Pagan races of the Malay Peninsula - Sabrizain.org

CHAP. Ill GENERAL REMARKS 57
while it varies in degree apparently from tribe to
tribe, is certainly remarkable, although in their case,
too, it appears to be considered compatible with con-
siderable freedom before marriage.
Of the Jakun ceremonies, that ofeating together from
the same dish is one which is found throughout South-
eastern Asia. But the most remarkable part of all
these customs are the Jakun {i.e. Malayan) " marriage
carnival " and the unique race round the mound or
"ant hill," for which, among some branches of the
Sea Tribes, a race in canoes is sometimes substituted.
The peculiar shape of the mound, which has come
down from an entirely unknown origin, may perhaps
be held to show that the mound ceremony is the
older form of this peculiar rite, but in any case we
have here a custom which will assuredly repay any
student of ethnography who decides to work out the
entire question for himself.
The effect of intermarriage between Malays and
aboriginal women is one which at first would hardly
be expected, viz., that it is the higher race— the
Malay — that is chiefly affected by it. This fact,
however strange it may seem, is clearly brought out
by Logan, who, in writing of the Benua, observes that
many of the Malays had Benua wives, who of course
became converts to Islam. The Benua on their part
were debarred from seeking wives amongst the Malays,
and this must always have had considerable influence
in checking the natural growth of population. The
first Malay adventurers were probably more numerous
in males than females. In many places the Chinese
tend to absorb the Malays in their turn. The more
civilised and wealthy races thin those below them of
their women, and necessity drives the latter to make