Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
troducing the subject he has come expressly to discuss. These are the main features of his
moral nature, and exhibit themselves in every action of his life.
Children and women are timid, and scream and run at the unexpected sight of a European.
In the company of men they are silent, and are generally quiet and obedient. When alone the
Malay is taciturn; he neither talks nor sings to himself. When several are paddling in a ca-
noe, they occasionally chant a monotonous and plaintive song. He is cautious of giving of-
fence to his equals. He does not quarrel easily about money matters; dislikes asking too fre-
quently even for payment of his just debts, and will often give them up altogether rather
than quarrel with his debtor. Practical joking is utterly repugnant to his disposition; for he is
particularly sensitive to breaches of etiquette, or any interference with the personal liberty of
himself or another. As an example, I may mention that I have often found it very difficult to
get one Malay servant to waken another. He will call as loud as he can, but will hardly
touch, much less shake his comrade. I have frequently had to waken a hard sleeper myself
when on a land or sea journey.
The higher classes of Malays are exceedingly polite, and have all the quiet ease and dig-
nity of the best-bred Europeans. Yet this is compatible with a reckless cruelty and contempt
of human life, which is the dark side of their character. It is not to be wondered at, therefore,
that different persons give totally opposite accounts of them—one praising them for their
soberness, civility, and good-nature; another abusing them for their deceit, treachery, and
cruelty. The old traveller Nicolo Conti, writing in 1430, says: 'The inhabitants of Java and
Sumatra exceed every other people in cruelty. They regard killing a man as a mere jest; nor
is any punishment allotted for such a deed. If any one purchase a new sword, and wish to try
it, he will thrust it into the breast of the first person he meets. The passers-by examine the
wound, and praise the skill of the person who inflicted it, if he thrust in the weapon direct.'
Yet Drake says of the south of Java: 'The people (as are their kings) are a very loving, true,
and just-dealing people;' and Mr. Crawfurd
*
says that the Javanese, whom he knew thor-
oughly, are 'a peaceable, docile, sober, simple, and industrious people.' Barbosa,
†
on the
other hand, who saw them at Malacca about 1660, says: 'They are a people of great ingenu-
ity, very subtle in all their dealings; very malicious, great deceivers, seldom speaking the
truth; prepared to do all manner of wickedness, and ready to sacrifice their lives.'
The intellect of the Malay race seems rather deficient. They are incapable of anything
beyond the simplest combinations of ideas, and have little taste or energy for the acquire-
ment of knowledge. Their civilization, such as it is, does not seem to be indigenous, as it is
entirely confined to those nations who have been converted to the Mahometan or Brahmin-
ical religions.
