40 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM vol.79 



other religious motives. Precious cloths from Java and Sumatra, 

 from Palembang and Atjeh betray Indian influence. In these tex- 

 tiles, gold threads are woven into the design as in the wonderful 

 Siamese textiles of similar description. 



Siamese influence may also be noted in house architecture in 

 Sumatra. Houses of the Minangkabau Malays were originally built 

 upon piles, but are now on stone foundations. The outer walls are 

 covered over with carved decorative designs. These are particularly 

 noticeable on the gable ends, of which th-ere are many. The peculiar 

 swayback rooftree, the concavity of which extends all the way from 

 gable end to gable end, may be seen also in other regions all the way 

 to the Caroline Islands and Guam on the east and to the Massim 

 region in east New Guinea on the south. This type of house archi- 

 tecture might be termed truly Indonesian. The decorative designs 

 are either geometric or floral. Houses of the Battaks of Sumatra 

 are similarly decorated with carved friezes on the wooden gables. 

 The floral patterns of the Bornean Dyaks alternate with the inter- 

 locking dog-tail motive. In this respect Dyak art resembles the 

 curved and recurved carved spirals of the Maori. 



Pictorial art is also represented on the decorated gable ends of 

 the Indonesian house. Painted figures of human beings, of animals, 

 of land and sea, of trees, mountains, and other objects illustrate 

 the mytholgy and historical deeds of the Indonesian house builder. 

 Colors used in this form of pictographic art are mostly red, but 

 Avhite, yellow, and black also occur. These are houses of the Toba- 

 Battaks of Sumatra, of the Toradja of Celebes and of the natives of 

 Palau. It should be noted that this pictorial art bears no relation- 

 ship with the Australian-Papuan painter's art, as it arrived in Indo- 

 nesia at a late date from India and elsewhere on the xA.siatic m.ain- 

 land. Even at that, this type of decorative house architecture is 

 historically one of the oldest in the world. 



In classifying Malayan decorative designs as founded on floral, 

 geometrical and faunal motives, it is well to note that the religious 

 influence of Mohammedanism checked the use of animal motives to 

 a great extent. Hinduism and Buddhism, on the other hand, stim- 

 ulated the use of the lotus flower motive, although most IMalayan 

 artisans fail to recognize the motive as such, merely following the 

 conventional style of wood carving or damascening as the case may 

 be. What has been recognized as geometrical designs in ornamenta- 

 tion may readily be explained as conventionalized floral motives in 

 many instances, particularly in the ornamentation of metal objects, 

 such as the kris guards and ornamentation on brass vessels. 



Malay craftsmen use terms to designate simple designs, namely 

 " clove flower," " mangosteen calyx," " Solomon's seal," " Bo-tree 



