ofthe SAME TREE

through the Singapore Straits, but also southward through the Riau Straits.
Ships sailing on these currents became prey to Orang Laut groups operating
in teams, particularly in the Bolang Straits, although there were many areas in
the islands south of Singapore that provided ideal conditions for Orang Laut
attacks on passing ships. 16
In addition to the treacherous maritime conditions in the region south
of the Straits of Melaka, other dangers faced ships intending to reach the early
Malayu entrepots by entering the mouths of the Musi River in Palembang and
the Batang Hari in Jambi. The Batang Hari was difficult to locate because of
the absence of any prominent landmark and because the mouth was divided
into a number of tributaries flowing through the marshy delta. Only two of
these tributaries enabled large ships to enter, and great skill and knowledge of
the river were necessary to navigate through the many sandbanks that lay close
to the surface. Equally difficult were the conditions on the Musi River. Knowledgeable
native pilots were needed to guide foreign vessels to the principal
settlements located upriver. From early times the Orang Laut were employed
to perform this vital function, and they were strategically positioned not only
to guide ships but also to provide early warning of any intended attack from
the sea. The Orang Laut village of Simpang in Jambi was located some thirty
kilometers (18.6 miles) from the sea at the junction of the two tributaries that
allowed access to the Batang Hari, while in Palembang the Orang Laut village
of Sungsang lay near the mouth of the Musi. 17
The Orang Laut formed the first line of defense for the Johor rulers
whenever they shifted their capitals to the Riau-Lingga archipelagoes, the
home waters of many of Johor’s Orang Laut. 18 An 1857 treaty signed between
the Dutch government and the sultan of Lingga lists some 467 islands as
being under the sultan’s jurisdiction. These numbers increased further in
1864 when other islands, particularly in the archipelagoes in the South China
Sea, were documented by the Dutch for the first time. 19 Many others would
have been left uncounted, either because they were regarded as too small and
insignificant or simply because they were reefs which only emerged at low
tide. Yet the Malayu themselves had special terms to identify differences in the
“islands.” “Tokong” refers to any small islet with only a few or no trees, and
“malang” to rocks that are not totally submerged at high tide. 20 The Orang
Laut would have had even finer distinctions to identify the various “seamarks”
for safe navigation and the search for sea products. In the nineteenth century
only a few main islands in the West Anambas or Jemaja group in the South
China Sea were inhabited and cultivated, while “all the other islands [were]
uninhabited and only visited by the Orang Laut.” 21 This comment reflects the
general view that a sedentary population, preferably involved in agricultural
activity, was necessary for a piece of land to be considered “inhabited.”
178 Chapter 6