144 A NATURALIST'S WANDERINGS 



another, but still his voice, in all matters where he chose to 

 exercise it, had pre-eminence. The Penyinibangs constitutcJ 

 a hereditary nobility, which exercised great influence ; and if 

 I have miderstood the narratives of those old chiefs with whom 

 I have talked, they were nearly all of equal ratdc. No one could 

 be raised de novo to the honour of a Penyimbang without the 

 consent of all the Penyimbangs in his marga. When this was 

 obtained he was called out, by the Marga chief, amid the accla- 

 mations of the people convened iu full assembly in the Bahxi of 

 the capital of the marga, before whom the services entitling him 

 to the honour and showing him to be a '^ fit and proper " person 

 to be so endued were proclaimed, to take liis place on the raised 

 benches occupied by the nobility. The new peer was then 

 bound to kill in honour of the occasion, a number of buffiiloes, 

 according to the degree of his rank, sometimes as many as 

 ninety, and give a great feast, as well as bestow a present 

 on each of his brother Penyimbangs. 



As margas increased in number, so their boundaries became 

 eternal subjects of dispute, referred as a rule to the arbitra- 

 ment of war. Now, as the Sunda Strait alone separated the 

 south eastern extremity of Sumatra from Bantam (which, until 

 abolished by the Dutch Government in 1811, was a flourishing 

 kingdom under powerful Sultans), a rich trade in rice, pepper, 

 and pottery, at length sprang up between the Bantamese 

 traders and the Lampongers. ATliether the former intro- 

 duced the cultivation of pepper into the Lampongs, or 

 found these settlers already acquainted with the culture, 

 is doubtful ; but it is certain that at an early date rich spice 

 gardens flourished in southern Sumatra. Every year the 

 Sultan sent across a fine prau laden with all sorts of earthen- 

 ware, an art then unknown to the Lampongers, Avith a letter 

 full of compliments and good wishes, which was publicly read 

 on a day Avhen all the Penyimbangs had assembled, to which 

 they returned a complimentary reply with gifts of pepper 

 and elephants' tusks ; so trade gradually increased, and with 

 it tlie power and influence of the Sultan, whose aid in these 

 intermargal disputes, either by mediation or more practi- 

 cally, was often besought. Grateful chiefs sent ia return 

 rich presents of ivory and pepper, with acknowledgments 

 of his influence, till gradually the Sultan's protection was 



