Pagan races of the Malay Peninsula - Sabrizain.org

CHAP. VI GENERAL REMARKS 243
Upon a stick." Elsewhere (p. 331) the same writer
speaks of finding (in the same locality) " a number of
sharpened stones, serving the purpose of knives." Hut
both statements are far too vague to base any con-
clusions upon.
Again, we have the statement of Vaughan-Stevens
to the effect that a tribe of Negritos (whom he terms
*' Orang Pangan," and assigns to the district that
he calls No. 2) informed him that they had formerly
been in the habit of using stone weapons ;
and
that
they made, at his request, wooden models of these very
implements. He adds, moreover, that the Pangan
" recognised " some stone implements which he showed
them as their " old work-tools." Unfortunately, how-
ever, it does not appear whether he showed these stone
implements to the Pangan before or after the models
were made ;
but the former would probably have been
the case, and at all events Vaughan-Stevens' own editor
very properly points out that a scrutiny of these models
shows them to be identical in shape with iron tools of
the Malay type still in use in the Peninsula.^
Lastly, one of the facts that has been much relied
upon, viz. that aboriginal (non-Malay) names exist for
' In the passage referreti lo,\'aughan- stone tools, it transpired that they no
Stevens remarks that it had been especi- longer possessed any, but "from their
ally interesting to find that the Pangan traditional knowledge'' they at once
knew that their ancestors had emjiloyed manufactured some wooden models,
stone weapons before they obtained \'aughan- Stevens, however, possesseil
iron from the Siamese {sic). Vaughan- three or four genuine stone imple-
Stevens was not, however, able to ments, and, without saying a worti.
properly establish this fact until he laid them before the Snahut, who at
had been formally received into the once exclaimeil, "Those are Menik '"
tribe. When he asked the Pangan {i.e. "Those belong to the P.ingan ").
what tools they had used in ancient Other Pangan, moreover (later, and in
times, before they could obtain the other places), recognised these implc-
Malayan chopper ("parang") — since ments as their "old work - tools'
they themselves did not know how to (Vaughan-Stevens, iii. 99). But see
work iron —they at once replied that
they had used stone. On Vaughanalso
p. 437, w. 2, /;//;vr, where the teeth
of Ramboo-rats arc mentioned as being
Stevens further inquiring after such used before the introduction of iron.