THE FIRE PISTON—-BALFOUR. yar 
of Siamese origin. The former writes to me as follows: “ With 
regard to the gobi api, it is, so far as I am aware, a purely Siamese 
implement. I have never seen or heard of it in a purely Malay 
community. * * * There are specimens from Perak in the Taip- 
ing Museum, but their exact locality is not recorded, and even within 
a few miles of Taiping there is a large Samsam village, while the 
people of Upper Perak are indistinguishable from those of Rhaman 
and Kedah, being physically as much Siamese as Malay.” Mr. Skeat 
informs me that, although the specimens which he obtained in Jalor 
were used by Malays, he is inclined to think that they are borrowed 
from the Siamese (or Siamesing-Malays), who appear to use them 
much more than the Malays do. ‘“ There are a good many Siamese 
and Samsams (1. e., Siamesing-Malays) in the district, and it is to 
their influence that I am inclined to attribute these fire utensils.” 
Again he writes: “ I have a strong belief that this particular object is 
Siamese, because it appeared to die out as we worked south into the 
more exclusively Malay districts, and I never came across any speci- 
men of it in Kelantan or Trengganu (which are substantially Malay 
districts), any more than I did on the west coast, where Siamese 
influence was-equally at a discount. My recollection is quite clear 
on the point that at Biserat in Jalor the fire piston was used by the 
Siamese more commonly than by the Malays, who appeared to have 
borrowed the idea from them.” - 
T have not as yet seen or heard of any specimens of the fire piston 
from Siam proper, but it would be most interesting to know if they 
have been used there, and also to learn the details of their form, so 
that we may ascertain whether the types of the Burmese region can 
be linked by intermediate varieties with those of the Malay Peninsula. 
IT must now turn to the distribution of this interesting fire-making 
appliance beyond the southern limits of the peninsula. 
Sumatra.—vVan Hasselt * mentions the use of the fire piston by the 
Menangkabo Malays in the hinterland of Padang, on the west side 
of the island. The specimen which he describes (fig. 32) is of “ kar- 
bouw ” (buffalo) horn, and its native name is tjatoew api bdlantagq. 
In form it reminds one of some Kachin types. Its size is large, and 
the plain surfaces of both cylinder and piston head are relieved with 
ring marks. The tinder, raboewg (cf. rabok in Jalor), is obtained 
from the anav palm. This specimen was obtained at Soepajang. 
There is a specimen in the Berlin Museum from Padang on the 
west coast, but of this I have not full particulars. 
Mr. R. T. Pritchett figures? an ornate example from Sumatra (fig. 
33); he does not, however, specify the material or the size. 
@Veth, Midden Sumatra, III, p. 177, and pl. Lxxxiil, figs. 12 and 15. 
+ Smokiana, 1890, p. 97. 
