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]

[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.

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."

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