Volume 14 Australasia - dana ward's homepage

IXHABITAXTS OF SUMATRA. 95camphor, for the produce of which the Chinese formerly paid its weight in gold ;from this region Europe also received its first consignments of gutta-percha {getapertja), of which famQy there are scTeral varieties. Sumatra was also probablj- thecentre of dispersion of the cinnamon j)lant, of which it possesses ten species, alarger number than occurs in any other region.The Sumatran fauna differs even more than its flora from that of the neighbouringisland. It possesses the orang-utan, confined however to a district onthe north-east coast, besides other remarkable apes, such as the galeopithecus, orflving lemur. The elephant, exterminated in Java, is still common in thenorthern jungle, where, according to the natives, two quite distinct species arefound. The small species of rhinoceros met in the Sumatran forests also differsfrom the large Javanese variety ; but, notwithstanding the statement of Marsden,the hippopotamus does not appear to be a member of the Sumatran fauna, which,including domestic animals, comprises, according to Hagen, sixty species ofmammals and one hundred and twenty of birds.Inhabitants ofSumatra.The Malay populations of Sumatra are diversely intermingled with otherelements presenting considerable contrasts in the different pro^-inces in theirsocial usages and degrees of culture. Thus the Achinese, or people of Atjeh, inthe extrtme north, regard themselves as a nation quite distinct from the otherislandei's.Their nobles claim Arab descent, and really seem to be of mixed origin.For the five centuries preceding the arrival of the Portuguese, the trade ofIndonesia was largely in the hands of the Arabs, who intermarried with the nativewomen. B3' the end of the twelfth century the kingdom of Atjeh had embracedIslam, and later became a centre of Moslem activity, with its theologians, whocultivated Arabic letters, and its sectaries, who preached a new pantheistic creed,dying for their faith like the martjTS of the western world.Although in recent times Arab influence has much diminished, the Achinesehave preserved numerous usages introduced by their instructors ;and their Malaydialect, written in the Arabic character, has been affected by many foreignelements. The nobles wear the flowing robs and turban, like the merchants ofJeddah, although the women do not go veiled.The Achinese, to whom the virtues of courage and industry are not denied,are stigmatised as cruel and treacherous, like all peoples who dare to defend theirliberties.Skilful agriculturists, they raise heavy crops of rice and sweet potatoes,deriving from the soU the resources which have enabled them to maintain thestruggle against the Dutch for fifteen years.Like the Hindus and Indo-Chinese,they are said to have succeeded in taming the elephant,employing him as a beastof burden. They also display much skill in working the precious metals, and assilk and cotton weavers, and construct solid vessels with which thny carry on anextensive traffic with the surrounding lands, and occasionally scour the seas asdreaded corsairs. The chief centres of their trade bcvond Sumatra are Pcnau^