CHARACTERS. 



779 



others is accordiug to their quality. 

 If a Malay has stolen any thing from 

 a rajah or priest, he is sold out of 

 the country, but if the crime b"e a 

 small one, he is sold at home. The 

 cxpence of maintaining slaves is vary 

 trilling. The climate being warm, 

 they need few clothes, and their 

 ■wants arc few. The expence of 

 maintaining and clothing a slave, 

 may be about three pounds a year, 

 and his labour is bestowed on clean- 

 ing grounds, raising provisions, and 

 in common domestic purposes. 



Religion, Mode of JVorship, Mar. 

 riages, and Burials. 



The natives profess the Mahome- 

 tan religion. They keep the sab- 

 bath on the Friday, their men are 

 circumcised, but not the women, 

 and they detest christians. The 

 priests have great power over the 

 people, and even over their rajahs. 



At break of day the priests rise, 

 wash their feet, arms, and ears ; 

 they then put their hands to their 



Jears, and cry, " O wackabuck ! 

 " wackabuck '." which is calling to 

 God to hear them. They then stoop, 



|and make their next speech — " Oh 

 *' Madama su ma la !" after which 

 they fall on their knees, and make 



a third speech, putting their heads 

 to the ground, then rise again, and 

 make another speech on their knees. 

 The)' afterwards wave their heads 

 with a long swing, crying, " Oh 

 " Hela la, Hcla lal" and wag their 

 heads at the same time, which keep 

 pace Avith their speech. This is per- 

 formed for half an hour, their voices 

 growing lower and lower, and their 

 tongues going faster and faster : at 

 length they make a long swing, and 

 end their prayer by putting up both 

 hands, and wiping their face with 

 them. 



These ceremonies are observed by 

 the heads of (private families ; and 

 on their sabbath, the priests have a 

 meeting with the heads of the fami- 

 lies, and go through the same cere- 

 mony. 



Great respect is shewn to the new 

 moon. — They shew great deference 

 to the priests ; and Tuan Hadjee 

 being the high priest, and having 

 travelled to Mecca, was every where 

 treated with the utmost respect. 



Tuan is the name for a priest, and 

 tuan hadjee for high priest, or a 

 man who has been on a pilgrimage 

 to Mecca. Tuan moodais a young 

 priest. When I was there, my 

 friend, Tuan Hadjee, was high 

 priest.* 



A man 



To Tuan Harljce we were much indebted for great kindnesses; and I believe 



ve owed much of our preservation to him. Tuan Hadjee often spoke to me of the 



English, and frrf|uei.tly told me that he had been on a voyage of discovery, from 



Jalanhani;-.in to Papua or New Guinea, in an English sloop, commanded by capt. 



?arest, (so called by Tuan Hadjee, though liis real name was Forest,) and that 



(^hile he was gone, the Malays had taken Balanbanijan. Tuan Hadjee had for- 



nerly been a great pirate out of the island of Rlicandano : he had also been en- 



tgaged with a nation at th(^ taking oi" Oreo, a Dutch settlement in the island of Bau- 



taiig, in the straights of iViHiHCca. He there commanded a pvoa of 4 carriage guns, 



ind after that siege, took to piracy. He told me that he had assisted in the capture 



lof several Dutch sloops, and a great number of tabogees, or black merchants' proas: 



ad that, in the chujo of one of ih«m, he overset h'n own proa, when he lost his all, 



which 



