430 The Ke Islands. 



Mohammedans, and wear cotton clothing, while the former 

 use only a waist-cloth of cotton or bark. These Mohammed- 

 ans are said to have been driven out of Banda by the early 

 European settlers. They Avere probably a brown race, more 

 allied to the Malays, and their mixed descendants here exhibit 

 great variations of color, hair, and features, graduating between 

 the Malay and Papuan types. It is interesting to observe the 

 influence of the early Portuguese trade with these countries 

 in the words of their language, which still remain in use even 

 among these remote and savage islanders. "Len9o" for 

 handkerchief, and " f aca " for knife, are here used, to the ex- 

 clusion of the proper Malay terms. The Portuguese and 

 Spaniards were truly wonderful conquerors and colonizers. 

 They effected more rapid changes in the countries they con- 

 quered than any other nations of modern times, resembling the 

 Romans in their power of impressing their own language, re- 

 ligion, and manners on rude and barbarous tribes. 



The striking contrast of character between these people and 

 the Malays is exemplified in many little traits. One day when 

 I was rambling in the forest an old man stopped to look at me 

 catching an insect. He stood very quiet till I had pinned and 

 put it away in my collecting-box, when he could contain him- 

 self no longer, but bent almost double, and enjoyed a hearty 

 roar of laughter. Every one will recognize this as a true negro 

 trait. A Malay would have stared, and asked with a tone of 

 bewilderment what I was doing ; for it is but little in his na- 

 ture to laugh, never heartily, and still less at or in the presence 

 of a stranger, to whom, however, his disdainful glances or whis- 

 pered remarks are less agreeable than the most boisterous open 

 expression of merriment. The women here were not so much 

 frightened at strangers, or made to keep themselves so much 

 secluded as among the Malay races ; the children were more 

 merry, and had the " nigger grin," while the noisy confusion 

 of tongues among the men, and their excitement on very ordi- 

 nary occasions, are altogether removed from the general taci- 

 turnity and reserve of the Malay. 



The language of the Ke people consists of words of one, 

 two, or three syllables in about equal propoi'tions, and has 

 many aspirated and a few guttural sounds. The different vil- 

 lages have slight differences of dialect, but they are mutually 



