The penny press. [volume] (Cincinnati [Ohio]) 1859-1860, 1859-10-07
The Men Monkeys of MaIacca.

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The Men Monkeys of MaIacca.
IHAWdAAH 10 A0OT2 hIhf
A correspondent Of the Boston Traveller
writes from Shanghai an interesting ac-
count Of the inhabitants Of, the Jakoons,
y barbarous people Who inhabit Che into,
ror of Malacca. 10 Their language and
features are Unlike those Of the Malay
proper, of whom they are also politically
independent They Have no history, hay
ing beenRouhd by the, early Portuguese
voyagers in the country in which they
still reside. They are called the Orang-
Bennar, Or '.men of The. great country
the Or9ng; bi,' iof 'inen OF the high
rivers !" the Orang, Hutang, OF, 'men Of
the forests" the Orang-Semang, Or "blaek
men," the Jakoons and Kaiats. Oran is
the MalaSi Word for man; and tan or
Hutang, Tor forest whence the word SO
common with us, Ourang-outang, or wild
men, if men they may be called when
common opinion has assigned them a
rank hardly above monkeys and balloons.
They generally live in houses built Of
bamboo, stisAs andSsuspended to the tops
OF lofty trees, to which they ascend by
rude ladders These cabins, suspended
TO the tree tops, are so narrow that II
stranger cannot be admitted without an
nocyance to ia member of the, family, or
exclusion for one must 90 down
n's ''l', , one comes up. Others who
mnon ue' ~, -" these aerial abodes-
ess nests, III not t''to for 'S fqs Hsa-5son
struct huts raised two or thre. ieee ao9'o s
the ground. B The fkst story ser~s lor
lodging, where they eat and sleep, by tie
5ide of fire alwnyskept brightly burning,
il order to frighten away the tigers and
other wildsbeasts @shich lala tho, forests.
In the second story they put their arms
for safety, ,theiy provisions and kitchen
utensils, all CT which are comprised in
pixies, cartRsenpots, arid one ortwo great
China bowls
They eat whatever comes to hand, as
wild bears, apes and birds, which last are
taken either in snares or shot by arrows,
and the roots and tubers which the earth
produces in abundance. If they plant
rice, it is onlyienough to meet their abso'
lutte wants, Instead of regular labor,
they prefer the fatiguiug adventures of
the chase, and running among the woods
Their cuisine is of the lowest order, their
lavorite dish being slices of meat half
cooked, and still reeking with blood.
Their weddings are preceded by a most
singular and ludicrous ceremony An
old man presents thelfuture husband and
wife to a large assemblase of invited
guests, whom she conducts, followed by
their respective families, into a grand
circle, around which the young lady, the
bride, sets oiit running upon all fours, and
the young man who is the bridegroom in
the same style after her If he succeeds
in overtaking her she becomes his wife
if not hslforfeits all his rights, and Gloves
labor is lost. -" This often happens when
the bridegroom fails of pleasing the young
lady, who endeavors to escape from the
embraces of distasteful or odious hus-
band by beating him in this queer trot-
ing match.
Upon the death Of one of their number
they wrap his body in white winding
sheet, ahd then deposit it in grave dug
near his hut, sometimes in an erect
position, sometimes sitting and some
times lying down. They are careful to
put lance at his side, a "parang" and a
''sumpitan," their instruments of hunting
and of war, but never use any religious
ceremony Still, these weapons placed
by the side of the corpse indicate shad-
0wy belief in future existence.
Their religion is a confused mass of the
grossest sapers.itions, propagated by the
payans, d kind of priest, who are halt
physicians. and half jugglers. Their
magical science is in great esteem with
the Malays The singular kind of life
they lead, the popularity of their costume
and the long intervals of their appearance e
among the people, secure for them o GER
tain prestige and respect Seen from
alar, and through mysterious veil, they
pass for be ings endowed with superhu.
man power, to whom the plants and roots
of the forest have revealed their most Sc
cret virtues. In word, they are believed
to hold in their hands the power of CON
ferring health orinfioting death. In &C
cordance with this belief, the Malays arr
careful not to provoke their ill-will.
Naturally the .Jakoons are of an oper
and inGenalbus disposition, and withal in
clinedit0 gaiety. To the appearance o.
timidity they join the independence Of {
life without control, spent in the midst o
thick forests and everlasting verdure Re
spectfu1, without being servile, in eonver
sation they use an abrupt and violent ton,
of y9ieS which strongly contrasts witt
their habitual genSleress and modesty
They love strong liquors and get intoxi
Gated whenever they have an oppol
tunity. "a sStsSgse'E'. t8se 't4gE &
1t is honorable to the zeal Of the Cath
olic priest, that they have q missionary
who Notwithstanding the low rank Q
these peuplein the scale Of humanity, tn
wide territory over which they are sea-
terd, and the thick forests which it is nj
cessary to penetrate to reach them, an
the absence of all roads, while ferociou
wild beasts are thick at every STEP. is Ii
boring among them, and makes his hom
& Such sii ns 4bs people. in whom orisi,
ated the idea and the stories about the o.
rang outang-"thsJ man of the forests"
N -4T-if -------4sr---s g
When is the last fabhood Of a COZ
6rmed liar heard?1 When he ''lies"