Pagan races of the Malay Peninsula - Sabrizain.org

CHAP. VIII NEGRITOS OF KEDAH 379
Other Arts arid Crafts.
Other kinds of arts and crafts practised by these
tribes will be found in other parts of this book, e.g.
the building of houses and leaf-shelters in the chapter
on Habitations, the making of blowpipes and bows in
the chapter on Weapons and Implements, the art of
cooking as known to the Semang in the chapter on
Food, personal ornaments under Dress, the construc-
tion of traps and implements required for the chase
or for fishing in the chapter on Hunting, Fishing, and
Trapping, the art of agriculture in the chapter on
Cultivation, and Decorative Art under the chapter
so named.
I.
—
Semang.
Geiieral hidustry.
Kedah Semang-.—The Negritos that I visited at
Siong in Kedah were very lazy workers, but as it was
harvest-time (the one season of the year when they
are most free from the pressure of want), they were
having just then an easy time of it. None the less
they are certainly the best and most skilful hunters in
the Peninsula, and, as a rule, made traps and weapons,
collected the poison from the Upas tree and applied it
to their darts, and when game failed, went out after
" yielded another writing material, above in y. K. A. S., Jan. 1902, p. 232,
little suspected among a Buddhist remarks that these leather documents
l)opul;ition with an Indian civilisation. will probably prove to date from the
About two dozen Kharosthi documents second century A.D. , and quotes a
on leather, mostly dated and appar- notice of an Indian official letter on
ently of official nature, prove that the parchment sent to Augustus in Strabo,
Budtlhists of this region had as little xv. 72, 73, given by M 'Crindlc, in
objection to the use of leather for writ- .Attcient India as described in Classical
ing purposes as the pious Brahmans /.ifera/ure (igoi), p. 77.
of old Kashmir had to the leather bind- For similar traditions (to that in the
ings of their Sanskrit codices." Mr. text) :. p. 347 of vol. ii.
Vincent A. Smith, in reporting the