782 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1805. 



company as they could, three or four 

 together. 



After supper, it growing dark, 

 the bride and bridegroom Mere con- 

 Teyed to their apartments, which 

 ■were richly hung with palcinpores. 

 One or two bamboos of water were 

 brought tu theui, and they were !tft 

 for that night, and for seven days, 

 during M'hich time the bride and 

 bridegroom are never seen in public. 

 Water was carried to them night and 

 morning, to wash, and victuals daily, 

 in profusion. They were visited, 

 b,ut were not seen out in public 

 during this time. 



When tlie rajah Tomba left Dun- 

 gaily, his son remained behind ; but 

 when I left the place, he talked of 

 going homo, though without his 

 wife. 



I was once present at a marriage 

 at Tuan Hadjeo's house, which he 

 had given Bp to a young couple, and 

 where they kept their apartment 

 four days. 



I never saw the Malays kiss each 

 other, or their children, but they 

 would smile upon them. The pa- 

 rents, however, often pla)'cd with 

 their children when young. 



When a chief or rajah dies, the 

 body is conveyed immediately to the 

 longar, or great house of public bu- 

 siness, and on its way the people 

 sing and throw stones before it, car- 

 rying at the same time all their in- 

 struments of war; and every person 

 possessed of a palempore, which is 

 a covering of a bed, like our cover- 

 lids, hacgs it round the longai:, so 

 as to cover it completely. They also 

 make farts of while cloth, at the 

 dead man's cxpeuce. Four girls sit 

 on one side of the corpse, and four 

 on the other, for the space of two 

 ilays and one night. Two lamps 

 Sfe kept burning near the corpse 



By this tims the corpse becomes 

 offensive, and is therefore put into a 

 coffin, which it is generally the cus- 

 tom for the rajahs to furnish them- 

 selves with in their life-time. If not, 

 a canoe is made use of, in which, 

 after cutting off both ends, the body 

 is placed. , 



When the corpse is removed from 

 the longar, it is accompanied by al! 

 t'le war-men and warriors of the 

 place ; who, carrying their spears, 

 guns, and all their war instruments, 

 and going before the corpse, make 

 a sham fight, b.-'andishins: their spears 

 in the air, to keep off Satan or the 

 devil. 



The coffin is elegantly covered 

 with white cloth, with a frame made 

 of bamboo, the size of a tent ; and 

 when it arrives at the grave, which 

 is generally about four feet deep, it 

 is immediately placed in it. The head 

 priest then sits down by the side of 

 the grave, the priest next in rank to 

 him, standing at his left hand, and 

 the next to that priest on his left 

 hand ; the three next in hand stand 

 behind these three ; and then three 

 behind them ; and so on in rotation. 

 1 he priests all say their prayers at 

 the same time, shaking their heads, 

 and crying, " Oh Hela la ! Hela 

 " la!'' that is, Oh my God! my 

 God ! 



This ceremony lasts for about half 

 an hour, the tone of their voices 

 growing lower and lower, and the 

 shaking of their heads faster and 

 faster, and all at the same time, and 

 in the same direction, until they make 

 a full stop. 



All now leave the grave, and the 

 four or five men who dug it, fill it 

 up, and keep watch there for that 

 night, having a fire close to thd 

 grave. In the morning a house is ^ 

 erected, contiguous to this spot, 



wherein 



