[104] The pukuta yemnga, a shield-shaped piece of wood, placed with the narrow end in the ground. Andamanese songs are in solos and choruses, the latter invariably sung by both sexes if available, and are accompanied by a dance, which takes place in the evening and at night, in the jungle, when both men and women quite lose themselves in the excitement.

Specimens of Andamanese songs:—

(1) "From the country of the Yerewas the moon rose; it came near; it was very cold,—I sat down." Chorus.—"I sat down."

(2) "Maia Poro saw a big turtle in the water, and hit him in the eye. Poro laughed when he hit him in the eye." Chorus.—"Poro laughed when he hit him in the eye."

(3) "I am cutting the under-part of a canoe's prow. I am cutting a canoe." Chorus.—"I am cutting a canoe."

—Vide "Andamanese Music," by M. V. Portman, Jour. Royal Asiatic Soc., 1888.

[105] Vide Appendix D.

[106] Vide Appendix E.

[107] Orange Pekoe and Pekoe Souchong.

[108] The foregoing information relating to the convict system and the progress of the Settlement is extracted from addresses by the Chief Commissioner (Lieutenant-Colonel R. C. Temple) to the Andaman Commission; vide Supplements, Andaman and Nicobar Gazette, July 1897, and February 1901.

[109] After Mr E. H. Man.

[110] Vide Appendix H.

[111] "All along this great line of volcanoes are to be found more or less palpable signs of upheaval and depression of land...; upraised coral-rock, exactly corresponding to that now forming in adjacent seas...; unaltered surfaces of the elevated reefs, with great masses of coral standing up in their natural position, and hundreds of shells, so fresh-looking that it was hard to believe that they had been more than a few years out of the water.

"The width of the volcanic belts is about 50 miles; but, for a space of 200 on each side of them, evidences of subterranean action are to be found in recently elevated coral rock or in barrier coral reefs, indicating recent submergence."—Cf. "Andamans," The Malay Archipelago, A. R. Wallace, pp. 5, 6.

[112] Vide paper on the "Geology of the Nicobars," by F. von Hochstetter, translated by Dr Stoliczka, Proc. Geol. Survey, India.

[113] Vide p. 137.

[114] Sir Henry Yule.

[115] Vide translation by the Abbé Renaudet, in Pinkerton's Collection of Travels, p. 183.

[116] "Travels, A.D. 1315-1330," Hakluyt Library.

[117] Extractes of Master Cæsar Frederike: his Eighteen Yeeres' Indian Observations. Purchas: his Pilgrimes, vol. ii., p. 1710.

[118] Hakluyt Library.

[119] Purchas: his Pilgrimes, vol. i., p. 123.

[120] Lancaster's "Three Voyages to the East Indies," Hakluyt Library.

[121] Koeping, Stockholm, 1743.

[122] Pinkerton's Collection of Voyages.

[123] H. Busch's Journal of a Cruise round the Nicobars.

[124] Corvetten Galathea's Jordourseiling, Steen Bille, 2 vols., Kjöbenhaven, 1852.

[125] Voyage of the Novara, Dr Karl Scherzer, 3 vols., London, 1862.

[126] "The people of Kar Nicobar have a tradition among them, that several canoes came from Andaman many years ago, and that the crews were all armed, and committed great depredations, and killed several of the Nicobarians."—Hamilton, Asiatic Researches, vol. ii.

[127] Achin, at the north-west extremity of the neighbouring island of Sumatra, appears to have been for ages before the arrival of Europeans the great mart for the Telingu traders, who, probably as early as 2000 B.C., carried from the Malay Peninsula the tin used by the Egyptians in making their bronze implements.

[128] "Commercial intercourse was maintained from a very early date between the South of India and the trading towns which formed the emporia of the spice islands, notably Johor, Singapore, and Malacca. When the Portuguese, at the commencement of the sixteenth century, first visited these places, they were amazed at the concourse of foreign vessels assembled there. When this intercourse began it is impossible to say, but it was probably much earlier than the above. Snouck-Hurgronje, writing of Acheh, says that the settlement of Klings from Southern India in that country is of great antiquity; and that the Tamils were the leaders in this commercial enterprise in Malaya is clearly shown by the pure Tamil words,—chiefly connected with commerce, though not altogether so,—which have found their way into Malay.... The Malay for 'ship,' kapal, is pure Tamil ... the pure Tamil padagu, 'boat,' may reasonably be taken to be the parent of the Malay prahu. If this be so, it would seem as if the Tamils first introduced the Malays to even the most elementary navigation, and, as they gave them kapal, taught them to 'go down to the sea in ships.' ... They do not seem to have settled down or intermixed with the Malays to any great extent,—not certainly so much as in Acheh, where considerable colonies of Tamils took up their abode. Their object being merely commerce, they went as they came, returning year by year as the monsoon favoured."—"Southern India and the Straits," W. A. O'Sullivan, Jour. Straits Branch Royal Asiatic Soc., No. 36, July 1901.

[129] Vide pp. 235, 236, of A Naturalist's Wanderings in the Eastern Archipelago, by H. O. Forbes; London, Sampson Low, 1885.

[130] Jour. Royal Geog. Soc., 1899, p. 288.

[131] "Those that are of a permanent character sometimes partake of the same bee-hive form which commonly marks the dwellings of the coast people, being in like manner raised on posts 6 or 8 feet above the ground."—E. H. Man, Jour. Anthrop. Inst., vol. xv.

[132] Ficus brevicuspis.

[133] A similar ornament is worn in Sumatra, and also among the Dyaks and Punans in Borneo; vide Carl Bock's Headhunters, plates 10 and 21.

[134] "Each community of the tribe appears to possess a dialect more or less distinct, but this is what might be expected when we consider the isolation of the several encampments and the difficulty of inter-communication, apart even from the hostile relations in which they stand towards one another."—E. H. Man, Jour. Anthrop. Inst., vol. xv.

[135] Such hostility being now active on their side only.

[136] Professor V. Ball, Jour. Asiatic Soc., Bengal.

[137] Dr Stoliczka, Jour. Asiatic Soc., Bengal.

[138] Père Barbe, Jour. Asiatic Soc., Bengal.

[139] Dr Rink, Voyage of the Galathea.

[140] E. H. Man, Jour. Anthrop. Inst., 1889.

[141] Père Barbe, Jour. Asiatic Soc., Bengal, vol. xv.

[142] In 1897, a Malay vessel, on a voyage from Olehleh to Pulo Wai, was blown to sea and sunk. Her crew took to their boat and reached Trinkat, whence they were returned by the agent to Acheen in a Chinese junk. In earlier times these men would probably have settled amongst the natives, and so have been instrumental in the further diversifications of the race.

[143] "The Nicobar Islands were peopled from the opposite main and the coast of Pegu, in proof of which the Nicobar and Pegu languages are said, by those (Nicobarese?) acquainted with the latter, to have much resemblance."—Hamilton, Asiatic Researches, vol. ii.

[144] Burmah, M. and B. Ferrars.

[145] (a) In 1899, thirty-five men from the Maldives arrived at Kar Nicobar in a ferry-boat, which resembled a lighter in appearance, and was built of coconut wood. They had gone to Maldive from Addo Atel to buy rice, and encountering a storm on the return journey, had missed their island, and after a two months' voyage (more than 1000 miles) reached Kar Nicobar, having thrown overboard most of their rice to keep their vessel afloat. As they feared to go back in their own boat, they were forwarded to Calcutta in various trading-vessels.

(b) "In almost all the villages (central group), Malabars or Bengalese are to be found. The natives encourage them to stay by grants of land, and after a certain number of years they are permitted to make choice of a female companion."—Nicholas Fontana, Asiatic Researches, vol. iii.

[146] Professor A. H. Keane, "Man, Past and Present," Camb. Geog. Series, 1899.

[147] Comparing the group of Kar Nicobar boys (page 60) with those of Kondul (p. 138), it is not easy, at a glance, to perceive much racial resemblance. The first, scowling and flat-nosed, with prominent teeth and thick lips, and the others intelligent-looking, with almost European features. Yet the eldest of these latter exactly resembled in every way Little John, the man who was my shikari in Kar Nicobar.

[148] Although the average is no more than with the Shom Peṅ, there is a much greater individual variation of stature.

[149] This is due to the practice, observed and described by Mr Man, of flattening the occiput and forehead of infants by the mother, who gently exerts pressure by means of a small pillow, and the palms and outstretched fingers of both hands for an hour or so at a time.—Jour. Anthrop. Inst., Feb. 1894, p. 238.

"It is a custom with them to compress with their hands the occiput of the new-born child; by this method they say the hair remains close to the head as nature intended it, and the upper fore-teeth very prominent out of the mouth."—Nicholas Fontana, Asiatic Researches, vol. iii.

[150] Besides the aquiline noses already mentioned, a distinctly Jewish or Papuan feature is occasionally to be met with.

[151] "They have terms answering to 'How d'ye do?' and 'Good-bye.' The following are said in the Central Islands:—

At the other islands there are corresponding terms."—E. H. Man.

[152] V. Solomon.

[153] Professor A. H. Keane, "Man, Past and Present," Camb. Geog. Series, 1899.

[154] Vide plate facing 248.

[155] Père Barbe, Jour. Asiatic Soc., Bengal., vol. xv.

[156] Tanamara, headman of Malacca, Nankauri, when questioned on this point, stated that the spirits were all evil:—"What, no got good devil—hantu baik? No, all bad; plenty fever-devil, plen-ty devil eat man." But, with reference to this assertion, Mr Man writes:—"The names of certain good spirits have often been given to me at Nankauri, and by Tanamara himself." One inference is, that the latter purposely denied their existence in order to be spared the trouble of answering further questions on the subject.

[157] (a) "On the path, at no great distance from the (Dyak) village, rude wooden figures of a man and woman are placed, one on each side opposite to each other, with short wooden spears in their mouths. They are called Tebudo, and are said to be inhabited by friendly hantu (spirits) who keep the path clear of inimical spirits."—Chalmers.

(b) "The Bedājoē possess a multitude of large wooden idols called Hampatong, as well as other objects which cult or superstition has consecrated. Every habitation of this tribe, as well as those of the Dusuns, has several small wooden idols who are supposed to guard the habitation, protect the rice harvest, preserve the inhabitants against sickness, and to fulfil generally analogous functions. The Dyaks collect, with the same object, skulls of monkeys, bears, and wild cats, which they preserve in little boxes called kamontoha, and which they suspend in the houses."—S. Müller.

(c) "As far as we could learn, the only act of worship paid these images is that of offering them food once or twice a month, such as rice, pork, eggs, fowls. On no condition will they (Dyaks) consent to give them up, and the only reason assigned is that sickness will be the inevitable consequence."—Doty.

(d) "The inland tribes of Borneo are without any definite forms of religious worship; they make idols of wood, but I have never seen any offerings made to them, nor do they regard them apparently as anything more than scarecrows to frighten off evil spirits."—Folklore in Borneo, by W. H. Furness.

(e) "These figures (tambatongs) are not exactly idols in the ordinary sense of the word, as they are not directly worshipped, although representing the religious beliefs of the Dyaks, and regarded with superstitious veneration; they should, perhaps, rather be called talismans, as they are looked upon as charms to keep away evil spirits and ill-luck."—P. 32, Headhunters of Borneo, by Carl Bock.

(f) "Although I found in a house at Old Affara (a village on Vorkay, one of the southernmost of the Arrus) an image rudely formed of wood, together with a post on which different figures, such as snakes, lizards, crocodiles, and human forms, were carved, and which the owner stated to be intended for preserving the house from evil spirits (Swangi), yet it is evident that the Arafuras of Vorkay possess no religion whatsoever.... They certainly hold a feast at the time in which they have perceived that the Christians of Wamma hold one also, namely, at the commencement of the year, when they, in imitation of the Christians, celebrate the advent of the new year.... Of the immortality of the soul they have not the least conception."—Koff's Voyage of the Dourga, p. 161.

(g) "The Battas believe in demonic agency called Begu for every species of malady.... To drive out these demon monsters ... talismans and charms are employed."—Featherman's Social History of Mankind.

[158] (a) "Amongst the Dyaks ... newly-married couples do not go to live in a new house of their own, but a compartment is set apart for them in the house of the bride's parents."—Hickson's North Celebes, p. 286.

(b) "The marriage customs throughout the Sangir, Talant, and Sian Archipelago are based on the old matriarchal system—that is, when a man is married he becomes a member of his wife's family, and must leave his own and go to live in the village or the house of his wife's parents."—P. 197.

(c) "When a Dyak marries he enters the family of his wife, and lives in her parents' house till the couple set up for themselves, which is generally not for some time afterwards."—Denison.

(d) "If the suitor among the Battas is too poor to pay the price for a wife, he may contract the ambil anak marriage, which obliges him to become a member of the family of the bride's parents and live with them in the same dwelling: he is required to work for his father-in-law, and attend to the ordinary agricultural labour."—Social History of the Races of Mankind, A. Featherman.

(e) "New couples mostly start life in the young wife's home, the lad working for her parents, and as families come, the elder pairs are established in houses of their own."—Burmah, M. and B. Ferrars.

[159] Cf. A Naturalist in North Celebes, S. I. Hickson, p. 198.—"In the Sangir Islands the only persons who are free from the matriarchal system are the sons of the rajahs, who do as they please about following their wives." P. 286—"Among the Dyaks of Sarawak we find ... that in some cases the man does not follow the woman; but if he is of higher rank, or the only support of aged parents, the woman is obliged to come and live in his family."

[160] (a) "A man may readily obtain a divorce without any better reason than that he has fixed his heart on another woman."—"Customs of the Minahassers," Hickson's North Celebes, p. 281.

(b) "Divorces are very common; one can scarcely meet with a middle-aged Dyak who has not had two and often three or more wives. Repudiation takes place for the slightest cause—personal dislike or disappointments, a sudden quarrel, bad dreams, discontent with the partner's powers of industry or labour, in fact, any excuse. In fact, marriage is a business of partnership for the purpose of having children, dividing labour, and by means of their offspring providing for old age. It is therefore entered into and dissolved almost at pleasure. The causes are innumerable, but incompatibility of temper is perhaps the most common; when they are tired of each other they do not say so, but put the fault upon an unfavourable dream or a bad omen—either of which is allowed to be a legitimate cause for separation."—St. John.

[161] Side by side with this state of things, which is practically one of free love, a licensed immorality exists among the natives, and there are several brothels or houses of assignation in the village of Mūs, population 530!

[162] Cf. A Naturalist in North Celebes, S. I. Hickson, p. 197.—"The rajah of Morong, in the Talant Islands, told me, that in case of a divorce the children go 'where they do not cry.'" P. 288—"In some cases, the children, when the parents are divorced, can choose the family to which they will afterwards belong."

[163] Yassan of Kachal possessed three houses and three wives. Offandi, headman of Mūs, had two wives, and knew of others similarly situated. "I got two wives now. I no want more than two wives one time; plenty trouble. Before I have other wives; when young, I go with ——."

"Generally speaking, the native (of Sarawak) is content with a single wife; only wealthy men and chiefs have sometimes two or three."—Schwaner.

[164] This is the common practice of the Nicobarese. The fault of one is punished for the benefit of all, and the person directly injured receives little actual compensation. The custom is one that does not encourage litigiousness.

[165] The late "Davy Jones" of Kar Nicobar lived with two women who were sisters of each other; his neighbours looked on with much disapproval, but no one ventured to interfere.

[166] "Among the Battas no marriage ceremonies take place; rich men and rajahs only regale the village by killing a buffalo or hog."—Featherman.

[167] (a) Cf. St John's Life in the Forest of the Far East.—"Besides the ordinary attentions which a young man (of the Sarawak Dyaks) is able to pay the girl he desires to make his wife, as helping her in her work, and carrying home her load of vegetables, as well as making her presents, there is a peculiar testimony of regard that is worthy of note. About nine or ten at night, when the family is supposed to be asleep within the mosquito curtains in the private apartment, the lover quietly slips back the bolt by which the door is fastened on the inside, and enters the room on tip-toe. He goes to the curtains of his beloved, gently awakes her, and she, on hearing who it is, rises at once, and they sit conversing together and making arrangements for the future, in the dark, over a plentiful supply of sireh leaf and betel-nut, which it is the gentleman's duty to provide. If, when awoke, the young lady arises and accepts the prepared betel-nut, happy is the lover, for his suit is in a fair way to prosper; but, if on the other hand, she rises and says, 'Be good enough to blow up the fire,' or 'to light the lamp,' then his hopes are at an end, for that is the usual form of dismissal. Of course if this kind of nocturnal visit is frequently repeated, the parents do not fail to discover it, although it is a point of honour among them to take no notice of their visitor; and if they approve of him, matters take their course, but if not, they use their influence with their daughter to ensure the utterance of the fatal 'Please blow up the fire.'"

(b) "Customs of the Minahassers," Hickson's Celebes, p. 272.—"Two young people meet at the mapalus (communal gatherings for work, followed by a feast), and over the feasting and singing become interested in one another, and fall in love. Then follows the courtship, which is not supposed to be open and above-board, but is, nominally at least, carried on in secret. It consists in nocturnal visits of the young man to the young woman's house, visits which although frequently attended by immorality, are not necessarily so, and are often perfectly decorous and formal.

"The young woman prepares a mat for her lover, and after dark he comes to visit her. The parents are, of course, aware that their daughter is receiving a visitor, and are indeed proud that she should be thus so sought after; but at the same time they warn her to be cautious. The lover departs again before daybreak, in order that there may be no gossip in the village about their engagement until all is settled. These visits extend over some weeks, and at last one morning he remains until the day has broken, as a sign that the engagement may be formally announced."

[168] Cf. Malay custom during the marriage ceremony, of the bride's female friends trying to prevent the entrance of the bridegroom and his companions.

[169] In some places in the south it is said that coconut plantations are held in common by all in the village.

[170] "With regard to takoia, there is an observance of tabu when a death occurs. The coconut and pandanus plantation of the deceased is banned, the fruit being allowed to drop and germinate where it lies. The trees are marked by having coconut fronds fastened round their trunks, so no one, even a stranger, can appropriate the fruit through ignorance. As in the case of a large plantation it would be too great a task to mark each tree in this way, only the most conspicuous trees along the boundary are so distinguished, as this suffices to indicate that all within the boundary are included in the tabu."—E. H. Man.

[171] Dr Guillemard on "The Papuans," Australasia, vol. ii., 1894.

[172] The only place where the domestication of the megapode is recorded is the island of Savo in the Solomons. Here the birds may be seen sitting quietly on the fences about the villages, and the laying-grounds are regularly portioned out amongst the inhabitants.—Vide Among the Man-eaters, by John Gaggin; London, Fisher Unwin.

[173] "Their favourite weapons are javelins, which they throw fifty yards; they often poison the point with a subtle drug."—Chopard, J. I. A., 1847.

"Lances with points of iron or hardened wood."—Scherzer, Cruise of the Novara, 1858; and see p. 281.

[174] Cf. "The large quadrangular nut is a 'common object of the sea-shore' in the Malay Islands, and is much used by the natives to catch fish. The fruit is pounded and thrown into the water, and the fish, rising to the surface in a stupefied condition, are easily secured."—P. 188, Cruise of the Marchesa, by F. H. H. Guillemard; London, John Murray, 1889.

Also used for the same purpose by natives of the Solomons.—Vide H. B. Guppy's Solomon Islands; London, Swan, Sonnenschein.

[175] Vide item 2 of plate facing p. 94.

[176] In some of the islands a pot-cover is made by sewing together a special kind of leaf with long slips of rattan, until a pad quite an inch in thickness is obtained.

[177] In many islands of the Pacific Ocean—Marshalls, Gilbert and Kingsmills, the Carolines, Union, and Ellice, and in New Guinea—the pandanus fruit is used as a food, especially in times of scarcity, but in general the kernel only is eaten, and the inner end of the drupes gnawed off.

[178] Referred to in these pages as kissát, neng, or T bandage, for want of a more accurate expression.

[179] For the dress used at various periods, refer to the authorities quoted in other chapters. The earliest clothing—apart from ornamental cords and string bracelets, etc., as are still used by the Andamanese—seems to have been, for the men a strip of bark cloth, and for the women a short petticoat of grass or coco-palm leaf (ngong).

[180] The idea being that the demon who caused the death may fail to recognise the survivors.

[181] M. V. Portman, Jour. Royal Asiatic Soc., 1888.

[182] G. Hamilton, Asiatic Researches, vol. ii.

[183] Cf. "Dyak dishes," in Headhunters of Borneo, plate 19.

[184] (a) Of thirty individuals of the Galathea's crew engaged in an exploring expedition up the Galathea River, and caught one night in a rain-storm which compelled them to remain in the forest wringing wet, no fewer than twenty-one fell ill of fever, which ultimately proved fatal in four cases.—Vide Corvetten Galathea's Jordourseiling, 1852.

(b) During a stay of thirty-two days amongst the islands, the frigate Novara, with a crew of 320 men, had six cases of fever, but, when in the Straits of Malacca, fifteen more developed the same illness. All recovered, and those of the company who had never set foot on shore, furnished the largest contingent.—Vide Cruise of the Novara, 1858.

(c) Of the five from the Terrapin who ascended the Galathea River and spent a night in the interior of the island, each was down with malaria either during the voyage to, or after arrival at, Singapore.

[185] Nankauri(?)

[186] Dalrymple, in his Oriental Repertory, states, that Captain Weldon surveyed the Nicobars in 1687, and sent the survey, together with a history of the islands, by a Spanish priest to the East India Company. It does not appear to have been ever printed.

[187] The parallel of 7° N. lat. bisects the island.

[188] In this sentence of his description, Dampier's observations are incorrect.

[189] "Larum." If they called it so, the name was probably acquired from Portuguese visitors.

[190] Always greyish-white.

[191] This is the true bread-fruit (Artocarpus incisa), which does not grow in the Nicobars, and with which the fruit of the pandanus is nominally confounded by the English-speaking natives and by several of those Europeans who have visited the Archipelago.

[192] This type of house is still built. See photograph taken at Pulo Milo, p. 124.

[193] Outriggers.

[194] Nowadays they invariably paddle, and have no oars.

[195] This is probably an exaggeration, but there is no doubt that the island carried then a far greater population than it does at the present.

[196] The Pasangan River has two mouths, of which the western is named Jangka.

[197] Kampong Jangka, on the left bank of the river of that name.

[198] Nicobar.

[199] Planksheers(?)

[200] Probably a Licuala.

[201] Ambergris(?)

[202] "Ambergris, which is a waxy concretion formed in the intestine of the sperm-whale, is occasionally found on the shores of the Nicobar Islands. At times the carcase of a whale has been found ashore, and on examination a valuable quantity (several hundred rupees worth) of ambergris has been thus obtained."—E. H. Man.