Sejarah Sumatra (Marsden)/Bab 2

DISTINCTION OF INHABITANTS.
REJANGS CHOSEN FOR GENERAL DESCRIPTION.
PERSONS AND COMPLEXION.
CLOTHING AND ORNAMENTS.

CATATAN UMUM PENDUDUK

Dengan memamerkan pandangan umum pulau tersebut secara alami, aku kini berniat untuk mendeskripsikan orang-orang yang menghuni dan menanaminya, dan mendorong pembedaan beberapa spesies atau kelas dari mereka dalam bentuk penjelasan terbaik, dan untuk memberikan gagasan materi yang jelas.

VARIOUS MODES OF DIVISION

The most obvious division, and which has been usually made by the writers of voyages, is that of Mahometan inhabitants of the sea-coast, and Pagans of the inland country. This division, though not without its degree of propriety, is vague and imperfect; not only because each description of people differ considerably among themselves, but that the inland inhabitants are, in some places, Mahometans, and those of the coast, in others, what they term Pagans. It is not unusual with persons who have not resided in this part of the East to call the inhabitants of the islands indiscriminately by the name of Malays. This is a more considerable error, and productive of greater confusion than the former. By attempting to reduce things to heads too general we defeat the very end we propose to ourselves in defining them at all: we create obscurity where we wish to throw light. On the other hand, to attempt enumerating and distinguishing the variety, almost endless, of petty sovereignties and nations into which this island is divided, many of which differ nothing in person or manners from their neighbours, would be a task both insurmountable and useless. I shall aim at steering a middle course, and accordingly shall treat of the inhabitants of Sumatra under the following summary distinctions, taking occasion as it may offer to mention the principal subdivisions. And first it is proper to distinguish the empire of Menangkabau and the Malays; in the next place the Achinese; then the Battas; the Rejangs; and next to them the people of Lampong.*

(*Footnote. In the course of my inquiries amongst the natives concerning the aborigines of the island I have been informed of two different species of people dispersed in the woods and avoiding all communication with the other inhabitants. These they call Orang Kubu and Orang Gugu. The former are said to be pretty numerous, especially in that part of the country which lies between Palembang and Jambi. Some have at times been caught and kept as slaves in Labun; and a man of that place is now married to a tolerably handsome Kubu girl who was carried off by a party that discovered their huts. They have a language quite peculiar to themselves, and they eat promiscuously whatever the woods afford, as deer, elephant, rhinoceros, wild hog, snakes, or monkeys. The Gugu are much scarcer than these, differing in little but the use of speech from the Orang Utan of Borneo; their bodies being covered with long hair. There have not been above two or three instances of their being met with by the people of Labun (from whom my information is derived) and one of these was entrapped many years ago in much the same manner as the carpenter in Pilpay's Fables caught the monkey. He had children by a Labun woman which also were more hairy than the common race; but the third generation are not to be distinguished from others. The reader will bestow what measure of faith he thinks due to this relation, the veracity of which I do not pretend to vouch for. It has probably some foundation in truth but is exaggerated in the circumstances.)

Menangkabau being the principal sovereignty of the island, which formerly comprehended the whole, and still receives a shadow of homage from the most powerful of the other kingdoms which have sprung up from its ruins, would seem to claim a right to precedence in description, but I have a sufficient reason for deferring it to a subsequent part of the work; which is that the people of this empire, by their conversion to Mahometanism and consequent change of manners, have lost in a greater degree than some neighbouring tribes the genuine Sumatran character, which is the immediate object of my investigation.

MELAYU

Mereka berbeda dari penduduk lain dari pulau tersebut yang disebut Orang Malayo, atau Melayu, namun mereka memiliki hal umum dengan orang-orang di pantai Semenanjung dan kebanyakan pulau lainnya; dan nama yang ditujukan kepada setiap Mussulman berbicara dengan bahasa Melayu sebagai bahasa sebenarnya, dan masing dalam, atau diklaim keturunan dari, kerajaan kuno Menangkabau; sementara tempat kediamannya berada di luar Bencoolen sampai wilayah selatan yang tak dipertemukan dengan pengecualian seperti yang memiliki ijin kesana, dan orang-orang Eropa dengan bayaran. Di sisi timur pulau tersebut, mereka menghuni nyaris seluruh sungai ternavigasi, yang mereka huni untuk tujuan perdagangan dan pembajakan. Harus diamati bahwa dalam pengucapan umum istilah Melayu, seperti Moor di benua India, nyaris bersinonim dengan Mahometan; dan ketika penduduk asli belahan lainnya membaca abjad Arab, bersedia untuk disunat, dan mempraktekkan upacara agama, mereka seringkali dikatakan men-jadi Malayo, menjadi Melayu, alih-alih penyebutan yang lebih benar yakni sudah masuk Islam, memegang keyakinan. Kekhasan tersebut akan nampak kuat dari keadaan ini, ketika sultan Anak Sungei (Moco-moco), berambisi meniru sultan Menangkabau, menggelari dirinya sendiri dan orang-orang dekatnya dengan sebutan Melayu, tetangganya, Pangeran Sungei Lamo, pemimpin Rejang, seorang Mahometan yang sangat beradab, dan yang para leluhurnya untuk beberapa generasi memiliki keyakinan yang sama, nampak menawarkan, dalam perbincanganku dengannya, aku menyebutnya (seperti yang biasanya dianggap) orang Melayu, dan dijawab dengan emosi, "Malayo tidah, sir; orang ulu betul sayo." "Bukan Melayu tuan; aku orang asli, penduduk daerah asli." Dua bahasa yang ia tulis dan bicarakan (aku tidak tahu apakah ia masih hidup) dengan fasilitas yang sama, namun aku mengira Rejang adalah bahasa ibunya.

Upaya untuk menelusuri orang-orang Sumatra yang menghuni di daerah lain dilakukan. Semenanjung terdekat (disebut oleh orang-orang Eropa dan orang-orang asing lainnya sebagai Semenanjung Melayu) mempersembahkan sumber populasi paling handal; dan dikatakan bahwa pada emigran dari sana mensuplai daerah tersebut dan pulau lain di Kepulauan timur dengan penduduk. Melalui opini ini, yang diadaptasi tanpa pengujian, aku nampaknya keliru dan, pada kesempatan awal, membicarakan kemungkinan koloni dari semenanjung yang bermukim di pantai barat pulau tersebut; namun sejak itu aku memahami dari catatan-catatan sejarah dan tradisi-tradisi penduduk asli kedua daerah tersebut menunjukkan hal yang sebaliknya, dan bahwa para pendiri kerajaan-kerajaan terkemuka Johor, Singapura, dan Malaka adalah para petualang dari Sumatra. Bahkan sampai saat ini, para penduduk daerah pedalaman semenanjung tersebut merupakan sebuah ras yang sepenuhnya berbeda dari orang-orang dari dua pantai tersebut.

Sehingga perlu dibutuhkan, dalam rangka menghindari ambiguitas, untuk berkata dalam contoh pertama mengenai orang-orang Melayu, yang pada catatan paling menonjol akan diberikan dalam bagian-bagian selanjutnya dari karya ini.

Karena banyak ketidak miripan di kalangan kelas lainnya yang aku bagi, para penduduk harus memiliki banyak penekanan dari kesamaan satu sama lain, dan banyak adat, kebiasaan, dan upacara mereka, secara umum, menjadi bijaksana, dalam rangka menghindari ketegangan dan pengulangan tak berguna, untuk mengeluarkan satu keas dari mereka yang perilakunya harus dilakukan investigasi sebagian dan menyeluruh, dan dijadikan sebagai stnadar untuk semua orang; pembagian dalam kelas lainnya dilakukan setelah itu, dan kekhasan pemakaian paling tunggal dan menekan ditambahkan.

SUKU REJANG DIADOPSI SEBAGAI STANDAR DESKRIPSI

Berbagai peristiwa yang teramati oleh saya pada kesempatan ini memberikan pendahuluan mengenai orang-orang Rejang, melalui sebuah suku selain catatan kecil dalam skala politik di pulau tersebut. Mereka menghuni di apa yang kemungkinan berada dalam situasi sentral, bukan secara geografis, namun berkaitan dengan perilaku dan opini asing yang diperkenalkan oleh orang-orang Melayu dari utara, dan orang-orang Jawa dari selatan; yang memberikan mereka klaim pemimpin asli atas sebagian daerah lainnya. Mereka adalah orang-orang yang membentuk pemerintahan dan hukumnya ktersebar dengan sangat sedikit raham atas bagian menonjol di pulau tersebut, dan utamanya bagian soal hubungan dari kebohongan Inggris. Terdapat tradisi mengenai awalnya mereka mengirim koloni-koloni ke wilayah selatan; dan di daerah Passummah, wilayah desa-desa mereka masih tertonjolkan; yang akan menunjang mereka yang dulunya lebih dianggap ketimbang yang dapat mereka gembar-gemborkan pada masa sekarang. Mereka memiliki bahasa asli dan penulisan abjad yang sempurna. Ini memajukan penekanan orang-orang Rejang sebagai standar deskripsi yang layak; dan motif yang secara setara kuat yang mendorongku untuk memajukan mereka sebagaimana halnya situasi dan hubunganku di pulau tersebut yang membuatku lebih intim dan selaras dengan hukum dan kebiasaan mereka ketimbang kalangan lainnya. Namun aku harus katakan bahwa kebiasaan Melayu yang mereka jalankan kurang lebih sama dengan setiap belahan Sumatra, ini akan sepenuhnya tak memungkinkan untuk mendiskriminasikan keseluruhan akurasi orang-orang yang berasal dari orang-orang yang menurunkannya; dan secara keseluruhan aku harus katakan bahwa orang-orang Rejang akan diterapkan pada sebagian besar wilayah tak hanya Sumatra pada umumnya namun terkadang pada pengetatan dari orang-orang Melayu sendiri, dan mereka mengajarkan hal yang lebih tinggi dari orang daerah.

SITUASI DAERAH REJANG

Daerah orang-orang Rejang terbagi menjadi wilayah barat laut dari kerajaan Anak Sungei (yang menjadikan Moco-moco sebagai ibukotanya) melalui sungai kecil Uri, dekat Kattaun; yang terakhir, dengan daerah Labun di tepinya, membatasinya pada bagian utara atau bagian pedalaman. Daerah Musi, yang dilewati Sungai Palembang, membentuk batasnya di wilayah timur. Sungai Bencoolen, yang sebelumnya disebutkan, menjadikannya batas di bagian tenggara; meskipun penduduk daerah tersebut yang disebut Lemba, tersebar dari sana sampai Silebar, sepenuhnya merupakan suku yang sama dalam hal kebiasaan dan bahasa. Sungai-sungai utama selain yang telah disebutkan adalah eLaye, Pally, dan Sungeilamo; yang semuanya memiliki pabrik-pabrik Inggris, pemukim atau pemimpin ditempatkan di Laye.

ORANG-ORANG PENETAP

Orang-orang penetap di pulau tersebut, meskipun berbeda dalam hal daerah satu sama lain, pada umumnya selaras dengan deskripsi berikut; kecuali orang-orang Achin, yang bercampur dengan orang-orang Moor dari barat India membedakan mereka dari orang-orang Sumatra lainnya.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

They are rather below the middle stature; their bulk is in proportion; their limbs are for the most part slight, but well shaped, and particularly small at the wrists and ankles. Upon the whole they are gracefully formed, and I scarcely recollect to have ever seen one deformed person among the natives.*

(*Footnote. Ghirardini, an Italian painter, who touched at Sumatra on his way to China in 1698 observes of the Malays:

Son di persona ben formata
Quanto mai finger san pittori industri.
He speaks in high terms of the country as being beautifully picturesque.)

The women however have the preposterous custom of flattening the noses, and compressing the heads of children newly born, whilst the skull is yet cartilaginous, which increases their natural tendency to that shape. I could never trace the origin of the practice, or learn any other reason for moulding the features to this uncouth appearance, but that it was an improvement of beauty in their estimation. Captain Cook takes notice of a similar operation at the island of Ulietea. They likewise pull out the ears of infants to make them stand at an angle from the head. Their eyes are uniformly dark and clear, and among some, especially the southern women, bear a strong resemblance to those of the Chinese, in the peculiarity of formation so generally observed of that people. Their hair is strong and of a shining black; the improvement of both which qualities it probably owes in great measure to the early and constant use of coconut oil, with which they keep it moist. The men frequently cut their hair short, not appearing to take any pride in it; the women encourage theirs to a considerable length, and I have known many instances of its reaching the ground. The men are beardless and have chins so remarkably smooth that, were it not for the priests displaying a little tuft, we should be apt to conclude that nature had refused them this token of manhood. It is the same in respect to other parts of the body with both sexes; and this particular attention to their persons they esteem a point of delicacy, and the contrary an unpardonable neglect. The boys as they approach to the age of puberty rub their chins, upper lips, and those parts of the body that are subject to superfluous hair with chunam (quicklime) especially of shells, which destroys the roots of the incipient beard. The few pilae that afterwards appear are plucked out from time to time with tweezers, which they always carry about them for that purpose. Were it not for the numerous and very respectable authorities from which we are assured that the natives of America are naturally beardless, I should think that the common opinion on that subject had been rashly adopted, and that their appearing thus at a mature age was only the consequence of an early practice, similar to that observed among the Sumatrans. Even now I must confess that it would remove some small degree of doubt from my mind could it be ascertained that no such custom prevails.*

(*Footnote. It is allowed by travellers that the Patagonians have tufts of hair on the upper lip and chin. Captain Carver says that among the tribes he visited the people made a regular practice of eradicating their beards with pincers. At Brussels is preserved, along with a variety of ancient and curious suits of armour, that of Montezuma, king of Mexico, of which the visor, or mask for the face, has remarkably large whiskers; an ornament which those Americans could not have imitated unless nature had presented them with the model. See a paper in the Philosophical Transactions for 1786, which puts this matter beyond a doubt. In a French dictionary of the Huron language, published in 1632, I observe a term corresponding to "arracher la barbe.")

Their complexion is properly yellow, wanting the red tinge that constitutes a tawny or copper colour. They are in general lighter than the Mestees, or halfbreed, of the rest of India; those of the superior class who are not exposed to the rays of the sun, and particularly their women of rank, approaching to a great degree of fairness. Did beauty consist in this one quality some of them would surpass our brunettes in Europe. The major part of the females are ugly, and many of them even to disgust, yet there are those among them whose appearance is strikingly beautiful; whatever composition of person, features, and complexion that sentiment may be the result of.

COLOUR NOT ASCRIBABLE TO CLIMATE

The fairness of the Sumatrans comparatively with other Indians, situated as they are under a perpendicular sun where no season of the year affords an alternative of cold, is I think an irrefragable proof that the difference of colour in the various inhabitants of the earth is not the immediate effect of climate. The children of Europeans born in this island are as fair as those born in the country of their parents. I have observed the same of the second generation, where a mixture with the people of the country has been avoided. On the other hand the offspring and all the descendants of the Guinea and other African slaves imported there continue in the last instance as perfectly black as in the original stock. I do not mean to enter into the merits of the question which naturally connects with these observations; but shall only remark that the sallow and adust countenances so commonly acquired by Europeans who have long resided in hot climates are more ascribable to the effect of bilious distempers, which almost all are subject to in a greater or less degree, than of their exposure to the influence of the weather, which few but seafaring people are liable to, and of which the impression is seldom permanent. From this circumstance I have been led to conjecture that the general disparity of complexions in different nations might POSSIBLY be owing to the more or less copious secretion or redundance of that juice, rendering the skin more or less dark according to the qualities of the bile prevailing in the constitutions of each. But I fear such a hypothesis would not stand the test of experiment, as it might be expected to follow that, upon dissection, the contents of a negro's gall-bladder, or at least the extravasated bile, should uniformly be found black. Persons skilled in anatomy will determine whether it is possible that the qualities of any animal secretion can so far affect the frame as to render their consequences liable to be transmitted to posterity in their full force.*

(*Footnote. In an Essay on the Causes of the Variety of Complexion and Figure in the Human Species published at Philadelphia in 1787 the permanent effect of the bilious secretion in determining the colour is strongly insisted upon.)

The small size of the inhabitants, and especially of the women, may be in some measure owing to the early communication between the sexes; though, as the inclinations which lead to this intercourse are prompted here by nature sooner than in cold climates, it is not unfair to suppose that, being proportioned to the period of maturity, this is also sooner attained, and consequently that the earlier cessation of growth of these people is agreeable to the laws of their constitution, and not occasioned by a premature and irregular appetite.

Persons of superior rank encourage the growth of their hand-nails, particularly those of the fore and little fingers, to an extraordinary length; frequently tingeing them red with the expressed juice of a shrub which they call inei, the henna of the Arabians; as they do the nails of their feet also, to which, being always uncovered, they pay as much attention as to their hands. The hands of the natives, and even of the halfbreed, are always cold to the touch; which I cannot account for otherwise than by a supposition that, from the less degree of elasticity in the solids occasioned by the heat of the climate, the internal action of the body by which the fluids are put in motion is less vigorous, the circulation is proportionably languid, and of course the diminished effect is most perceptible in the extremities, and a coldness there is the natural consequence.

HILL PEOPLE SUBJECT TO WENS

The natives of the hills through the whole extent of the island are subject to those monstrous wens from the throat which have been observed of the Vallaisans and the inhabitants of other mountainous districts in Europe. It has been usual to attribute this affection to the badness, thawed state, mineral quality, or other peculiarity of the waters; many skilful men having applied themselves to the investigation of the subject. My experience enables me to pronounce without hesitation that the disorder, for such it is though it appears here to mark a distinct race of people (orang-gunong), is immediately connected with the hilliness of the country, and of course, if the circumstances of the water they use contribute thereto, it must be only so far as the nature of the water is affected by the inequality or height of the land. But in Sumatra neither snow nor other congelation is ever produced, which militates against the most plausible conjecture that has been adopted concerning the Alpine goitres. From every research that I have been enabled to make I think I have reason to conclude that the complaint is owing, among the Sumatrans, to the fogginess of the air in the valleys between the high mountains, where, and not on the summits, the natives of these parts reside. I before remarked that, between the ranges of hills, the kabut or dense mist was visible for several hours every morning; rising in a thick, opaque, and well-defined body with the sun, and seldom quite dispersed till afternoon. This phenomenon, as well as that of the wens, being peculiar to the regions of the hills, affords a presumption that they may be connected; exclusive of the natural probability that a cold vapour, gross to a uncommon degree, and continually enveloping the habitations, should affect with tumors the throats of the inhabitants. I cannot pretend to say how far this solution may apply to the case of the goitres, but I recollect it to have been mentioned that the only method of curing the people is by removing them from the valleys to the clear and pure air on the tops of the hills; which seems to indicate a similar source of the distemper to what I have pointed out. The Sumatrans do not appear to attempt any remedy for it, the wens being consistent with the highest health in other respects.

DIFFERENCE IN PERSON BETWEEN MALAYS AND OTHER SUMATRANS

The personal difference between the Malays of the coast and the country inhabitants is not so strongly marked but that it requires some experience to distinguish them. The latter however possess an evident superiority in point of size and strength, and are fairer complexioned, which they probably owe to their situation, where the atmosphere is colder; and it is generally observed that people living near the seashore, and especially when accustomed to navigation, are darker than their inland neighbours. Some attribute the disparity in constitutional vigour to the more frequent use of opium among the Malays, which is supposed to debilitate the frame; but I have noted that the Limun and Batang Asei gold traders, who are a colony of that race settled in the heart of the island, and who cannot exist a day without opium, are remarkably hale and stout; which I have known to be observed with a degree of envy by the opium-smokers of our settlements. The inhabitants of Passummah also are described as being more robust in their persons than the planters of the low country.

BUSANA

Busana asli orang-orang Sumatra sama dengan yang ditemukan oleh para navigator di kalangan penduduk Kepulauan Laut Selatan, dan umumnya disebut dengan nama busana Otaheitea. Busana tersebut masih dipakai di kalangan orang-orang Rejang untuk busana kerja mereka, dan aku memiliki satu yang aku milik yang didapatkan dari orang-orang tersebut yang terdiri dari jaket, laci pendek, dan penutup kepala. Busana tersebut terbuat dari kulit pohon dalam dari jenis pohon tertentu, yang memiliki tingkat kemurnian, yang memberikan kesempurnaan lainnya karena mirip dengan jenis kulit hewan yang lebih lembut, beberapa nyaris sama dengan kulit anak yang sangat halus; yang sifatnya berbeda dari busana Laut Selatan, karena lebih mirip dengan kertas, atau olahan mesin tenun. Orang-orang daerah kini nyaman dengan sejumlah besar busana Melayu, sehingga aku harus mendeskripsikan di tempat ini, mengamati bahwa lebih banyak kesederhanaan masih timbul di kalangan penduduk, yang memandang orang-orang lainnya menutupi seluruh bagian mereka pada punggung mereka, sementara mereka sebaliknya dipandang oleh orang-orang Melayu sebagai orang-orang tak terjamak.

MAN'S DRESS

A man's dress consists of the following parts. A close waistcoat, without sleeves, but having a neck like a shirt, buttoned close up to the top, with buttons, often of gold filigree. This is peculiar to the Malays. Over this they wear the baju, which resembles a morning gown, open at the neck, but generally fastened close at the wrists and halfway up the arm, with nine buttons to each sleeve. The sleeves, however, are often wide and loose, and others again, though nearly tight, reach not far beyond the elbow, especially of those worn by the younger females, which, as well as those of the young men, are open in front no farther down than the bosom, and reach no lower than the waist, whereas the others hang loose to the knees, and sometimes to the ankles. They are made usually of blue or white cotton cloth; for the better sort, of chintz; and for great men, of flowered silks. The kain-sarong is 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 wide, sewed together at the ends; forming, as some writers have described it, a wide sack without a bottom. This is sometimes gathered up and slung over the shoulder like a sash, or else folded and tucked about the waist and hips; and in full dress it is bound on by the belt of the kris (dagger), which is of crimson silk and wraps several times round the body, with a loop at the end in which the sheath of the kris hangs. They wear short drawers reaching halfway down the thigh, generally of red or yellow taffeta. There is no covering to their legs or feet. Round their heads they fasten, in a particular manner, a fine, coloured handkerchief, so as to resemble a small turban; the country people usually twisting a piece of white or blue cloth for this purpose. The crown of their head remains uncovered except on journeys, when they wear a tudong or umbrella-hat, which completely screens them from the weather.

WOMAN'S DRESS

The women have a kind of bodice, or short waistcoat rather, that defends the breasts and reaches to the hips. The kain-sarong, before described, comes up as high as the armpits, and extends to the feet, being kept on simply by folding and tucking it over at the breast, except when the tali-pending, or zone, is worn about the waist, which forms an additional and necessary security. This is usually of embroidered cloth, and sometimes a plate of gold or silver, about two inches broad, fastening in the front with a large clasp of filigree or chased work, with some kind of precious stone, or imitation of such, in the centre. The baju, or upper gown, differs little from that of the men, buttoning in the same manner at the wrists. A piece of fine, thin, cotton cloth, or slight silk, about five feet long, and worked or fringed at each end, called a salendang, is thrown across the back of the neck, and hangs down before; serving also the purpose of a veil to the women of rank when they walk abroad. The handkerchief is carried either folded small in the hand, or in a long fold over the shoulder. There are two modes of dressing the hair, one termed kundei and the other sanggol. The first resembles much the fashion in which we see the Chinese women represented in paintings, and which I conclude they borrowed from thence, where the hair is wound circularly over the centre of the head, and fastened with a silver bodkin or pin. In the other mode, which is more general, they give the hair a single twist as it hangs behind, and then doubling it up they pass it crosswise under a few hairs separated from the rest on the back of the head for that purpose. A comb, often of tortoise-shell and sometimes filigreed, helps to prevent it from falling down. The hair of the front and of all parts of the head is of the same length, and when loose hangs together behind, with most of the women, in very great quantity. It is kept moist with oil newly expressed from the coconut; but those persons who can afford it make use also of an empyreumatic oil extracted from gum benzoin, as a grateful perfume. They wear no covering except ornaments of flowers, which on particular occasions are the work of much labour and ingenuity. The head-dresses of the dancing girls by profession, who are usually Javans, are very artificially wrought, and as high as any modern English lady's cap, yielding only to the feathered plumes of the year 1777. It is impossible to describe in words these intricate and fanciful matters so as to convey a just idea of them. The flowers worn in undress are for the most part strung in wreaths, and have a very neat and pretty effect, without any degree of gaudiness, being usually white or pale yellow, small, and frequently only half-blown. Those generally chosen for these occasions are the bunga-tanjong and bunga-mellur: the bunga-chumpaka is used to give the hair a fragrance, but is concealed from the sight. They sometimes combine a variety of flowers in such a manner as to appear like one, and fix them on a single stalk; but these, being more formal, are less elegant than the wreaths.

DISTINGUISHING ORNAMENTS OF VIRGINS

Among the country people, particularly in the southern countries, the virgins (anak gaddis, or goddesses, as it is usually pronounced) are distinguished by a fillet which goes across the front of the hair and fastens behind. This is commonly a thin plate of silver, about half an inch broad: those of the first rank have it of gold, and those of the lowest class have their fillet of the leaf of the nipah tree. Beside this peculiar ornament their state is denoted by their having rings or bracelets of silver or gold on their wrists. Strings of coins round the neck are universally worn by children, and the females, before they are of an age to be clothed, have what may not be inaptly termed a modesty-piece, being a plate of silver in the shape of a heart (called chaping) hung before, by a chain of the same metal, passing round the waist. The young women in the country villages manufacture themselves the cloth that forms the body-dress, or kain-sarong, which for common occasions is their only covering, and reaches from the breast no lower than the knees. The dresses of the women of the Malay bazaars on the contrary extend as low as the feet; but here, as in other instances, the more scrupulous attention to appearances does not accompany the superior degree of real modesty. This cloth, for the wear both of men and women, is imported from the island of Celebes, or, as it is here termed, the Bugis country.

KEBIASAAN MENGIKIR GIGI

Baik laki-laki maupun perempuan memiliki kebiasaan mengikir dan merombak hal lainnya terhadap gigi mereka, yang secara alami lebih putih dan indah dari kesederhanaan makanan mereka. Untuk pengikiran, mereka memakai batu asah kecil dari tingkat kemurnian berbeda, dan para pasien membaringkan punggung mereka saat operasi. Kebanyakan orang, terutama wanita daerah Lampong, memiliki gigi yang digosok ke bawah bahkan sampai ke gusi; yang lainnya dibentuk runcing; dan beberapa pengikiran tak lebih dari bagian luar dan ujung, dalam rangka agar mereka lebih baik menerima dan mempertahankan warna kehitamannya hampir secara keseluruhan. Warna hitam yang dipakai pada kebiasaan tersebut adalah minyak empireumatik dari cangkang kelapa. Ketika pengikiran diterapkan, dengan menghancurkan apa yang kami sebut enamel, menghilangkan keputihan gigi, namun pemakaian sirih membuatnya hitam jika luka tak ditindak untuk mencegahnya. Pria besar terkadang memakai emas, dengan memasangkannya, dengan plakat logam, di bawah baris gigi; dan ornamen ini, berseberangan dengan pewarna hitam, dapat sangat menyilaukan ketika didekati lentera atau lilin. Ini terkadang ditujukan untuk membentuk gigi, namun biasanya sangat datar. Mereka tak dapat melepaskannya saat bersantap atau tidur.

Pada usia sekitar delapan atau sembilan tahun, telinga mereka dilobangi dan gigi anak perempuan mereka dikikir; yang merupakaan upacara yang dibutuhkan untuk menggelar perkawinan mereka. Mereka menyebut pelobangan telinga dengan sebutan betende, dan pengikiran gigi dengan sebutan bedabong; dan operasi tersebut dianggap dalam keluarga sebagai kesempatan perayaan. Mereka tak melakukannya disini, sebagaimana di beberapa pulau sekitar (terutama Nias), meningkatkan pelubangan telinga sampai berukuran besar, sehingga sebagaimana dalam beberapa contoh untuk memperbesarnya menggunakan tangan, bagian bawah diperlebar sampai menyentuh pundak. Anting mereka kebanyakan berbahan emas, dan dilakukan tidak dengan jepit, namun dengan bahan paku atau kacang yang dimasukkan ke bagian dalam.