion of the younger brothers of the prince, Pangéran Purbáya and Blítar, occasioned principally by their being deprived of the lands and honours which they had enjoyed during the lifetime of their father. They first raised a party in the capital, and made an attempt, during the night, to enter the kráton and put the Susúnan to death, but being repulsed, they fled to Matárem, and collecting their followers, the youngest (Blítar) assumed the title of Súltan Ibni Mustápha Pakubúana Senapáti Ingalága Abdul Ráchman Patagáma. His brother, Purbáya, was satisfied with a secondary authority, under the title of Panambáhan Senapáti Ingalága.

In a short time the provinces of Bányumas, Matárem, and Kedú, submitted to these chiefs, and a union taking place with the party under Panambáhan Héru Chákra, the[Vol II Pg 225] authority of the newly elected Susúnan became endangered.

Pangéran Aria Matárem, uncle of the Susúnan, at the same time quitted Kérta Súra, and reared the standard of rebellion in Grobógan and Blóra. This chief was, however, soon after decoyed into the hands of the Dutch in the following manner.

"The Pangéran was induced to go to Páti, and afterwards to Japára, on an understanding that the Dutch would raise him to the throne, where troops were immediately assembled, apparently for that object, but in reality to secure his person. On his arrival at the fort with his family, he was received with salutes of cannon and small arms, and separated from his followers, who were excluded. After he had been seated a short time, the gates of the fort were shut, and the Pangéran and his sons were disarmed, and placed in close confinement. He died in a few days. When the gates of the forts were closed, the followers of the Pangéran suspecting the treachery, would not disperse, until many were destroyed and the rest fired upon."

The Dutch force uniting with those of the Susúnan, the rebels, who were now united under the sultan Ibni Mustápha, were defeated, and obliged to retreat to Kedíri. Here they were pursued, again beaten, and driven in disorder to Málang. The sultan fled to Gúnung Dampúlan with only a few followers, while Panambáhan Senapáti and Panambáhan Héru Chákra rallied their remaining forces at Lamájang. The Dutch army now returned to Kérta Súra, and the tranquillity of the country was once more for a short time restored.

Sultan Ibni Mustápha having returned to the village of Káli Gángsa, was seized with a violent illness and died, and his family and followers, worn out with fatigue, conveyed the body to Kérta Súra, and threw themselves on the mercy of the Susúnan. Notwithstanding this unconditional submission, their chief, Jáya Bráta, was immediately put to death, and his body thrown into the river: the body of the deceased sultan, however, received honourable interment.

The rebels established at Lamájang still held out, and it was not until the arrival of a considerable Dutch force at[Vol II Pg 226] Surabáya that they were induced to submit. According to the native writers, "The Dutch commander wrote from Surabáya to the rebel chiefs at Lamájang, informing them that he had been ordered to the eastward with a formidable force purposely to destroy them, and that if they did not quietly submit, he would force them to do so, in which case no quarter should be given, adding at the same time, that if they were willing to submit quietly, they should be received with favour, treated with kindness, and want for nothing during their lives. The chiefs seeing no prospect of success from further opposition, were induced to close with these terms. Accordingly Panambákan Senápati and Héru Chákra, with Adipáti Náta Púra, attended by only a few followers, surrendered themselves at Surabáya, where they were received with great honour, the firing of cannon and musketry, and by the sound of the gámelan, which struck up on their approach. It was not long, however, before their persons were placed in confinement, and they were embarked on board a ship from Batavia, from whence Panambáhan Héru Chákra and Adipáti Náta Púra were afterwards banished to the Cape."

The only circumstance from which the peace of the country appears to have been subsequently disturbed during the reign of this prince, was by a kráman, or rebel, named Ráden Ibráhim, who gave himself out as a descendant of Surapáti; but this movement was instantly suppressed, and all that arose out of it appears to have been an attempt on the life of the Susúnan, made by a woman, who with a small party endeavoured to force her way into the kráton, but with several of her followers was killed in the attempt. The authority of the prince was now fully established; and in return for the services rendered by the Dutch in the late war, he was required to enter into a new treaty with the Dutch, containing the following, among other less interesting stipulations.

In acknowledgment of the services lately rendered, and also to his highness's forefathers, and in consideration of the considerable quantity of rice still owing by him to the Dutch, on the deliveries stipulated by the contract of 1705, his highness now promised to deliver to the Company annually at Batavia, with his own vessels, for a period of fifty years,[Vol II Pg 227] to commence from the year 1734, a quantity of one thousand koyans of good rice, or its equivalent in money, it being at the same time understood that the Dutch are not bound to take money for any proportion of the said annual delivery, except when it was sufficiently proved that a failure of the crop of rice rendered it impossible to supply the whole quantity.

That with the view to encourage the cultivation of pepper, the Dutch should, in future, pay five rix-dollars for each píkul of that article; while, on the other hand, the Susúnan engaged to issue an edict, directing the total annihilation of the coffee culture, with the exception of a few plantations near the houses of the regents, for their own amusement and consumption, but by no means for trade, on severe penalties. The Susúnan moreover authorized the Dutch to cause all plantations, without distinction, in the low countries, on the coast, or in the mountains, to be destroyed, and to confiscate, for their joint profit, any quantity of coffee which might be found, for purposes of trade, in the hands of any of his highness's subjects, at the expiration of six months from the date thereof. That his highness should direct the coast regents to deliver, in the year 1734, the annual quantity of timber for repairing and extending the forts of Semárang and Japára, the other materials being furnished by the Company. The seventh article stipulated for the delivering annually about ten thousand beams of teak timber (specified) at Japára, Demák, Walíri, and Brébes, the same to be duly paid for on delivery; and the Dutch engaged to assure themselves that the regulation should be complied with, by causing the residents of the timber places to transmit the receipts and other vouchers relative thereto, while, on the other hand, the Susúnan promised to take care that the timber should be of good quality and of the stipulated dimensions.

The Dutch remitted to the Susúnan the arrears on account of the quantity of rice (the delivery of which was stipulated by the contract of October, 1705), consisting of no less than 6,537 koyans; and also the sums advanced by them in the wars and during his minority, on condition that, on the part of the Susúnan, all previous treaties, deeds, and charters, contracted and granted by his highness's predecessors, should[Vol II Pg 228] be fulfilled by him; in default whereof the above pretensions were to regain their full force and value. It was further agreed that the Dutch should remain in possession of their former commercial privileges at Java, his highness promising to render the Dutch trade still more flourishing and considerable, and to increase the deliveries of cotton thread. His highness further bound himself to supply every day two hundred and forty báturs, or Javan labourers, for the service of the fort, free of expense to the Dutch.

The act which closed the reign of this prince, and which affords good evidence of the undisturbed state of public affairs at the period, was a visit to the burial-place at Bútah, where Kiái Agong Bútuh, and sultan Pájang had been interred. The Javans have such a superstitious veneration for this spot, that they declare it is never overflowed, notwithstanding the waters rise to a considerable height round it, and that it is lower than the adjoining ground. Here the prince was taken ill, and after a long confinement died, in the Javan year 1657.

He was succeeded by his son, under the title of Susúnan Pakubuána Senapáti Ingalága Abdul Ráchman Sáhedin Panatagáma, who ascended the throne when he was only about fourteen years old, and was yet unmarried.

The young prince was entirely under the superintendance of Dánu Réja, his father's prime minister, until, as he attained maturity, he by repeated acts shewed a disposition to shake off the controul of that chief. He was desirous of appointing Chákra Níngrat to be Widána of the eastern districts of Pasúruan, Bángil, and Probolíng'o; but that chief being on bad terms with the minister Dánu Réja, the Susúnan privately, and without the knowledge of the minister, wrote to the Governor-general at Batavia, requesting his sanction to the measure. Shortly after this the Susúnan made a further application to the Dutch, that they would remove from Java the person of Pangéran Ria Mángku Nagára, on a plea that he had been discovered in an improper intimacy with one of his concubines. On this occasion the minister, Dánu Réja, was dispatched to Batavia; and the interview he had with the Governor-general is thus related by the native writers:​—"The General was displeased with Dánu Réja, because he had not adjusted these two affairs; and afterwards, when he[Vol II Pg 229] went to Batavia with presents from the Susúnan, the General asked him if he was willing that Chákra Níngrat should be Widána of the three districts? Dánu Réja, not aware of the application made by the Susúnan, replied, that if that chief was entrusted with so extensive an authority he should tremble, as the heart of Chákra Níngrat would thereupon become great; for he had already been married to the Susúnan's sister. The General observed, that it was easy to remove this uneasiness from his mind. 'Let,' said he,'this chief be under the authority of the Dutch only. Let him pay the money tribute to the Susúnan, but in other respects let not the Susúnan trouble himself about him. Let him look to the Dutch only for keeping him under due restraint.' To this Dánu Réja replied, 'If such is the wish of the General, I cannot follow it, because I fear that hereafter the Susúnan would object to such an arrangement, and, repenting of having followed the General's advice, would be justly enraged against me and my successors, for having in any way consented that Chákra Níngrat, or these lands, should be placed under the immediate authority of the Dutch.' A pause then ensued. At length the General resumed, and in a peremptory and angry manner demanded of the minister, why he had not prevented the Susúnan from applying for the banishment of his brother, Ria Mángku Nagára, observing that it had not yet been proved, that he was guilty of any offence against the Susúnan. Dánu Réja replied, 'The offence of the Pangéran is clear and decided; it is known to many that he had an attachment for the Susúnan's concubine.' He therefore requested he might be banished the island, adding, that he would request the Susúnan to make a proper provision for his maintenance. The General conceiving that Dánu Réja was not inclined to follow his wishes, became enraged, and desired him not to trouble himself further about the Pangéran, saying that, whether he was banished or not, was not his business; it depended entirely on the government. He then dismissed him to his póndok, where the minister was allowed to remain upwards of a year, until the death of the General, when, on the elevation of his successor, he was directed to return to Kérta-súra. While thus detained at Batavia, he was repeatedly visited by[Vol II Pg 230] some of the counsellors, urging him to accede to the wish of the General respecting the lands; but he continued to use to them the same arguments he had before used to the General."

After the return of Dánu Réja to Kérta-súra, he is represented as having had an interview with Wangsarána, a celebrated devotee, who resided in the first Kalángbrit, and who foretold the misfortunes which were to ensue.

On demanding of this tápa what would be the future fate of Kérta-súra, he replied, "that it was destined to misfortune, destruction, and sorrow: Ráden Más Sujána and Ráden Mas Sáyed will however profit by it." This Ráden Sujána was a younger brother of the Susúnan by a concubine, and afterwards took the name of Pangéran Mangkubúmi. Ráden Mas Sáyed was a cousin to the Susúnan, son of his elder brother, Pangéran Mangku-nagára, who had been sent to Batavia with a request that he might be banished. They were both at this time youngest children (timur).

This prophecy made a deep impression on the mind of the minister; and his uneasiness became still greater, when one day a woman, named Niái Súka Wáti, came to him from her mistress, Rátu Agong, the mother of the Susúnan, saying that the Rátu had just dreamt that she beheld the moon descend from the heavens and rest on the top of the large dúku tree in the kráton; and that this had no sooner occurred, than that Ráden Mas Sujána immediately came, and seizing hold of the moon swallowed one-half of it, the other half slipping from his grasp, and resuming its place on the top of the tree: the Rátu then awoke and found it daylight. These were the first signs of what was soon to befal Kérta-súra.

The fate of the minister was, however, to be first decided; for on the occasion of the Susúnan raising a chief, named Súra-Diníngrat, to be Bopáti of Pakalúngan, with a thousand cháchas, without the knowledge of the minister, the latter refused to acknowledge him in that capacity; in consequence of which the Susúnan requested the Dutch to arrest him, and banish him from the island. As soon as the Dutch had consented to do so, the unfortunate minister was dispatched to Semárang on a special embassy from his master, where he was decoyed into the Dutch fort and confined. He was soon after embarked for Ceylon, in the same vessel which[Vol II Pg 231] conveyed Pangéran Ria Mángku Nagára, at whose feet he fell, acknowledging the justice of his own punishment, for having assisted in the banishment of that chief, who had in fact committed no fault. The Susúnan then appointed Nátu Kasúma to be his minister.

Accounts were now received from Ceylon of the death of the ex-Susúnan Mangkúrat Mas, and at the request of the Susúnan, the family of the deceased were permitted to return to Kérta-súra. On these were conferred distinguished titles and considerable assignments of land. To Mángku Nagára the Susúnan gave the name of Wíra Mengála, with one thousand cháchas of land; to Mángku Níngrat he gave the name of Pangéran Tépa Sána, with nine hundred cháchas; and to Ráden Jáya Kasúma he gave the title of Pangéran, with three hundred cháchas. Pangéran Purbáya, who had assumed the title of Panambáhan Senapáti Ingalága, shortly after died at Batavia, and his body was conveyed to Megíri. The eldest son of this chief married a younger sister of the Susúnan, and received the title of Pangéran Purbáya, with an assignment of sáwa. The Susúnan became much attached to him, and at length followed his counsel in all things. "What was right was declared wrong, and what was wrong, right, just as he pleased, and the Susúnan believed it."

This increasing influence of the Pangéran Purbáya alarmed the minister, who secretly acquainted the Dutch with it, and by their interference the Pangéran Purbáya was removed from the councils of the prince, and obliged to fix his residence at a distance from the capital.

Various signs now foreboded approaching war and misfortune, and led the people to expect that Pangéran Tépa Sána would attempt to regain the throne of his ancestors. The Susúnan and his ministers entirely disregarded these signs; but Pangéran Wíra Mengála sought the friendship of the Dutch commandant, in the hope of obtaining his assistance.

At this time occurred the rebellion of the Chinese at Batavia; and as the Dutch accounts of the transaction are far from complete or satisfactory, I shall quote two Javan records without variation. One of them is as follows:

"The city of Batavia was now in the highest state of prosperity: traders came from all quarters, merchandize was[Vol II Pg 232] in abundance, and the slaves were numerous. The latter becoming arrogant, in consequence of the wealth and power of their masters, committed outrages on the Chinese, in the first instance by beating them, and afterwards by attempting their lives. At first there were but few who committed these outrages, but at last they formed themselves into parties and committed more public acts of hostility. The Chinese applied to the European officers in authority, to put a stop to these outrages, or to punish those who committed them: they could, however, obtain no redress, the slaves testifying with one accord that the Chinese were the aggressors. The Chinese finding they could not obtain justice from the great people, assembled near the sugar mills at Gandária[276], to the number of more than a thousand, and chose a chief, with the determination to oppose the Dutch and the slaves; but as yet they thought it advisable not to do so openly, and therefore committed their depredations in small parties during the night. The Dutch, as soon as they heard of this, empowered several natives from Sábrany (of the opposite coasts and islands) to take up the Chinese who were at Gandária; these people succeeded in apprehending the Chinese one by one, and as soon as they gave them over to punishment they received a reward of six ducatoons for each. In this way they secured about two hundred. These were immediately embarked on a vessel to be banished to another country, but when they had got out to sea they were all thrown overboard. Many of them who could not swim perished; but a few having succeeded in reaching the shore, found their way to Gandária, and related to their companions how they had been treated. The Chinese, upon this, concluding that the Dutch had resolved to extirpate their race, now openly prepared their warlike instruments, gave notice to their countrymen at Batavia of the manner in which the Dutch had determined to destroy them, and requested that those who were willing to join them would immediately repair to Gandária. The Chinese in other quarters, equally harassed by the slaves, against whom they could gain no redress, became of one mind, when they received the intelligence of their countrymen having been thrown overboard [Vol II Pg 233]by the Dutch, and when they reflected that the destruction of their race was determined; they therefore collected quietly at Gandária, until their numbers amounted to upwards of five thousand. Here the whole placed themselves under the orders of a chief, named Sípanjang."

The other account is as follows:

"It is related of Batavia, that General Valkenier was excessively liberal in his favours to the Chinese. The consequence of this was, that of all the races then resident at Batavia, with the exception of the Dutch, none were so wealthy as they. Whatever was profitable fell into their hands, while the other races, the natives of the country and the adjacent islands established there, found it difficult to discharge the duties and demands made upon them. On this account all these races became discontented with the Chinese; and as it is usual with the latter for their hearts to swell as they grow richer, quarrels ensued, and disputes continually took place between the parties. These increased, until complaints were carried before masters of slaves, where slaves were concerned, and before the regular courts, where free people were concerned. But the Chinese being always defeated in these suits, and fined for their conduct, they assembled in bands, for the purpose of revenging themselves, and began to plunder the villages in the neighbourhood of the town. This happened in the Javan year 1663 (gúna-rása-móbah jalma)[277].

"It is related that at this time there was at Batavia a certain Edel Heer, the Baron Van Imhoff, who had arrived from Ceylon. On his arrival at Jokarta, he learned from General Valkenier the particulars of the conduct of the Chinese, who were thus committing depredations in the villages; he said there were too many Chinese at Batavia, and proposed that a proportion should be sent to Ceylon. This was accordingly agreed to by the high council, and a search was in consequence made to take up the poorest of these, that they might be transported to Ceylon. The expences, in the first instance, were to be advanced by the Dutch, who were afterwards to be reimbursed when the Chinese should have acquired the means at Ceylon. The Chinese captain was accordingly directed[Vol II Pg 234] to beat the gong, and give public notice of this order; but there was not one Chinese inclined to follow it: and in order to carry the proposition of Van Imhoff into effect, it was agreed to arrest all the Poor Chinese. This order was given to the captain of the Chinese, but he declined to arrest his countrymen. Van Imhoff then inquired by what distinction of dress he might know the rich from the poor? The captain replied, "the clothing of the Chinese which may be considered a proof of their being poor, is black (blue)." Upon this the governor directed the Baillieu to arrest all Chinese so dressed; and the Baillieu again entrusting the execution of this order to his Máta Máta, who belonged to the races inimical to the Chinese, the latter, to gratify particular enmities, arrested many who did not wear blue, some of them of the most respectable families. The Chinese, in general, were much offended, when shortly the whole of those who were arrested, were embarked on board ship apparently for Ceylon; but they had been only a few days at sea, when they were amók'd. Most of them were killed, and the rest were thrown overboard. Of these some escaped to land, and arriving secretly at Batavia, communicated to their countrymen the particulars of the cruel treatment of the Company towards them. On this all the chiefs of the Chinese entered into an agreement to raise the standard of rebellion against the Dutch, and to endeavour to carry the fort of Batavia. There were, however, one or two who did not chuse to become the enemies of the Dutch.

"A Chinese named Liu Chu, informed the government of what was going on among his countrymen, for which he received a reward of eighty ducats, and other valuable presents, with a promise of future patronage. This man went as a spy to the Chinese at Gandária, and endeavoured to persuade the chief to submit to the Dutch, promising him free pardon; but Si-pánjang suspecting that, however fair might be the promises of the Dutch in the first instance, they would not fail to revenge themselves upon him, by seeking out some offence of which to accuse him, would not listen to these overtures. The Dutch then ordered, that of the Chinese who were at Batavia, such as wished to join their countrymen at Gandária might do so, but that such as wished to follow the Dutch, must[Vol II Pg 235] shave their mustaches as a sign, and deliver up all their sharp instruments of every description, even to the smallest knife, and neither burn a lamp nor make a fire at night. All the Chinese within the city were inclined rather to remain in their houses, and conform to the wish of the Dutch according to this order, than to quit their houses and join their companions at Gandária. The Dutch troops were now making preparations in the fort, and shut the gates of the city, hearing that the Chinese from Gandária were approaching. These came towards Batavia in three parties, burning and laying waste every thing in their way, until they arrived close under the walls, in numbers not less than ten thousand. Some of the guns being inefficient, the Chinese became bolder, and made a furious attack in which they were repulsed with great slaughter. In this affair the Chinese are estimated to have lost one thousand seven hundred and eighty-nine lives. They retreated in confusion, but assembled again at Gáding Meláti.

"The next morning the Dutch landed all the sailors from the shipping in the roads, and having confined the Chinese to their houses, according to the regulation, the Dutch government gave orders for their own people, the free black inhabitants, and the native Christians belonging to the fort, to slay all the male Chinese, old and young, who were within the city. Of these, amounting to nearly nine thousand souls, only one hundred and fifty escaped to join their countrymen at Kámpung Meláti. The property of all the Chinese was seized by those who committed the slaughter, not one of whom was killed, the Chinese having previously, as before related, delivered up their weapons to the Dutch.

"After this the Dutch troops, to the number of eight hundred Europeans and two thousand natives, under the orders of the Baron Van Imhoff, proceeded to Kámpung Gáding Meláti, where the Chinese under Si-Panjang had entrenched themselves in considerable numbers, and soon drove them from this position. The Chinese then retreated to Paning'-gáran, where also they were defeated. The loss of the latter affair was on the part of the Dutch four hundred and fifty, on that of the Chinese eight hundred."

While these transactions were going on at Batavia, many of the Bopátis of the coast provinces had arrived at Kérta[Vol II Pg 236] Súra, to present themselves at court, according to custom, at the ensuing múlud. The Bopáti of Demák informed the minister, Nála Kasúma, that before he quitted his district, the Chinese, in considerable numbers, had assembled in arms and elected a chief of their own nation, named Síngseh. The Bopáti of Grobógan also reported, that the same thing had taken place in his district, in consequence of their having heard that the Dutch at Batavia were determined to destroy every Chinese on the island. On this the minister waited upon the Susúnan, and informed him of these commotions. The Susúnan replied, that he had already heard of what was going on at Batavia, and was much surprized that the general had not sent him any intimation of the insurrection. The Ráden Adipáti observed, that perhaps it would not come to any thing, and that very probably the disturbance would subside of itself. To this the Susúnan replied: "if so, it was well; but if the war was brought into his country, what was he to do? He feared this was to be apprehended, or why should the Chinese on his lands be thus preparing to defend themselves against the Dutch. It is proper at any rate," added the Susúnan, "that we should agree with all the Bopátis who were assembled, whether it would be most advisable to assist the Dutch or the Chinese, for if the war is to be brought into my country, it appears to me that this point must soon be determined. In the mean time should this event happen, let them fight between themselves, don't let us interfere or assist: don't drive the Chinese away." On this the Ráden Adipáti observed, "that if the general requested their assistance, they were bound, according to treaty, to afford it." The Susúnan replied, "if the general requests assistance from me in men, it is an easy matter, and we can readily chuse the right course, but he must not force me to render assistance." The Ráden Adipáti then said, "as this was the wish of the prince, he would assemble the chiefs and be ready to give assistance to the Dutch, should they request it." The Susúnan replied, "very well, let them agree how to act."

The Ráden Adipáti then proceeded to his house, where, assembling the chiefs, the point was discussed as follows. The Ráden Adipáti having informed them of the desire of[Vol II Pg 237] the Susúnan, that they should agree how to act, in the event of the war between the Chinese and Dutch being brought into the Susúnan's country, whether they should assist the Dutch or the Chinese. The Adipáti of Pakalóng'an, Jáya Níngrat, first delivered his sentiments. "I think it is best," said he, "that the Susúnan should assist the Dutch, but on condition they should release him from all the burthens which have been imposed upon his ancestors." The Ráden Adipáti said, "That is good; but I must remain of opinion, that the Chinese who are on Java do not concern our affairs as to the Dutch: they are not under my orders; they are only engaged in trade; they have done good, and brought profit to Java: why must we assist the Dutch, and destroy the Chinese?" Depáti Jáya Nígrat replied, "It is true the Chinese do not interfere with our business, and it is our own fault that we have any thing to do with the Dutch. Is it not better to take this opportunity of ridding the Susúnan of the exactions he is under to the Dutch? Let us assist them; they are strongest. The Dutch are as iron, the Chinese as tin: therefore it is better to assist the party most likely to be victorious." The Ráden Adipáti observed, "that it was on account of the Dutch being so strong that he thought it wrong to assist them; for," added he, "if we do they will only become more powerful and great, when perhaps we shall not be able to oppose them, and must remain entirely at their mercy. Is it not better, therefore, to destroy their strength while they are not too powerful for us?" The Depáti Jáya Níngrat then said, "If on this account we do not like to assist the Dutch, let us not assist the Chinese, but remain neutral, and leave them to fight it out among themselves." The Ráden Adipáti said, "That would not be according to the will of the Susúnan: he wishes to take part with one or the other, and he only asks which." The other Bopátis inclined to the advice of Jáya Níngrat; but observing the desire of the Ráden Adipáti to assist the Chinese, were silent, concluding that the part he took was in conformity with the wish of the Susúnan. The Tumúng'gung of Grobogán, Ráden Mérta Púra, then said, "We are as the people who bear two burthens: the Dutch are on the right shoulder, the Chinese on the left;[Vol II Pg 238] if we throw off one the other still remains. If we can accomplish it, why should we not get rid of both? In the first instance, let us assist the Chinese, and get rid of the Dutch; when that is done we can easily get rid of the Chinese also." Depáti Jáya Ningrat replied, "It is very well for you to wish this, but perhaps you are not sufficiently strong to effect it. In an affair of this importance we should consider the consequences. If we succeed, it is well; but if we destroy one party we commit an offence against the Almighty: what then if we destroy both parties, who have done us no harm? You must have read in history what has happened in the land of Java, and what occurred to those who injured others who did not offend them. Recollect, for instance, the case of Jaing Rána of Surabáya, who was put to death unjustly: was his death not avenged, and for this one innocent life was there not afterwards a retribution of sixteen lives?" Mérta Púra was embarrassed, and knew not what answer to make. The Ráden Adipáti laughed, and was followed by all the chiefs; he afterwards said, "This is the effect of experience. Mérta Púra is a young man, and not able to contend in argument with Adipáti Jáya Níngrat, his elder." However, Ráden Mérta Púra, taking a cup of tea, recollected himself, and prepared to reply. After drinking the tea, and replacing the cup, he immediately addressed Adipáti Jáya Níngrat: "How can you talk thus? Is it not better to finish the business at once, and not by halves? Of what use is it to talk of precedents? What was the case formerly is one thing; the present affair is altogether different: they cannot be compared together. We have now our own master, whose wishes we must follow. We must make a new example, and leave others to act up to it." The Ráden Adipáti then demanded of all the other Bopátis their opinion in this affair, to which they replied, "Let us advise the Susúnan to follow his own inclination, either to assist the Dutch according to treaty, on condition that they cancel all obligations, &c. on the part of the Susúnan to the Dutch, or to assist the Chinese in destroying the Dutch, and after that to get rid of the Chinese altogether, or allow them to remain, as the Susúnan may think proper." [Vol II Pg 239]

This opinion was on the next day carried to the Susúnan by the Ráden Adipáti, who further suggested, that it would be well to encourage the Chinese to act against the Dutch; that when the war took place it would be easy to perceive which was the best side to assist, and that the Susúnan should appear to remain neutral for the present. The Susúnan having listened to this advice approved of it. He in consequence directed that Mérta Púra should quietly return to his province, and should encourage the Chinese to act against the Dutch, and promise them, that in the event of their success the Susúnan would join them. He also directed that the other Bopátis should make preparations for collecting their forces.

In pursuance of these orders Mérta Púra secretly proceeded to Grobógan, and communicated with the chiefs who had been elected by the Chinese, named Inchi Máchan and Múda Tik. The Chinese of Grobógan immediately wrote to Síngseh, the chief at Tánjung Welakan, who was equally pleased with this promise of support. The Chinese from Grobógan then went and joined those at Tánjung Walákan, it being arranged that Mérta Púra should make a sham attack upon them, from which they should appear to fly.

Mérta Púra then wrote to the Dutch commander at Semárang, telling him that he had orders from the minister to attack the Chinese, and requesting to be supplied with ammunition, which was immediately sent. The Dutch were completely deceived. They furnished Mérta Púra with twenty muskets, eight carbines and eight pistols, and eight barrels of powder: they also sent thirty Dutch soldiers. Mérta Púra commenced the attack before they came, and thus secured the retreat of the Chinese. On this occasion he shot three horses with ball, and shewed them to the Dutch as having been wounded under him.

In the mean time the commandant at Semárang, deceived by the assurances of Mérta Púra, requested the officers at Kérta Súra to call upon the Susúnan for assistance. He directed that Mértu Púra should be reinforced, but that the chief who commanded the party should receive secret instructions not to annoy the Chinese in earnest, but to act as[Vol II Pg 240] Mérta Púra had done. With respect to the Chinese at Kérta Púra, he directed that they should be informed that on the next morning the Javans would make a sham attack upon them, when they must retreat and join a party of Chinese assembled at the Désa Sarója in Kedú, to which place they would be pursued, and from whence the Javan chief was to return, saying, that on account of their numbers he could advance no further.

Secret orders to this effect were immediately given to all the chiefs. The Adipátis of Páti, Demák, and Kedú were at the same time directed to go and make a false attack upon the Chinese at Tánjung Waláhan, and afterwards to retreat to Semárang, as if beaten, in order that the commander might believe that the Susúnan was determined to assist the Dutch.

The captain and lieutenant of the Chinese at Semárang having been put in confinement by the commandant, all the Chinese at that place joined their countrymen at Tánjung Waláhan. The Chinese then moved to Kárang Anyer, where they were attacked. The Javans retreated to Semárang, and were assisted by the Dutch. The chief, Síngseh, in concert with Mérta Púra, now laid siege to Semárang.

The commander at Kérta Súra requested assistance against the Chinese at Ambaráwa, which was granted, with the same instruction to the chiefs as in the former instances. These marched as far as Salíatga, where they held secret communication with the Chinese; but the chief, Aria Pringaláya, caused ten Chinese to be put to death while both parties were about to meet privately, and sent the ten heads to Kérta Súra, which were delivered to the commandant. This at first exasperated the Chinese leader at Semárang, but he was soon pacified.

At this time the Susúnan discovered that one of the sons of Mangkúrat Mas, Tépa Sána, was carrying on an intrigue with the commandant of the fort at Kérta Súra, and caused him to be bow-stringed. Wíra Méja and Ráden Garendi, the two sons of Tépa Sána, with his other relations, joined Pangéran Wíra Meng'ala, and quitted Kérta Súra: they were well received by the Chinese.

The Chinese, besides laying siege to Semárang, had also[Vol II Pg 241] by this time taken and destroyed Rémbang. Jawána and Demák were abandoned by the Dutch troops, and a want of provisions was felt through the country.

Affairs had come to this pass, when the Susúnan resolved to massacre the Dutch garrison at Kérta Súra. The Javans were collected under the fort, as by order from the Susúnan, in readiness to march against the Chinese, when one of them who had entered within the walls fired a shot. The cry of amók was given, and many lives were lost on both sides; but the plan did not succeed, and it was not till after he was reinforced by the Chinese that he could effect his object. On the renewal of the attack, the garrison was compelled to surrender. The commanding officer and some others were barbarously murdered in cold blood; the rest of the troops, with their wives and children, made prisoners, and distributed among the Javans: the greatest part of the men being circumcised and forced to adopt the Mahomedan religion.

The Dutch authorities, in endeavouring to account for this act, incline to an opinion that the Susúnan was (not without an appearance of probability) immediately impelled to it by many acts of oppression and injustice exercised against his subjects, by a total disregard of all his representations for redress, by an evident intention on the part of the Dutch to become masters of the whole island, and by the harsh and uncivil conduct of the Resident towards the first men of the court, which was the more obnoxious from his being the son of a Javan woman, and for that reason, and the illegitimacy of his birth, much despised by the natives.

When this intelligence reached Semárang, the Dutch began to open their eyes. The first step that was taken was to pass a decree, absolving the Pangéran of Madúra from his allegiance to the Susúnan. This decree was formally signed by the government of Semárang, and accepted by the Pangéran, who being married to a sister of the Susúnan, returned his wife back to her brother. No sooner had he declared himself the ally of the Dutch, than he ordered all the Chinese on the island of Madúra to be put to death, and embarking his forces immediately, took possession of Sidáyu, Tuban, Jípang, and Lamúng'an. At Grésik about four hundred Chinese were put to death. [Vol II Pg 242]

The Chinese, in the meantime, finding themselves reinforced by the Javans, spread over the whole country without encountering opposition, and laid siege at the same time to nearly all the Company's settlements along the coast, from Tégál to Pasúruan.

After many feeble and unskilful attacks on the fort of Semárang, and the loss of many lives, the united forces of the Javans and Chinese were compelled to raise the siege.

A negociation was now brought about by means of the Pangéran of Madúra, who represented to the Dutch that the attack upon the fort, as well as the subsequent part taken by the Javans, was solely at the instigation of the minister, Náta Kasúma, and that the Susúnan himself was personally averse to these measures. The Susúnan, according to the Dutch accounts, regretted the precipitate steps he had taken, either as beginning to fear that the Dutch might again, as in former wars, obtain the ascendancy, and make him pay dear for his temerity; or, which appeared to him most likely, apprehending that the Chinese, who, though comparatively few and unused to arms, had hitherto taken the lead in every affair of consequence, and evinced their superiority to the Javans in ability and courage, should become too powerful, and might, in concert with some discontented chiefs, think fit to depose him. From one or other, or both of these motives, the Susúnan desired to renew his alliance with the Dutch.

The Dutch, on their part, considering the precarious state of the time and circumstances, found it advisable to enter into amicable relations, and accordingly concluded a peace, by which were ceded to them the island of Madúra, the sea-coast, and Surabáya, with all the districts to the eastward, as Balambáng'an, and Rembáng, Japára, and Semárang, with all their subordinate posts.

According to the Javan accounts, this treaty was concluded without the knowledge of the minister, Náta Kasúma, who with the Javan and Chinese forces still lay encamped not far from Semárang: and it was agreed upon by the Susúnan, at the request of the Dutch, that the Chinese should be kept in ignorance of what was passing, in order that they might be the more easily massacred by their supposed friends the Javans. Náta Kasúma, however, no sooner heard of the con[Vol II Pg 243]ditions on which the peace had been concluded, and of the intention to massacre the Chinese, than he took part with them, and revealed the whole plot. To preserve appearances, however, he made a sham attack on the Chinese, in which the sick alone were sacrificed. The rest moved off unmolested to the eastward, meditating vengeance against the Susúnan, by whom they had been thus deserted. Their principal force was now assembled in the districts of Páti and Jawána, where they were joined by many of the chiefs who had hitherto been attached to their cause. Here they proclaimed as Susúnan Ráden Mas Garéndi, son of Pangéran Tépa Sána, who had recently been put to death by the Susúnan, and grandson of Susúnan Mangkurat Mas, who had died at Ceylon. He assumed the title of Susúnan Mangkúrat Mas Prábu Kúning, but is usually distinguished by the name of Susúnan Kúning. This prince was about ten years of age, and therefore the transactions which ensued are to be attributed to his ministers, Mangunónang and Mérta Púra, and to the Chinese chiefs, Síngsih and Pánjang.

Náta Kasúma, the minister, still feigning allegiance, returned to Kérta Súra; but the part he had taken being discovered, he was sent to Semárang on a false mission, as was customary in such cases, and there entrapped by the Dutch and conveyed to Ceylon.

The Chinese, with their emperor, now marched with great expedition to Kérta Súra, in order to attack the Susúnan, and met with but little resistance. The troops of the Susúnan, under the command of Ráden Prínga Láya, were defeated, Kérta Súra was surprised, and the Susúnan was obliged to leave his court, and treasures to the enemy. His queen, sister, and children, on horseback, together with his mother, carried by two Europeans, under the conduct of two Dutch officers, through a back gate of the dálam, were pursued and overtaken. The Susúnan and the hereditary prince only were enabled to save themselves by flight.

It was not likely that an alliance between the Chinese and Javans, people so different and hostile to each other, could be of any long duration. While the Chinese became relaxed in their discipline, and indulged in every species of irregularity, the fugitive emperor, being now joined by the Dutch and Ma[Vol II Pg 244]durese, received the submission of many of the rebel chiefs, and pardoned them; but he refused to pay attention to the offers of submission made by the Chinese. The prince of Madúra, at length, succeeded in making himself master of Kérta Súra, from whence the Susúnan Kuning was obliged to fly, after a reign of four months.

The Chinese being afterwards defeated in a pitched battle at Asém, retreated to Brambánan, and the Susúnan again arrived in his capital. When, however, the prince of Madúra, who was by no means well inclined to the Susúnan, found himself in possession of Kérta Súra, he made an attempt to raise to the throne Pangéran Angebai, the Susúnan's brother. The Susúnan was once more obliged to quit his capital, and it was not until after much negociation between the Dutch and the Javans, that he was re-established. Whether this attempt on the part of the Madurese prince was serious, or only intended to render the sovereign more complying to the demands of his allies, is not known. The negociation, however, as was usual in similar cases, turned out highly advantageous to the Dutch interests, a treaty being dictated by them without the walls of the palace, and before the prince was permitted to enter it.

The Chinese, who had meanwhile remained at Brambánan unmolested for two whole months, were now joined by Páku Nagára, a man noted among the Javans for his eminent abilities, and distinguished afterwards for the conspicuous part he acted in what is called "the war of Java," and through his means the party were enabled still to make a stand: they were at length, however, defeated by the Dutch troops, and compelled to retreat over the southern hills. A general amnesty being proclaimed, and the Chinese having availed themselves of it, the ex-emperor at length surrendered to the Dutch at Surabáya, by whom he was banished to Ceylon, where he died. This event happened in the Javan year 1667, and terminated the Chinese war.

After a few months the Susúnan, in conformity with ancient custom, removed the seat of government from Kérta Súra to the village of Solo, about six miles distant, where a palace was built. The new capital was called Súra Kérta, and is the present residence of the emperors of Java. [Vol II Pg 245]

On the subsequent accession of Mr. Imhoff to the post of governor-general, he was of opinion that, notwithstanding the favourable terms of the treaties granted by the Susúnan, sufficient atonement had not been made to the Dutch nation for the outrage committed against the Christian religion, and the barbarous treatment of the garrison of Kérta Súra. He therefore required that the two principal ringleaders should be delivered up and punished; and to ensure compliance, measures were taken for seizing upon the Susúnan and his son, and bestowing the throne on the eldest son of Pangéran Mángku Nagára. But the Susúnan thought it prudent to comply, and delivered over two priests to the Dutch; and a new treaty was on this occasion concluded with the Susúnan.

Fresh disturbances soon succeeded. The Pangéran of Madúra, Chákra Deníngrat, a man of a selfish and haughty character, considered himself, in consequence of the part he had taken, so far exalted above the other chiefs, that he neglected to make his annual appearance at court. Of this the Susúnan complained to the Dutch, who interfered, but without effect. The Pangéran, who, as before stated, had taken possession of the provinces of Sidáya, Túban, Jípang, and Lamúng'an, now refused to restore them either to the Susúnan or the Dutch, to whom they had been ceded, claiming them, as well as all the plunder he had obtained at Kérta Súra, as conquered property. Determined to keep them by force, he engaged in his service a number of men from Báli, and fortified the island Menári, so as to command the harbour of Surabáya.

He now commenced open hostilities by attacking a Dutch vessel, and putting to death several European seamen. Two thousand Madúrese entered the district of Surabáya, burnt some villages, and laid the country waste; and five thousand Bálians were posted on the frontiers of Pamakásan. After having been twice or thrice defeated, the Pangéran made a sudden attack upon Súmenap and Pamakásan, and gained a complete victory over the natives fighting under a Dutch commander, who lost six thousand men on the occasion, the chief being obliged to fly the country.

It was not long before the Dutch regained possession of Súmenap and Pamakásan, on which occasion a brother-[Vol II Pg 246]in-law of the Pangéran, with two chiefs, submitted to them; but the Dutch troops were no sooner withdrawn, than those provinces again fell under the authority of the Pangéran, who laid them waste with fire and sword. The Dutch tried in vain to dislodge him. Rémbang was now besieged by an army of fire thousand Madúrese and Javans. Lásém, Pájang-kungung, and all the villages as far as Paradésa, were in possession of the Pangéran, who made himself master also of the fort of Rémbang, and of the building yard established there; but his fortune suddenly changed. The prince was, in his turn, defeated in several engagements, and at length compelled to fly from Java; and the Dutch forces landing on Madúra, took the capital Sámpang, by storm, and in a short time made themselves masters of the whole island.

In this extremity, the prince of Madúra still refused to come to terms, and went with his sons, Sásra and Rána Deníngrat, to Banjermásin on Borneo, where he engaged his passage on board an English ship bound to Bencoolen; to which place he had previously, on his affairs taking an unfavourable turn, sent his son, Ráden Tumúng'gung Wíra Deníngrat, to request assistance from the English, and procure men and warlike stores. His plan, however, of proceeding to Bencoolen was frustrated; for the sultan of Banjermásin, on application from the Dutch, sent him, with his son Sásra, to Batavia, whence the father was banished to the Cape of Good Hope, and the son to Ceylon.

In effecting a settlement of the country, the Dutch were compelled to appoint another son of this prince, Súra Diníngrat, to succeed as chief of Madúra, under the name of Sécha Deníngrat. In the year 1758, this chief was also appointed Widána, or chief, of several of the eastern districts.

But, however these successes on the part of the Dutch might tend to the immediate tranquillity of the country, the authority of the Susúnan had been seriously shaken. The prince possessed neither the esteem nor attachment of his subjects. To his evil star it was attributed that the empire had not only lost much of its ancient grandeur, but was brought to the brink of ruin. The chiefs no longer placed[Vol II Pg 247] any confidence in him; they despised the man who had granted such humiliating terms to the Dutch, and who, to obtain their temporary aid, had thus sacrificed the permanent integrity of the empire: they, therefore, were inclined to make an effort to regain what had been lost.

The principal character and prime mover in this rebellion was the Pangéran Mungkubúmi, a younger brother of the Susúnan. During the Chinese war he had obtained considerable experience, and was distinguished for boldness and enterprize of character. On the Chinese being driven from Kérta Súra, he had thrown himself on the protection of the Dutch, and was now residing with his brother at Kérta Súra. Next to Mangkubúmi, the most prominent character in the war of Java was Páku Nagára, who was also called Mas Sáyed but perhaps better known as the grandfather of Práng Widóno. After the defeat of the Chinese at Brambánan, this prince had also returned to court; but being coldly received, again reared the standard of revolt, and escaping into the southern mountains assumed the title of Susúnan Adi Prakúsa.

Mangunónang, the minister of Susúnan Kúning, and Mérta Púra, had established themselves in the province of Sukawáti, refusing to come into any terms. They invited Mangkabúmi to come over to them, and promised their assistance in raising him to the throne. Mangkubúmi accepted their invitation; but finding himself deceived by them, he, by his own exertions and those of the son of Mérta Púra, obtained possession of that province, and established himself under the title of Pangéran Adipáti of Sukawáti. He was, however, afterwards induced to listen to terms offered him by the Susúnan, who again received him into favour, and conferred upon him the independent government of Sukawáti. But these terms were not granted by the emperor without exciting the jealousy and apprehensions of the minister Prínga Láya, who easily availed himself of an early opportunity, when the Governor-General, Van Imhoff, was on a visit to Súra Kértá, to represent the danger arising from any subject possessing so independent and extensive authority, as that recently granted by the Susúnan to Mangkubúmi.

It was accordingly determined to deprive Mangkubúmi of[Vol II Pg 248] this tract of country, and the resolution was personally communicated to him in the hall of audience. The chief feigned obedience; but in the course of the night, secretly quitted the capital, and assembling his party proceeded to Sukawáti, where he again reared the standard of rebellion. From the flight of this prince is dated what is usually termed the war of Java, which took place in the Javan year 1671.

The Dutch now took an active part in the war, but found that they had enemies to contend with who possessed considerable ability and enterprize, and who in the past disturbances of the country had gained much experience. Páku Nagára was, in the first instance, defeated, and fled for protection to Mangkubúmi, who received him kindly, gave him his daughter, Rátu Bandára, in marriage, and appointed him his Pateh, or minister. The united forces of these two chiefs resisted the attacks of the Dutch for about twelve months, when Mangkubúmi assumed the title of Susúnan Matárem; but a dispute arising between him and Páku Nagára, who demanded his own nomination as presumptive successor, Mangkubúmi took back his daughter, and the chiefs parted in enmity.

While Mangkubúmi lay with his forces at Bunáran, a village on the south coast, and distant about ten miles from the present Yúgya Kérta, intelligence was received of the death of the Susúnan; and such was the extensive power of Mangkubúmi at the time, that the body of the deceased could not be removed to the consecrated burial place at Megíri in the southern hills, on account of his forces, and was in consequence interred near the tomb of Jáka Tíngker, sultan of Pájang, at Lawian, near Súra Kérta, whence this prince received the appellation of Susúnan Séda Lawigan.

Mangkubúmi had evinced a desire to come to terms, and gave assurances to the governor of his attachment to the Dutch, but demanded that his son should be proclaimed Pangéran Adipáti Matárem (heir apparent); a condition to which the Dutch would not listen.

The reduced state of the Susúnan's authority before his death, and the distracted condition of affairs, afforded an opportunity too favourable to be overlooked by the Dutch, of at once attaining the grand object of all their political inter[Vol II Pg 249]ference, the sovereignty of the country. A weak prince on his death-bed was, under existing circumstances, easily brought to any terms, in the hope of continuing even the nominal succession in his family. He was compelled, by a formal official deed, "to abdicate for himself and his heirs, the sovereignty of the country, conferring the same on the Dutch East India Company, and leaving it to them to dispose of it, in future, to any person they might think competent to govern it for the benefit of the Company and of Java." After recommending his children, and especially the heir apparent, to the protection of the governor, the unfortunate monarch expired. This singular and important deed was dated on the 11th December, 1749.[278]

From this deed is derived the right by which the Dutch East India Company subsequently granted in fee to the[Vol II Pg 250] native princes, the administration of those provinces which still continued under native government.

On the death of this unfortunate prince, Mangkubúmi caused himself to be formally proclaimed Susúnan Pakubúana Senapáti Matárem, in the presence of a more numerous assemblage of the princes and chiefs than attended the investiture of the new Susúnan raised by the Dutch. He sent ambassadors to the Dutch governor with many assurances of attachment and fidelity, requesting to be acknowledged as sovereign, and soliciting that the body of the deceased might be delivered to him, for the purpose of solemn interment.

The son of the deceased Susúnan, however, was preferred, and at the age of nine years was raised to the throne, under the title of Pakubúana the third.

The enmity of the rebellious chiefs to each other soon vented itself in open hostility, and a pitched battle ensued, in which Mangkubúmi was defeated and driven to the westward. Soon, however, recruiting his forces, he returned, and had two successful engagements with the Dutch, one at Jánar, a village in Báglen, the other at Tídar, a hill in Kedú. In the battle of Jánár the Javan forces allowed the brunt of the action to fall upon the Dutch, who were completely routed: of those who had escaped the sword many were drowned in an adjoining marsh, and the rest were murdered in great numbers by the country people. The affair of Tídar was of less importance. The forces of Mangkubúmi were sometimes reduced to a few hundred, and at other times amounted to as many thousands, the chiefs and people deserting him in his distress, and flocking to him in his prosperity. After three victories obtained over the Dutch, he marched towards the northern coast, fell upon Pakalóng'an, and plundered the place.

Mangkubúmi now carried all before him, and was once at the gates of Sólo, which capital the Javans represent to have been saved from plunder by the superstitious veneration for the gun niái stómi, which the rebels no sooner descried on the alun-alun than they sounded a retreat. The Dutch, in the hope of allaying his displeasure, had given the Susúnan the choice of his officers of state, and prohibited the resident[Vol II Pg 251] from taking his seat on the throne with him (an indelicate assumption which had previously given the greatest disgust to the Javans); but after nine years of harassing warfare it was still found impracticable to reduce the rebellious chiefs, or to restore the country to order. The Dutch, therefore, availing himself of the abdication in their favour executed by the deceased Susúnan, listened to the proposals of Mangkubúmi, who offered peace, on condition that one half of Java should be ceded to him. A meeting took place at Gingánti, a village not far distant from Súra-kérta, at which were present the Susúnan, Mangkubúmi, and the governor of the north-east coast of Java, when a treaty was signed.

One of the conditions of this treaty was, that Mangkubúmi should use his utmost exertions to subdue Páku Nagára. In conformity with this condition he immediately proceeded against him; but Páku Nagára making his appearance with his whole force, obliged him to retreat and conceal himself in a cavern, while his troops, flying in every direction, allowed his camp to be burned. Mangkubúmi, however, soon collected his forces again. The Dutch offered a reward for the head of Páku Nagára, who was obliged to proceed to the eastward, being pursued and his whole force finally overthrown. He still refused to submit, and the celebrity of his name and exploits was sufficient to recruit his ranks.

In the year A.D. 1755, Mangkubúmi was solemnly proclaimed by the Dutch Governor, under the title of Súltan Amangkubuána Sénapáti Ingalága Abdul Ráchman Sahédin Panatagáma Kulifatólah.

The united forces of the Susúnan and Sultan now resumed the attack upon Páku Nagára; several of his chiefs were forced to submit, and he himself, after having prolonged the war for upwards of two years, seeing no favourable chance or hope of ultimate success, at last sent his brother to the Susúnan, requesting that certain districts and the southern mountains might be granted to him for his support, promising on that condition to lead a quiet and peaceable life for the future. In reply to this he was informed, that the partition of the lands had already taken place; that part of these lands might, however, be granted, but that it was first necessary he should make his appearance at court. To this he assented; and it[Vol II Pg 252] being stipulated that the Susúnan should pay him the compliment of receiving him at the distance of half an hour's walk from Sura-kérta, he came in, and throwing himself at the feet of the Susúnan was kindly raised again, desired to sit on the bench, and assured that he had nothing to apprehend.

Peace was then concluded, on the conditions that Páku Nagára, commonly called Mas Sáyed, should assume the rank and title of Pangéran Adipáti Mangku Nágara, with an assignment of land to the extent of four thousand cháchas, in the districts of Kadwang, Malésa, and the southern mountains.

Thus ended, in the year 1758, a war which had lasted twelve years, in which the finest provinces of the island were laid waste, thousands slain on both sides, and the independence of the empire finally annihilated. The expenses incurred by the Dutch on account of the war, from the year 1746 until the peace, amounted to 4,286,006. 12. 8. florins; but, in the result, they acquired, if not the acknowledged sovereignty of the whole island, at least an effectual control over its future administration.

The Susúnan, on his death, was succeeded, in the Javan year 1714, by his son, the present Susúnan, under the title of Susúnan Pakubuána the fourth.

The sultan established his capital a few miles distant from the ancient capital of Matárem, at Yúgya-kérta (Djocjo Carta) the present residence of his successors. He died, after a long reign, in the Javan year 1718, and was succeeded by his eldest surviving son, under the title of Amangkubuána the second. This prince was deposed by the British government in the year 1812, and succeeded by his son, Amangkubuána the third, who dying, was again succeeded, in 1815, by his son, a child of nine years of age, the present sultan, Amangkubuána the fourth.

Pangéran Prang Widóno, still residing at Súra Kérta, is the grandson of Pangéran Adipáti Mángku Nagára, and continues to enjoy the independent administration of the lands assigned to him at the settlement in 1758.

By the final settlement of the country in 1758 the Dutch reserved to themselves the direct administration of all the pro[Vol II Pg 253]vinces lying on the northern sea-coast, from Chéribon to the eastern extremity of the island of Madúra; but the inland and southern provinces stretching from the islands of Chéribon to Málang, were restored to the native princes, between whom the lands were divided in nearly equal portions by cháchas, according to the population and the peculiar usage of the country, four thousand cháchas from the share of the Susúnan being set apart for Mangku Nagára.

The terms on which the successors of these princes were permitted to exercise the sovereignty, suffered no material alteration until the year 1808, when Marshal Daendels officially declared that the clauses of the existing treaties, by which those princes held their territory in fee from the Dutch, were void, and that in future he should consider them as independent princes, having no other relation to the European government than such as must of necessity exist between a weaker and stronger state in the immediate neighbourhood of each other. At this time the court of Yúgya Kérta, sensible of owing its establishment chiefly to the military success of its founder, and the weakness of the Dutch and the Susúnan, and that it never fully submitted to the terms of the treaty of 1755 (which it is even stated were imposed upon the sovereign by a false translation in the Javan language) evinced a desire of independence and an appearance of internal strength, which called for the immediate interference of the European authority. Marshal Daendels, therefore, marched to Yúgya Kérta with a considerable force, and a negociation being opened, a treaty was entered into, by which the reigning sultan consented to resign the administration of the country into the hands of his son, who was appointed to exercise the same under the title of regent, and to cede certain provinces.

But the stipulations of this treaty, thus entered into, had not been carried into effect, when in the month of August, 1811, the British forces arrived in Java. The sultan, it is true, had ostensibly resigned the administration to his son, but he still took his usual place on the throne, and not one of the districts ceded by treaty to the Dutch had then been actually transferred.

FOOTNOTES:

[272] A Dutch officer is accused of having purloined it.

[273] From the circumstance of this installation having taken place at Semárang, two wóringen trees are allowed to distinguish the alun alun of the regent.

[274] Contract with M. de Wilde.

[275] The native writers relate a strange proceeding of the Dutch commandant in this war.

"As soon as the Dutch commander arrived at Pasúruan he assembled the people, and offered a reward of one thousand dollars to any one who would bring him the body of the deceased chief Sarapáti. The body was accordingly brought in a perfect state of preservation, on which the commandant ordered it to be placed upright in a chair, as if still living. He then approached it, took it by the hand, and made his obeisance to it as to a living person: all the officers and men followed the example. After this they burnt the body, and having mixed the ashes with gunpowder, fired a salute with it in honour of the victory."

[276] A village in the vicinity of Batavia.

[277] Meaning, "ability was now inclined to move or shake mankind."

[278] During the reign of this prince, on the 9th of September 1738, a contract was entered into between the Dutch and the sultan of Bantam, of which the following were the chief articles.

1st. The Dutch having deemed it necessary to send a detachment to Lampung Túlang Báwang, in order to save that province from total ruin, the sultan promised to cause a fort, or páger, to be erected at his expense, on the spot which should be deemed most eligible for that purpose, either on the Palembang river, or any where else.

2d. That the sultan should keep this fort in constant repair at his own expense.

3d. That the sultan should repay to the Dutch the expense of maintaining a small establishment, consisting of a resident, a commandant, one sergeant, two corporals, twenty-four privates, one drummer, and three artillery men.

4th. That the ground on which the fort was to be built, should be ceded to the Dutch, with an extent of one hundred roods in every direction. This ground to revert back to the sultan, in the event of the Dutch establishment breaking up, in the same manner as had taken place in regard to Lampung Samángka.

6th. With a view to hold out due encouragement to the industry of the Lampung people, it was agreed that, previously to exporting their pepper to Bantam, they should state the quantity to the Company's resident, who should furnish them with a certificate, enabling them to obtain early payment, pursuant to the existing contracts.

7th. The Company's servants at Bantam and Lampung Túlang Báwang, were authorized to confiscate any quantity of pepper which was exported from the latter place, unprovided with a certificate from the resident. [Vol II Pg 254]

LINE OF THE MAHOMEDAN SOVEREIGNS OF JAVA,
Who have ruled subsequently to the Destruction of the Hindu Government of Majapáhit down to the Javan Year 1742, corresponding with the Christian Year 1815.

SEAT OF GOVERNMENT.
Began to Reign.
A.J. A.D.
At Demák, from A.J. 1400 to 1503.
1403 1477 Ráden Pátah Adipáti Jimbun.
1455 1519 Pangérang Sábrang Lor.
1457 1533 Súltan Bintára, or Trang'gána, often called Sultan Demák.
At Pájang, from 1503 to 1540.
1503 1577 Jáka Tíngkir, Sultan Pajang.
1532 1606 Adipáti Demák.
At Matárem, from 1540 to 1600.
1540 1614 Panambáhan Senapáti.
1550 1624 Súltan Séda Krápiah.
1562 1636 Ráden Ránsang, also called Súltan Agung, or Súltan Kérta.
1585 1659 Mangkúrat, commonly called Séda Tegál-árum.
At Kérta Súra, from 1603 to 1675.
1603 1677 Susúnan Mangkúrat the second.
1627 1701 Susúnan Mangkúrat Mas.
1630 1704 Pangéran Púgar, usually called Susúnan Pakubúana the first.
1643 1717 Susúnan Prabu Amangkúrat.
1672 1746 Susúnan Séda Langkúnan, also called Susúnan Pakubúana the second.
Susúnan Pakubúana the second removed the seat of government to Sura Kerta in 1675.
At Sura Kérta, in 1675.
Susúnan Pakubúana second (continued.)
1675 1742 Susúnan Pakubúana third, in whose reign the empire was divided into the two kingdoms of Súra Kérta and Yúgya Kérta.
At Súra Kérta. At Yúgya Kérta.
A.J. A.D. A.J. A.D.
Susúnan Pakúbuan third (continued.) 1612 1756 Sultan Amangkubúana first.
​—​— ​—​— Sultan Amangkubúana second.
1714 1788 Susúnan Pakubúana the fourth and present Susúnan. ​—​— ​—​— Sultan Amangkubúana third.
1741 1815 Sultan Amangkubúana fourth, and present sultan.
Sovereigns of Demák 4
of Pajang 2
of Matárem 4
of Kérta Súra 4
of Súra Kérta 4

The present Susúnan is consequently the eighteenth in succession from the first Mahomedan sovereign, and not perhaps less than the fortieth from the first Hindu prince. The average reign during the Mahomedan government is nineteen years. Taking the same average for the period of the Hindu government, its origin would be four hundred and eighteen years anterior to the destruction of Majapáhit, A. J. 1400, and may be referred to the close of the tenth century of the Javan era, or the middle of the eleventh century of the Christian era.[Pg 255]

CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE OF EVENTS,
Which have occurred in Java (from the Traditions and Records of the Javans.)

1 Arrival of Aji Sáka in Java.
10 The date of (or probable establishment at) Núsa Bárong.
​— Núsa Tambíni.
​— Bawéan.[Vol II Pg 256]
33 The mountain Múria.
39 The great mountain of Tegat.
50 The mountain Brómo.
​— The mountain Semíru.
70 The mountain Súmbing.
​— The mountain Hála Húla.
94 The mountain Láwu.
118 The mountain Bénkok.
131 On the southern mountains.
152 The mountain Wílis.
175 The mountain Pendam.
193 The mountain Prawáta.
​— The mountain Arjúna.
195 The mountain Ingel.
211 Building of Chándi Máling.
297 The introduction of maize or Indian corn into Java.
308 The date of (or probable establishment at) The mountain Merápi.
343 The date of (or probable establishment at) The mountain Anyer.
551 Building of Singa-sári.
752 Death of Niái Súka Wáti.
808 Burning of the temples at Gúnung Wédi.
924 Construction of buildings in the western mountains.
It is related, that in former times the islands of Sumatra, Java, Báli and Sumbáwa, were united, and afterwards separated into nine different parts; and it is also said, that when three thousand rainy seasons have passed away, they will be reunited.
1018 or 1188 Building of the Chándi Séwú, or thousand temples, at Brambánan.
1055 Date of Telága Páser in Banyumas.
1067 Randu Kuning in ditto.
1114 Separation of the lands of Palémbang and Java.
1124 In the island of Báli.
1164 Appearance of Pulo Mengaré (near Surabáya) above the sea.
1204 Separation of the lands of Báli and Balambángan in Java.
1217 Date of (or probable establishment at) Pagunúngun.[Vol II Pg 257]
1218 Building of the temples at Káli Bening near Brambánan.
1260 Separation of the lands of Giling Trawángan and Báli.
1273 The fall of stones from a mountain.
1280 Separation of the island of Séla Párang (also called Lumbok or Sasak) from Sumbáwa.
1300 Establishment of the court of Pajajúran.
​—​— Erection of a stone temple at Salatíga.
1308 Construction of the tank at Peng'ging near Ambaráwa.
1352 Date of Telága Mengémbel.
1360 Building of the temples at Bóro Bódo in Kedú.
1400 Destruction of Majapáhit.
1403 Establishment of the court at Demák.
1419 Establishment of Gegélang.
1421 Establishment of Surabáya.
1423 The fall of Bányu píndah.
1427 The burning of Pálok by women.
1432 Era of Kaníten.
1433 Era of the Prince of Páti.
1439 Destruction of Pánjer by fire.
1440 Death of Kayubrálit.
1441 Kajóran surrounded.
1443 Death of the three princes.
1448 Conquest of Kedírí by Susúnan Ingalága.
1449 ​—​— of Túban.
1450 ​—​— of Wirosári.
1451 ​—​— of Gegeláng.
1452 ​—​— of Mendáng kúngan.
1454 The site of Surabáya changed.
1455 Conquest of Pasúruan.
1462 ​—​— of Panarúkan.
1464 Defeat of the sons of the chiefs of Lamúng'an, Blítar, and Wirasába.
1465 Conquest of Panangúngan.
1466 ​—​— of Pamenáng.
1467 ​—​— of Sing'ga.
1468 ​—​— of Balambáng'an and Banyuwángi.
1469 Conquest and burning of Sing'ara, a dependency of Balambáng'an.
1470 Conquest of Jápan.[Vol II Pg 258]
1471 Arrival of the prince of Gíri, in the district of Kedíri.
1494 Foundation of the gardens of Pungkúran at the foot of the mountains.
1473 Destruction by fire of Dahá, and the disappearance of the prince called Prawáta, at that place.
1474 The elevation of another prince.
1475 War of Surowári.
​—​— Kiai Wírasóma proceeds to Jípang.
1476 The falling down of Banyu píndah.
1478 Conquest of the district of Blóra.
​—​— ​—​— of Baléga in Madúra.
1499 Disappearance of the Adipáti of Kedíri and his princess, after embracing the Mahomedan religion.
1500 Conquest of Katujan, Wírasába, and Pranarága.
1502 Swords and javelins first made use of.
1503 The establishment of the court at Pájang.
1506 Occurrence of a great earthquake.
1509 First destruction of Pájang.
1510 Destruction of Demák, when the chiefs and people betook themselves to their vessels, and put to sea.
1512 Dahá conquered by Senapáti.
1513 The people of Jipáng carried into captivity after the battle of Kalidádung; actions in Pasúruan and Pranarága.
1515 Construction of Kótah Batu Púteh (or White-walled Castle) at Matárem.
1517 Battles of Jatasári, &c. fought by Senapáti.
1521 Death of Panambáhan Senapáti, at Jenar (Matárem).
​—​— The palace at Kérta being burnt, the seat of government is removed to Púra.
​—​— The Panambáhan of Chéribon comes to Matárem.
1522 The Adipáti of Pugar, son of the Senapáti, removed to Demák, where he ascended the throne. After remaining there a year, there happened an eclipse of the sun.
1525 Sultan Krápeak surrounds and attacks Demák.
​—​— While the war was carrying on at Grésik, Sultan Krápeak died at Matárem.
1526 Battle of Kaliránan.[Vol II Pg 259]
1532 Death of Adipáti Mérta Láya.
1536 The people of Matárem attack Málang, under Sultan Kérta.
1540 The election of Panambáhan Senapáti at Matárem as Sultan.
1541 The age of Sínga Pádu.
1545 The Madurese war.
1547 A great sickness at Matárem, and the erection of the throne of Matárem.
1552 The war of Páti, and the erection of the Matárem tower.
1553 The first Batavian war.
1555 The measuring of time, and the second Batavian war.
1560 The people of the eastern districts assembled at Matárem to perform required services.
1561 Conquest of Balambángan, and submission of Ráden Kámbar.
1562 The Sultan removes to Tumbáyat, and a great granary of corn is destroyed by fire at Gáding.
1564 The Chéribon war, and the first appearance of the Prin'gí people (Europeans) at the court of Matarem.
1565 The anger of the prince towards the minister of Palémbang, and the appearance of the Bánjar (Masin) people at the court of Matárem.
1566 The second great sickness appears at Matárem, and the construction of the large gun, called Kiaí Gúntur Agni. An artificial lake made at Pléret.
1568 Death of Sultan Kérta, and succession of his son.
1569 The march of the Matárem people to Báli and Balambángan, and the submission of those people.
1571 The construction of the mosque, and the marriage of the Sultan with the princess Kránon. The Kálang move to the east of the Sólo river.
1572 The establishment of the court at Pléret, and the Susúnan's desire for maidens. The chiefs of all ranks, the soldiers, the natives of the coast, and the inhabitants of the country, were each ordered to marry two wives.
1573 The appearance of the Chéribon minister with a present of an elephant; also that of the minister of[Vol II Pg 260] Jámbi (on Sumatra), bringing accounts of the death of the Sultan. The first embassy from the Hollanders arrived at Matárem, bringing a present of four pieces of artillery.
1574 The second embassy from the Hollanders, with various presents.
1575 Great inundation at Matárem, and the appearance of a comet.
1576 The subjection of the Sukadána people (on Borneo).
1577 The subjection of the Siam people, and a present from the Company (the Dutch) of a horse of large size.
1579 The marriage of the Pangéran Adipáti with the daughter of Mángun Jáya.
1580 The Rámpok of an elephant.
1581 Death of Pangéran Purbáya.
1582 The introduction of copper píchis (a small coin).
1584 Death of Ráden Tápa Sána.
1585 Death of the Chéribon prince in Matárem, and the murder of Mérta Náta.
1586 The appearance of a comet.
1587 The banishment of the Pangéran Adipáti to Lipúra, to convert himself and do penance.
1588 Death of the Rátu.
1592 Order of the Susúnan to Aria Purbáya to kill Wíra Mang'gala.
​—​— Explosion of the powder magazine, by which the sentries were killed in a shocking manner.
​—​— The period when Europeans came to Matárem with a present of two horses.
1594 The Susúnan's desire for maidens.
​—​— An uncommon eruption from a volcano, throwing out a great quantity of fire with sand and stones.
1595 The arrival of the Búgis people at Demóng and the march of the Matárem forces joined with those of Manchanagara and the sea-coast.
1596 The return of them, with the separation of Madura, Sumenap, and Grésik from the Matárem obedience. They join the rebel Truna Jaya.
1600 They join together and attack Matárem and destroy it, [Vol II Pg 261] the Susúnan leaving the court with the Rátu and family, after having burnt the same; death of the Susúnan at Tegál Wángi, and election of his son Mangkúrat.
1601 Mangkúrat marches over Japára to Kediri, to exterminate the rebel Truna Jáya, with the assistance of the Company.
1602 Kedíri taken and Trúna Jáya surrenders.
1603 Trúna Jáya killed. The Susúnan goes to Pájang and establishes his court at Kerta Sura. Pangéran Pugar rebels against him, but is defeated and flies to Baglen.
1604 Insurrection of the rebel Raju Námrúd at Salingo, and the destruction of the kráton by fire. The subjection of Pangéran Púgar to the Susúnan.
1605 The arrival of ambassadors from Johór and Palémbang at Kérta Súra with a present of an elephant.
1606 Marriage of the Susúnan with a princess of Gíri.
1607 Age of Wána Kasúma.
1608 Circumcision of the Pangéran Adipáti, and preparations made for a great chase at Kérta Súra.
1609 Death of Captain Tak and other Europeans, and the rebellion of the eastern people, who join Surapátí. Several personal combats on the Paseban to divert the Susúnan.
1612 The deplorable state of the court of Kérta Súra.
1613 Fire in the mosque at Kérta Súra.
1614 Excursion of the Susúnan to Manchíngan.
1610 March of the Balambángan people coming from the south across Kedíri, where they assassinate men and women.
1620 The Balambángan people march to Pasúruan, but are attacked at Pachatan and repulsed, with a loss of one thousand men.
​—​— The court at Kérta Súra surrounded with a wall of stone.
1621 The conquest of Pranarága.
1622 Death of Ráden Súkra and the illness of the Susúnan.
1623 Kamagetan attacked by the people of Báli. [Vol II Pg 262]
1624 Personal combat between the Javans Téka and Janála, who were both killed.
1625 March of the Susúnan to Matárem, and embassy sent by the Susúnan to Mecca, in order to obtain the rank of Haji.
1626 Death of Susúnan Mangkúrat.
1628 His son succeeds, and Ráden Súria Kasúma usurps the rank and title. The latter is defeated by the people of Kérta Súra and taken prisoner. Pangéran Púgar is arrested, and afterwards released. Being offended he proceeds to Semárang.
1630 The people of the western sea-coast conquer Kérta Súra and expel the Susúnan from his dálam, who goes to the east, where he joins Surapáti with a thousand followers.
1630 Arrival of the Europeans at Kérta Súra, who upon finding it deserted, appointed Pangéran Púgar as Susúnan.
1631 The court of the exiled Susúnan held at Kedíri.
1633 Pangéran Purbáya marches against the exiled Susúnan and conquers him. Surapáti is killed. He marches with the Admiral towards Pasúruan, where he is again victorious. The exiled Susúnan delivers himself up to the Admiral, who sends him to Surabáya, from whence he is sent with his Rátu and minister, Jaeng Rána, to Batavia.
1634 Appointment of Jáya Puspíta as Adipáti of Surabáya.
1635 Appointment of Tumúng'gung Chákra Jáya as minister, who is sent to Batavia in the following year.
1637 Journey of the Susúnan to Matárem.
1641 Journey of the Susúnan to Gáding.
1642 First expedition of the Commodore to Surabáya. Conquest of Surabáya, in which the Admiral, Van der Lee, is killed. Appointment of Brinkman as Admiral.
1643 Death of the Susúnan Pakubuána the first, and the succession of his eldest son.
1644 Rebellion of Pangéran Blítar in Matárem, and the expedition of Admiral Brinkman against him, wherein the Admiral gained a complete victory. [Vol II Pg 263]
1645 Flight of Pangéran Blítar to Kamagétan. His death, and the transport of his body to Kérta Súra.
1648 Arrest of Pangéran Purbáya Aría, Dípa Nagára, and Surapáti, who were all sent to Batavia, from whence Pangéran Aría was afterwards recalled.
1651 Embassy of Tumúny'gung Níti Nágara to Batavia, and the death of Pangéran Purbáya.
1652 Journey of the Kiái Adipáti to Semárang, to pay the debt of the Susúnan to the Company.
1653 Arrest of Pangéran Aria Mángku Nagára, and his being delivered up to the Company.
1655 Death of Pangéran Mángkubúmi, and the arrival of the Commodore at Kérta Súra.
1656 The Kiái Adipáti dispatched to Semárang.
1657 An eruption from a volcanic mountain which emitted flame for three days.
1658 The Kiái Adipáti sent to Semárang, where he is arrested in the Dutch fort. Arrival of the Commodore at Kérta Súra.
1659 Raden Adipáti Nata Kasúma sent to Batavia.
1662 The Raden Adipáti sent to Batavia, and arrival of the Commodore at Kérta Súra.
1664 Journey of the Susúnan to Matárem.
1667 Conquest of Kérta Súra.
1668 Conquest of Prándu Láwang.
1670 Removal of the court of Súra Kérta to Sólo, which place is since called Súra Kérta Diníngrat.
1671 Arrival of General Imhoff at Súra Kérta.
1675 Death of Súsunan Pakubúana the second, and the time when Pangéran Aria Mangkubmi proclaimed himself Susúnan.
1676 Battle of Mangkubumi at Jenar. Conquest of Pakálongan by him.
1682 Interview between the Susúnan and Pangéran Mangkubumi. Peace established. The lands divided, and the Pangéran made Sultan of Yúgya Kérta Adiníngrat.
1685 Rebellion of Pangéran Aria Mánku Nagára at Súra Kérta. The Susúnan occupies his new palace.[Vol II Pg 264]
1686 Arrival of Pangéran Juru at Súra Kérta, and flight of Pangéran Anom.
1688 Dissolution of the marriage of the Susúnan with the Rátu of Madúra, and the death of Rátu Madúra Rétna and Ráden Radméja. The journey of the Rátu of Madúra to Madúra. Ráden Kúlon made Rátu.
1690 The Susúnan assists in the erection of the triumphal pillars of the mosque.
1692 The dálam is surrounded by a stone wall.
[Vol II Pg 265]

ACCOUNT
OF
THE SEVERAL PRINCIPAL DIVISIONS
OF
JAVA AND MADURA.

In several parts of this work, and in particular when treating of agriculture and revenue, reference has been made to the changes introduced by the British government in the internal management of the country, and to the information of a statistical nature which was collected with regard to its resources.

It may not be uninteresting to the reader to possess, in a compressed form, the result of the surveys and inquiries which were then set on foot, as far as the same were completed at the close of the British administration on Java. The Appendix L. contains a copy of the proclamation and of the general instructions issued by the government; the latter will sufficiently explain the principle on which the tables for the eastern districts were compiled.

BANTAM.

Bantam, once rich in its pepper plantations and the emporium of the Archipelago, had, in consequence of the restrictions of the Dutch company and the vicinity of Batavia, lost all its trade and importance, long before the arrival of the British.

The succession of the throne of Bantam was generally disposed of by the influence of the Dutch government: but the administration of the country and the collection of the port duties were till very lately entirely entrusted to him. This European influence, though strongly resisted in the first instance, had been long acquiesced in, till an attempt of the Dutch government, in the year 1808, to draw additional benefit from this province, gave occasion to an insurrection. The successive measures of introducing the cultivation of coffee into that part of the island, of opening the communication by means of new roads, and of constructing a new harbour, first[Vol II Pg 266] at Mew Bay, and afterwards at Merak Bay, imposed new and unusual burthens on the people; and so many deserted from the public works that an order was issued to the Resident, requiring him to inform the sultan that his first minister should be held responsible for the due execution of the public task assigned to the sultan's subjects. The desertion still continuing, an order still more peremptory was issued to the Resident, requiring him to call upon the sultan to deliver up his first minister immediately. In carrying these orders into execution, the Resident having imprudently risked his person, was murdered. This fatal accident was the occasion of sending a considerable military force to Bantam, by which an immediate and thorough change in the native government was effected. The reigning sultan was removed from the throne and banished to Amboina, and a relative was raised to the sovereign power.

This prince was placed under regulations dictated by the Dutch; for so fallen had the sovereigns of this once flourishing and powerful kingdom now become, that the form and solemnity of a treaty was not deemed necessary. The sultan ceded part of his territories to the westward, adjacent to the environs of Batavia, the bad administration of which had frequently given occasion to disturbances in the Batavian districts. The new sultan was allowed to administer the rest of his dominions under the superior rule of the Dutch government.

The public works to be carried on in Bantam, and the unusual burthens they imposed on the people, continued however to excite, from time to time, disturbances and insurrections. On one occasion a detachment, consisting of a lieutenant and eighteen dragoons, were surprised and murdered by the inhabitants. Several native Pangérans and chiefs fell victims to the same spirit of discontent and revenge, and another change in the person of the sultan was thought advisable; the new sultan was in consequence allured on board a vessel, and conveyed to Batavia, and in his place another chief was installed sultan of the high lands of Bantam, the Dutch reserving to themselves the direct administration of the low lands.

The country, however, remaining still in a disturbed state,[Vol II Pg 267] the Pangéran Akmet united under his banner the discontented people of all descriptions, in a more regular opposition to the European authority. From this time an extraordinary military force was constantly kept in Bantam: all attempts, however, to arrest the person of Akmet failed. His influence increased so much that proposals were made to him of a cession of part of the country: these, however, not being listened to, it was determined to abandon the interior to his depredations, until the inhabitants themselves, wearied of his arbitrary proceedings, might seek refuge with the European government.

The Dutch force being withdrawn from Bantam, Akmet availed himself of the presence of the British cruizers, during the blockade in 1811, to strengthen his influence by an intercourse with them, which he easily effected by furnishing them with supplies plundered by him from the inhabitants. By the cruizers he was considered as an unfortunate prince, maintaining his independence against the Dutch; and when the British troops landed, the sultan was his prisoner, and all Bantam under his controul.

At the conquest of Java by the British forces the extensive tracts of this fertile province were thus in the hands of a lawless rebel, the inhabitants were in a state of revolt, and universal anarchy and distrust had prevailed for several years. All idea of raising a revenue on account of government had been abandoned; and the general settlement of the country under European controul, was the most that could be hoped for.

In the year 1813 the sultan voluntarily resigned the administration of the country into the hands of the British government, in consideration of an annual pension of ten thousand Spanish dollars. With the detailed system of land revenue introduced into this province, an accurate survey was made of all the northern divisions; and a settlement having been made with each individual cultivator, the extent of population stated in the annexed table, as far as these districts are concerned, may be considered as in general correct. The population of the southern districts is estimated; and it may be observed, that the total population rather exceeds than falls short of what is stated.[Vol II Pg 268]

[Vol II Pg 269]
GENERAL ACCOUNT OF THE POPULATION OF BANTAM.
Num​­ber of Prin​­ci​­pal Vil​­lages. Num​­ber of Houses. Ho​­use​­hold​­ers. Mar​­ried Wom​­en. Children. To​­tal Pop​­u​­la​­tion in each Dis​­trict. Num​­ber of Buf​­fa​­loes. Ploughs. Settlement, 1815. Com​­puted To​­tal Pop​­u​­la​­tion
Males. Fe​­males. Males. Fe​­males. Sep​­a​­rate Leases grant​­ed for 1815. Quantity of Land.
Báhus. Chang​­kala
ESTIMATED POPULATION of the SOUTHERN DISTRICTS 9890
Parunkujang 1800 To​­tal Population 231604
Binwangan 2200
Parayan 1140
Somang 1305
Sajira 1745
Kosik 1700
9890
Tenára 9 1277 1221 226 983 1017 642 4089 306 364 573 1363 93 5452
Pontang 23 3620 2618 1030 2594 2766 2326 11334 980 1635 1170 2334 402 14112
Ragas 11 980 842 180 758 754 750 3235 764 610 490 848 398 3835
Tambakbaya 24 1281 869 392 791 752 669 3473 796 758 939 1593 134 4073
Panénan 25 1248 822 427 788 1089 921 4047 667 578 598 938 442 4547
Charoas 37 1639 1323 497 1150 1294 984 5248 709 648 697 1206 198 6200
Kalodran 14 1506 1129 352 1130 1123 918 4652 828 883 800 1521 278 5200
Chépété 14 1119 916 200 886 643 558 3203 519 487 826 1194 3 3400
Bántam 12 1818 1786 409 1677 614 749 5235 306 231 237 361 326 5699
Chebaning 8 1073 842 230 839 788 579 3278 598 807 353 516 451 3578
Sirang or Siram 42 5396 4399 980 4349 4826 4139 18693 2303 2787 2764 3108 484 19793
Pakam 16 1062 937 108 930 598 449 3022 457 399 741 1094 2 3321
Baros 51 2310 2888 384 2795 1825 1266 9158 1851 2033 2334 2723 146 9536
Cheomas 41 2690 2266 414 2267 902 723 6572 522 1872 2755 3640 167 6972
Sardang 26 2700 1990 731 1846 2155 1991 8713 944 804 1247 1699 168 8914
Jawána 5 1179 908 271 883 1066 952 4080 555 515 673 959 464 4390
Taraté 15 1842 1425 436 1357 1312 1102 5632 516 485 514 858 269 6400
Chelegon 34 4767 3825 1010 3685 3512 3212 15244 2531 2335 1321 2724 403 15744
Bujenagára 12 2693 2025 461 1964 2198 2096 8744 1009 1229 817 1710 30 9034
Anyer 41 4765 4710 490 4746 4346 3660 17952 2375 1695 4341 2437 180 18151
Charita 3 ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— 4143 ​— ​— 880 359 389 4143
Chéringbin 32 2667 2472 193 2403 1882 1454 8404 2105 1140 3846 1730 199 15384
Panimbang 11 443 405 38 399 306 207 1858 53 ​— ​— ​— ​— 1957
Minés 15 563 544 29 525 379 289 1756 382 386 673 284 358 1906
Kanánga 24 668 591 25 575 305 248 1744 419 373 808 291 195 1890
Chemánok 32 1558 1389 148 1409 888 802 4636 1178 1060 1406 1468 33 5237
Kadulósong 26 596 596 74 596 290 107 1663 941 772 2055 2241 67 4320
Chekek 20 993 767 230 739 492 482 2710 598 551 710 756 311 2841
Pandéglang 20 1020 794 234 780 611 489 2908 625 622 932 805 138 3329
Chadasári 39 2347 2227 321 2165 1576 1331 7620 1323 1233 2039 1247 75 8154
Pamaryan ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— 2174 ​— 508 543 449 2174
Underándi 11 656 570 88 537 423 399 2017 499 459 426 360 178 2217
Chikándi 11 517 463 70 433 360 329 1655 374 324 332 598 271 1763
Kolelet 18 624 586 128 569 359 341 1983 356 285 634 692 220 2535
Chrangasa ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— 2403 ​— ​— 1025 601 382 2403
Konchang 16 1017 910 109 853 470 400 2742 626 555 980 792 48 3110
Total 738 58631 50055 10865 48401 40921 45624 193946 31289 28915 41444 42122 54 221714
[Vol II Pg 270]

BATAVIA.

Of the splendour and magnificence which procured for this capital the title of the Queen of the East, little is now to be found. Streets have been pulled down, canals half filled up, forts demolished, and palaces levelled with the dust. The state-house, where the supreme court of justice and magistracy still assemble, remains; merchants transact their business in the town during the day, and its warehouses still contain the richest productions of the island, but few Europeans of respectability sleep within its limits.

The following table comprises all fixed residents within the city and its immediate suburbs, to the distance of about two miles. The municipal regulations of this part of the island having been continued in force, and the execution of them, for the most part, delegated to Dutch authorities, it is to be apprehended that the return of the population now given may be found deficient in accuracy. A poll-tax being levied on the Chinese, and other town duties rendering it the interest of the parties to withhold information as to the exact numbers, it is also probable that the total amount considerably exceeds that now given: certainly it does not fall short of it.

Account of the Population of the City of Batavia and its Suburbs.
Males. Females. Total.
Europeans 367 176 543
Descendants of Europeans Born in the Colony 706 779 1,485
Arabs 197 121 318
Moormen 71 48 119
Maláyus 1,756 1,399 3,155
Javans 1,782 1,549 3,331
Búgis 1,032 831 1,863
Makásars 1,148 881 2,029
Bálians 4,063 3,657 7,720
Sumbáwas 141 91 232
Mandharese 112 111 223
Ambonese and Bandas 57 25 82
Timorese and Butanese 16 8 24
Pernákans or half-caste Chinese 357 248 605
Chinese 6,976 4,273 11,249
Slaves 7,001 7,238 14,239
Grand Total 47,217
[Vol II Pg 271]

ENVIRONS OF BATAVIA.

The lands comprehended under the denomination of the Batavian environs (Ommelanden), originally formed the principal part of the Jakátra dominions. The native chiefs were early deprived of the administration by the cautious policy of the Dutch, and the lands subsequently sold in property to Europeans and others. According to an official valuation in 1813, the amount of property in houses and lands, belonging to individuals, in the city of Batavia and its environs, including the private estates near Buitenzorg, exceeded eleven millions of rix-dollars silver, and the taxes were levied on that estimate. Various systems of government had been attempted in this district before the arrival of the British in 1811, but so inefficacious were they, that it was considered unsafe for Europeans to travel without arms. As a measure of police, a portion of this division, formerly comprized within the Ommelanden, was recently annexed to the regency of Buitenzorg, and formed into a separate administration. For the population of these two divisions, as they now stand, see General Table, Vol. I, page 62, Table II.

BATAVIAN OR PRIANGEN REGENCIES.

Each of these regencies was administered by a native chief, immediately dependent on government, and without any power beyond his district. The chiefs, however, were mostly allied by frequent intermarriages, and traced their descent from different chieftains of the ancient empire of Pajajáran. Separated, on the one hand, from the dominions of the Susúnan and sultan by the country of Chéribon, and on the other from Bantam by the Batavian environs, their power never became formidable to the European government. The coffee monopoly in the Western Districts having been maintained on its former principle during the period of the British administration, the inhabitants of these districts were precluded from feeling the effects of the system introduced into the more eastern districts; but as it was in contemplation,[Vol II Pg 272] eventually, to render the change general throughout the island, preparatory measures were taken, and a survey of these districts being made, the annexed statistical table was framed. The produce stated in the table is estimated according to the native returns; these districts likewise furnish an annual quantity of about seventy-five thousand hundred-weight of coffee for the European market.[Vol II Pg 273]

GENERAL ACCOUNT OF THE POPULATION AND CULTIVATION OF THE PRIANGEN REGENCIES, INCLUDING KRAWANG AND INDRAMAYU.
Names of the Re​­gen​­cies and Di​­vi​­sions. Num​­ber of Vil​­lages. Cul​­ti​­va​­tors. Not Cul​­ti​­va​­tors. Gen​­er​­al Pop​­u​­la​­tion. Buf​­fa​­loes. Cows. Hor​­ses. Plo​­ughs. Sawahs. Tipar or Tegal. Cof​­fee Gro​­unds. Mai​­ze in Cha​­ins. Teak For​­ests. To​­tal of Land in Cul​­ti​­va​­tion. To​­tal Pro​­duce Val​­ue of To​­tal Pro​­duce Co​­coa-nut Tre​­es.
Men. Wom​­en. Boys. Girls. Men. Wom​­en. Boys. Girls. First Sort. Sec​­ond Sort. Third Sort. First Sort. Sec​­ond Sort. Third Sort. Pari. Mai​­ze. Pari. Mai​­ze.
Ju​­ngs. Ju​­ngs. Ju​­ngs. Ju​­ngs. Ju​­ngs. Ju​­ngs. Tja​­ins. Tja​­ins. Sh. Dols. Sh. Dols.
Chi​­an​­jur 522 6138 6196 7158 8154 1504 1543 2226 2315 35234 3493 ​— 717 2011 1006 3608 565 59 1181 1 15757 92 ​— 22242 22898 ​— 68596 ​— 19256
Ban​­dung 721 10804 10814 10869 11176 2597 2615 3537 3710 56122 10897 1043 932 6277 370 1818 956 512 448 90 24371 ​— ​— 31571 26083 ​— 78249 ​— 12616
Su​­me​­dang 650 8573 8664 7987 8932 97 104 97 140 34594 10086 538 1176 6738 338 3478 1971 292 210 122 10397 ​— 88 16897 32718 ​— 98154 ​— 9000
Lim​­bang'​an 168 2163 982 2812 2916 571 588 595 647 12270 2966 439 486 973 244 295 245 95 75 68 13789 ​— ​— 14821 6152 ​— 21258 ​— 6410
Su​­ka​­pu​­ra 456 8500 8082 4995 6026 458 380 216 473 29130 3783 48 953 1101 194 625 214 197 549 529 663 701 20 3718 5020 ​— 14819 1401 7446
Kra​­wang 94 4240 4340 1780 1680 300 270 320 220 13150 6073 ​— 565 ​— 1761 6083 1043 537 ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— 4260
Cha​­sem and Pa​­ma​­nu​­kan 124 5394 6000 3651 2985 150 175 120 160 18475 3613 36 467 ​— 3428 334 6237 25 ​— 40032 ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— 2596
Kan​­dan​­ga​­ur and Ind​­ra​­ma​­yu 59 4885 5155 3710 2575 500 470 360 300 17955 2606 60 153 ​— 482 381 537 ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— 7486
Gun​­ung Par​­ang 590 3569 3600 2547 2664 1053 1203 918 849 16403 2289 233 269 1942 486 474 523 16 347 ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— 11183 ​— 33549 ​— 2662
Chi​­put​­ri 24 291 289 401 383 93 95 101 98 1751 452 ​— 84 290 210 ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— 1265 ​— 3795 ​— 170
Chi​­ka​­long 50 800 856 526 625 210 244 219 280 3760 620 ​— 132 279 83 67 9 33 59 ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— 1804 ​— 5412 ​— 1204
Uj​­ung Br​­um 61 751 746 960 781 233 240 310 239 4260 793 557 179 113 75 73 79 28 13 ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— 809 ​— 2427 ​— 44
To​­tals 3519 56118 55724 47396 48897 7766 7927 9019 9431 243104 47671 2954 6113 19724 8677 17236 12379 1794 2882 40842 64977 793 108 80249 107932 ​— 326259 1401 73150
[Vol II Pg 274]

CHERIBON.

Chéribon fell under the European influence in the year 1666, and has now been subject to it one hundred and fifty years. It was among the first cessions made to the Dutch by the princes of Matárem.

This province had, like Bantam, been in a state of continued insurrection for many years preceding the arrival of the English. The importance of the town of Chéribon has considerably declined, partly in consequence of these commotions, and partly of epidemic fevers which prevailed some years ago.

The extensive and fertile province of Chéribon did not, under the administration of the Dutch Company, yield those profits which were expected from its great natural resources; especially of indigo, coffee, and teak timber. The Sultans of Chéribon, descended from one of the founders of the Mahomedan religion on Java, and on that account objects of religious veneration among the more orthodox Mahomedans, were always left in the entire management of the native administration. The coffee and other produce exacted from the people, was delivered by the Sultan, and paid for to him. Under this system, the residents of Chéribon enjoyed an annual income of from eighty to one hundred thousand dollars (£23,000), while the Sultans were every year more and more impoverished. At length an insurrection broke out in 1800, the ostensible reason of which was the unjust removal of Sultan Kanóman, who had been banished by the Dutch to Amboina, and the real cause probably the great oppression of the common inhabitants, occasioned by the distress of the Sultans, and the indiscriminate admission of too many Chinese in the interior of the country. The reinstallation of Sultan Kanóman, in 1808, by Marshal Daendals, did not appease the minds of the people; and the unwillingness or inability of that prince to restore the public tranquillity, led to an entirely new organization of the country.

When the island was conquered by the British troops, the rebel, Bágus Rángen, still maintained himself in the eastern parts of Kráwang, in perfect defiance of the power of govern[Vol II Pg 275]ment, sternly rejecting the offers of pardon and oblivion which were on that occasion offered to him, and eluding or defeating all attempts to destroy or ensnare him. Such was the veneration in which this man was regarded by the people of these districts, and such the dread in which he was held by the native chiefs (through whose means alone his apprehension was to be accomplished), that he remained in perfect quiet and security, maintained a correspondence with the disaffected throughout the province, secured his regular supplies of ammunition and provisions from all parts, and even from the town of Chéribon, and tranquilly prepared for the ensuing rainy season, to appear again in arms and ravage the country.

In a few months after the establishment of a British resident in the district, the person of Bágus Rángen was secured, and the country reduced to a perfect state of tranquillity, in which it remained during the whole period of the British administration.

The following extracts from the report of the gentleman[279] intrusted with the introduction of the land revenue system into Chéribon, may serve to illustrate the state of this province:​—

"There is, perhaps, with the exception of the environs of Batavia and Bantam, no part of the island of Java which has so severely felt the bad effects of mismanagement as the district of Chéribon. These effects are visible in the character of the people, who, even among the Javans, are remarkable for a careless indifference to the pursuit of gain, for indolence, for want of energy, and for a credulity and ignorance, rendering them perpetually a prey to delusion. Within the last forty years, in particular, a series of mismanagement and oppression is said to have wrought a most unfavourable change in the character of the people, to have destroyed the habits of industry, and consequently to have changed even the aspect of the country, so that it is no longer to be recognized as the fruitful district which it is once represented to have been. Within the last seven years, famine, mortality, and civil commotion, have contributed to aggravate the evils of mismanagement, and in one or other form have desolated some of the finest parts of the district. [Vol II Pg 276]

"The history of the civil commotions alluded to afford a striking illustration of the character of the inhabitants. It certainly gives no countenance to the representation of those observers who ascribe to the Javans in general a character of the most invincible apathy, stupidity, and indolence, as if these qualities had been irrevocably engrafted upon their very natures. A better knowledge of their real character enables us to draw very different inferences, and to ascribe to them a much larger share of sensibility, than could from reasoning be expected to result from the apparently overwhelming causes which contribute to degrade their faculties and blunt their energies and exertions.

"It is an instructive fact, highly worthy of remark, that the successive commotions and insurrections which have for many years disturbed the peace of Chéribon, have uniformly had their origin in the Javan districts, where the rights of private property in the soil were almost entirely overlooked, that they have only occasionally extended from the Javan to the Súnda districts, and have never reached the Priang'en lands, where property in the soil is fully acknowledged and respected.

"The taxes which fell upon agriculture were so various, and at the same time assumed such a variety of shapes, that it is impracticable to state in a word the actual portion which by law or custom fell to the share of the sovereign.

"The most material, however, are comprehended in the following catalogue, to which are added, others falling equally upon agricultural industry, though not constituting a direct source of revenue to government:

"1. The contingent, called in the language of the country, gántang. This is usually estimated at fifteen parts in one hundred of the rice crop; but it was, in truth, arbitrarily assessed, according to a rough conjecture of the capability of the country. In such of the Priang'en lands as continued to be directly administered by their own native chiefs, the amount paid to the latter was determined with some accuracy to be one tenth of the gross produce, embracing, as in the first case, the rice crop only.

"2. A poll tax, or rather a tax on families, called by the natives of this part of the country, pagalántang. Part was[Vol II Pg 277] levied on account of government, and part on account of the chiefs.

"3. Market duties or tolls. These were literally levied on every article vended in the markets, embracing as well the whole produce of their agriculture, as that of their petty arts and manufactures.

"4. A tax on the slaughter of buffaloes, necessarily affecting the price of food, and discouraging the rearing of an animal indispensable to a successful prosecution of the labours of agriculture.

"5. The charge of lodging and feeding travellers, and transporting troops, baggage, and stores of all descriptions. This is termed in the native language, súguh, or the rites of hospitality.

"6. The obligation to construct and repair bridges, roads, and public buildings, throughout the country.

"7. The obligation to cultivate and deliver, at inadequate rates, certain foreign productions, which the actual condition of the country, the habits of the people, and still less their interests, could never have prompted them to undertake, if permitted freely to pursue their own interest. Coffee was the chief of these products.

"8. In speaking of the taxes which fall upon the husbandman and the land, the Zakat must not be forgotten. This is nominally a tithe, or tenth. The payment is indeed optional, but from religious motives seldom withheld. Every tenth sheaf of the rice crop is allotted to religious purposes, but every man measures its size according to his own piety. Its amount was of course very variable, but almost always materially smaller, and generally indeed not half the size, of the ordinary sheaf. This practice gives rise to a well known distinction between the ordinary sheaf and that allotted for the clergy, when the grain is brought to market."

The table annexed was framed on the introduction of the detailed system; but it not being practicable, on account of the extent of the province, for the European officer to visit every part of the district, many of the particulars are stated upon estimate; particularly the quantity of cultivated land and amount of produce, which, it is to be apprehended, are rather over-rated. The return, however, of the population may be considered more accurate. [Vol II Pg 278]

GENERAL ACCOUNT OF THE CULTIVATION AND POPULATION OF CHERIBON, 1815.
DI​­VI​­SIONS. SAWAH. VAL​­UE OF SAWAH. To​­tal Sawah in Cul​­ti​­va​­tion. To​­tal Val​­ue of Sawah. TE​­GAL. VAL​­UE OF TE​­GAL. To​­tal Quan​­ti​­ty of Te​­gal. To​­tal Val​­ue of Te​­gal. To​­tal Sawah and Te​­gal in Cul​­ti​­va​­tion. To​­tal Val​­ue of the Crop.
First Sort. Sec​­ond Sort. Third Sort. First Sort. Sec​­ond Sort. Third Sort. First Sort. Sec​­ond Sort. Third Sort. First Sort. Sec​­ond Sort. Third Sort.
Ju​­ngs. Ju​­ngs. Ju​­ngs. Ru​­pees. Ru​­pees. Ru​­pees. Ju​­ngs. Ru​­pees. Ju​­ngs. Ju​­ngs. Ju​­ngs. Ru​­pees. Ru​­pees. Ru​­pees. Ju​­ngs. Ru​­pees. Ju​­ngs. Ru​­pees.
Bengawan 820 1119 2587 87565 89529 138012 4527 315107 8 68 19 700 3676 77 4395 4605 319503
Cheribon 78 319 1318 8345 25544 70327 1716 104217 19 94 10 1543 5015 113 6569 1829 110786
Chiamis 231 352 24658 18815 583 43474 51 144 4089 7704 195 11794 779 55269
Chikaso 182 409 873 19435 32768 46607 1465 98811 138 30 7374 138 7404 1604 106216
Lingajati 431 315 429 46012 25242 22884 1175 94140 49 34 42 5304 2758 2276 126 10339 1302 94479
Gebang 70 140 567 7479 11216 30288 778 48984 20 27 1640 1456 47 3097 826 52082
Losari 3 8 600 320 713 32024 612 33057 9 3 759 197 13 957 625 34014
Kuningan 91 247 901 9718 19765 42768 1140 72252 15 341 1244 18208 356 19452 1497 91705
Telaga 101 195 338 10833 15643 18066 635 44542 1 22 648 148 1824 34593 672 36565 1308 81108
Sindangkasi 294 361 459 31440 28926 24521 1116 84888 19 302 1529 16126 321 17655 1437 102544
Raja Galu 289 377 591 30921 30211 31534 1258 92667 98 5274 98 5274 1357 97941
Panjalu 24 84 265 2663 6754 14181 375 23598 399 21298 399 21298 774 44897
Forest Districts 156 500 831 16646 40072 44320 1487 101039 ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— 39 ​— 39 1488 101079
Total 2770 4074 10111 296035 326383 534347 16867 1156776 50 197 2304 5481 16116 123236 2555 144838 19431 1291627
[Vol II Pg 279]
Ma​­les. Fe​­ma​­les. At​­tach​­ed to the Cul​­ti​­va​­tion of the Soil. Em​­ploy​­ed in oth​­er Av​­o​­ca​­tion. To​­tal Num​­ber of Buf​­fa​­loes. To​­tal Num​­ber of Hor​­ses. To​­tal Num​­ber of Plo​­ughs. JA​­VANS. CHI​­NESE
To­tal Ja​­vans. Ma​­les. Fe​­ma​­les. Class of Cul​­ti​­va​­tors. Em​­ploy​­ed in oth​­er Av​­o​­ca​­tion. To​­tal Num​­ber of Buf​­fa​­loes. To​­tal Num​­ber of Hor​­ses. To​­tal Num​­ber of Plo​­ughs. To­tal Chi​­nese. Ma​­les. Fe​­ma​­les. Class of Cul​­ti​­va​­tors. Em​­ploy​­ed in oth​­er Av​­o​­ca​­tion. To​­tal Num​­ber of Buf​­fa​­loes. To​­tal Num​­ber of Hor​­ses. To​­tal Num​­ber of Plo​­ughs.
To​­tal Pop​­u​­la​­tion 216001 105421 110550 132215 83889 48866 6623 17356 213658 99837 113821 132106 81659 42846 6489 17318 2343 109 2234 1093 1141 320 124 48
[Vol II Pg 280]

EASTERN DISTRICTS.

The Dutch, in acquiring these extensive and valuable provinces on the sea coast, were considered to have acquired the same right as had previously been enjoyed by the native sovereigns, and deemed it advisable to continue the long-established principles and forms of native government. In the same manner, therefore, as the emperors of Java were looked upon as the ultimate proprietors of the land in their dominions, the Dutch Company were considered as possessing the same right with respect to the provinces under their immediate administration; and the princes of Java having been in the habit of entrusting the government, police, and revenue of the different provinces to inferior chiefs, the same system was adhered to under the Dutch. The native system of drawing again the revenues of government from these inferior chieftains, by means of contributions in kind, in money, and by occasional fees and presents, was also maintained; a portion of the common class of inhabitants under the native government being assigned to the performance of different sorts of public works, transports for government, the repair of the roads, the construction of public buildings, the guarding of public stores, the loading and unloading of government vessels, the cutting of grass, the cutting of fire-wood, the keeping a police guard, and other offices, the same principle was adopted under the management of the Dutch, and as under the native form of administration a reward for these feudal services was granted, by the use of an assignment of rice fields allotted either to individuals or to certain classes of workmen, but withdrawn from them as soon as the public duty ceased to be performed, the same mode of remuneration was also adopted by the Dutch.

These principles of administration being combined with the mercantile interests of the Dutch Company, gave rise to certain contracts, which the native chiefs of the different districts (termed by the Dutch Regents) were compelled to enter into on their appointment, for the annual delivery to the Company, either without payment, which was called a contingent, or for a price far below that of the market, which[Vol II Pg 281] was termed a forced delivery at a fixed price, of such quantity of rice, pepper, cotton, indigo, and other articles, as the market and present state of trade and commerce made most desirable; while the planting of coffee and the cutting of teak timber was always considered as a feudal service, for which, besides the use of a certain portion of rice fields, allotted to the individuals or villagers employed, a certain payment was made, about equivalent to the expenses of transportation to the government yards or storehouses.

The administration of the Eastern Districts, including Madúra, was vested in a governor and council for the north-east coast of Java. The governor was, at the same time, director of the Company's trade, and resided at Semárang. Subordinate to this government was that called Gezaghebber and council, established at Surabáya, the chief place of the east point of Java; while in the other principal districts along the coast, as at Tegal Pekalóngan, Japára, Jawána, &c. residents were fixed: no direct correspondence from the eastern part of the island was maintained with the government of Batavia, except by the governor, usually termed the governor of Java, or by the governor and council. Even the residents at the native courts of Súra Kérta and Yúgya Kérta, only communicated with government through him. By him the succession to the throne of the Susúnan and of the sultan was generally determined; the appointments of native chiefs and regents were made on his proposal; the Company's farms and duties for the Eastern Districts were sold by him; and though he had literally no salary whatever from the treasury of government, he was supposed to draw from his situation a yearly revenue of between three and four hundred thousand dollars. At the same time the correspondence with the Eastern Districts was neither very regular nor very expeditious, and the management of the Company's affairs in those districts was as much a mystery to the chief government at Batavia, as the governor of Semárang chose to make it.

This system continued, without any essential alteration, until after the arrival of Marshal Daendals in 1808.

Some of the contingents, such as indigo, cotton yarn, pepper, &c. to which, however, the regents had not without[Vol II Pg 282] great reluctance submitted for many years, were then indeed partially abolished; but, on the other hand, all the peculations of the Dutch servants residing along the coast, who had for their own private emolument raised the deliveries, chiefly of rice, at some places to double, and at others to more than double the quantity legally assessed on the regents, at the same time paying for them at some places two-thirds, and at others only half the price assigned by the government, were at once transferred and confirmed to government, by a single decree, ordering, without previous inquiry or reserve, that all the produce which had been usually delivered to the respective residents along the coast, under whatever denomination, should, in the same quantities and with their surplus weight, be for the future delivered to government, and that no higher prices should be granted for the same than that which the residents used to pay.

Equally inconsistent and oppressive in its consequences was a measure by which, on the one hand, the wages of private labour and services were raised to an unusual price, while on the other, the public works, the public transports, and the plantations of coffee, were carried on either gratuitously or at the former inadequate rate. This regulation raised the price of all the first necessaries of life, and principally of rice, which the common classes of the inhabitants felt as a heavier grievance than any they had ever experienced from the former system. Till then, the colonial administration had always, as far as was consistent with their own monopoly and forced delivery of produce at fixed rates, taken particular care to keep down the price of rice and salt as much as possible.

But a measure, still more pernicious in its consequences, was that by which the native regents were each of them subjected to a contribution in hard cash, while at the same time the power of levying taxes on the inhabitants of these districts was left in their hands; a system which, in all cases, afforded them a pretext, and in many an apology, for the most vexatious oppression.

The commendation which is due to this administration is rather founded on those arrangements which had a tendency to prevent peculations in the inferior European servants in[Vol II Pg 283] every department, and on the abolition of the subordinate governments of Semárang and Surabáya. Fixed salaries were allowed to the residents; they were prohibited from keeping private vessels, and from all trade in the products of their districts. The sale of the government farms and duties was made public, and in a great measure free from corruption, by which means they were immediately raised to more than three times the former amount: each branch of public expenditure and receipt was fixed and ascertained; new and practicable roads were established; the appointment of every native, from the first rank as low as a Demáng, was reserved to the government alone; the Javan custom of pawning the person for a small sum of money was prohibited; fees and presents were abolished. By such measures, a much more regular, active, pure, and efficient administration was established on Java than ever existed at any former period of the Dutch Company. [Vol II Pg 284]
[Vol II Pg 285]

JAVA.

The following tables are abstracted from the detailed reports furnished during the course of the survey made by the British government. In some particulars they may be deficient and inaccurate, as sufficient time had not been given to complete the detailed survey of the country directed by the Revenue Instructions; but the general results may, for the most part, be depended upon. [Vol II Pg 286]

[Vol II Pg 287]
GENERAL ACCOUNT OF THE CULTIVATION AND POPULATION OF TEGAL.
Names of Di​­vi​­sions. Cul​­ti​­vat​­ed Land. Saw​­ah. Teg​­al. Cof​­fee Gar​­dens. Es​­ti​­mat​­ed Pro​­duce. Es​­ti​­mat​­ed Val​­ue of Pro​­duce. To​­tal es​­ti​­mat​­ed Val​­ue.
Pari. Mai​­ze. Cof​­fee. Pari. Mai​­ze. Cof​­fee.
Ju​­ngs. Ju​­ngs. Ju​­ngs. Ju​­ngs. Amats. Amats. Pik​­uls. Ru​­pees. Ru​­pees. Ru​­pees. Java Ru​­pees.
Tegal 5920 5694 204 21 367198 16335 541 538557 6125 5198 549881
Brebes 3924 3371 394 159 152354 31520 2740 223453 11820 26305 261578
Pamalang 2817 2378 293 145 114820 23499 2551 168403 8812 24491 201707
Grand Total 12661 11443 891 325 634372 71354 5832 930413 26757 55994 1013166
Names of Di​­vi​­sions. To​­tal Pop​­u​­la​­tion. Mal​­es. Fe​­mal​­es. Cul​­ti​­va​­tors. Ho​­use​­hold​­ers not Cul​­ti​­va​­tors. Buf​­fa​­loes. Hor​­ses. Plo​­ughs. JAV​­ANS. CHI​­NESE and oth​­er FOR​­EIGN​­ERS.
To​­tal Num​­ber of Jav​­ans. Mal​­es. Fe​­mal​­es. Buf​­fa​­loes. Hor​­ses. Plo​­ughs. To​­tal Num​­ber of Chi​­nese. Mal​­es. Fe​­mal​­es. Buf​­fa​­loes. Hor​­ses. Plo​­ughs.
REMARKS: Average Value of a Jung of Cul​­ti​­vat​­ed Land, Java Rupees 79.
Tegal 123208 58185 65023 11693 7990 14689 1435 5685 121238 57224 64014 14663 1359 5682 1025 518 507 13 64 ​—
Brebes 24833 9354 15485 5546 1143 5313 747 2668 24230 9118 15111 5199 733 2602 583 220 363 91 12 43
Pamalang 30374 14000 16342 5547 1549 4172 491 1800 29978 13823 16123 4160 471 1794 396 177 219 22 20 6
Grand Total 178415 81539 96850 22786 10682 24174 2673 10153 175446 80165 95248 24022 2563 10078 2004 915 1089 126 96 49
[Vol II Pg 288]
GENERAL ACCOUNT OF THE CULTIVATION AND POPULATION OF PAKALONG'AN, 1815.
No. Na­mes of Dis​­tricts. Num​­ber of Vil​­lages. To​­tal Land. Land in Vil​­lages. Land not in​­clud​­ed in Vil​­lages. Cul​­ti​­vat​­ed Land. Sa​­wah. Te​­gal. Free Land. Cof​­fee Gro​­unds. Teak For​­ests. Gov​­ern​­ment Land. Land in use in Vil​­lages. Ca​­pa​­ble of be​­ing Cul​­ti​­vat​­ed. Un​­fit Land. Jun​­gle Land. Land not in use in Vil​­lages. Es​­ti​­mat​­ed Pro​­duce. Es​­ti​­mat​­ed Val​­ue of Pro​­duce. To​­tal Es​­ti​­mat​­ed Val​­ue.
Pa​­ri. Mai​­ze. Of Pa​­ri. Of Mai​­ze.
Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Ama​­ts. G. Ama​­ts. G. J. Ru​­pees. St. J. Ru​­pees. St. J. Ru​­pees. St.
1 Pa​­ka​­long'​an 1107 10765 ​— ​— 5474 ​— 4974 ​— 500 ​— 1657 ​— 235 ​— 50 ​— ​— 7416 ​— 235 ​— 114 ​— 3000 ​— 3114 ​— 149220 ​— 8000 ​— 238752 ​— 1600 ​— 240352 ​—
2 U­lu­ja­mi 247 2593 1 ​— ​— 1612 ​— 1608 3 3 1 261 2 ​— 3 3 ​— 1877 1 30 2 340 1 340 1 680 3 48025 12 43 5 116528 26 8 12 116537 8
3 Ba­tang 527 7970 ​— ​— ​— 2850 ​— 2750 ​— 100 ​— 1000 ​— 178 ​— 250 ​— ​— 4278 ​— 700 ​— 500 ​— 2500 ​— 3000 ​— 82500 ​— 1600 ​— 165000 ​— 500 ​— 165500 ​—
To­tal 1881 21328 1 ​— ​— 9936 ​— 9332 3 603 1 2918 2 413 ​— 303 3 ​— 13571 1 965 2 954 1 5840 1 6794 3 279745 12 9643 5 520280 26 2108 12 522389 8
[Vol II Pg 289]
No. Na­mes of Dis​­tricts. To­tal Pop­u­la­tion. Ma­les. Fe­ma­les. At­tach­ed to the Cul­ti­va­tion of the Soil. Em­ploy­ed in oth­er Av­o­ca­tions. To­tal Num­ber of Buf­fa­loes. To­tal Num­ber of Hor­ses. To­tal Num­ber of Plo­ughs. JA­VANS. CHI­NESE and oth­er For­eign­ers.
To­tal Ja­vans. Ma­les. Fe­ma­les. Class of Cul​­ti​­va​­tors. Em­ploy­ed in oth­er Av­o­ca­tions. Num­ber of Buf­fa­loes. Num­ber of Hor­ses. Num­ber of Plo­ughs. To­tal Chi­nese. Ma­les. Fe­ma­les. Class of Cul​­ti​­va​­tors. Em­ploy­ed in oth­er Av­o­ca­tions. Num­ber of Buf­fa­loes. Num­ber of Hor­ses. Num­ber of Plo­ughs.
REMARKS: Average Value of a Jung of cultivated land, 52 Rupees, 16 Stivers.
1 Pa​­ka​­long'​an 58432 25398 33034 14000 2928 7804 535 3000 57330 24730 32600 14600 2028 7800 510 3600 1102 ​— 300 668 434 4 25 ​—
2 U­lu­ja­mi 20278 9947 10331 4351 554 2469 126 1058 19968 9801 10167 4351 554 2469 119 1058 310 ​— 310 146 164 ​— 7 ​—
3 Ba­tang 36732 17842 18890 7810 423 6370 300 3270 36098 17476 18622 7800 250 6170 280 3220 634 10 73 366 268 200 20 50
To­tal 115442 53187 62255 26161 3905 16643 961 7328 113396 52007 61389 26751 2832 16439 909 7878 2046 10 783 1180 866 204 52 50[Vol II Pg 290]
[Vol II Pg 291]
[Vol II Pg 292]
GENERAL ACCOUNT OF THE CULTIVATION AND POPULATION OF SEMARANG, 1815.
No. Na­mes of Divisions. Num​­ber of Vil​­lages. Land in Vil​­lages. Land not in​­clud​­ed in Vil​­lages. Cul​­ti​­vat​­ed Land. Sa​­wah. Te​­gal. Free Land. Cof​­fee Gro​­unds. Teak For​­ests. Gov​­ern​­ment Land. Land in use in Vil​­lages. Ca​­pa​­ble of be​­ing Cul​­ti​­vat​­ed. Un​­fit Land. Jun​­gle Land. Land not in use in Vil​­lages. Es​­ti​­mat​­ed Pro​­duce. Es​­ti​­mat​­ed Val​­ue of Pro​­duce. To​­tal Es​­ti​­mat​­ed Val​­ue.
Pa​­ri. Mai​­ze. Of Pa​­ri. Of Mai​­ze.
Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Ama​­ts. G. Ama​­ts. G. Ru​­pees. St. Ru​­pees. St. Ru​­pees. St.
1 Serondol 75 2818 1 1240 3 1343 1 1083 1 260 0 357 3 81 3 105 2 42 3 1931 0 309 3 231 2 346 0 887 1 33513 3 7260178 0 67026 9 4738 26 71765 5
2 Sing'en 201 14602 0 15291 1 5936 1 5816 2 119 3 937 1 0 7038 1 28 1 13940 0 268 2 177 3 215 3 662 0 161711 4 2974400 0 304547 21¼ 2127 21 306675 12¼
3 Grogol 52 682 0 692 0 607 2 606 2 1 0 70 1 0 0 2 2 680 1 ​— 1 3 ​— 1 3 18869 0 4000 0 38149 18 8 0 38157 18
4 Ugarang 87 1463 1 3385 0 795 3 681 1 114 2 200 3 59 3 41 3 17 2 1115 2 64 1 131 2 152 0 347 3 17040 10 2471530 0 34082 12 1680 1 35762 13
5 Ambarawa 131 5947 1 6117 2 1631 2 1395 3 235 3 391 3 107 3 2642 2 66 3 4840 1 347 3 239 2 519 3 1107 0 43691 15 5488924 0 87383 15 4236 17¾ 91620
6 Salatiga 126 3497 0 5964 2 1560 3 1201 3 359 0 391 2 26 2 124 1 46 2 2149 2 451 2 159 0 737 0 1347 2 34738 12½ 7757668 0 69477 5776 24½ 75254 2
7 Boyalali 61 3675 2 1636 1 2057 3 714 3 1343 0 270 2 14 0 5 0 7 2 2354 3 247 2 764 3 308 2 1320 3 18186 0 29389643 0 36372 0 19567 2 55939 2
8 Wedong 60 3945 1 2540 0 2344 3 2311 0 33 3 119 3 0 0 34 3 2499 1 377 0 90 0 979 0 1446 0 54683 7 540967 0 97899 16½ 491 24½ 98391 11
9 Demak 101 3353 0 3760 0 2354 3 2348 0 6 3 228 3 0 0 9 3 2593 1 352 0 25 2 382 1 759 3 56433 18 162000 0 87088 180 0 87268
10 Manjer 62 7661 0 7619 0 1498 1 1483 3 14 2 459 1 0 3221 1 1 2 5180 1 1321 2 103 2 1055 3 2480 3 37359 1 348870 0 45868 18¼ 184 46052 18¾
11 Sambung 87 2572 2 2560 0 1405 3 1394 3 11 0 201 3 0 2 2 6 3 1616 3 564 3 23 2 367 2 955 3 32894 15 ​— 49433 18 0 49451
12 Chankiran 34 799 1 2486 1 334 2 332 0 2 2 64 2 61 1 91 0 6 3 558 0 37 2 40 1 163 2 241 1 9332 7 45935 0 18670 21 57 1 18727 22
13 Limbangan 36 1090 3 5770 0 359 3 343 1 16 2 59 2 51 3 61 0 6 1 538 1 69 2 21 0 462 0 552 2 10401 8 240614 0 19876 0 348 21 20224 21
14 Kaliwungu 125 3816 3 6306 0 931 2 782 2 149 0 224 0 45 1 1062 3 29 1 2292 3 205 2 429 3 888 3 1524 0 23951 1 4021817 0 47902 3 3618 11 51520 14
15 Brebuan 95 1468 2 2500 0 789 3 740 3 49 0 179 0 19 3 419 1 6 2 1414 1 24 2 17 2 12 1 54 1 22788 3 590618 0 45576 9 676 26 46253 5
16 Kandal 97 1876 1 481 3 1085 2 1065 3 19 3 173 1 0 0 25 1 1284 0 1 28 2 563 2 592 1 29839 3 165325 0 59678 9 341 8 60019 17
17 Truko 88 1754 0 2268 0 963 1 948 1 15 0 116 2 12 1 144 3 18 2 1255 1 23 1 204 3 270 3 498 3 29745 15 183240 0 58670 11 265 24 58936 58
Totals 1518 61022 2 70618 1 26000 2 23249 3 3750 3 4446 0 480 0 14959 3 357 0 46243 1 4665 0 2690 0 7424 1 14779 1 635179 61645729 0 44316 28¼ 44316 28¼ 1212019
[Vol II Pg 293]
No. Names of Di​­vi​­sions. To​­tal Pop​­u​­la​­tion. Mal​­es. Fe​­mal​­es. Cul​­ti​­va​­tors. Ho​­use​­hold​­ers not Cul​­ti​­va​­tors. Buf​­fa​­loes. Hor​­ses. Plo​­ughs. JAV​­ANS. CHI​­NESE AND OTH​­ER FOR​­EIGN​­ERS.
To​­tal Jav​­ans. Mal​­es. Fe​­mal​­es. Cul​­ti​­va​­tors. Ho​­use​­hold​­ers not Cul​­ti​­va​­tors. Buf​­fa​­loes. Hor​­ses. Plo​­ughs. To​­tal Chi​­nese. Mal​­es. Fe​­mal​­es. Cul​­ti​­va​­tors. Ho​­use​­hold​­ers not Cul​­ti​­va​­tors. Buf​­fa​­loes. Hor​­ses. Plo​­ughs.
REMARKS: Average Value of a Jung of cultivated Land 7 Rup. 46312[Vol II Pg 294]
[Vol II Pg 295]
[Vol II Pg 296]
[Vol II Pg 297]
1 Serondol 21014 10417 10597 2667 2713 3909 31 1404 21014 10417 10597 2667 2713 3909 31 1404 ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​—
2 Sing'en 48847 24871 23976 9351 4317 8839 164 4663 48558 24733 23825 9351 4246 8839 162 4663 289 138 151 ​— 71 ​— 2 ​—
3 Grogol 7478 3955 3523 747 1727 1138 23 490 7407 3919 3488 747 1704 1138 23 490 71 36 35 ​— 23 ​— ​— ​—
4 Ugarang 14942 7472 7470 2582 1406 2578 174 981 14902 7453 7449 2582 1394 2578 168 981 40 19 21 ​— 12 ​— 6 ​—
5 Ambarawa 26791 13418 13373 6798 1121 4264 422 1561 26769 13406 13363 6798 1116 4264 420 1561 22 12 10 ​— 5 ​— 2 ​—
6 Salatiga 25902 13063 12839 3679 403 6308 538 1942 25763 12988 12775 3679 379 6304 531 1942 139 75 64 ​— 24 4 7 ​—
7 Boyalali 21633 10929 10704 4995 407 7499 264 2932 21628 10928 10700 4995 406 7499 264 2932 5 1 4 ​— 1 ​— ​— ​—
8 Wedong 21993 11037 10956 3967 1728 2887 26 1538 21390 10736 10654 3922 1629 2871 26 1531 603 301 302 45 99 16 ​— 7
9 Demak 21301 10845 10456 2972 2314 3042 32 1532 21241 10813 10428 2972 2301 3042 32 1532 60 32 28 ​— 13 ​— ​— ​—
10 Manjer 8919 4487 4432 2121 864 2422 88 1310 8882 4468 4414 2120 857 2410 87 1304 37 19 18 1 7 12 1 6
11 Sambung 9983 5040 4943 2201 513 2012 56 1038 9846 4967 4879 2182 490 1994 55 1029 137 73 64 19 23 18 1 9
12 Chankiran 5532 2904 2628 1349 119 1036 102 361 5532 2904 2628 1349 119 1086 102 361 ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​—
13 Limbangan 5775 2904 2871 1494 59 1162 66 445 5764 2898 2866 1494 56 1162 64 445 11 6 5 ​— 3 ​— 2 ​—
14 Kaliwungu 22856 11322 11534 4090 1893 2167 69 667 22668 11231 11437 4089 1867 2085 60 653 188 91 97 1 26 82 9 14
15 Brebuan 12437 6230 6207 2867 163 3242 15 1137 12437 6230 6207 2867 163 3242 15 1137 ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​—
16 Kandal 20609 10269 10340 3531 1518 3439 53 1343 20511 10224 10287 3531 1501 3431 49 1342 98 45 53 ​— 17 8 4 1
17 Truko 11598 5846 5752 2795 139 2757 28 1075 11598 5846 5752 2795 139 2757 28 1057 ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​—
Totals 307610 155009 152601 58206 21404 58751 2151 24419 305910 154161 151749 58140 21080 58611 2117 24382 1700 848 852 66 324 140 34 37
Estimated Population of the Town and Suburbs ​20,000
Total Population ​327,610
GENERAL ACCOUNT OF THE CULTIVATION AND POPULATION OF KEDU, 1815.
No. Na­mes of Di­vi­sions. Num​­ber of Vil​­lages. To​­tal Land. Land in Vil​­lages. Land not in​­clud​­ed in Vil​­lages. Cul​­ti​­vat​­ed Land. Sa​­wah. Te​­gal. Free Land. Cof​­fee Gro​­unds. Teak For​­ests. Gov​­ern​­ment Land. Land in use in Vil​­lages. Ca​­pa​­ble of be​­ing Cul​­ti​­vat​­ed. Un​­fit Land. Jun​­gle Land. Land not in use in Vil​­lages. Es​­ti​­mat​­ed Pro​­duce. Es​­ti​­mat​­ed Val​­ue of Pro​­duce. To​­tal Es​­ti​­mat​­ed Val​­ue.
Pa​­ri. Mai​­ze. Of Pa​­ri. Of Mai​­ze.
Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Ama​­ts. G. Ama​­ts. G. Ru​­pees. St. Ru​­pees. St. Ru​­pees. St.
1 Probolingo 452 ​— ​— ​— 2121 0 1382 0 739 0 ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— 89090 0 11736 0 149187 0 3909 0 153096 0
2 Asinan 496 ​— ​— ​— 1705 0 1084 0 621 0 ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— 52650 0 9889 0 89248 0 3295 0 92543 0
3 Bala 354 ​— ​— ​— 801 0 648 0 153 0 ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— 36640 0 2982 0 59400 0 994 0 60394 0
4 Minoreh 602 ​— ​— ​— 1943 0 1524 0 419 0 ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— 92476 0 8097 0 154457 0 2692 0 157149 0
5 Bandongan 412 ​— ​— ​— 987 0 946 0 41 0 ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— 59024 0 884 0 98373 0 328 0 98701 0
6 Magelan 334 ​— ​— ​— 6225 0 658 0 5567 0 ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— 40846 0 133383 0 67409 0 43856 0 111265 0
7 Prapag 169 ​— ​— ​— 476 0 442 0 34 0 ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— 21060 0 816 0 36765 0 272 0 37037 0
8 Jetis 557 ​— ​— ​— 2710 0 2495 0 215 0 ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— 148864 0 3160 0 248063 0 1434 0 249497 0
9 Lumpuyang 254 ​— ​— ​— 1203 0 1038 0 165 0 ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— 56204 0 3354 0 93673 0 1118 0 94791 0
10 Somowono 249 ​— ​— ​— 881 0 540 0 341 0 ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— 20420 0 6219 0 34033 0 2073 0 36106 0
Totals 3879 ​— ​— ​— 19052 0 10757 0 8295 0 ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— 616274 0 180520 0 1030608 0 59971 0 1090579 0
No. Names of Di​­vi​­sions. To​­tal Pop​­u​­la​­tion. Mal​­es. Fe​­mal​­es. At­tach­ed to the Cul­ti­va­tion of the Soil. Em­ploy­ed in Oth­er Av­o­ca­tions. Buf​­fa​­loes. Hor​­ses. Plo​­ughs. JAV​­ANS. CHI​­NESE AND OTH​­ER FOR​­EIGN​­ERS.
To​­tal Jav​­ans. Mal​­es. Fe​­mal​­es. Class of Cul­ti­va­tors. Em­ploy­ed in Oth­er Av­o­ca­tions. Buf​­fa​­loes. Hor​­ses. Plo​­ughs. To​­tal Chi​­nese. Mal​­es. Fe​­mal​­es. Class of Cul­ti­va­tors. Em­ploy­ed in Oth­er Av­o­ca­tions. Buf​­fa​­loes. Hor​­ses. Plo​­ughs.
REMARKS: Average value of a Jung of Cultivated Land, J. R. 57 7¼.
1 Probolingo 18667 9333 9334 8741 592 2660 209 1330 18642 9321 9321 8741 580 2652 202 1326 25 12 13 ​— 12 8 7 4
2 Asinan 16740 8333 8407 8019 314 1692 167 1041 16713 8318 8395 8019 299 1686 155 1039 27 15 12 ​— 15 6 12 2
3 Bala 14086 7043 7043 5437 1606 1762 992 1762 14044 7022 7022 5437 1585 1762 263 1762 42 21 21 ​— 21 ​— 3 ​—
4 Minoreh 45668 22815 22853 22201 614 5713 367 5713 45565 22767 22798 22192 575 5697 346 5704 103 48 55 9 39 16 21 9
5 Bandongan 14902 7415 7487 7312 103 2520 358 1240 14908 7378 7430 7312 66 2520 315 1240 94 37 57 ​— 37 ​— 43 ​—
6 Magelan 14587 7302 7285 7045 257 3615 566 2479 14447 7239 7208 7044 195 3610 652 2477 140 63 77 1 62 5 14 2
7 Prapag 4858 2420 2438 2320 100 642 152 311 4781 2383 2398 2318 65 612 117 306 77 37 40 2 35 30 35 5
8 Jetis 53090 25717 27373 25225 492 6835 1441 3053 52494 25392 27102 25137 255 6555 1288 2955 596 325 271 88 237 280 153 108
9 Lampuyang 9788 4915 4873 4709 206 5378 1095 1298 9778 4910 4868 4709 201 5378 1095 1298 10 5 5 ​— 5 ​— ​—
10 Somowono 4924 2451 2473 2406 45 1306 281 1133 4899 2437 2462 2406 31 1302 274 1131 25 14 11 ​— 14 4 7 2
Total 197310 97744 99566 93415 4329 32123 5002 19370 196171 97167 99004 93315 3852 31774 4707 19238 1139 577 562 100 477 349 295 13
[Vol II Pg 298]
GENERAL ACCOUNT OF THE CULTIVATION AND POPULATION OF JIPANG AND GROBOGANG, 1815. [Vol II Pg 299]
No. Names of Di​­vi​­sions. Num​­ber of Vil​­lages. To​­tal Land. Land in Vil​­lages. Land not in​­clud​­ed in Vil​­lages. Cul​­ti​­vat​­ed Land. Sa​­wah. Te​­gal. Free Land. Cof​­fee Gro​­unds. Teak For​­ests. Gov​­ern​­ment Land. Land in use in Vil​­la­ges. Ca​­pa​­ble of be​­ing Cul​­ti​­vat​­ed. Un​­fit Land. Jun​­gle Land. Land not in use in Vil​­lages. Es​­ti​­mat​­ed Pro​­duce. Es​­ti​­mat​­ed Val​­ue of Pro​­duce. To​­tal Es​­ti​­mat​­ed Val​­ue.
Pa​­ri. Mai​­ze. Of Pa​­ri. Of Mai​­ze.
Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Ama​­ts. G. Ama​­ts. G. J. Ru​­pees. St. J. Ru​­pees. St. J. Ru​­pees. St.
1 Grobogan 97 2088 0 1559 0 325 0 1271 2 1222 2 48 3 216 3 303 0 22 0 70 3 107 2 46 2 50 0 204 0 20634 0 288 0 10317 0 96 11 10413 11
2 Purwadados 133 2692 0 2316 0 226 0 1935 1 1813 4 121 2 251 1 207 2 18 2 130 0 138 1 12 2 150 0 26970 0 726 0 13485 0 212 25 13127 25
3 Wirosari 149 2665 3 1025 2 1268 3 825 2 745 3 79 3 144 3 1254 3 14 0 55 2 235 0 1 1 135 0 371 1 21600 0 474 0 10800 0 158 3 10958 3
4 Panolan 223 4722 0 921 3 2377 2 712 0 579 0 133 0 146 3 2372 2 5 0 63 0 200 0 275 3 947 0 1422 3 19898 0 798 0 9949 0 266 23 10215 23
5 Padangan 191 3900 2 959 1 2458 1 795 0 661 0 134 0 119 0 2404 1 54 0 45 1 103 2 50 0 329 2 483 0 23478 0 798 0 11739 0 266 7 12005 7
6 Rajawesi 207 5585 2 1403 3 2513 2 1160 0 1002 1 158 3 182 2 2580 0 13 2 61 1 457 3 631 2 578 3 1668 0 27066 0 948 0 13533 0 316 28 13849 28
7 Sekarang 167 2705 0 1759 0 161 1 1461 0 1378 3 82 1 177 0 148 1 13 0 121 0 292 1 80 0 412 2 784 3 40890 0 492 0 20445 0 164 19 20609 19
8 Bowerno 159 2126 2 1556 1 139 2 1223 3 1157 3 66 0 202 2 107 3 31 1 130 0 178 1 253 0 451 1 34118 0 264 0 17059 0 132 23 17191 23
9 Jenawun 30 466 3 278 0 53 3 164 1 130 1 34 0 40 0 50 3 3 0 23 3 139 0 46 0 185 0 7564 0 136 0 3782 0 68 16 3850 16
Total 1356 26952 0 11728 2 9523 1 9548 1 8691 1 858 0 1480 2 9348 3 174 1 700 9 1851 2 1085 1 2764 1 5700 1 222218 0 4924 0 111109 0 1713 5 112822 8
[Vol II Pg 300]
[Vol II Pg 301]
No. Names of Di​­vi​­sions. To​­tal Pop​­u​­la​­tion. Mal​­es. Fe​­mal​­es. At­tach­ed to the Cul­ti­va­tion of the Soil. Em­ploy­ed in Oth­er Av­o­ca­tions. Buf​­fa​­loes. Hor​­ses. Plo​­ughs. JAV​­ANS. CHI​­NESE AND OTH​­ER FOR​­EIGN​­ERS.
To​­tal Jav​­ans. Mal​­es. Fe​­mal​­es. Class of Cul­ti­va­tors. Em­ploy­ed in Oth­er Av­o­ca­tions. Buf​­fa​­loes. Hor​­ses. Plo​­ughs. To​­tal Chi​­nese. Mal​­es. Fe​­mal​­es. Class of Cul­ti­va­tors. Em­ploy­ed in Oth­er Av­o­ca­tions. Buf​­fa​­loes. Hor​­ses. Plo​­ughs.
REMARKS: Average Value of the produce of a Jung of cultivated Land, Java Rupees 11, 24 stivers.
GENERAL REMARKS.
Under the head of "Government Lands," is given the extent of the ground attached to the house in which the Tumung'gung or chief of the district formerly lived, the alun alun, or what is commonly termed the paséban, likewise the extent of the public road. Most part of the land inserted under the head of "Jungle Land" is capable of being converted into sawah and tegal lands, and the reason for such land not being found in a state of cultivation, the soil being in general very rich, is the want of population. [Vol II Pg 302]
1 Grobogan 6783 3133 3650 410 419 1594 86 733 6713 3093 3670 1410 407 1582 80 727 70 40 30 ​— 12 12 6 6
2 Purwadados 6461 3154 3307 1860 421 2128 112 1103 6381 3094 3287 1846 408 2102 109 1090 80 60 20 14 14 26 3 13
3 Wirocari 4377 2071 2306 1650 258 2077 161 984 4347 2051 2296 1650 252 2063 144 977 90 20 10 ​— 6 14 7 7
4 Panolan 8128 3857 4271 1461 372 1796 131 704 8114 3849 4265 1461 367 1793 126 700 14 8 6 ​— 5 3 5 4
6 Padangan 1245 5498 5747 1774 179 2564 323 250 11160 5458 5722 1774 164 2560 318 2247 65 40 25 ​— 15 4 5 3
6 Rajawesi 10838 4894 5944 1607 194 3028 247 1132 10819 4884 5935 1607 190 3022 243 1130 19 10 9 ​— 4 6 4 2
7 Sekarang 8053 4139 3924 1630 107 2542 139 1259 7963 4069 3894 1630 87 2528 129 1254 30 70 20 ​— 20 14 10 5
8 Bowerno 8126 3809 4317 1555 146 1924 215 1278 8111 3799 4312 1666 142 1920 210 1276 15 10 5 ​— 4 4 5 2
9 Jenawun 2501 1138 1363 436 128 554 66 265 2481 1126 1355 436 122 548 63 263 20 12 8 ​— 6 6 3 2
Totals 66512 31693 34829 13494 2224 18197 1470 9708 66109 31423 34736 13480 2138 18118 1422 9664 403 250 133 14 86 89 48 44
GENERAL ACCOUNT OF THE CULTIVATION AND POPULATION OF JAPARA, AND JAWANA, 1816.
No. Na­mes of Dis​­tricts. Num​­ber of Vil​­lages. To​­tal Land. Land in Vil​­lages. Land not in​­clud​­ed in Vil​­lages. Cul​­ti​­vat​­ed Land. Sa​­wah. Te​­gal. Free Land. Cof​­fee Gro​­unds. Teak For​­ests. Gov​­ern​­ment Land. Land in use in Vil​­lages. Ca​­pa​­ble of be​­ing Cul​­ti​­vat​­ed. Un​­fit Land. Jun​­gle Land. Land not in use in Vil​­lages. Es​­ti​­mat​­ed Pro​­duce. Es​­ti​­mat​­ed Val​­ue of Pro​­duce. To​­tal Es​­ti​­mat​­ed Val​­ue.
Pa​­ri. Mai​­ze. Of Pa​­ri. Of Mai​­ze.
Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Ama​­ts. G. Ama​­ts. G. Ru​­pees. St. Ru​­pees. St. Ru​­pees. St.
1 Japara 146 2077 0 1730 0 12 0 1719 0 1421 0 309 0 420 0 120 0 35 0 4 0 1710 0 20 0 208 0 250 0 26999 0 2890 0 53998 0 5750 0 59778 0
2 Kudus 171 3050 0 2968 0 12 0 2965 0 2824 0 141 0 53 0 3 0 2965 0 20 0 30 0 56400 0 1410 0 112960 0 3820 0 115780 0
3 Pati 519 9935 0 9523 0 12 0 9523 0 8669 0 914 0 134 0 13 0 4 0 9523 0 60 0 100 0 200 0 100 0 121376 0 8540 0 242752 0 17080 0 259832 0
4 Jawana 135 3389 0 3345 0 12 0 2833 0 3066 0 23 0 68 0 16 0 3 0 2830 0 256 0 47770 0 345 0 95540 0 690 0 96230 0
Total 971 18451 0 17566 0 48 0 17040 0 15980 0 1387 0 420 0 375 0 64 0 14 0 17028 0 336 0 328 0 480 0 100 0 252545 0 13185 0 505250 0 26340 0 531620 0
[Vol II Pg 303]
No. Names of Di​­vi​­sions. To​­tal Pop​­u​­la​­tion. Mal​­es. Fe​­mal​­es. At­tach­ed to the Cul­ti­va­tion of the Soil. Em­ploy­ed in Oth­er Av­o­ca­tions. Buf​­fa​­loes. Hor​­ses. Plo​­ughs. JAV​­ANS. CHI​­NESE AND OTH​­ER FOR​­EIGN​­ERS.
To​­tal Jav​­ans. Mal​­es. Fe​­mal​­es. Class of Cul­ti­va­tors. Em­ploy­ed in Oth­er Av­o­ca­tions. Buf​­fa​­loes. Hor​­ses. Plo​­ughs. To​­tal Chi​­nese. Mal​­es. Fe​­mal​­es. Class of Cul­ti­va­tors. Em­ploy­ed in Oth­er Av­o­ca­tions. Buf​­fa​­loes. Hor​­ses. Plo​­ughs.
GENERAL REMARKS.
The best sawah of Japara yields from twenty-six to twenty-one amats of pari per jung; but there being a quantity of sawah of a very poor soil, it has been found, that the average will not be to each jung more than sixteen, which this calculation is made on. The tegals are calculated at ten amats per jung.
The best sawahs of Kudus produces from thirty-one to twenty-five amats per jung at the first crop, and should the farmer sow his seed early, it will produce a second crop in the course of the year. The cultivators In this district, generally speaking, plant their lands with other cultivation, after procuring a crop of pari, such as jagon, katela, kapas, and the indigo plant. The third of this division being lands of a very inferior quality, and situated high, it has been found that the average does not exceed more than twenty amats per jung. The tegals are also rated at ten amats per jung.
The division of Pati is much larger than the others, and the best sawah produces from thirty to twenty amats per jung, and in some few places yields a second crop; but in consequence of there being in this division a quantity of land which produces but little, and the sixth of the crops being often destroyed by the wild hogs, the average cannot be rated higher than fourteen amats per jung throughout.
The division of Jawana has a great quantity of sawah, and the last may be rated at twenty-eight to thirty amats per jung, but a small part of this being poor, and also being subject to continual inundations from the river of Jawana, it is not calculated to produce more than seventeen amats per jung throughout.
The rate of an amat at pari is two rupees, which is the price at the time of harvest through out the Residency.
This statement comprehends all assignments to native chiefs and village officers, and taken from the actual measurement of the sawahs and tegals.
The average value of the produce of a jung of cultivated land, thirty-one Rupees. [Vol II Pg 304]
1 Japara 48728 23439 25289 8917 3434 7755 376 4210 47925 23055 24870 8885 3082 7531 356 4104 803 32 352 384 419 224 20 106
2 Kudus 36634 17857 18777 6378 2711 5698 239 2828 36216 17647 18569 6269 2610 5521 222 2728 418 109 101 210 208 177 17 100
3 Pati 90429 45622 44807 19022 2251 18407 554 10514 89986 45436 44350 18992 2095 18347 535 10484 443 30 156 186 257 61 19 30
4 Jawana 40205 20142 20163 5614 5216 5411 400 2853 39300 19646 19654 5584 4750 5399 392 2848 1005 30 466 496 509 12 3 13
Total 216096 107060 109036 39931 13612 37272 1569 20413 213427 105784 107643 39730 12537 36798 1505 20164 2669 201 1075 1276 1393 474 64 249
GENERAL ACCOUNT OF THE CULTIVATION AND POPULATION OF REMBANG, 1815.
No. Na­mes of Dis​­tricts. Num​­ber of Vil​­lages. To​­tal Land. Land in Vil​­lages. Land not in​­clud​­ed in Vil​­lages. Cul​­ti​­vat​­ed Land. Sa​­wah. Te​­gal. Free Land. Cof​­fee Gro​­unds. Teak For​­ests. Gov​­ern​­ment Land. Land in use in Vil​­lages. Ca​­pa​­ble of be​­ing Cul​­ti​­vat​­ed. Un​­fit Land. Jun​­gle Land. Land not in use in Vil​­lages. Es​­ti​­mat​­ed Pro​­duce. Es​­ti​­mat​­ed Val​­ue of Pro​­duce. To​­tal Es​­ti​­mat​­ed Val​­ue.
Pa​­ri. Mai​­ze. Of Pa​­ri. Of Mai​­ze.
Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Ama​­ts. G. Ama​­ts. G. Ru​­pees. St. Ru​­pees. St. Ru​­pees. St.
1 Rambang 568 23020 3 18890 0 4130 3 8081 1 7382 2 698 3 1076 3 30 3 9403 3 327 1 18890 0 2627 0 947 0 556 3 4130 3 156182 0 22951 4 364498 0 11020 4 375518 4
2 Lasem 319 10996 2 9570 1 1426 1 5356 2 4362 2 993 3 525 3 33 2 3631 1 53 2 9570 1 451 0 245 1 729 3 1426 1 94219 0 33844 19 235547 0 16235 22 251782 7
3 Tuban 441 15423 3 11093 1 4330 2 5239 3 4792 2 447 2 684 0 31 1 5069 0 68 3 11093 1 950 3 1440 3 1939 0 4330 2 103994 0 14908 8 259974 0 7156 0 267130 0
Total 1328 49441 0 39553 2 9887 2 18677 2 16537 2 2140 0 2286 3 35 2 18104 0 449 2 39553 2 4028 3 2633 0 3225 2 9887 2 354395 0 71704 7 850019 0 34411 26 894430 11
[Vol II Pg 305]
No. Names of Di​­vi​­sions. To​­tal Pop​­u​­la​­tion. Mal​­es. Fe​­mal​­es. At­tach­ed to the Cul­ti­va­tion of the Soil. Em­ploy­ed in Oth­er Av­o­ca­tions. Buf​­fa​­loes. Hor​­ses. Plo​­ughs. JAV​­ANS. CHI​­NESE AND OTH​­ER FOR​­EIGN​­ERS.
To​­tal Jav​­ans. Mal​­es. Fe​­mal​­es. Class of Cul­ti­va­tors. Em­ploy­ed in Oth­er Av­o­ca­tions. Buf​­fa​­loes. Hor​­ses. Plo​­ughs. To​­tal Chi​­nese. Mal​­es. Fe​­mal​­es. Class of Cul­ti­va­tors. Em­ploy­ed in Oth­er Av­o­ca­tions. Buf​­fa​­loes. Hor​­ses. Plo​­ughs.
REMARKS: Average value of the produce of a Jung of cultivated land, 43 Rup.
1 Rembang 70790 33535 37255 46223 24567 12646 1529 6542 69653 33013 36640 46223 23430 12608 1489 6542 1137 1137 522 615 ​— 38 40 ​—
2 Lasem 50972 24269 26703 32769 18203 10254 1677 4260 48993 23317 25676 32769 16224 10122 1602 4258 1979 1979 952 1027 ​— 132 75 2
3 Tuban 36768 17400 19368 24238 12530 9203 1211 3819 35993 17043 18050 24238 11755 9022 1127 3819 775 775 357 418 ​— 181 84 ​—
Total 158530 75204 83326 103230 55300 32103 4417 14621 154639 73373 81266 103230 51409 31752 4218 14619 3891 3891 1831 2060 ​— 351 199 2
[Vol II Pg 306]
[Vol II Pg 307]
GENERAL ACCOUNT OF THE CULTIVATION AND POPULATION OF GRESIK, 1815.
No. Na­mes of Dis​­tricts. Num​­ber of Vil​­lages. To​­tal Land. Land in Vil​­lages. Land not in​­clud​­ed in Vil​­lages. Cul​­ti​­vat​­ed Land. Sa​­wah. Te​­gal. Free Land. Cof​­fee Gro​­unds. Fish­pond and Ni­pan Land. Teak For​­ests. Gov​­ern​­ment Land. Land in use in Vil​­lages. Ca​­pa​­ble of be​­ing Cul​­ti​­vat​­ed. Un​­fit Land. Jun​­gle Land. Land not in use in Vil​­lages. Es​­ti​­mat​­ed Pro​­duce. Es​­ti​­mat​­ed Val​­ue of Pro​­duce. To​­tal Es​­ti​­mat​­ed Val​­ue.
Pa​­ri. Mai​­ze. Of Pa​­ri. Of Mai​­ze.
Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Ama​­ts. G. Num­ber of Heads of Corn. J. Ru​­pees. St. J. Ru​­pees. St. J. Ru​­pees. St.
District of Gresik.
1 Gresik 125 4684 2 4684 2 1453 2 1093 2 360 0 99 2 2644 2 87 0 4284 2 109 0 250 2 40 2 400 0 33336 19 7509362 44453 19 8809 27 53263 16
2 Bengawan Jeru 147 2602 3 2602 3 1958 3 1624 1 334 3 101 0 247 2 30 3 2338 1 57 3 183 2 23 2 264 2 71092 3 7113932 94774 2 8783 12 103557 14
3 Gunung Kendang 222 5311 2 5280 1 31 1 3459 2 3380 1 79 2 153 3 89 2 39 1 3742 1 626 0 912 0 1538 0 82563 10 1933800 109334 2 1674 22 111008 25
District of Sidaya.
1 Tambang'an 136 4263 0 4263 0 1794 1 1363 1 431 0 156 3 86 1 117 2 42 3 2197 2 381 1 1258 3 425 2 2065 2 47430 8 12515750 63242 0 12515 23 75757 22
2 Kudokan 144 6631 3 6631 3 2140 0 1823 3 283 2 164 3 32 2 888 4 12 3 3206 2 1270 3 1296 3 857 2 3425 1 71941 10 8971312 95927 23 8971 7 104898 30
3 Prijuk 133 5433 0 5433 0 1855 1 1643 2 200 1 160 2 11 1 24 2 1315 1 19 1 3374 3 325 2 999 2 733 1 2058 1 63009 3 6344890 84013 21 6344 21 90358 12
District of Lamongan.
1 Tengáhan 164 2931 2 2931 2 1721 2 1711 3 9 0 119 3 0 3 24 3 3 0 1868 3 374 3 504 1 183 3 1062 3 49943 3 246480 66595 7 205 12 66800 19
2 Gunung Kendang 195 3690 2 3690 2 1156 3 1138 0 7 3 88 0 11 0 851 1 2096 0 344 3 642 1 607 1 1594 2 28120 1 526480 37498 26 525 5 38024 2
3 Bengawan Jeru 130 2790 3 2790 3 1479 1 1399 0 80 1 58 3 1 2 1539 1 453 2 781 2 16 2 1251 1 59758 7 2161290 79682 0 2160 22 81842 21
Total 1396 38339 1 38308 0 31 1 17018 3 15177 1 1786 0 1102 3 55 2 3092 1 3197 2 236 1 24647 3 3943 1 6829 0 2887 3 13660 1 506785 4 47323296 675521 11 49995 0 725512 11
[Vol II Pg 308]
[Vol II Pg 309]
No. Names of Di​­vi​­sions. To​­tal Pop​­u​­la​­tion. Mal​­es. Fe​­mal​­es. At­tach­ed to the Cul­ti­va­tion of the Soil. Em­ploy­ed in Oth­er Av­o­ca­tions. Buf​­fa​­loes. Hor​­ses. Plo​­ughs. JAV​­ANS. CHI​­NESE AND OTH​­ER FOR​­EIGN​­ERS.
To​­tal Jav​­ans. Mal​­es. Fe​­mal​­es. Class of Cul­ti­va­tors. Em­ploy­ed in Oth­er Av­o­ca­tions. Buf​­fa​­loes. Hor​­ses. Plo​­ughs. To​­tal Chi​­nese. Mal​­es. Fe​­mal​­es. Class of Cul­ti­va­tors. Em­ploy­ed in Oth­er Av­o­ca­tions. Buf​­fa​­loes. Hor​­ses. Plo​­ughs.
REMARKS: Average Value of a Jung of cultivated Land ... 42 Java Rupees.
District of Gresik.
1 Gresik 17555 9047 8508 3216 496 2001 103 1135 17549 9044 8505 3216 495 2001 103 1135 6 3 3 ​— 1 ​— ​— ​—
2 Bengawan Jeru 17941 9430 8511 3159 268 2916 35 1406 17907 9410 8497 3158 264 2916 35 1406 34 20 14 ​— 4 ​— ​— ​—
3 Gunung Kendang 11283 5882 8401 3778 ​— 4417 121 2265 11283 5882 5401 3778 ​— 4417 121 2265 ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​—
District of Sidaya.
1 Tambang'an 14021 7217 6804 2843 208 3810 79 1585 13952 7188 6764 2841 109 3810 79 1585 69 29 40 ​— 19 ​— ​— ​—
2 Kudokan 16227 7863 6364 2341 1115 4116 194 1887 16133 7818 8315 2341 1095 4112 193 1887 94 45 49 ​— 20 4 1 ​—
3 Prijuk 12646 6335 6311 2340 434 2656 136 1421 12533 6282 6251 2340 403 2852 130 1421 113 53 60 ​— 31 4 6 ​—
District of Lamongan.
1 Tengáhan 10430 5323 5107 2020 14 2455 308 3567 10382 5299 5083 2020 ​— 2454 306 3567 48 24 24 ​— 14 1 2 ​—
2 Gunung Kendang 8434 4344 4090 1595 ​— 2068 72 2904 8434 4344 4090 1595 ​— 2068 72 2904 ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​—
3 Bengawan Jeru 6905 3540 3365 1300 ​— 1357 50 2537 6905 3540 3365 1300 ​— 1375 58 2537 ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​—
Total 115442 58981 56465 22592 2535 26014 1106 18707 115078 58807 56271 22591 2446 26005 1097 18707 364 174 190 1 89 9 9 ​—
[Vol II Pg 310]
[Vol II Pg 311]
GENERAL ACCOUNT OF THE CULTIVATION AND POPULATION OF SURABÁYA, 1815.
No. Na­mes of Dis​­tricts. Num​­ber of Vil​­lages. To​­tal Land. Land in Vil​­lages. Land not in​­clud​­ed in Vil​­lages. Cul​­ti​­vat​­ed Land. Sa​­wah. Te​­gal. Free Land. Cof​­fee Gro​­unds. Teak For​­ests. Gov​­ern​­ment Land. Land in use in Vil​­lages. Ca​­pa​­ble of be​­ing Cul​­ti​­vat​­ed. Un​­fit Land. Jun​­gle Land. Land not in use in Vil​­lages. Es​­ti​­mat​­ed Pro​­duce. Es​­ti​­mat​­ed Val​­ue of Pro​­duce. To​­tal Es​­ti​­mat​­ed Val​­ue.
Pa​­ri. Mai​­ze. Of Pa​­ri. Of Mai​­ze.
Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Ama​­ts. G. Heads. J. Ru​­pees. St. J. Ru​­pees. St. J. Ru​­pees. St.
1 Jaba Kota 202 2585 2 2585 2 2269 2 2159 1 105 3 278 2 4 2 0 1 2548 2 7 4 13 0 15 4 36 4 126281 0 280550 224148 23 6400 0 230548 23
2 Semimi 36 582 1 582 1 458 4 453 1 5 3 33 0 0 0 14 2 506 2 75 2 75 2 22618 0 5960 40146 28 340 0 40486 28
3 Jangála 492 6145 4 6145 4 4999 2 4756 1 210 3 756 3 32 1 5756 2 286 0 103 3 389 3 326820 0 1530650 664467 10 10660 0 675107 10
4 Rawah Pulu 319 4303 3 4303 3 3253 0 3159 2 77 2 864 2 16 0 20 1 4138 1 90 1 16 0 58 3 165 2 207974 0 559539 422880 14 3450 0 426330 14
5 Gunung Kendang 341 5205 2 5205 2 2072 0 1893 2 157 2 305 2 21 0 1550 3 3928 4 196 1 1080 1 1276 1 40681 15 400038 75358 4 4400 28 79759 2
6 Kabu 239 3386 3 3386 3 1158 1 1064 1 88 4 138 1 5 1 1397 2 2693 3 111 3 581 1 692 3 30028 9 265700 54672 24 3000 24 57673 17
7 Linkir 207 2399 2 2399 2 783 4 672 1 77 3 85 1 34 0 1242 3 2112 1 157 2 297 3 287 1 16207 9 160600 29550 58 2000 12 31551 1
8 Japan 454 4995 1 4995 1 2354 0 2053 0 300 3 445 1 0 1 643 3 3442 1 231 2 1552 4 1552 4 99625 2 1607813 133261 6 30900 26 164162 2
9 Wira Sába 480 5350 2 5350 2 1500 1 1168 2 331 3 253 2 1050 1 2803 4 121 1 2546 1 2546 1 45441 3 2005735 60754 14 40400 14 101154 28
Total 2770 34955 0 34955 0 ​— 18849 2 17379 3 1356 2 3160 2 113 1 5885 0 35 0 27931 0 1202 2 29 0 5791 3 7023 2 915675 19 6816585 1705240 12 101533 15 1806774 6
[Vol II Pg 312]
[Vol II Pg 313]
No. Names of Di​­vi​­sions. To​­tal Pop​­u​­la​­tion. Mal​­es. Fe​­mal​­es. At­tach­ed to the Cul­ti­va­tion of the Soil. Em­ploy­ed in Oth­er Av­o­ca­tions. Buf​­fa​­loes. Hor​­ses. Plo​­ughs. JAV​­ANS. CHI​­NESE AND OTH​­ER FOR​­EIGN​­ERS.
To​­tal Jav​­ans. Mal​­es. Fe​­mal​­es. Class of Cul­ti­va­tors. Em­ploy­ed in Oth­er Av­o­ca­tions. Buf​­fa​­loes. Hor​­ses. Plo​­ughs. To​­tal Chi​­nese. Mal​­es. Fe​­mal​­es. Class of Cul­ti­va­tors. Em­ploy­ed in Oth­er Av­o­ca­tions. Buf​­fa​­loes. Hor​­ses. Plo​­ughs.
REMARKS: Average Value of the produce of a Jung of cultivated Land, 44 Rupees.
1 Jaha Kota 21985 10604 11381 5308 281 2916 169 1652 21941 10590 11351 5308 272 2916 169 1652 44 ​— 9 14 30 ​— ​— ​—
2 Sernimi 2653 1285 1368 715 11 522 44 307 2653 1285 1368 715 11 522 44 307 ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​—
3 Jangála 33423 17057 16366 8495 157 9569 681 4967 33255 16973 16282 8495 111 9568 680 4967 168 ​— 46 84 84 ​— 1 ​—
4 Rawah Pulu 26818 12448 14370 6276 140 6202 838 3272 26785 12432 14353 6276 130 6202 832 3272 33 ​— 10 16 17 ​— 6 ​—
5 Gunung Kendang 10523 5617 4906 2817 ​— 4441 326 2316 16523 5617 4906 2817 ​— 4441 326 2316 ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​—
6 Kabu 5417 2986 2431 1491 ​— 1777 194 950 5417 2986 2431 1491 ​— 1777 194 950 ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​—
7 Linkir 4507 2448 2059 1215 ​— 1578 140 855 4507 2448 6059 1215 ​— 1578 140 855 ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​—
8 Japan 14754 7889 6865 4097 24 4097 771 2155 14622 7814 6815 4007 ​— 4097 765 2155 132 ​— 24 75 57 ​— 6 ​—
9 Wira Sába 7858 4483 3375 2293 21 2458 450 1224 7748 4450 3298 2293 ​— 2325 435 1120 110 1 21 33 77 133 15 4
Total 127938 64817 63121 32618 634 33560 3613 17698 126851 64595 62856 32617 524 33426 3585 17594 487 1 110 222 265 133 28 4
STATEMENT OF THE POPULATION OF THE TOWN OF SURABAYA.
Number of Kampongs belonging to the Town of Surabaya. Number of Horses. Men above Fifty Years of Age. Women above Fifty Years of Age. Men from Twenty to Fifty Years of Age. Women from Twenty to Fifty Years of Age. Men from Ten to Twenty Years of Age. Women from Ten to Twenty Years of Age. Male Children under the Age of Ten Years. Female Children under the Age of Ten Years. To­tal Population.
132 6679 1745 2680 5908 6841 771 540 3019 3070 24574
[Vol II Pg 314]
GENERAL ACCOUNT OF THE CULTIVATION AND POPULATION OF PASURUAN, 1815.
No. Na­mes of Dis​­tricts. Num​­ber of Vil​­lages. To​­tal Land. Land in Vil​­lages. Land not in​­clud​­ed in Vil​­lages. Cul​­ti​­vat​­ed Land. Sa​­wah. Te​­gal. Free Land. Cof​­fee Gro​­unds. Teak For​­ests. Gov​­ern​­ment Land. Land in use in Vil​­lages. Ca​­pa​­ble of be​­ing Cul​­ti​­vat​­ed. Un​­fit Land. Jun​­gle Land. Land not in use in Vil​­lages. Es​­ti​­mat​­ed Pro​­duce. Es​­ti​­mat​­ed Val​­ue of Pro​­duce. To​­tal Es​­ti​­mat​­ed Val​­ue.
Pa​­ri. Mai​­ze. Of Pa​­ri. Of Mai​­ze.
Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Ama​­ts. G. Heads. J. Ru​­pees. St. J. Ru​­pees. St. J. Ru​­pees. St.
1 Pasuruan 11204 3 6455 3 4375 2 2080 1 1148 1 121 2 1738 3 47 ​— 732 2 436 1 902 3 170467 14 14,312,312 340931 27 13926 18 372858 15
2 Bang'il 3829 ​— 3138 1 2888 2 249 2 654 2 17 2 203 2 24 3 19 1 89 1 27 2 113179 ½ 2,960,312 264084 16 2466 27 266551 13
3 Malang 2923 2 1065 1 206 2 188 2 167 1 96 3 275 2 19 1 599 1 701 ​— 47534 28 2,348,500 63382 12 1957 2 65339 14
Total 17957 1 10659 1 7470 2 2518 1 1970 ​— 236 ​— 2217 3 91 ​— 1351 0 525 2 1631 1 331181 17½ 19,621,124 668,398 25 18350 17 704749 12
[Vol II Pg 315]
No. Names of Di​­vi​­sions. To​­tal Pop​­u​­la​­tion. Mal​­es. Fe​­mal​­es. At­tach­ed to the Cul­ti­va­tion of the Soil. Em­ploy­ed in Oth­er Av­o­ca­tions. Buf​­fa​­loes. Hor​­ses. Plo​­ughs. JAV​­ANS. CHI​­NESE AND OTH​­ER FOR​­EIGN​­ERS.
To​­tal Jav​­ans. Mal​­es. Fe​­mal​­es. Class of Cul­ti­va­tors. Em­ploy­ed in Oth­er Av­o­ca­tions. Buf​­fa​­loes. Hor​­ses. Plo​­ughs. To​­tal Chi​­nese. Mal​­es. Fe​­mal​­es. Class of Cul­ti­va­tors. Em­ploy­ed in Oth­er Av­o­ca­tions. Buf​­fa​­loes. Hor​­ses. Plo​­ughs.
REMARKS: Average Value of the produce of a Jung of cultivated land, 66 Rupees.
1 Pasuruan 62421 30834 31587 13380 2158 14289 2755 6428 61722 30491 31231 13380 2158 14205 2746 6428 699 5 157 343 356 84 9 ​—
2 Bang'il 34523 17401 17122 6026 824 7661 2629 3433 34152 17232 16920 6026 824 7661 2519 3433 371 9 78 169 202 ​— 10 ​—
3 Malang 11868 5942 5926 3239 ​— 3919 2272 1972 11868 5942 5962 3239 ​— 3919 2272 1972 ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​—
Total 108812 54177 54635 22635 2982 25869 7656 11833 107752 53665 54077 22645 2982 25785 7667 11893 1060 14 235 512 558 84 19 ​—
[Vol II Pg 316]
[Vol II Pg 317]
GENERAL ACCOUNT OF THE CULTIVATION AND POPULATION OF BESUKI, 1815.
No. Na­mes of Dis​­tricts. Num​­ber of Vil​­lages. To​­tal Land. Land in Vil​­lages. Land not in​­clud​­ed in Vil​­lages. Cul​­ti​­vat​­ed Land. Sa​­wah. Te​­gal. Free Land. Cof​­fee Gro​­unds. Teak For​­ests. Gov​­ern​­ment Land. Land in use in Vil​­lages. Ca​­pa​­ble of be​­ing Cul​­ti​­vat​­ed. Un​­fit Land. Jun​­gle Land. Land not in use in Vil​­lages. Es​­ti​­mat​­ed Pro​­duce. Es​­ti​­mat​­ed Val​­ue of Pro​­duce. To​­tal Es​­ti​­mat​­ed Val​­ue.
Pa​­ri. Mai​­ze. Of Pa​­ri. Of Mai​­ze.
Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Ama​­ts. G. Ears. J. Ru​­pees. St. J. Ru​­pees. St. J. Ru​­pees. St.
1 Probolingo 64 12227 0 592 0 11635 0 432 1 156 3 275 1 70 0 90 0 592 0 1517 3 376 3 6354 3 11635 0 7014 0 8674000 14028 0 8674 0 22702 0
2 Tongas 34 3543 1 300 0 3243 1 236 1 93 3 142 2 29 2 20 3 13 2 300 0 1010 3 924 3 1307 2 3243 1 4216 10 4672500 8433 0 4672 15 13105 15
3 Katapang 39 21185 0 1619 2 19565 2 1564 3 223 1 1341 1 33 2 21 0 1619 2 4709 2 6262 1 8593 3 19565 2 9905 5 40860000 19810 15 40860 0 60670 15
4 Dringo 51 9868 2 793 0 9075 2 703 0 447 0 256 0 51 3 11 3 28 2 793 0 2452 3 2814 3 3808 0 9075 2 19694 3 7583500 39388 15 7583 15 46972 0
5 Ginding 45 11871 2 2226 0 9645 2 1055 1 472 3 582 3 41 0 1108 3 20 3 2226 0 3913 3 5731 2 9645 2 22799 7 17219500 45598 21 17219 15 62818 6
6 Pajarakan 30 5689 3 1087 1 4602 2 487 1 313 0 174 1 24 0 564 0 12 0 1087 1 1964 3 2637 3 4602 2 13553 10 4905500 27107 0 4905 15 32012 15
7 Jogopaten 29 4884 0 946 0 3938 0 417 0 297 3 119 0 26 0 492 3 10 2 946 0 1672 1 2265 3 3938 0 16341 10 3435500 32683 0 3435 15 36118 15
8 Kuraxum 14 4767 2 913 1 3854 1 407 3 247 1 160 2 14 0 1 3 483 3 7 0 913 1 1605 3 2248 2 3854 1 10803 9 4818250 21605 22 4818 7 26425 0
9 Jabong 12 5398 2 1031 0 4367 1 459 0 304 3 154 1 18 0 1 3 536 1 14 0 1031 0 1841 3 2525 2 4367 1 13303 12 4684750 26607 0 4684 22 31291 28
10 Panton 33 11855 1 2228 2 9627 0 1017 1 594 2 423 0 27 0 1 1 1164 0 18 0 2228 2 4066 1 5560 3 9627 0 28329 14 12537000 56659 6 12537 0 69196 7
11 Besuki 60 4821 2 732 1 4089 1 486 1 309 1 176 3 115 0 101 0 30 0 732 1 135 0 1909 2 2044 3 4089 1 13129 10 4932064 26259 0 4932 1 31191 1
12 Binor 12 5039 3 414 2 4625 0 147 3 33 3 114 0 8 1 252 0 6 2 414 2 80 0 2232 2 2312 2 4625 0 1358 11 3074360 2717 3 3074 12 5791 15
13 Banyukurta 33 13580 1 1900 1 11680 0 340 1 91 1 249 0 18 1 1525 2 16 0 1900 1 520 0 5320 0 5840 0 11680 0 2874 0 6843625 5748 0 6543 16 12591 16
14 Kutu 19 1488 3 400 3 1088 0 375 1 306 2 68 3 19 0 1 2 5 1 400 3 544 0 544 0 1088 0 12918 0 1827030 25836 0 1827 1 27663 1
15 Blanuingan 19 3884 0 429 2 3454 2 405 2 119 1 286 2 15 1 3 0 5 3 429 2 1727 1 1727 1 3454 2 4420 0 7857830 8840 0 7857 27 16697 27
16 Bungatan 20 5706 2 493 3 5213 0 299 0 45 0 254 0 14 0 175 0 5 3 493 3 23 3 2574 0 2615 1 5213 0 1902 5 5018360 3804 15 5018 12 8822 27
17 Panarukan 11 4142 2 532 2 3610 0 499 0 477 0 21 3 24 0 6 0 4 0 532 2 1800 0 1810 0 3610 0 22563 7 585750 45126 22 585 23 45712 15
18 Patokan 10 4283 0 536 2 3746 2 504 2 204 2 300 0 24 0 8 0 536 2 1873 1 1873 1 3746 2 9380 5 8554825 18760 15 8554 19 27315 19
19 Patokingan 12 9243 3 1163 3 8080 0 1142 1 1047 0 95 1 16 0 5 2 1163 3 4040 0 4040 0 8080 0 48200 7 2503125 96400 22 2503 4 98903 27
20 Kapongan 11 1066 2 540 0 526 2 522 1 416 1 106 0 14 0 4 0 540 0 263 1 263 1 526 2 17518 2 2815500 35036 7 2815 15 37851 22
21 Klatakan 12 6890 2 248 2 6642 0 228 3 37 3 191 1 14 3 5 0 248 2 70 0 3262 0 3310 0 6642 0 1497 4 5000750 2994 11 5090 22 7995 4
22 Kalitukus 10 876 1 214 2 661 3 194 2 40 0 154 2 14 0 6 0 214 2 130 0 265 1 266 2 661 3 1614 0 4134750 3228 0 4134 23 7362 23
23 Pugur 52 287498 1 520 3 286977 2 92 3 59 0 33 3 78 2 14 0 280 3 54 2 520 3 95659 0 47832 0 143486 2 286977 2 3036 0 1212500 6072 0 1212 15 7284 15
24 Bandawasa 136 243298 1 1349 3 241948 2 999 3 469 1 530 2 202 2 12 0 136 0 1349 3 50629 2 47832 2 143486 2 241948 2 24138 0 18957812 48276 0 18957 24 67233 24
25 Lamajang 59 92374 0 2185 0 90189 0 414 2 256 1 158 2 50 0 63 0 1607 0 50 1 2185 0 17737 1 27357 0 45095 0 90189 0 13176 0 5656500 26352 0 5656 15 32608 15
Total 827 775484 0 23398 3 752085 1 13432 0 7062 3 6369 1 961 3 126 1 8301 1 577 3 23398 3 174675 1 177661 2 399748 2 752085 1 323686 11 188365281 647373 2 188365 3 835738 6
[Vol II Pg 318]
No. Names of Di​­vi​­sions. To​­tal Pop​­u​­la​­tion. Mal​­es. Fe​­mal​­es. At­tach­ed to the Cul­ti­va­tion of the Soil. Em­ploy­ed in Oth­er Av­o­ca­tions. Buf​­fa​­loes. Hor​­ses. Plo​­ughs. JAV​­ANS. CHI​­NESE AND OTH​­ER FOR​­EIGN​­ERS.
To​­tal Jav​­ans. Mal​­es. Fe​­mal​­es. Class of Cul­ti­va­tors. Em­ploy­ed in Oth­er Av­o­ca­tions. Buf​­fa​­loes. Hor​­ses. Plo​­ughs. To​­tal Chi​­nese. Mal​­es. Fe​­mal​­es. Class of Cul­ti­va­tors. Em­ploy­ed in Oth­er Av­o­ca­tions. Buf​­fa​­loes. Hor​­ses. Plo​­ughs.
REMARKS: Average Value of a Jung of cultivated land, 60 rupees.
GENERAL REMARKS.
In the district of Probolingo the population is but scanty, when compared to the extent of land; the country is, in general, well watered, and there is abundance of land fit for cultivation, could people be procured from a neighbouring country to work it; in the divisions adjoining Besuki district there are very extensive teak forests, which run inland.
Besuki.​—This district is indifferently watered, and has very little land fit for culture, that is not now under cultivation; the population is more numerous for its size than any of the adjoining districts. It was supposed, that by the introduction of the tenement tax paid by householders, that the population would be induced to emigrate to the neighbouring district of Bandawasa, which has not answered the purpose so well as was at first expected.
Penarukan.​—This is an extensive district, with fine flat table land throughout, but it is badly watered; and towards that adjoining the Banyuwangi district, there is scarce a small rivulet to the same; the population of this district is extremely scanty.
Bandawasa, including Pugar, a very extensive district but scantily inhabited; the soil is extremely wet and productive, and with a greater population would be one of the finest districts in the residency.
Lamajang, an extensive district on the South Coast; the land is very well watered, level, and extremely well adapted to the purpose of cultivation, but the population is very scanty at present; but could it be increased, Lamajang would be a very productive district.
1 Probolingo 6070 3068 3002 2235 759 1626 254 725 5978 3016 2962 2235 713 1626 254 725 92 ​— 46 52 40 ​— ​— ​—
2 Tongas 2362 1140 1222 1089 111 822 30 411 2362 1140 1222 1089 811 822 30 411 ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​—
3 Katapang 5199 2615 2584 2118 187 2818 92 1409 5161 2597 2564 2118 169 2818 92 1409 38 ​— 18 18 20 ​— ​— ​—
4 Dringo 4651 2414 2237 2090 147 2301 89 1149 4640 2408 2232 2090 142 2301 80 1149 11 ​— 5 6 5 ​— ​— ​—
5 Ginding 5314 2505 2809 2271 258 2304 106 1152 5241 2471 2770 2253 236 2290 101 1145 73 18 22 34 39 14 5 7
6 Pajarakan 3329 1668 1661 1245 278 1320 69 660 3264 1640 1624 1245 241 1320 60 660 65 ​— 37 28 37 ​— ​— ​—
7 Jogopaten 3954 2033 1921 1645 273 1616 68 808 3898 2008 1890 1645 247 1616 68 808 56 ​— 26 25 51 ​— ​— ​—
8 Kuraxun 2960 1418 1542 1433 347 966 69 487 2808 1341 1467 1393 269 937 62 474 152 40 48 77 75 29 7 13
9 Jabong 3509 1715 1794 1188 600 1061 86 621 3323 1624 1699 1185 524 1059 80 620 186 3 85 91 95 2 6 1
10 Panton 6650 3290 3360 3221 495 2909 100 1361 6525 3232 3293 3206 345 2896 99 1355 125 15 60 58 67 13 1 6
11 Besuki 13330 6119 7211 3626 2436 1990 632 937 13093 6003 7090 3571 2374 1976 602 930 237 55 62 116 121 14 30 7
12 Binor 1172 585 587 231 69 517 48 318 1138 568 570 228 60 515 45 317 34 3 9 17 17 2 3 1
13 Banyukurta 4467 2199 2268 1519 708 730 534 685 4441 2186 2255 1500 702 724 532 682 26 10 6 18 13 6 2 3
14 Kutu 4042 1982 2060 1483 426 592 308 273 3938 1928 2010 1478 384 592 303 273 104 5 42 54 50 ​— 5 ​—
15 Blanulngan 3666 1828 1838 1153 434 1018 342 709 3594 1793 1801 1144 427 1004 340 702 72 9 7 35 37 14 2 7
16 Bungatan 2366 1199 1167 689 338 318 264 318 2334 1183 1151 637 327 316 260 317 32 2 11 16 16 2 4 1
17 Panarukan 4331 2072 2259 1643 586 1483 581 751 4232 2021 2211 1627 546 1473 578 746 99 16 40 51 48 10 3 5
18 Patokan 1998 1000 998 922 74 863 96 475 1998 1000 998 922 74 863 96 475 ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​—
19 Patokingan 4744 1952 2792 2259 584 1581 175 774 4716 1937 2779 2259 580 1581 175 774 28 ​— 4 15 13 ​— ​— ​—
20 Kapongan 2452 1204 1248 1136 28 1614 74 555 2452 1204 1248 1136 98 1614 74 555 ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​—
21 Klatakan 1654 832 822 510 98 938 92 469 1654 832 822 510 98 938 92 469 ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​—
22 Kalitukus 1145 543 602 558 7 572 53 296 1145 543 602 558 7 572 53 286 ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​—
23 Pugur 1854 884 970 348 45 468 404 238 1854 884 970 348 45 468 101 238 ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​—
24 Bandawasa 9037 4126 4911 2104 117 4250 479 2651 9037 4126 4911 2164 117 4250 479 2851 ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​—
25 Lamajang 4103 2112 1991 1863 ​— 1089 239 487 4103 2112 1991 1683 ​— 1089 239 487 ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​—
Total 104359 50503 53856 38520 9364 35766 4963 18609 102929 49797 53132 38344 8736 35660 4895 18658 1430 176 528 706 724 106 68 51
[Vol II Pg 319]

[Vol II Pg 320]

GENERAL ACCOUNT OF THE CULTIVATION AND POPULATION OF BANYUWANGI, 1815.
No. Na­mes of Dis​­tricts. Num​­ber of Vil​­lages. To​­tal Land. Land in Vil​­lages. Land not in​­clud​­ed in Vil​­lages. Cul​­ti​­vat​­ed Land. Sa​­wah. Te​­gal. Free Land. Cof​­fee Gro​­unds. Teak For​­ests. Gov​­ern​­ment Land. Land in use in Vil​­lages. Ca​­pa​­ble of be​­ing Cul​­ti​­vat​­ed. Un​­fit Land. Jun​­gle Land. Land not in use in Vil​­lages. Es​­ti​­mat​­ed Pro​­duce. Es​­ti​­mat​­ed Val​­ue of Pro​­duce. To​­tal Es​­ti​­mat​­ed Val​­ue.
Pa​­ri. Mai​­ze. Of Pa​­ri. Of Mai​­ze.
Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Jun​­gs. B. Ama​­ts. G. Ama​­ts. G. J. Ru​­pees. St. J. Ru​­pees. St. J. Ru​­pees. St.
1 North 47 527 3 360 2 109 3 57 2 2 3 321 1 25032 0 6486 0 29204 0 6290 0 35494 0
2 South 93 452 0 422 3 2 1 27 2 278 2 27048 0 123 0 31556 0 120 0 31676 0
Total 140 980 1 783 1 112 0 85 0 2 559 3 52080 0 6609 0 60760 0 6410 0 67170 0
[Vol II Pg 321]
No. Na­mes of Dis​­tricts. To­tal Pop­u­la­tion. Ma­les. Fe­ma­les. At­tach­ed to the Cul­ti­va­tion of the Soil. Em­ploy­ed in oth­er Av­o­ca­tions. To­tal Num­ber of Buf­fa­loes. To­tal Num­ber of Hor­ses. To­tal Num­ber of Plo­ughs. JA­VANS. CHI­NESE and oth­er For­eign­ers.
To­tal Ja­vans. Ma­les. Fe­ma­les. Class of Cul​­ti​­va​­tors. Em­ploy­ed in oth­er Av­o­ca­tions. Num­ber of Buf­fa­loes. Num­ber of Hor­ses. Num­ber of Plo­ughs. To­tal Chi­nese. Ma­les. Fe­ma­les. Class of Cul​­ti​­va​­tors. Em­ploy­ed in oth­er Av­o­ca­tions. Num­ber of Buf­fa­loes. Num­ber of Hor­ses. Num­ber of Plo­ughs.
REMARKS: Average Value of a Jung of cultivated Land, 70 J. Rupees.
1 North 5820 2949 2871 4541 1279 1594 792 1035 5501 2783 2718 4541 960 1585 770 1035 319 ​— 319 166 153 9 22 ​—
2 South 3053 1514 1539 2564 489 1112 476 682 3053 1514 1539 2564 489 1112 476 682 ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​—
Total 8873 4463 4410 7105 1768 2706 1268 1717 8554 4297 4257 7105 1449 2697 1246 1717 319 ​— 319 166 153 9 22 ​—

[Vol II Pg 322]
[Vol II Pg 323]

MADURA.

This island having been ceded to the Dutch, in the same manner as the other possessions on Java, the Sultan of Madúra and the chiefs of Pamakásan and Súmenap were always considered by them in nearly the same light as the other regents along the coast, with the exception only of a higher title and some more personal consideration granted especially to the Sultan of Bankálan, usually styled the Sultan of Madúra, both on account of his birth and of some important services rendered in the war of Java, from 1740 to 1748. [Vol II Pg 324]

GENERAL ACCOUNT OF THE CULTIVATION AND POPULATION OF BANGKALAN.
Names of Divisions. CATTLE. TREES. JUNGS OF LAND.
Horses and Mares. Bulls and Cows. Buffaloes. Sheep. Goats. Cocoa-nut Trees bearing fruit. Arien. Sawayan. Pinang. Gabang. Cultivated. Cotton-fields. Sugar-Cane.
Madura:
Bangkalan 1603 15647 8410 94 722 56621 15923 2322 26631 2161 ​— 388 7
Balega 44 1095 719 4 85 3423 1878 146 1304 323 3020 69 ​—
Sampang 120 766 607 ​— 13 7371 517 548 428 240 ​— 35 ​—
Parmakasan 487 5604 840 178 181 8786 542 581 3225 781 870 13½ 2
Totals 2254 23102 10576 276 1001 76201 18860 3597 31588 3505 3890 505½ 9
[Vol II Pg 325]
Names of Divisions. Towns and Villages. Europeans. Chinese. Parnakans or half cast Chinese. Malayus and other Islanders &c. Slaves. Madurese. General Population.
Males. Females. Males. Females. Males. Females. Chiefs. Priests. Males above 50 years. Females ditto. Males between 20 and 50 years. Females ditto. Young Men. Young Women. Boys. Girls.
Madura:
Bangkalan 447 60 602 518 411 400 152 74 124 232 60 4722 5088 15351 15724 4112 4009 5888 6247 63714
Balega 68 ​— 66 50 96 101 2 ​— ​— 33 21 400 369 1863 1823 183 387 783 356 6534
Sampang 55 ​— 105 85 93 93 1 ​— ​— 46 35 972 956 1507 1006 281 377 1044 902 7503
Parmakasan 159 ​— 212 189 239 277 260 220 23 115 29 1488 1576 2075 2297 1358 1525 2589 3012 17485
Totals 729 60 985 842 839 871 415 294 147 425 145 7582 7989 20796 20850 5934 6298 10304 10517 95236
[Vol II Pg 326]
GENERAL ACCOUNT OF THE CULTIVATION AND POPULATION OF SUMENAP.
Names of Divisions. CATTLE Jungs of Land. COCOA-NUT TREES. Aren Trees. Bambu Groves. GEBANG TREES. Ju​­ngs of Népa or Adap. Lontar or Sewálan Trees.
Horses. Mares. Bulls or Oxen. Cows. Buffaloes. Sheep. Goats. Sawah. Tegal. Cotton. Old. Young. Above Five Years Old. Above Two Years Old. Under Two Years Old. Old. Young.
Sumenap 790 539 9099 10941 831 1030 1657 2770 2579 27 109983 124316 1861 12275 11876 13072 25107 30 35898 11329
Islands.
Sapodi 67 24 507 786 ​— 120 49 95 750 171 1920 1020 89 457 4022 20590 105 ​— 665 105
Ráas 16 24 155 495 ​— 10 54 63 98 5 578 300 ​— 91 24 136 33 ​— 55 42
Gila Ginting 8 9 159 209 2 16 26 2 137 ​— 4380 4706 8 82 5 24 ​— ​— 897 108
Gila Raja 2 ​— 109 241 ​— 7 76 5 131 ​— 80 176 ​— 47 47 303 43 ​— 40 13
Gila Eyang 2 1 203 225 ​— 115 50 ​— 43 7 235 477 ​— 13 4 15 2 ​— 62 58
Putran 25 30 476 581 ​— 72 267 5 252 3 7065 4829 ​— 899 215 14 4 ​— 11200 2582
Kang'ean 125 150 ​— ​— 1144 35 60 648 26 ​— 1620 1204 2031 2941 288 304 704 1000 163
Total 1135 777 10708 13478 1977 1405 2239 3591 4019 215 125862 137028 3989 16805 16481 34458 25998 30½ 49817 14400
[Vol II Pg 327]
Names of Divisions. Towns and Villages. Madurese. Malayus and other Mahometans. Chinese. Parnakans, or half-cast Chinese. General Population.
Chiefs. Priests. Males above Fifty years. Females above Fifty years. Males middle aged. Females middle aged. Young men. Young women. Boys. Girls. Chief. Priest. Males. Females. Males. Females. Males. Females.
Sumenap 355 1407 970 3833 6135 25038 25379 6100 6713 6938 9111 1 ​— 739 734 575 494 1034 999 96200
Islands
Sapodi 24 20 56 215 259 1348 1348 363 393 548 719 ​— ​— 386 364 25 19 261 278 6602
Ráas 20 23 46 100 135 740 740 151 184 213 220 ​— ​— 156 148 ​— ​— ​— ​— 2856
Gila Ginting 10 24 46 92 119 421 421 125 134 170 301 ​— ​— 2 1 3 4 ​— ​— 1862
Gila Raja 7 8 48 58 60 340 340 117 126 587 210 ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— 24 20 1938
Gila Eyang 6 7 13 69 101 349 369 96 137 104 115 ​— ​— 75 ​— ​— ​— 20 32 1568
Putran 32 27 86 238 349 1305 1356 378 486 699 892 ​— ​— 440 374 14 20 70 84 6818
Kang'ean 23 116 49 380 460 1012 1012 253 268 5 478 ​— ​— 470 454 24 21 46 37 5580
Total 477 1634 1314 4985 7618 30553 30965 7583 8441 9757 12046 1 ​— 2266 2106 691 558 1455 1450 123424
[Vol II Pg 328]

NATIVE PROVINCES.

This extensive portion of the island was divided, agreeably to the settlement of 1754, between the Susuhúnan and Sultan. It consists of a number of separate provinces or districts. Those still belonging to the Susúnan are:

In an Eastern Direction from the Capital:

And the smaller Districts of

In the Western Direction from the Capital:

Besides several smaller districts.

The ground on which the fort of Súra Kérta is built, with a small part of the adjoining territory, has been ceded to the European government, as has been also that portion of the immediate site of the forts of Boyaláti and Klaten, which was formerly the property of the Susúnan. These dominions are divided among,

1. The eight active Tumúng'gungs, or Regents, (the first of which is the Raden Adipáti, or prime minister), who constantly resides at court.

2. The Tumung'gungs residing in the distant or Mancha Nagára districts.

3. The princes of the blood. [Vol II Pg 329]

4. The particular favourites of the Susúnan.

5. (Which only respects the smaller territories) a number of Demangs and Mantris.

A considerable portion of the provinces of Matárem and the adjoining districts, towards the southern part of the island, called by the Javans Ardi Kidul, or southern hills, of the province of Kadúwang and of the district of Sukawáti containing altogether four thousand cháchas, having been ceded by the predecessors of the present Susúnan, under the settlement of 1752, to the prince Mangku Nagára, are still held and exclusively enjoyed by his successors, the Pangérang Aria Prábo Prang Wedóna.

The eight active Tumung'gungs, who reside constantly at court, and belong to the state and household of the Susúnan, are Tumung'gungs of the exterior (Tumung'gung Jawi), and Tumung'gungs of the interior (Tumung'gung lebat). The four former are mostly charged with external commissions or orders, or those that do not immediately concern the household of the prince; the four latter, or internal Tumung'gungs, are mostly occupied near the person of the Susúnan, and have alternately the care of the watch of the Kráton at night.

The following tables exhibit the result of a census taken during the British government in Java; but as the information they convey rests principally upon native authority, the same reliance cannot be placed upon them as upon the tables for the provinces under the immediate direction of the European government. There is no reason, however, to believe they are essentially wrong, as they were framed with great care and every attention to accuracy, on the part of the native officers employed. [Vol II Pg 330]

POPULATION OF THE TERRITORY OF THE SUSUHUNAN, 1815.
Remarks: N.B. Banyumas includes Dayu-luhur. Manchanagara takes in Kediri, Jagaraga, and Pranaraga.
DISTRICTS. Men. Women. Children. Total.
Males. Females.
Banyumas 48206 50140 39264 3933 176947
Mancha-nagara, Eastern or distant districts. 21013 24826 24054 28432 99415
Pajang Mataram, Baglen, Jaban Ranka, Sukawati, and Southern Hills. 106699 111743 132420 138544 489406
Subjects of Prangwedono in the last mentioned districts. 26764 28347 22117 24625 101853
In the capital (Emperor's subjects) 26834 29446 18111 20687 95078
Ditto (Prangwedono's subjects) 1937 2036 1711 1909 7593
Ditto (Europeans and descendants) 157 81 141 178 553
Ditto (Chinese and descendants) 586 472 238 249 1545
Ditto (Slaves and descendants) 123 137 40 37 333
Grand Total 233409 247228 238096 253994 972727
[Vol II Pg 331]
POPULATION OF THE TERRITORY OF THE SULTAN, 1815.
Names of the Districts or Divisions of the Sultan's Territories Married Men. Married Women. Unmarried Men. Unmarried Women. Young Men about 15 years of age unmarried. Young Women about 15 years of age unmarried. Boys under 15 years of age. Girls under 15 years of age. Male Children at the breast. Female Children at the breast. Grand Total.
Yugyakuta 8697 9065 1595 2252 2592 3255 3225 3599 1531 1528 37339
Matarem 28834 28935 5998 6985 5897 6695 19875 18966 9832 8708 140735
Pajang 19382 19486 2635 2910 3237 4401 4281 5202 2297 2699 66530
Sima, Gagatan, and Sukawati 9974 9974 366 1232 1748 1739 6310 6718 2028 2558 42647
Southern Hills 2359 2447 426 483 769 628 517 1431 569 596 10225
Romo and Baglen 28624 28681 1787 3691 6097 7560 15273 20330 4340 5831 122214
Ledok and Gowong 25792 25447 1893 4060 3600 3685 11614 8533 4660 5142 94426
Lurung Teng'a 7365 7365 785 1076 1360 1412 4523 3537 1729 1718 30870
Mancha-nagara (Eastern or distant districts) 24862 25161 2423 4655 6050 6046 15706 20390 4491 4258 114042
Total 155889 156561 17908 27344 31350 35421 81324 88706 31477 33038 659018
Chinese, &c. 1309
To­tal 660327
[Vol II Pg 332]
RETURN of the POPULATION of the DISTRICT of PACHITAN, on the South Coast, ceded to the BRITISH GOVERNMENT in 1813.
DIVISIONS. Men. Women. Boys. Girls. Total.
First Division 1656 1673 1439 1306 6074
Second Division 4134 4275 5260 2935 16604
Total 22678

FOOTNOTES:

[279] Mr. Crawfurd.

[Vol II Pg i]
[Vol II Pg ii]
[Vol II Pg iii]

APPENDICES.

APPENDIX.


APPENDIX, A.

The annexed documents, as far as they can be relied on, afford evidence of an extent of mortality in Batavia, as compared with the number of inhabitants, that was perhaps never exampled, for the same space of time, in any other quarter of the world.

The Table No. I., incomplete as it is, was drawn out with as much exactness as the original lists and registers still in possession would admit of. In explanation of some inconsistencies which are exhibited in it, it is necessary to observe, that on the occasion of the capture of this island, part of the most valuable papers were lost or destroyed, and amongst them the register in which was stated the Chinese population, and the number of their deaths and marriages annually, which is the reason why no mention is made of them in this table.

The first and third columns contain only the numbers of European inhabitants.

The last column, which shews the deaths of the Natives and Slaves, is probably a list of the deceased slaves only; because there was a separate list kept of the natives who died annually in the Batavian jurisdiction, which, however, was for a long time incorrect, and at last destroyed in 1811.

It is also probable, that the column of deaths generally does not extend farther than in the town and immediate suburbs; and the other two columns of baptisms and marriages extend over the town, suburbs, and environs together.

The specific lists kept in the different hospitals were likewise lost. This is to be particularly lamented, because they would have shewn how many of the European deaths were inhabitants, military persons, strangers, or sailors or marines from the ships of the different nations in Batavia Roads, who all sent their sick men into the hospitals of Batavia, who, when dead, were comprehended in the number of European deaths. This circumstance explains the incorrectness which appears to exist in the two statements of the living and deceased Europeans.

The Table No. II. was discovered among the records of the Dutch government at Batavia, and in the absence of a more official document, may, perhaps, on that account, be entitled to some confidence. [Vol II Pg iv]

[Vol II Pg v]
[Vol II Pg vi]
TABLE, No. I.
List of the Population, Marriages, Baptisms, and Deaths, in the Town and Suburbs of Batavia, from 1700 to 1813, as far as the same could be ascertained from the Registers, &c. after the Conquest of Java in 1811.
POPULATION. MARRIAGES. BAPTISMS. DEATHS.
Within the Walls. In the Suburbs. Eu­ro­pe­ans. Half Casts and Other Chris­tians. Eu­ro­pe­ans' Children. Those of Half Casts and Other Chris­tians. Eu­ro­pe­ans, Half Casts, &c. Natives, Slaves, &c.
Eu­ro­pe­ans. Eu­ro­pe­ans & Natives. Eu­ro­pe­ans. Eu­ro­pe­ans & Natives.
1700 1,875 20,072 215 32,478 74 134 119 565 697 975
1701 1,715 19,084 321 48,972 65 126 76 341 736 815
1702 1,755 19,683 309 45,452 76 120 83 616 1,088 1,336
1703 1,835 18,580 534 47,123 72 133 190 443 856 931
1704 1,898 22,150 470 49,351 74 144 96 466 442 1,148
1705 1,771 19,752 ​— ​— 55 133 100 441 688 1,800
1706 1,923 21,899 417 49,483 79 127 84 447 841 1,839
1707 1,826 21,632 411 47,026 60 116 88 471 655 1,371
1708 1,769 20,922 402 54,628 49 134 87 638 651 1,481
1709 1,681 20,600 412 55,581 64 138 82 575 804 1,828
1710 1,716 20,850 368 58,761 41 152 108 628 684 1,313
1711 1,723 21,517 341 57,843 63 154 110 555 766 1,487
1712 1,656 21,538 448 65,865 60 141 110 595/ 684 1,278
1713 1,566 19,007 503 69,110 56 154 747[280] 599 1,022
1714 1,644 19,758 553 66,092 60 150 703 608 1,085
1715 1,663 22,242 411 64,657 43 159 759 567 1,074
1716 1,516 18,947 446 60,236 37 129 688 606 1,207
1717 1,443 18,965 290 59,831 41 147 578 716 1,322
1718 ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— 663 ​— ​—
1719 1,409 19,411 308 68,082 59 154 631 857 1,869
1720 1,610 21,156 361 67,792 68 148 529 977 1,685
1721 1,477 20,520 387 67,044 53 80 467 772 1,210
1722 695 11,252 417 67,339 61 132 649 193 813
1723 1,606 23,716 363 66,079 43 119 610 985 1,597
1724 1,562 23,428 341 62,966 34 172 781 934 1,755
1725 1,615 23,752 332 72,218 60 150 637 958 2,085
Within the Walls and immediate Suburbs. In the Vicinity and Environs. In the Reformed Churches, and since 1746, in the Lutheran Church.
1726 1,452 22,814 304 76,893 58 118 616 994 487
1727 ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— 740 ​— ​—
1728 1,538 15,343 289 73,141 50 155 648 768 590
1729 1,389 20,677 232 81,977 52 135 736 754 500
1730 1,330 20,429 209 80,756 45 167 763 857 1,800
1731 1,431 22,658 241 82,204 45 128 783 886 1,066
1732 1,445 22,646 211 83,602 55 142 625 1,003 689
1733 ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— 554 ​— ​—
1734 ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— 432 ​— ​—
1735 1,338 20,587 224 74,367 65 166 561 240 667
1736 ​— ​— ​— ​— 48 ​— 727 ​— ​—
1737 1,317 19,612 266 67,170 48 133 572 1,966 705
1738 1,350 11,212 212 64,090 49 133 448 2,002 919
1739 1,286 18,502 272 68,229 51 179 658 1,068 668
1740 1,420 14,141 269 72,506 47 90 518 1,317 338
1741 1,388 13,977 287 47,583 52 124 670 1,278 406
1742 ​— ​— 259 56,882 47 118 602 1,286 547
1743 1,481 14,609 321 55,023 84 119 639 1,526 682
1744 ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— 673 ​— ​—
1745 1,517 14,926 278 67,254 60 117 592 1,965 1,062
1746 1,597 13,852 242 68,785 ​— ​— 574 ​— ​—
1747 1,525 13,854 240 73,163 ​— ​— 670 ​— ​—
1748 ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— 627 ​— ​—
1749 1,541 14,050 318 77,008 39 115 705 1,662 556
1750 1,520 14,278 313 80,597 63 105 571 2,229 569
1751 1,439 13,874 336 78,259 38 84/ 550 2,189 502
1752 1,513 14,596 311 75,152 135[281] 600 1,858 562
1753 1,651 15,710 325 76,611 132 457 1,789 1,542
1754 1,575 15,891 358 93,375 136 553 1,729 617
Within the Town and all the Suburbs.
1755 1,599 16,466 369 95,938 146 484 2,532 630
1756 1,604 15,925 310 96,702 143 410 1,729 547
1757 1,629 16,356 373 103,443 137 465 1,557 561
1758 1,560 16,855 447 106,151 128 468 1,781 1,082
1759 1,572 16,942 377 111,273 97 437 1,451 636
1760 1,634 16,785 410 109,393 124 450 1,403 1,064
1761 1,499 16,298 305 113,280 ​— 387 1,110 980
1762 ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— 471 ​— ​—
1763 1,507 16,282 447 113,009 112 435 2,001 1,134
1764 ​— 16,008 413 117,207 131 297 1,907 585
1765 ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— 357 ​— ​—
1766 ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— 356 ​— ​—
1767 ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— 306 ​— ​—
1768 1,642 15,256 273 108,507 93 329 1,933 537
1769 1,271 15,430 389 114,750 124 369 1,869 667
1770 1,183 13,192 328 123,869 126 302 2,871 2,672
1771 1,105 12,233 300 121,380 93 245 2,425 622
1772 1,011 12,743 348 112,346 108 301 2,437 2,256
1773 1,061 13,473 342 107,500 98 284 2,029 534
1774 933 12,134 367 108,215 97 295 2,452 866
1775 1,165 13,512 328 125,635 214 307 2,997 3,007
1776 ​— ​— 276 131,895 100 303 3,055 1,199
1777 896 10,661 279 140,332 98 277 1,394 2,031
1778 1,137 12,206 238 135,532 104 253 1,804 2,131
1779 ​— ​— 302 160,986 82 290 1,524 1,717
1780 747 13,651 278 129,943 113 259 1,418 1,435
1781 ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— 272 ​— ​—
1782 664 9,517 276 127,039 75 260 733 1,692
1783 ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— 292 ​— ​—
1784 695 10,422 336 129,506 81 279 1,439 1,669
1785 ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— 243 ​— ​—
1786 ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— 238 ​— ​—
1787 574 9,910 375 133,151 58 230 1,939 1,278
1788 ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— 284 ​— ​—
1789 ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— 236 ​— ​—
1790 ​— ​— ​— ​— 69 220 2,379 1,672
1791 325 6,367 450 120,352 48 216 2,228 1,590
1792 254 8,121 282 119,297 59 171 1,990 1,131
1793 254 8,121 282 119,297 48 149 1,805 1,030
1794 ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— 215 ​— ​—
1795 ​— ​— ​— ​— 92 183 1,121 953
1796 ​— ​— ​— ​— 67 173 ​— ​—
1797 ​— ​— ​— ​— 52 210 215 930
1798 ​— ​— ​— ​— 68 173 280 675
1799 ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— 236 ​— ​—
1800 ​— ​— ​— ​— 68 169 106 1,168
1801 ​— ​— ​— ​— 32 169 ​— ​—
1802 ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— 207 ​— ​—
1803 ​— ​— ​— ​— 58 182 263 2,356
1804 ​— ​— 378 72,830 ​— 190 255 ​—
1805 ​— ​— 500 73,728 83 164 ​— ​—
1806 ​— ​— ​— ​— 50 171 ​— ​—
1807 ​— ​— ​— ​— 86 186 ​— 2,549
1808 ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— 151 ​— ​—
1809 ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— 131 ​— ​—
1810 ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— 167 ​— ​—
1811 ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— 136 ​— ​—
1812 ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— 115 ​— ​—
1813 ​— ​— ​— ​— ​— 138 ​— ​—
[Vol II Pg vii]
[Vol II Pg viii]
TABLE, No. II.
List of Deceased and Buried in the several Burial Places at Batavia, from the Year 1730, till the Month of August, 1752.
[Translated from a Document discovered among the Records of the Dutch Government at Batavia.]
Numb. deceased.
1730.
January 3,862
February 3,786
March 3,928
April 3,860
May 3,862
June 3,889
July 4,268
August 4,404
September 4,597
October 4,290
November 3,965
December 3,739
48,450
1731.
January 3,699
February 3,705
March 3,827
April 3,833
May 3,711
June 3,788
July 4,480
August 4,527
September 4,916
October 4,512
November 4,412
December 4,430
49,840
1732.
January 4,359
February 4,047
March 4,046
April 4,060
May 4,066
June 4,191
July 4,515
August 4,758
September 5,314
October 4,912
November 4,344
December 4,305
52,917
1733.
January 4,205
February 4,261
March 3,989
April 3,948
May 3,747
June 3,840
July 3,885
August 3,805
September 4,147
October 4,148
November 3,906
December 3,864
47,745
1734.
January 3,830
February 3,963
March 3,914
April 3,725
May 3,711
June 3,550
July 3,772
August 4,294
September 5,303
October 4,237
November 4,025
December 4,021
48,145
1735.
January 3,722
February 3,775
March 3,830
April 3,757
May 3,780
June 3,968
July 4,141
August 4,041
September 4,058
October 4,050
November 3,966
December 3,962
47,050
1736.
January 4,110
February 3,909
March 3,815
April 3,778
May 3,760
June 3,699
July 4,063
August 4,078
September 4,260
October 4,110
November 3,841
December 4,080
47,503
1737.
January 4,066
February 4,093
March 3,707
April 3,561
May 3,485
June 3,358
July 3,357
August 3,400
September 2,501
October 4,054
November 4,057
December 4,061
43,709
1738.
January 3,784
February 3,572
March 3,570
April 3,718
May 3,717
June 4,018
July 4,045
August 3,771
September 4,110
October 4,293
November 4,030
December 4,158
46,786
1739.
January 4,039
February 4,017
March 3,909
April 3,759
May 3,885
June 3,985
July 4,266
August 4,273
September 4,053
October 4,139
November 4,189
December 4,084
48,598
1740.
January 3,851
February 3,747
March 3,758
April 3,878
May 4,090
June 4,424
July 4,536
August 4,321
September 4,538
October 4,514
November 4,224
December 4,083
49,964
1741.
January 4,010
February 3,842
March 3,893
April 3,824
May 3,958
June 4,057
July 4,136
August 3,764
September 4,093
October 3,888
November 3,766
December 3,712
46,943
1742.
January 2,849
February 3,731
March 3,780
April 3,811
May 2,185
June 3,665
July 3,915
August 3,976
September 3,546
October 3,537
November 3,646
December 4,021
42,662
1743.
January 3,744
February 3,659
March 3,399
April 3,407
May 3,418
June 4,448
July 3,822
August 3,937
September 3,641
October 3,798
November 3,852
December 4,011
45,136
1744.
January 4,114
February 3,974
March 3,682
April 3,723
May 3,790
June 3,808
July 3,847
August 3,601
September 5,904
October 3,914
November 4,140
December 4,064
47,661
1745.
January 3,952
February 3,765
March 3,212
April 3,230
May 3,290
June 3,327
July 3,655
August 3,736
September 4,197
October 3,632
November 3,486
December 3,526
43,008
1746.
January 3,479
February 3,491
March 3,459
April 3,373
May 3,435
June 3,950
July 4,750
August 4,210
September 4,110
October 4,214
November 4,483
December 4,874
47,828
1747.
January 4,414
February 4,389
March 4,305
April 4,159
May 4,599
June 4,978
July 5,355
August 4,946
September 5,016
October 3,028
November 4,506
December 4,603
54,298
1748.
January 4,459
February 4,322
March 4,796
April 4,689
May 4,603
June 5,106
July 4,469
August 4,355
September 5,034
October 5,169
November 5,140
December 4,864
57,006
1749.
January 4,870
February 4,452
March 4,332
April 4,505
May 4,425
June 4,589
July 4,656
August 4,174
September 4,398
October 4,684
November 4,537
December 4,893
54,515
1750.
January 4,546
February 4,352
March 4,417
April 4,619
May 5,227
June 5,072
July 5,277
August 5,134
September 4,872
October 4,580
November 4,526
December 4,508
57,130
1751.
January 4,543
February 4,128
March 4,163
April 4,170
May 3,967
June 4,967
July 6,904
August 5,566
September 5,699
October 5,344
November 4,612
December 4,533
58,605
1752.
January 3,923
February 3,941
March 4,272
April 4,116
May 4,466
June 4,285
July 4,359
August 4,514
33,876
During twenty-two years and eight months,
Grand Total 1,119,375

The unhealthiness of the climate of Batavia is connected, in the minds of many, with the fabulous properties of the poison tree of Java, and many are so ignorant of the island as to consider the climate of Batavia as a fair example of that of Java in general. History attests that this city has been highly pernicious to the health both of Europeans and Natives, almost from its foundation, and recent experience concurs with the testimony of history. The mines of America, when they were first discovered, did not more strongly allure the Spaniards, nor urged them to sacrifice more relentlessly the lives of the unresisting natives to their burning thirst of gold, than the monopoly of Java and the Spice Islands led the Dutch Company, in the track of wealth, through danger, injustice and oppression. Though the unhealthiness of Batavia was at all times known and formidable, there were times when the mortality became extraor[Vol II Pg ix]dinary and alarming. Although not prone to any speculation, except that of merchants, or to any inquiry, except for a new market or a more lucrative channel of trade, the Company's Government in India was sometimes forced to institute inquiries into the cause of this insalubrity, and to speculate about the possibility and the means of removing it. Passing by other occasions, there exists on the records of the High Regency a reply to queries about the unhealthiness of Batavia, dated the 14th of October 1753. This paper states that between 1732 and 1738, the greatest number of casualties happened. It assigns, as a great cause of the insalubrity complained of, the situation of the town in a bay, confined on the west and east by projecting points of land, and inclosed in front by a cluster of small islands. The space between the town and the sea is chiefly mud, left by the retreating of the sea: a swamp surrounds the town. The mouths of the rivers are generally covered with underwood and a species of tree peculiar to swamps. The vegetation of these low grounds, it is added, cannot but retain impurities of the most noxious kind. The space which is formed at the mouths of the rivers Táng'ran and Ang'ki is an entire swamp, covered with shrubs which emit exhalations of an impure nature: these are interspersed with the burying grounds of the natives, and the effluvia of these places is felt at some distance. It was believed that the earthquake of 1699, by forcing mud from under the earth and blocking up the mouths of the rivers more than formerly, contributed to increase the previously existing unhealthiness. The lime kilns in the neighbourhood, the close plantations of trees that prevent a free circulation of air, the stagnation of the rivers from the bars of mud or sand which obstruct their out-course into the sea, the kind of water which the inhabitants are compelled to drink, the narrowness of their houses, and the dirt and filth accumulated in the numerous canals that intersect the town, have all their due share of pernicious efficiency assigned them in this report. The buildings, it is said, are admirably adapted to keep out the fresh air, and to retain that which is putrid or noxious. To remedy the evils felt, a new construction of houses is recommended, and a frequent pruning or entire extirpation of the trees.

The fever, which excited this inquiry, commenced in 1733 and lasted till 1738, and, during its continuance, two thousand of the Company's servants and free Christians annually died. In 1739 its violence abated; but it broke out again in 1744, and continued with little diminution or variation to the date of the report in 1753.

Without stopping to inquire whether it would be easier to remove disease from Batavia, or the inhabitants of Batavia from disease, I shall take the liberty of quoting an extract from a report on the climate of some parts of Java, drawn up by Mr. Robertson, the late Superintending Surgeon, which appears to me to afford a satisfactory account of the causes of the insalubrity of the capital. After giving a statement of the mortality that prevailed in an Indiaman, a part of the crew of which landed at Batavia, he thus proceeds.

"Such is the melancholy instance of the noxious climate of Batavia,[Vol II Pg x] which came within my own observation. That it was not epidemic is clearly evinced, from its not extending its influence to those who attended the sick, nor to the rest of the crew, all of whom escaped its attack and remained healthy. Among the Dutch who remain in the town, fevers are, I understand, very prevalent at all seasons, notwithstanding their being, in a manner, inured to the climate, and most of them have a sallow sickly appearance. It is not uncommon, in riding through the streets, to meet three or four funerals daily.

"The Chinese, however, who are very numerous, suffer more than any class of the people; perhaps, from the worse situations of their houses, the manner in which these are crowded, the closeness of their apartments, and their gross manner of living. The number of casualties among them, I am told, is incredible, especially during the dry season; and if one may judge from the extent of their burial ground, and the number of their tumuli, it cannot admit of a doubt. The preceding facts are, I conclude, sufficient to establish the truth of the noxious character the climate of Batavia has so long obtained, and I shall now proceed to the causes which have been often investigated, and seem well ascertained, though the knowledge of them has led to little exertion for their removal.

"The baneful effects of marsh miasmata on the human system is well known, engendering intermittent and remittent fevers, dysenteries, and visceral obstructions. Batavia, built almost in a swamp, surrounded by marshes in all directions, trees and jungles, which prevent the exhalations being carried off by a free circulation of air, is peculiarly obnoxious from this cause. Opposite the mouth of the river, and extending a great way to the westward, is a mud-bank, which, in many parts at low water, is uncovered by the sea, and is daily accumulating from the quantities of mud and animal and vegetable matter carried down by the river during its reflux. Again the sea, often at spring tides, overflows the adjacent country, and, on its receding, leaves the soil covered with slime and mud, which, exposed to the action of the sun, soon suffers decomposition, and impregnates the atmosphere with its noxious exhalations, which are carried by the sea breeze over Batavia, where the trees and jungles surrounding the houses prevent their being dissipated. During the heat of the day these exhalations are more diffused and comparatively innoxious, but when the sun withdraws its influence they become more condensed, and amalgamating with the descending evening dews form a morbid atmosphere around the houses of the inhabitants. This hypothesis will readily account for a fact well known, that people whose commercial concerns require their presence in Batavia during the day, and who retire during the night into the country, escape this endemic, while scarcely any who sleep in the town, even for a night, unless those who, by a long residence, are inured to it, escape. In the ingenious and sensible work formerly alluded to (Mr. Johnson's), I find this hypothesis so clearly and perspicuously expounded, that I must take the liberty of quoting it. [Vol II Pg xi]

"'The cause why the stench emitted by marshes and vegetable matter in a state of decomposition is more perceptible immediately after sunset, is not that the vapours are disengaged in greater quantities then than during the day, but the marshes retain their heat for some time after the sun's rays are withdrawn, and consequently continue to emit vapours through the atmosphere, as during the high temperature of the day by the sun. They therefore meet the descending dews, condensing and forming a thick fog, which hovers over the swamps, accompanied by a noxious and disagreeable odour. The miasmata exhaled during the day, in all probability, descend with the dews of the evening, which, meeting and combining with those that continue to be disengaged from their source, must form a concentration highly capable of affecting the constitution. Marsh effluvia become at a certain distance from their source innoxious. Dr. Hunter observes, 'a few feet in height gives a comparative security in the same buildings.' This will be accounted for by the supposition, that as the miasmata exhaled during the day descend in the evenings, they become more and more concentrated, till meeting the exhalations from the still reeking marshes, a dense stratum of highly impregnated atmosphere is found contiguous to the surface of the earth: hence the salubrity of sleeping in upper apartments. This leads to another practicable inference of considerable importance, that when necessity compels exposure to these marshes, we should select that point of time least likely to meet those miasmata, whether ascending or descending. This period seems to extend from three to six in the afternoon:[282] that is, after the greatest heat of the earth and air, and consequently the greatest evaporation, and before the condensation and return of such exhalations as rose during the day, and which combine with those still issuing from the heated soil for some time after sunset.'

"A second, and, I think, an equally powerful cause, is the stagnant water of the canals, which, in all directions, intersect the city. In the first place, they are filled with filth of every description; there is scarcely at times any perceptible current in them to carry off that filth; and lastly, the sluices are frequently kept shut, for the purpose of swelling the waters above them to irrigate the fields, while those below, which intersect the town, become almost dry, leaving an extensive surface of mud, and every kind of putrified matter, to be acted upon by the sun, raising the most pestilential vapours, with which, as before observed, the atmosphere gets thoroughly impregnated.

"As a third cause, the state of the houses may be considered, and the mode of living of the Dutch. Houses that are untenanted are seldom opened, and thus collect much filth and foul, damp, pernicious vapours. Those that are inhabited are generally shut up in the day time, most of them being glazed, thus preventing a free circulation of air; and in the lower story of most of the houses, the walls are covered some feet from[Vol II Pg xii] the ground with a greenish coat, and on entering the apartments a stranger experiences a kind of chilly feel, and a damp raw kind of smell. Although it cannot be enumerated among the causes, yet I cannot help thinking the Dutch mode of medical practice, in as far as it is inefficient to counteract the diseases of this climate, must tend to increase the number of fatal terminations.

"The Dutch practitioners, little in the habit of theorizing, continue the same practice in every form of disease, and they are particularly prejudiced against the use of mercury, opium, and other powerful medicines, in consequence relying solely on the most simple and inert remedies. Some few of them, of more enlarged understanding, adopt the English mode, and seem sensible of its superior efficacy.

"A fourth, and, I am convinced, a very general cause, especially of the diarrhœas and dysenteries, which seldom fail to attack new comers, is the water. This most essential article is taken either from the canals or wells, and it is equally bad when passed through a filtering stone. It retains a brackish, hard, unpleasant taste, and if allowed to remain some time in vessels without previous boiling, generates small animalculæ. Such, I conceive, are the most probable and principal causes of the insalubrity of Batavia; though there are, I doubt not, others contributing, which elude observation. It is generally received, though I think an erroneous opinion, that the rainy season is the most unhealthy. The most unhealthy appears to me to be that immediately after the cessation of the rains; and the older and more experienced Dutch residents have observed, that in years when there has been a long continued drought, disease has been more than usually prevalent, and they look forward with anxiety for the accession of the rains, as the means of resisting its baneful dissemination.

"Weltevreden, at a distance of not more than three miles, being less exposed to these causes, excepting the water, is exempt, in a great measure, from its prevailing endemic fever; though diarrhœas are common, especially among those newly arriving, but they are seldom of a serious or alarming nature.

"Among the troops stationed at Weltevreden and Cornelis, diseases are not more frequent than in the healthiest parts of India which I have visited; though for some months since the Báli expedition, the casualties in the 78th regiment have been numerous. At Chemangis, about twenty-two miles from Batavia inland, a battalion of Sepoys is stationed, where, from the returns I have received, it appears they enjoy comparatively good health, and have very few casualties, though a much larger quantity of rain falls than in the vicinity of Weltevreden. It is on an elevated commanding situation, and open and clear of jungle for a considerable extent around."

In support of the opinion which has been given of the general salubrity of the climate of Java, the abstract returns of sick, &c. among the troops serving on Java and its dependencies, for the last two years, are annexed, together with a statement of casualties, in His Majesty's 78th regiment, while serving on the continent of India and in Java. [Vol II Pg xiii]

General Abstract of the Monthly Return of Sick on the Island of Java and its Dependencies, from 1st November, 1813, to 30th October, 1814.
Months. No. of Troops. Remained on the 1st. Admitted. Discharged. Dead. Remaining last month. To­tal Proportion of Sick. Proportion of Deaths to Cures.
Eu­ro­pe­ans. Na­tives. Fe­ver. Dys­en­ter­y. Oth­er Dis­eases. To­tal. Fe­ver. Flux. Hep­a­ti­tis. Rheu­ma­tism. Syph­i­lis and Gon­or­rhe­a. Ul­cers. Oth­er Dis­eases. Eu­ro­pe­ans. Na­tives.
1813.
Nov. 2,262 5,196 938 997 981 5 19 6 30 176 216 10 61 101 195 144 289 635 1 to 8 1 to 32.70
Dec. 2,399 4,962 963 908 974 3 37 14 54 150 205 9 73 95 149 164 266 577 1 to 9.90 1 to 18
1814.
Jan. 2,089 5,536 955 852 895 1 24 11 36 144 196 11 79 99 170 177 232 644 1 to 8.70 1 to 24.86
Feb. 1,233 4,865 677 474 477 3 14 6 23 99 144 2 63 84 113 146 141 510 1 to 9.33 1 to 27.39
Mar. 2,154 5,845 744 733 834 6 19 6 31 146 152 1 69 183 102 116 124 575 1 to 11.52 1 to 26.911
Apr. 1,818 4,962 620 662 620 5 18 5 28 149 131 5 51 80 80 144 177 457 1 to 10.67 1 to 22.14
May 1,781 6,509 848 876 805 8 35 4 47 169 201 7 87 107 131 160 195 667 1 to 9.61 1 to 17.12
June 1,677 5,790 763 934 820 11 30 13 54 168 182 12 80 103 127 151 216 607 1 to 9 1 to 15.18
July 1,663 5,560 839 1,082 880 7 30 10 47 304 199 15 103 117 104 150 230 764 1 to 7.28 1 to 18.72
Aug. 1,569 5,735 947 945 772 21 17 4 42 440 189 11 89 117 111 121 263 815 1 to 6.77 1 to 18.38
Sept. 2,309 5,863 1,157 915 916 31 38 8 77 395 172 15 107 135 97 159 355 725 1 to 7.55 1 to 11.89
Oct. 2,306 5,562 1,079 876 1,018 9 24 12 45 241 176 9 106 122 91 142 278 609 1 to 8.87 1 to 22.62
General Monthly Average of Sick and Casualties on the Island of Java and its Dependencies, from 1st November, 1813, to 31st October, 1814.
Average of the Strength of Corps and Detachments. Average of Sick. Average of Cures. Average of Deaths. Average Proportion of Sick to Well. Average Proportion of Deaths to Cures.
7,470 862 832 42 1 to 8.66 1 to 99.80
Monthly Average of Fatal Diseases, from 1st November, 1813, to 31st October, 1814.
Deaths during the Year. Fevers. Flux. Other Diseases. To­tal.
514 110 305 99 514
Monthly Average 9⅙ 25512 421012
[Vol II Pg xiv]
General Abstract of the Monthly Returns of Sick on the Island of Java and its Dependencies, from 1st November, 1814, to 31st December, 1815, inclusive.
Months. No. of Troops. Remained on the 1st. Admitted. Discharged. Dead. Remaining last month. To­tal Proportion of Sick. Proportion of Deaths to Cures.
Eu­ro­pe­ans. Na­tives. Fe­ver. Dys­en­ter­y. Oth­er Dis­eases. To­tal. Fe­ver. Flux. Hep­a­ti­tis. Rheu­ma­tism. Syph­i­lis and Gon­or­rhe­a. Ul­cers. Oth­er Dis­eases. Eu­ro­pe­ans. Na­tives.
N.B.​—The monthly returns from Maccassar for November and December, and of the 5th Volunteer Battalion Javan Corps, and of a Detachment of H.M. 78th for December, had not been received when this table was framed.
1814.
Nov. 2,272 6,283 906 820 784 11 21 7 39 211 154 5 104 132 112 185 229 674 1 to 9.47 1 to 20⅒
Dec. 2,325 6,268 890 797 815 13 22 11 46 211 132 10 84 123 116 150 229 597 1 to 10410 1 to 17
1815.
Jan. 2,106 6,233 842 693 776 6 18 8 32 157 119 18 88 105 118 127 188 539 1 to 11.47 1 to 24¼
Feb. 2,211 5,962 714 601 601 6 7 4 17 141 106 8 102 87 117 124 195 502 1 to 11.72 1 to 35.35
Mar. 2,172 5,700 595 642 600 1 10 5 16 184 96 6 79 68 90 98 173 448 1 to 12.67 1 to 37½
Apr. 2,050 5,481 623 706 648 5 10 4 19 182 122 5 81 79 101 92 178 484 1 to 11.37 1 to 34⅒
May 2,082 5,983 658 723 677 4 6 4 14 158 122 8 77 109 111 108 220 470 1 to 11.68 1 to 48.35
June 2,002 5,862 691 682 663 4 12 5 21 204 107 5 81 110 95 103 200 495 1 to 11.31 1 to 31.57
July 1,442 5,227 609 540 551 4 6 3 13 177 109 4 64 72 83 76 149 436 1 to 11410 1 to 42.38
Aug. 1,339 4,836 584 545 554 5 5 4 14 139 102 3 64 74 82 97 152 409 1 to 111140 1 to 39.57
Sept. 1,324 4,595 497 444 467 2 1 5 8 101 91 4 49 60 73 88 123 343 1 to 12710 1 to 58.37
Oct. 1,326 4,770 420 384 387 2 6 5 13 88 58 4 59 64 88 63 77 327 1 to 151130 1 to 29.76
Nov. 821 4,404 443 407 392 1 6 5 12 101 78 4 53 70 72 68 42 404 1 to 11½ 1 to 32⅔
Dec. 772 3,170 344 388 343 2 5 3 10 83 79 4 36 48 59 70 61 318 1 to 10⅖ 1 to 34⅓
General Monthly Average of Sick and Casualties on the Island of Java and its Dependencies, from 1st November, 1814, to 31st October, 1815, inclusive.
Average of the Strength of Corps and Detachments. Average of Sick. Average of Cures. Average of Deaths. Average Proportion of Sick to Well. Average Proportion of Deaths to Cures.
7,487 699 626 21 1 to 11.17 1 to 29.18
[Vol II Pg xv]
State of His Majesty's 1st Battalion 78th Regiment, shewing the Effective Strength and Number died (including those died of Wounds) killed in Action, &c. Half-yearly, from 16th February, 1797, five days after the Regiment's landing in India, to 25th December, 1815.
Serondole, 13th March, 1816.
Head Quarters of the Regiment and Dates. Effective Strength on the under-mentioned Dates. Casualties. To­tal dead, killed, &c. &c. PERIODS.
Serjts. Drs. R & F. Dead, including those that died of wounds, &c. Killed in Action.
Fort William, 16 Feb. 1797[283] 53 25 1,146 ​— ​— 115 16 Feb. 1797, to 24 Dec. 1797.
Berhampore, 25 June 52 22 1,085 25 ​—
On the River, 25 Dec. 52 22 993 90 ​—
Allahabad, 25 June, 1798 52 22 952 45 ​— 79 25 Dec. 1797, to 24 Dec. 1798.
Camp Onoopsher, 25 Dec. 52 22 930 34 ​—
Cawnpore, 25 June, 1792. 52 22 913 27 ​— 58 25 Dec. 1798, to 24 Dec. 1799.
Ditto, 25 Dec. 52 22 888 31 ​—
Ditto, 25 June, 1800 52 22 869 19 ​— 53 25 Dec. 1799, to 24 Dec. 1800.
Fort William, 25 Dec. 52 22 890 34 ​—
Ditto, 25 June, 1801 52 22 857 30 ​— 45 25 Dec. 1800, to 24 Dec. 1801.
Ditto, 25 Dec. 52 22 897 15 ​—
Ditto, 25 June, 1802 52 22 884 12 ​— 78 25 Dec. 1801, to 24 Dec. 1802.
Ditto, 25 Dec. 52 22 865 66 ​—
Camp Rooey, 25 June, 1803 52 22 837 30 ​— 166 25 Dec. 1802, to 24 Dec. 1803.
---- Cuttah, 25 Dec. 62 22 709 89 47
---- Chiohoora, 25 June, 1804 52 22 657 61 ​— 145 25 Dec. 1803, to 24 Dec. 1804.
Old Women's Island, Bombay, 25 Dec. 53 22 683 84 ​—
Ditto, 25 June, 1805 54 22 636 50 ​— 80 25 Dec. 1804, to 24 Dec. 1805.
Camp at Bombay, 25 Dec. 54 22 604 30 ​—
Ditto, 25 June, 1806 54 22 683 14 ​— 38 25 Dec. 1805, to 24 Dec. 1806.
Butcher's Island, near Bombay, 25 Dec. 54 22 668 24 ​—
Cabo Island of Goa, 25 June, 1807 54 22 686 17 ​— 24 25 Dec. 1806, to 24 Dec. 1807.
Ditto, 25 Dec. 54 22 520 7 ​—
Ditto, 25 June, 1808 56 22 706 9 ​— 34 25 Dec. 1807, to 24 Dec. 1808.
Ditto, 25 Dec. 57 22 809 25 ​—
Ditto, 25 June, 1809 57 22 772 22 ​— 54 25 Dec. 1808, to 24 Dec. 1809.
Ditto, 25 Dec. 57 22 740 32 ​—
Ditto, 25 June, 1810 55 22 989 22 ​— 43 25 Dec. 1809, to 24 Dec. 1810.
Ditto, 25 Dec. 54 22 991 21 ​—
Lowjee Family Transport, 25 June, 1811 64 22 965 18 ​— 212 25 Dec. 1810, to 24 Dec. 1811.
Surabaya, Java, 25 Dec. 62 22 770 166 28
Ditto, 25 June, 1812 59 22 674 101 ​— 200 25 Dec. 1811, to 24 Dec. 1812.
Ditto, 25 Dec. 54 21 684 93 6
Ditto, 25 June, 1813 54 20 625 59 ​— 81 25 Dec. 1812, to 24 Dec. 1813.
Ung'arang, 25 Dec. 53 21 625 22 ​—
Weltevreeden, Java, 25 June, 1814 54 21 597 28 ​— 80 25 Dec. 1813, to 24 Dec. 1814.
Ditto, 25 Dec. 52 20 623 52 ​—
Ditto, 25 June, 1815 45 20 583 20 ​— 33 25 Dec. 1814, to 24 Dec. 1815.
Serondol, 25 Dec. 45 21 568 13 ​—
1,537 81 1,618
Of Six Companies at Serondol, died from 25th December, 1815, to 13th March, 1816 1
Of One ditto Solo ditto 25th ditto 13th ditto 2
Of Three ditto Weltevreeden, ditto 25th ditto 13th ditto 6
Total 9
Of the above six died at Weltevreeden, one died in consequence of a fall.
[Vol II Pg xvi]

Note by N. Currie, Esq. Surgeon of His Majesty's 78th Regiment, on the foregoing Table.

When the 78th regiment first arrived at Java, the men had been long confined on board ship, living on salt provisions, and were afterwards exposed, not only to the fatigues and privations incident to actual warfare, but also to the inclemency of the weather in a tropical climate. All these causes produced a tendency to disease, and when the regiment arrived at Surabáya the quarters were bad; and being in the middle of the town, free access could at all times be had to spirituous liquors. The number of diseases and of casualties was consequently great; but it diminished gradually, as the men were successively accommodated with good barracks at De Noyo. The whole were comfortably lodged in plastered barracks in March or April, 1813, and in May and the following month a very sensible reduction of deaths took place, as may be seen by the abstracts of those months. During the preceding months of January, February, March, and April, the deaths were numerous, but the greater proportion was among the men of a detachment of about two hundred men that joined in January, and continued to be very sickly during those four months. Almost all the men of this detachment had, when attacked, violent diseases.

A very remarkable instance of the bad effects of exposure to night air while asleep, occurred when part of the regiment was sent, in September, 1814, from Weltevreeden to Chemangis, where the barracks were built of wattled bamboos, and the men lying with their heads to the walls, received the current of air directly in their heads. Fifty were seized with a highly inflammatory fever in the course of three days. Delirium was always the first symptom in every case, and it was necessary to bleed several of them largely before they could be sent to the hospital. By referring to the returns it will be seen that almost every increase of sickness happened after a change of quarters, as in the detachment above-mentioned, and after the removal of the regiment from Surabáya to Ung'arang and Sirondol in October, 1813, after the expedition to Bali at Weltevreeden in June, 1814, and to Chemangis in September 1814. An increase of sickness always took place after the use of spirituous liquors on particular holidays, as Christmas, &c.; and on the contrary, the good effects of not exposing the men to morning dews or wet, and of regularity in diet, may be seen in the healthiness of the regiment after the men got settled in good barracks at Surabáya and Weltevreeden.

Java need no longer be held up as the grave of Europeans, for except in the immediate neighbourhood of salt marshes and forests, as in the city of Batavia, and two or three other places on the north coast, it may be safely affirmed that no tropical climate is superior to it in salubrity. By its insular situation, the temperature of the atmosphere is low and equable, and from its lofty mountains it possesses this great advantage, that in a few hours' travelling a climate of any degree of cold may be found.

FOOTNOTES:

[280] It appears, that subsequent to this year, no general list was kept, a list only of the number of children christened in the reformed churches being found among the registers.

[281] Since this year no specific list to be found.

[282] Mr. Robertson's observation and experience led him to give it a greater latitude, from eight or nine in the morning till twelve, and from three to six in the afternoon.

[283] Five days after our arrival in India. [Vol II Pg xvii]


APPENDIX B.
JAPAN TRADE.

The empire of Japan has, for a long period, adopted and carried with effect all the exclusive maxims of Chinese policy, with a degree of rigour unknown even in China itself. Previously to the expulsion of the Portuguese and the extirpation of Christianity in the latter part of the seventeenth century, the Japanese trade was reckoned by far the most advantageous which could be pursued in the East, and very much superior to either the Indian or Chinese trade. After the expulsion of the Portuguese, a very extensive trade was for some permitted to be carried on by the Dutch, on account of the benefits which the Japanese imagined themselves to have received from that nation during the Portuguese war, and especially the detection of a formidable conspiracy of some of the Japanese princes to dethrone the emperor, the correspondence relative to which was intercepted at sea. It was for these services that the Dutch originally procured the imperial edict, by which they were permitted to trade to Japan, to the exclusion of all other European nations. This public act of their ancestors, the Japanese have repeatedly declared that they will not cancel; but they have done every thing but formally cancel it, for a more limited and less free trade never was carried on by one rich nation with another.[284] For more than half a century, the Dutch trade has been limited to two yearly ships from Batavia, the cargoes of both of which scarcely ever exceeded the value of 300,000 dollars, and their only profitable returns are Japan copper, and a small quantity of camphor. To shew themselves impartial in their restrictions, the Japanese have limited the traffic of the Chinese, the only eastern nation whom they suffer to trade with them at all, in a similar manner to that of the Dutch, and they suffer no more than ten Chinese junks to visit Nangasaki in the year. The trade of those two favoured nations is also limited to the port of Nangasaki.

In pursuance of their exclusive maxims, and conformably to the terms of their agreement with the Dutch, the Japanese have, on every occasion, followed an uniform line of conduct, and rejected, in the most peremptory manner, the various overtures of different nations of Europe, refusing equally to have any intercourse, negociation or commerce, with any of them. It must also be admitted, that the whole foreign trade of Japan, compared with the riches of the country, is absolutely trifling; nor is there any rich or powerful body of them, like the Hong merchants of China, at all interested in its continuance. The yearly presents, whether offered to the governor of Nangasaki or the emperor, are of no great value, and rigidly limited by law and usage; and as the government of Japan is much stronger and more vigilant than that of China, no such abuses can be ventured on at Nangasaki as those which exist at Canton.

The commercial intercourse of the Dutch at Japan was established by an imperial edict in their favour from the emperor Gonging Soma, in the year 1611. [Vol II Pg xviii]

The first Dutch factory was established at Firando, but in the year 1641 it was removed to Nangasaki. The number of the Dutch ships, and the kind of merchandize which they imported, were then left entirely to the discretion of the parties; the merchandize was disposed of to the best advantage, and the returns consisted of such articles as were expected to yield the greatest profit. They were subject only to the municipal regulations of the country, without any further restraint or incumbrance whatever. The trade remained in this state till the year 1671. In the Dutch records of this period, the only complaints made against Japanese authority relate to restrictions laid upon them in matters of religion.

In the beginning the returns from Japan consisted of silver and copper; and the former being coined, was received according to the current value in that country, where the coins and weights went by the same name as in China, viz. katis, tahils, mas, and kandarins. Ten mas were worth a tahil, sixteen tahil a kati, and one hundred kati weighed one hundred and twenty, or one hundred and twenty-one, pounds Dutch, equal to a mark.

There were two sorts of silver, of which the fine was called zoma, and coarser bar-silver, generally distinguished by the Dutch under the terms of heavy and light money. This was at first carried to account at the rate of sixty-two stivers and a half per tahil, no difference being made in the books of that time between the two kinds; but in the year 1635, the common or bar-silver, was fixed at fifty-seven stivers the tahil. Both kinds, according to this regulation, were considered by the Dutch as calculated too high for an article of merchandize, and consequently were not much in demand in the western parts of India, to which it was at first sent by the Company.

The attention of the Dutch being, however, afterwards attracted to the trade in gold from Japan, orders were issued to the factors in the year 1640, requiring gold as a return, to the amount of from ten to twelve hundred thousand florins. These orders were executed with the best success; and a wish seems, on this occasion, to have been expressed by the factory, that Japan might, as formerly, be permitted to supply from one hundred to one hundred and fifty chests of gold kobangs, ubangs, and zebos. Gold and silver were, at this time, the principal articles in the returns from Japan. Their copper was not much in demand, probably because it was so little known in India or Europe; yet the directors, in their requisition for the year 1655, state the price of Japan copper having risen from thirty-six to forty-six florins per hundred pounds weight, and an order having been sent to Japan for twenty thousand pikuls of that metal, the same rendered great profit.

In 1644, requisitions were made from Surat for two thousand pikuls, from Coromandel for one thousand pikuls, and from Batavia for four thousand pikuls of copper; and in reply it is stated, that it would not be difficult to furnish the quantity required; that the Japan copper consisted of both sheet and bar copper, of which the former was purchased at twenty tahils the pikul, or twelve stivers (inferior silver) per pound, being twenty per cent. cheaper than European copper.

The gold, after being coined, was found a very profitable article, being[Vol II Pg xix] purchased at a favourable rate. In the beginning the kobang was purchased for six tahil eight mas, and for six tahil seven mas; and, as appears from the books of 1669, 1670, and 1671, was within those years even purchased as low as five tahils six mas, and five tahils eight mas, from the great men of the country, or from merchants, according to circumstances. During two of these years, more than one hundred thousand kobangs were obtained, which rendered a profit of one million of florins.

In 1671, an edict was issued by the Japanese government, prohibiting the further exportation of silver; but the profit on the gold being so considerable, the restriction on the exportation of silver was a matter of indifference to the Dutch, who still were enabled to obtain their returns in the more profitable articles of gold and copper.

The exchange of the kobang was now fixed by the Japanese government at sixty-eight mas; and the free and unrestricted trade which the Dutch had hitherto enjoyed, was subjected to an arbitrary valuation of the import cargoes, and limited first with respect to the articles of merchandize, and afterwards with respect to its extent.

The loss of the island of Formosa in 1661, is supposed to have given the first shock to the credit of the Dutch at Japan. Not long after that event they experienced many instances of opposition, and several prejudicial alterations in the trade.

"They (the Japanese) were consequently," observes Mr. Imhoff, in his Memoir on the Japan Trade, "no longer under any apprehension of being annoyed by us, while, if we had remained in possession of Formosa, we were and might have continued masters of the navigation and trade between China and Japan. In that opinion I am still further confirmed, when I consider, in the first instance, that the prejudicial change with respect to our situation at Japan, although it took place only several years after the loss of Formosa, had been already in agitation some time before; and, secondly, that notwithstanding the confidence of the Japanese in their own superiority, which they always evinced, that arrogance did not conceal altogether a certain fear of us, very evident from their great precautions. This fear has, however, since decreased, and if we may trust to the records, has frequently been succeeded by brutality.[285] It is an undeniable truth, that if a nation renders itself respected and formidable it will flourish, and that otherwise it is but little esteemed."

The decline of the trade seems not at first to have been much attended to. "Whether the Japanese," says the same writer, "at that period obtained advice of the advantages we derived from the trade, or that the bad conduct of our servants gave occasion to further restrictions which succeeded each other, we do not know, yet it is undeniable, that first in the year 1685 our trade was limited to three hundred thousand tahils, of which two-thirds were to consist of piece goods and weighable[Vol II Pg xx] articles, and the other third of silks. This was confirmed in 1689, and we were allowed to export only twenty-five thousand pikuls of copper, whereas our exports of that article formerly had been regulated according to our requisition. In the year 1700, the number of our ships was limited to four or five, in lieu of six or seven as were formerly sent, according to circumstances."

The profits of the trade at this period would yet have deserved attention had not a change in the current coin rendered the year 1700 still more disadvantageous. In 1692 and 1693 and afterwards, rich cargoes were sent to Japan which returned considerable profits, and the funds were again laid out in copper, as far as thirty thousand chests or pikuls. The new stipulation of twenty-five thousand chests was of little importance with the Dutch, who knew how, as they confess, to obtain by bribes from the governors and their servants a still further quantity. In the year 1685, the system of receiving the Dutch merchandize by valuation was discontinued; and although it was introduced again in the year 1698, it was once more abolished in the following year.

Various causes are assigned for the change in the current coin which took place about this period; but whether, as was supposed by the Dutch, the knowledge of the Dutch profits upon the kobang opened the eyes of the Japanese, or that their long intercourse with Europeans rendered them more attentive to their own interest, or that the Chinese, who are known to be very expert in the art of coining, proposed that measure to them, or that the easy compliance of the Dutch in all former instances, and while they issued the most injurious orders against their commerce, made them believe that they might purchase their friendship at a cheaper rate than hitherto, or, as seems most probable, it was principally occasioned by other and more weighty causes not yet discovered, it is certain that in the year 1696 appeared, for the first time, a new kind of kobang, of one-third less in value than the old, although tendered to and received by the Dutch at the same rate. Here then was said to commence the iron age.

The new kobang was assayed at thirteen carats six or seven grains, while the old kobang was twenty carats eight and a half, nine, or even ten grains; yet the Dutch were obliged to receive the former at the rate of sixty-eight mas like the old, which weighed thirty-one stivers, and making a difference upon one thousand of seventy-two marks. The old kobang rendered a profit of twenty-five per cent., but the new produced a loss of fifteen or sixteen per cent. on the coast of Coromandel, where it was recoined. Some of the old kobangs being however estimated at the same rate with the new, the Dutch still continued to derive some profits from the gold, until the introduction of a third kind of kobang, denominated the small kobangs, took place.

In 1710 the Japanese resorted to this further change in the coin, by reducing the weight of the kobang nearly one half, the value being twenty-five kanderins, while that of the former was no less than forty-seven kanderins. This caused a loss of from thirty-four to thirty-six per cent., the Dutch being obliged to receive the same at the rate of sixty-eight mas;[Vol II Pg xxi] the former kobangs, of inferior alloy only, were in consequence still preferable. From 1710 to 1720, both sorts were in circulation; but the repeated complaints of the Dutch were at last, in 1720, so far attended to, that the old kobangs, of the same alloy and weight, were again introduced. The latter, however, were called double kobangs, and they were charged in the Dutch accounts at thirteen tahils six mas, which was twice as much as in former times, so that they became still less profitable than the small kobangs, of which two thousand weighed seventy-six marks, while one thousand of the old coin only weighed seventy-two marks, and would consequently, when received in lieu of two small kobangs, have produced a loss of thirty-seven seven-eights per cent.

When an attempt was made, in 1714, to oblige the Dutch to receive the small kobang at the same rate as the old, the exportation of copper was limited to fifteen thousand chests, as was the number of ships to two or three, according to the quantity of copper in store.

A fourth kind of kobang was introduced in 1730, about five per cent. better than the third or small kobang, but the trade continued rapidly to decline until the year 1744.

The loss of many valuable ships and cargoes,[286] a reduction in the selling price of the articles of merchandize which they imported, and an increase of charges attending the visits to the Imperial Court, and the maintenance of their establishment in Japan, contributed to render this period particularly disadvantageous to the Dutch trade. Their submissive conduct at the Emperor's Court was of no avail, nor did their presents of horses, dogs, and other curiosities, produce any better effect. There was no longer any possibility of exporting kobangs, as in former times, for the balance of their accounts. The quantity of copper which they were allowed to export annually had been fixed in 1721 at ten thousand chests, yet even that quantity they were unable to obtain in 1743, so that, together with the high exchange of the tahils, their establishment in Japan now actually subjected them to a loss, and it was accordingly proposed at this period that it should be abandoned, unless some favourable change could be effected.

The charges had considerably increased during the last year. The cargoes were of less value and of an inferior quality, so that their profits were reduced to less than one quarter of what they had been: their expences on account of the Japan trade were at the same time two hundred thousand florins annually. During the last thirty years their profits amounted to five hundred thousand, and for some years to six hundred thousand, but latterly not to two hundred thousand florins per annum.

Thus, to sum up the disasters of this trade, after having been allowed to remain free and unrestrained for a period of sixty years, the cargoes in the year 1672 were subjected to an arbitrary valuation, and about the same time the exchange of the kobang was altered. A tax was laid upon[Vol II Pg xxii] the cargoes in 1685, and further increased in 1689. In 1698 the new kobang was introduced: in 1700 they were limited to four ships annually: in 1710 an exchange still more disadvantageous was fixed: in 1714 their exportation was reduced to fifteen thousand pikuls of copper; in 1717 an order was issued, limiting the trade to two ships only: in 1710 the third, and in 1730 the fourth sort of kobangs were introduced: and in 1743 the Dutch were limited to one ship and to one-half of the cargo.

The Dutch, in deliberating upon the measure of abandoning the trade, in the year 1744, trace all their disasters in this commerce, to their having tamely submitted, in the first instance, to take the kobang of reduced value at the same rate as the old one. It then occurred to them, that if serious remonstrances had been made in the beginning, their firmness might have prevented the subsequent losses. "In the first instance," says Mr. Imhoff, "our commerce was carried on as by a people groping in the dark, neither knowing the actual price of purchase or sale; because the kobang being the standard coin of the country, that kobang ought to have been calculated in proportion to the value of the tahil, and it would have appeared that since 1710 for forty stivers inferior silver, thirty stivers superior silver were received, and all articles of trade not disposed of with a profit of sixty-three per cent. rendered a loss. And this being the case with most of the cargoes that were sent to Japan after the period above mentioned, we ought either to have relinquished that commerce, or had recourse to such means as might have tended to re-establish the affairs of the Company. Instead, however, of so doing, fruitless remonstrances and solicitations were employed, which finally produced this effect, that the Japanese, during the latter years, granted us, by way of charity, an additional sum of six thousand tahils upon the sale of our cargoes."

From the deliberations which took place at this period, it appears that the proposal then under consideration of relinquishing the trade, was rather intended as a provisional and political measure, to induce the Japanese to admit them to more favourable terms in future, than brought forward with the view of finally abandoning or relinquishing the trade altogether.

The public opinion of the time was, that the Japanese had recourse to these measures of restriction for no other purpose, but to oblige the Dutch to depart from the country; but it occurred to the Dutch government, that a nation which treated strangers in so despotic a manner, had no need to resort to such shifts to dislodge them. Another opinion was, that the restrictions laid on the trade proceeded from political motives, of which the first and most important was their hatred against all the different persuasions of the Christian religion without exception;[287] but the government were inclined to consider these reasons as deserving of little notice. "There is no probability," observes Mr. Imhoff, "that, in the present enlightened age, it can be a consideration, even with the Japanese, of what persuasion merchants are, who neither attempt to [Vol II Pg xxiii]propagate their religion with a view to promote their interest, nor to endanger the safety of the state, of neither of which they appear ever to have been suspected." The governor-general was further of opinion, that the Japanese could derive no advantage from the expulsion of the Dutch, as they would thus be cut off from all correspondence with Europeans, and thereby become subject to greater inconveniences than at present, being exposed to the visits of others, whose great increase in those regions was not unknown to them; for, as he states, it is notorious that the Japanese government took annual information of all that passed in the world, and that the Dutch servants had orders to answer their queries faithfully, in order that contrary reports might not injure their credit, by which the Japanese were well aware that if the Dutch withdrew, others would soon settle in the country.[288] Instead, therefore, of attributing the conduct of the Japanese to either of these causes, the governor-general laid it entirely to the account of their interested desire to take every possible advantage of the weakness of the Dutch, who, by admitting the first imposition, laid themselves open to all that followed.

In his very able and interesting memoir "On the Trade of Japan and the Causes which occasioned its Decline,"​—"It is by no means surprizing," says Mr. Imhoff, "that the Japanese, when they altered the kobang, likewise made a change in the delivery of the copper, observing that our exchange remained always the same, and the prices of our merchandize unalterably fixed. We cannot pass unnoticed, that this wrong calculation has been the cause that, on our part, many valuable articles of commerce, which were from time to time tendered to us by the Japanese, were declined. Among those articles was yellow copper or brass, Japan porcelain, of which musters were sent in 1736, and camphor, which we might have exported from thence, if our return cargoes had not been complete. Whether the sovereign right to regulate the trade of their country is not equally vested in the government of Japan with any other nation, I will leave undecided. Seeing us patiently submitting to all kinds of restrictions, inattentive in keeping our accounts in a regular order, they were encouraged to put us to the last shift. I am not inclined to dwell upon our surprising indifference, which was concealed at the same time under the cloak of mystery, from whence so many evil consequences resulted. I am of opinion, that it cannot be either the interest or inclination of the Japanese to oblige us to relinquish all intercourse with their country, provided our trade be carried on within narrow bounds, and they are not losing upon the articles delivered to us in payment for our cargoes. It is not possible that they can have any profit on the copper, if it is sold for less than one kobang. The mines certainly cannot be worked at a cheaper rate than formerly; and what profit do the venders of the copper derive from our merchandize, after it has fallen into the hands of the interpreters to government and others? Nothing is more natural, therefore,[Vol II Pg xxiv] than that our exportation of copper from Japan should have become a burden to that class of people, and that their complaints contributed to the restrictions to which we are now subject. There is no doubt, that if the Japanese could keep up the communication without allowing us a single chest of copper, they would willingly grant us six thousand tahils as a gratification, over and above the stipulated price for our cargo."

In considering the reforms to be introduced into the management of the trade in future, the first point which attracted attention was a better calculation of the coin, with reference to the intrinsic value, and a calculation being made upon a new basis, allowed a higher price to be paid for the copper than before. It was estimated, that if the Dutch could annually procure twenty thousand pikuls of copper at twenty tahils, the Japan trade would still be lucrative, allowing the profits on the outward-bound cargoes to be merely sufficient for the support of the factory.

But in order to purchase and to pay for such a quantity of copper, the governor-general observes, "it is necessary that government should strictly comply with the requisitions from Japan, because our failures therein have brought us into such discredit with the Japanese, that they do not any longer place confidence in our promises. We have passed our word from year to year, that the quality and the quantity of our merchandize should be better assorted, without ever attending to it. Even at this moment, the supply differs so very much from the quantity required, that it will be extremely difficult to convince the Japanese that they shall be better served in future; and still it must be done, because if we wish to obtain the value of eight hundred or four hundred thousand tahils of copper annually, besides camphor and other articles, different measures must be resorted to. We are hardly able, at present, to supply one-third of that amount, and load the ships with coarse goods.

"We have no doubt but other productions of Japan might also be procured at a cheaper rate than at present. Camphor may be purchased in abundance at thirty tahils the pikul, and it is probable the same could still be obtained on more favourable terms, if we advert to what it cost formerly; in which case it would become a profitable remittance to Holland, and render one hundred per cent., or thereabouts.

"The white copper (tutenague) has been tendered to us at sixteen tahils per pikul, but has not been accepted, the price being considered too high. If, however, we can dispose of it merely at the same price as the yellow copper (brass), which yields according to the price current before us 41-43 f. per 100 lb., it will not only be acceptable, but even render a reasonable profit of fifty per cent.

"Iron was formerly imported here from Japan, and might perhaps be procured at a moderate price, which for the sake of the small distance between us and that country would be very desirable.[289]

"Sulphur was also declined in 1726, on account of its being charged[Vol II Pg xxv] too high; yet it might still become an article worth attention, especially if it were purified in Japan. And who knows how many other valuable productions might be drawn from that extensive country, besides those already mentioned, and which would be very acceptable, in an economical as well as a mercantile point of view?"[290]

The following facts are collected from the considerations at this time.

That in former times the commerce of foreign nations at Japan amounted to ten millions of florins, and since then for many years to 3,150,000 florins, of which the Chinese share was two-thirds, and the Dutch one-third; and it was consequently presumed, that in so extensive a country as Japan, merchandize might still be disposed of to the value of one million, especially if it was paid for in the productions of the country.

That one of the causes of the decline of the trade was the conduct of the Company's servants, and the extent to which the private trade of individuals was carried. The directors of the trade at Japan had been selected from a very inferior class of society, and the peculations on overweight of the copper, &c. formed the subject of a regular complaint made by the Japanese to the Dutch government.

That the trade of the Chinese to Japan had been reduced from eighty to twenty junks in the year, the number then allowed.

In concluding his valuable and interesting Memoir, the Baron Van Imhoff declares it to be his firm belief, that Japan was, in every respect, what it had been formerly; that the same quantity of merchandize might be disposed of there as in former times, and that returns of equal value might be obtained; that although the profits should be less at present, there could be no reason to relinquish that trade; that the means of the Dutch were certainly inferior at that moment to what they had been, yet that if they adhered to the measures proposed (namely, clear accounts, correctness and honesty of conduct, and a good assortment of cargoes), which were easy, and could not expose them to any risk or danger, they might hope for a favourable issue.

In the course of all these deliberations, the Dutch seem to have concluded that the debasement of the coin was resorted to by the Japanese, solely with the view of affecting their trade, and never to have reflected that so important a change in the intrinsic value of the standard coin of the country, might have been occasioned by political causes, of far greater magnitude to the Japanese than the paltry gain to be obtained on the traffic of the Dutch cargoes. It is most probable that the empire of Japan, at the periods when these changes took place, wished to check the exportation of the precious metals of the country. In the first instance, we perceive a prohibition against the exportation of silver. The loss of this metal was first felt, because the principal exports were at first made in this coin; but it is never hinted that this prohibition was occasioned by any desire to take an undue advantage of the Dutch: on the contrary, this measure was not found to affect the Dutch trade at all. The same causes, however, which first led to a prohibition regarding silver, operated afterwards in an equal degree with respect to gold; and it is easy to[Vol II Pg xxvi] account for the rise in the value of this metal, and the consequent changes in the coin, by the scarcity which ensued. Let us but reflect on the enormous exportation of the precious metals, which took place from Japan at the period when the trade was unlimited, and we shall find abundant cause for these changes in the coin, without accusing the Japanese of resorting to the measure as an imposition on the foreign merchant. "The exports at one period," says Mr. Imhoff, "amounted to ten millions of florins." These were principally made in the precious metals and in the coin of the country; and when the trade fell exclusively into the hands of the Dutch, it had been usual to export at first from one hundred to one hundred and fifty chests of silver, and subsequently the trade admitted of no less than two hundred chests of gold coin being exported instead of the silver. On a moderate calculation, therefore, the exports of the former period were about one million sterling, and those continued by the Dutch could not be less than from half a million to a million sterling in each year; so that, during a period of sixty years, the total export would have amounted to from thirty to sixty millions of pounds sterling, and this does not include what found its way to China and other neighbouring countries.

The discovery of the mines of America reduced, in the sixteenth century, the value of gold and silver in Europe to about one-third of what it had before been:[291] and might not the extensive drain on Japan have produced in that country an opposite effect of the same magnitude? If the gold and silver annually imported into Spain and Portugal, which did not commonly exceed six millions pounds sterling, produced this effect on the circulating medium, and the price of the precious metals throughout all Europe, in one country of which alone the circulating gold and silver amounted, by some accounts to eighteen, and by others to thirty, millions.[292] Is it not easy to conclude, that a directly contrary and equally extensive effect must have been felt in Japan? and that this effect must have been felt in a still higher degree, while operating on the confined circulating medium of one nation, than while operating on that of the numerous nations of Europe, who again found means to dispose of large quantities by remittances to the eastern world?

The extensive circulation of money throughout the populous and rich empire of Japan, and the facility with which the drains upon it could be supplied from the mines, was perhaps the cause that, in the first instance, the exportation of the precious metals was not sensibly felt; but afterwards, when probably the mint could not keep pace with the demand, and what is not unlikely, the demand was even too heavy for the mines, the intrinsic value of the coins increased in proportion to the scarcity; and it is not surprising that the Japanese should have entertained an apprehension lest the mines would become exhausted. Whether there were any immediate grounds for such an apprehension is uncertain; but it is generally believed that an edict was issued to discontinue working, first the silver, and afterwards the gold mines, but not until the nominal, and perhaps the real, value of both metals, and particularly of the latter, had [Vol II Pg xxvii]been nearly doubled, as in the instance of the kobang of the original value being offered to the Dutch for two kobangs.

That the Dutch perhaps owe the loss of this valuable trade, in a great measure, to the incapacity and worthlessness of their own servants, cannot but be admitted; for had they, on these continued reductions in the value of the current coins, adverted to the political cause, and calculated their commercial transactions according to the intrinsic, instead of the nominal, value, they would not have subjected themselves, unknowingly, to a loss of sixty per cent. upon the proceeds of all their exports: nor would they have shewn their weakness and ignorance to the Japanese, but they would immediately have devised the advantage of other returns from Japan, in articles, the exportation of which might, at the same time, have improved the industry and prosperity of that empire; and the Japanese, finding them equally intelligent and enterprising under all circumstances, while they felt an interest in the continuance of the trade, would have respected the nation by whom it was carried on. If, however, by these means, the European character and the value of foreign trade thus declined in the estimation of the Japanese, how much lower must that of the Dutch nation have fallen, when after once dictating the prices of all articles both bought and sold, we find them obtaining at last an advance on their proceeds of the outward cargo, by way of charity, and the Japanese themselves appealing against the peculations and corruptions that were carried on! When we see the Dutch, without power and without respect, dictating in the mighty empire of Japan an arbitrary and extravagant price for their commodities, in the same manner as they did at home, is it surprising that we should find the Japanese having recourse to a fixed valuation? When we observe the illicit trade to Japan carried on by private individuals, to such an extent, that Valentyn, a Dutch author of the highest authority, says it was so interwoven with the constitution of the Company, and so extensive, that it formed the principal part of the trade, and could never be prevented, and that the Dutch ships were frequently lost by being overladen with cargoes of this kind, we cannot be astonished at the decline of the prosperity of the Company, or the degradations which were imposed upon its agents. The Dutch factory was, and is, in fact, a sink of the most disgraceful corruption and peculation which ever existed. The factor to obtain his own ends, submits to every possible degradation, and the government of Batavia knows only just as much of what is going on at Japan, as it is his interest to tell them. In this work it has become a painful duty to advert occasionally to the shameful scenes of fraud and corruption carried on under the very eyes of the government of Batavia, and in the dependencies in the more immediate vicinity of that metropolis, where their residents enjoyed such extensive powers, and were so removed from controul and responsibility, that their interests constantly interfered with their duties, and the struggle between principle and opportunity generally ended in a resolution to make fortunes, to connive at each other's peculations, and keep their own secret. If this was the case on the island of Java, the seat of government, what must it not have been in a country so remote as Japan, where the con[Vol II Pg xxviii]nection and intercourse were so peculiar? It is not surprising, that in the accounts of such a factory, the government at home should find nothing but intricacy and obscurity. It was the interest of the factor to keep every thing involved in mystery, and no where was there a better opportunity for doing so.

But had the shameful and disgraceful conduct of these people been felt only in its effects upon the past, it would be trifling, compared to what they are calculated to produce on the future. The unmanly degradation to which these factors have submitted at the caprice, and often for the amusement of the Japanese, in order to gain their own ends, seem to have established an effectual bar against the future extension of the trade by the Dutch nation, who will find it difficult, if not impracticable, ever to be again respected in Japan. Unless, therefore, the Dutch have magnanimity enough to abandon this trade, when they find it of little comparative value to them, or when they see it must be conducted on principles derogatory to the dignity of the illustrious House of Orange, it is to be feared, that the day is far distant, when the opportunity will be afforded of opening a liberal and honourable communication between Europe and this interesting and important empire. Perhaps this will not happen until, according to Humboldt, the two great oceans shall be united by means of a channel across the Isthmus of Darien, when the productions of Nootka Sound and of China will be brought more than two thousand leagues nearer to Europe and the United States, and when alone any great changes can be effected in the political state of Eastern Asia; "for this neck of land," observes that writer, "the barrier against the waves of the Atlantic Ocean, has been for many ages the bulwark of the independence of China and Japan."[293]

From the year 1750 no essential alteration appears to have taken place in the trade: the utmost exertions of the Dutch were required to provide the cargoes, and whenever they succeeded, return cargoes were always provided, to the extent of two or three ships in the year. In order to afford a better view of the nature and extent of the restricted trade thus carried on, the accounts of two of these expeditions to Japan are annexed, from which it will appear, that in the voyage of 1804-5 the Company exported from Batavia to the Japan market commodities to the amount of 211,896 rix-dollars in value; that the charges attendant on the shipment and freight amounted to 167,500 rix-dollars (including 2,915 rix-dollars on account of customs), making the whole expenses of the voyage, with the prime cost of the articles, amount to 379,397 rix-dollars. These articles, when sold in Japan, brought 160,378 rix-dollars; but the expenses and disbursements at Japan in one year for the establishment, the loss on the weight of the sugar, and the expense of making the journey to Japan, reduced that sum to 92,426 rix-dollars. The return cargo brought to Batavia the sum of 886,554 rix-dollars, or a profit of 507,147 rix-dollars on the adventure. The cargo and return of 1806, and the expense of the establishment, cost the Company 393,582 rix-dollars, (including 2,846 for customs), and the sales and other receipts produced [Vol II Pg xxix]569,089, leaving a balance of 175,505 rix-dollars in favour of the adventure.

A more correct judgment may perhaps be formed from the result of the adventures undertaken from Batavia during the provisional authority of the British government. The first of these was intimately connected with a political object, to which the mercantile adventure was made subservient, and both were undertaken without those previous arrangements which would have insured a better assorted and cheaper cargo. The articles were purchased on the spot and at the moment, and the vessels engaged at a very high rate of freight. In the first, in particular, the sugar being of inferior quality, there was a loss in the weight, and it was otherwise less profitable than it would have been, had the assortment been of the same quality which the Dutch company were in the habit of sending. The freight alone amounted to the enormous sum of 82,309 Spanish dollars. From the outward-bound cargoes it was necessary to pay the debts of the former government, amounting to 48,648 Spanish dollars; and this, with other disbursements and necessary provisions, rendering the proceeds of the outward-bound cargo insufficient to furnish the amount requisite for the payment of the copper; the Dutch factor availed himself of the opportunity to supply the deficiency of fourteen hundred pikuls at the rate of twenty-five dollars per 120⅞ pounds, amounting to 25,000 Spanish dollars; differing from the rate paid to the Japanese of 12.3.5 tahils, or ten rix-dollars per pikul, to an extent of fifteen rix-dollars against government. Besides this, the whole of the outward cargo was not sold: several articles of merchandize remained undisposed of at Japan, amounting to 19,688 Spanish dollars, to be accounted for in the ensuing year. All these operated essentially to reduce the profits of a voyage, which depended exclusively on the return cargo.

The results of these voyages, however limited as the profits were, appear fully sufficient to shew the importance of this trade to Batavia, even as it at present stands, considering that it affords a market for so large a quantity of the produce of the country, and that when the government seemed disinclined to send a further adventure on their own account, there were not wanting numerous individuals anxious to obtain a license to undertake the trade, and to run all the risks attached to it.[294] [Vol II Pg xxx]

In the year 1616, the English obtained a grant from the emperor, containing the privileges for a general trade with Japan, in consequence of which a commercial establishment was formed there by the Company.

In obtaining those privileges, one great object with the Company appears to have been to introduce themselves to a connection with the Chinese, and to carry on a general trade between India, China, and Japan; but finding themselves disappointed in their endeavours to form connections with China, and sustaining heavy losses in consequence of their trade with Japan, they determined, in 1623, to abandon their establishment there.

From that time, until the year 1673, no attempt appears to have been made by the English Company to renew their intercourse with Japan. The attempt made at that period entirely failed of success, owing, it was stated, to the king of England having married a daughter of the king of Portugal. About the same time the Company, with a view to the same object, formed an establishment on the Island of Hounan; but after struggling with great difficulties, sustaining heavy losses, and being totally disappointed in their expectations of communicating with Japan, the factory was ordered to be withdrawn in the year 1682.

At a subsequent period (in the year 1699), the Company having established a regular communication with China, their supra-cargoes were instructed to use every endeavour in their power to promote an intercourse with Japan, for the purpose of introducing woollens, &c. into that country, but without any appearance of success.

A select committee of the East-India Company, appointed in 1792 to take into consideration the export trade of Great Britain to the East Indies, after detailing the cargo of a Dutch ship from Japan in the year 1664, which consisted principally of copper, camphor, silk-stuffs, and china-ware, conclude their report by observing, that, in their opinion, the trade with Japan never can become an object of attention for the manufactures and produce of Great Britain; for supposing, they observe, that woollens, lead, and curiosities for a cargo to Japan, could be made to £8,000, what is to be required in payment? About £30,000 or £32,000 value in copper, an article which is also the produce of Great Britain, and which must be disposed of in India, to the prejudice of their own mines. Thus Great Britain would gain, on the one hand, £8,000, whilst the loss, on the other, would be £32,000. [Vol II Pg xxxi]

This opinion, however, would appear to have been formed on a very partial view of the subject, and with reference to the limited nature of the trade as it then existed; but it would be as unfair to judge of the value of the Japan trade to the British nation from this narrow view, as it would be to decide upon that subject merely from the result of the adventures to Japan undertaken during the recent provisional government of Batavia, which, besides other disadvantages, were, for political reasons, carried on with a scrupulous regard to the restrictions under which the trade of the Dutch had latterly laboured.

It is objected to a direct communication with Japan, and the consequent exportation of British merchandize by British ships, that, in all probability, it would entirely put a stop to the present exportation of woollens by the Chinese, and that, in proportion as the exports from Great Britain to Japan increased, those from Great Britain to China might be expected to diminish; the Japanese being, at present, almost exclusively supplied with British woollens by means of the Chinese: that, however, the demand for teas would continue the same, and therefore the defalcation in exports to China must be made up in bullion, or by drafts on Bengal.

It is admitted that the Bengal government might provide for this additional demand, by disposing of the copper brought from Japan in the Calcutta market; but this, it is stated, would prove a considerable check to the consumption of one of the most valuable articles of export from Great Britain, and therefore it has been inferred, that the final result of the trade with Japan would, in all probability, be the exchange of our woollens for copper, which we have already in abundance, instead of bartering them for teas, which, in the present state of Great Britain, will be always required.

But this argument seems evidently to have been grounded on a supposition that copper must always form the principal, if not only, article of commerce with Japan. An inference by no means borne out by the history of the Dutch trade; in the course of which, it is expressly stated by the Baron Van Imhoff, who appears to have given the subject the most mature and deliberate consideration, and to have been aided by much local information, that the Japanese would willingly pay a sum of money to be excused from the delivery of any copper at all.

But admitting that a connection between Great Britain and Japan might not be attended with all the commercial profits which might be expected from a consideration of the productions of the two countries, would it not, in a political point of view, be of the most essential importance to her interests in China, which are acknowledged by all to be so important? Might we not expect from the Chinese a more respectful and correct conduct than has been customary with them, if they knew that we were in some measure independent of our connection with them? and is it not important, that in case of our actual exclusion from China, there should still be a channel open for our obtaining commodities, with which we are at present supplied by that country? [Vol II Pg xxxii]

Voyage to Japan (in the year 1804-5) in Account Current Contra.
Dr. Cr.
Amount Sale at Japan of the following Articles.​—
Rix-Dollars. Rix-Dollars. Rix-Dollars. Rix-Dollars.
N.B. A considerable part of the profit above stated, ought properly to be credited to the Mint, the whole of the copper received from Japan being stamped into lumps, and introduced into the currency of Java at a rate above its intrinsic value.[Vol II Pg xxxiv]
1,500,000 lbs. of Sugar, second sort, calculated at its selling price of 8⅓ each pikul, amounting to 100,000 ​— 1,500,000 lbs. of Sugar, at 7 tahils the 120⅞ lbs. (each tahil being equal to 40 Stivers) amounting to 72,388 40
Charges of one per cent 1,000 ​
101,000
37,500 lbs. of Tin 7,200 37,500 do. Tin, at 25 tahils each pikul of 120⅞ lbs. 6,463 14
4,000 do. Cotton Thread, at 55 R. Drs. per pikul 1,760 4,000 do. Cotton Thread, 25 do. 689 20
30,000 do. Black Pepper. 10⅔ do. 3,200 30,000 do. Black Pepper, 15 do. 3,102 18
30,000 do. Cloves 60 Stivers per pikul 37,500 30,000 do. Cloves 150 do. 31,023 36
2,987 do. Seed Cloves 60 do. 3,733 36 2,987 do. Seed Cloves, 40 do. 823 34
30,000 do. Lead. 20 Stivers per pikul 4,800 30,000 do. Lead 10 do. 2,068 12
100,000 do. Sappan Wood 6 do. 4,800 100,000 do. Sapan Wood, 5.5 do. 3,791 38
2,000 Pieces Patna Chintz 50 Stivers per corgie 5,000 2,000 Pieces Patna Chintz, 2 tahils each piece 3,333 16
1,651½ do. Cloths in sorts 6 do. 9,909 1,651½ do. Cloths in sorts 4,689 19
40 do. of Woollens of sorts 5,149 26 40 do. of Woollens of sorts, 90 tahils 3,000
82 do. Long ells of sorts. 3,278 15 82 do. of Long Ells of sorts, 30 do. 2,050
110 do. Perpetuans 2,958 42 110 do. Perpetuans 25 do. 2,291 32
5,137 do. Camlets 7,773 12 5,137 do. Camlets 4 do. 5,965
3,500 do. Ducatoons 5,833 16 3,500 do. Ducatoons 2 5.2.5. do. 7,364 28
The Presents are calculated at 8,000 The Presents are calculated at 8,000
R. Drs. 211,896 3 R. Drs. 157,045 19
The surplus of the Trade calculated 3,333 16
Making together 160,378 35
Add the following Charges incurred on account of the above-mentioned merchandize, viz. Where from must be deducted:
Amount of Coolies and Prow-hire attending the purchase of articles, calculated at two per cent. on the whole amount, being R. Drs. 38,868 = Sp. D. 777 18 The Amount of Expenses and Disbursements at Japan in one year, for the Establishment, &c. and also the loss on the weight of the Sugar 51,285 32
For bringing and lodging the same in the stores, one per cent 388 33 The Amount of Money and Merchandizes required for making the journey to the Court of Jeddo 16,666 32
Custom Duties, &c. at 7½ per cent 2,915 8 67,952 16
Amount of Charges 4,081 11 Remaining to be employed for the purchase of Copper and Camphor 92,426 19
Total of the Cargo with the Charges 215,977 14 Particulars as follows:
Yearly allowance to the Resident at Japan, consisting of 700 pikuls Copper, to be paid by Government, at 25 R. Drs. each 17,500 8,475 pieces of Copper, at tahils 12.3.5. each 87,221 32
200 do. Camphor, do. 21 do. 3,500
4,000 chests for Copper, do. 2.8.1.5.5 do. 1,146 32
Freight of Ships employed, 1,216 tons, at 98 Sp. D. each 145,920 200 bales for Camphor 180
2,525 planks for Dunnage, at tahils 18 each 100 378 3
163,420 Amount as above to 92,426 19
The above Copper, and that delivered by the Resident being stamped into lumps, amount to 933,369 38
Deduct Charges of the Mint 71,000
Total Expense on Account of the Adventure 379,397 14 Remain 862,369 38
To balance in favour of the Voyage 507,147 24 The Amount of 200 pikuls Camphor, to be sold at 36 Stivers per pound 24,175
Total R. Drs. 886,544 38 Total R. Drs. 886,544 38
Voyage to Japan (in the Year 1806) in Account Current Contra.
Dr. Cr.
JAPAN.
Rix Dollars. Rix Dollars.
To 1,269,679 lbs. of Sugar at 6½ Sp.D. per pikul 63,483 60 By sold 1,269,679 lbs. of Sugar, at 7 tahils per 120¼ pieces 45,907 32
25,000 do. Tin 18 do. 3,600 2,500 do. Tin 25 do. 3,226 32
102,000 do. Sapan Wood, 4½. do. 3,672 102,000 do. Sapan Wood, 5.5. tahils per lb. 2,897 46
12,000 do. Cloves, first sort, 2 Rop.per lb. 11,250 12,000 do. Cloves, first sort, 150 do. 9,297 32
5,087 do. do. second do. 2 do. 4,769 4 5,087 do. do. second do. 40 do. 1,051 2
10,000 do. Pepper 11⅓ Sp.D. per pikul 906 48 10,000 do. Pepper 15 do. 774 41
100 do. Nutmegs 1⅞ per lb. 187 32 100 do. Nutmegs 100 do. 51 40
6,000 do. Cotton Thread 41¼ per pikul 1,980 6,000 do. Cotton Thread 25 do. 774 50
6,082 Ells of Woollens 26,777 46 6,082 Ells of Woollens, 7 per 2⅞ per pikul 9,255
2,842 do. Kerseymeres 7,548 28 2,842 do. Kerseymeres, 4.8. do. 2,960
778 do. Plush 2,064 24 778 do. Plush 6 do. 920
59 do. Fustians 963 48 59 Pieces of Fustians, 3.2. per piece 118
35 do. Roselets 519 48 35 do. Roselets of 2033¾ Ells. 1.6. per 2⅞ 677 32
5 do. Durants 76 48 5 do. Durants, 190¾ 1.2. do. 47 18
20 do. Carpets, English 44 24 20 do. Carpets, English do. 20
1,812 do. Kerseys. 2,691 28 90 do. Kerseys, at 18 tahils per pikul 1,012 32
61 do. Morin. 996 24 6 do. Morin, 1.9.6 do. 76
4,900 do. Chintz, Bengal 10,048 24 4,900 do. Chintz, Bengal, 2. do. 6,125
590 do. do. Guzzerat 523 30 590 do. do. Guzzerat, 1.4. 553 8
179 do. Cabayahs, Malabar 389 18 179 do. Cabayahs, Malabar, 1.9.4. 223 48
220 do. Palempores 462 50 220 do. Palempores 4.4. 618 40
20 do. Salempores 84 4 20 do. Salempores 40
814 do. Fish Skins 540 10 814 do. Fish Skins, 200 tahils 125
96 lbs. of Saffron 2,459 8 96 lbs. of Saffron 2,731 22
122 do. Quicksilver 205 12 122 do. Quicksilver, 100 tahils per 720⅞ lb. 62 32
1,200 do. Spanish Liquorice 680 10 1,200 do. Spanish Liquorice, 832 lb. 600 35
15,181 do. Catchu 2,705 61 15,181 do. Catchu 30 do. 2,351 56
2,143 do. Elephants' teeth 3,577 44 2,143 do. Elephants' Teeth, 230 do. 2,545 40
3,500 do. Ducatoons 4,593 48 3,500 Pieces of Ducatoons, 8,836 tahils 5,522 32
Presents 2,082 24 Presents from the Emperor 2,812 32
House Expenses 2,525 Cash borrowed from the Imperial Treasury to complete the Cargo 5,428
161,008 62 108,797 62
CHARGES AT BATAVIA. BATAVIA.
To Godown, Prow and Cooley hire. 2,846
Customs, House Duties. 2,846
Freight of two Ships employed, at the rate of 100 Spanish Dollars per ton 99,532 32
To Charges, viz JAPAN. 105,224 32
Presents to the Emperor 3,800
Expenses conveying the same to the Roompot 7,000
Presents to the inferior Officers of the Court 4,800
Annual Salary of the Company's Servants 1,345
Annual Table Expenses for do. 3,750
Expense landing and storing Cargo 3,036
Loss on the weighable Articles of the Cargo, at five per cent 2,045
Commission on Cargo, 5 per cent. 7,143
Annual Rent of the Island occupied by the Company's Servants 3,462
Annual Salary of the Japanese to guard the said Island 1,480
Presents to the inferior Officers, to procure permission of a further exportation of Copper, 5,000 pikuls being allowed only annually 716
Petty Charges 148 30
39,625 30
To 700 pikuls of Copper, at 18¾ Sp.D. per pikul of 120⅞ lbs 13,125 Amount Sales Copper
7,820 pikuls of Copper, 12.3.5. tahils per do. 60,360 40 8,238105125 Pikuls, say 50 Drs. per pikul or 125 lb. 411,942 ​—
640 do. Camphor, at 18.4. tahils per do. 7,360 Amount Sales Camphor, at 40 Stivers per lb. 48,350 ​—
Bales 413 8
4,500 Chests for Copper 791 16
2,200 Planks for Dunnage 247 32
82,297 32
To Amount borrowed from the Treasury 5,428
To Balance in favour of the Voyage 175,505 34
Total R. Drs. 569,089 62 Total R. Drs. 569,089 62
[Vol II Pg xxxv]
[Vol II Pg xxxvi]
Voyage To Japan (in the Year 1813) in Account Current Contra.
Dr. Cr.
By Cargo brought from Japan, viz.
Spanish Dollars. Spanish Dollars.
To 1,836,270 lbs. of Soft Sugar 88,141 902,452 lbs. of Japan Copper, at 31 per pikul 223,727
18,750 do. Black Pepper 750
34,349 do. Pig Lead 2,668 59
26,461 do. Roll do. 1,960 74
164,000 do. Sapan Wood 3,280
87,511 do. Tin, or 700.0.8 pikuls, at 17 per pikul 11,901 36
1,553 do. Elephants' Teeth 1,748 40
50 do. Egyptian Mummy 600 60,437 do. Camphor, at 50 Stivers 45,785
15,000 do. Cloves, at 100 per pikul 12,000
12,500 do. Nutmegs, at 100 per pikul 10,000
15,013½ do. Cotton Thread 4,804
514 Pieces of Thornback Skins 276 80
5,019 do. Patna Chintz 6,348 51
60 do. Coast Chintz fine 150
166 do. Printed Cottons 2,060 94 1,208 do. Pitch 600
26 do. Cambrics 490
2,610 do. Surat Palampores 6,210
623 do. Silks in Sorts 2,926 50
225 do. Woollens in Sorts 10,916 58
298 do. Long Ells 4,078 84
231 do. Perpetuans 2,977 95
54 do. Camblets 1,400 69
3,500 do. Ducatoons 4,342 42
179,033 32 670,112
Paid the Chief of the Factory at Japan for 1,400 pikuls of Copper delivered to Government 25,000
CHARGES.
Spanish Dollars. Spanish Dollars.
Bags for the Sugar, Pepper and Cloves; Casks, &c. &c. 6,252 Debts of the former Dutch Government paid to the Emperor of Japan 48,648
Packing-cases 713
Coolies employed on board the Vessels and in the Magazines, packing the Cargoes 2,082 50
Prows employed lading the Cargoes 1,200 Woollens, &c. remaining at Japan for the next Year 15,000
Extra Clerks and Mandores 165
Several Articles on Account of the Adventure 168 8
Food for the Elephant and other Animals 268 80 Cash in the Treasury for do. 4,688
Camphor and packing Cloths, &c. 109
Paid the Commissioners for landing the Copper, &c. at Batavia 250
Prows employed landing the cargoes 600 Advanced to the Commanders of the Vessels and other Persons at Japan, to be repaid at Batavia 3,678
Freight of the Ship Charlotte for nine Months, at 6,600 per Month 59,400
Freight of the Ship Mary for eight Months, at 6,000 Sicca Rupees per Month 22,909 10
94,117 48 72,014
298,150 80
Balance in favour of the Voyage 43,975 20
Total Sp.D. 342,126 Total Sp.D. 342,126
[Vol II Pg xxxvii]

FOOTNOTES:

[284] For the regulations by which the trade is limited, see Kempster's History of Japan. VOL II.

[285] "We were obliged to submit to many insults, and it frequently happened that the governors declined receiving our representations, hinting that we might leave Japan altogether and not return again. From the records also we perceive the despotic regulations resorted to by the Japanese respecting our nation, in consequence of our having at that time but little power in India."​—Imhoff.

[286] It is remarkable, that when the Dutch were formerly in the habit of sending seven and eight ships to Japan, but few losses took place; whereas afterwards, when only two or three were sent and the navigation better known, many were lost. The cause assigned is their being latterly overladen with private trade.

[287] "It is no where evident," says Mr. Imhoff, "that the Dutch ever gave cause to the Japanese to hate them for being Christians: they seem rather to have been accused of indifference towards their religion, although I suppose that the writers on that subject are not altogether correct."

[288] "Our peaceable conduct at Japan, and the alarm given to that country by the Russians, plead greatly in our favour; and as it will be impossible for them to find other Europeans more tractable than ourselves, they can certainly have no reason to desire our departure from thence, although it may be undeniable that Japan stands in no need of foreigners."​—Imhoff.

[289] "In 1637 the Japanese Iron was purchased at two Spanish dollars, and sold at Batavia for five and a half Spanish dollars the pikul. On account of the smallness of the profit, an annual requisition was made for one thousand pikuls only."

[290] "From Japan was formerly exported timber, wheat, rice, ambergris, raw-silk, cotton," &c.​—Imhoff.

[291] Wealth of Nations.

[292] Ibid.

[293] Humboldt's Political Essay on New Spain, Vol. I. page 45.

[294] "Our commercial relations with Japan are of very peculiar nature. Every one knows ours is the only European nation admitted to it, what humiliations we are obliged to suffer for it, and what expenses we incur by our embassies to the court of Jeddo. This trade was once very lucrative, but in the latter years I think it has done little more than cover the expences incidental to it, and considering the loss of ships and people, is certainly not such as to justify an exposure to so many humiliations.

"Notwithstanding this, we have not been inclined to resign the trade; nor indeed is it either necessary or prudent to do so. But I am at a loss to know how the government of Batavia will be able to account for sending there, in the years 1797 and 1798, a strange ship bearing an American flag, by way of pretence, though really an English vessel, and commanded by Captain Stuart, a real Englishman, though possessed of an American pass, although he belonged to Madras or Bengal. To abandon this trade would be ridiculous, but as it is subject to such regulations in Japan as it will be hardly possible to get rid of, it may be impracticable to make it quite free and open. To pursue it on account of the state or of a company will never answer the purpose. I therefore venture to propose the sale by public auction, to the highest bidder, at Batavia, of a license or pass for one or two ships, of limited burthen, to trade there, either for one or more years, as may be preferred. The chief of Decima should be appointed and maintained by the government, and should act as a kind of consul, and proceed on the embassy to Jeddo, if it were required. But beyond this, the whole system and regulation of the trade should be left wholly to the owners of the ships, with the exception of such rules as the Japanese laws may render necessary with regard to our trade.

"The yearly embassies, which are so very expensive, are already dispensed with by the Japanese; and as they would be useful from time to time, it might be advisable to obtain permission, for the future, to perform them only once in every ten years, or to have it fixed for each new resident or consul to undertake it once during his stay.

"It will not be easy to obtain any other privileges or freedom of consequence, for whatever some of our latter servants there may have wanted to make us believe on this point, it is very clear that the Japanese are very indifferent whether we go there or not, and consider their permitting us to do so merely as an indulgence on their part. It cannot be doubted, that as soon as this trade is opened to individuals, they will find means to make the profits of it worth the risk and danger; and in proportion as these profits become more valuable, the value of the licenses will increase."​—Hogendorp. [Vol II Pg xxxviii]


APPENDIX C.
TRANSLATION OF A MODERN VERSION OF THE SÚRIA ÁLEM

There was a certain raja of the west, named Sáng Prábu Súria Alem, who, being duly qualified, did, in the establishment of divine justice, frame a code of judicial regulations, consisting of fifteen hundred and seven articles, which being afterwards digested and reduced to the number of one hundred and forty-four, were by him made known and explained to all the people of the countries under his authority, thereby diffusing knowledge and righteousness where ignorance and wickedness before prevailed.

These regulations were also firmly established, and were put into practice without any respect of persons, not excepting the relations and kindred of Sáng Prábu himself; so that, if the left hand offended, satisfaction was demanded by the right, and vice versâ for such is the law of God.

These judicial regulations originated in no ambitious views, nor was their author, when he framed them, influenced by feelings of either regard for his friends or hatred towards his enemies; neither was he actuated by any selfish considerations: his sole object was the establishment of true justice, founded on divine principles.

I.
Of the Duty of the Jáksa.

In the first place, he must possess a sufficient knowledge of the law, to know how to act in regard to cases which may come before him, which of the parties ought to be made to pay, what are and what are not proper subjects for a law-suit, deciding against the person who would bring forward any thing of the latter description. If the Jáksa is found ignorant of these matters, he shall have his tongue cut out.

In the second place, if the Jejénang (the next in order to the Jáksa) shall, in acting for the Jáksa, prove deficient in a knowledge of his duty, he too shall either have his tongue cut out, lose both his ears, or have red-hot pincers applied to his lips.

In the third place, any incorrect statement in writing shall be punished by the loss of both hands.

Should neither of these sentences be carried into effect, the Jáksa ought, at all events, to be banished the country.

This punishment, however, may be mitigated by the Rája, who, having compassion on the Jáksa, may recal him after one year's exile.

Should the Rája suffer to pass unpunished such a total dereliction of duty on the part of the Jáksa, as stated, difficulty and distress will necessarily arise in those times. [Vol II Pg xxxix]

II.

The establishment fixed by Sáng Prábu for the Jáksa consisted of twelve persons, viz. two Jejénangs, two writers, six Máta Mátas, and two men whose business is to be in constant attendance on the court.

The fees authorised to be taken by the Jáksa from persons who have any business to settle, are forty-four for the Jáksa himself, three thousand for the Jejénangs, eight thousand for the writers, one thousand for those in attendance in the court, and eight thousand for and on account of the state. That for the Panghúlu is left to the liberality of the party.

If the Jáksa shall not conform in practice to what is here laid down, it is required that he be disgraced and branded in the common market-place.

If any one shall find fault with the conduct of the Jáksa, without being able to substantiate his charges against him, and shall make the same public, that person shall be fined agreeably to the rank and quality of the accused, viz. fifteen thousand (pichis).[295] The reason of so large a sum being awarded is, because the Jáksa is the chief of the Mántris.

The Bopáti is, as it were, the door to the Jáksa, the Kabáyan that to the Bopáti, and the Panghúlu that to the Raja. These four form a body, through which every thing is minutely investigated.

Let it be understood, that the Raja, who fills so exalted and conspicuous a situation, is not without something to do. What he says is the result of observation and deliberation. His disposition and way of thinking is that which he has received at the hands of the Almighty, who dwelleth where no one knoweth, at whose hands the wicked will meet with their deserts.

III.

The Tri-rása-upáya, as known among men, comprehend three things, which are intimately connected with each other, but which, nevertheless, must not be confounded, viz. 1. Húkum; 2. P'réntah; 3. Kasúsahan[296].

Where a sentence is very severe, or of a nature which will not admit of its being fulfilled, a mitigation or commutation thereof can only take place, by a careful consultation of what is written in the book of laws.

IV.
Of the Dása Wigúna.

Dása signifies ten, and wigúna, very powerful, and under this name is comprehended: 1. Sentence of death; 2. Amputation; 3. Disgrace; 4. Confiscation of property; 5. Banishment; 6. Extorting evidence by inflicting bodily pain; 7. Getting at evidence by kind treatment and giving money; 8. Obtaining it by skilful management alone; 9. Compulsion; 10. Letting off from punishment, by receiving a consideration for the same.

There are degrees of those which are to be known and observed. [Vol II Pg xl]

V.
Of the Gúntur G'ni.

Under this head is comprehended five things, viz. 1. The customs of the country; 2. The orders of the sovereign; 3. Loss by an enemy; 4. A change of the Raja and of his orders; 5. Difficult queries given by one country to another to solve.

Under the head Mal come three things, viz. Water, land, and people. The water is necessary to keep alive what has been planted in the land. Mankind take all that comes, good as well as bad.

VI.

The term mal properly means cloth, money, and gold; which three articles, above all others, are the grand and most frequent subjects of law-suits, that arise out of the various transactions which take place among men.

VII.

In law-suits there are seven circumstances of material consequence, viz. 1. Where the cause being good can be taken up and supported; 2. When the articles can be minutely described; 3. When the articles, as well as the persons, can be pointed out; 4. When marks can be shewn; 5. When the party suing has been an eye-witness; 6. When all those things happen to take place; 7. When confession is made of what is the subject of the law-suit.

VIII.
Of the Precious Stone, and that in which it is set.

To these may be compared the Raja and his people. The former is in a dependant state. Those who surround him are the Pandíta, the Bopáti, and the Jáksa: and those immediately entertained by himself are, 1. One who possesses his confidence; 2. A Jérutúlis skilled in writing; 3. An interpreter well versed in language; 4. A good messenger; 5. An intelligent doorkeeper; 6. A person who knows in what a want of manners consists; 7. An experienced general.​—Then will the country flourish.

IX.

The Jáksa is, according to his character, distinguished by the following appellations, viz. Wíra páksa, when he inclines to the side whence he receives most bribes; 2. Pátra kilása, when he goes by what he is told, without duly weighing and considering the merits of the case himself; 3. Ami jáya, when he punishes the guilty with severity; 4. Permána, when he awards the just sentence of the law as it is written, without lenity or severity.

X.

There are three things which ought not to be allowed to exist in a country, viz. 1. Witchcraft, particularly at critical junctures. The fine to be imposed in such cases is forty thousand; and if any thing is lost, it is to be laid to the charge of the persons who practise that art.

2. Should the Adipáti be the person, he shall be treated according to the[Vol II Pg xli] Sábda suwára, i. e. he shall be dismissed from his office, and his officers and relatives will be considered as implicated in the crime.

3. Should the Mántris be found guilty of witchcraft, they shall be fined one hundred thousand.

XI.
Of the boundaries or Limits of Lands named Túgu.

By which is meant landmarks, such as stones, trees or fences, or whatever else serves to form an enclosure.

This may and does often become a subject of litigation, especially where any thing has been planted: 1. With respect to lands of inheritance; 2. With respect to such as have been given away; 3. With respect to those which have been purchased; 4. With respect to those in which something has been planted.

Disputes arising on any of those subjects are proper to be litigated; and in settling them, besides examining such witnesses as there may be, it will be necessary to consult the old men of the village, as well as the Lúra who collects the annual land revenue, before a decision can be given.

The true proprietor of a piece of land under dispute, will be he who can prove his having enclosed it; and the true proprietor of any crop will be he who can prove his having sown or planted it.

Proof is to be obtained by administering an oath, which is done by immersion in water, or by drinking it.

XII.

He in whose hands is vested the power of administering justice, must be well acquainted with the nature of the ten following things, and know how to proceed in regard to them, viz. 1. Informations; 2. Grounds for a law-suit; 3. The proper time for trial; 4. The occupation and condition of the parties; 5. The object sought by the parties; 6. The prosecution; 7. The defence; 8. Pleading not guilty; 9. Evidence; 10. Eye-witnesses.

XIII.

A sufficiency of evidence alone will obtain a favourable decision; and when the witnesses brought forward to prove any fact do not, upon examination do so, the party who summoned them ought to be cast and also fined.

XIV.

With regard to the Páncha báka, which is the case of a woman accused by four men of fornication; if, on examination, these four men do not agree in their testimony, they ought to be put to death, or else fined agreeably to the Jána trésna, which leaves it to those who have charge of the woman to determine the extent of the fine.

XV.

There are two descriptions of orders, viz. 1. Purúsa, or those which come from the Raja or from an enemy; 3. paparéntahan, or those of the Bopáti.

If the Bopáti is more severe or more lenient than he ought to be, he[Vol II Pg xlii] shall be fined one hundred thousand, or else agreeably to the Sábda suwára, which is the arbitrary will of the Sovereign.

XVI.

The following are thirty different cases of law-suits, viz.

1. Amra kádang, where one who is accused of theft, points at either another person or the accuser himself.

2. Kundáng chíri, where a person presents a paper to the court, with something additional written under the signature and date of it.

3. Meng'ámuk pung'gung, where a person destroys his property while he has a law-suit pending.

4. Mutúng památang, where a person, during the course of a law-suit, leaves his master or chief and goes to another.

5. Sána dénta, where a person concerned in a law-suit either magnifies or lessens the state of the case.

6. Ng'árika Pátra, where a person denies his own hand-writing.

7. Nídra permána, where a person, intending to kill another, goes and lives on terms of intimacy with him.

8. Dámar kitúdah, where a person, on first making a complaint of his own accord, brings evidence in support of it.

9. Ngaríka wárna, where a person has a law-suit, which another than his own chief is acquainted with the merits of.

10. Sírna ning jáya, where a person objects to his own witnesses.

11. Perlíga, where a person finds a thing and does not take it to some proper person where he lives.

12. Génti wátang, i. e. the case of a person who is the first to bring evidence.

13. Sudésit kemú, i. e. a thing belonging to two persons and found by a third; the point forthwith litigated, and decided in favour of the former, each of whom hopes to get it: the thing, however, cannot be restored to either, or to any of their relations; it must be appropriated for the purpose of assisting in defraying the expenses of the state.

14. Sáksi rumémbi, where a person first of all calls upon only one person as a witness, and afterwards, when the cause is decided, wishes to adduce further evidence.

15. Sasástra perálara, where a person presents a written statement of his grievances without a date to it.

16. Ang'ríka-rája, where a person engaged in a law-suit speaks hesitatingly, and at the same time refers to some respectable person for the truth of what he would assert.

17. Chini ropáti, where a person acts in a compulsory manner towards the people or relations of another.

18. Kápra-lága, where a person, in reply to a question put to him, refers to one who is dead.

19. Abíndu páya, or the case of a breach of promise.

20. Níleb lúra, where the object of the law-suit is for the recovery of duties, or any thing else a long time due. [Vol II Pg xliii]

21. Madót ráketan, when of two witnesses in favour of any litigating party, one is not forthcoming at the time of trial.

22. Sámbung wátan téper, where a person prefers a complaint of a specific nature, and afterwards superadds other circumstances.

23. Ting'gal pergán, where a person concerned in a law-suit remains quiet and keeps himself back.

24. Páncha perkása, where those engaged in a law-suit display rage and cunning.

25. Anára wichána, where before a case is decided, a constant intercourse is held with the Jáksa by one of the parties.

26. Percháya-rasi, where a person prosecuted before the court points out the love and regard which some great man has for him.

27. Katóya rasa, where a person, while his case is pending, makes presents to the Jáksa.

28. Kasúria chándra miráda wachána, where a person refuses to abide by the sentence of the Jáksa.

29. Katóya rása úpaya, where a person, before his cause is decided, makes a present of something to the Raja, the Bopáti, and Panghúlu.

30. Kasábda malícha permána, where a person denies what he has once publicly declared.

With respect to the thirty foregoing cases, it will be for the Jáksa to consider and determine when a law-suit can, and when it cannot, be instituted.

XVII.

Here follow eight more cases, viz.

1. Cupíta sábda permána, where one of four persons engaged in a law-suit, being deputed to act for the others, it appears, on examination of the witnesses, that the affair cannot be settled with this one person.

2. Hanúk meng tan wíring wísa, where a witness, on re-examination, gives a different account from that which he gave when previously examined by the Jáksa. In such case the Jáksa must endeavour to discover which is the most plausible account of the two.

3. Kawílut tára, where opposition takes place between the witnesses, or between those whose cause it is, and others who have been eye-witnesses of what is the subject of litigation.

4. Bháning hanámpuh tóya, where a person is assisted by one who is in the administration of justice.

5. Ng'ádang tárka, where, on a trial taking place, the deposition of a party differs from the account previously taken down by the Jáksa. In this case, such party should be cast.

6. Ng'áling'ga pandáya, when one takes for witnesses worthless persons who cannot be depended on or believed.

7. Eluádi, where a person changes, tears, or makes an erasure in any paper.

8. Kahústi sábda parláya, where a person shamelessly makes free with what belongs to another, who is neither a friend nor relation. [Vol II Pg xliv]

XVIII.
Of cases where a Law-Suit cannot be instituted.

These are five in number, viz. 1. Where the evidence is not clear; 2. Where an article which has been lost by one person is found in the possession of another, who cannot tell whence he got it; 3. Where the evidence of the witnesses produced by any party varies from that of the parties themselves; 4. Where no evidence exists. In this case, the party who can give the most plausible story will obtain a decision in his favour; 5. Where the agent of another in any law-suit is cast.

XIX.

A law-suit will be instituted with success under any of the five following circumstances, viz.

1. Táta, where the declarations of all those who support the suit are uniform and connected.

2. Títi, when the time of the deed or action is known.

3. Kárta, where the object of the suit is universally allowed to be good and just.

4. Sang'ára, where there is a readiness to swear to what is asserted.

5. Dupára, where probability and plausibility exist.

XX.

Of things sent by one person to another, and destroyed under circumstances which admit of no redress, called Páncha Sedrása, of which there are five cases, viz. 1. Where it is occasioned by lightning; 2. When by the attack of an enemy; 3. By being sunk; 4. In consequence of an order from the Raja; 5. By fire communicated from an adjoining house.

XXI.

There are three things which, from their baneful nature, are universally deprecated, and considered and treated as inimical to the welfare of man, viz. 1. Theft; 2. The injury which crops are liable to sustain from the depredations of noxious animals; 3. The mischief which is to be apprehended under water, from crocodiles or the like.

XXII.

In a law-suit, the successful party obtains damages of the one that is cast. As the agitation of the leaves marks the presence of the wind, so does the stir and noise of contending parties shew the existence of a law-suit.

XXIII.

There are two cases where it will go hard with any party, viz. 1. When a mark or proof can be given, as well as evidence produced; 2. Where in a violent dispute between two chiefs respecting the boundaries of their lands, one of them is the first to bring weapons with him: such a one must be found guilty, and will be cast. The fine to be levied, in such[Vol II Pg xlv] case, will, according to the rank of the parties, be one of the following: 1. Utáma, or that awarded to chiefs, viz. one hundred and forty thousand; 2. Díada madén, or that awarded to those of an inferior degree, viz. seventy thousand; 3. Nésta, or that awarded to the common people, viz. forty-five thousand.

XXIV.

Sentence of guilt will be awarded to any party under the three following circumstances.

1. Cháya rásmi, where advice has been received from the Jáksa.

2. Príng'ga ráksa, where the assistance of the officers of the court has been received.

3. Andría ráksa, where a case which has been decided is revived at the instance of the party that was cast, in consequence of other people's advice. In such case, if the party which formerly gained the suit fail to appear on the day appointed for a second trial, they shall be cast; and in like manner will it be with the other party, if they fail to attend. For such proceeding, however, the Jáksa shall be fined fifty thousand.

XXV.

1. Wilút sábda bíksa masábda upáya, where a person sues another who is connected with the business of the suit, but who is not the responsible person, and only from his being the more eligible person is attacked on account of his means. In such case the prosecutor will lose his cause.

2. Sáka dípa, where a person incurs the obligation of paying for any thing he has lost or destroyed, and refuses to do so according to a proper valuation which shall be fixed thereon. In such case he shall be cast.

3. Gándia páti, where the Jáksi is silenced in a discussion with one of the parties who dispute a point with him. The Jáksa, in such case, shall be found guilty, and fined forty thousand.

4. Bháning máya permána, i. e. if a thief, who is pursued, runs into certain premises, by a gap in what serves to enclose them, the proprietor thereof will be held responsible for one-third of the amount stolen.

5. Ng'ámbága páti, i. e. a person having pursued, without effect, a thief whom he had surprised in the act of stealing, and the tools of the thief, which in his hurry to escape are left behind, are in the meantime found in the house of any one, the owner of the house shall be held guilty.

6. Lukíta búkti, i. e. the person in whose possession thieves' tools shall be found, will be held guilty of any robbery which may, at the time, have been committed.

7. Síma mamángsa táta upáya, i. e. where a person pursues a thief into the premises of another, without acquainting him with the circumstance. In such case guilt will be attached to the former.

8. Gána léna ámit mángsá tan wéring káma, i. e. when a malicious combination is formed to accuse and prove guilty one who is an object of hatred. The persons who so conspire shall be held guilty.

XXVI.

Of cases where a cause will be lost, there are twenty-five in number, viz.

1. Hína sáksi, where the witnesses are worthless disreputable persons. [Vol II Pg xlvi]

2. Hína sábda, where a thing is lost, and the owner thereof does not give information thereof to his chief.

3. Hína klína, where a person finds a thing and does not make it known.

4. Hína wang, where a person whom another deputes to act for him, in any law-suit, is deficient in what is required of him.

5. Kagúndang sáksi, where a witness produced by one party is the declared enemy of the other.

6. Hang'ímbu chína, where a person who has been robbed gets hold of the thieves' tools without making it known that he has done so.

7. Ng'edong sáksi, when a person brings false witnesses whom he has suborned.

8. Hakúto sáksi, where the witnesses have been bribed.

9. Hakádang sáksi, i. e. where a person instructs his witnesses what to say previous to their examination.

10. Sábda laksána, i. e. where a thing is stolen within certain premises, and a person residing therein shall refuse to concern himself about the matter. Such person shall be made to make good one-third of the property lost.

11. Hamátang bubúkan, i. e. where a person makes one of his enemy's people his agent. Such person shall be cast.

12. Sídam wárut, i. e. where persons concert in concealing an unlawful pregnancy and in producing an abortion. Such persons shall incur a fine of one hundred and fifty thousand each; the whole of the people of the village where it took place shall each be fined fifty thousand; and every person of the village opposite to it shall be fined twenty-five thousand. All persons, too, who, though living at a distance, are still under the authority of the chief of the village when the thing happened, shall be each fined four thousand. A person of great means shall be fined one million.

13. Tatarápan raja pepáti, i. e. if a person is found dead without its being known how he came by his death, nothing can be done; and it will rest with the Raja to cause the body to be disposed of in any way he may deem proper. If a corrupted dead body, found in a certain village, is first discovered by people of another village, the whole of the persons belonging to the former shall be each fined fifty thousand. Should those persons have endeavoured to conceal the dead body, they shall each, in that case, be fined one hundred thousand. If it is in a field where the dead body is discovered, and that by others than the proprietors of the land, the fine to be imposed upon the latter shall be one hundred thousand. If the dead body is first discovered by a person of the village, and he immediately, by sounding an alarm, summons all the people of that village to see and bear witness thereof; and if those persons afterwards, on examination, deny the fact, the whole of them shall be fined fifty thousand. The favourable testimony of thirteen women, however, will get them off from the said fine.

14. Ngépi g'ni, i. e. a person is wounded and sounds the alarm: many people quickly repair to the spot, but see no appearance of any one by whom the wound could have been inflicted; presently is heard the sound of[Vol II Pg xlvii] another alarm, at a different place, by persons who declare they have just wounded a thief who has escaped from them, producing at the same time proof of the fact: in such case the person who first sounded the alarm shall be considered the thief. If there is found a person who has been wounded somewhere, but without its being known where or when, and without there being any thing to lead to a suspicion of his being a thief, nothing can be done to him.

15. Ang'gús súra, i. e. a wound having been proved to have been inflicted by any party who has been prosecuted for the same, if the skin only is broken, the fine to be imposed shall be four thousand. If it is a flesh wound, the fine shall be eight thousand; if a bone be broken or sinews cut, forty thousand: but if the injury done to the wounded party be of such a nature as to deprive him of the means of earning a livelihood, the offending party must, in that case, provide for him.

16. If a person wounds a thief, and can shew marks of his having done so (as a bloody weapon), and if it has been done in the presence of many people, and it has been plainly seen whither the thief betook himself, and an alarm is presently sounded in the place to which the thief fled, and a person then declares he has just received a wound, such person shall be accounted the thief.

17. Wardáya chuménda, i. e. if a person is observed to pass through a village with thieves' tools in his possession, although nothing be stolen, that person shall be accounted the thief.

18. Artísi wádía dan dérma dénda, i. e. the disputes of ministers with ministers, priests with priests, and pundíta with pundíta, must be decided according to the Wartárja sawung eng kerta, i. e. by taking into consideration their different dispositions and natures, as well as their proneness to falsehood.

19. Tríta chándrang guira raditia, i. e. the law (in the inflexibility and unchangeableness of its nature) resembles the sun, moon, and water. Whoever acts in opposition to the law, must be found guilty and punished accordingly.

20. If any person be courageous enough to seize or kill a thief, he ought to receive a reward of four thousand. If the thief has a master, the latter ought to be fined twenty-four thousand.

21. If a person enter a village at an improper hour, and is thrice challenged without making any reply, he shall be considered as a thief. A person skulking behind a door or fence, under similar circumstances, shall be considered in the same light.

22. Nóya résmi, i. e. a respectable person who may endeavour to screen a thief, shall be fined agreeably to the untára, viz. one hundred thousand. If the delinquent is a person of the middle class, he shall be fined eighty thousand; if a person of the lower orders, forty thousand.

23. Tri maláni nagára comprehends three things, which are inimical to the welfare of a country, viz. 1. Corrupt judges; 2. Breach of promise or agreement; 3. Wígu wigúna, i. e. Where the Raja, or others who are in[Vol II Pg xlviii] authority, inconsiderately decide or give hasty orders about any thing, whereby much mischief never fails to follow.

24. This section is the work of the Púndita, Pagáwan Chínde Guána, and contains seven articles, viz. 1. Súria wíguna, i. e. the Raja's court is like the sun, whose refulgent rays spread in all directions and penetrate through every thing. 2. Anla súria kuntáka, i. e. the displeasure of the Raja in his court is like the heat of the sun, which causes those who are exposed to it to faint away. 3. Kasíla trésna perláya, i. e. when sentence of death is passed on any one by the Raja in his court, it must be carried into effect, as in the case of Kadúrga sangúra, where a person commits fornication or adultery with any of the Raja's household; or Kásu síla antúka, where a person forgets himself and wrangles in the court of the Raja; or Kabérna antáka, where a fight takes place, by which death or severe wounds are inflicted; or Madáwang lúma, i. e. where a person endeavours to ruin another, by endeavouring to make him appear guilty; or Ang'gu pála sábda, where a person, after receiving a distinct order from the Raja himself, incurs blame by executing it in a different manner from what he was told, in consequence of the advice of his chief; or Jaladri kaperchánda láwat dípa, i. e. the effects of the Raja's displeasure against any one cannot be transferred to another.

XXVII.

1. Díndang karúban wáng, i. e. the just and lawful revenues or duties, and no more, must be levied.

2. Gegér kapála, i. e. where a person disregards the prohibitions of the Raja.

3. Gurníti gandarása, i. e. several people are assembled together, and one of them happens to lose something: whoever is the first to quit the party, shall be considered guilty of having stolen it; and if there is incontestible evidence of this, he shall be made to pay two-fold.

4. Góra gétih ng'emúríris, i. e. where an unqualified person decides cases from his own knowledge of the manner of proceeding.

5. Waráksa tapula, i. e. no case ought to be settled but by a proper and equitable decision.

6. Yang'a ling'ga suria, i. e. when a Pundita does not shew the accustomed respect to the Raja.

7. Líman sangúra, i. e. when a person mistakes the road he ought to be put right, and not chastised for any trespass he may have made unwittingly.

8. Túnjung túmrap hing séla, i. e. whoever shall give protection in his house to fornicators or adulterers shall forfeit his property.

9. Tírta kasúrung píka, i. e. where the wise or skilled assist, with their advice, those who live by fraud, when under a prosecution.

10. Bermára máng'un líga, i. e. where a person concerned in a law-suit which has been brought forward, is in the habit of absenting himself when his presence is required. Such person must be awarded guilty. [Vol II Pg xlix]

11. Dándang tumráping káyon, i. e. a person from one place comes and lays claim to another: the people of the latter all testify that the claimant has no right or title to that spot or place. In such case, the said claimant will be cast.

12. Andáka katáwan wiása, i. e. if a person engaged in a law-suit shall abscond, from an apprehension of being cast, it will be even so with him.

13. Kídang lumáyu ating'gal suára, i. e. every person must be held responsible for crimes committed, or wrong done, by any one in their service or employ.

14. Hanio kána, i. e. a servant or dependant of one person having committed a fault, runs for protection to another, who, when applied to, will not give him up. The person who affords such protection, if prosecuted, will be cast.

15. Hang ling'ga praláya, i. e. a person who does not himself appear before the court in his own behalf, but leaves his case to be managed by the officers of the court, shall be cast.

16. Símbar tumráping séla, i. e. where the witnesses produced in any case are persons unknown, and without any fixed place of residence, the party who brings them shall be found guilty, or cast, as the case may be.

XXVIII.

The situation and feelings of those in favour of whom sentence is pronounced is Tírta prábu táru láta. Tírta signifies water, the qualities of which are clearness, and a disposition to proceed straight forward, which nothing will check or overcome. Those who are thus like unto water, let them be ever so humble and poor, shall not fail to be successful in any cause in which they may be engaged. The lowly, who are thus successful, shall have as much cause to rejoice as the rich (prábu), who are the reverse, shall have to be depressed. The former resemble a stately tree (táru), whose base and roots are great and spreading, with fragrant blossoms and many creepers (láta) to entwine and support it.

XXIX.

1. Chándra kalamókan búda, i. e. the situation or state of one against whom sentence has been pronounced, however great he may be, is like the moon when obscured by clouds: like her, his countenance is overcast and gloomy.

2. Anámon déria, i. e. a person engaged in a law-suit, who shall change his outward appearance, shall be cast.

3. Pencháng'ga angudána, i. e. if one of the wise shall, for the purpose of invalidating the evidence of his adversaries, make any alteration in the disposition of his house or premises, he shall, on conviction thereof, be condemned.

4. Andáka penjang'ga amóyong, i. e. one of the wise who has instituted a suit, and becoming himself sick at the time appointed for trial, shall fail to make known whether he wishes the business to be settled or postponed, shall lose his suit. [Vol II Pg l]

5. Andáka kitíran, i. e. if such party shall fail to appear when summoned, he will be cast, even should he be otherwise in the right.

6. Ambáli múka amigantáka, i. e. a person who, taking the law into his own hands, shall seize the property of another, in payment of a debt due to him, shall be held responsible for the same.

7. Síti tínab'la, i. e. if a person, in search of any thing he has lost, shall enter a different village to that to which he belongs, without giving due notice to the chief thereof, he shall be held responsible for any misdeed which may at the time have been committed, and if any thing important, he shall be made to pay two-fold.

8. Ang'rika máya, i. e. a person who, being in company with a thief, receives a hurt or injury from persons while in the act of apprehending him, cannot obtain redress.

9. Kabrána páti, i. e. a person who accuses another, and is himself the more guilty of the two, shall be condemned.

10. Pátra laksána amáng'un satmáta, i. e. a person who, in order to get something which is not his own, shall alter what is written in any paper, must be condemned.

11. Kabáli súra, i. e. a person who superadds in court something which he urges with violence, shall be condemned.

12. Kitíran múng'gen káyon, i. e. one person sends another to demand payment of a debt which is disavowed, a law-suit ensuing, if he who sent the other to demand payment has no other evidence to produce but that person, he shall be cast.

13. Mántra káchung táka, i. e. if a person engaged in a law-suit produces, for the second time, before the court, a paper which, on examination, appears to be written in a different hand from what it was before, although the purport, in both cases, be exactly the same, the person who produced such paper shall be cast.

14. Sangnága amamángsa tanpa taláwang áng'aleákan térka, i. e. a person, such as a Mántri or Bopáti, deputes another to act for him in a law-suit: the person so deputed has no authority to produce of his having been so. If the cause is lost, the person who deputed the other cannot bring it forward again.

15. Kaputung'an pikúlan, i. e. if the witnesses of a person engaged in a law-suit shall leave him and go to his adversary, the former shall be cast.

16. Prája kobáli múrda, i. e. when the circumstances of a case which one person brings forward are contradicted by those who have an opportunity of knowing them, the former shall be condemned.

17. Bermara amri sari, i. e. if a person to whom another is indebted shall, on the supposition of inability to discharge the debt, proceed to seize the property of that other, without previously demanding payment of the debt, he shall be cast.

18. Síma amot amamángsa tanwir ring báya, i. e. a person in office, who exceeds his authority, ought to be condemned.

19. Krúwang lindúng'an perwát, i. e. if person whose cause is good, and whose evidence is complete and satisfactory, shall insist upon a severe punishment against his adversary, he shall be cast. [Vol II Pg li]

20. Gabus boten ng'lem, i. e. when stolen goods are discovered, the Raja ought to cause them to be restored to whom they belong.

21. Guwáta Samirána, i. e. those who conceal the wife or children of another, ought to be put to death by order of the Raja.

22. Súlung alebu dían, i. e. if the relations of one whose guilt is manifest, shall apply to have the punishment awarded transferred to a substitute, they shall be condemned.

23. Apátra ina percháya, i. e. a person obtains permission from the Raja to proceed against another, and afterwards, from some consideration, neglects to do so, while that other, in the meantime, appears before the Raja and declares his innocence of what is alleged against him, stating that, if he were guilty, his chief would not have failed to bring him forward: in such case, the former shall be condemned.

24. Perwáta brámantára, i. e. if a person is found guilty of circulating false reports, or of magnifying any piece of intelligence, so as to create a great alarm in the country, and put all the people in a ferment, he shall be fined four hundred and four thousand.


ABSTRACT of some of the LAWS which, according to the tradition of the Javans, were in force against the inhabitants, previous to the supposed arrival of Aji Saka.

(Collected by Mr. Middlekoop.)

OATHS

Were administered by repeating certain words after the Priest, accompanied by a motion of the head and body, the hands being folded.

ORDINARY FINES

Were levied according to the following gradations:​—

tahil.[297]
When a subordinate or petty chief, who had people under him, committed a crime, the fine was 5
The eldest son of a prince 5
The son of a chief
A Prince or Raden without employment
A Menak or Rang'ga holding a public office and transacting public duty 5
A Menak or Rang'ga restricted from the performance of public duty
A Menak or Rang'ga who administered a small tract of country 1
Children of a chief Rang'ga or Menak
An ambassador (ordinary) of a prince or principal chief
An ambassador extraordinary
Children of the above 1
A male subject
A female subject 1

[Vol II Pg lii]

Persons having forfeited their right of liberty through misdemeanors, and thus become dependant upon another, pay fifty pichis.

All the above fines might be paid in money, goods, gold, silver, horses, buffaloes, and other necessary articles.

THEFT AND ROBBERY.

A free subject having committed a robbery, he was delivered up (on detection) to the chief or tribunal of the place to which he belonged; and if unwilling to restore the stolen goods, or unable to pay the value, he was to be delivered over to the person whom he had robbed, and made to serve him as a bondsman: but no claim whatever was enforced upon the wife or children, who did not, on this account, forfeit their liberty. It was, however, lawful to deprive a thief of his life when caught in the act.

When a robbery was committed by a person in a state of servitude, the proprietor of such person's services was bound to pay the value of the stolen property, or to deliver the person over to the injured party; but on being caught in the fact, and the thief being put to death, the proprietor was no further liable.

Robberies having been committed in the day time, were punished by a fine or by servitude.

If one or more stolen buffaloes were killed in or near a village, and sufficient proof thereof adduced by the owner, the village people were condemned to pay the value of such stolen cattle, unless they produced the thief or thieves.

HOMICIDE AND MURDER.

A free person who killed a male dependant, was punished by a fine of two and a half tahils: one who killed a female dependant was fined three and a half tahils.

If in an affray between two free persons the one killed the other, and the offender was seized in the act, he could be put to death by the relations or friends of the deceased; but if he succeeded in taking refuge with the head of a village, he was only liable to a fine of five tahils if the deceased was a male, and three and a half tahils if a female.

When a prince, chief, or petty chief, was murdered by one of his subjects, the party was punished by death, for having killed his superior.

But a prince or head chief had the right to deprive his subjects of their lives whenever he chose, though, when one of their sons, either a Menak, Rang'ga, or other chief, put to death a free person or dependant, he was bound to pay to the friends or master of the deceased two and a half tahils, besides a fine for a male person five, and for a female three and three quarters tahils. These persons were not liable to be put to death, although caught in the fact.

In case, however, that a prince or chief caused to be put to death a dependant who was not guilty of any offence for which he deserved such punishment, the prince or chief was bound to make good half of the estimated value of the deceased's property, beside being condemned to servitude, and a fine of ten tahils. [Vol II Pg liii]

Amok being cried, it was lawful for every one to destroy such as ran amok; but in the event of its being a false alarm, and any one was killed by the crowd, the person that exclaimed amok was liable to be fined.

In a crowd or assemblage of people, if a dispute ran so high that one party was killed in the affray, and lay dead on the ground, the offending party was exempt from fine, but punished by the prince according to the circumstances of the case.

ADULTERY.

A man having received information that his wife had committed adultery, was restricted from believing it, even if he was told by credible persons, unless he found her in the act; he might then deprive her of life. If she escaped, however, and concealed herself among her friends and neighbours, it was not lawful to put her to death; but on complaint being made by her husband, she was prosecuted and punished according to the circumstances of the case.

A man found guilty of adultery was liable to a fine of ten tahils, and the woman to the same. Being unable to discharge the sum, they were transferred to the servitude of another, who was willing to pay the amount of the fine, which was then given to the husband of the adulteress.

An adulteress causing her husband to be put to death was also to suffer death.

A man having run away with the wife of another, on her being seized by her husband at their abode, both parties could be put to death; but if they were not discovered for a length of time, during which they kept themselves quiet and had begotten children, the adulterer was only liable to pay, as well for himself as for the woman, a fine of ten tahils. He was, however, bound to forfeit the half of the children so begotten for the benefit of the lawful husband, to whom they were transferred in servitude.

DIVORCE.

Lawfully married persons wishing to separate from each other, each retook the property brought at the marriage, and an equal division was made of what had been gained since the marriage. This included the children; the eldest was always to remain with the mother, the second with the father. After the separation on the decease of either, the whole effects were to be taken possession of by those children who, at the separation, had come to the share of the deceased; but they were also obliged to pay the debts of the deceased, whatever the same might amount to. When the number of children was unequal, the odd one was to fall to the share of the wife; but such as were imperfect or deformed were excluded from the division, and maintained by both parties.

FOOTNOTES:

[295] Pichis, a small tin coin.

[296] 1. Hukum, the law of God; 2. P'rentah, the law of the sovereign; 3. Susahan, oppression (of the people from the law of the prince).

[297] The money here alluded to is the coin of Palembang, subsequently introduced by Raden Patah, in consequence of his connexion with Palembang. Rice appears to have been the principal medium of exchange previously to this period. The pichis is a small tin coin, of which two hundred make a wang, and twenty-eight wangs are equal in value to a Spanish dollar. [Vol II Pg liv]


APPENDIX, D.
PROCLAMATION.

For the satisfaction of the inhabitants and people of Java, the following provisions are made public, in testimony of the sincere disposition of the British government to promote their prosperity and welfare. The refusal of their late government to treat for their interests, although disabled by the events of war from affording them any further protection, has rendered the consequent establishment of the British authority unconditional. But an English government does not require the articles of a capitulation to impose those duties which are prompted by a sense of justice and a beneficent disposition. The people of Java are exhorted to consider their new connection with England as founded on principles of mutual advantage, and to be conducted in a spirit of kindness and affection.

Providence has brought to them a protecting and benevolent government; they will cheerfully perform the reciprocal duties of allegiance and attachment.

1. His Majesty's subjects in Java will be entitled to the same general privileges as are enjoyed by the natural-born subjects of Great Britain in India, subject to such regulations as now exist, or may hereafter be provided, respecting residence in any of the Honourable Company's territories.

2. They will have the same privilege and freedom of trade to and with all countries to the east of the Cape of Good Hope, and also with His Majesty's European dominions, as are possessed by natural-born subjects of Great Britain.

3. Dutch gentlemen will be eligible to all offices of trust, and will enjoy the confidence of government, according to their respective characters, conduct, and talents, in common with British-born subjects.

4. The vexatious system of monopoly, which is understood to have heretofore prevailed, in some instances to an oppressive and inconvenient extent, will be revised, and a more beneficial and politic principle of administration win be taken into consideration as soon, and to such extent, as full information on the subject can be obtained, as established usage and habit may admit, and as may be consistent with a due regard to the health and morals of the people.

5. The Dutch laws will remain provisionally in force, under the modifications which will be hereinafter expressed, until the pleasure of the supreme authorities in England shall be known; and it is conceived that no material alteration therein is to be apprehended.

The modifications to be now adopted are the following:

First. Neither torture nor mutilation shall make part of any sentence to be pronounced against criminals.

Secondly. When a British-born subject is convicted of any offence, no punishment shall be awarded against him, more severe than would be inflicted by the laws of England for the same crime. And in case of doubt[Vol II Pg lv] concerning the penalty by English law, reference shall be made to the Honourable the Recorder of Prince of Wales' Island, whose report shall be a sufficient warrant for awarding the penalty stated by him to be agreeable to the laws of England. No sentence against any British-born subject, for any crime or misdemeanor, shall be carried into execution, until a report shall have been made to the lieutenant-governor.

Thirdly. No sentence of death against any person whatever shall be carried into execution, until report shall have been made to the lieutenant-governor.

Fourthly. The lieutenant-governor will have the power of remitting, moderating, or confirming, all penalties; excepting inconsiderable fines, short imprisonment, or slight corporal punishment.

Fifthly. British-born subjects shall be amenable to the jurisdiction of the Dutch tribunals, and to the Dutch laws in all cases of civil complaint or demands, whether they be plaintiffs or defendants.

Sixthly. All British-born subjects shall be subject to the regulations of police, and to the jurisdiction of the magistrates charged with the execution thereof, and with the maintenance of the peace and of public tranquillity and security.

Seventhly. All persons belonging to or attached to the army, who are by their condition subject to military law, shall, for the present, be tried for any crimes they may commit only by courts-martial, unless sent by the military authorities to civil courts.

Eighthly. It being necessary in all countries that a power should exist of forming regulations in the nature of legislative provisions, adapted to change of circumstances, or to meet any emergency that may arise, and the great distance of the British authorities in Europe rendering it expedient that the said power should, for the present, reside in some accessible quarter, it is declared, that the lieutenant-governor shall have full power and authority to pass such legislative regulations, as, on deliberation, and after due consultation and advice, may appear to him indispensably necessary, and that they shall have the full force of law. But the same shall be immediately reported to the governor-general in council in Bengal, together with the lieutenant-governor's reasons for passing the said regulation, and any representations that may have been submitted to him against the same; and the regulations so passed will be confirmed or disallowed by the governor-general in council with the shortest possible delay. The mode in which the lieutenant-governor shall be assisted with advice will hereafter be made known, and such regulations will hereafter be framed as may be thought more conducive to the prompt, pure, and impartial administration of justice, civil and criminal.

Regulations respecting the paper currency, as well as the relative value of coins circulating in Java, will be published in a separate paper of this date.

Done at Molenvliet, the 11th September, 1811.
By His Excellency the Governor-General of British India. [Vol II Pg lvi]

(Signed) MINTO.

REGULATION, A.D. 1814, PASSED BY THE HON. THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR IN COUNCIL, On the 11th of February, 1814, FOR THE MORE EFFECTUAL ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE IN THE PROVINCIAL COURTS OF JAVA.

The Honourable the Lieutenant Governor in Council being deeply impressed with the necessity of framing one adequate, impartial, and consistent code, for the prompt and equitable administration of justice, in the provincial courts of this island, with a view to give to all ranks of people a due knowledge of their rights and duties, and to ensure to them an enjoyment of the most perfect security of person and property, has been pleased that the following regulation be enacted; which, by assuming as its basis, rather the ancient usages and institutions of the Javans, than any new innovations founded on European systems of internal government, may confidently be expected to be, at once the most pleasing to them, and the best adapted to the existing state of their society.

1. The Resident shall be the Chief Judge and Magistrate in his districts; but the administration of police and justice, in the towns of Batavia, Semárang, and Surabáya, shall, as heretofore, be entrusted to the particular Magistrates and other officers appointed by government for those places.

2. The Bopátis, or chiefs of districts, and all other public officers, who may be retained to carry on the duties of this department, are placed under the immediate authority and control of the Resident himself, or of his Deputy duly empowered by him. These various duties, whether relative or direct, will be clearly defined in the course of the following sections.

3. To render more easy the attainment of justice, and to carry on better the general police of the country, a subordinate jurisdiction shall be constituted in the following manner.

4. The Residency shall be divided into such number of districts, as extent of land, population, former custom, or other circumstances may render necessary. Each of these shall be consigned to the care of a Bopáti, or native chief, with such an establishment, as being deemed by the Resident adequate to the purpose, and by him submitted to government, shall have received their sanction.

5. These districts, again, shall be subdivided into divisions, the extent and limits of each of which will be clearly marked out and made known.[Vol II Pg lvii] Their size must, of course, entirely depend on the greater or less propinquity of the villages they contain, and on the more or less numerous population by which these are inhabited; but, generally speaking, no division shall be less than ten, or more than twenty, square miles in extent. It must also be observed, that the limits of the division follow those of the villages; it being quite contrary to a system of good police, that inhabitants of the same place should be subject to different authorities.

6. In each division there shall be fixed a station of police, to which shall be appointed a competent officer, with such number of inferior Mántris, Peons, &c. as shall be deemed necessary for the execution of the various duties allotted to his office, and the due maintenance of the tranquillity of his division.

7. In each village there shall be a Head-man (whether recognized under the name of Penting'gi, Bakal, Lurah, Kuwu, Mandor, or otherwise, according to the custom of the country), to be freely elected by the inhabitants of the village itself from among themselves; the only requisites on the part of government being, that he actually reside and hold land in it. Should any of these be found unfit to carry on their respective duties, or other good objection arise to their being continued in the posts they hold, a representation to such effect will be made by the Resident to the villagers, who will accordingly proceed to the nomination of some other person, who, if approved of by the Resident, shall then receive his confirmation.

8. These Head-men shall, in every respect, be considered as the representatives of the villages, and shall be held responsible for all such acts committed within them, as fall justly under that controlling and preventive power vested in them by their fellow-inhabitants.

9. This mode of election and consequent power, it must be observed, are no new introductions, but subsist in immemorial usage, and their nature and limits are well understood by the Javans throughout the island.

10. The Heads of villages will receive and carry into execution all such orders as government, either directly by the Resident, or through the medium of the Bopátis and officers of divisions, may be pleased to issue to them; and they will furnish, at all times, such oral or written information as may be required from them.

11. The care of the police, in their respective villages, shall be entrusted to their charge; and for the due preservation of peace, the prevention of offences, and the discovery and arrest of offenders, they are required to be particularly careful that a sufficient night watch be regularly maintained. For this purpose they are authorized to require each of the male inhabitants to take his turn in the performance of this duty; and, at any time, to call on all to aid in the pursuit and apprehension of offenders, or to execute generally any of the other duties that may occur.

12. The Heads of villages will also be held responsible for the amount of all property belonging to travellers, which may be lost within their villages, provided, however, that the same shall have been placed under[Vol II Pg lviii] their charge; and they are required to take charge of all travellers' property which may be brought to them for that purpose.

13. They are directed to keep a register of all persons under their authority, describing the name, age, country, occupation, size, and appearance of each individual, with any other remarks that may be deemed necessary. They will also, with the assistance of the village priest, form a register of the births, marriages, and deaths, which occur within their jurisdiction.

14. These will be drawn up every six months, according to forms to be furnished to them by the Resident. A copy of each will be retained in the village, and another will be forwarded to the police officer of the station, to be kept by him as records, and to furnish the grounds of such reports as he may be called on to give in.

15. Whenever a stranger arrives for the purpose of settling in a village, or any one of its former inhabitants absconds, the head of it is required to furnish immediately to the officer of the division a detailed account of the particulars relative to either circumstance, who will accordingly take such measures for the apprehension or pursuit of either, or forward such intelligence to his superiors, as the case may require.

16. Any person producing the express permission of the Resident, shall be allowed to settle in a village; but without this, or unless he can procure two respectable inhabitants to become securities for his good behaviour, he shall not be permitted to do so.

17. As well heads of villages as officers of divisions are required to keep a watchful eye upon all new settlers, to ascertain, if possible, their several characters, from their former places of abode; and to observe, most particularly, the conduct of such individuals as have no ostensible means of earning a livelihood. They will, too, follow vigilantly the motions of armed persons, preventing them, as much as they can, from travelling together in large bodies; and, as far as may be practicable, they ought to hinder individuals of every description, but most especially such as are armed with spears, swords, &c. from travelling at all after eight o'clock at night.

18. After this hour they are authorised to stop, and detain in their custody till the next morning, all such persons as may, by having with them more than usual property, or in any other way, justly give grounds for suspicion. But on a summary examination, should nothing further appear against them, they must, on no account, keep them detained beyond eight o'clock the next morning; nor ought detention at all to take place, if the account they first give of themselves be deemed satisfactory.

19. Should any thing further appear against them by complaint or otherwise, they will then be proceeded with as with other accused persons, relative to whom directions will be given in a subsequent section.

20. In the above case only, it is competent to the officers of police to apprehend any person of their own authority, unless detected in the actual perpetration of crime; or to release any person once apprehended. [Vol II Pg lix]

21. It having been represented, that though when the inhabitants are settled in one place, in habitations contiguous to each other, the duty of the head of a village becomes easy of execution, yet that it is extremely difficult for him to perform it adequately, when, from caprice or other cause, any of its members are allowed to leave the main part, or désa, to go and reside in lonely and remote spots, forming thereby small settlements of two or three cottages only together, termed dukus, which being necessarily, from their distance, without the guard of night watches, &c. must frequently become liable to be attacked and plundered, or more often, perhaps, from the absence of all controul, will themselves form the resort and shelter of robbers and other abandoned characters; and, on the other hand, it not being wished to repress too much this out-settling, as by the creation of new villages (which must owe their formation to such small beginnings), a great part of the land, at present waste, may be brought into cultivation; it is ordered, that the following be the line of conduct to be observed in these cases.

22. The head of a village shall, in every instance, report to the officer of division when such an out-settlement takes place; who shall then proceed to the spot, and forming a committee of three heads of villages (not to include the one in which the circumstance occurred) shall judge whether or not it be expedient, for the benefit of agriculture, to permit its continuance, and measures shall be taken accordingly. If the new settlement be allowed to remain, a vigilant eye must be kept over its infant state, both by the officer of division and head of the neighbouring village; and when it shall have grown to a size that may admit of this, it ought to be separated from the authority of the mother village, and a similar constitution be bestowed on it.

23. It is the duty of heads of villages, generally, to preserve tranquillity, as far as their authority extends, to obey zealously the orders of their superiors, to furnish every useful information, and, in short, to contribute all in their power to the establishment and preservation of a good state of police.

24. Their rewards for this will be a certain portion of land in each village, and the favouring eye and protection of government.

25. The police officers of divisions are to be considered as immediately under the authority of the Bopátis. They will furnish to these all such accounts, reports, &c. as may be required, and will act always on the orders received from them, or, of course, directly from the Resident himself.

26. To the Bopátis, or chiefs of districts, they will forward every six months abstract accounts of births, marriages, and deaths which have occurred in their division, and of the general state of cultivation and population, with such remarks accompanying them as may seem requisite.

27. Of these and other papers forms will be furnished them, and they will prepare them from the general account obtained from heads of villages, whom they will, at any time, require to supply them with such further information as may be deemed necessary. [Vol II Pg lx]

28. On every Saturday they will give in to the Bopáti, or chief of the district, a detailed statement of the occurrences of the preceding week, the crimes committed, offenders apprehended, number of new settlers, their employment, from whence arrived, what individuals have emigrated, causes of emigration, and, in short, whatever has happened out of the common track of occurrences.

29. The officers of divisions shall be held responsible for the due administration of the police within their respective jurisdictions; and to enable them better to execute their assigned duties, the heads of villages are placed immediately under their authority. They shall accordingly be watchful that these vigilantly and zealously perform such services as may be allotted to their situation; and they shall report fully to the Bopáti of the district, on the conduct of any heads of villages who may prove neglectful of their charge, or in any way appear remiss in the execution of the duties entrusted to them.

30. They shall, on no account, exert their police authority in any undue interference with the collection of the revenues, that being considered a distinct department, to which they will only render their assistance when called upon under the distinct rules laid down in another Regulation for the guidance of their conduct in it; here only it is considered that they are to lend their aid at such times, and in such manner, as may be expressly pointed out to them in orders from their superiors. But they are at all times, on a regular application being made to them by the inferior officers of revenue, to take charge of, and give effectual escort to, treasure passing from or through their divisions; and after receipt of the same, they will be held responsible for it until such treasure shall have been by them delivered to the next constituted authority.

31. The peons, and other inferior servants attached to their offices, shall, of course, be employed in the serving summonses, apprehending offenders, giving escort, and in other regular duties; but when not in any way thus engaged, they shall, as leisure admits, be sent to make the rounds of the division; acquiring, by this means, not only competent information of all that is transacted within it, but serving also, by this occasional and uncertain visitation, materially to prevent the undertaking of nefarious acts.

32. As before observed, the officers of divisions, and those subordinate to them, shall only, of their own authority, apprehend such persons as are taken actually in the commission of crime. They are never empowered to seize others (with the exception of those mentioned in Section 18 of this Regulation) but when a written order for that purpose has been received from their superiors, or when a regular charge of an original nature has been given in against them by any respectable individual.

33. In these cases, they will take suitable measures for the apprehension and securing of the persons complained of; and when once apprehended, they will, on no account of their own authority, again liberate them.

34. Should the persons have been so arrested in consequence of orders received to that effect, the officers of divisions will, in forwarding them to[Vol II Pg lxi] their destinations, be careful to observe such instructions as they may have received on the subject.

35. But should the prisoners have been apprehended on complaints, or other proceedings originating in the division itself, they will, on their arrival at the police station, cause to be written a clear and summary statement of the offence alleged, and of the facts in the case which have come under their observation, whether witnessed by themselves, or borne testimony to by any persons present.

36. They will then, with this statement accompanying, forward under a sufficient guard the prisoner or prisoners, together with the persons complaining or aggrieved, and the witnesses of the facts, towards the chief town of the district where the Bopáti resides.

37. Under no pretence whatsoever, shall any persons be detained at the police station longer than twenty-four hours after their arrest.

38. Should the division in which the arrest has taken place be not that in which the chief town of the district is situated, the officers of it shall make over the charge of persons and papers to the police officers of the division next in the way; and, in similar manner, they shall be forwarded on from station to station, to the chief town of the district, or from thence to the principal seat of the residency.

39. In this transmission, the officers of divisions will take particular care that as little delay as possible occur; any unnecessary infringement on the personal liberty of the subject, being that of which this government will ever be most jealous.

40. Whenever a human body is found dead, of which it is not certainly known that the death was natural, or even though such illness precede it as might be considered as possibly the cause, should any suspicious circumstances or appearances attend the death, it will become the duty of the head of the village in which this may occur, to take cognizance of the fact; and ordering it so that every thing remain in the state first found, he shall report the circumstances, without delay, to the officer of the division, who will immediately appoint a commission of three heads of villages, assisted by himself or officers, to proceed to the actual spot where the body lies, and there make due inquiry into every particular that may serve to elucidate the affair. For this purpose, such evidence will be taken as may, in any way, be thought to bear on the subject.

41. When the investigation is completed, the persons appointed for the inquest shall deliver to the officer of division a statement of what they have done, seen, or heard, and annex to it the opinion they have finally formed of the manner of death, or degree of guilt any where attaching.

42. The officer of division shall forward this statement, without delay, to the superior authorities; from whom, in return, he will receive instructions.

43. But should any degree of guilt be imputed, in the opinion expressed by the commissioners acting on this inquest, the officer of division shall, without loss of time, proceed to apprehend the suspected person or per[Vol II Pg lxii]sons, and take such other measures upon that opinion, as he would, had a complaint to the same effect been regularly lodged.

44. As it is most necessary that the cultivators of the soil, and other industrious inhabitants of a village, should not, on every frivolous or inconsiderable occasion, be taken away from their labours to attend a distant seat of justice, where, even though it be more equitably and impartially administered, the benefit of this is, in many cases, quite counterbalanced by the loss of time and expenses of the journey and suit,​—it is ordered, that there be a subordinate jurisdiction constituted, by means of which the distribution of justice will be rendered far more easy to the governing power, and the acquisition of redress will be presented to every one aggrieved, with the greatest facility, and the least possible expense of money or time.

45. The heads of villages are required to look on themselves, and to act with regard to the persons under their controul, as fathers of families; to maintain, to the extent of their power, a spirit of harmony and tranquillity in the villages entrusted to them; to curb every approach to feud and litigation; and, with the aid of their officers, to interpose their authority in settling, with justice and impartiality, all such petty quarrels as may arise among the inhabitants.

46. Should, however, the dispute be of sufficient magnitude to entitle it to higher consideration, courts are regularly established to which it may be referred.

47. The officers of division shall, at least once a week, or oftener, attend in some open place at the station of police, with their mantris, or other subordinate servants, for the purpose of inquiring into and deciding on all such complaints as may be given in to them, for petty offences committed within their divisions, as abusive language and inconsiderable assaults or affrays.

48. These, if satisfactorily proved, they shall be authorized to punish, by fine not exceeding ten rupees, of which fine the one-half shall be given to the individual or individuals aggrieved, the other be carried to the account of government.

49. They shall also be empowered to hear and determine on all such petty civil cases as may be referred to them, provided the amount at issue exceed not the sum of twenty rupees.

50. And further, they shall investigate the trifling disputes that may be brought before them about trespass, nuisance, the irregular distribution of water, encroachment on boundaries, and other such minor grievances of usual occurrence in villages.

51. Whether civil or criminal, they shall not, in any case, be authorized to arrest or imprison.

52. But the complaint having been given in, the person complained of, if not present, shall be summoned to appear by the next day of sitting, when the cause shall be heard and decided on without delay. In failure of attendance on the part of the plaintiff, the case shall be dismissed; on[Vol II Pg lxiii] the part of the defendant, the cause shall be proceeded with ex parte. The sentence, whatever it may be, shall be carried into execution, by means of the authority vested in the heads of villages.

53. Should any persons refuse to obey their award, they shall be committed for trial before the Resident, who will not only cause the original sentence to be carried into execution, but, at his discretion, order a punishment suited to their contumacy.

54. An appeal may be made in the usual manner, in civil cases, from the officer of the Division's Court to that of the Bopáti at the chief town of the district; and any complaint for unjust or arbitrary proceeding, on the part of the subordinate police officers, will likewise be received there.

55. Of every proceeding of this court a regular record shall be kept; one copy to remain at the police station, and another to be forwarded to the chief of the district.

56. A fee of half a rupee from each party shall be levied prior to hearing the cause, to be divided among the officers of police; and ten per cent. on the amount of the sentence in civil cases is, according to the custom of the country, to be taken from the loser of the suit, to be carried to the account of government.

57. The officers of divisions will be held fully responsible for a zealous and conscientious discharge of the important duties entrusted to them, and shall meet with exemplary punishment, in the case of any negligence or corruption being established against them.

58. To the Bopátis, or heads of districts, is consigned the general superintendance and care of their respective districts. But as these high officers must frequently be required to attend at the place where the Resident himself lives, that their districts may not suffer any inconvenience from their absence, they are empowered to delegate their full authority to their deputies, or Pátehs, who shall preside in their courts, and issue and receive orders, in every respect, like themselves.

59. They shall, every six months, furnish to the Resident abstract accounts of the state of cultivation and population within their districts, according to forms which will be given to them, and accompanied with such remarks as may suggest themselves.

60. On every Monday morning they shall deliver to the Resident a detailed statement of the proceedings of the foregoing week, containing an account of new settlers, persons emigrated, offences committed, offenders apprehended, and in short, of every thing remarkable.

61. The heads of districts shall receive all orders directly from the Resident, and take due measures for carrying them into immediate execution. The officers of divisions, heads of villages, and all other police servants within the district, are placed immediately under their control; and they will most vigilantly watch over the conduct of them, reporting instantly to the Resident every instance of negligence or crime that may fall under their observation.

62. They will be open to receive complaints or petitions of every de[Vol II Pg lxiv]scription; reporting and issuing the necessary orders on them without delay.

63. In forwarding persons apprehended within their districts to the seat of the residency, they will be particularly careful that the least practicable delay occur; no prisoner, on any account, being detained by them, of their own authority, for a longer space of time than twenty-four hours.

64. In forwarding persons, papers, or treasure, they will observe the mode prescribed in Section 38 of this Regulation.

65. On the receipt of an inquest report from the officers of divisions, it shall be submitted to the chief Jáksa and Panghulu of the district for their opinion, and on this opinion the necessary measures shall be taken.

66. At the chief town of each district a regular court shall be established, in which the Bopáti or, in his absence, the Páteh, shall preside, assisted by the Jáksa, Panghulu, and other law officers appointed.

67. This court shall be held in some open spot in the town, at least twice a week, or oftener, if necessary.

68. Its authority shall, however, be confined entirely to civil matters; all cognizance of criminal cases, beyond that already allotted to the officers of divisions, being vested solely in the court where the Resident himself presides.

69. In the Bopáti's court shall be received appeals from those of the officers of divisions, on institution of which the appellants shall pay a fee of one rupee.

70. Before deciding on these causes, the record of the former trial shall be read, and such new evidence taken as may be produced.

71. If the former sentence be reversed, the costs which shall have been kept in deposit shall be refunded to the appellant, and levied from the other party.

72. And in confirming it, an enhancement of these costs is left to the discretion of the court; provided, however, the whole never exceed fifteen per cent. on the sum originally sued for.

73. A second appeal to any other authority shall, in no instance, be permitted.

74. The Bopáti's court shall be competent to receive complaints in civil cases, where the amount at issue is not less than twenty, nor exceeds fifty, rupees.

75. This complaint being filed, a copy of it shall be sent to the person complained of, with an order to answer it at most within a week; and, on receipt of this answer, notice shall be given on what day (at farthest a week from the time of the receipt) the cause will be tried. Such witnesses as are necessary will be summoned; and, on the day prescribed, the complaint and answer being read, and evidence being taken, the court shall give its decision.

76. In failure of the complainant's appearance, the cause shall be dismissed; and on the part of the defendant, if he give not in his answer as required, or appear not when summoned, the case shall be proceeded with, and sentence given on ex parte evidence. [Vol II Pg lxv]

77. The Bopáti, or his deputy, shall require the Jáksa and Panghulu to assist him with their advice throughout the trial, and to expound the law where it is not sufficiently clear. Should their opinions concur with that of the president of the court, he shall pass his decision, and carry it into execution without further delay; but when their opinions are at variance with his, he shall, previously to pronouncing sentence, refer the case, with the several reasons detailed which have influenced each opinion, to the Resident, who shall consult with the chief Jáksa and Panghulu of the residency, and return his orders on the subject.

78. A fee of one rupee shall be taken from each party, on giving in the complaint and answer; and ten per cent. on the amount of the sentence shall be levied from the loser of the suit. The fees to be divided among the officers of the court, and the costs to be carried to the account of government.

79. All proceedings are to be carefully noted down, and preserved as records. One copy to be kept in the archives of the Bopáti, and another to be forwarded to the Resident.

80. An appeal, in causes originating in this court, shall lie to that of the Resident; provided notice of the appeal being intended to be made, be given in on the day of trial, and the appeal itself be made within a week after.

81. In this case the costs shall, nevertheless, be immediately levied, and held in deposit till the appeal be decided on. Sufficient security shall also be given for the amount of the sentence.

82. Moreover, on the first institution of all civil cases, in this and every other court, good security must be taken for the amount of possible costs, both from the complainant and person complained of.

83. The Bopáti will be held responsible for the faithful and just discharge of these his high duties. To him does government look, not only for the vigilant administration of police, and impartial distribution of justice throughout his district, but for the zealous execution of every measure that can at all conduce to the preserving that district in a flourishing and happy state.

84. The duties attached to the office of Resident itself are fully explained in the general instructions given to that officer on his first entering into his situation. In this regulation only such parts of the charge committed to him will be dwelled on, as belong properly to the judicial department of his service, to his deliberative and executive powers as chief judge and magistrate of the province.

85. As, however, the due exertion of these powers may require a much larger portion of time than can be possibly devoted to them by a single individual, and more particularly, as much of his attention must be directed to other objects, he is empowered to delegate their full participation to his deputy or assistant, whether in presiding in his court, or in issuing and receiving such orders and instructions as the government of his residency may render necessary.

86. The several Residents, and their deputies or assistants, previously to entering upon the execution of the duties of their office, shall take and[Vol II Pg lxvi] subscribe the following oath before the Honourable the Lieutenant-governor in Council, or such person as he may appoint to administer the same.

"I,​—​—, solemnly swear that I will truly and faithfully execute the duties of my office; that I will administer justice to the best of my ability, knowledge, and judgment, without fear, favour, promise, or hope of reward; and that I will not receive, directly or indirectly, any present, either in money or in effects of any kind, from any party in any suit or prosecution, or from any person whomsoever, on account of any suit, prosecution, or other legal proceeding to be instituted, or which may be depending, or have been decided, in any court under my jurisdiction; nor will I, directly or indirectly, derive any profits from my station, except such as the orders of government do or may authorize me to receive.​—So help me God."

87. The presidents of other subordinate courts shall take and subscribe before the Resident, oaths of a similar nature and form, to be administered by the priests, according to the custom of the country.

88. The Jáksas and Panghulus shall likewise be required to take and subscribe an oath in the following form:

"I, ​—​—, Jáksa (or Panghulu), do solemnly swear, that I will faithfully execute the office entrusted to me; I will answer truly to the questions put to me in writing, or by word of mouth, by any judge of the courts to which I belong, declaring or writing down freely, without fear or partiality, what is the written acknowledged law or local long established usage; and I will declare or give in writing nothing that is not warranted by the law or custom. And I promise and swear not to accept of any consideration, in money or otherwise, for any opinion or declaration of the law or custom I may deliver, as Jáksa (or Panghulu) of any court."

89. In the sixth clause of the Proclamation by government, dated 21st January, 1812, provision was made for the establishment of a Landrost's court; but, in the present state of circumstances, government deeming it advisable that a considerable extension of the powers vested in that court should be given, for the more prompt and effectual administration of justice, it is ordered, that the following sections be considered as an enlargement and modification of that clause, and that in lieu of the landraad therein appointed, there be constituted a court, to be in future called the Resident's.

90. This court shall be composed in the following manner. The Resident or his assistant shall sit in it as sole judge or magistrate. The Bopátis of the several districts, or their deputies, shall attend to assist the Resident, through every stage of the proceedings, with their advice, or with such information as he may require. The head Jáksa and Panghulu shall be in waiting to expound, where necessary, the law, to state the local usage, and to take down notes of the evidence. The Jáksa of that district in which any crime has been committed, shall be the public prosecutor, where no private one appears. The other native officers shall be such as have been used heretofore to compose courts of this nature. [Vol II Pg lxvii]

91. This court shall be held at least twice in every week, or oftener if necessary, in the Passerban, or Residency public court-room, for the purpose of hearing complaints of every description that may be brought before it, of examining into all offences reported to have been committed, and trying all causes, whether civil or criminal, that occur in the Residency; with the exception only of those that will, in a subsequent section, be pointed out, as belonging to another and higher authority, the Court of Circuit.

92. The court shall be held open from the hour of ten in the fore to that of three in the afternoon.

93. For greater precision, the court days may be fixed to the Monday and Thursday of every week. It is, however, left to the Resident to alter these days of sitting, whenever he may deem that there is sufficient reason for so doing, observing, in such cases, to give public notice of the intended change at least one court day preceding it.

94. The chief Jáksa, who will have the custody of all persons apprehended and brought into the town until regularly committed to gaol, shall immediately, on opening the court, present to the Resident a list of such prisoners as have been confided to his care since the last court day, stating from whence they came, what the nature of the offence alleged against them, the names of the witnesses brought to prove it, and other necessary information connected with their apprehension.

95. The Resident shall then commence on the investigation of the cases, ordering in each that the report of the officer of division, and original complaint, be first read, and proceeding afterwards to the examination of the witnesses.

96. Should it appear to the Resident that there is not sufficient evidence against the accused, and should the complainant not be able to adduce any further, the prisoner shall be immediately released out of custody.

97. But should the complainant state that he can produce more witnesses, he shall be required to enter into a penalty-bond for their appearance on a given day (that day to be as little distant as possible, nor, if practicable, to exceed a week from the time of this first examination), and the prisoner shall, in this case, be admitted to bail, provided the offence be of a bailable nature.

98. If the offence charged against him be one that does not admit of bail being taken, the Resident shall sign a warrant to the gaoler, to receive and hold him in safe custody until he shall be discharged by due course of law.

99. On the second examination, should the innocence of the prisoner appear sufficiently clear, he shall be forthwith released; but should, on either the first or second day of inquiry, such presumption of guilt be established, as to render necessary a regular trial, the prisoner shall stand fully committed for it, and be remanded to gaol, there to remain until that day of trial arrive.

100. If the crime imputed to him be murder, treason, gang-robbery, or any other for which the sentence may amount to death, the Resident shall[Vol II Pg lxviii] not himself proceed further in the case, but commit him to prison, to take his trial before the Court of Circuit, of which more shall be said hereafter.

101. Should the offence with which he is charged be one of any less magnitude than capital, the Resident shall, in ordering him to jail, notify to the prisoner on what day his trial shall come on before himself. That day must not, without some good and sufficient reason, to be reported to government, exceed the distance of a week from the day of his commitment to prison.

102. On the day of trial, the prisoner being brought up, the former proceedings shall be read, and the witnesses again examined, and such further evidence, on the part of the prosecution, be taken as may be necessary. The prisoner shall then be called on for his defence, and the witnesses adduced by him be heard and examined.

103. The Resident shall finally sum up the evidence, and stating the reasons that have influenced his opinion, and the law of the case, pronounce sentence accordingly.

104. In these, and all other cases, whether civil or criminal, which come, before him, the Resident shall be guided in his decisions by the existing native laws, and ancient customs of the island; provided the same be not decidedly at variance with the universal and acknowledged principles of natural justice.

105. In every instance where the opinions of the Panghulu and Jáksa are in accord with the judgment of the Resident, and in which the punishment fixed to the crime does not amount to imprisonment or transportation for life, the sentence of the Resident shall be final, and be immediately carried into execution.

106. But whenever the opinions of the Panghulu and Jáksa shall be in opposition to that of the Resident, or in which the punishment of the crime shall amount to imprisonment or transportation for life, all the proceedings shall be immediately transmitted to government, with the Resident's statement of the reasons and regulations on which he has formed his opinion; but he shall delay the pronouncing sentence, until the approval of the Honourable the Lieutenant-Governor shall have been obtained.

107. In all cases whatever of trial before this court, the Resident shall transmit to government, in English, a statement of the offence charged against the prisoner, the substance of the evidence on the prosecution and defence, the law of the case as it exists in the regulations of government, or in the written or customary laws of the island, and the particular reason on which he has formed his own opinion. The Jáksa and Panghulu are required to take notes of the evidence, and to state their respective opinions on the case in the vernacular language; which document, signed by them, shall be transmitted to government by the Resident, together with his own statement of the case.

108. The civil jurisdiction of this court shall be constituted as follows:

109. It shall be competent to receive original complaints of every de[Vol II Pg lxix]scription, and to try such appeals as may be made to it from the decisions of the Bopáti's court.

110. On receipt of this complaint, if the amount at issue exceed not twenty rupees, the Resident, at his pleasure, may refer it to be inquired into and tried by the court of the officer of the division in which the matter complained of occurred; or should the amount be not above fifty rupees, he may make it over to the authority of the Bopáti's court of that district in which the subject at issue has originated. But all complaints which concern a sum of money exceeding this, must be tried only by the Resident's court.

111. It is also competent to this court alone to take cognizance of any suits, however trivial the amount at issue, which may be considered as involving in them any of the rights of government.

112. In trying appeals from the Bopáti's courts, after reading the proceedings on the former trial, and re-examining such old, or hearing such new evidence as may be adduced, the judgment which shall then be passed shall be considered as final.

113. In reversing the former decree, the appellant shall have refunded to him the costs which have been kept in deposit, and these shall be then levied from the other party; but if confirming the former judgment, it shall be left to the discretion of the Resident to enhance those costs as he may think fit; provided, however, that the whole sum do not exceed fifteen per cent. on the amount of the sentence.

114. The appellant, on the institution of the suit, shall pay such fees as are customary in the institution of original suits; but the other party shall not be charged with any fees whatever.

115. When an original complaint is given in, it shall be filed, on a fee of one rupee being paid, and sufficient security given for the possible amount of costs.

116. A copy of this shall then be sent to the person or persons complained of, who shall be required, within a certain given time, not to exceed a fortnight, to send in the answer; at which time they will also pay a fee of one rupee, and give good security for the amount of possible costs.

117. On receipt of this reply, a day shall be appointed for the trial of the cause, notice of which shall be given to each of the parties; and both they and such others, witnesses or accessaries, as may be necessary, shall be summoned to attend on that day. The cause shall then come to a regular hearing, and be decided on, according to the mode already laid down for the inferior courts.

118. On the decision of the suit, a fee of two rupees from the gainer, and of one from the loser of it, shall be received; and costs, at the rate of ten per cent. on the amount of the sentence, being the custom of the country, shall be levied from the party against whom the decision has been given.

119. In all causes originating in the Resident's court, an appeal shall be permitted to the Honourable the Lieutenant-Governor; provided that notice of such intention be given on the day of trial, that the costs be[Vol II Pg lxx] lodged in court, and sufficient security offered for the amount of the sentence, or that amount be paid in, to be kept in deposit until the appeal shall have been determined on.

120. Appeals from the Resident's decisions are limited to the space of one month from the day of trial.

121. The Honourable the Lieutenant-governor will, of course, after due investigation, alter, reverse, or confirm the former sentence, with remission or enhancement of costs, as to him shall seem best.

122. Whenever the two parties in a civil suit, in any stage of it previous to the decree, shall give in to any of the courts an agreement signed by both, stating that they are willing that all further judicial proceedings in the case be dropped, as being satisfied with what has already passed, or mutually content to settle whatever further is requisite between themselves, or by the arbitration of friends, the court shall place this paper among their records, and cause the proceedings in such suit to be immediately closed.

123. In these cases, half costs, or five per cent, only on the amount of the suit, shall be levied. Of this the two parties shall pay an equal share, or two and a half per cent each, with a fee also of a rupee each to the court.

124. All fees will be divided among the officers of the court, and all costs be carried to the account of government, for the purpose of defraying the expenses to which they are put in the establishment of these courts.

125. The same attention shall be paid to the opinions of the Jáksa and Panghulu in civil as in criminal cases; namely, that when at variance with that of the Resident, reference shall be made to the Honourable the Lieutenant-Governor, accompanied by the detailed statements, and the decision only carried into execution when his instructions, in reply, shall have been received.

126. A record of each trial shall be kept in the archives of the court, consisting of the original complaint, the reply to it, a statement of the proceedings that ensued, and the judge's final decision.

127. Copies of any of these shall be given to any one who may apply for them, on the payment of half a rupee for each paper.

128. Registers shall be framed from these records, one in English and one in the vernacular language (of course separate ones for civil and criminal matters), stating the charges, names of parties, of witnesses, nature of evidence, sentence passed, &c. according to forms to be furnished to the Resident; and of these, one copy shall be kept in the court, and another shall be transmitted, before the 5th of every month, to the Honourable the Lieutenant-governor.

129. A register shall also be framed, and sent at the same time, of all persons apprehended, but afterwards released, stating their names, crimes imputed to them, nature of evidence for and against, and reasons for releasing them.

130. Quarterly reports shall likewise be furnished by the Resident of the general state of the districts entrusted to his care; and every six[Vol II Pg lxxi] months abstract accounts must be forwarded of the increase or decrease of population, the general condition of the cultivation, number of new settlers and persons emigrated, and generally of whatever relates to the details of his administration, with such remarks and comments as he may deem necessary.

131. In summoning persons to attend his court, he shall have a certain regard to the loss or inconvenience those persons may sustain in being taken away from their usual employments or duties. The cultivator of the soil, in particular, is not unnecessarily to be brought from his fields; and, in many cases, a slight delay of trial may be better than causing the industrious inhabitant to lose the fruits of his labour by attendance at court, when harvest, or other rural duty, demands his presence and entire attention. This, however, is an evil that cannot always be guarded against; but it ought to be so, to the extent of the Resident's power, and as far as the satisfying the more important ends of justice will admit of.

132. As an additional check to its occurrence, a discretionary power is vested in the Resident, of punishing by fine the complainant in such suits as may, in the opinion of the Resident, be satisfactorily established to have owed its origin to grounds merely vexatious, and this fine will of course be given to the person who has suffered by the process.

133. As it is most essential that access to justice and redress be rendered as easy and free as possible to the injured, the Residents are ordered to receive at all times, and to pay the utmost attention, to every petition that may be presented to them.

134. But as, in the ordinary course, the officers or servants of government, or others, may, from interested, partial, or resentful motives, find means to debar approach to the Resident in his house, he shall cause a box to be placed at the door of the court, into which petitions may be dropped; of this he shall himself keep the key, and, on going into court, open it with his own hand, and have the contents read to him. He shall, at the same time, in the open space before the court, invite the giving in to him any complaints from persons who may consider themselves as aggrieved.

135. It must be observed, that in all causes which come into the courts, the respective parties in them shall plead in their own behalf. It not having been heretofore usual to employ Vakeels, or native lawyers, for this purpose; no persons of this description shall be admitted. And it is trusted that litigation will be considerably reduced and discouraged by this measure, as the trouble of it will then fall heavily and entirely on the principals themselves; that class of people not being allowed to exist, who, as deriving from litigation their sole subsistence, may fairly, and without invidiousness, be considered as having some interest in increasing the business of the courts.

136. The Resident is particularly enjoined to pay the greatest attention to the state of the persons in confinement by his orders.

137. There shall be one gaol only in each Residency, and that at the place where the Resident himself resides. He shall visit it at least once a fortnight, and redress all complaints that may be preferred to him by the[Vol II Pg lxxii] prisoners of ill treatment, punishing amply every instance that shall come to his knowledge, of misconduct in the gaoler or other officers in charge of the prison.

138. He shall take, too, the necessary measures for the preservation of the health and cleanliness of the prisoners; requiring the Surgeon of the Residency to visit them at least once a day, and to administer to the sick. The Surgeon shall be further directed to deliver in a monthly report to the Resident on this subject, stating the number of sick, nature of disease, cause of it where assignable, and result of his medical operations in the several cases. To this may be added any suggestions that may be deemed beneficial.

139. The internal arrangements of the gaol ought to be so ordered, that the prisoners shall not be confined together promiscuously, but different apartments be allotted, not only for persons of different sexes, but also for those in confinement for different gradations of offence. For the following descriptions of prisoners, separate wards ought to be formed. Prisoners under sentence of death. Prisoners confined under sentence of the Court of Circuit or of the Resident. Prisoners committed to take their trial before the Court of Circuit. Prisoners committed to take their trial before the Resident. And one spacious and airy apartment should be reserved for such persons as are awaiting the preliminary examination in the court.

140. All prisoners or witnesses detained in criminal cases shall be maintained at the expense of government. But the subsistence of persons confined on civil accounts shall be furnished in the usual manner by the complainants in those suits.

141. The rate of maintenance must depend on the general price of food in the district where the confinement takes place. It ought to be sufficiently ample to secure the necessaries of life, but by no means any thing further; it ought not, in short, to be higher than the price for which the lowest description of labour could be obtained. On this principle the Residents will regulate the allowance for prisoners, and when settled and approved of by government, it shall be considered as fixed, and be publicly made known.

142. The Residents finally shall see that the prisoners receive all the comforts compatible with their respective situations, and that the allowance granted by government, or others, for their support, be properly applied.

143. With respect to the authority of the Resident's Court over Europeans, Chinese, or other foreigners, though it has not heretofore been ordered that they be amenable to any but the courts of justice in Batavia, Semárang, and Surabáya; yet as great inconvenience may be, and has been experienced, from their being under a separate jurisdiction from their fellow-inhabitants, and as it is the wish of government that they be allowed to partake of every benefit afforded to its other subjects, of which a prompt and easy access to justice must be considered as the chief, the following orders are issued respecting them. [Vol II Pg lxxiii]

144. No Europeans, Chinese, or other foreigners, at present settled, or who, in future, may wish to settle in the interior, shall be allowed to reside in any part of the country without the immediate limits of the towns of Batavia, Semárang, and Surabáya, unless they present themselves to the Resident, to be regularly enrolled in a register to be kept for that purpose, and obtain from him a license for remaining. This license shall not be granted, unless each individual enter into a penalty-bond of five hundred rupees, that he will abide by the civil decisions of the Resident's Court to that amount; but if this be agreed to, the license shall on no account be withheld, unless the Resident can, and does, give such reasons for withholding it as the government shall approve of. No fee whatsoever shall be given for these licenses.

145. Should it, at any time, happen that a cause, in which more than five hundred rupees is at issue, should come before the Resident, wherein a foreigner living in the interior is concerned, the Resident shall call on him to execute a further bond, which may cover the amount of the suit; and in case of refusal to do so, he shall not be permitted any longer to reside within his jurisdiction.

146. After taking out these licenses, foreigners shall, in every respect, be considered in the same light as other inhabitants, and sue and be sued precisely in the same manner as the natives.

147. Should any foreigner, after these precautions, refuse to abide by the decision of the Resident, a report on his conduct shall be forwarded to government, and he shall instantly be made to leave the interior, and be prosecuted for the amount of the penalty he has incurred, in the established manner, in the courts of justice at Batavia, Semárang, and Surabáya.

148. In criminal cases, where a foreigner is charged with any offence, the Resident shall execute the duties of a justice of the peace, issuing a warrant for his apprehension, examining into the evidence adduced, and, according to circumstances, releasing him forthwith, or committing him to take his trial before the Court of Circuit.

149. It must be understood, that the term here of "foreigners" is intended only to include Europeans, Chinese, Arabs, Mussulmen from the various parts of India, or, in short, the natives of any country that is without the limits of the Malayan Archipelago. But as there will resort to the coasts of Java, in small trading vessels, very many of the inhabitants of the neighbouring islands, to whom the entering into bonds, or being subject to other such legal forms, would prove a serious inconvenience, serving perhaps eventually to discourage them considerably from engaging in such commercial adventures, which it is rather the wish of this government in every way to promote; and as by the religion, laws, and usages of this and the various islands in the vicinity, being, both in form and substance, nearly identified (differing only in some few instances in shades slight and of little moment), it cannot be considered as repugnant to the principles of justice, that they be at once held amenable to the jurisdiction established for this island, during their continuance on it; and it is therefore ordered, that they be looked on and proceeded with in[Vol II Pg lxxiv] manner no way differing from that prescribed for the actual natives of Java.

150. In the event of the death of any British inhabitant or passenger within his district, it is the duty of the Resident to place the seals of office immediately on the effects of the deceased, after defraying the expense of interment; and to report the same immediately for the further orders of government; and, in the event of the death of Burghers, Chinese, Mussulmen, or others, he will be guided by the laws and regulations existing on that head. In all cases, he will be careful that no injustice be practised in this important subject, and that where arrears are due to government, no property be transferred or sold until the same have been satisfied, or until the pleasure of government is known.

151. The Court of Circuit has already been established by the fifth clause of the Proclamation by government, dated the 21st January, 1812. But as the taking away at once the president and one member from the courts of justice rendered those courts, in their absence, incompetent to carry on the current business of their districts, and as a more particular definition of the duties attached to this department is deemed necessary, the following sections must be considered as an enlargement and modification of that clause.

152. In order to ensure the regular, certain, and impartial administration of justice throughout the different districts of the island, one member of the Supreme Court of justice at Batavia, and of the courts of justice at Semárang and Surabáya, shall four times in the year, at stated periods, or oftener if necessary, make a circuit through the districts, under the jurisdiction of their respective courts, for the purpose of hearing and trying all such offences and criminal cases within the same, as shall have been made over to them by the magistrates appointed for that purpose.

153. Previously to entering upon the execution of the duties of his office, each of these judges shall take and subscribe, before the Honourable the Lieutenant-governor in Council, or any person appointed by him to administer the same, an oath in the same form as already laid down for the Residents in section 86 of this Regulation.

154. Upon the arrival of the judge of circuit, the Resident or magistrate shall have in readiness to deliver to him a list of the persons committed to prison, or held to bail, for trial, together with the copies of the charges preferred against each, their confessions, if any have been made (but these, it must be observed, must always be received with circumspection and tenderness), or if they have pleaded not guilty, the depositions of the witnesses, and all other proceedings held by him in the respective cases, previously to their commitment to prison, or being held to bail.

155. He shall likewise submit to the judge of circuit, on his arrival at the station, a separate list of all such persons as he may, within the last three months, have apprehended and discharged for want of sufficient evidence against them; that is, of all such as would, had presumption of guilt been sufficiently established, have been made over to the court of circuit for trial. [Vol II Pg lxxv]

156. The judge of circuit shall then proceed to hold his court. Such officers shall belong to it as he may have brought with him for that purpose, and he shall be attended by all such others belonging to the Resident's establishment, as he may deem necessary.

157. The court shall be held in the Paserban, or usual chief room of justice belonging to the station; and the Resident, in carrying on any judicial or magisterial proceedings, during the continuance of the judge of circuit at his station, shall use for that purpose some other convenient place.

158. On opening the court the head Jáksa shall present a list of persons summoned to act as jurymen; out of which five shall be taken in the usual manner, and be empanelled.

159. The persons composing this jury ought to be as near on an equality as to rank in life with the prisoner as possible. But no one under the rank of a head of a village shall be competent to act as a juryman, as persons below that office, or in the very lower orders of life, cannot be supposed to possess either independence or knowledge sufficient to qualify them to execute justly the duties of the situation. The person senior in dignity among them shall be appointed to act as foreman; and, for this purpose, it may be as well that one of higher rank than the other four should be always selected in the first nomination of the jury.

160. A right of challenge shall belong, as in the English courts, to both the prosecutor and the prisoner.

161. The head of the village in which the offence is alleged to have been committed, shall not be permitted to act as juryman in the trial.

162. No other prescribed disqualification exists against persons of that or higher rank; the right of challenge being deemed sufficient to secure the forming of a competent, unbiassed, and independent jury.

163. The cause shall then be proceeded with; and sentence being passed, it shall become the duty of the Resident to see that it be carried duly into execution, a warrant for that purpose being given to him, under the seal and signature of the judge of circuit.

164. The circuit judge, throughout the conduct of the cause, in his mode of proceeding, of summing up the evidence, receiving the verdict of the jury, and passing sentence on the prisoner, shall be guided entirely by the established rules of his court, the regulations of government, and the general instructions he will receive.

165. And with respect to the law which must guide him throughout, he must, in the first instance, take down the native law in the case as may be expounded by the Panghúlu and Jáksa; and modify thereon his decision, according to the provisions of the colonial law, and the acknowledged principles of substantial justice.

166. He shall not only try such cases as may have been made over to his court, previously to entering the district, but also any such as the Resident may make over to him while there.

167. He shall, on closing his court at each station, forward to the Honourable the Lieutenant-governor, a clear and full report of all his proceed[Vol II Pg lxxvi]ings, stating the names of the prisoners tried by him, the nature of the evidence adduced on behalf of both prosecution and defence, the verdict of the jury, and his consequent sentence thereon.

168. If, in any case, his opinion differ from that of the jury, he shall detail the reasons which have influenced him in that difference; and he shall always state any such circumstances as may warrant a mitigation, or even total remission of the punishment.

169. The approval of these proceedings, and the instructions on them from the Honourable the Lieutenant-governor, must be received prior to his issuing his warrants to the Resident.

170. But as this communication, and the reply to it, may induce too great a delay, the judge of circuit must, on shutting his court, remand the prisoner to gaol, and move on himself to the next district he has to visit; from whence he will be able to send back the warrants to the Resident, when an answer to his report shall have been received.

171. Accompanying this report, the judge of circuit shall forward to government a detailed opinion on the state of the Residency, with respect to its police, its general administration, and other circumstances connected with its actual condition; suggesting, at the same time, any such improvement as, in his opinion, would be conducive to its general prosperity.

172. It remains, finally, to be observed to the Residents, that as the police of different districts must be, in some measure, adapted to various circumstances and localities, they are authorized to enlarge upon these general regulations for the administration of that department within their respective jurisdictions, reporting their suggestions of improvement to government. But it is recommended to those officers to become well acquainted with the ancient usages and institutions of the people placed under their authority; and in submitting their observations, they will be solicitous rather to improve upon the solid foundations of ancient regulations and customs, both acknowledged and understood by the people, than to invent new systems of administration, which for some time must, of necessity, be quite unintelligible to the inhabitants, and which, after the experience of a few years, may probably be found to be by no means congenial to their genius or habits.

173. Copies of this Regulation shall be forwarded to the various officers of government concerned in the carrying it into execution; and translations of it, in the Javan and Malayan languages, shall be furnished to the Bopátis and other native officers. It shall be the duty of these to explain and cause to be made known its purport throughout the country; and for the doing this the more effectually, copies shall always lie on the tables of the several courts, to be open for public reference and inspection. [Vol II Pg lxxvii]

[Vol II Pg lxxviii]

APPENDIX E.​—No. I.
A COMPARATIVE VOCABULARY OF THE MALAYU, JAVAN, MADURESE, BALI, AND LAMPUNG LANGUAGES.

ENGLISH. MALÁYU. JAVAN. MADURESE. BÁLI. LAMPUNG.
Jáwa. Bása kráma. Súnda. Madúra. Sumenáp.
Memorandum.​—The above Comparative Vocabulary was formed in the following manner.​—Copies of the Vocabulary, in the Malayan character, arranged by the late Dr. Leyden, were circulated in different parts of Java, and completed in the different languages and dialects by the natives. After collections of these were made, several intelligent natives were, from time to time, assembled from different parts of the island, and also from Báli, Lampung, Madura, and Sumenap, and the Vocabulary in each language was carefully revised in concert with them, at the same time that it was re-copied in the native and roman characters.[Vol II Pg lxxix]
God túhan; álah' yéwang wídi; pang'éran; gusti; alah hongyéwang; sang-yéwang; pangéran álah batára alah; gusti
Creation ka-jádian ka-dádian kadadósan ka-jádian ka-dádian ka-dádian ka-dádian ka-jádian
Eternity kakálan kaleng'gang'an kakálan; láng-geng'an kaláng-gang'an láng-gang kúkuán; láng-gang ka-kálan
Angel maláikat maláikat mala-ékat malaékat mala-ékat dewáta mali-kat
Soul jíwa; niáwa niówo; yétmo súkma; niáwa niába niáwa jiwa; átma nia-wa
Life idup; hidop úrip gesang irup ódi údi úrep húghé
Demon or ghost hantu antu antu anto antu mamídi; antu hántu
World dúnia jágat búwana dúnia dúnia dúnia marcha-páda dún-nia
Heaven súrga súwarga súwarg'i súrga seárga súar-ga úarga sáwa-ghága
Sky láng'it láng'it akása láng'it láng'it láng'é angkása; lang-it lang'it
Light cháhia cháhia cháhia sadja; cháhia cháhia depta; cháhia chaháya
Star bintang lintang benteung bintang bintang bintang bintang
Halo of the moon pagar-búlan kaláng'an-wúlan kalang'an-sási kaláng'an-búlang kalang'an-búlan káng'an-búlan kandok-búlan
Planet bintang-berjálan lintang lúmáku lintang-lúmampa bentéung-léumpang bintang-ájalan bintang-ájalan pelálintáng'an
Saturn bintang zahil lintang zohal bentéung-júhel bintang-jóhal bintang súhal
Jupiter bintang mastri lintang mústarí bentéung-mustari bintang-mustári bintang-mustári
Mars bintang marikh lintang marih bentéung-marih bintang-maríh bintang marih
Venus bintang zahára lintang johra bentéung-júhára bintang-johro bintang-súhara
Mercury bintang átarad lintang átarad bentéung-utára bintang-ng'alárid bintang álarad
Sun mata-hári sreng'eng'é súria matápoék ng'areh áré mata-nai; súria mata-gháni
Moon búlan wúlan; rembúlan sási búlan búlan búlan búlan; sásih búlan
A comet bintang ber-ikur lintang-kumúkus bentéung-buntútan bintang-abúntok bintang-kúkus bintang-bugúndang
The milky way bima-sákti bima-sákti bima-sákti preng-sadápur láwat yih-patánu
Sunrise terbet-máta-hári plétek-sreng'éng'é médal-súria bijel-matápoék kalúar-áreh kalúar-ári; medal ári handag-matánai máta-gháni-chá ka
North pole bintang-utára lintang-útára bentéung-útára bintang-útára bintang-kelod
South pole bintang-selátan lintang-slátan sela-búmi bintang-salátan bintang-salátan bintang-kája
Equator gáris-sa-teng'ah-dúnia gára-s-teng'ah-jágat gáres-siteng'ah-jágat gáris-sátan-g'ah-dúnia gáris-sátan-g'ah-dúnia gui-tang'ah-marcha-páda
Ecliptic âlan-máta-hári dálan-sreng'éng'é margi-súria jàlan-máta poék jálan-áreb jálan-ári margan-matánai
Aries bintáng-hamel lintáng-kámel bentéung-kámel bintang-kámel
Taurus bintáng-thur lintáng-táred bentéung-sur bintang-tor
Gemini bintáng-júza lintáng-jus bentéung-júja bintang-jus
Cancer bintáng-sertan lintáng-sertan bentéung-sertan bintang-sertan
Leo bintáng-ásad lintáng-ásad bentéung-ásad bintang-ásad
Virgo bintáng-sánbla lintáng-sumbúla bentéung-sanblah bintang-sanbla
Libra bintáng-mírzan lintáng-mízan bentéung-mérjan bintang-mérgan
Scorpio bintáng-kála lintáng-kála bentéung-kála bintang-kála
Sagittarius bintáng-kos lintáng-kos bentéung-kus bintang-kos
Capricorn bintáng-jádi lintáng-júdi bentéung-jadi bintang-júdi
Aquarius bintáng-dálu lintáng-dálwi bentéung-delu bintang-dálui
Pisces bintáng-hot lintáng-khot bentéung-hut bintang-khot
Rainbow úlar-dánu kúku-wung kúku-wung kóbong andang yang-lálah ghóneh
East timur wítan; timur timur timur témor témur ka-ng'in
South slátan selátan perna-ang'in slátan slátan kája
West bárat bárat bárat bárat bárat kao
North útára útára utára témor-dáya utára klod
Earth búmi búmi buntála tánéu tánah; búmi búmi; tána gúmi búmi
Island púlau púlo núsa núsa póloh púlau; gili púlo púlau
Mountain gúnung gúnung rédi gúnung gúnung gúnung gúnung ghú-gok
Stone bátu wátu sela bátu báto bátu bátu bátu
Rain újan údan jáwuh újan újan újan hujan; sábéuh lábong
River súngái; káli kali; bang'awan lépen wálung'an; káli song'ai song'ai túkad bátang-ághi

Extract From the Dasa Nama.[298]

1. Madia ning mangsa from ordinary thought comes knowledge of time or season.
j.b. Mángsa season, time.
j.b. Kála time.
k. Dók the same.
b. Tak-kála the same.
b. Panjenáng'an the time, as applied to the reign of a sovereign or governor, a dynasty, a rule.
j.b. Jáman the same.
k. Titika, or kútika the same.
b. Dáweg or dáwak present time.
j.b. Láji future time.
j.b. Waktu time.
j.b. Usum the season of any thing, as the paddy season or fruit seasons, season for breed of cattle.
j.b. Mangsa ren-dang season or time of rain.
j.b. Ka-telu (3) commencement of the rain.
j.b. Ka-pat (4) rains.
j.b. Ka-lima (5) ditto.
j.b. Ka-nam (6) ditto, rivers full.
j.b. Ka-pitu (7) heavy rains.
j.b. Ka-wólu (8) rains commence falling off.
j.b. Ka-sáng'a (9) rains nearly over.
Mangsa trang dry or clear seasons.
b. Kása-dása (10) commencement of dry season.
j.b. Dasta autumnal, or season of the falling of the leaves.
j.b. Sadá season of heavy dews.
j.b. Kása clear, dry, and cloudless season.
j.b. Káro the season in which trees commence to throw out their leaves and flowers.
2. Mangsa ren-dang ing ardi the rainy season comes from the hills or mountains.
k. Parwáka mountains from which wind comes.
k. Gíri stupendous, abrupt mountains, which create awe on looking on them.
k. Purwáta original mountains, the first or primitive mountains.
k. Chála mountain.
k. Mandála the base or foot of a mountain.
k. Liwáwan, or himáwan. distant mountains.
b. Ardi stupendous mountains.
j.b. Gúnung. mountains or hills.
j.b. Kendeng low ranges of hills.
j.b. Sengkan the acclivity of a hill.
j.b. Mádik the same.
j.b. Jujúrang the space between two hills above the valleys.
k. Sárung the valley or bottom of the space between two hills.
j.b. Papéreng the steep part of a hill which cannot be ascended.
j.b. Héring or iring the same.
3. Ardi akátah séla the hills have many stones.
b. Séla stones, large stones.
j.b. Ka-rikil small stones, pebbles.
j.b. Kamlása small fine stones, gravel.
j.b. Wátu stones.
k. Mánik. a kind of hard black stone.
j.b. Párang a sort of stone neither hard or soft.
k. Redjeng the same.
j.b. Gamping lime stone.
j.b. Wádas a kind of stone.
j.b. Chúri a particular kind of stone, rather harder than redjeng.
k. Cháni a sort of stone which when taken from the quarry is soft and easily cut, but afterwards becomes hard on exposure to air.

[Vol II Pg lxxx]

APPENDIX E.​—No. II.
Comparative Vocabulary of the Sanscrit, Kawi, and Pali.

ENGLISH. SÁNSCRIT. KÁWI. PÁLI.
One eka eka ek-ka.
Two dui dui do.
Three tri tri tri.
Four chátur chátor chatwa.
Five pancha pancha pancha.
Six shash or shat sat cho.
Seven sapta sapta sap.
Eight ashta asta at-tha.
Nine náva náwa no-wa.
Ten dása dása thotsa.
Man (homo) manúshya or manúsha manúsa manut.
Man (vir) jána, purúsha jána, purúsia burútsa.
Woman strí, varángána istri, waranggána ​—​—
Father pita or pitri pita bida.
Mother máta or mátri máta manda.
Head mastáka mastáka két.
Eye nétra, akshi, cháksu sótia nét.
Nose nása, ghrána grána ​—​—
Hair késa késa késa.
Teeth danta dánti thanta.
Belly garbha, udára gerba úthon.
Hand hasta asta hat-tha.
Foot páda páda bát.
Blood lohita, sonita, rudhira, &c. rah, ludira lóhit.
Day dina, divása, &c. dina, méra ​—​—
Night rátri rátri, kúlam rátri.
Sleep nidra nindra nitsa.
Dead préta, párata, mrita parátra muai.
White sita séta ​—​—
Black kála kála, krísna ​—​—
Bad dushkrita dústa ​—​—
Fire agni agni, bráma, geni ak-khi.
Water jála, ápa, &c. jalánidi khongkha.
Stone sila séla sinla.
Hog varáha, sukára wráhas, sukára súkon.
Bird paksha paksi paksa, paksi.
Egg anda endog ​—​—
Fish mín, massya mína, matsia min.
Sun súrya, prabáhkara, áditya súria, prabang-kára, raditia súria, áthit.
Moon chandra, sitángsu chandra; sitángsu pera-chan.
Stars tára tára dara.
God iswára (Lord), déva (a god) déwa (a god) pra, pra-chao.
Eating bhojanam bója swoi, chhan.
[Vol II Pg lxxxi]

APPENDIX E.​—No. III.
Vocabulary of Kawi Words, with the meaning attached to them by the Panambahan of Sumenap.

ENGLISH. KAWI.
God sang yang-jágat-ke-rána, sang-yang-suksma, yang-wídi, murbeng buána, yang-táya, sang-yang-wisésa, sang-yang-jágat, ráya, sang-yang-mánon, yang'ing-jágat, mur-ba wi-sésa, hong.
Make, do; or work ang'dé, andé, ayása, kirtia, panéron, amáng'un.
The work; what is made or done wináng'un, inámer, iniket.
Pen tanáser.
Paper delánchang.
A vessel; pot; receiver tapéla, pranji, gáta.
Heaven súra láya, indra-kila, súra-lóka suréndra, kayáng'an.
Situation, place, office sing'ng'angsána, pa-paláng-kan, patma-sána.
World rat, buána, marcha-páda, jamánda, yatri.
Place patmánda, kahánan, sána, láya, astána, lóka, panápa.
Hell tambra-gomúka, ya-máni, tambra-múka, yáma, pápasána.
Sky gagána, diu, baráka, antariksa, ambar-tála, marútoam, marutpála, margawútma, nasúnia, sam-bára, biuma, aksa, 'ngáh.
Atmosphere (between the sky and the earth.) wiat, madia-gantang, táwang, láyang.
Light prába, kúmut-deú-jiu, tesa, téja, máya.
Sun baskára, raditia, pra tangga-páti, arúna, hári, karába, tála, súbandagni, angka, náku, kanúman, asúman, diankára, dáta-páti, niwása, súria, sasra-súman.
Moon chándra, sadára, sas-ángka, idupáti, sú-ma, sasálan-chána, nisáka, sitángsu, si-tarasmi, sási, ráti, basánta, indung.
The first day of the month (moon) sukla-paksa.
The sixteenth day of the moon krisna-paksa.
Names of the months tití-mása, púspita-war-si, kusúma-wichitra, puspa-darsina, dar-ma kusúma, anta warsi, rahúwandáni, warsan dáni, chakra kulána, sandáya kráma, dirga moriang, renji sári, rasmin-dran déni.
Neither east nor west sunia darsári.
Day mahira.
Sunday riti or dite.
Monday sóma.
Tuesday ang'gára.
Wednesday budha.
Thursday raspáti.
Friday sukra.
Saturday sanischára.
Star tranggána, úyut, turá-sa, tindra, úchu, tá-rang, manggárang.
Wind marúta, sámi-rána, prábanchána, anila, báyu, lisus, indria, pancha, waráyang, sabda-gáti, aníla, ganda-wasta, nása-mira, sarsa, práli wawálar, sindung.
Clouds widi-yúta, sadáli, da-wáta, ambúsun, am-báka, samíta, gána, toyáda, páyuwáha, trangga, ambu-mor-cha, ima-ima, jála-dára, jaláda, imang kamúra, imaláya.
Rain warsa, jáwah, truh, trah, riris, wresti.
Dark anda, taméra, áwuk.
Cold mertia, sátis, átis.
Hot usna, tiksna, landap.
[Vol II Pg lxxxii]

APPENDIX E.​—No. IV.
Specimen of the Mystical Meaning, attached to the Letters of the Alphabet, &c. according to the Interpretation of the Panambahan of Sumenap.

[Vol II Pg lxxxiii]
[Vol II Pg lxxxiv]
LETTERS of the ALPHABET, &c. MEANING ATTACHED IN
JAVAN. ENGLISH.
Ha áh
Na anáne it is or it was.
Cha etcha-nána the test of.
Ra wádon woman.
Ka iku that.
Da tatkála when.
Ta sira thou or thee.
Sa káya alike or as a.
Wa or va wong man.
La lanji remove.
Pa pasti certainly.
Dha ásor low.
Ja kárep wish (to).
Ya panedáne request.
Nia ​—​—
Ma tanárep do not want, or do not wish.
Ga asmára love, or to love.
Ba káduk cannot help.
Ta ála bad or badness.
Nga sira thee or thou.
Ha-na wonten it was, there was, or were a.
Cha-ra satria a nobleman.
Ka-da-ta aráne Aji sáka named Aji sáka, or his name was Aji sáka.
Sa-wa-la wuskóchap jero túlis was mentioned in the writing, or among the letters.
Pa-da-ja sáking núsa jáwa on the Island of Jáwa, or in the city of Jáwa (hi).
Ya-nia-ma. dádi-bujángga became a great writer.
Ga-ba ing buána in the world or of this world.
Ta-nga kang kedep who know, or whose eyes are open.
Hang ápa what.
Nang chang tinálinan to tie or make fast.
Rang kang gódong'i Pandan leaf of the Pandan.
Dang tang kangginúba which is made.
Wang dening wong by the people.
Lang dadíne it became.
Pang ápang branches.
Pang muláne because.
Sang tudúhe it is pointing.
Dang jang kabángkit áne his knowledge or art.
Yang gusti God or the Lord.
Yang bágus handsome or beautiful.
Niang ing álap taken up.
Mang mangke by and by, afterwards.
Mang kaláyan with or with the.
Gang árum sweet scent.
Bang kambang flowers.
Tang sinéleh or sinálah to lay upon.
Ngang rambut the hair.
Hi-ni kaláwan with or by.
Chi-ri túlis pratánda the mark or sign of writing.
Ki iki this.
Di-ti áji-sáka
Si kang apásian who have given.
Wi-li wúruk to teach or give instruction.
Pi-di-ji máring rátu to the rátu or king.
Yi-nyi páda hestú-kena every one might agree to it.
Mi-gi niáta clear, quite plain.
Bi-ti-ngi úlih kagúng'an to have property.
Hing áng'ing but.
Ning ána is, was, were.
Ching ka-ting'al appear.
Ring lámun if or if it.
King lára-bránta the pains of love.
Ding dadálan in the way.
Ting sang'at very much.
Sing bárang any thing.
Wing kang wenang suitable; proper.
Ling pang'úchap word or words.
Ping ing'at remember.
Ding suára sound or voice, noise.
Jing jeng'er see or look at.
Ying bániu water.
Nying mánah the mind or heart.
Ming ewuh don't know what to do.
Ging bódo foolish or stupid.
Bing gáwok astonished or surprised.
Ting seng'it hate or dislike.
Nging sira you or thou, thee.
Hu ang'úndang to call or bawl out.
Nu ing teng'ah marga on the way or at road.
Chu pegel quite tired.
Ru ang'uláti seeking for.
Ku ingsun me.
Du kanching buttons.
Tu kalámbi garment or jacket.
Su lu-wih more or much more.
Wu ewuh lost, confused.
Lu sang'et very much.
Pu súsah troublesome or tedious.
Du srúne crying, or the sound of crying.
Ju iman or eman pity.
Yu áyu beauty.
Niu sira thou or you.
Mu tan-árep do not wish.
Gu meneng be quiet or silent.
Bu lemah the earth or ground.
Tu nguláti behold or look at.
Ngu ngupáya seeking.
Hung sembah to make obeisance.
Nung langgeng eternal or for ever.
Chung sánget very.
Rung mádep to give up the mind to any thing.
Kung asmára thoughtful.
Dung panebúti the offering.
Tung landep sharp.
Sung pápa-ring'e his gift or present.
Wung málih more.
Lung lukta always.
Pung karépi desire, or his desire.
Dung páda the same as, or equal to.
Jung prau a boat or vessel.
Yung páyung an umbrella.
Niung sira thou or you.
Mung ang'éprih wishes.
Gung águng great or large.
Bung gamlan music.
Tung úng'ele sound or voice.
Ngung sira thou or you.

FOOTNOTES:

[298] j. is intended to shew that the word is used in the common or Javan dialect.

b. ​—​— that it is used in the Basa or Basa Krama, the polite language.

k. ​—​— that it belongs to the Kawi language; where two initials occur it is used in both. [Vol II Pg lxxxv]


APPENDIX F.
ACCOUNT OF CELEBES.

Celebes is an island of which hitherto the public has had but very scanty accounts. The part of it best known to Europeans is Makásar, situated nearly at the southernmost extremity of the western side: it was here the first European settlement on the island was established. On the south part of Celebes there are not any ascertained volcanos, but some are said to exist in the northern division. Some of the mountains are very high. The Bontain mountain, called by the natives Lámpo Bátan (big belly), is the highest on the south part of the island, and being seen at the distance of one hundred and twenty miles, must be about eight thousand five hundred feet above the level of the sea.

The largest river on the southern limb is that called Chinrána, which formerly constituted the boundary between the kingdoms of Bóni and Lúwu. It rises on the north side of the Bontain mountain, and runs northward as far as Mario, whence, inclining towards the north-east, it passes through part of Sóping, and then, turning to the east, enters Wáju, after having received a navigable stream from the Laut-Sála, or Fresh-water Lake. After passing through Wáju it follows a south-east course, and falls into the bay of Bóni, a few miles below the town of Chinrána. This river is navigable for boats as far as Mário, and admits of the passage of práhus of five or six kóyans as far as the fresh-water lake. Along the whole of the coast, at no great distance from each other, smaller streams fall into the sea, some of them being so considerable as to admit of a navigation of five or six miles, and many of them at their mouths affording shelter to trading práhus. Among the most considerable are Baróbo, Linjé, and Kájang, to the east; Duniáng, Lémbang, Halikóngkong, Pónre, and Jenepónto, on the south; and Chikoang, Tape Jára, Sándra bóni, Gúa, Télu, Mā́ros, Benáng'a, Langkára, and Pontiána, on the west.

It has not been ascertained by whom, or at what particular time, the name of Celebes was conferred on this island. It is generally attributed to the Portuguese, and certainly is of foreign origin: none of the natives, except those who have intercourse with Europeans, recognize either the whole island or any part of it under this appellation; even among those who make use of the word, it is applied to Sumbáwa, an island about two hundred and fifty miles to the south-west of it, as well as to what we call Celebes.

In the south-western limb of the island there are two principal languages, called by Europeans the Makásar and Búgis, and by the natives Mengkása or Mengkasára, and Wági or Ugi. The former, or some dialect of it, is spoken in all the districts extending from Bálu kúmba to Segére. The petty states included in this compass are Bálu kúmba, Bontain, Tara[Vol II Pg lxxxvi]báya, Gúa, Máros, and Segére. The Búgis is much more general beyond and over the whole tract extending from Bóni to Lúwu, comprehending the four great states of Lúwu, Bóni, Wáju, and Sóping, besides their numerous dependencies.

In Mándhar and its vicinity is spoken the Mándhar language. The centre and body of the island to the northward is distinguished by being inhabited by the Turájas or Harafúras, who speak a more simple dialect, and are considered the aborigines of the island; and on the north-east corner of the island at Manádu and Gúnung télu, the inhabitants are distinguished by some peculiarities.

The following observations must be understood as principally referring to the south-western limb, the part of the island which fell under the influence of Makásar.

It is impossible to ascertain, with any degree of precision, either the origin of the inhabitants or their present numbers. From the most correct accounts that could be obtained, it would appear that the southern limb contains a population of about half a million; but from the quantity of land now lying waste, which bears the appearance of having been once cultivated, from the number of decayed and half-choked water-cuts, evidently once used for the purpose of irrigation, and the multitude of spots where ranges of cocoa-nut trees mark out the sites of villages and cottages no longer in existence, we may infer that the number of inhabitants has greatly declined. At present there seem to be no serious checks to population, except the wars and the lawless violence of the people, and what often occasions, and always aggravates them, slavery and the slave trade. The people seem to procure a sufficient subsistence without much exertion. The climate is salubrious, and there is abundance of water. Marriages are early. In the history of the island the years of famine are particularly noticed. The women are held in more esteem than could be expected from the state of civilization in general, and undergo none of those severe hardships, privations, or labours, that restrict fecundity in other parts of the world. Polygamy prevails, the number of wives being limited only by the means of the husband to purchase or support them. It is more difficult to procure a wife than a husband; a female slave bears a higher price in the market than a male; and the compensation fixed for the murder of a man is only thirty dollars, while that required for the life of a woman is forty.

It cannot be known with certainty, whence the aboriginal inhabitants of Celebes emigrated to this island. The countenances of the natives, particularly of the women, more nearly resemble the Tartar features than any other. There are no early or generally received traditions concerning the time when the island was first peopled, or the adventures of the first race. Each state, however, has its traditionary tales, most of which relate to remote antiquity, or to a condition of society very different from that which at present exists. In the Búgis states, the earliest stories refer to a period subsequent to the Galígas of Sawéra Gáding, and in the Makásar states to the Rupáma of Ma Beséang, which will be mentioned here[Vol II Pg lxxxvii]after. The Galígas contain an account of the peopling of Lúwu or Láwat from heaven.

The first of the two following accounts was given by the Búgis ambassador; the other is an extract.

"In the first place, there was a supernatural being of the female sex, who, being married to Taja Rasupa, a person sprung from under the earth, had issue a boy and a girl, who were named Ladiwati and Chuli-puji.

"Chuli-puji married Lasikati, and by her had a son, called Léptau, who had two or three other names besides, viz. Matan-tika, Malati-saprang, and Pulu Datu Pamusu.

"Pamusu's place of residence was in the country of Teku, afterwards known by the name of Boni. At this time Pamusu and all his children dying, the country of the Bugis was left without a raja, and remained so for about seven generations; at the end of which period a raja springing up among the Bugis themselves, government was again introduced into the country.

"On one occasion there came a storm of thunder and lightning, so violent as to rend the earth and cause it to rock like a boat tossed by the waves of the sea. On the thunder and lightning abating, and the earth ceasing to be longer agitated, there was observed in the middle of a plain, dressed in white, one of human shape, who was generally supposed to be a supernatural being, and to whom many people went up in a body, saying to it, 'remain then here and fly not about from place to place.' To them the being replied, 'what you say is well; but you cannot take me from your raja, as I am myself but a slave. If, however, you are really desirous of having a raja, there is my master at your service.' The Boni people then observed to the being, 'how can we make a raja of him, whom having never seen, we cannot tell what he is like?' 'If,' answered the being, 'you do really desire it, he shall be shewn to you.' They said, 'we do earnestly wish it, and request thou wilt be so kind as to carry us where we may see him of whom thou speakest.'

"When these people of Boni, together with the being who led them, had reached the open plain called Matajam, there came on a violent storm, accompanied with thunder and lightning, which rent and shook the earth. There arose, at the same time, a thick fog, which totally obscured every thing.

"As soon as the storm was over, and the earth no longer continued to be rent and shaken by the thunder and lightning, the clearness which immediately succeeded discovered to the view, seated on a stone, four supernatural beings, of whom three were separately employed in holding the umbrella, fan, and siri-box of the other, who was dressed in yellow. The being dressed in yellow then said to him in white, 'What would'st thou?' The being in white replied, 'I have conducted hither those people of Boni whom you now see before you;' and then said to the Boni people, 'Behold my master, of whom I spoke to you.'[Vol II Pg lxxxviii] Those people went up to the supernatural being in yellow, and thus addressed him: 'We, the slaves of your mightiness, have come to present ourselves before you, to solicit that you will favour and oblige us, by remaining among us as our raja, and that you will not continue to wander about from place to place.'

"The being complied with the wishes of the people of Boni and settling at Matajam had issue five children, of whom the first was a son and the four succeeding ones daughters. One of the daughters was married to a man of Palaka. The son was married to a Bóni woman.

"After being forty years in Bóni, the supernatural being disappeared, and was succeeded by the son, who, in point of size and height, had not his equal in Bóni, neither could any one be compared to him for strength or valour, or for the adulation which was paid him. He was the first who introduced the manufacture of krises, which he could model out of pieces of iron, by means of his fingers alone."


"Bitara Gúru was the eldest son of Déwata Pitutu by Déwi Paléng'i, and inhabited the seventh heaven. Déwata Pitutu had a brother, called Gúru Réslang, who held the rule of the region under the earth. Déwata Pitutu had nine children in all.

"When Bitara Gúru was sent down upon earth by his father, Déwata Pitutu, he was provided with the following articles, viz. Telatingpéba, Siri ataka, Telarasa, Wampung, Wanu, Chachu-bana.

"From these, which were scattered about, every thing living and dead, in the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms, which are to be found in the country of Lawat, originated. Preparatory to this, Déwata Pitutu having compounded a medicine, of which the juice of chewed betel was an ingredient, rubbed Bitara Gúru all over with it, which immediately occasioned him to swoon. Déwata Pitutu then put his son into a hollow bambu, and, having rolled this up in a piece of cloth, and caused the gates of the sky to be opened, he hurling sent down his son to earth, amidst a tremendous storm of thunder, lightning, wind, and rain, which arose on that occasion. Having reached about half way between the earth and sky, Bitára Gúru (dreadfully alarmed at the situation he was in) threw abroad all the articles which had been given to him, agreeably to the instructions of his sire. After his arrival on the earth, Bitara Gúru remained for three days and three nights shut up in the bambu, without food or drink. By his exertions, however, the bambu at last burst, when, getting out, he wandered through the woods till he came to the side of a river, where he met with a king of the gods dressed in yellow. One night there arose a violent storm of thunder, lightning, wind, and rain. On its clearing up there was seen a fine country, with a superb palace and fort, and houses, &c. &c. of the most beautiful structure. In this beautiful country Bitara Gúru sat himself down as sovereign, with a complete establishment, and gave it the name of Lawat."

No account can be procured of any intercourse having subsisted be[Vol II Pg lxxxix]tween this island and Western India or China, prior to the introduction of Mahomedanism. No inscriptions or other monuments, indicating the former prevalence of the Hindu worship over Celebes, have as yet been found. There not having been found, however, is no proof that they do not exist, for the wars that have lately prevailed have prevented Europeans from exploring in search of such objects in that part of the country where they are most likely to present themselves. The best informed natives call themselves descendants of Hindus, and the names of their divinities, Batara Gúru, Baruna, &c. seem to indicate either a common origin or a former intercourse. It is also remarkable, that some of the inhabitants of Lúwu and the neighbouring state of Bontain are said to dress in the same manner as the Hindus of Western India, and that Hindu temples are reported to exist in some parts of this state. Brahma and Budha have, however, never been heard of; and though Déwas are often mentioned, their attributes are equally unknown.

The intercourse of these islanders with the natives of Java seems to have been ancient and frequent. The earliest records of the Búgis and Mákasar states denote not only an early communication with Java, but render it highly probable that a colony from Java settled in the south-west limb of Celebes. In no other way can we account for the transfer of the names of places from the former to the latter island, such as those of Majapáhit, Grésik, Japan, and some others. In the genealogy, too, of the sovereigns of Lúwu, one of the first of their Déwa princes is said to have been married to a princess of Majapáhit on Java.

Though some of the Búgis states have a good deal of trade, they principally depend upon themselves for subsistence. The mode of husbandry is, of course, very rude, and feudal institutions stand in the way of their improvement; but private property in the soil is established, and lands are held in free tenure or by rent-hold. The amount of the rent, in the latter case, is generally one-third of the produce, paid in kind; the cultivator is entitled to one-third, and the owner of the buffaloes or bullocks which assist is entitled to the remaining third. Labourers employed to reap are paid a sixth of what they collect. No class is excluded from a proprietary right in the soil, and the proprietor can dispose of his land by sale whenever he chooses.

The people of Celebes are active and enterprising traders; the character of a merchant is held in esteem, and the sovereign princes reckon it no disgrace to enter into commercial speculations. Unfortunately, however, they are actuated by the narrow spirit of the trader, to the prejudice of the liberal policy of the monarch, and make their power subservient to their love of gain, by establishing in their own favour monopolies against their subjects. Monopolies are common in every state on the island, but most of them are only of a temporary nature. The sovereign of Lúwu monopolizes the trade in brass; the Raja of Sóping that of siri (betel leaf), which yields him three hundred dollars a month; and the Raja of Sedendreng that of salt and opium.

So strong is the spirit of commercial enterprise among the inhabitants[Vol II Pg xc] of this island, that they frequently borrow sums for the purchase of commodities on which they expect profit, and stake their personal liberty, and that of their families, on the success of an adventure. In their trading voyages each person in the práhu has his own share of the cargo, and conducts business on his own account: each person likewise carries his own provisions; the latter practice, especially, is never departed from. The owner of the vessel agrees to undertake the voyage with a number of people, great or small, in proportion to its size, and apportions the vessel among them in the following manner. The two júru múdus, or steersmen, receive one pétah (or division) before the sanketan, and the whole space abaft of it; the owner is entitled to two pétahs in the broadest part of the boat; and the two júru bátus to the whole space between the masts; the remaining pétahs are divided among the crew, from whom the owner, or nakóda, receives a freight of one-tenth or one-twentieth of the price of all the commodities they sell, according as they are bulky or small, in proportion to their value. The júru múdis and júru bátus only pay one-half of the proportion of freight paid by the rest of the crew. Sometimes the owner supplies the crew with an advance of money for an adventure, and receives at its termination not only re-payment of his loan, but a third of the profits of the speculation.

The principal articles of trade are cotton, which is imported from the surrounding islands, and re-exported after being manufactured into cloths, known by the name of Búgis cloths, which are in great demand throughout the Archipelago, and, in general, of a more delicate texture than those manufactured in Java; birds' nests, trípang (sea slug), shark's fins, tortoise-shell, ágar ágar, hides, and other articles calculated for the Chinese market, are collected in considerable quantities, and furnish return cargoes for the annual Chinese junks which visit Celebes. Gold is obtained on Celebes, but in much smaller quantities than on Borneo or Sumatra.

Although the Búgis, in general, are considered as great traders, the foreign commerce seems to be almost exclusively confined to the people of Wáju. These people are settled in considerable numbers in all the trading ports, from Acheen to Manilla, and it is they who form the crew of almost all the Búgis práhus that navigate the eastern seas.

Several Búgis práhus from Mákasar annually visit the northern coast of New Holland and the Gulf of Carpentaria in search of trípang, and sometimes a small party is left to collect the trípang in readiness for the arrival of the práhus in the following year.

The Búgis, indeed, is the great maritime and commercial state of the Archipelago. The cargoes of their vessels, particularly in opium, gold, and cloths, often amount to fifty or sixty thousand dollars each, and the people who navigate and are concerned in them are acknowledged to be fair and honourable traders.

The natives of the southern limb of Celebes are of a light active form of body, generally well made, and rather below the middle stature. They are said to be revengeful; but during the period of the British govern[Vol II Pg xci]ment at Makásar, few, if any, examples occurred to support such an assertion. Certain it is, that in no single instance, was the death of those who fell in a recent war between the two parties of the Makásar nation, avenged by their relations, although the persons by whose hands they had fallen were perfectly well known.

They attach themselves to their chiefs principally for their own convenience, but, in some cases, they have evinced a devoted fidelity. They often change their chief, but scarcely any thing can induce them to betray the chief they have left. In no instance has the práhu of a Dutchman or Chinese been carried off when navigated by Makásar or Búgis people. Agreements once entered into are invariably observed, and a Búgis is never known to swerve from his bargain. "That natural politeness which characterises the various nations distinguished by wearing what is termed the Malayan kris, is no where more forcibly exhibited than among the inhabitants of Celebes. Their minor associations are held together by all the attachment and warmth which distinguished the clans of North Britain:​—the same bold spirit of independence and enterprize distinguishes the lower orders, whilst the pride of ancestry and the romance of chivalry are the delight of the higher classes. Attached to the chase as an amusement, rather than as the means of subsistence, the harvest is no sooner reaped, than each feudal lord, with his associates and followers, devotes himself to its pursuits. The population being equally at the command of the feudal lord, whether in time of peace or war, agricultural pursuits, beyond a bare subsistence, are but little attended to." On the other hand, they are throughout notorious thieves, and scarcely consider murder as a crime. Instances of cold-blooded barbarous murders frequently occurred within two miles of the European fort, previously to the arrival of the British and the abolition of the slave trade. The unfortunate people who had been kidnapped and brought down to Makásar for sale, were often murdered to prevent discovery where a ready sale was not found.

Many of their customs are also extremely savage. The head of an enemy of rank is invariably severed from the dead body, and instances have more than once occurred of the heart being cut out and eaten by the conquerors. They are fond of the blood and raw flesh of animals. Láwar dára, which is the liver and heart of a deer, cut into slices and mixed raw with the warm blood, is esteemed their favourite dish.

The present form of government in all the states, except Wáju, appears to be legal, fettered by a powerful aristocracy who elect the monarch: in Lúwu, particularly, the sovereign possesses a title, with more pomp and state attached to it than any other on the island, but with scarcely a shadow of authority. In Sedéndreng he is the most despotic, which has enabled him to become the richest and best armed prince in the island. A species of feudal system prevails throughout, but it does not extend to property in the soil. Each individual of a state considers himself the liege subject of some petty chieftain, who is himself equally bound to a more powerful one, and so on, by a regular chain, to the sovereigns of[Vol II Pg xcii] Góa, (Makásar), Bóni, Láwu, Sóping, Sedéndring, or Tanéte, or to the aristocracy of Wáju.

In each sovereignty there are two classes of nobility, called Paseajáng'an and Palélé. Paseajáng'an are the barons of the state, and may be considered in every respect as subjects, being obliged to obey all orders they receive from the sovereign, whereas the Palélé are independent petty chieftains (who have probably again under them both Paseajáng'an and Palélé), who have attached themselves to a particular sovereign, but are only obliged to do fixed feudal services, such as to assist with their followers in case of war, to attend the public feasts given by the sovereign, and to assist in building and repairing the palace of state. In Sóping each Palélé is obliged to furnish and keep up at all times one effective soldier, called jua, for the immediate protection of the sovereign.

When the sovereign wishes to give orders to his Palélé, he summons him to his presence by a messenger who bears a bila-bila; the bila-bila is a leaf of the lóntar with a number of knots on it, specifying the number of days at the expiration of which the vassal is required to attend. The Palélé receives it seated in the midst of his head people, with his right hand on the handle of his kris, and as soon as he has got it rises, draws his kris, and swears on it to be faithful to his sovereign. To neglect this summons is a breach of allegiance.

The provinces under European authority are purely feudal; the Dutch, as sovereign, considering themselves as sole proprietor of the soil, and the regents, or feudal lords, being at all times liable to immediate removal and dispossession, should they neglect to perform the feudal service required, of whatever nature it may be.

The sovereign is chosen from the royal stock by a certain number of counsellors, who also possess the right of subsequently removing him; and such is their influence, that the sovereign can neither go to war or adopt any public measure, except in concert with them. They have the charge of the public treasure, and also appoint the prime minister. The prince cannot himself take the personal command of the army; but the usage of the country admits of a temporary resignation of office for this purpose, in which case a regent succeeds provisionally to the rank of chief, and carries on the affairs of government in concert with the majority of the council. Women and minors may be elected to any office of the state; and when this takes place, an additional officer, having a title which literally means a support or prop, is appointed to assist.

In Bóni the prince is elected by the Orang-pítu, or seven hereditary counsellors. In Gúa (Makásar) the prince is chosen by ten counsellors, of whom the first minister, termed Bechára Búta, is one; this last officer is himself appointed by the council of nine, termed the nine standards of the country, but in the exercise of his office possesses very extraordinary powers: it is said he can remove the sovereign himself, and call upon the electors to make another choice. The inferior chiefs, or Krains, who administer the dependent provinces, are appointed by the government, and not elected by a council, although in the exercise of their office their[Vol II Pg xciii] power is in like manner limited; the number of the council varying in different states. When the prince in council has decided upon war, the assembled chiefs, after sprinkling their banners with blood, proceed to take a solemn oath, by dipping their krises into a vessel of water, and afterwards dancing around the blood-stained banner, with frantic gesture, and a strange and savage contortion of the body and limbs, so as to give the extended kris a tremulous motion, each severally imprecating the vengeance of the deity against his person, if he violates his vow to exterminate the enemy, to conquer or die.

The proportion of the crop which falls to the share of the landlord has already been stated. In some districts a sixth, and in others a tenth, belongs to the sovereign; but in general the landlord, the capitalist, and the cultivator, may be considered to share between them the whole produce of the land. The monopolies which the chiefs assume to themselves have also been noticed. Besides these there are a few imposts in bazars, which, with some other pecuniary emoluments, accrue to the chiefs, but they are, for the most part, rather to meet their personal expenses than to defray those of the state, and consequently hardly deserve the name of public revenue.

The arms formerly used for offence by the inhabitants of Celebes were the súmpit, or tube through which the poisoned dart is blown, the kris, spear, kléwang (cutlass,) bádi, and párany: to them may now be added muskets, musketoons, and small cannon. Those for defence were chain armour (baju ránti) and two kinds of shields, the one long the other round, made of very tough light wood, and bound together very strongly by pieces of split rattan.

The Mahomedan religion is professed in all those parts of Celebes which have any pretensions to civilization, and the Koran, of course, is the standard of law and worship, as far as it is known. According to the records of Makásar, the Mahomedan religion was introduced there about the year 1603, by Khateb Tungal Datu Bandang, a native of Menángkabau on Sumátra. Nearly all the inhabitants of the south-west limb are Mahomedans, but of the centre and the other limbs of the island only a very small portion have been converted. There are Mahomedan schools in all parts of the south-west limb, but the Arabic language is only learnt by those designed for the priesthood. They do not consider themselves as belonging either to the sect of Omar or Ali, but as followers of the law of the prophet, without regard to either. Circumcision is performed on both sexes; on the males at ten or twelve years of age, on the females at six or seven.

It has been related, that the change of religion on Celebes happened just after the arrival of the Portuguese, who are said to have offered Christianity at the same time that the Maláyus offered Mahomedanism. The king of Makásar is said to have been doubtful which of these systems he should adopt, till he consulted the wisest men in his dominions, who advised him to embrace the religion of the Koran in preference to that of the gospel, stating as an argument in its favour, that it had arrived first,[Vol II Pg xciv] and that God would never permit error to arrive before truth. But this does not appear on the records of Makásar.

The public feasts formerly held, sometimes for weeks together, appear to have been for political rather than religious purposes: at present the Mahomedan fasts and feasts are observed. Formerly the dead were generally buried, but in some instances burnt. There is still to be seen in Lamúru a burial-place belonging to the royal family, containing jars or urns with the ashes of their ancestors, which are held sacred, indeed almost worshipped, at the present day. The Búgis name for the places of burial used before they were converted to Islamism is Patúnan, or the place of burning. It is not known that any tribes of the Turájas burn their dead at present: they are said to deposit them in excavated rocks on the sides of hills, and to be so anxious to be buried among their relations, that if a man of rank dies in a distant part of the country, the body is salted to preserve it, and, in that state, carried back to his own residence. Very little is known of these people by the inhabitants of the south-western limb, but they are universally considered as the first inhabitants of the island. They are a very fine race of people: the women particularly so. It is said they will not suffer strangers or Mahomedans to reside among them, and that the custom of procuring a certain number of human heads previous to marriage is as prevalent among them as with the Dáyas of Borneo, and the Harafúras of the Eastern Archipelago in general.

Each state has its own system of laws, but they nearly concur in the following principles. Each sovereign generally possesses the right of putting to death any of his subjects, except the members of his own family. Should any one of these commit a crime and escape into another territory, he cannot be touched, but if taken in his own country he must be brought before the bechára, who alone are capable of passing sentence on him.

Each petty state has its bechára, composed of the principal people, both Paseajáng'an and Palélé. All disputes between its followers are decided by it: it also judges and passes sentence in cases of theft, murder, and adultery, and decides all causes respecting the legal right to property; but an appeal may be made to the court or bechára of the principal state, the members of which are called the Kapála Bechára. The decision of any bechára is subject to the approval of the sovereign, where he is not himself a party interested: indeed he may, in general, supersede the authority of this court by deciding promptly, but it behoves him to attend strictly to the adat biása, or ancient customs of the state, in his decision, for the bechára has the power to remove the sovereign and elect a new one. The same persons at all times decide on the fact and the law.

It is difficult to ascertain which of the dialects spoken on Celebes has most claim to antiquity. I have already stated, that the Makásar and Búgis are considered as the two principal languages of that part of the island known to Europeans. The Makásar, the Búgis, and Mandharese, which may be considered as dialects of the same language, use the same character with some trifling variations. The Turájas or Harafúras of[Vol II Pg xcv] Celebes have a fourth language, probably the most original, but it is not known whether they are at all acquainted with writing.

Each nation considers its own the most ancient character. The Makásar alphabet is less complete than the Búgis, which consists of twenty-two letters, varied by six vocal sounds. The form of the character is peculiar, and more nearly resembles that of the Bátas on Sumatra than any other we know of. It is difficult to decide whether the Búgis or Makásar language is the most ancient. Many words have the same meaning in both, and many others differ so little[299] as to be evidently of the same origin; but the Búgis has often six or seven synonymes, whereas the Makásar has never more than two, and seldom more than one. Some of the Búgis words bear strong evidence of Hindu origin, as sóda from sóna, gold; paráma from brahma, fire; which is not at all the case with the Makásar.

La Galíga, the reputed son of Sawíra Gáding, is considered the author of the history of Sawíra Gáding, which is a kind of heroic poem, and is read in a chaunting voice, with a pause at the end of every fifth syllable. The measure consists of a dactyl followed by a trochee, as Sāwĭră Gādĭng to Mălămpōă, (Sawíra Gáding the great). He is the only author whose name is commonly known; and all books, even the most modern, which are written in the same manner, are called after him Galíga, although, properly speaking, the term should only be applied to the history of the heroes who are supposed to have lived previous to the seven generations of anarchy which subsisted at Bóni. Sultána Zaenab Zakeyat Udiu, the seventeenth sovereign of Bóni subsequent to the anarchy, is said to have written an historical poem, containing the exploits of all the sovereigns of Bóni, from the reign of Máta Se Sámpo, the menúron of Matájam, down to her own time; but it is not to be procured on the western side of Celebes. It appears, however, that every Búgis family of high rank possesses a very authentic history of that period, collected from the records of the court of Bóni.

The author of the Rupáma is not known, nor indeed is the name of any Makásar author known. The Rupáma is considered by the Búgis, as well as the Makásars, to be of equal antiquity with the Sawíra Gáding. Copies of both these works have been obtained.

In the account given by Dr. Leyden, in his valuable paper on the Hindi-Chinese nations,[300] upwards of fifty literary compositions in the language of this country are enumerated, most of which serve either to celebrate the deeds of their national heroes, or are of an amatory character. Besides these they possess codes of laws, or rather customs, said to be of considerable antiquity. The Koran has been translated into the Búgis language. The use of rhyme is much less frequent than among the Maláyus; and it has been observed by Dr. Leyden, that "the melody of the verse depends on the rhythm, and the measure of some of the historical [Vol II Pg xcvi]poems has, in this respect, considerable similarity to some of the specimens of Sanscrit verse." The Búgis songs are very numerous, and in high estimation throughout the Archipelago.

They have no books on science, philosophy, or astronomy. The only stars they are acquainted with, are Jupiter (called Pelás), the Pleiades (called Wórong Pórong), Sirius and Orion (Jáng'an Jáng'an, or the Fowl), the Great Bear (Jonga Jong'aya), Navis (Belikaipon), and Antares (Lambáro). They navigate their práhus by these stars, some of which must always be in sight, if the weather be clear.

The Makásars use the Mahomedan names for the months. The Búgis divide their year of three hundred and sixty-five days into twelve months, beginning on our sixteenth of May. Whether this division of the year has taken place since the arrival of Europeans or not, is uncertain; but it is more than probable it has, as, with all this correctness, it does not appear they have any era; at least since the introduction of Mahomedanism, the Hegira seems to be used. The Búgis names of the months, and the number of days they contain, are as follow:​—

Sarowaná 30 days.
Padronwáne 30
Sujewi 30
Pachekae 31
Posáe 31
Mangaseram 32
Mangasutéwe 30
Mangalompae 31
Nayae 30
Palagunae 30
Besakai 30
Jetai 30

Some division of time into months and years must have taken place at a much earlier date; as some of the earliest of the present line of kings, and the length of their reigns, are particularly mentioned.

I have before stated that slavery is practised on the island, and that the states not only supply slaves for domestic consumption (if I may use that phrase), but for export and commercial traffic. There are examples of whole villages becoming slaves, and there is scarcely a state or family of rank on the island that has not its assortment of these degraded beings, many of whom are reduced to this condition by the most cruel and insidious means.

Of the thousands exported annually from Makásar, the greatest portion consisted of persons who had been kidnapped by people acting under the authority of the European Residents, or the princes of the country.

The sale of their subjects constituted one chief source of the revenue of the Rajahs; and the factors at the different Dutch residencies traded in slaves. It is reported of one factor that he exported nine hundred in a year. The payment or contribution to be made to the Dutch, was either measured in gold, silver, or slaves. In a treaty made between the people of Gúa and Admiral Speelman, we find that they promised to pay so much of the precious metals, or one thousand slaves. Those slaves that were obtained by law or descent, were called Díngen; those kidnapped, Páras.

The respective prices for slaves at Makásar were as follow:​— [Vol II Pg xcvii]

For a grown lad, legitimately obtained 20 dollars.
For a young woman, ditto 40
For a grown lad, kidnapped 10
For a young woman, ditto 20

It appears from the report of a commission appointed to inquire into the abuses of the slave trade in Celebes, addressed to the council of policy, and dated Makásar, the 21st September, 1799, that the Dutch government of Batavia, from the year 1699 (the period of the first Dutch settlement at Makásar), had sent repeated orders for the prevention of abuses in the slave trade in Celebes; with what effect, the following extract from the same report will shew.

"The abuses which have successively crept in, and the intrigues which are now practiced to obtain slaves, are so manifold and perplexing, that it would be very difficult for us to enumerate or to trace them. In attempting such a detail with all the precision and attention possible, we should still ignorantly omit some things, and depict others in too faint and indulgent a light, the grounds of our information being often superficial and precarious; for, it is to be remembered, that the enormities which are committed in this trade conceal themselves in the dark, and it is only by accident that some traces of them can occasionally be discerned. For these reasons, the undersigned request that they may be excused for confining themselves to the most common and notorious abuses, which, being faithfully recorded, may still afford sufficient evidence of the dreadful and detestable crimes which spring from avarice, and of the frightful shapes in which she perpetually displays herself, instigating and exciting the vengeful and blood-thirsty passions of the natives, and creating a fertile source of trouble and mischief.

"The making of a slave transport, if properly viewed, consists in nothing more than this:​—A person, calling himself an interpreter, repairs, at the desire of one who says that he has bought a slave, to the Secretary's office, and accompanied by any native, who, provided with a note from the purchaser, gives himself out as seller. For three rupees a certificate of sale, in the usual form, is immediately made out; three rupees are also paid to the notary, two rupees put into the hands of the interpreter, the whole transaction is concluded, and the purchaser has thus become the lawful owner of a free-born man, who very often is stolen with his (the purchaser's) concurrence and co-operation. He does not, however, trouble himself about that, because the stolen victim is already concealed where nobody can find him. The transaction also very seldom becomes public, because never were found more faithful receivers than the slave-traders. It is a maxim with them, never, as they call it, to betray their prison; a phrase which we shall presently have the honour more fully to explain. But what will be thought of the value of those public instruments, to which the name of Slave Transports is attached, when at times it is found that both purchaser and seller are fictitious, and that they are united in one league with the interpreter. By such means it is obvious, that the right of[Vol II Pg xcviii] property upon a stolen man may be acquired with as much ease as if he were pinioned before the door or within the yard of the pretended purchaser, and with no greater cost than the small sum of one rupee, or something more, according to circumstances, which must be put into the hands of him who gave himself out for the seller. To find a person for this purpose does not require a long search, for it is a very easy trade to pursue, and there are numbers of the most profligate of the natives continually roving about who do nothing else, and maintain themselves exclusively upon such small profits; even the slaves of the inhabitants being bribed, suffer themselves, for a small fee, to be thus employed. The victim himself, who is stolen and sold, is never examined, nor do the Dutch or native interpreters at all concern themselves about the matter; they are not much afraid of the risk of their responsibility; so that, at any time, it were possible to prepare beforehand as many transports as might be required.

"Let us further represent to ourselves this, our town of Makásar, filled with prisons, the one more dismal than the other, which are stuffed up with hundreds of wretches, the victims of avarice and tyranny, who, chained in fetters, look forward with despair towards their future destiny, and taken away from their wives, their children, their parents, their friends and comforts, languish in slavery, helpless and miserable! We may picture to ourselves the condition of one (and how often do such instances occur) who perhaps saw his aged father lose his life by his side, in attempting to rescue the pride and comfort of his declining years, whilst the survivor, incapable of further resistance, is torn from him, robbed irrecoverably of what is most precious to every human being, and carried away, in a condition more dreadful than death itself, a condition of despair and uncertainty, in which that moment only shall produce a change, when he is resigned for a trifle to the arbitrary will of a master, who has paid the stipulated price, and acquired the right of placing him amongst the number of his domestic animals, treating him at times no better than he would do those creatures.

"If we would lift up another corner of the curtain, a scene no less afflicting presents itself. Here we discover wives lamenting the loss of their husbands, children missing their parents, parents missing their children, who, with hearts filled with rage and revenge, run frantic through the streets and before our doors, to do all that the filial love of children for their parents, the tenderness of parents for their offspring can inspire, in order, if possible, to discover where their dearest pledges are concealed. Often, very often, is all their labour and trouble in vain, being obliged to return back hopeless and comfortless to their afflicted friends and relations. Sometimes, indeed, the profoundest secrecy is not proof against their indefatigable scrutiny, and if they do by any chance learn where a father, mother, a son or daughter, a husband or a wife, is kept in concealment, hope revives within their bosoms, and absorbed in the prospect of becoming their deliverers and saviours, every sacrifice is considered trifling, by means of which they can regain[Vol II Pg xcix] possession of the objects of their anxious care. But, alas! these unhappy people have not as yet reached the end of their sufferings; an obdurate purchaser, deaf to all the pleadings of distress, will be prepared coolly to make his advantage of it, and proportionally to enhance the ransom of his victim, till, by extorting an exorbitant price, he may plunge the unhappy relative from a moderate property into indigence, or, which is still worse, burden him with debts, which, sooner or later, will reduce himself, and perhaps his whole family, to slavery!

"It must not be thought, that when these wretched people have thus carried their point, and when, to furnish the sum demanded, they have sold their houses and goods, or even pawned themselves[301], that, after the payment of the ransom agreed on, the matter is finished. No! the trader will not deliver up the pretended slave until he departs for Batavia: and if we ask, why? it is, that his prison may not be betrayed; that is to say, that it may not become generally known throughout the country, what numbers of stolen people he keeps shut up within his prison, and that the cry of vengeance against many execrable acts that are concealed in the dark, may not everywhere be heard, by which many villains would become notorious. A son is therefore only exhibited to the afflicted father: he sees him in a pitiful condition linked with fetters, and it is frequently at such a moment that the ransom is agreed on. The grief wherewith a father's heart is pierced at such a sight, the rapid succession of his emotions from grief and despair to hope and longing, when contrasted with the deliberate calmness with which a covetous purchaser knows how to take advantage of the poor man's distress; the indifference, the obstinacy, with which he persists in his bloody demand of each rix-dollar, each stiver, nay almost of each penny; in a word, every thing that can have any relation to such a striking spectacle, can be more easily conceived than described, and we have said enough to exhibit the abomination of proceedings, which cannot fail to have a most pernicious influence upon society.

"But it may be said, the laws and regulations speak in favour of the oppressed. We have shown above, in what manner government have endeavoured, from time to time, to provide against such abuses, and to this we beg leave to refer; but where avarice is predominant, laws, reason, rights, humanity, all that is sacred, are too often compelled to yield. Besides, various obstacles conspire, which time and local circumstances have engendered, so that in spite of the most salutary statutes (which are indeed so far nominally in force) the evil cannot be effectually checked; and experience has taught us, that the most rigorous orders which government could devise, would be insufficient to make a due provision against the increase of these abuses.

"Those, whose fate we have now hastily drawn, are not always stolen by foreign nations at distant places. No: about and near the houses of our own inhabitants, in our kampongs, within our own town, it very often happens. A numerous gang of villains, known by the name of[Vol II Pg c] bondsmen (verpandeling), with a number of whom every slave-trader is careful to provide himself according to his means, are most useful instruments in procuring slaves in the easiest and cheapest way; and being instructed in all the arts of villainy, and eager for prey, they rove about in gangs during the night and at unseasonable hours, and if successful in overpowering some one, they carry the victim to their employer, or to any purchaser, and it is very seldom that any thing more is heard of it, than that such a one has lost his slave, or that such a native is missing. The stolen man, woman, or child, is already chained and shut up within the prison of some slave-trader, which is never visited. The slaves for foreign markets are always carried on board at night; and if a stolen person were either free-born, or the slave of an inhabitant, he dares not make himself known as long as he is in his ravisher's hands, for, in that case, they would kill him immediately, even were it before the door of the person who wanted to buy him, whilst the robbers would have no difficulty in getting out of the way, and beyond the reach of justice.

"Those who are trained to this business, whether bondsmen or slaves (for even amongst this latter class of people thieves of men are often found), are very fertile in all kinds of intrigues to accomplish their ends; for except casual victims, who sometimes fall by accident into their clutches, a considerable time will often elapse before they succeed in securing the object they have marked out for their prey, because the devoted creature is frequently on his guard; and as it cannot be done openly without great precaution, for he would certainly sacrifice his own or their lives to preserve his liberty; they, therefore, lie in wait for him a long time, endeavouring by indirect means to make acquaintance with him, in order to gain his confidence, and then, we will not say always, to conduct or allure him into the house of the slave-trader, or otherwise, as is sometimes the case, to lead him to a remote spot, or at least to some distance from his house, when he immediately finds himself attacked by two or three of these ruffians, who have long previously agreed with his pretended friends, and before he has time to put himself into a posture of defence, or to take hold of his krís, it is already wrested from him, and his hands are tied behind his back. To cry for help would be immediately fatal to him, he is therefore compelled to be quiet, and to suffer himself to be sold as a slave by the ruffians who had previously arranged where to carry him.

"Why such violations are so seldom made public, and thieves of men are so rarely detected, many sufficient reasons may be assigned. For instance: the profound secrecy of the prisons; the clandestine manner in which slaves for traffic are carried on board in the dark of the night; the sinister manner in which the purchase is transacted and confirmed; the facility with which the villains are able to escape, when after some time the theft becomes notorious; the difficulty of making satisfactory inquiry about a crime, of which but a few of the perpetrators and their accomplices are generally within the reach of justice, whilst the stolen[Vol II Pg ci] person is still more rarely present, so that it generally happens, in such a case, that the most guilty get off; the still greater uncommonness of offenders of this sort being caught in the very act, so as to fall at once into the hands of justice; and, finally, the secret protection which some native petty princes, living upon plunder, afford to their subjects. All these, and many other circumstances, combine to facilitate the practice of kidnapping, which thus goes on almost undisturbed, and generally unpunished!

"A rich citizen, who has a sufficient number of emissaries called bondsmen, carries on his trade much more easily than a poor one does. The latter is often obliged to go himself to the Kámpong Búgis or elsewhere, to take a view of the stolen victim and to carry him home; whilst the former quietly smokes his pipe, being sure that his thieves will, in every corner, find out for him sufficient game, without his exerting himself otherwise than indirectly. The thief, the seller, the interpreter, are all active in his service, because they are all paid by him. In some cases the purchaser unites himself with the seller, on purpose to deceive the interpreter; whilst, in other cases, the interpreter agrees with the thief and pretended seller, to put the stolen person into the hands of the purchaser! What precautions, what scrutiny, can then avail, when we reflect, that the profound secrecy of the prisons, and the strict precautions in carrying the slaves on board, are equalled only by the licentiousness with which the transports are fabricated?

"A distinction ought, however, to be made between such illegal and criminal practices, and a more moderate trade in slaves, many of whom, it is true, are stolen, but not in our vicinity, nor in the districts of the Company. The remainder are generally such as, according to the separate laws and customs of the native nations of Celebes, have in some way or other forfeited their liberty, either in war, or for some misdemeanour, or on account of debts. These are likewise higher in price, so that the trader cannot have so much gain upon them; they may also appear at broad daylight, an interpreter may with security answer for them. Such slaves can be brought on board very quietly in the day time; the frequency of murder, as in other cases, is not much to be dreaded, and our town has considerably less danger to apprehend from these than from the class before mentioned."

The report concludes by recommending specific measures, and expressing an opinion, that "it would not be inexpedient, if, but for one year, the exportation of slaves from hence were suspended."

In the following year, the residents received instructions from the high regency, in which several of their predecessors were accused of having "assumed a despotic sway over the natives, plundered those over whom they had been placed to protect them, and of having even dared, with the assistance of the native chiefs, whom they have found means to debauch, to put the natives in irons, and to sell them as slaves."

Mr. Chassé, when governor of Makásar, much to his honour, attempted to put a stop to manstealing in the neighbourhood of his residency. He[Vol II Pg cii] did not, however, succeed to any extent. When the British arrived, it appeared that numbers of plunderers were roaming about for the supply of the slave market, which was still open; so that the inhabitants of the villages adjacent to Makásar, never dared to approach, except in parties of at least five or six armed men. An equal caution prevailed throughout the country.

To enforce the British abolition laws, there was formed at Batavia, in the beginning of the year 1816, a society called the Java Benevolent Institution, and in the course of the year this society published an account of its proceedings, containing, among other interesting matter, "Remarks upon Makásar, &c. compiled from the information of Lieutenant Owen Phillips, assistant resident there." This paper concludes as follows:

"The laws recognized between the Dutch Company and the states of Bóni and Gúa may be considered a fair criterion of their general spirit and tendency. They were agreed to in an early period of the Dutch establishment, when Admiral Speelman concluded a treaty with those states, and they have not since undergone any material alterations. The penalties therein prescribed were required to be paid in money or property of any description, at the arbitrary rates fixed by the same laws, and which appear on the whole to be extremely favourable to the individual; debtors or convicted felons, in default of payment, becoming bondsmen. But the temptation to corruption afforded by an open market and an increased demand for slaves for traffic, introduced a practice of condemning, first to bondage, and then fabricating for three dollars a certificate of slavery; a practice which, although not recognized in the laws subsisting between the European and native powers, was yet generally known to prevail, and if not formally sanctioned, was openly tolerated under the former system.

"Whilst these laws are administered in the native states by their councils or becháras, the administration of justice in the Company's territories was vested in the Regent, under the superintendance of the Drost, but who has usurped the power of actually deciding, particularly in cases where he is interested in the condemnations, from the right which the judge enjoys, of a moiety of the property arising from the sale of persons condemned to slavery, or in the appropriation of a certain number of them to his own use! The abuses arising out of these unlawful usurpations appear to have attained a great height in 1799, when the commission was appointed to inquire into them; but (as in the case of restraints which had from time to time been imposed by law) that inquiry did little more than recognize the right of control over the actors and participators in such abuses; a right which could readily and profitably be compromised by men who, from habit, were actuated by little determined abhorrence of such crimes, and no steady resolution to eradicate them. To this cause alone must be attributed the difficulties stated by the commission to be opposed to the due execution of the laws, and to the suppression of the enormities that were generally practised; and although partial reforms were effected,[Vol II Pg ciii] according to the disposition and principles of the persons who presided successively in Makásar, the enormous gains to be derived from the toleration of corruption was a powerful obstacle to its removal: and it may be said of the abuses and enormities detailed by the commission in 1799, that although perpetuated with more or less aggravation, as the controuling authority was more or less conscientious and vigilant, no radical removal of them took place, nor were the suggestions of that commission carried into effect, except partially within the town of Makásar.

"On the establishment of the British government, the practice and mode of kidnapping within the town of Makásar had, in some degree, been restricted and ameliorated; but this did not extend to the country. Some limitations had therefore been imposed on the connivance and direct participation of the public functionaries; but bondsmen were still generally employed as man-stealers, and the practice of concealing in secret prisons, of assassinations to prevent detection, and of midnight embarkations, were but little controlled or inquired into, as may be sufficiently inferred from the laxity of the public tribunals, and the rare instances of any infractions of these laws being punished by them.

"The introduction of the prohibitory laws by the establishment of the British government, naturally operated to cause a sudden and complete suspension of the open traffic; and although individuals are still clandestinely carried from Makásar, the number is so small, that the utmost vigilance has hitherto been unable to convict the perpetrators, especially as the numerous gang of bondsmen and man-stealers, though compelled at present to resort to other avocations, are yet at the call of corrupt employers, and live in the hope that occasion may again offer of freely returning to their pursuits, without apprehension of any consequences. This truth will be more generally appreciated, if we explain the course through which these people are led to engage in the desperate trade of kidnapping. The bondsmen, who are thus employed by slave-traders, are generally dissolute adventurers from the native states, who repair to Makásar, perhaps, with a little property which they lose by gambling; their next resource is to borrow from some one of the numerous Dutch or Chinese speculators (slave-traders) a sum of money, and which is only to be had at the exorbitant interest of fifty per cent, or, as expressed in the local terms, 'one wang per month on the Spanish dollar.' A debt thus dissolutely contracted is not likely to be retrieved by patient industry. But were such a disposition to prevail, the opportunity is scarcely afforded, and the obligation is generally allowed to accumulate until the debtor is about to pay the price in his captivity. To retrieve himself from this dire alternative, he has recourse to the trade of kidnapping, and the ready employment he meets with, added to the sudden gains which he hopes to acquire, stimulate him to repair his fortunes in this irregular and desperate pursuit. Such are the bondsmen who are the active agents of slave traders in Makásar; and while the abolition has had the two[Vol II Pg civ]-fold effect of diminishing their numbers and of checking their depredations, it must be obvious that this salutary reform can only endure whilst the spirit which produced it is fostered. The commission in 1799 forcibly depicted the utter incompetency of the most rigid prohibitions, in restricting the barbarities which then prevailed: but there is yet a stronger fact, which bears equally upon the traffic, on whatever footing it might be re-admitted; it is, that the resources arising from what were considered legal condemnations to slavery, would be totally inadequate to supply the market under any probable limitations. As the demand increased, the more frequent condemnations on frivolous pretences would naturally ensue, if indeed such a practice in any degree could be considered legal: but the temptations to open violence arising from the numerous accessaries, and the direct or indirect participation of public functionaries, added to the comparative cheapness of stolen men, are such strong inducements to revive ancient abuses, under an actual demand, that no hope could be entertained of controuling them. On the other hand, the maintenance of the abolition laws, as they have hitherto tended to correct in a remarkable degree the monstrous practices which obtained, must, in their ultimate operation, effectually reform, not only the habits and dispositions of the inhabitants of Makásar, but check those frequent condemnations which, in the native states, may be chiefly imputed to the advantages that were generally made of them. To illustrate, in a familiar instance, the effect of this amelioration brought about by the silent operation of the prohibitory laws; on the first arrival of the English, the inhabitants of the adjacent villages did not dare to come to Makásar in parties of less than five or six men well armed. This was equally the case throughout the country, as there was an open sale for almost any number of people that could be stolen. The case, however, is now entirely altered, at least within the influence of the British authority. Men, women, and children, are now to be seen moving singly about the country in all directions, without fear and without arms. Formerly a man going on a hunting party, or a peasant to till his ground, went armed as if going to war; at the present day numbers of people may be seen in the paddy fields without a spear amongst them. I may add, that these effects are not confined to the Company's provinces, but are felt nearly throughout the states of Gúa, Telu, and Turáta, where there can be no doubt that a few years would be sufficient to realize, under the present system, a great increase to population, and the more important introduction of commerce and civilisation.

"The principal pirate settlements are Káli and Túli Túli, situated on the north-west coast. The depredations of these hordes are generally carried on between Java and the Straits of Saleyer; their haunts are the islands near Seleyer, also Gúnuny Api, and the isles at the entrance of the Bay of Sembáwa, and in general the small isles included between the coasts of Java to the west, Borneo to the north, and Celebes to the east." [Vol II Pg cv]

A COMPARATIVE VOCABULARY OF THE BUGIS, MAKASAR, MANDHAR, BÚTON, SÁSAK, BÍMA, SEMBÁWA, TEMBÓRA, AND ENDÉ LANGUAGES.

[Vol II Pg cvi]
ENGLISH. BUGIS. MAKASAR. MANDHAR. BÚTON. SÁSAK. BÍMA. SEMBÁWA. TEMBÓRA. ENDÉ.
One sédi sédre misa sátu sátu sábua; icha sátu seena sa.
Two dua rua dua dua dua lua dua kálae zua.
Three télu tálu tetálu tálu telu tólu tiga nih télu.
Four mpa ampat ápeh mpat mpat ópat ampat kude-in wútu.
Five lima lima lima lima lima lima lima kutélin lima.
Six nám ánam ánam ánam nám íni ánam báta-in limása.
Seven pitu túju túju pitu pitu pidu túju kúmba limazua.
Eight hárua delápan wâlu árua báin wáru delápan koného ruabútu.
Nine haséra sambílan amésa asára siwa chéwi sambélan láli trása.
Ten sapúlu sampúlu sapúlu sapúlu sapúlu sampúlu sapúlu saróne sabúlu.
Twenty dua-púlu rua-púlu dua-púlu rompúlu dua-púlu duampúlu dua-púlu sisaróne bulúzua.
Hundred sa-rátus sabiláng'an sang'átus sibiláng'an sátus sa-rátus sang'átus simári sang'ásu.
Man (homo) táwu tau tau tau kelépe dho tau doh dau.
Man (vir.) hóro-áni boráni chácho tau máma dho-mó-ne-móne láki-láki sia-in úli-dau.
Woman makónrai bahíni bahíni makónrai nina dho-siwe perámpuan óna-yit ána-dau.
Father ambéhna mángge káma bápa áma áma bápa homóri má.
Mother indóna anróng indo ma ína ína máma yelai weh.
Head úlu ulúna úl úlu ótah túta úlu kokóre úla.
Eyes máta matána máta máta máta máda máta saing'óre ána-máta.
Nose ing'a ing'a ing'a ing'a írung ilu ing'a saing kóme niju.
Hair wélua rambut wélua wélu búlu hónggo wélua búlu fu.
Teeth ísi gigi ísi ísi gigi woi ísi sóntong nihi.
Belly bábua bátan pórot bábua tian lóko báboa sumóre túka.
Hand lima líman lima liman íma rima limang taintu lima.
Foot áji bánuge áje áje nai édi áje maimpo wáhi.
Blood dára dára dára dára geti ráh dárá kiro ráha.
Day poi hári áso kejélu; jélu mrai aso kóngkong giah.
Night weni bange bangi weni kelam ai-meng'ádi malam tádung kómbe.
Sleep matinro átinro pelóli matínro tindu máru maténro kidjum méne.
Dead máte amáti máti matémo máti máde matémo sílam máta.
White mapúte kébok púti maputémo pútih búrah púti si-yang bára.
Black malótong léling malótong malótong bírang me-e lótong naido láka.
Good madéching bájik mápia baik ónya tátio baik sámar glo.
Bad déna-ma-déching kóde andiána-mápia enda-ma-dakégau leng'e séwai nónda-króah gonóre báne.
Fire ápi pépe ápi ápi ápí ápi ápi maing'aing ápi.
Water wai jéne wai áyer ai jéne naino wai.
Earth tána bútah tána tána tána dána tána gonong tána.
Stone bátu bátu bátu bátu bátu wádu bátu ilah bátu.
Hog bábi bábi bábi bábi báwi vávi bábi kíwu báhe.
Bird mánu-mánu jang'an-jang'an mánu-mánu manuk káma-núkan nási mánuk-mánuk kilaíngkong peti.
Egg itéloh báyau ndoh télor télu dólu telor andik telor.
Fish báleh júku bále bále mpah úta júku karáyi íkan.
Sun matáso sing-har máta-hári máta-hári máta-jelu liroh sing-har ingkong réza.
Moon wúlan búlan wúlan wúlah úlan wúrah wúlan máng'ong wúlan.
Stars bitóing bintóing bintóing bintóing bintang ntára bintóing kingkong dála.
God álah ta-ála álah ta-ála álah ta-ála álah ta-álah álah álah ta-ála moríhoh ga-hémbu.
Sit túdang mempu píóro dúduk tókol dóho píóro hok-hok regoh.
Eat mánre ang'ánre mánde mánre bekhor mang'an mákan ka-a.
[Vol II Pg cvii]

A COMPARATIVE VOCABULARY OF THE GUNUNG TALU, MENADU, TERNATI, SANG'IR, SIRANG or CERAM, AND SAPARÚA LANGUAGES.

[Vol II Pg cviii]
ENGLISH. GUNUNG TALU. MENADU. TERNATI. SANG'IR. SIRANG or CERAM. SAPARÚA.
One limbóto esah rimoi sembua tekúra isáhi.
Two bukáng'o bua rómo-didi darúa dua rua.
Three bóne télu ra-ang'i tátelu tólu óru.
Four ampat épat ráha épa pát ha-an.
Five lima lima róma-tóha lima lim rima.
Six ánam ánam rára nóng ónan nóho
Seven túju pitu tómdi pitu fitúra hítu.
Eight delápan wálu tof-kang'i wálu delapánte wáru.
Nine sambilan sioh siyu sioh sabilánte siwah.
Ten sapúlu mapúlu yági-móí mapúru putúsa úhu-túhi.
Twenty dua-púlu rúa-napúlu yági-romdidi duampúlu dua-púlu úhurua.
Hundred mai-tútu ma-hátus rátu-mói marásu útun hutúngno.
Thousand notifu ma-ribu ribú-mói saribu rihúne rihúno.
Man (homo) manúsia manúsia tau-máta káwu túma-táwu.
Man (vir.) satúlal to-áma nónau esé manuáya manáwau.
Woman tábua wewóné fohékeh babini mapuinára pipináwu.
Father bápa áma bába bápa niba-bára amáni.
Mother nána ína yáya nina ninésan ináni.
Head lung-góng'o úlu dopólo ulúnte urúni.
Eyes máta warén táko máta matára ma-áni.
Nose uling'o nirung ídung írung idónte iríni.
Hair wóho wúhuk rambut úta uhúra rhúwon.
Teeth dang'éta wáhang gigi ísi gigira nióni.
Belly mbong'a po-ot ho-ot tiang púmra tehúni.
Hand otóho leng'an tang'an tákiar tanánte rimáni.
Foot oh-áto háhe káki bisi kakíra ahíni.
Blood dúhu ráha dára dára dárah laláni.
Day (light) dulúho ndoh modiri éloh pagíra kai.
Night hoi weng'i wang'i-lóbi bása mahónte lamásai.
Sleep méte-lóho madákal hótu metiki ákifet imutára.
Dead máti máti sóni náti máti; hábis imáta.
White púti kúlo ubúan mawira putíra ipúti.
Black itam riram îrang mitung meténa iméte.
Good baik léhos láha mápia páda-lóko imai.
Bad tra-baik léwo ási daráki manche-ére nága-ráta hiáhia.
Fire tólu ápi úkut pútung ápira hahúlo.
Water telóho ráno áki áke áyira waélo.
Earth búta tána káha utána búmite umélo.
Stone bátu wátu márih bátu batúra hátuo.
Hog boi wáwi sóho wáwi boíra háhuo.
Bird búrung kóko námot mánuk-daródo burúngte mánuo.
Egg putitor átelu nabóro telor telórte terúri.
Fish tóta póngkor neá-ot kena ján iyáno.
Sun mútu-hári ndoh máta-hári éloh máta-hári ria-ma-áno.
Moon uláno leléhon búlan búlan bulánte huláno.
Stars óli-pópo tóto-tian úna-bintan butúing bentángte humário.
God málai-káti wálian tuan-álah máwu-álah álah álah.
Sit ulóho rumúma tégó káyan matórán ituo.
Eat mong'a kúman óhot kúmang kamána lyáni.

FOOTNOTES:

[299] See Comparative Vocabulary annexed, including the dialects of the south-west limb of Celebes, and some of the islands in its vicinity, on which Bugis settlements have been formed.

[300] Asiatic Researches.

[301] Meaning their services for a stipulated period or for life. [Vol II Pg cix]


APPENDIX G.
NUMERALS ACCORDING TO THE CHANDRA SANGKALA.

ONE.
Rúpa form, shape, appearance, face of any thing.
Chandra moon at the 15th day, moon.
Sási new moon, month of the year.
Nábi or nebe the navel, completion of the month.
Búmí the earth, or piece of land.
Búda ancient; original.
Rón or Gódong leaf of a tree.
Médi abstraction, devotion.
Eku tail of any thing.
Dára large stars, planets.
Jalma or Janma mankind.
Eka one.
Wák the body.
Súta child.
Siti black earth, earth.
Awáni courageous, hair of the body.
Wúlan the moon, at the 14th day, full moon.
Yáta then, forthwith, thereupon.
Tung'gal one.
TWO.
Nitra the eye lids, the eye.
Chaksu the inner corner of the eye.
Nayána sight.
Sikára the palm of the hand.
Búja the upper part of the arm near the shoulder.
Páksa the jaw-bone.
Drésti or desti the eye-brow.
Háma the outer corner of the eyes.
Lochána the lips.
Charána the side of the cheek-bone.
Kerna the ears.
Kerni the inner part of the ear.
Anámba the act of closing the hands in obeisance.
Talíng'an the lobe of the ear, the ear.
Máta the eye, the pupil of the eye.
Tang'an the hands, the arms.
Súku the feet, or soles of the feet.
Lár wings.
Dúi two.
Lóro two.
THREE.
Bahning fire (of a furnace).
Pawáka fire (from a volcano).
Siking fire (struck from a flint).
Guna fire (from friction of wood).
Dahána the fire which pervades every thing that has life, extensive fire, fire that has never been extinguished.
Tri-ningrána fire (of the work-room).
Uta a leech.
Buja-lána alligator or crocodile.
Húti worm of the earth.
Játa flame of fire.
Wéda fire or heat confined in a vessel, as in a cooking vessel.
Anála the fire which giveth warmth to the heart, the fire of passion, the fire which giveth warmth to passion.
Gni fire (to a match).
Utáwa fire.
Kéa great fire.
Léna fire or flame of a lamp.
Puyíka fire and ashes, mixed.
Tiga three.
Uning'a a torch.
FOUR.
Wédang hot water.
Segára the sea.
Kerti well water.
Súchi water after it is used.
Jaládri water from a lake, or where fresh water mixes with the sea.
Hádi mountain water, rare or pure water.[Vol II Pg cx]
Warna colour.
Wéh water which descends from a mountain.
Samúdra sea water.
Jaládi tank or pond water.
Ernáwa spring water.
Toyádi dew water.
Wahána flood or quantity of water.
Waudádi juice from trees, as toddy,&c.
Sindu milk.
Wári cocoa nut-water, water.
Dik glutinous sap taken from trees, as the Indian rubber, &c.
Tásik sweat, applied to the sea on the coast.
Bányu water.
Chatur four.
Pápat four.
FIVE.
Búta a rasaksa or hobgoblin, also a lion.
Pandáwa the five sons of Pandu.
Táta breath issuing from the nostrils.
Gáti ditto mouth.
Wisáya air produced as in bellows, &c.
Indri air which refreshes or revives.
Astra the air created by the passing of a missile weapon, or by the wielding of a sword.
Sára the same, created near the point or edge of the weapon.
Marúta air which conveys scents of any kind.
Pawána strong wind.
Bána hurricane, violent wind.
Margána favourable wind in one's course.
Sámi-rána the wind that checks perspiration.
Waráyang the point or edge of the wind which strikes any thing.
Pancha five.
Báyu wind that circulates in the human body.
Wisikan whispering wind.
Gúling'an air circulating in a room.
Lima five.
SIX.
Mangsa season, the seasons, prey of a wild beast.
Sadrása the six tastes, (sweet, sour, salt, bitter, pungent or aromatic, hot, as pepper).
Wináyang to range, following in order, (which is done according to the six notions of things).
Gána silk worm, bee.
Ret-tu the feeling or taste of any thing not pleasant, as pain in the leg, mixed good and bad.
Ang'gas the trunk of a tree standing after its branches and leaves are decayed and fallen.
Sáyag an inclining tree.
Karng'a the sense of hearing.
Sanda clear, light.
Sandi plan, project, scheme, completed.
Búdia disposition, inclination, ability.
Ka-nénam six.
Rása taste.
SEVEN.
Ardi mountains near the sea, mountains.
Parwáta several mountains together.
Turángga a steed, horse.
Giri mountain or great hill.
Réksi or resi a pandita, or holy or learned man.
Aksa buffaloe.
Baksu bull or cow.
Mandála a mountain which is rent or split.
Chála a mountain which shows its shape, &c. clearly.
Hemáwan the summit of a mountain.
Gúra cow, great noise.
Sapta seven.
Pandita a holy man.
Géngsiára the buzzing noise of flying insects.
Yamúni the sound of a lover courting his mistress.
Kúda horse.
Wiku an instructor.
Pitu seven.
EIGHT.
Nága serpent
Panágan the dwelling of a snake, the skin which a snake has shed.[Vol II Pg cxi]
Sarira guana.
Básu tekké.
Tánu camelion.
Múrti lizard.
Kunjára place of confinement, prison.
Gájah elephant.
Dipángga an elephant fully caparisoned.
Samádia an elephant prepared for being mounted.
Hasta elephant.
Mang'gála an elephant with his tusks grown.
Diráda an enraged or savage elephant.
Hesti female elephant.
Matáng'ga a large elephant.
Bramána a pandita from Sabrang or opposite coast.
Liman a tame elephant.
Kála time.
Was, áwas a scorpion.
Ula a snake.
NINE.
Rudra a muddy hole.
Trústra the hollow of a tube, a hollow in any thing.
Trústi the same.
Múka the face, the mouth.
Gapúra the gate or door-way of a palace.
Wiwára a door-way, the opening of a case.
Diára the gateway of a fort.
Drúna door-way into a holy place, or place of misfortune.
Yútu the eye of a needle, or the like.
Gátra a small hole or cell in the earth, made by insects.
Gua a cave.
Wadána the front of a door.
Léng all kinds of holes or hollow places.
Láwang doors of every description.
Sóng a long passage underground.
Babáhan the hole made for the entrance of a thief.
Náwa nine.
CYPHER.
Búma decayed grass, dried grass, hay.
Súnya solitude, quiet.
Gegána endless space, as between the earth and the sky, indefinite space.
Ng'ambára flight.
Widik widik that which is seen or heard but not known, as thunder.
Malétik to fly off, drop off, anything small which is knocked off from what is greater.
Sirna gone, vanished.
Lang'it that of which one has an idea but cannot see clearly, as the sky.
Kásia the air, atmosphere.
Maláyewa to run off.
Windu the period of revolving, a cycle.
Sakáta a carriage.
Ilang gone, lost, past.

Example.

Búma, netra, gni, bányu, marúta, sadrása, ardi, nága, láwang, lang'it.
Earth, eyes, fire, water, air, taste, hill, snake, doors, sky.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
[Vol II Pg cxii]

APPENDIX H.
TRANSLATION OF THE MÁNEK MÁYA.

CHAPTER I.

Before the heavens and earth were created, there existed Sang yang Wisésa (the all-powerful). This deity, remaining in the centre of the universe, inwardly and earnestly desired of the Almighty Ruler to grant a wish that he had. A dreadful conflict of the elements ensued, in the midst of which he heard a repetition of sounds, like the rapid striking of a bell. On looking up he saw a ball suspended over him, and on his laying hold of it, it separated into three parts: one part became the heavens and earth, another became the sun and moon, and the third was man, or mánek máya.

All having made obeisance to the Sang yang Wisésa, he addressed himself to Mánek máya, and said, "Hereafter thou shalt be called Sang yang Gúru; and placing entire confidence in thee, I give up the earth and all that is attached to it, to be used and disposed of according to thy will and pleasure." Having spoken thus, Sang yang Wisésa vanished.

The earth being in great distress, unfixed and liable to be driven to and fro by every gust of wind, anxiously petitioned of Sang yang Wisésa that its situation and condition in the universe might be fixed. The sun, moon, and sky, deeply affected with the distress in which the earth was, all came to lend their assistance; a violent hurricane at the same time arose, and, by their united influence, the earth became still and fixed, the contending waters then receiving their saltness and disposition to turbulence. The continual presence of the sun and moon occasioned perpetual day. Sang yang Gúru, empowered by the deity, then directed that those two luminaries should show themselves alternately, relieving each other by turns; the sun dispensing light and heat during the day, and at the close thereof entering into the bosom of fire; the moon continuing to light the earth by night, for fifteen days in a month, and descending in due season into the bosom of the waters.

At the request of Sang yang Gúru, the deity granted that he should have nine male and five female children born unto him, without the assistance of a mother.

One of the sons, called Mahadéwa, being furnished with one of the daughters, called Mahadéwi, as a wife, was sent to preside in the east. He was, moreover, provided with a fort and palace of silver, a sea of cocoa-nut milk, and a white pári bird. His letters were ha, na, cha, ra, and ka, (the five first letters of the Javan alphabet), and his day, légi (which signifies sweet). [Vol II Pg cxiii]

The second son, Sang yang Sámbu, was sent to preside in the south: the daughter allotted to him for a consort was Sangyána. His kráton was of copper; his bird was a bhramána kite; his sea was of blood; his letters were da, ta, sa, wa, and la; his day páhing.

The third son, Sang yang Kamajáya (the most beautiful), was sent to preside in the west: the daughter allotted to him for a wife was Dewi Ratéh (which signifies the most beautiful female). His kráton was of gold; his sea was of honey; his bird was a kapádong, or yellow minor; his letters were pa, da, ja, ya, and nia; his day was pon.

The fourth son, Sang yang Wísnu, was sent to preside in the north: the daughter allotted to him for a wife was Sri. His day was wágé; his kráton was of iron; his sea was indigo; his bird was gága, or crow; his letters were ma, ga, ba, ta, and nga.

The fifth son, Sang yang Báyu, was appointed to preside over the centre of the earth: the daughter allotted for his wife was Dewi Súmi. His kráton was of bell-metal; his day was klíwon; his letters were ga, lang, nia, ma, ma, la, pa, ya, and a; his sea was of hot water; his bird was a gogek.

The four remaining sons were appointed to preside in the north-east, north-west, south-west, and south-east quarters, respectively.

The god of the north-east was Sang yang Pretanjála, and the letter attached to him was named b'ya.

The god of the south-east was Sang yang Kwéra, and the letter attached to him was named narasúnya.

The god of the south-west was Sang yang Mahayákti, and the letter attached to him was named gandéa.

The god of the north-west was Sang yang Séwa, and the letter attached to him was named norwíti.

These arrangements being made, Sang yang Gúru went under the earth to put things to rights there. The earth consisted of seven regions, one under the other, like so many folds. In the first region he appointed the goddess Déwi Pratiwi to preside; in the second region, a god named Sang yang Kusíka; in the third region, a god named Sang yang Gáng'ga; in the fourth region, a god named Sang yang Sindúla; in the fifth, Sang yang Dasampálan; in the sixth, a god named Sang yang Manihára; in the seventh region, a god named Sang yang Anta Boga, and who was head over all the others.

Then Sang yang Gúru returning from under the earth, and observing that it was depressed towards the west, and elevated towards the east, summoned all the deities to a consultation respecting what might be the cause of this inclination. The deity of the west said that it was in consequence of a large mountain that was towards the west, and whose weight bore down the earth in that quarter. Sang yang Gúru then directed that the mountain should be removed from the west and placed in the east, so as to preserve the earth in due balance. All the deities were accordingly forthwith dispatched to effect the same.

Sang yang Gúru, at the same time, got Sang yang Wisésa to create him[Vol II Pg cxiv] a Vulcan or Empu, whose name was Ramádi. Of this Vulcan, his mouth served to supply fire, his right and left hands served respectively to hold and beat his work, while his knee answered the purpose of an anvil.

CHAPTER II.

Besides Sang yang Gúru, Sang yang Wisésa created another degree of mankind, viz.: Sang yang Derma Jáka, who, having humbled himself before Wisésa, petitioned him to bestow on him a son, which was granted, and his son's name was Chátur Kanáka.

Chátur Kanáka having previously done penance, petitioned Wisésa to grant him a son, which he did, and his son's name was Sang yang Kanekapútra. This Kanekapútra, who was superior in abilities to all the other created beings, being grown up, was sent by his father to do penance in the ocean, who gave him at the same time a precious stone, called rétna dumíla, fraught with the wonderful power of rendering its possessor insensible to hunger, cold, thirst, &c. and which completely fortified him against the effects of water, fire, &c. Chátur Kanáka also instructed his son to remain quiet and silent during his penance.

CHAPTER III.

The deities who were sent to remove the heavy mountain which weighed down the west end of the earth, were so fatigued with the labour it cost them, that they were all very thirsty. In looking out for wherewithal to quench their thirst, they discovered issuing from the side of the mountain a clear stream, of which they all drank and died shortly after, the water being impregnated with poison.

Sang yang Gúru himself having come to the mountain, and being also very thirsty, drank from the poisonous stream: perceiving, however, in time that the water was not good, he immediately vomited it, and so saved his life. The only bad effects of it was a blackness which remained about his throat, and from which he received the appellation of Níla Kánta. The water was called chála kúta, which signifies the most potent poison.

On a further search, Sang yang Gúru discovered another stream issuing from the summit of the mountain, and of which the water was of an aromatic and excellent quality. The name of this water was kamandálu, and was so called from its having the property of bringing the dead to life.

Instructed by Wisésa, Sang yang Gúru drank of the life-giving water, and at the same time carried with him some of it, in order to give it to those deities who had died in consequence of their having drunk of the death-giving stream. On the water being applied to their lips they all immediately revived.

What remained of the mountain on removing it from the west to the east formed the hill called Tempaka (at Chiríngin, in Bantam).

In the course of the conveyance of the mountain towards the east, a piece of it dropt off, and became the large mountain in Bantam, called[Vol II Pg cxv] Gúnung Kárang. Other pieces falling off became the mountains Hala Húlu, near Pajajáran, Gúnung Géde, the mountain called Chermái (which is in Cheríbon), and the Gúnung Agung, (which is in Tegál).

The fragments which continued to fall all the way along, on either side of the large mountain, during its conveyance from the west to the east, formed the two ranges of hills stretching along the south and north coasts, and known by the name of Gúnung Kéndang.

Two large pieces fell off and formed the Brothers, called Sindóro and Sindári, or Súmbing. The deities employed in transporting the mountain stopped to rest themselves in that part of the country afterwards known by the name of Kedú; and the perspiration which then ran off their bodies was the cause of that country being so well supplied with water.

These deities seeing Ramádi above in the clouds, at his ease compared with them who were working so hard, asked how he came to be there so much at his ease? He replied, that he was ordered by Sang yang Gúru to remain there and work for the gods. High words, and at last a battle, ensued, in which all the deities were defeated. So great was the power of Ramádi, whose mouth sent forth flame, and whose breath was fatal to those exposed to its baneful influence.

Sang yang Gúru interposed his authority, and having appeased the combatants, the deities returned to the work of carrying the mountain. More pieces of the mountain dropped, and formed the mountains Merápi and Merbábu, into which the volcanic fire they have ever since contained was then breathed from the nostrils of the fiery Vulcan Ramádi.

Ramádi then asked Wisésa to give him a son, which was granted, and his son's name was Bráma Kadáli. Bráma Kadáli resembled his father in every respect, and was equally powerful and formidable.

Other pieces of the mountain dropt, and formed the mountains Láwu, Wílis, Antang, and Klut, besides a number of small hills. What remained of the mountain when it had reached the east, was set down and formed the Gúnung Semíru (which is in the country now called Proboling'go), the height of which reached the sky.

Having removed the mountain from the west to the east end of the island, the several deities presented themselves before Sang yang Gúru, who then ordered them to take téja-grained wood, earth, and stones, for the purpose of making him a heaven of the most transcendant beauty, it being his intention to vie with the Almighty himself; and in order that he might be on an equality with the Almighty, he gave orders for the construction of a báli márchu kúnda, which should resemble the âras of the most divine; and like unto the Súrga Púrdos he made the Surga Loka. To resemble the Yamáni he formed a káwah; corresponding to the Wailul, or hell of perishing cold, he made Endut Blagdába, or the place of filth; similar to the bridge Seratal mastakim he made the bridge Ogalágil. He at the same time made himself as many jawátas as the Almighty himself had malaikat (or male angels), also 100,001 widadáris (or female angels), the odd one being Batárī Ráteh. Sang yang Gúru further provided himself with a consort, whose name was Batári Uma. [Vol II Pg cxvi]

All this having been accomplished, the Jawátas and Widadáris assembled under the báli márchu kúndo, and began to drink of the térta komandálu, or invigorating beverage, which soon made them quite happy.

While they were still quaffing, Rémbu Chúlung, one of the Rasáksa (who are the dregs of creation) having observed them, descended from above and joined the party. When one of the Jawátas, called Chándra, perceived this, he made a motion to Wísnu to apprize him of it. Before therefore the beverage, which the rasáksa had applied to his lips, had time to descend into his stomach, Wísnu shot an arrow into his throat and stopped his passage. The head only of the Rasáksa (being all that experienced the effects of its immortalizing quality) re-ascended, and became the devourer of the sun and moon (observable at eclipses); the whole of the rest of the body perished. Hence originates the great noise and clamour which is always made on an eclipse of the sun or moon, the object of those who make it being to drive away the animal which on those occasions attacks the luminaries, and thereby produces what are termed eclipses. * * *

(The scene which follows is too indelicate to be inserted).

Sang yang Gúru immediately dispatched all the deities to destroy it, and to prevent its growing into any thing gross or unnatural.

The deities accordingly went forth and commenced their attack, darting all their missile weapons at it. Instead, however, of suffering from the effects of their weapons, it only increased in size, and forthwith began to assume a shape, of which the weapons called cháhra deksána formed the head, those called lampang mang'gala formed the two shoulders, and those called gáda the rest of the body. The former being now complete, and of a very terrific appearance, all the deities were greatly afraid and ran away from Sang yang Kála, the name of the monster, as it continued to pursue them. The deities fled to Sang yang Gúru for protection and assistance, informing him of what had happened, and telling him, at the same time, that the Sang yang Kála was advancing in order to inquire and find out who was his father.

The Rasáksa immediately made his appearance, having eyes like the blazing sun, hair long, lank, and clotted with filth and dirt, his body covered all over with hair like a wild beast, and large tusks sticking out of his jaws.

Thus disfigured, he stood before Sang yang Gúru, and asked him who he was? The latter replied, that he was a powerful being and the ruler of many deities. "If that be the case," said Sang yang Kála, "then must thou be able to tell me who my father was?" Gúru then said, "I know thy father, and will inform thee who and where he is, provided you comply with what I shall require of thee."

Sang yang Kála assented, and then inquired what it was that Gúru wished him to do. "That," said Gúru, "I will point out to you, and if you fail to do it, I will instantly devour you. You must, in the first place, however, make obeisance to me." While the Rasáksa was in the act of prostrating himself before Gúru, the latter plucked two hairs from[Vol II Pg cxvii] his head: upon which the former opening wide his mouth, Gúru thrust his hand into it, and wrenched out his tusks and the poison which was at their roots. The poison he deposited in a small vessel, and of the tusks he formed two weapons, called limpung and neng'gála, so heavy that it required seven hundred men to lift one of them.


Sang yang Gúru then confirmed to the Rasáksa the name of Sang yang Kála: after which, becoming greatly enraged with his consort, he seized and held her by the toe, upon which she began to bellow, and was immediately transformed into a female monster, receiving the name of Dúrga. He then gave her to Sang yang Kála for a consort, and allotted them for a place of residence the island called Núsa Kambángan, where they continued to live very happily.

Sang yang Gúru then ordered the deities, Bráma and Wísnu, to go and destroy the forty children of Rémbu Chúlung, the devourer of the sun and moon. They accordingly destroyed all the children except one, named Putút Jantáka, whose severe penance alone saved him.

After this Gúru saw in his sleep an appearance like a rainbow, and which seemed to be portentous of some great event. Sang yang Támban being sent by Gúru to make inquiries respecting the nature and meaning of this sign, which, from its being in the water, he termed súba síta, Támban went under the water, and saw there a devotee, who, notwithstanding his situation, was quite unwet from the water, and undergoing the penance of remaining perfectly still and quiet.

Gúru being informed of this, and feeling jealous of what the devotee might gain by his penance, became very desirous of causing him to break his vow: he accordingly sent a number of Dewátas and Widadáris to tempt the hermit. On their reaching the spot where the latter was, they were not asked to sit down, and were completely disregarded by the hermit. Bráma, who was one of those sent, then observed to the hermit, that such haughty and neglectful conduct was highly unbecoming, and that if it proceeded from ignorance, on his part, of the rank of the persons sent to him, he begged to inform him that they were the messengers of the Great Deity, and ought to be attended to.

These words making no kind of impression on the hermit, who continued obdurately silent, the deity, Sang yang Séwa, then advanced, and addressing himself to the hermit, spoke thus: "Holy hermit, be not offended with what Bráma has just said to thee. I come not to disturb or annoy you, but merely to apply to you for the means of curing the sickness of Batári Uma, who has been taken very ill." Neither this, nor any other of the devices which the rest of the deities successively had recourse to, succeeded in making the hermit break his silence. The deities, however, being determined to do all in their power to make the hermit break his vow of uninterrupted silence, Sang yang Sámbu took a vessel of water and emptied it upon him, while others, at the same time, began to belabour him with sticks. Notwithstanding all this, the hermit persevered unshaken in his resolution of maintaining[Vol II Pg cxviii] a dead silence. Seeing this, Sang yang Báyu came up and began to batter his head with stones, which, instead of doing any injury to that usually tender part, were only broken themselves into many pieces. Bráma had then recourse to fire, which he heaped about the hermit, so that he was, for a considerable time, entirely concealed from the view, by the vast flames thereof, and supposed to be completely destroyed. When the fire had done burning, however, the hermit was observed to continue in the same situation as before, uninjured by the destructive element, and, like gold, only the more pure and beautiful.

Astonished and exasperated at all this, the deities then began to assail the hermit with all their various weapons, viz. 1. chákra; 2. kónta; 3. hardadáli; 4. neng'gála; 5. parátu; 6. límpung; 7. pasopáti, and 8. trisúla. The body of the hermit proved invulnerable. The deities then, quite confounded and ashamed of their failure, returned to Gúru, and informed him of all that had been done.

Sang yang Gúru then went himself to the hermit, and asked him what it was he wished to obtain by his penance, telling him at the same time, that if he was desirous of having beautiful and accomplished virgins, he had plenty at his service. Receiving no reply, Sang yang Gúru then said to him, "I know what the object of this penance is, and I should possess very limited power if I did not know every wish of thy heart. Thou art ambitious of supplanting me in the power and rule which I hold in heaven; but thou deceivest thyself. Wert thou to do penance for one thousand years, while I should continue to enjoy myself in a series of uninterrupted pleasures, thou wouldst never be able to come near to me in power or glory; for after Téja or Cháya (which signifies light or brightness), Búmi (the earth), and Lángit (the sky), I stand the next eldest work of creation; and the power superior to these just mentioned is Sang yang Wisésa, who is the oldest and greatest of all." Upon this the hermit could contain himself no longer, but, bursting into laughter, said, "Thou art wrong, and what thou hast said of Sang yang Wisésa, is true of the Almighty himself only, whose displeasure thou hast consequently incurred by what thou hast just stated. Know that I am Sang yang Kanekapútra; and to prove to thee that I know better than to believe what thou hast said of Sang yang Wisésa, I would only ask thee who could have been the cause of those sounds which were heard by Wisésa before the heavens and earth were. Without doubt they were occasioned by a power older and greater than him."

On this Gúru was silenced, and had not a word to say. He then entreated Kanekapútra to tell him who this eldest and most powerful being was, proposing, at the same time, that he should go with him, and become joint ruler over the deities in heaven. "These sounds," answered Sang yang Kanekapútra, "were the voice of the Almighty, signifying his will that there should be created things of an opposite nature to each other, as male and female, above and below, father and mother, beautiful and ugly, &c. &c.​—every thing created having its opposite, except thee and me, who are one and the same." [Vol II Pg cxix]

Sang yang Kanekapútra and Sang yang Gúru then ascended to heaven, and seated themselves on the Báli márchu kúnda. After they had remained there for some time, Sang yang Gúru perceiving a case belonging to Sang yang Kanekapútra, to remain constantly shut, inquired of him the cause thereof, and was told by him that it contained the most precious of all precious stones, which had the wonderful power of making the possessor of it feel neither hunger, cold, nor thirst, &c. and which fortified him against the effects of water, fire, &c.

When Sang yang Gúru heard this, he requested to have the stone; but Kanekapútra told him it was of so subtile a nature, that it would pass through the hands of innumerable people, and would never remain with any one but him destined to be the possessor of it. Sang yang Gúru asked Kanekapútra to part with the stone, and give all the other deities an opportunity of getting it, provided it should not remain with him. Kanekapútra then threw up the precious stone, and Gúru caught hold of it. It not only passed through his hands, but also through the hands of all the deities who successively caught and attempted to retain it. The precious stone then falling down upon the first region of the earth, where presides the deity Pratiwi, dropped successively through all the others, without the presiding deities Bagáwan Kusíka, Sang yang Gáng'ga, Sindúla, Drampólan, and Manik Kóga, being able to retain hold of it, till, coming to the last region, Anta Bógo, the presiding deity, who was in shape like a dragon, opened his mouth and swallowed it.

Sang yang Gúru then asked Sang yang Kanekapútra what he should do to become possessed of the precious stone? Kanekapútra replied, he must go and search for it as far as even the seventh region of the earth. Sang yang Gúru approved of this, but at the same time wished that Kanekapútra should go himself, accompanied by all the deities. Kanekapútra accordingly set off, and on his arrival at the different regions, was successively told by the presiding deities, that the retna dumíla had slipt through their hands, and had passed down into the seventh and lowest region. When he came there, he and all the deities who accompanied him, were kindly received by Anta Bógo. Kanekapútra then told Anta Bógo that Gúru was desirous of having the precious stone, and would be greatly obliged by his giving it up to him. Anta Bógo declined compliance, and immediately his body became extended so as to encircle the whole of his region. It is further reported that he had ninety nostrils. Kanekapútra perceiving that Anta Bógo was making a display of the power he possessed, gave orders for all the deities to enter his body by his various nostrils, and to make search for the vessel called chúpu mánek astagíni, in which the rétna dumíla was deposited.


Wisésa seeing what had taken place, reprimanded the parties concerned for their folly and mistake, and at the same time ordered that they should all forthwith depart out of the body of Anta Bógo. He next desired that the body of Anta Bógo should be carried away by the deities, in the same[Vol II Pg cxx] manner in which they had formerly carried the mountain. On their way with it to Sang yang Gúru, the body decreased gradually in size, till it vanished entirely.

Kanekapútra was highly incensed against Anta Bógo for his provoking conduct, and was just going to complain of it to Sang yang Gúru, when, to his surprise, he perceived Anta Bógo himself under the seat of Sang yang Gúru.

Sang yang Gúru seeing Kanekapútra's displeasure increase, he requested he would not be offended with Anta Bógo, as his conduct was merely intended for a little merriment. Sang yang Gúru then desired Anta Bógo to deliver up the chúpu mánek astagína, which he accordingly did.

Sang yang Gúru not being able himself to open the chúpu, handed it over to Kanekapútra; but neither he nor any of the other deities, who successively attempted to open it, could succeed. Anta Bógo was then applied to: but he said, that so long as he had had the chúpu, it opened and shut of itself, without his knowing how. Holding up the chúpu, Sang yang Gúru then threw it down with great violence; upon which it broke in pieces, and vanished from the sight. The chúpu and the rétna dumíla which it contained then became, the former a Báli simarakáta, the latter a virgin, to whom Sang yang Gúru gave the name of Tesna-Wáti, and who continued to remain in the Báli símarakáta till she grew up. Sang yang Gúru afterwards taking a fancy to this virgin, wished to make her his wife. She consented, on condition of his giving her such proof as she required of his divinity and power, and that was by his supplying her with three things, viz.: 1. A suit of elegant apparel, which would last her for ever without being in the least tarnished; 2. A meal which would cause her never to feel hunger more; 3. A musical instrument called gatóplak, of the most melodious sound. All these Sang yang Gúru promised to get for her on her agreeing to prove faithful to him.

In furtherance of his intentions, he ordered the deity Chítra lága to go to Núsa Kambángan and call Sang yang Kála. When Sang yang Kála came, Sang yang Gúru desired him to bring his son, called Kála Gamárang, in order that he might dispatch him in search of the three things required by the virgin, Tesna Wáti.

To induce Kála Gamárang to exert himself in procuring them, Sang yang Gúru told him, that if he should be successful, he would be rewarded by the privilege of coming to heaven whenever he chose, without molestation from the other deities.

Kála Gamárang then took leave, bellowing and making a great noise, so as to alarm and bring out all the deities, whom, as they stood in his way, he insulted and disgraced by striking some, and spitting in the faces of and treading upon others. Highly indignant at such base treatment, the deities, one and all, pronounced a curse upon him, that he should never be allowed to defile heaven with his presence, and that he should be transformed into a wild beast.

Kála Gamárang then proceeded to a place called Táman Banjáran Sári,[Vol II Pg cxxi] where he saw Déwi Sri (the wife of Wísnu) bathing in the azure main, (or Segádra Nila). Enamoured by the enchanting display of the naked beauties of that lovely female, his whole soul was fired with such an irresistible desire, and so rivetted and attracted was he, that he unconsciously rushed forward towards her, when she, greatly terrified, and leaving all her clothes behind, ran off with all speed to her husband. Kála Gamárang pursued the lovely fugitive till she reached the abode of her husband Wisnu, and being informed on inquiry of him that she was his wife, Kála Gamárang demanded her of him. Wísnu consented to let him have her, provided she herself would consent. The question being put to her she refused to go to Kála Gamárang, who then said that her not liking to come to him was all a pretence, and nothing more than one of those tricks which the female sex are constantly in the habit of practising. On Kála Gamárang's attempting to carry her away by force, Wísnu whispered her to run off to Mendang Kamúlan, and enter and take refuge in the body of the king's wife, called Dérma Nastíta. Wísnu at the same time disappeared. Kála Gamárang followed, and continued to pursue her over hill and dale, and through jungle and forest, till becoming tired and exhausted, she was on the point of being overtaken, when Wísnu, causing his weapon to be changed into the root end of a rattan, it got entangled about the legs of Kála Gamárang, and threw him down. Notwithstanding that, however, Kála Gamárang still attempted to pursue her, when she, aware of the advantage she then had over him, cursed him, and pronounced him to be a hog, which he immediately became. Kála then attempted to stand upright, but he could not. Resolved, however, not to desist from the attempt to obtain the object of his desire, he said within himself, that he would follow and pursue her into whatever recess she might betake herself. Coming to a river, he saw the image of what he now was.

When Sri reached Méndang Kamúlan she entered the body of Dérma Nastíti's wife, who was most beautiful. Wísnu at the same time went into the body of the king himself, and assuming the title of Prábu mang ngukúhan, became the first king of Java. Sang yang Gúru being informed of the fate of his messenger, Kála Gamárang, sent again to the virgin, Trésna-Wáti, to entreat her to become his. This, however, she positively refused, on any other terms than those she had already made known to him. Upon this, Sang yang Gúru began to embrace her. The resistance she made, joined to the rough and violent manner in which he proceeded, caused her to expire in his arms. He then sent for Kanekapútra to carry her body to Méndang Kamúlan, and there bury it in the wood, called Kéntring Kendayána, which he ordered to be previously put in order for its reception.

The body being buried there, from its head sprung up a cocoa-nut tree, * * *. From the hands grew up plantain trees, from the teeth Indian corn, from other parts pari, &c. &c. The pari was guarded by * * * and over these three was placed a head called Ráden Jáka.

Sang yang Pretanjála, the deity of the north-east, anxious to know[Vol II Pg cxxii] where Wísnu was, ascended into the air, and having looked down and seen some fine rice growing, he immediately descended in the shape of a bird, and began to devour it. Ráden Jáka perceiving this, threw a stone at the bird and frightened it away.

Kála Gamárang (the hog) having ascertained where Sri was deposited, went to the wood Kéntring Kendoyána, and began to eat of what grew there. When Wísnu saw this, he changed his weapon from the root end of a bambu into that of pointed bambu stakes, which being trod upon by the hog, caused blood to issue. * * *

The birds which came to eat the pari, and which were frightened away by those who guarded it, flew up into a tree, which, from the retreat it afforded to the birds, received the name of Arén (Lirénan, signifying a place of refuge). Ráden Jáka Púring then ordered the protectors of the pári to make a flight of steps up the tree, and to lop off the branches. In doing this, the juice which issued from the tree being tasted, was found to be sweet and capable of making sugar, which was then first discovered.

Some of the juice of the tree being carried and presented to Wísnu, was ordered by him to be taken to Sang yang Gúru by Kanekapútra.

On Kanekapútra's opening the hollow bambu in which it was contained, previously to presenting it to Sang yang Gúru, the fermented liquor flew up into his face, and caused him, when he tasted it, to put out and smack his lips with pleasure and satisfaction. Sang yang Gúru then ridiculed him for his simplicity, and pronouncing in ironical terms his opinion thereof, the words were irrevocable, and Kanekapútra then had his lips turned up, his hinder parts pointed and projected, a gruff voice and a pot-belly.


Of the children of Pútut Jantáka, the first was in form like a white rat and about the size of a dog, and was named Tíkus Jenánda: he had an innumerable host of followers. The second was in shape like a hog, and was named Demálung: he also had thousands of followers. The third was in shape like Kutíla, and had likewise many followers. The fourth was like a buffalo, and was called Maisa Dánu. The fifth and sixth were Kála Sering'gi and Kála Músti, and resembled the male and female bánténg, or wild bull and cow. The next was Ujang, and was in shape like a kídang, or small deer. The next, Kirandé, was like a stag. The next, were like sea and land tortoises.

All were greatly distressed for want of food, and annoyed their parent by constant craving for it. The father then told them to go to Méndang Kamúlan, where they would find all sorts of produce; enjoining them, however, to take nothing without first asking for it. The children, one and all, immediately answered in an assenting voice, and forthwith repaired to Méndang Kamúlan, where they arrived in the middle of the night, and being very hungry began to help themselves to what they saw before them, without leave or ceremony. The persons who guarded the pari (júru sáwah) heard the noise they made, and were at a loss to know what it was. At last one of them came out with a torch in one hand, and a[Vol II Pg cxxiii] large knife in the other. When the son that was like a hog saw him, he ran towards him to attack him, and received a cut in the head, which, as he was invulnerable did him no harm. When the júru sáwah found that he could not cut the hog, he immediately assembled all his fellows, who commenced an attack upon the hog, and whose numerous torches made the night as light as the day. Unable, however, to hurt him, they went with Ráden Jáka Púring to report to Prábu Méndang Kamúlan what had happened. The king then gave orders for all his people to go with whatever weapons they could muster, and use their utmost endeavours to kill the animals which had got amongst and were destroying the various plants. With the king at their head, all the people who could be assembled went forth to destroy the noxious animals. When the latter saw the host approaching, they made a vigorous charge and dispersed the enemy, who were unable to make any impression on their invulnerable bodies, but received themselves many wounds in various parts of the body. The king then recollecting something prophetic of the event, instantly retreated with all his people, pursued by the victorious animals to a considerable distance.

The king then dispatched his younger brother, the Júru Sáwah Ráden Jáka Púring, to his old friend at Méndang Agung, who was called Andong Dadápan, and also to Ké Géde Pengúkir, who was along with the former, to solicit their assistance in extirpating the wild animals, which had, as they must well know, overcome the king and all his people.

Andong Dadápan and Ké Gedé Pengúkir were found sitting. Another, named Ráden Séngkan, then came up, as also Ráden Jáka Púring himself, who kissed the feet of the two first mentioned, having his own feet kissed in turn by Ráden Séngken.

Ráden Jáka Púring then began to inform them of all that had taken place; but Andong Dadápan told him there was no occasion to proceed, as, from his divine power, he was perfectly acquainted with the circumstances.

Andang Dadápan and Ké Gedé Pengúkir signified to their respective sons, that they wished them to call their warriors, whose names were Wáyu yang and Chándra Máwa. The first, who belonged to Andang Dadápan, was black, short, stout, round-shouldered, pot-bellied, with a short neck, large ears, whence exuded a waxy substance, red eyes, a projecting forehead, a snub nose, with long hair hanging over his forehead. The second, who belonged to Ké Gedé Pengúkir, was short, of an awkward appearance, having a long neck and a small head.

When those two extraordinary persons made their appearance, their masters placed them under the orders of Jáka Púring, and at the same time furnished him with a short spear and a stick, instructing him, when he unsheathed the former, to keep it always pointed towards the ground. Ráden Turúnan and Séngkan, which were the names of the sons of the two warriors, also presented Jáka Púring with a bambu cane, with which they instructed him to beat violently, when he should be in need of their assistance, promising that they would immediately be with him. [Vol II Pg cxxiv]

Jáka Púring then returned to the king of Méndang Kemúlan, and presented to him the two warriors, &c. The king then ordered all his people to prepare for an attack upon the wild beasts, which was not attended with any better success than before.

The two warriors, who had remained behind drinking, the one cocoa-nut water, and the other rice water, being perceived by the queen (Déwi Dérma Nastíti), were reprimanded by her for skulking, while all the others were engaged in fight, and were accordingly recommended by her, in the event of their not choosing to bestir themselves, to return whence they came.

Ashamed of themselves, the two warriors began to weep, and having entreated her forgiveness, they repaired with the rapidity of lightning to the scene of action. When they reached it, Wáyu yang had himself washed with rice water, and the dirt which was scraped off his body was formed into a black dog, with a streak of white extending from the tip of his nose along the ridge of his back, to the extreme point of his tail. This dog was called B'lang Wáyung yang. Chándra Máwa having had his body cleaned with cocoa-nut water, the dirt which was got off it became a white cat, with a corresponding black streak from the tip of its nose to the end of its tail.

This wonderful dog and cat were then directed to go and attack these destructive animals. Commencing with the hog, the dog, after having dispatched him and all the more fierce and strong animals, killed the monkeys, and others which he could not follow up the trees they ascended, by the powerful sound of his voice alone; while the cat busied herself in putting an end to the rats, and such other animals as she was peculiarly calculated to destroy.

Kalamúkti and Kála Seréng'gi, distressed and enraged on account of the death of their brothers (the noxious animals), who had thus been exterminated, petitioned their father, Pútut Jantáka, to permit them to go and revenge themselves on the authors of such a dire calamity. This being granted, these powerful personages, whose bones were as hard as iron, their skin like copper, sinews like wire, hair like needles, eyes like balls of fire, feet like steel, &c. went forth, and in the strength of their rage made a road for themselves, by tearing up trees by the roots, and removing every other obstacle which stood in their way.

The two Kálas attacked them with such fury, that the warriors flew up into the air, and then darting down, carried off the almost dead dog and cat, which they then put down again in a place of safety at some distance, where they washed their bodies with cocoa-nut and rice water, and rubbed them with bambu leaves. In shaking themselves to dry their skins, a number of hairs fell out of both dog and cat, and became respectively so many more animals of the same species.

All of the dogs and cats thus produced commenced an attack upon the Kála, but without being able to make any impression on them. Compared to them, they were only like so many ants by the side of the mountain Merápi. [Vol II Pg cxxv]

Ráden Jáka Púring perceiving that the dogs and cats were no match for the Kálas, immediately began to beat with the bámbu which was given him to use in times of distress. Ráden Séngkan and Turúnan forthwith made their appearance. Being armed each with a rattan, seven cubits in length, and of a most exquisite polish, they beat the Kálas till they were nearly dead. Wáyu yang and Chándra Máwa then secured the two Kálas with ropes, and tied them to a tree.

On recovering from the miserable state into which they had been beaten, the two Kálas began to lament this unhappy fate. Their father, Pútut Jantáka, hearing their cries, determined to attack the enemy himself. Proceeding with Ujong Randi, he found on his way a large square stone, measuring ten fathoms: throwing this stone high up in the air, and placing himself under it, so as to receive it upon his head, the stone, instead of breaking his head, was itself broken into several pieces.

At this mighty deed he became transformed into a large and frightful monster. In this new shape he attacked the enemy, who being dreadfully alarmed at this horrid appearance, betook themselves for protection to their master the king.

Ráden Jáka Púring then coming out and pointing his unsheathed spear towards the ground, it immediately sent forth a huge snake, in size like a tall tree, and whose poisonous breath was like the smoke of a crater. This snake was a species of the sáwah kind.

On Pútut Jentáka's reaching the royal presence, he found that the king no longer appeared in his former and assumed character, but had returned to that of himself, viz. Wísnu. Jentáka was so much confounded and alarmed at this unexpected and wonderful event, that he was greatly terrified, and ran away to hide himself among the scarecrows in the rice fields. The king pursued him for a short distance, and then returned with all his people. On their way back one of the jùru sáwahs, called Kiai Túeh, began to boast of Jentáka having run away from him, and the ludicrous manner in which he spoke of Jentáka occasioned great merriment among the party. While holding forth in his own praise, and in disparagement of Jentáka, he happened to come against the scarecrow where Jentáka was, upon which Jentáka immediately shewing himself, put on such a horrible look as quite petrified Kiai Túeh, and made him drop apparently dead with fear. The king being informed of this then came up, when Kiai Túeh seeing the king, and being no longer afraid of Jentáka, got up, and walked off. This circumstance occasioned all the people to laugh very heartily.

On the king's approaching Jentáka, the latter addressed him thus: "I beg your pardon for what has happened. I have no wish or intention to be your enemy: on the contrary, I am ready to become your humble slave, and to do whatever you command me." The king accepted his proffered friendship and services, and told Jentáka that he would dispose of him as follows, viz. that he should reside under lúmbungs (or granaries), and live upon such quantities of rice as should exceed that which the owner calculated upon having. That he, and all his family and posterity,[Vol II Pg cxxvi] should also inhabit the troughs in which rice is beaten out, and the fireplaces of kitchens, also the front courts of houses, of the highways, and dunghills, &c.

The king then commanded that all persons, after beating out rice, or after washing it in the river, or after boiling it, should leave a small quantity, as food for Jentáka and his family.

The snake of the sáwah species, above spoken of, having gone over all the cultivated grounds which had been destroyed by the wild and noxious animals, and caused them all to be restored to their former state, extended itself along the ridges of the rice fields and died. The king hearing this was greatly distressed, and on approaching to the place where the snake had expired, instead of its dead body he beheld a beautiful virgin, elegantly dressed out in maiden attire. The king was struck with her appearance, and going up to her spoke thus: "Lovely damsel, my only life, behold thy brother, who comes to carry you to the palace he has prepared for you, and in which he will be ever happy to guard and protect you; when there thou shall reign sovereign mistress."

The virgin, who was called the Lúeh Endah (or the most beautiful damsel), replied that she felt much honoured by his handsome compliments and kind intentions, and that she would be most happy and willing to meet his wishes; but as a proof of the sincerity of his protestations of love and affection, she required of him that he should come every morning and evening to the rice fields, and that on his having done so she would consent to be his wife. Having spoken to this effect, the lovely virgin disappeared. The king was at first inconsolable for the loss of her, but recovering himself, he returned to his palace with all his retinue.

The country became very rich and productive, living and provisions of all kinds being very cheap and the people all good and happy. [Vol II Pg cxxvii]


APPENDIX I.

Translation of an Inscription in the ancient Javan, or Kawi Character, on a Stone found near Surabaya, and sent from thence to Bengal, to the Right Honourable the Earl of Minto.[302]

(Date) 506. Verily know all the world, that the Pandítas wrote on this object of veneration describing the greatness of the Rátu, and that the whole is inserted on a stone prepared for the purpose.

When first this large stone was considered a place of worship, people were accustomed to swear by it: it was held in great respect, and considered a repeller of impurity. To this is added, with truth and sincerity of heart, a relation of the perfection of the monarchy, the provinces of which are flourishing. His empire is renowned for the excellence of its laws, and his knowledge most evident and undoubted: the Rátu's name Srí Wíjáya, and place of residence Lorkóro. Certainly he is firm who gives stability to virtue. His Pepáti is named Bráta Wismára, celebrated in the world: whose advice is constantly had recourse to by the Rátu, and necessary to him like the Beryl of the ring to the stone, because he assists him in the conduct of affairs, and is quickly heard by the Déwas. When at war he can increase the arms an hundred-fold to annoy the foe. And that Páti is admired by the women; but this does not withdraw him from attention to the country, and the Rátu confides in the conduct of the Páti, and the Ratu gave orders to make images. No other than archas were made, fifty in number, all erect; and they are deified, being placed to that end in order, on consecrated ground.


The Rátu is not sparing of his own property, and continues seeking the comfort of his chiefs. He arranges all kinds of pictures agreeable to their respective stations in the apartment of his queen. It is related of that kadáton, that figures of rhinoceroses are carved on the walls, which are railed with iron and barred across; its floor most clean and shining, a stream of water running along the foot of the wall, with a flood-gate to open or shut exactly where it should be; and the chief of the watchmen distributes the guard to their respective posts.


Be watchful of such knowledge as is real. The virtue of good men is like gold which is hoarded up; apparently they possess nothing, but in[Vol II Pg cxxviii] reality what they develop is sharpened by addition: they are spoken of throughout their career as blameless until their death, their ashes are then adorned and embellished, as well as held in veneration, and the virtues these possess are very great and without fail. If difficulty should arise, do you ask assistance with a heart pure and undefiled; and if you have any urgent petition to make, do it with submission. Clothe yourself entirely clean, throw off what is not so, and what you have to bring forward let it be with propriety. When it is known to the deity what your wishes are, they will be quickly complied with openly to your satisfaction, and made to correspond with the devotion manifested. And the knowledge of what is requisite in sincere supplication is this: to punish yourself; to divest yourself of hearing; to reject evil-doing of all kinds; to have your eye fixed on one; to seek the road to the bestower of benefits; to desire without delay, and not to trifle. Yea, the formed stone which is reverenced, is to be considered only a veil between you and the real divinity. Continue to supplicate for whatever are your desires that they may be known: when the blood will have stopped three times your object will be gained; verily, it will be added to, there will be no obstacle to its full completion. By one saying your solicitation is directly expressed, and correctness of life is obtained. And what you say is like the sun and moon: in proportion as reverence is paid to the deity, men know that their supplication will be listened to, and the Batára become familiar and much attached. Your existence will be as bright as the sun and its splendour, which is evident, truly beautiful. When you die you will be guarded and aggrandized, and not without companions. Such will be his lot who seeks the good of the country, for he furthers the happiness of the people.


Do you observe this course until you excel in it. Make figures of stone like human beings, which may be supplicated; persons who reject them will suffer sickness and ruin until their death, which will be most bitter: on that account it is necessary to entreat and pray for the favour of the Déwas. Stones situated in places of worship are ornamented with many articles of state; they are feared by those who wish to ask forgiveness, and cannot be destroyed.

It is related, that only persons who are stedfast in the acquirement of letters, cause such as the following to be made (here follow fifteen cabalistic characters, which are totally unintelligible): those will certainly serve the purpose of your forefathers, who have been the medium of existence; they are the veil which separates you from that which is exalted, and also written on the stone. Give credit to them in a moderate degree.


First, let all pray to and seek the favour of the deity in this and the next world, and each require an interpreter who will obtain his pardon: but he must reject fickleness to arrive at a discriminating heart. Speak with reverence to your parents, their existence is replaced by those who[Vol II Pg cxxix] are named after them. In the place of worship, when the ornament of good works is shewn, it is mentioned in the same manner as delight, as established gratification. It is difficult to cause advantage to the workings of the heart; your faith, which you received from Sang yang Sudriya and Sang yang Táya is acknowledged by the extent of your ability, and is different from other feelings.


Different are the rewards of those who come to heaven; happiness is bestowed on them; delightful their state; verily they have arrived in the land of silver. Whatever your reward at your death may be fixed at, when obtained it cannot be lost: all is settled, the whole is distributed, as well as the certainty of death. Truly you are directed to a place which is exalted, pointed out by Déwas, who preside at death and become your guide; because the dead are mixed in a land which is wide and level, are given occupations and quickly go, each flying to the first place until they arrive at the seventh. Verily they at length come to the extremity with those who accompany: there are none among them who have been terrified: the existence of the body is dissolved and lost. There are none acquainted with books who are terrified.


Translation of another Inscription in the ancient Javan, or Kawi, Character, on a Stone found in the interior of the District of Surabaya.

On the Face of the Stone.

The year of this inscription being made on a solid stone was 467, in the season Katíga. It was made by a Pandíta skilful, and who performed wonders; to relate, explain, and make known the greatness and excellence of the Rátu (prince), in order that your actions too may speedily become clear and manifest; yes, that will be your kadáton. That Sri Rája, ever surrounded by majesty and his family, observes a correctness of conduct grateful to the pure Déwas, and by Mántris exalted by the Rátu Bráma Wijáya, celebrated in the universe for his eminence, whose empire is firm and not to be shaken. Such is the Rátu; yes, he who caused to be inscribed on a stone all these his actions, observant to the utmost of the forms of worship, moderate in his complaints of distress, whose appeals are correct and most true and without guile, and have enabled the slave to associate with the divinity, without there being a difference between them. He is my father, who is implored and who caused my existence: do not trifle; there is no one greater than he. What remains to you to solicit, mention it with humility; yes, that too is what mankind must observe. Do you watch and observe the duties of mankind, and you will certainly profit; reject entirely sayings which are improper and untrue, and avoid theft, robbery, anger, boasting of prowess and false promises, for they are despicable, and their effect, like the atmosphere, giving heavy rain which overflows, to the accomplishment of wishes, improving the cultivation, making all fresh and equally bright and sparkling; but the[Vol II Pg cxxx] wind of which is presently strong and cuts off the buds. If you ever wish to fortify your soul, go to the summit of a mountain, which is the place for earnest supplication in silence, awaken your firm and sincere heart, let there not be any dregs of your nature; but let the soul assume non-existence and pray. Be aware of the disorders of the demon of bad actions, who inimically annoys and misleads; undoubtedly, if you conduct yourself with firmness, you will approach to perfection, and seclusion will truly be there. Let there not be a mixture of discontent of mind. Cast away the veil however delicate it may be; truly it is better conversing with letters which have been written; what they convey to you will be most painful to the body, but your hopes will be accomplished. Do not give place to the evil thoughts which have occupied the minds of men and are most vexatious; fortify yourself so that you recede not; remember well the three established powers of mankind. Commune with the wise in words which are seen proceeding from the mouth; truly faith is different from what is heard of your corrupt body, which is the ornament of human life. Let the actions of superior men who seek stability be examples to you like the krangrang ant; the indication which you make cannot be disapproved, those persons certainly may be accounted near to the wishes of the country. Sometimes clear, sometimes obscure, yes, such indeed let your situation be, so that the train of your actions may become most direct and manifest, as by day the sun lights all places, so their benefit be not thrown away, and you may cast off care and sorrow. Truly the departure of life is most uncertain. Human nature, when it will not receive advice, is like a stony plain without grass, animals will not approach, all remain at a distance from it. I will teach you: pay attention and fail not to receive instruction, so that you approach most nearly; but first purify your heart which pays reverence, not reverence which is heard by the ear. Yes, that is indeed true devotion which I have taught you, and without which there is no purity, for a perfect heart is derived from the Deity. Words proceeding from the mouth are vain to the utmost, their effect not to be depended on. The devotion of a pure heart is like moonshine, not hot but cool and delightful; the beauties you see in which the stars are scattered over as though in attendance on the moon, adding to the grandeur of the scene. And also a person becoming a Rátu commands his subjects and distinguishes good people from bad, for the limits of this country are all under his orders. The Rátu selects from his subjects such as are eligible to be his associates, and they are four, who become the pillars of the state, and cause its happiness and welfare; he thereby shews a pattern for future Rátus. Further, too, as you have been given life, do not reject the precepts of the Sástra, which have been diffused through the world by the virtuous, but weigh them in your mind, for that is the duty of a slave; bad and good are from your Lord. So the wisdom of man is extended like the firmament, immeasurable even by the bird garúda, which knows how to fly in the heavens, though he should arrive at the extremity of space; such is human wisdom. Do not be surprised at people's conver[Vol II Pg cxxxi]sation, though it correspond not with the dictates of the Sastra; yes, that is most injurious to morals. Even should one become a Rátu, if he knows not this he certainly will not succeed, he will not arrive at the height of his wishes; because the action of a vicious heart is different from the inclination of a pure one, which is in attendance on its Lord. And a living man should know the advantages of these places, which are, the earth, the sky, and the space between; for to-morrow, when dead, your body and soul will be there; before it knows the road it will change its habitation into a living being; there, if you find enjoyment, you may search for a place, because you have discernment from the heart. But a man who is so while he lives, effects it by abstinence and moderation in eating and drinking. Yes, in the time of Rátu Dérma Wangsa, when he began to benefit the country, that Rátu, it is related in history of former times, would not depart from his word, and all his subjects were devoted to him. And when the Rátu sat in his kadáton, his conversation with his wives was very sweet, as well as his playfulness with them. His wives were therefore much attached to him, and by the Rátu's wisdom being so great, he was sought after by women, and was very watchful in his attentions to them: of that there is no doubt, and thus too the wisdom of the Pandíta is like that of the bird garúda, in obtaining food without trouble from the very great power and sagacity which it possesses; the same arises from the Pandíta. Yes, the reason of letters having been formed by the point of a knife is that you should recollect the way which is correct, and that is no other than reverence to the Batára; yea, devoting yourself to the Batára is the height of human excellence. While a man lives, he should day and night ask pardon from the Batára. For what was first written in letters, and they are a cause of eminence to him, was by the Pandíta Pangéran Aji Saka; yes, he who has left his mark to the Rátus of Java, for those Rátus made places of worship, named Sangga Pamalungan, and placed in them drawings of their forefathers: but when they prayed they petitioned the Batára only for their existence, that when they died they should inhabit their places, quickly changing their bodies, because their former bodies had returned to the pristine state, that is to say, earth, water, fire, air. So says the Sástra.

On the Left Side.

And the powers of letters, which are forty-seven, keep those in your mind, so that they be within you all of them. I will establish them in such a manner that they can be brought forth by your three fingers; those who are skilful may make good letters. Do not neglect the application of letters, give each its proper place, for those letters are most useful in the transactions of the people of this world during their continuance in it. Thus the use of letters to the nations of the world is to open the hearts of ignorant men, and to put in mind persons who forget; for I give directions to men who can write, in order that the whole of the knowledge I have in my breast may be known: and this I have taught you, because that knowledge is the essence of the body and illuminates it.[Vol II Pg cxxxii] And you who have wives and children to look after, do not make light of it, for a woman, if she truly do her duty to her husband, is invaluable; she is a printer of clothes, a spinner, weaver, sempstress, and embroiderer; a woman such as this do you cherish, for it will be creditable to you. If a married couple love each other, whatever they wish they can effect, that is the way by which you can attain your wishes. So too a woman towards her husband, even to death; yes, she follows to the pasétran (place of depositing the corpse) or the place of self-sacrifice; this is taught in letters which have been written on tablets; truly those writings are like histories, which explain every kind of science. But the fate of man cannot be learned or known by letters; such as a person's being able to acquire profit, knowledge, poverty or distress: of these there is no certainty. However, do not you reject the sayings of letters. It is your evil inclinations that destroy your bodies; for he who first made war, his magic was very great, because he could throw off the passions of mankind, like Arjuna, whose power in war and in mounting his chariot was celebrated, for he was guarded by all the Dewas; yes, he could become a tapa (a devotee, released from the wants, &c. incident to mankind) and pray fervently. Arjuna, when he became a tapa, annulled his body, his heart did not stray from his duty to the Dewas; his wishes were therefore complied with until his death; yes, Arjuna was indeed favoured by his Dewas. And on any one of your forefathers dying and ascending to heaven, do you immediately make a picture to personify that forefather; and do you adorn and provide it with all sorts of eatables, and respect it as your forefather who has descended to you, and will administer to all your wants: such will be the case with a person who pays respect to his forefathers. At night burn incense and many lamps: truly Sang yang Jagat (the omnipotent) and Sang yang Suria (the sun) will be favourable to you; for Sang yang Suria is the enlightener of the world, and every day gives light to darkness. A man who has arrived at the half of his term of life conceives well the separation of his soul from its covering; your existence is like that of the moon, that is to say, from the new to the full, and from that to its extreme wane on the twenty-ninth day of its age. When the moon is thus lost from the east, it will then certainly appear in the west, and recommence the first day of its age. While you live ask from those who know the setting of the soul; a person who knows that is certainly discovered by his actions. But it is best losing that covering by four causes, water, fire, air, earth; if it is lost by means of those four, the body will certainly quickly be removed, in the same manner as gold which is purified, verily, its colour will become like that which is old. Thus the Pandíta makes preparations for prayer. The best mode of praying is by familiarizing ourselves with seclusion, which is by excessively torturing the body; but if you should have been much reduced, your soul will not arrive at those three places. Should a man become a Rátu, his soul is one selected by the Dewas which has been introduced into a covering, and that covering is not a covering which has not been favoured by the Dewas, truly a covering which has been elevated by the[Vol II Pg cxxxiii] Dewas, for its good fortune has been very great. The descending of that good fortune from heaven is not like clouds dropping rain, which, if it fall, does so equally on all vegetations. Look at mankind; if you contemplate its state when living, its existence is no more than that of a herb which shoots up on the face of the earth. Concerning your soul, it is like dew, which hangs on the points of grass: such is its state.

On the Back of the Stone.

It is further related of the three particulars of his state, which it is requisite should be the ornament of a man, as well as of a man becoming a Rátu. Those three things are a handsome woman, arms, and a house; the first, because a woman is the dispeller of grief from a heart which is sad; the second, because arms are the shield of life; the third, because a house is medicine to a fatigued body. Let not a man be at a distance from the above-mentioned, for they are the ornament of a living man. This stone is the means of facilitating the access to the Dewas of your supplications, for human nature is feeble and very faulty towards the Supreme. And moreover, if you have formed any wish in the world, then ask assistance from that stone, and adorn that stone with all kinds of perfumes and eatables which are most grateful. If you do so, certainly the Batára will be ashamed not to grant you whatever you desire, because the life and death of man are the same; but his body, to appearance, is worthless when deserted by the soul, and remains of no further use in the earth: it is better, therefore, that it should be lost, so that it return to its original. It is different when the soul is there during life. If you wish to seek for food there are many modes to adopt, so that you gain a subsistence, such as becoming a blacksmith. There are some who are goldsmiths; others who draw figures of different kinds; some practice cookery; those who understand no trade gamble; some thieve; some plunder. Yes, such as these are influenced by the passions, which are violent in their action and make the faculties morbid. Of the things forbidden by the Sástra, the first is deceit; the second, pride; the third, hypocrisy: cast these away from you. If you are a good man, do not make a habit of mixing with the bad; for those bad persons have been marked by the Dewas, because they cannot do good. You do well in associating with learned people, who have followed the sayings of the Sástra; make those your inseparable companions and attach yourself to them. But do you not despise the poor and the timorous, and do not be ashamed before the bold and the rich; do not very much elevate yourself, better you be humble amongst men: curb your passions, for your passions are an enemy within you. So, too, it is with pleasure and pain; they are like the mayang flower without fruit, truly as yet uncertain. It is the same with a living person who has not yet arrived at the end of life, he will be very much misled by his riches: there are poor who become rich. Like the state of a fool who is unconscious of his real situation, that fool suffers pain from himself, because his actions are of his own dictating. In his own mind he asks, Who is there like me? I have[Vol II Pg cxxxiv] a gada (a warlike instrument), who dares cope with me? Such a person is like a mountain which thinks, "I am large! I am high!" Afterwards it is trodden under foot and defiled by all kinds of animals, but is unconscious; so too says the fool, but no one cares for him. As to the sign by which to know such a fool, you have it from his harsh speaking and obstinate heart; he is without politeness and has confidence only in his own powers. And that fool, if he become great, uses an umbrella on a moonlight night: surely, one who does so, has no shame, no sense; a white ant seeking its food does not act in that manner. Let the wise man observe the conduct of the white ant, its caution in searching for food; even a large tree, an embrace in size, becomes consumed. So can men do who are united, whose wishes are similar, for there is no performance of living men so well executed as by unanimity. All great actions are owing to the union of many men, not to violence; for if your conduct be true and sincere, your heart, in whatever your wishes may be, will be enlightened by the Supreme. And besides, if in like manner you pray to and adore the Dewas, certainly the Batára and all the Dewas will bestow favours on you. Such as I have mentioned are the precepts held out by virtuous men of former times: different from the subject of animals being brought up by men.

In case a man in the service of a Rátu be at length advanced to dignity by that Rátu, and is given a village, if he fail to weigh how much he should with propriety be in attendance on that Rátu, and this arise from being engaged in his own pleasures, he must certainly lose his situation. It is the same with a man being a Rátu who is not provided with scales, and investigates matters too superficially to benefit his subjects; he is, in truth, like a pond without water, which of course is entirely void of fish: account him one who has received favour. And again, do you evermore obey the commands of the Pandítas, and do not deceive your guru (spiritual guide), or you will surely go to hell eternally. Better you obey your guru: your excellence will descend to your sons and grandsons, who will profit by your goodness. Oh! living man, do not fancy your life permanent, although you are great, little, rich, or poor. When you have arrived at the end of life your body will be corrupt, it cannot be otherwise: yes, all are earth. When alive, people gather together wherewithal to bury their body, so that it mix not with the earth, and that is only by paying reverence to the Batára. All that live in the world are not like mankind, who have been given wisdom and excellence by the Batára. Although the rátu (king) lion is said to be the chief of animals, yet he is held captive by man: the same with the garuda, the king of birds, which resides in the air, it is likewise subject to the commands of man. It is different with the sun, the moon, the earth, the sea, the air, the firmament, the stars; they certainly are not under the orders of man, but they are subject to be accounted good or evil in their course; like clouds which discharge rain, and that in the rainy season are delightful to the husbandman. But be it known to the cultivator, that he who superintends the implements of tillage is the son of a Dewata, named Sang yang Kalamerta;[Vol II Pg cxxxv] he is very good, for he protects all the cultivation in the country. It is that Sang yang Kalamerta who, from the first, has caused terror to all such subjects as do not obey the commands Batára Guru: because that Sang yang Kalamerta has been empowered by Batára Guru to destroy first all vicious persons; secondly, evil speakers; and thirdly, liars. These three vices do you reject; and you will do well in asking forgiveness from the Batára, so that you avoid the fury of the Sang yang Kalamerta.

On the Right Side.

And such is the case with merchants, who understand circulating money, and can calculate on the return it makes for five times; such as the profits of money laid out, and how much that will amount to which has been laid out, and how much the loss on that money will be, and how much the profit thereon, so that, by that means, they may be satisfied during life. Concerning those men who seek wealth: before they commence gaining all persons laugh at them; but when they profit, those who before laughed approach and ask their favour. Persons who profit are compared by Pandítas to flowers after a shower of rain, in appearance very beautiful, but in existence not permanent. And let not a living man discontinue supplicating his Déwa, so that the favours bestowed on him by the Déwa may not leave him during life: but whether that living man be a poor man or a Rátu, let every one seek to acquire what is permanent, that by so doing there may be no other knowledge than that which is perceived within the heart. A great man and rich man who is wise, must commence with the road to knowledge, which is undeviating. Concerning real knowledge, with all its excellencies and utilities, it is respected by the virtuous: that real knowledge is certainly sent by the Déwa to favoured men. And do you not indulge your passions, as is forbidden by the Sastra; better had you preserve your heart pure, for that pure heart will for ever be your companion. And do you not associate and communicate with bad men, but remove to a distance from them. It is best as much as possible, to curb pleasure and ill-timed laughter; putting a check to them is far removed from a bad heart: the fault of a person fond of ill-timed laughter is that he suffers pain. It is unfortunate that man forgets such information as is worthy of being remembered, and recollects such as is not worth remembering. In like manner, you eat food which should not be eaten, and do not eat that which is wholesome. A person acting thus is void of sense, and similar to a porter; although the viands are very agreeable to you, if you load yourself with them immoderately, the weight you carry will certainly distress your body. Moreover, if you meet with any thing of such estimation as to be worth imitating, do you immediately write it down, so that you thereby acquire a good name, and men may look up to you, and to the end that the Rátu may have confidence in you, because that Rátu can act well and ill; but let the Rátu not neglect the commencement, middle, and end, for there is nothing in the world of greater excellence than mankind; different from the existence of a Rasaksa, whose actions cannot be spoken of; like[Vol II Pg cxxxvi] those of a fish in the sea, which no one knows except the Omnipotent, who alone is acquainted with the truth thereof.

Translation of another Javan Inscription of the same description.

Truly the reckoning of the year when this was composed was 1216, named Milir, written on a tablet the fifth of the moon on its wane, the mind tallying with the season, precisely in the Wukun Manda Kung'an. It is a description of the kraton and its arrangements, put into writing in the country of Mauspati, of which the chief is exalted, merciful, wise, and discerning; at this period, the greatest in the world, and adapted to the situation he fills and its duties; on that account, women say they are fond of him: powerful, skilful, a sovereign whose commands to his subjects are undisputed, unequalled in politeness, guarded by genii, and having a large army, all-skilful in their profession when at war: the arrangements of his troops superior, and they and their arms excellent; his army, too celebrated. At that time those troops guarded well his country, and the orders issued by his relations were correct. That Rátu never punished his children: he was good, and did not inflict punishment on them.

It is related of the Sri Maharája that he intended going to the high mountains: leaving his country and arriving at the declivity, the boundary of Gedung Peluk, his army soon met the enemy, and engaged. So it is related in history.


That army of the Sri Jaya being established, the Ratú formerly considered beneficial to the country, giving firmness to the country of Kedíri. What the Sri Jaya says is certain; all the people are glad; a large and faithful army is established there.


Be cautious but firm; the Sri Maharaja cannot injure the descendants of Prabu; great their wisdom, impatient their sway, extensive their power. Young men fearless and bold; the army followed, and were taken by the enemy, because the Sri Nara Nata so intended. Sri Kerta Najura, when he died, died like a Buda man. Formerly, Sri Jaya Katong came from Gegelang, and entered like a man in desperation; sent to Kerta Niaka requesting assistance of foreigners, and desired them to advance in front. Sri Kerto Najara went into that country, and assembled the arms of the Sri Jaya Katong, with the son-in-law and brother-in-law of Ng'uda Raja and the Sri Nara Nata. Of Sri Nara Najura and Ng'uda Raja they were seated in the centre, their brightness shining in the halting place; their symmetry like Sura Denawa, majestic as well as awfully powerful, and their hearts at rest. Such was the truth. They were prevented by the magic of fire; supremely powerful the Sri Maharaja; the enemy's army was destroyed by fire. The Yewang Derma advanced and assisted in the labours of the Rátu. Kerta Jaya was beaten and fled, his power[Vol II Pg cxxxvii] destroyed, afterwards the whole army fled, and met the army of the insurgents. A Mantri rallied the good army, that the Mantri might be able to fight; the battle was commenced in Sela Sringing. The Sri Maharaja coming to his ground, was firm at the foot of the mountains, and he came to Yewang Derma to request food for his people and chiefs: he got as much as he wished with an open heart. Thus may that army continue until the end of time, until death, in the fulfilment of their wishes.

FOOTNOTES:

[302] "I am very grateful for the great stone from the interior of your island, which you tell me, in your letter of the 5th May, was put on board the Matilda. The Matilda is not yet arrived, so that I have not received Colonel Mackenzie's account of this curiosity, which, in weight, at least, seems to rival the base of Peter the Great's statue at Petersburgh. I shall be very much tempted to mount this Javan rock upon our Minto Craigs, that it may tell eastern tales of us, long after our heads are under smoother stones."

Letter from the late Earl of Minto, 23d June, 1813. [Vol II Pg cxxxviii]


APPENDIX K.
ACCOUNT OF BÁLI.

To the east of Java lies the island of Báli. This interesting spot exhibits the same mineralogical structure as Java, and probably at one period composed a part of the same island. Possessing the same climate and a similar soil, having mountains of a proportionate height, and streams equally fitted for the purpose of irrigation, it enjoys the same degree of fertility; but having an iron-bound coast, without harbours or good anchorage, it has been in a great measure shut out from external commerce, particularly with traders in large vessels.

Like Madúra, it seems naturally situated for being a tributary to Java. But the most striking features in the character and institutions of its inhabitants are owing to that long independence on the greater island and its fortunes, which has preserved to them many traces of their original condition, many of their distinctive laws and religious rites.

The natives of Báli, although of the same original stock with the Javans, exhibit several striking differences, not only in their manners and the degrees of civilization they have attained, but in their features and bodily appearance. They are above the middle size of Asiatics, and exceed, both in stature and muscular power, either the Javan or the Maláyu. Though professing a religion which in western India moulds the character of the Hindu into the most tame and implicit subserviency to rule and authority, and though living under the rod of despotism which they have put into the hands of their chiefs, they still possess much of the original boldness and self-willed hardihood of the savage state.

Their general indifference to the oppression which they endure, their good humour and apparent satisfaction, together with their superior animation and energy, give to their countenances, naturally fairer and more expressive than those of the Javans, a higher cast of spirit, independence, and manliness, than belongs to any of their neighbours. They are active and enterprising, and free from that listlessness and indolence which are observable in the inhabitants of Java. To a stranger their manners appear abrupt, unceremonious, coarse, and repulsive; but upon further acquaintance this becomes less perceptible, and their undisguised frankness commands reciprocal confidence and respect. Their women, in particular, who are here on a perfect equality with the men, and not required to perform many of the severe and degrading labours imposed upon them in Java, are frank and unreserved. In their domestic relations their manners are amiable, respectful, and decorous. The female character, indeed, seems to have acquired among them more relative dignity and esteem than it could have been expected to have attained where polygamy has been long established. [Vol II Pg cxxxix]

The conduct of parents to their children is mild and gentle, and it is requited by unreserved docility and obedience. To their chiefs they show a respectful deference: among themselves they stand on a footing of equality, and feeling no dependence pay little homage. The abject servitude of Asia has not proceeded further with them than necessary obedience to indispensable authority. Their prince is sacred in their eyes, and meets with unreserved obedience; but their minds are not broken down by numerous demands on their submission, nor are their manners polished by the habit of being frequently with superiors. An European or a native, therefore, who has been accustomed to the polite and elegant manners of the Javans, or with the general courtesy of the Malayus, is struck with the unceremonious, rude, and uncivilized habits of the people of Báli.

In the arts they are considerably behind the Javans, though they seem capable of advancing rapidly. They are happily not subjected to a frame of government so calculated to repress their energies, or to waste their resources. They are now a rising people. Neither degraded by despotism nor enervated by habits of indolence or luxury, they perhaps promise fairer for a progress in civilization and good government than any of their neighbours.

They are strangers to the vices of drunkenness, libertinism, and conjugal infidelity: their predominant passions are gaming and cock fighting. In these amusements, when at peace with the neighbouring states, all the vehemence and energy of their character and spirit is called forth and exhausted. Their energy, their modes of life, and their love of independence, render them formidable to the weaker states in their neighbourhood, and secure them against all attacks from any native power in the Indian Archipelago. What they now are it is probable that the Javans once were, in national independence, as well as in religious and political institutions.

The island of Báli appears to be divided at present into seven different states, each independent of the other, and subject to its own chief.

The population of these states is estimated to amount in all to above eight hundred thousand souls. This estimate is formed from the numbers of males whose teeth have been filed, which in the different states stood in round numbers as follows:

Klongkong 30,000
Karang Asem 50,000
Badung 20,000
Bliling 30,000
Tabanan 40,000
Mengui 20,000
Giangar 15,000
Taman Bali 10,000
215,000
[Vol II Pg cxl]

As the operation of filing the teeth immediately precedes puberty, this list of course excludes all males who have not arrived at that period, as well as all females whatever. From the early age at which marriages are contracted, those who have undergone the operation may for the most part be considered as having entered into family connections[303], and a calculation of four to a family will give the same result. This great population has doubtless increased since the abolition of the slave trade.

Of this heptarchy, Klóngkong is admitted to be the most ancient sovereignty. Its princes are said to have originally emigrated from Java, and a period is recorded when the whole island of Báli acknowledged their authority. Even still they retain evidences of their former dignity, and traces of their former influence. Among the regalia are still preserved a kris, and other articles that belonged to Majapáhit, and the other princes of the island recognize them as the stock from whence they sprung, though they limit their fealty to general respect, and jealously maintain their own independence.

Báli is generally supposed to have been originally peopled from different parts of Celebes. The first person who is said to have established the religion and government which still exist, was Déwa Agung Kátut, son of Rátu Browijáya of Majapáhit in Java. The cause of his quitting Java is related by the Balians as follows.

"The father of Browijáya was informed by his head Bramána, that it was written in a sacred book that after the expiration of forty days the title of Rája of Majapáhit should be extinct: to which the Raja gave such implicit credit, that at the expiration of that time he caused himself to be burnt alive. His son, not daring to disobey the sentence of the book, removed to Báli with a number of followers, and established his authority at Klóngkong, taking the title of supreme sovereign, which title still continues hereditary in the Rajas of Klóngkong."

The inhabitants of Báli, like those of Java, are principally employed in agriculture. The fertility of the island may be inferred from the number of people maintained on so limited a spot. Rice is the chief produce of the soil, and of course the chief article of subsistence.

From the mountainous nature of the country, advantage cannot so easily be taken of the periodical rains for the purpose of the rice irrigation, but the lands are irrigated by an abundant supply of water from streams and rivers. In some places, as in Kárang Asem, two crops of rice are obtained in one year; but over the greatest part of the island only one. In the dry season the sáwahs yield a crop of maize. The natives reckon from fifty to sixty fold of increase in the rice cultivation no extraordinary produce. The women are not employed, as in Java, to plant the pári: their assistance in the field is only required to reap it. The implements of husbandry are of the same simple construction as those on Java, and nearly similar in form.

Bullocks of the Bánteng, or wild breed, and of very fine quality, are[Vol II Pg cxli] almost invariably used in husbandry. The price of a pair of oxen of this kind, fit for the plough, is generally about six Spanish dollars, and seldom exceeds eight. The ordinary price of a pikul (133¼ pounds English) of rice, is about three-fourths of a Spanish dollar.

The tenure by which land is held differs widely from that which exists at present in the native provinces of Java. The sovereign is not here considered the universal landlord; on the contrary, the soil is almost invariably considered as the private property of the subject, in whatever manner it is cultivated or divided. It may be sold, let, pledged, devised, or otherwise disposed of, at the option of the proprietor, and without any reference to the will of the superior. The divisions of this property are generally very minute, and the mode of measurement not very defined, and there are instances of great irregularity, even in the application of the same mode of measurement.

The measure of land is expressed by the quantity of seed required to sow it, and said to be so many tánas. Some proprietors possess fifty tánas, while others hold not more than one or two. The private estate of the elder Raja of Bliling did not exceed a few hundred tánas, nor did that of the younger much surpass it.

But though the prince is not considered as actual proprietor of the land of his dominions, he receives a certain share of the produce in the way of tax. This tax is either paid in a small Chinese coin, called képeng, or in kind, at the rate of about five tánas of produce for every tána of seed sown.

Though in the lower districts the food of the people is universally rice, in the higher and more mountainous parts they subsist principally on sweet potatoes and Indian corn. The principal animal food that they use is swine flesh, which is found in great abundance. The price of a grown hog seldom exceeds a dollar, and scarcely ever amounts to a dollar and a half.

The habitations of the Bálians differ from those of the Javans, in being generally constructed of mud walls and surrounded by walls of baked or unbaked bricks; in consequence of which, and the peculiar formation of the entrances and doorways, the principal towns are said to resemble the Hindu towns on the continent of India.

The arts are little practised. Though the island produces cotton of the most excellent quality, and in great abundance, the natives have not generally learned the art of painting or printing the cloth, which they manufacture from it. The women here, as on Java, are the manufacturers of all the cloth used by their husbands or families. Their principal manufacture is in kríses and warlike instruments; they make fire-arms, and ornament the barrels, but purchase European locks.

The principal exports are rice, birds'-nests, coarse cloths, cotton yarn, salted eggs, dínding, gámbir, and oil: the principal imports are opium (which the inhabitants are unfortunately much addicted to), káyu pélet, betel-nut, ivory, gold, and silver. The Bálians dislike a seafaring life, and hold the profession of a merchant in disrepute. Their fairs and[Vol II Pg cxlii] markets are few and little frequented. The trade that was at one time carried on with the greatest success was the traffic in slaves. The usual price of a male slave was from ten to thirty dollars, of a female from fifty to one hundred. This disgraceful traffic, it may be hoped, will soon be entirely annihilated. While it existed in its full vigour, all prisoners taken in war, all who attempted to evade the laws by emigration, all insolvent debtors, and a certain class of thieves, were subjected to the sad condition of slavery. These laws still subsist, and are enforced, as formerly, for the purpose of procuring the home supply; but the diminution of the foreign demand must limit exceedingly their exercise, and in a short time ameliorate the state of the unhappy individuals who had suffered by them[304].

But the most interesting character of the Bálians arises out of the frame of their government, the code of their laws, and the system of their religion. I have, in one part of this work, particularly described, and in others repeatedly alluded to, the traces of Hinduism on Java; and if these traces had not been decided and manifest in themselves, their interpretation would have been rendered manifest by what occurs in Báli.

In Báli not more than one in two hundred, if so many, are Mahomedans, and the great body of the people profess the creed and observe the institutions of a religion which has become extinct in the rest of the [Vol II Pg cxliii]Archipelago. On Java we find Hinduism only amid the ruins of temples, images, and inscriptions; on Báli, in the laws, ideas, and worship of the people. On Java this singular and interesting system of religion is classed among the antiquities of the island. Here it is a living source of action, and a universal rule of conduct. The present state of Báli may be considered, therefore, as a kind of commentary on the ancient condition of the natives of Java. Hinduism has here severed society into casts; it has introduced its divinities; it has extended its ceremonies into most of the transactions of life; it has enjoined or recommended some of its severest sacrifices, such as the burning of a widow on the funeral pile of her husband: but yet the individual retains all the native manliness of his character and all the fire of the savage state.

By this system the Bálians are divided into four casts: 1. The Bramána, 2. Rusi or Satria, 3. Wisia, and 4. Sudra. The princes of the island are generally, but not always, of the Bramána cast: the present Raja of Bliling is of the second class. The government is despotic, there being no check on the will of the chief nor any sharer of his power[305]. He is assisted in his internal administration by a head Parbákal; and in the general affairs of his government, the management of foreign correspondence, and the superintendence of his foreign relations, by an officer called Ráden Tumúng'gung.

The system of village government is established here as on Java. The constitution of each village is the same. The head, or chief, is termed Parbákal, and the assistant Kalían Témpek: these officers are invariably selected from among the people of the village which they are appointed to govern. The office of Parbákal is considered hereditary, if the successor is competent; and on a vacancy occurring, the Parbákal recommends the successor of a Kalían Témpek.

Under the head Parbákal, who is termed Parbákal Rája, are several inferior Parbákals, as assistants to that officer in conveying his orders to the heads of villages; and under the Ráden Tumúng'gung is placed a similar establishment, consisting of about a hundred persons, with the rank and title of Kalían Témpek.

Many of the Parbákals of villages in Bliling have the title of Gústi, which descends in their families, and which serves to distinguish them as nobles. These probably originated in their conduct in war. The command of the military is at present vested in a chief of the Bramána cast, styled Rája Bángen Senapáti; Bángen being the district which contains the principal Braminical establishment. He seems to receive honours and respect next to the Rajah himself.

The heads of kampongs in which foreigners reside are termed Pang'gáwa; and in speaking collectively of the heads of villages, the Raja uses the term Papang'gáwa.

The administration of justice is generally conducted by a court, composed of one Jáksa and two assistants: in addition to whom, in the determination[Vol II Pg cxliv] of any cause of importance, several Bramánas are called in. Their decisions are guided by written laws. The civil code is called Degáma, the criminal code Agáma. Before these courts three or four witnesses are required to substantiate any criminal charge. Their witnesses are examined on oath, and people of any cast are competent to take such oath and to be so examined. The form of administering the oath requires of the person who takes it to hold a bason of water in his hand, and after repeating, "may I and my whole generation perish, if what I allege is not true," to drink the water.

The form of procedure requires the prosecutor or plaintiff to be heard first on oath: his witnesses are next examined, then the prisoner or defendant and his witnesses, after which the court decides on a general view of the whole of the evidence submitted to its consideration. No torture is employed to procure evidence: mutilation is unknown. The usual punishments are death, confinement, and servitude. The laws, in some instances, are severe, in others lenient. In the execution of the punishment awarded by the court there is this peculiarity, that the aggrieved party or his friends, are appointed to inflict it: for though the judge steps in between the prosecutor and person whom he pursues, so as to restrain the indiscriminate animosity of the one and to determine the criminality of the other, the Bálians have not advanced so far in the refinement of criminal justice, as to consider criminal offences in the nature of offences perpetrated against the state, and punishable by its officers.

Theft and robbery are punished by death inflicted by a krís; murder and treason are punished in some cases by breaking the limbs of the convict with a hatchet, and leaving him to linger some days in agony till death ensues. Adultery is punished with death in the man and perpetual servitude to the prince in the woman. This severity restrains the crime; but in the small state of Bliling there occur sometimes several trials for it during the year.

The Raja must confirm every criminal sentence before it is executed, and every civil decision that involves the servitude of the party. Confiscation of the culprit's property follows capital punishment only, the amount of which is divided between the prince and judges. In other cases there is no confiscation.

The laws of Báli differ from those of Java with respect to marriages and divorces. In the former island, divorces are permitted under no circumstances whatever; in the latter, almost every caprice is sufficient to procure one. In Báli the husband generally buys his wife by paying a sum of money to her parents: thirty dollars is the common price. If unable to pay this sum, he becomes, as in the patriarchal times of scripture, the servant of the party to whom he thus becomes indebted, and resides along with his wife in the house of his father-in-law. His services are received in diminution of the dowry; and if he acts so as to please the family of his wife, the exaction of it is either in part or in whole remitted.

Without entering into any theory concerning the history of the religious system of Báli, or any detailed comparison of it with systems in India, the following notices may be thought interesting. [Vol II Pg cxlv]

The inhabitants, as before stated, are divided into casts, named Bramána, Sátria, Wísia, and Súdra. The Bramánas are of two descriptions, Bramána Séwa and Bramána Búda. The former are most respected, and refrain from eating all animal food, except that of ducks, goats, and buffaloes: hogs' flesh and that of the cow are forbidden. The Bramána Búda eat indiscriminately of animal food.

The Bramána Séwa are said not to perform worship in the temples: this is left to the lowest orders, generally the Súdras. The worship of the lower orders, as performed in the temples, cannot be called Hindu. In these temples, which are very numerous, mud figures are placed, representing the tutelar deities of each particular country.

The Bramánas of all descriptions are held in great respect, and never condescend to pay compliments to any person whatever. The respect in which they are relatively held, seems to be in proportion to the age of the person, and his supposed learning and accomplishments. A Bramána may eat from the hands of another of a similar age, but not from those of a junior.

The Bramána are said not to worship idols, nor do they perform public worship in the temples, but in their private houses only.

A Bramána may marry a woman of an inferior order, but the offspring of such a marriage is called Bujánga, which forms a distinct class.

There is in Báli a class of outcasts, called Chandálas, who are not permitted to reside in villages; are generally potters, dyers, dealers in leather, distillers, and retailers of ardent spirits. The dancing women are of the Wisia and Sudra castes.

A Bramána cannot be in any servile occupation. He cannot sit on the ground, nor perform obeisance to any other class.

The religion of Báli has been considered as of two descriptions, that of Budh and that of Bráma. The Budhists are said to have come first to the country. Of the Bramánas of Séwa nine generations are said to have passed over since their arrival. The name of the principal Bramána of the caste of Séwa, who first settled on Báli, is said to have been Wútu Ráhu: he came from Telingána, and on his way is said to have touched at Majapáhit.

The Rajas of Báli are generally of the Satria caste; but this does not always hold.

From information obtained at Bliling, it would appear that the greater part of the population of Báli follow the worship of Séwa. The Budhists are said to be rare, and the names of three districts only could be stated, where the Budhist religion is supposed to prevail.

The sacrifice of the widow on the funeral pile of her husband is frequent. All classes may perform this sacrifice, but it is most common with the Satría. Force is said never to be had recourse to on these occasions. The number of women who sacrifice themselves is extraordinary:​—the father of the present Raja of Bliling was followed by no less than seventy-four women. The dead body is usually preserved in these cases for many months, and even for a year. The corpse is preserved by daily fumigations with benzoin.

The bodies of the dead are burnt, except in the case of children before[Vol II Pg cxlvi] they have shed their teeth, and of all persons dying of the small pox: as in the latter case the body cannot be preserved, and it is usual, even with the lower orders, to keep the body for two months. Among some, however, it is said to be usual to throw the dead bodies into the sea.

The flesh of the cow is eaten by all except the Bramánas who have led a life of austerity: these refrain from eating even rice, and live wholly upon roots and fruit.

The Budhists are said to be so little scrupulous in their diet, as to eat not only the flesh of the cow, but even that of dogs and all other animals. Milk is never used as an article of food.

These particulars respecting the religious observances of the Bálians were obligingly communicated to me by Mr. Crawfurd, who visited the island in 1814. In the following year I visited Bliling myself; but my stay was too short to obtain any very detailed information on this interesting particular, further than a collection of their different manuscripts, which have been brought to this country, and already adverted to under the head of Javan literature.

On inquiring into the rank of their deities, they replied at once:

Besides these they have several other deities, not however termed Batára, as:

Déwa Géde Segara, the deity of the sea.

Déwa Géde Dálam, emblematical of death.

Déwa Géde Báli Agung, the deity in whose temple (which is near the kadaton of the Raja), the common people on particular days pay worship.

Déwa Géde Gúnung Agung, a deity still more generally worshipped, and to whom all the Rajas and people of Báli pay adoration.

The deity Mahadéwa is known and mentioned in the religious books, but is not an object of worship.

Batára Gúru is considered as the highest object of worship below the divinity. Sang yang Túng'gal (the Lord who is one).

I shall close this account of the religion of Báli with the following literal translation of an account of the Hindu religion, furnished to me by an intelligent Mahomedan, a native of the island.

"The religion of Búdh, as it exists on Báli, is divided into Sakálan and Niskálan. The first regards all worldly concerns, such as the orders of the prince, the laws of the land, &c., including the common affairs and transactions of life; the second comprehends all the duties and ceremonies of religion, the conducting of which is in the hands of the Maperwíta, or learned Brahmins called Padénda.

"The different kinds of worship attached to this division of the religion, are those of Batára Permisti Gúru, Batara Naráda, Batara Sang yang Túng'gal, and all his descendants; of all of whom images are made,[Vol II Pg cxlvii] some of gold, some of silver, some of bell-metal, and some in iron; and to whom are dedicated temples and places for the reception of their images on Gúnung Agung, Gúnug Bátu, Gúnung Baturkahu, and Gúnung Predung; but it is Gúnung Agung that is the famous place for them; and those figures are the objects of worship to all the princes of Báli.

"When there happens to be a mabántan, which signifies a festival on some grand occasion, all the Rajas, with their families, descendants, and subjects, repair to Gúnung Agung and invoke all the deities, the Maperwíta Bramána being summoned to attend and conduct the ceremonies.

"On occasions of less importance, those images only of the deities which are behind their houses are worshipped, a Maperwíta Bramána being called to attend and officiate.

"At the Pembákaran, or place where the bodies of the princes are burned, there are also figures of the different deities, in places made for their reception.

"Marriages (mabandángan) are sanctified by their being borne witness to by the Maperwíta Bramánas, as well as all the deities who are invoked on the occasion.

"On the new moon, and on the eighth and twenty-third of the month all the deities are worshipped, every one joining in the ceremonies. Should any of the Rajas attend on those days, he of the greatest rank, and power orders the attendance of the Maperwíta Bramánas. Great offerings being made to the deities, thousands of people are afterwards fed with their consecrated fragments. On these occasions the Maperwíta Bramána, called Padénda, administers to the people holy water, which they both drink and perform ablutions with.

"On the day of the new year, the deities are worshipped, ablutions performed, and offerings made. Cloths and money, &c. are offered twice a year, Bramána Padénda attending and invoking the deities.

"On the day támpak klíwon, the Bramána Padénda performs prayers, using holy water.

"When it is támpak wáyang, which means the new year wáyangs, offerings are made and placed at all the outer doors, but no worshipping takes place.

"At the annual festivals of támpuk kándang, there are offerings made on account of all the different animals.

"There is also the fast of Nyualátu, which lasts a day and a night, during which time food and sleep must be abstained from. This fast must be held on the first or the fifteenth of the month."

FOOTNOTES:

[303] In the estimate is probably included the population of those districts on the island of Sasak or Lombok, which are subject to the chiefs of Bali.

[304] Having repeatedly had occasion, in the course of this work, to advert to the slave trade, and the sources whence the supplies of slaves were obtained, it may not be uninteresting to introduce to the reader a native of Papua, or New Guinea[306], stolen from his country in the course of this traffic. The lad represented in the plate came into my service at Bali under very peculiar circumstances, and has accompanied me to England. Since his arrival he has excited some curiosity, as being the first individual of the woolly haired race of Eastern Asia who has been brought to this country. It is known, that on the Malayan Peninsula, in Luconia, Borneo, and most of the larger islands of the Eastern Seas, there are occasionally found in the mountainous tracts a scattered race of blacks entirely distinct from the rest of the population. Some have conceived them to be the aborigines of these countries; others considering them as of the African race, adduce them in proof of an early and extensive intercourse between Africa and these islands. I shall content myself with observing, that they appear at the present day to form the bulk of the population of Papua or New Guinea. The following remarks upon the individual now in England, whom we sometimes call Papua, and sometimes (more to his satisfaction) Dick, were obligingly communicated to me by Sir Everard Home, Bart.

"The Papuan differs from the African negro in the following particulars. His skin is of a lighter colour, the woolly hair grows in small tufts, and each hair has a spiral twist. The forehead rises higher, and the hind head is not so much cut off. The nose projects more from the face. The upper lip is longer and more prominent. The lower lip projects forward from the lower jaw to such an extent that the chin forms no part of the face, the lower part of which is formed by the mouth. The buttocks are so much lower than in the negro as to form a striking mark of distinction, but the calf of the leg is as high as in the negro."

[305] This description is taken from Bliling, one of the independent states, and with slight variations may be considered as applicable to all.

[306] Couto, on the 3d chapter of the 3d book of the 4th Decada, gives an account of the discovery of Papua by Don Jorge de Meneges (about the year 1528 or 1533) who, in a calm was hurried by a strong current with extraordinary rapidity to the eastward, until he arrived at a country inhabited by a race as black as negroes, or the natives of the southern coast of Africa, from the Cape of Good Hope to Mosambique; they visited the king on shore, who was as black as the others.

The monsoon detained Meneges here some months, during which time he had a friendly intercourse with the natives, who became very familiar, supplying him in barter with what he wanted; but they informed him that in the interior there were men who eat human flesh.

"Here," says he, "our people saw both men and women as white and as fair as Germans, and on asking how those people were called, they answered 'Papuas,' and on account of the little knowledge which we had at that time of the country, we concluded that they were islands. But from what we afterwards understood, this must be the country which Marco Polo, the Venetian, calls Lechac, and which he says is very rich in gold." [Vol II Pg cxlviii]


APPENDIX L.
Proclamation, declaring the Principles of the Intended Change of System.

The Right Honourable Lord Minto, previous to his departure from Java, having adverted to the general system of the administration, and of the internal management established under the former government of this island, was pleased to suggest and recommend such improvements, as upon correct information, and an adequate knowledge of the state of society amongst the native inhabitants, might be deemed conducive to the advancement of individual happiness and of public prosperity.

With a view to promote so desirable an event, the Honourable the Lieutenant-Governor in Council nominated a Committee, of which Lieutenant-Colonel Colin Mackenzie was president, who, with the zeal, talent, and industrious research which characterize that officer, obtained, with the aid of the members of the Committee, authentic statistical accounts of this island; while the fund of valuable information, thus acquired, has been increased from other respectable channels of communication.

The Honourable the Lieutenant-Governor in Council has, therefore, after the most mature consideration, deemed it advisable to establish an improved system of political economy throughout this island, with the intention of ameliorating the condition of all its inhabitants, by affording that protection to individual industry, which will insure to every class of society the equitable and undisturbed enjoyment of the fruits of labour; and while it is confidently expected that private happiness and public prosperity will be advanced under this change of system, such alterations and amendments will be hereafter adopted, as experience may suggest, or the improving habits and manners of the body of the people may seem to require.

The following principles form the basis of the new arrangements, and are made public for general information.

1. The undue influence and authority of the native chiefs have been restricted: but government will avail themselves of their services in the important department of the native police, which will be arranged upon[Vol II Pg cxlix] fixed principles, adapted to the habits and original institutions of the people. A competent provision in lands and in money has been allotted to such chiefs, and it therefore naturally becomes both their duty and their interest, to encourage industry and to protect the inhabitants.

2. The government lands will be let generally to the heads of villages, who will be held responsible for the proper management of such portions of the country as may be placed under their superintendence and authority. They will re-let these lands to the cultivators, under certain restrictions, at such a rate as shall not be found oppressive; and all tenants under government will be protected in their just rights, so long as they shall continue to perform their correspondent engagements faithfully; for it is intended to promote extensive industry and consequent improvement, by giving the people an interest in the soil, and by instituting amongst them an acknowledged claim to the possession of the lands, that they may be thus induced to labour for their own profit and advantage.

3. The system of vassalage and forced deliveries has been abolished generally throughout the island: but in the Batavian and Preangen Regencies such a modification of the former arrangements has been carried into execution, as it was found practicable, under existing circumstances, to introduce; and provisionally the Blandong system will be continued to a certain extent in the central Forest Districts.

4. To encourage the cultivation of so important an article of export as coffee may become, when the trade of Europe and America may be thrown open to free competition, government have stipulated to receive any surplus quantity of that commodity from the cultivators, at a reasonable and fixed rate, when a higher price for it cannot be obtained in the market.

5. To extend free trade and commerce, and to promote a spirit of enterprise and speculation amongst the inhabitants, the Bhoom farms have been abolished, the duties upon the principal articles of export have been taken off, and it is intended to modify and amend the custom-house regulations before the 1st January next. The toll-gates and transport duties of the interior have been diminished as much as possible, and in the gradual progression of improvement they will be finally abolished.

6. Every facility will be afforded towards obtaining teak timber for the construction of small craft, and of such additional tonnage as, upon the improved system, will be undoubtedly required.

7. Government have taken upon themselves the exclusive management of the salt department. It appears, that the inhabitants in most parts of the island paid a very irregular and exorbitant price for this necessary article of consumption; while the system adopted by the farmers was radically vicious, and equally oppressive and vexatious to the people, as it was detrimental to the immediate interests of government.

Such an improved system for the supply of salt will be immediately adopted, as may appear advisable; and in this and every other arrangement, the government propose the advancement of the interests and the[Vol II Pg cl] happiness of the people at large, and the promotion of the public prosperity of this colony.

Given at Batavia, this 15th day of October, 1813.

By me, the Lieutenant-Governor of the Island of Java and its Dependencies,
T. S. RAFFLES.

By order of the Honourable the
Lieutenant-Governor in Council,

C. Assey,
Secretary to Government.

Council Chamber,
Oct. 15, 1813.
[Vol II Pg cli]

APPENDIX L. No. II.
REVENUE INSTRUCTIONS.

The Honourable the Lieutenant-Governor in Council having taken into mature consideration the state of the Land Revenue of this Island, and being impressed with the necessity of establishing one uniform, equitable, and adequate system for its assessment and realization, has been pleased to direct that the following instructions be sent to the Residents, Collectors, and other officers, to whom are consigned the charge of the several provinces under his authority.

1. It is the object of government to separate, in a great measure, the revenue from the judicial branches of the internal administration, it being deemed that a more lucid and simple arrangement of the public business will be formed thereby; and that the relieving the residents from a part of their at present too extensive and complicated duties, will ensure so much easier and better execution of the remainder, as fully to counterbalance any additional expense that may be incurred by the adoption of the measure.

2. For this purpose it has been resolved, that collectors shall be appointed immediately to the various districts, whose office shall consist in the sole and entire superintendance of the land revenue, and to whom therefore shall be made over by the Residents the complete charge of that department, with all such papers, documents, &c. as are in any way connected with it.

3. In some instances, however, from strong local, political, or other reasons, it is considered advisable, that several branches of the public duty remain still vested for a time in the Resident alone. As this necessity shall cease, care will be taken, by the introduction of separate collectors, to attain uniformity. But, in the mean time, it is particularly enjoined to such Residents as are continued in this double capacity of revenue and judicial superintendants, to take due care that these several branches be not blended in the execution, but that each part of their duty be discharged according to the department to which it belongs, and that their several proceedings be recorded in their proper departments only, distinct from all others.

4. A similar line of conduct will be observed in the maintenance of the establishments necessary for carrying on the business of these several departments; these establishments being kept as much apart, and as much confined to their distinct details, when the duties of collector and judge and magistrate are exercised by the same person, as when there are different officers appointed for the superintendance of each. [Vol II Pg clii]

5. Those Residents, therefore, to whom will still be entrusted the collection of the land revenue, will consider the following instructions to collectors as addressed to themselves in that capacity. Each collector shall forward to government a list of such establishment (with the salaries to each individual that he would recommend) as he deems adequate to carrying on the business in his head office, where the general papers, accounts, &c. will be prepared, and which will be conducted under his own immediate inspection.

6. This establishment may consist of one native assistant and such number of writers (Javans and English) opasses, and other servants, as may be necessary. This native assistant ought to be a man of rank, respectability, and information, that he may be at once competent, by his knowledge of the manners, characters, and habits of the native inhabitants, to assist the collector in advising measures best suited to each occasion, and by the estimation in which he is held by the people, to lend a considerable aid in carrying those measures duly into execution.

7. His salary may amount to from one to two hundred rupees per month, or a quantity of land equal to such sum may be allowed him rent free.

8. It may be advisable to employ for this situation some of the Bopatis, Patehs, or Tumunggungs, who have been, but are not now, in the actual service of government. This, as salaries or pensions are, in many instances, already allowed in the manner of sinecures, may prove a considerable saving to government; and, at the same time, the having a duty annexed to their present receipts, which will carry with it a considerable degree of authority and consequence, may be more pleasing to many, than the idle enjoyment of a sum of money, for which they must feel that they are at present making no adequate return.

9. For the outer establishments, those necessary for carrying on the details in each village or division, it is not intended to create any new officers; those at present entertained, and who have as yet very well executed the double duties of police and revenue, being deemed the most competent and best fitted for continuing to manage the business of these several departments.

10. It is not the additional expense which would arise from the appointing a new description of revenue officers, that is alone considered in this arrangement. The formation of a distinct revenue establishment throughout the interior is, on many other accounts, deemed an innovation that would be attended with considerable trouble, that would prove less pleasing to the inhabitants themselves, and that would not be nearly so adequate to the management of the collections, as the collection of the combined establishment at present existing.

11. The head inhabitant of a Javan village has, from immemorial usage, been considered to have vested in him the general superintendance of the affairs relating to that village, whether in attending to the police, settling the minor disputes that occur within its limits, or of collecting its revenues, or more often its services. For this purpose, his office has been[Vol II Pg cliii] elective, and the powers he exercises entrusted to him by his fellow inhabitants.

12. A writer, priest, and other subordinate officers and servants, completed its regular establishment. From harassing wars, long oppression, feudal tyranny, and European innovation, it is true that, in many parts of the country, scarcely a vestige remains of that species of constitution; but it is universally acknowledged that such was once its pure form throughout the island, and such is it still existing in many places.

13. This simple mode of village administration Government cannot but admire and entirely approve of; and deeming it at once the best suited to the genius of the people, and as promising to be the most conducive to the interest of the ruling power, they have resolved that such system shall be acknowledged and encouraged, by every means in their power, throughout the provinces under their authority.

14. The head inhabitant therefore (whether recognized under the name of the Petingi, Bukul, Lura, Kuwu, Mandor, or otherwise), according to the custom of the country, shall have entrusted to him the management of the revenue concerns of his village; a duty which his personal influence, and minutely intimate acquaintance with the situations and concerns of the several inhabitants of it, will render him better than any other qualified to discharge. He shall furnish such accounts and statements as he may from time to time be required to do; and shall obey such orders as he may receive directly from the collector or his assistant, or from the officer of the division in which his village is situated.

15. These officers of division shall likewise be continued in the double capacity of superintending both the judicial and the revenue proceedings within the limits of their official range. This practice, indeed, is consonant with the immemorial customs of the country, and deemed most calculated to render benefit in the conduct of either department.

16. By the judicial regulation lately enacted, the officer of division has been empowered to settle such minor disputes as may be considered as belonging to the revenue branch, such as the determining contested boundaries, trespass, irregularity in the dispositions for irrigation, &c. and by extending this authority so as to empower him to take regular cognizance of all transactions respecting revenue collections, and to inspect whenever he pleases the several village accounts, it is deemed that his office will become one of very great utility; serving, in future, by its records, to refer to on every occasion, when it may be wished to ascertain the precise nature of any permanent property or local usage within the division.

17. To them, therefore, shall be considered in every way subordinate the heads of villages; and it is trusted that they will prove a most useful check on them.

18. The officers of division shall furnish to the collector all such papers as may be required, and shall diligently execute any orders that they may receive, either from him or from his native assistant.

19. Respecting the salaries for these inferior servants of government,[Vol II Pg cliv] they have already been in most instances fixed; certain allotments of land, rent free, or sums of money monthly, being given to them.

20. The money salaries of those servants who are connected with the Resident, shall be continued to be paid by him as they are at present.

21. The allotments of land shall fall under the collector's superintendance, and he shall set down among the charges of collection, sums of money equal to what would be the monied rent of those lands were they not free. For this purpose, they shall be assessed, and regularly entered among the other lands in the general lease of the village: but the collection of this assessed rent shall not be actually made; it shall only appear in the accounts, as that it had been realized, and paid to the several officers.

22. For the other officers attached to the collector, namely, those in his head office, some it is concluded will be paid by portions of land being made over to them, others by monthly sums of money. The accounts of the former will be settled as already mentioned. The salaries of the latter will be drawn for by bills on the Resident, who will continue to be the sole treasurer of the district.

23. The collector will accordingly forward to him the several sums of money he may receive in his collections, whenever they amount to five hundred rupees.

24. It is trusted that the placing the heads of villages and officers of divisions, in some measure, under two authorities, to whom they must separately report, will not be attended with any eventual evil or confusion. When these arrangements become well matured, and the exact limits of their several duties clearly defined, the subordinate officers will not find any difficulty in their execution. For the attainment of this desirable end, however, much must depend upon the conduct of the Resident and collector. They are placed in these districts, not as persons who are to serve in any way as checks upon each other, but who are required to act together for the general good; mutually to assist each other to the extent of their power, and by preserving between themselves a good understanding, to carry on better their respective duties.

25. Should, in any case, a disagreement of opinion arise on any subject between them, a reference will be immediately made to the Honourable the Lieutenant-Governor, who will without delay pass on it his decision.

26. It need hardly be observed, that the collectors will possess no magisterial authority whatsoever: application will be regularly made by him to the Resident, as judge and magistrate, whenever it becomes necessary to call on that officer for aid in either capacity, whether to punish the misconduct of servants, or to realize by civil suit any part of the dues of government. The process to be observed, in either case, will be precisely similar to what is prescribed where the two parties in the suit are private individuals: government by no means wishing to enjoy themselves any better security of right, than that which they would ensure to the meanest of their subjects, nor to possess a greater facility of redress than is provided by their regulations to be offered to any individual who shall consider himself as aggrieved. [Vol II Pg clv]

27. As the first step towards the introduction of an adequate system of internal administration, it becomes positively necessary that government should be furnished with the fullest and completest view of the actual resources of the country.

28. The minutest details must be collected, arranged, and considered, before any system can be properly reduced to practice, or any assessment can be justly made.

29. But when once this body of information is obtained, the business of the revenue settlement will become comparatively light, and will be able to be proceeded with on the clearest and most equitable principles. It will serve too, on all future occasions, as a complete collection of the most valuable data to which to refer back for any purpose, or on which to ground any measures that may, in future, be deemed advisable. The obtaining this, government are fully aware, must be a work the most laborious: but placing the fullest reliance on the zeal, industry, and talents of those officers through whom they expect to derive such information, they look forward with confidence to its accomplishment in a manner as complete, and in a period as short as is possible, where inquiries are to be made at once so minute and so extensive.

30. It must be considered too, that however heavy, at first, this compilation may prove, it will ultimately most materially save both the time and trouble of the collectors. Daily occurrences will constantly require that information which it is now desired should be at once obtained; and by possessing such a standard for conducting the business, a simple reference to it will very often be sufficient, when otherwise there would arise a necessity for instituting inquiries of the same nature, numberless and troublesome, on every new, however trivial, occasion. Every collector, in short, who is anxious to perform well the duties entrusted to him, must wish to be in possession of such a mass of information as is now proposed to be collected.

31. The best mode to be adopted will be as follows:

The collector, attended by his native assistant, and such servants as are necessary, must himself proceed to the chief station in each division, where he will cause to be assembled the head inhabitants of the several villages contained in it. To these he must clearly explain the nature of the information desired; and through their means it is expected that it will be obtained without difficulty.

32. Whenever it may be necessary, the collector will visit the village itself, and on the spot cause such inquiries to be made as are requisite.

33. The officers of survey, lately attached to the Residents, will accompany the collectors through this tour, and give such professional aid as may be desired.

34. They will make one general survey of the whole collectorship, forming therefrom a map, on an uniform scale of one English inch to an English mile: in this the limits of each village and of each division will be accurately defined, and the direction and situation of forests, rivers, roads, mountains, &c. will also be correctly delineated. [Vol II Pg clvi]

35. By this general plan, the collector will know exactly the amount of land to be accounted for by each village; and the several lesser sums, as they will be thus brought together, will serve to prove the truth of the aggregate statement.

36. These surveyors will further take any such lesser surveys or measurements as they may be directed to do by the collectors.

37. The papers to be furnished by each village are three; forms for which are the enclosures marked A, B, and C. Some observations are necessary in explanation of these.

38. From the detailed papers of cultivators, and householders not cultivators, will be framed the general account of the village. The reason for separating the inhabitants into these two classes is obvious. It is wished that the exact resources of the country may be seen at one view, to know what part of the population are actually employed in the cultivation of the soil, and to learn in what way the remainder are disposed of. It is also considered but just, that to equalize in some measure the payments from all ranks of people, a tenement tax (or more properly a small rent for the ground on which their houses stand) should be levied from those who contribute nothing to the land rents.

39. But as the extension of this through all the petty villages might be deemed vexatious, and as, in reality, in those very small communities the payment by any party is virtually a payment by the whole of the inhabitants, it is resolved that such tax shall not be levied there. But there is no reason for including in this indulgence the inhabitants of towns; these, as in some places already ordered, should by means of such tax contribute their just share of the payments to government.

40. The assessment and collection of this shall form part of the collector's duty. The principle on which it must proceed will be to divide the houses into three classes, according to their size and the general circumstances of their owners.

41. These will be assessed according to the class, at three, two, or one Javan rupee per annum; and where, in any instance, from the indigence of the householder, even this small payment could become a hardship, the collector shall not include him at all in the assessment. This measure will secure a considerable revenue to government, and by experience in some districts already, it is known that it will not be considered as vexatious or unjust by the inhabitants: they will deem it no hardship to pay so small a sum annually, to be secured in the unmolested possession of the ground and enclosure in which their houses stand: more especially now that they are freed from all forced deliveries and services, without adequate payment either to government or to the native chiefs, and are left at liberty to enjoy the fruit of their labour.

42. The paper C. requires few observations: it explains itself. Every householder shall have a number given to him; for in registering names alone, very great confusion may arise, not only by the same being possessed by numerous individuals, but by the singular practice which frequently occurs among the Javans, of persons, from the most capricious motives,[Vol II Pg clvii] assuming new appellations. The number being once fixed on each, there will be no difficulty in always identifying them.

43. In the paper B., for the same reason above given, a number will be added to each individual cultivator's name; that is, to each who will, in the detailed system to be carried into effect, become an actual renter of land from government.

44. With respect to the quantity of land, of produce, or of money, as it is most desirable that there should be one uniform standard for the whole island, to which every other measurement, weight, or currency may be reduced, a circular letter has been written, dated 11th February, 1814, on the subject of currency, weights, and measures, and the collectors will be in future strictly guided by that, keeping their accounts only in the terms therein authorized.

45. In estimating the produce, the average of several former years will be the surest criterion. All sawah lands will be considered solely as to what quantity of paddy they might produce. Where other species of cultivation occurs, it shall nevertheless be estimated only with reference to this standard, or what might have been the value of the crop had the land been sown with rice.

46. In similar manner, the tegal lands (under which description are comprehended all lands not subject to irrigation) shall be estimated, in their produce, at what would be the quantity of maize from them were that the sole crop.

47. These two kinds of cultivation are the most usual throughout the island for these descriptions of land, and will be easy to form an assessment where these two are only considered. The profit or loss, in substituting other crops, must be the sole concern of the individual cultivators.

48. In the value of the produce, the prices for both the paddy and the maize must be taken as they exist in the cheapest season of the year, and actually procurable on the spot.

49. By assuming other rates than these, as for instance, the prices the articles may bear in periods of the year when a greater scarcity prevails, or at what they would sell were they disposed of in large towns, a false estimate will be taken; and depending on such contingencies, a failure in the realization of the assessed revenues might frequently occur.

50. In the remarks that may be made opposite to each cultivator, if necessary, any circumstance may be entered that may be deemed by the collector deserving of mention;​—but principally will fall under this column the statement of such reasons as entitle the individual to a remission of rent, such as the being an officer of government, a pensioner, &c. The general account A. will throw into one view the whole resources and actual state of the village.

51. Each of these villages must have a number given to it by the officer of division.

52. On the principles of complete survey, even the smallest quantity of land must be accounted for; and the general division into such as are or are not in use, naturally suggests itself. These are again subdivided into[Vol II Pg clviii] other classes. The "cultivated land" will be formed by bringing together the totals of the paper B.; "free land" will include generally all such as are at present enjoyed by the village inhabitant, free of assessment, as the area of the village itself, with its gardens, commons, &c. The "coffee grounds" still remaining in the possession of government will be next entered; but it will be the duty of the collectors to let these out, where they can, like other lands, to be converted to whatever purpose the tenants may please.

53. The extent of the "teak forests" must likewise be given; and to this will follow what are termed "government lands," that is, generally, whatever is held by them for their own or the public benefit, exclusive of the two foregoing classes. In the "general remarks" it will be necessary to advert to the particular nature of this entry, specifying what lands have formed it.

54. Of "lands not in use," the most important part is that which specifies what are capable of being cultivated. The several qualities of these cannot in every instance be quite correctly defined; but as far as practicable, it is desirous to arrange them in the manner pointed out, that is, into the two general descriptions of Sawah and Tegal. Next will follow lands decidedly "unfit;"​—and finally, what are termed "jungle lands;" these are such as do not produce teak. "In the general remarks," it will be necessary to take notice of this latter class, specifying, as far as possible, to what kind of land they belong, whether by clearing they might be susceptible of cultivation, or are naturally unfit for it. The remaining heads in the paper need no observation: they explain themselves, and will be at once filled up from the accounts B, and C.

55. Each officer of division shall, from these village accounts, frame one general one of the district under his authority. The form is shewn in the paper D. The only additional information to be furnished by him in it, is the quantity of lands lying waste and uninhabited, which have not been portioned out into villages; and in the "general remarks" subjoined, it will be necessary to advert to these, pointing out their nature, and the reasons for their being in such desert state.

56. Each division shall be regularly numbered.

57. The account marked E. is intended to give to government one general view of the whole collectorship; at once showing into how many divisions it is portioned out, and in each of those how many villages there are, the general population under its several descriptions, the total amount of land, what quantity of it is cultivated, how much is capable of being so, the estimated value of the entire produce, the riches of its inhabitants, which are chiefly comprised in the number of buffaloes and horses possessed by them, &c. &c. And attached to these, any such observations may be made as may suggest themselves to the collectors.

58. The collection of papers thus framed, will, it is deemed, put government fully in possession of all the information they require.

59. On the first attempt by the British power to introduce an amended system of land revenue through this island, from our paucity of informa[Vol II Pg clix]tion on the subject, and the extreme caution with which it was necessary to proceed, it was thought requisite to have recourse to an intermediate class of persons between the actual sovereign and the cultivator of the soil, or to let out the whole lands of each village to its principal inhabitant.

60. But by this mere grant of lease, it was not by any means understood that any acknowledgment was made of proprietary right to the soil existing in those heads of villages. It was simply a step, arising from the necessity of the occasion, from the impracticability of at once entering upon a more detailed plan, and which at the moment of its adoption was meant to be considered as temporary, to be no longer adhered to, if, on the acquisition of further knowledge, a more particular system of management should be deemed advisable.

61. The nature of landed tenure throughout the island is now thoroughly understood. Generally speaking, no proprietary right in the soil is vested in any between the actual cultivator and the sovereign; the intermediate classes, who may at any time have enjoyed the revenues of villages or districts, being deemed merely the executive officers of government, who received those revenues only from the gift of their lord, and who depended on his will alone for their tenure. Of this actual proprietary right, there can be no doubt that it originally vested solely in the sovereign; but it is equally certain, that the first clearers of the land entitled themselves, as their just reward, to such a real property in the ground they thus in a manner created, that whilst a due tribute of a certain share of its produce for the benefit of being well governed was paid to the sovereign power, that in return was equally bound not to disturb them or their heirs in its possession. The disposal of this government share was, therefore, all that could justly depend on the will of the ruling authority, and consequently the numerous gifts of lands made at various periods by the several sovereigns, have in no way affected the right of the actual cultivator:​—all that any government could alienate was merely its own revenue or share of the produce. This subject has come under full discussion; and the above result, as regarding this island, has been quite satisfactorily established.

62. The continuance, therefore, of the village system becomes only a matter of consideration, on the grounds of whether it is more beneficial than any other to government, or most likely to be conducive to the general prosperity and welfare of the mass of the population.

63. No doubt, however, remains on the mind of government on this question. The agency of the intermediate renters is considered as quite unnecessary to be adopted in future. It is deemed, that such a plan of settlement will leave the interest of the bulk of the people entirely at the mercy of a set of numerous petty chiefs, who, however well they may have hitherto conducted themselves, would certainly, in such case, possess an ability of injury and oppression, against which the ruling power would have left itself no adequate means of prevention or redress, and which[Vol II Pg clx] cannot therefore be permitted, consistently with the principles of good government.

64. It has, therefore, been resolved, that this intermediate system be entirely done away, the government determining to act, in future, through its immediate officers, directly with each individual cultivator, and to stand forward, in short, the sole collector and enjoyer of its own revenues. On every view, indeed, of the subject, the tiang-halit (or as it is termed in Western India, where it is understood to have been advantageously introduced, the ryot-war settlement) is considered as that which will at once prove most satisfactory to the people, and most beneficial to the government.

65. In the period that has elapsed since the first settlement, a sufficient knowledge has been obtained, by the most scrutinous investigation into the whole minutiæ of the revenue affairs of the country, to render government now fully competent to carry into execution that more detailed plan, which it was always in their contemplation to introduce, as early as might be practicable.

66. The several collectors will therefore take suitable measures for carrying into effect the desired change, as soon as this may, from local or other circumstances, be possible.

67. Of course, the expiration of the former leases must, in every instance, be awaited; but the several preliminary steps may be proceeded in without further delay. On no account must such leases be renewed.

68. As the term of the greater part of them will be closed by the ensuing puasa, and as the business of the assessment and survey, as above ordered, may with great advantage be carried on together, the principles on which that settlement will proceed will be briefly laid down here. Much however must be necessarily left to the discretion and judgment of the officers to whom its conduct will be entrusted, and on whose zeal, industry, and ability, this government fully relies.

69. As a general rule for the guidance of the collector, he shall continue in possession all such persons as he finds actually holding and cultivating land, and shall receive them as the renters from government in the new settlement. Even though such cultivators shall not be able to adduce proofs of any real property in the land, yet long occupancy, improving culture, and general good conduct while in its possession, are deemed to be claims of no weak nature, and certainly constitute a right, in equity and sound policy, of being considered preferably to any others, who have no such claims; and this right government is determined to respect.

70. It must, however, be clearly understood, that no positive rights of any nature will be infringed by this settlement. Every claim to property in land must be freely heard, and fully inquired into, by the collectors; and it is necessary, in doubtful cases, to submit the claim for the decision of the Honourable the Lieutenant-Governor.

71. There have been, it is known, in many parts of the country,[Vol II Pg clxi] grants from the sovereign of lands in perpetuity, which are regularly inheritable, and relative to which the original documents still exist. Of these some have been made for religious purposes, others as rewards or provision for relatives or the higher nobility. These alienations, as far as it was justly in the power of the sovereign to make them, will certainly not be set aside. Equity and good faith forbid it; but they equally enjoin, that the extent of these alienations be clearly defined, and that the rights of others be not compromised by them. The government share, where granted away, will not be claimed, for this affects the government alone. But there are certain other rights, those of the cultivators, which cannot be admitted to have been in the slightest degree affected by such grants; and in the enjoyment of them, therefore, they must be duly protected by the government. Such proprietors of revenue, as they may be termed, shall in short be allowed to act, with regard to the cultivators, only as government themselves act toward theirs; that is, receiving a fixed share of the produce: but whilst that is delivered, neither exacting more, nor removing any individual from his land.

72. On these subjects it will become the duty of the collector to be particularly careful and circumspect; to hear all claims, but to admit none lightly, giving to each the fullest investigation prior to acknowledging their validity.

73. When the collector shall have thoroughly acquainted himself with the actual state and resource of each village, he shall proceed, as quickly as he can, to the assessment of the land revenue, to be realized, not from the village generally, but from each individual cultivator inhabiting it.

74. The head of the village shall be considered as the officer of government to be employed in the collection of the revenue; for which a certain portion of land shall be allowed to him. In consideration of this, and possessing, as he will, due powers for its realization, he shall be considered as responsible for its whole amount. By this means, every advantage of the general village settlement will be obtained, without any of its evils.

75. It must be observed, that all allotments of land, whether as pensions or salaries, are to be made only provisionally; and in such grants the government share will be all that is to be affected by them.

76. One lease shall be made for the whole village, according to the form laid down in the enclosure F.

77. This will give to each individual a full knowledge of his rights, and of what are the only dues to be expected from him by government. No extortion or injustice can then exist, without being liable to instant detection and punishment. To attain still further this end, it is ordered, that a copy of this lease be lodged with the officer of division, and another be kept for public inspection in the village office.

78. The head of the village shall also give to each renter an exact account, according to the form in enclosure G.

79. By this the renter will know exactly the state of his affairs, and the examination of these lesser papers will at once discover any fraud on the[Vol II Pg clxii] part of the village officer; for he most, on each receipt of money or kind, mark it in their accounts.

80. The officer of division will, in like manner, acknowledge on the back of the general lease the several sums received by him from the head of any village. The receipt of kind collections will, in the same way, be acknowledged at the collector's office, when they are delivered in.

81. The manner of assessing the government share will proceed, as far as practicable, as follows:

82. As the inferior descriptions of land require greater labour in their cultivation, and as the actual quantity of produce left from each for the use of the renter, is wished to be nearly the same, a different rate in assessing must be observed for each.

83. The following is considered as the fairest scale for fixing the government share from each species of land, and ought to be referred to, as much as possible, as the general standard:

For Sawah Lands.
1st sort, one-half of the estimated produce.
2d, two-fifths ditto.
3d, one-third ditto.
For Tegal Lands.
1st sort, two-fifths of the estimated produce.
2d, one-third ditto.
3d, one-fourth ditto.

84. It must be expected, that less than this will be levied in many places for some time to come. Various reasons will induce a low rental being established at first, as the energies of many impoverished and long oppressed districts are to be brought forth by every encouragement that government can give; but when cultivation has reached what may be considered as its state of perfection, and the settlement is completely matured, the above must form the general rates of assessment.

85. Government think it necessary also explicitly to declare, that they will be satisfied when the land revenue shall be productive to them in these proportions, determining, at no future time, to raise that scale; that the inhabitants, being thus exactly acquainted with what will form the utmost demand on them, and resting in full confidence that government will not exact any thing further, may, in that security, enjoy their possessions in undisturbed happiness, and apply their utmost industry to the improvement of their lands, assured that, while they conduct themselves well, that land will never be taken from them, and that the more productive they may be able to render it, the more beneficial will it be to themselves.

86. The head of the village will deliver his money collections to the officer of division, in such instances as may be directed by the collector; but all payments in kind must be made actually into the collector's office at the head station, the expenses of bringing it falling entirely on the[Vol II Pg clxiii] renters. This is done chiefly with a view to discourage such species of payments, government wishing to receive, as far as practicable, their revenues in money alone. In ordering this, regard has also been had to former custom, the contingent under the Dutch administration having always been thus delivered in.

87. The option of kind payment is still left to the renter on many accounts; in consideration, partly, of the present scarcity of specie throughout the country, partly as being agreeable to their ancient usages, which will always be paid the greatest attention to; but chiefly, as by leaving this double mode of payment open, the assessment, both in this and future settlements, will be able to be proceeded with on the justest and best principles. Enhancement or remissions will be equitably regulated by it; and, in short, by keeping the actual produce always in view, the shares of the government and of the cultivator must always preserve their due relation towards each other.

88. Pari or rice, however, are the only two articles to be received. Maize is considered, in estimating the produce of the tegal lands, to produce the justest assessment; but this must be invariably commuted for a money rent on fair principles. To sawah landholders only will the option of pari or rice deliveries be given. As cultivators, in most cases, hold some of each description of land, this distinction will not be felt as a hardship.

89. To guard against any failure in the estimated revenues, the value of the produce will be calculated at the sum which it commonly sells for in the village itself, immediately after the gathering in of the harvest; and the money commutation will proceed on this principle. The renters, therefore, will obviously be encouraged to pay money preferable to kind; but should they nevertheless give in the latter, the head of the village must, if he can, turn it into specie, so that the estimated value be obtained. Should, in spite of these precautions, any quantity of pari or rice arrive at the head station, the collector will deposit it in the storehouses, and report in what manner he is of opinion it can be most advantageously disposed of. Generally speaking, government wish to derive no extra profit from this branch of their revenues, and will approve of immediate sale, in every instance where the assessed price can be obtained.

90. As arrears are to be as much guarded against as possible, remissions of rent must sometimes be made. The mode of regulating these will be as follows. When such calamity of season or other cause, occurs, as may be supposed to entitle the cultivator to indulgent consideration in some deduction of rent, a report must be made by the head of the village before gathering the harvest, and the collector will then order the officer of division, or send some trusty servant from his own office, to survey the crop, and inquire into the causes of its falling short of the estimate. Such orders will afterwards be issued, whether remitting any part or the whole of the dues of government, or enforcing their strict collection, as may be deemed necessary. Whenever a real, unavoidable suffering has been sustained, a remission of rent must be granted, government deem[Vol II Pg clxiv]ing it far preferable to conciliate their subjects by every reasonable favour, and even to submit to a slight loss, than to disaffect them by the continual harassing which the strict exaction of heavy arrears must occasion. Nor will, indeed, any real gain accrue from being thus always unrelenting; for, in most cases, the liquidation of the debts they may have incurred will only be effected by the sale of buffaloes, horses, and other property, on the possession of which must entirely depend the good performance of their future engagements; so that, in fine, by resorting to this measure, the debt may be discharged, but very frequently the cultivator will be lost.

91. As the first settlement, according to this amended system, cannot be expected to attain as accurate an assessment as is desirable, it is not deemed advisable that the leases to be granted should exceed the period of one year.

92. From the nature of the foregoing instructions, the collectors cannot fail to observe the importance and extent of the obligations imposed on them by the office intrusted to their charge. It is not enough that the government lay down the principles of a benevolent system intended to introduce the practical freedom which has been bestowed on all the nations subject to the honourable Company's dominions; it is with them that the application of these principles is entrusted, and to their temper, assiduity, judgment, and integrity, that the people have to look for the enjoyment of the blessings which it is intended to bestow upon them. They have, in short, the national character, as well of their own personal reputation, to support; and while the Lieutenant Governor in Council feels it unnecessary to rouse that spirit of public virtue in which it is the pride of a Briton to excel, or to advert to the shame that must follow a neglect of these important duties, he deems it proper to remark, that his most vigilant attention will be given to the progress of the great work which has been commenced, and that it will always afford him the highest gratification to bring to public notice, and reward the examples of industry, honour, and integrity, which he constantly expects to meet with.

(Signed) T. S. RAFFLES.

Buitenzorg, Feb. 11, 1814.
[Vol II Pg clxv]


APPENDIX M.
Memorandum respecting Weights, Measures, &c.

The weights and measures not only differ, both nominally and essentially, in the several districts of Java, but are often subject to such varieties, even within the same district, that the greatest confusion in accounts, and endless peculations, are almost inevitable. The native denominations and divisions are blended with the Chinese and European, and even the latter have been made to vary so much, that it is difficult to refer them to one common standard. The uncertainty of the native measures has, however, been considerably removed, by the reference constantly had by the Chinese to the weight of the article, instead of the bulk, which is the usual measure of the Javans.

The measure of weight which may be considered as the most general standard throughout the country, is the Chinese kati, equal to about 1¼ lb., or about 20 ounces avoirdupois; 100 katis make a pikul of 125 lbs. Dutch, or 133⅓ English, 30 pikuls or 3,000 katis, being 3,750 lbs. Dutch. The Dutch standard koyan, however, is only 3,400 lbs., and in general is considered equal to a last, or two tons; but this weight, by which the rude produce of the country is generally calculated, is subject to innumerable varieties. In order to cover the wastage, it was the rule of the government that there should be one rate for receipt of goods, and another for their delivery. This varied according as the article was perishable or otherwise, or to the degree of peculation established by usage. This applied to all measures and weights by which goods were received and issued at the government stores, and the rates were different in different districts. A koyan among private individuals at Batavia is generally considered as 27 pikuls, equal to 253 gantons, or 2,700 katis; at Semárang as 28 pikuls, but by the natives generally as 30 pikuls. The koyan, however, by which the contingent was formerly delivered to government, at Demak was no less than 4,250 lbs. Dutch.

Pári, or rice in the husk, is generally calculated by the amat, and in some districts by the sáng'ga. When the pári is reaped, which is invariably done by snapping or cutting each separate straw a few inches below the husk, the sheaf or bundle as it accumulates is laid in the left hand, between the thumb and middle finger: the quantity which can be thus held is termed sa agem, which is therefore equivalent to a handful. Three of these make a pochong, a quantity which can be clasped between the two hands. The sheaf is then bound. Afterwards, when the grain and straw are dry, two of these pochongs are bound together in one larger bundle, which is termed gedeng. Four gedengs make one bawon, and five[Vol II Pg clxvi] gedengs one sang'ga: three bawon make one wuwa, and two wuwa one amat; the gedeng is sometimes four, five, and even sometimes nine katis.

In the Semárang districts alone, the amat varied from 200 to 600 katis in weight. In the western and Sunda districts pari is measured by the chain, of which there are the common and the mountain chain, the one being equal to 4,000 lbs. Dutch, the other about 1,000 katis. The kati, however, is the usual measure.

Land measure is by the natives regulated in general by the bawat, a measure of length, formed of the staff stick of the payong, or umbrella, which the Bópati, or native chief of a province, receives on his investiture. The length of this stick, when drawn from the umbrella, is termed a changkal, and is from nine to twelve feet. The principal divisions of land are into the bahu and jung. Four of the former make a jung; but these not only differ in size according to the length of changkal, but the situation of the land and the nature of the soil; the jungs of rich land, and in the vicinity of the principal towns, being much smaller than the poor lands situated at a distance. The endless varieties of these measurements it would be tedious to detail. One jung in the Semarang districts is equal to three others, to five, to six, seven, and even so many as ten, in other parts. From this perplexing inequality of measurement arose formerly, in many instances, the comparative disproportion of the cultivator's contributions to the state, as each jung of every size was assessed with the payment of a fixed contingent. In many instances the jung was rather to be considered the measure, not so much of the land as of its produce.

The advantage of reducing these vague and uncertain measures to some fixed standard, had in some degree attracted the attention of the Dutch government, during the administration of Marshal Daendels, who directed that the lands in several districts should be measured according to an average jung of two thousand square rods or changkals of twelve feet Dutch. This measurement being generally known as the government jung, although it had only been very partially introduced in one or two districts, was made the standard in the recent agricultural survey of the country; and although it was not deemed advisable to introduce at the moment an entire change in the local usages of each district, the public officers were directed to refer to it on all occasions; and in the statistical and other returns, the local measurement of the place has accordingly been invariably reduced to this standard. The government jung of two thousand square changkals of twelve feet English, is equal to 674121 English acres; and the government amat, by which the produce is weighed, being fixed at two thousand katís, is equal to two pikuls, or 266⅔ lbs. English.

In reducing the coins circulating in Java into English money, in the course of this work, the Spanish dollar has been considered as equal to five shillings English, and the rupee to half a crown. In the local currency of Java, ten copper doits make one wang (a small silver coin), and twelve wangs one rupee. [Vol II Pg clxvii]

The following Table shews the current value of the different Coins circulating in Java:

4 doits make 8 stiver.
10 doits or 2 stivers and a half 1 dubbeltje.
30 ditto or 7 stivers and a half 1 schelling.
60 ditto or 15 stivers Half a Batavian, Surat, or Arcot rupee.
63 ditto or 15 stivers and three quarters Half a sicca rupee.
120 ditto or 30 stivers 1 Batavian, Surat, or Arcot rupee.
126 ditto or 31 stivers and a half 1 sicca rupee.
132 ditto or 33 ditto Half a Spanish dollar.
160 ditto or 40 ditto Half a ducatoon.
190 ditto or 48 ditto 1 rix dollar.
240 ditto or 60 ditto 1 American or Austrian dollar.
264 ditto or 66 ditto 1 Spanish dollar.
312 ditto or 78 ditto 1 old ducatoon.
320 ditto or 80 ditto 1 new ducatoon.
528 ditto or 132 ditto, equal to 2¾ rix dollars 1 gold ducat.
960 ditto or 240 ditto, equal to 5 rix dollars Half a gold rupee.
1920 ditto or 480 ditto 1 gold rupee.
10 Spanish dollars 1 American gold eagle.
16 ditto ditto 1 doubloon.
N. B. The Java gold rupee is equal to sixteen Java silver rupees; the gold ducat fluctuates in value, but circulates in general for silver rupees.

THE END.

PRINTED BY GILBERT AND RIVINGTON,
ST. JOHN'S SQUARE, LONDON. [Vol II Pg clxviii]

THE FOLLOWING WORK,

In one large Volume 4to., price 2l. 12s. 6d.

MAY BE HAD OF

JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET.

A MEMOIR

OF THE

LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES

OF

SIR THOMAS STAMFORD RAFFLES, F.R.S. &c.

PARTICULARLY IN THE GOVERNMENT OF JAVA, 1811-1816,

AND OF

BENCOOLEN AND ITS DEPENDENCIES, 1817-1824;

WITH DETAILS OF THE

COMMERCE AND RESOURCES OF THE EASTERN ARCHIPELAGO,

AND

SELECTIONS FROM HIS CORRESPONDENCE.

BY HIS WIDOW. [Vol II Pg clxix]


INDEX.


TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES

Supplied missing PREFACE heading for Vol. I p. vii.

Missing English stanzas in Vol. I: # 593 on p. 513, # 609 on p. 520, and # 615 & # 616 on p. 521.

Missing item in Vol. II: J in list on p. vi.

Out of sequence dates in Vol. II: 1494 on p. 258 and 1610 on p. 261.

Many tables have uncorrected addition errors. Silently only corrected totals with independent verification, e.g. horizontal total correct but vertical total incorrect.

Silently corrected simple spelling, grammar, and typographical errors.

Retained anachronistic and non-standard spellings as printed.






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