Pagan races of the Malay Peninsula - Sabrizain.org

6o RACIAL AFFINITIES part
with respect to the more ancient races of the Southern and South - Eastern
Islands of the Malay Sea. Just as in these islands I could point out a broad
zone of wavy-haired people between the spiral-haired Melanesians and the straight-
haired Malays, so, too, in Malacca the wavy -haired Sakai race (Blandas)
appears to have established itself between the spiral-haired Negritos (Semang)
of the North and the lank- [straff) haired [Jakuns and] Malays of the South
and of most of the coast districts. For the islanders I have again adopted
for this race the old and certainly much-misused name of Alfuros. It follows
that the near relationship of the Sakai (Blandas) to the Alfuros might be inferred
from this evidence.
Of the insular Alfuros I remarked that, in respect of their hair-character, they
connect up with the Australians on the one hand and the Veddas of Ceylon on
the other. Perhaps, therefore, the Sakai ("wild men ") of Malacca might be
regarded as Dra\'idians. However, we are precluded from regarding them as
entirely identical, owing to the fact that the Sakai (Blandas) are inclined to be
brachycephalic, whereas these other races are dolichocephalic. ^ This raises new
questions, which can only be decided by further information.
The Colour of the Skiti.^
According to Vaughan- Stevens, the Sakai (Blandas) of the present time (like
the western or domesticated ("tame" Semang) offernearly as great a diversity of
colour as the Malays.
The Sakai is lighter than the Semang, and seems to be more affected by
heat than the latter (v., however, supra).
Among the Sakai (Blandas), whose colour varies, he (V.-St.) saw nothing
that could support the theory that, among a number of individuals, those with
darker skins stood exposure better on the march. On the other hand, in this
thickly wooded country one cannot walk far without coming into the protection
of the shade of the forest.
The Sakai (Blandas) prefer the lighter colour, and are proud of faircoloured
children, in which they possibly follow the Malay view. But in olden
times the light colour was not an attribute of their chiefs.^
He could not find that there was any relation between a coarse or fine skin
texture and its colour, when the coarseness of the skin is not the result of special
exposure, or of a disease.
He found among the vSakai (Blandas), when no skin disease was present, no
other smell than that which is ever to be observed in cases where the activity of
the skin is suppressed, and no cleansing material, such as soap, etc., is employed ;
for the splashing of water over the body rather answers the purpose of refreshing,
than that of cleansing, the skin.
The eyes of the Sakai (Blandas) are all alike, and Vaughan-Stevens observed
no deviation from shades Nos. i or 2.^
1 There can, however, now be little in small numbers between brachydoubt
arising from this particular cephalic Negritos as well as brachy-
difificulty, in view of the fact that cephalic Malayan tribes,
in the purest strain of Sakai blood * V. B. G. A. xxiii. (Virchow) 847.
dolichocephaly has been shown to ^ Z.f.E. xxix. (V.-St.) 174-176.
obtain. The original dolichocephalic * This statement of Vaughan-Stevens
character of the Sakai appears to have is, I believe, without foundation,
been modified owing to their isolation ^ Virchow in V. B. G. A. xxiii. 840.
^