Pagan races of the Malay Peninsula - Sabrizain.org

S6o DEALINGS WITH OTHER RACES i>art ii
of Bengal, of Sumatra, and of Siam ;
these
are the
boundaries of their knowledge in geography. Their
science in astronomy is yet more limited ; they see
the sun rise and set every day ;
times appears, sometimes not ;
they
that the moon some-
use the light of
the heavenly bodies when present, and sleep when it
is dark, but they have never noticed or inquired about
the course of the stars ;
they scarcely know how many
days go to the duration of a moon, nor how many moons
go to a year. They are not at all aware even of their
own age, or of that of their children ; such observations
appear to them mere superfluities as being not re-
quired in their way of living.^ Their ignorance of
such matters, however, may be less surprising when
we remember that those of the Malays themselves
who live in the interior of the Peninsula are not
aware of all these things, and that on these subjects
many of them are no better informed than the Jakun.
A thing in which the Jakun (especially those of the
Menangkabau States) are truly skilled, is the art of
using the blowpipe and poisoned arrows ;
^
as has been
pointed out in speaking of their weapons. They have
no knowledge of writing, nor do they make use of
any symbolical signs.
Both the intellectual faculties of the Jakun and the
knowledge they evince are very limited ; the reason
of which is probably, however, not so much the defect
of their intelligence itself, as the want of the necessary
means to develop it. The Jakun are indeed very
ignorant, but are also certainly capable of acquire-
1 "The Jakun are entirely ignorant the decimal calculation, the natural
of the first principles of mathematics, indigitation, is adopted by them in
nor do they know tlie simplest rules of ordinary use."—Newbold, ii. 394.
arithmetic. The mathematical instru- - J. I, A. vol. ii. p. 251.
ment which probably gave origin to
1