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

49, ~ IClONllI VI lie
Tartar; the trading enterprise of the
Chinese ; and IN contrast with all this, the
wild savagery Of the Puttooa of the Hima-
laya-nay, 1t Is a savagery lower than any
OF Dahomey or Bechuana. There is in
Sumatra all the contrast between a richly
ornamented dwelling. lacquered, vanished
and maid with precious things, with in
mates robbed in silks, fine muslins gems
and exquisite flagree Of gold and on the
other hand, at the other end Of the scale of
hunan condition a wild beasts lair of leaves,
the lodging of Kubu, and other untamed
humanity, on this great island.
When we pass to the still greater island
of Borneo, we find still more novelty in
human variety. We find the slender and
alert Malay as prince and noble. at Bruno,
at Banyar Massing, at Sambas, Pontianak,
and all the chief points commanding this
insular continent. Undsr his sway is the
light brown. thick set Dayak, one OF the
c~ruelest, and yet one of the most promising
Of savages. The Dayak has not invented
any alphabets, as several peoples Of Su-
maria have lone he has no written account
of anything no decorated mansion no
costly array he is a strong, brave savage,
like a Kaffir, or a Feejee. and terrible TO
shed blood. The man of Borneo tolls and
hunts, not for plumber or fame, but SIMPLY
for blood and human heads. A lodge full
of smoked human heads is a true Dayak's
chief desire. He says the souls that ami
mated the heads will be his willing and
faithful slaves IN the heaven Of the Dayak
imagination. They will also be slaves to
those he loves and hence a CORY head is a
Dyakis choicest bridal Gie. Srch a biiou is
ever irresistible with a Dyak maiden, anu
will cause her TO refuse the attentions of a
youth with hands yet unstained with his
fellow mortal's hearts blood. The Dyak
hunts for his celestial slaves among weaker
and still wilder tribes of the interior of the
great island. but mostly among the poor,
timid people Of the neighboring islets. Now
the Dayak will try to convince you that
there is a salvation in being beheaded, and
enter with him his paradise. He will thus
decapitate his poor neighbor for love, for the
neighbor's good, to help people TO his para
disc; and hence the Bornean butchery is all
for the sake of the Bornean heaven. With
some change in his theology, the Bornean zeal
and energy, and utter disinterestednes in
matter of earthly gam, could be cultured up
to a high point of civilization. The Dayak
does not love war for wars sake, like the
Malay. Next to heal hunting, he loves to
exercise his mechanical skill, and it is great.
He is the best mechanic of Malaysia. The
Dayak makes surprising cutlery, and he
has the best iron in the world, the most
strongly magnetic, for the purpose. The
Bornean swords are acquiring a world wide
fame. They have a temper keener than the
famous blades of Damascus and Toledo. |
have seen, | have handled a cutlass of Dayak
make that would chop up a quarter-lnch
iron bar like a rattan, and it is a common
test to strike a Dayak dirk point not only
through one, but through three silver dollars
at once, without in either case edge or
point being turned. Many of these tren-
chant blades in the hands of British officers,
were in use at lnkeIman and Balaclava /;
and it has been observed by recent authori-
ties that Ddyak sword blades for the use of
European officers have become a nA.ireabie
article of export from sins por The
Dayak is a fabricator of other things-of
nicely adjusted armor for the body of the
curious sumpit OF blow gun for small game
of marvellous urns, that are alleged TO utter
~oracular sounds and other things show his
mechanical turn. He shows aptitude for
quick improvement. Sir James Brook, the
Rajah of Sarawak, commends the bloody
Bornean for his docility and teachability,
and thinks that he will surpass the New
Zealander in Development so that by and
by, IT is expected, the Dayak will manufac-
ture the pianos and steam ngIne of
Malaysia and at the same time very likely
be the most jealous new light p%ropagandist
of OceaEica.
Quite another variety is offered in Cele-
bes. See what a curious group of penin-
sulas it is. with a coast line longer than that
of the United States and Territories.
Crawford says that it has a coast line ex-
ceeding three thousand miles, and what an
interesting variety of humanity this line iu-
closes. The Wujees, the chief race, darker
and stouter than the Malays, are the mer-
chants of Malaysia veritable mercantile
republic. like the old commercial Italian
States. Their prahus issue from an interior
lake, Labaya. descend the Chinrana river,
and 60 forth TO ransack every coast OF the
Archipelago for pearls, birds of paradise
feathers, tripang, tortoise shell, sandal wood,
nut megs, cloves. massey, cardamums, IVORY,
gold. silver. apes, rare birds-all the Won
derful variety of this most surprising region
of rare products, to carry them to European
emporia in India, to exchange for the manu-
features of Europe and America. which by
these enterprising Wujees COR Bughis, as
called by Europeans,) are distributed among
the isles from Sumatra TO Papua. They
will bring cargoes into Singapore worth
from S25, 600 to $4,000. The Wujees
have an olIgarchy of hereditary " banners "
or mobiles and they of their number choose
a sovereign who is jealousy restricted as
was the old Doge of Venice. The Wujees
have Il maritime code, the admiration of
European observers IN the Archipelago.
They have abundant laws and penalties.
They are strict conservatives, cherishing
peace for trades sake, and making all things
religion. or war, or art, subservient to trade.
They have invented letters have SOM
literature worthy of our consideration and
accumulate wealth in strong, cemented dwell
ings, that vie in many respects with those
of Caucasian civilization, and yet owe moth
ing to 1t.
What a contrast again, when we turn 10
Mindanao, as big as Pennsylvania, the home
of the Lanuns, the protested corsairs of
Malaysia. These are the cruelest and most
alert of Malays their study is plumber /;
their work is the shedding of human blood.
This IS not an occasional pursuit, but the