Pagan races of the Malay Peninsula - Sabrizain.org

172
HABITATIONS
The last type of dwelling—and by no means the
least interesting one—to find a place in these pages
is that of the old " Orang Laut " of Singapore and
Johor. These once most formidable pirates (who at
that time dwelt exclusively in their boats) were the
only inhabitants of the island of Singapore (which has
now a population of over 200,000) on the memorable
day of February (1819) when Sir Stamford Raffles
landed to make a city out of what was then a mere
desolate mangrove swamp. Contemporary and more
recent writers give us a picture of the " Orang Laut,"
and the extraordinarily restricted quarters in which they
lived. Huddled up in a small boat, measuring scarcely
twenty feet in length, they found all the domestic
comfort of which they were in need. At one end was
the hearth, in the centre their few utensils, and at the
other end, beneath a matwork awning, not exceeding
six feet in length, was the sleeping apartment of a
family that often counted five or six, together with a
cat and a dog. Under this awning they found shelter
from the tropical rains and heats alike, from the time
of their birth to the grave.'
I.
—
Semang.
The Rock-shelter.
Kedah Semang. — The Semang are almost in-
eradicably nomadic, have no fixed habitations, and rove
about like the beasts of the forest.^ The wilder ones
seldom stay more (they informed me) than three days
1 See Crawfurd, Descr. Diet., s.v. "Malay Peninsula."
2 /. /. A. vol. iv. pp. 425. 426.