The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1881-01-15


And one to pick my head.
That is good enough.
kubu wants no more.
Contented and philosophic Kubu he is
like the Grecian sage, who having contem-
plated the vanity of the superluities of CIV
ilizatiGn, had dispensed with every appliance
of mans invention, except a small drinking
cup and after time, discovering that it was
simpler process to drink at once from the
stream, rejoiced in his freedom, as he threw
away the cup, from every artificial %contriv-
ance, whether for clothing, lodging or SUBJ
slstence. And so this Grecian's modern
prototype of Sumatra ~rejoices that o hand
spins for his back, no skin of beast is dress
ed for his feet, no lodging engrosses his
care, that he fears no incendiary, that
matches were invented in vain for him, as
he devours the reptile whilst yet it wriggles
in his hand, that neither creeds nor lands
lead him to war on his fellow beings but
rejoicing in the shade of the warringin, in
the dprian's pungent pulp, this philosopher
of SUmatra sways content in the tree-tops,
unthinking of the broad world, and would be
utterly careless how it wags, were he not
disturbed by his silken-coated. jewelled
Malay brother, the appropriate Valentine to
this Orson of theIndian Isles. The Malay,
the proud, the rich. the conquering Malay,
disturbs the poor Kubu, to catch him far the
uses of his poor body and also disturbs
him TO get some precious gum, that the
kubu forest alone has ever contained. The
Kubu home is in a wilderness of morass,
partly a moving quagmire, and impenetrable
by ordinary locomotion to man or beast. The
laborious Dutch, long c~oveting a nearer ac-
cess to the precious gum, which is the
hep2aln. or f~ranklncenSe, have contemplated,
but to this day dreadeui, the enormous labor
and cost of canalling, so as to gain access to
the interior of this =" dismal swamp" of the
Archipelago. The Kubu passes from tree to
tree, and picks up the spontaneously exuded
Jumps and strips of this resin, so famed in
ancient as we'll as in modern times. and is
the chief ingredient for incense in Catholic
worship. and all other ceremonial worship
throughout the world. The civilized Malay
gets it for in this wise He pro-
ceeds with a company to some point on the
borders of this swamp jungle. A great out-
cry is made with gongs and other noisy in
struments. After being kept up for a few
hours, the company retires but before do
ing so, leave some bits of colored glass, some
strips of bright colored cloth, whose glaring
hues attract and please the kubu The poor
hunted wretcheS, creeping cautiously and
stealthily forth, pick up the colored trifes
deposited by the traders, and deposit, in re-
turn for them. Jumps of the odoriferous gum
of their forests. Beers says, "De neder-
legds artt6elen ~athalen, en- Aggen meer
dan de aodartle IN de pluats neder." [
rudimentary of our kind, as we'll as of all
the varieties of the archipelago, under other
aspects, religious, governmental and social.
Rnf w, bavo q Olinp in THE Slirhf Skotch
of the most curious human mosaic that any
region of this globe can present. You be-
hold such extremes, such varieties, and yet
so fitted to blend, that there might be formed
out of it a very orderly structure, a SYM
metric pyramid of human organization. At
the apex, the governing, organizing Malay,
appropriately takes his place; then the agri-
cultural Javanese, the manufacturing Dayak,
and the commercial Wuiee make up the
chief body of the structure !; whilst the timid
Alfuran. the wild. woody Papuan, and the
hairy, and still wilder kubu find their places
In the mud and drudgery of the base. 1t
seems like a veritable hierarchy of race. If
you want a king or a president, you find the
best material in a true, royal Malay OF CEN
trail Sumatra. Little Bali would furnish a
general and good military officers. An ad-
miral and seaman must be sought among the
Lanuns. Java and Celebes will provide
farmers and traders the Dayak will furnish
the cutlery and cam5rics, whilst poor kubu
or Papuan, having no notions Of government
or property, is best content, if he must leave
his wild beast lair, to be the willing slave of
some paternal-hearted, civilizing master.
There is a goodly number of peoples to
make up this archipeIngian organization.
One million and d half of true Malays,
enough to be mobiles and priests. Eleven
millions of Javdnese farmers, and it would
be we'll that they were double. Half a mil
lion of Wuiee traders. and quite a plenty.
About two millions of Dyak mechanics, a
good proportion. One million of Lanum
pirates, who will make as good a
ial marine by and by, as ever thieving
Mortimer of Europe, did. Some ten mil
lions of Balinese. Timorese, Banca tribes
Ceramese, Moluccans. BiSsayans, and num-
erous others of different kinds of pursuits /;
and lastly, three millions of Papuans,
Semangs, Jskuns, AIfurans, Gugus and
Kubus-th the poor mud stills of the isles
TO be productive property or idly
summing, tree swinging, head picking pariahs
of the Ia nd-nonchalant loafers of a heaven
dreaming civilization. There are about
thirty millions of souls in all this broad
Archipelago and what they do, and are fit
ted for, of all their history, wars, creeds,
loves and wanderings, and what their
islands produce in their wonderful exube-
rance of all things, ! shall endeavor TO speak
of on another occasion.