5!^4 ANNUAL REGISTER, 181^. 



posing that portion of the globe 

 Avhich is comprehended within 

 Polynesia and Austral Asia,, our 

 attention is arrested by tlie strik- 

 ing uniformity in habits and lan- 

 guage which prevails through- 

 out ; and which induces the in- 

 ference, either of one common 

 origin, or of early and very ge- 

 neral intercouise. 



Such customs as thp singular 

 practice of filing the teeth and 

 dying them blaclc, noticed by the 

 au.liors who have Avritten on 

 Pegu, Siam, Caniboja and Ton- 

 qiiin, and prevailing generally 

 throughout the wliole Malavan 

 archipelago ; the practice of dis- 

 tending the perforated lobe of the 

 ear to an enormous size, noticed 

 in lil<e manner to exist in the 

 same parts of tlie peninsula, and 

 prevailing throughout the Archi- 

 pelago, in a greater or less degree 

 in ])rop()rtion with the extension 

 of Isliuiiism ; tiie practice of tat- 

 tooing tl\e body, noticed among 

 the Burmans and people of Laos, 

 common to many tribes in Bor- 

 neo, and particularly distinguished 

 in some of the islands in the Pa- 

 ciHc Ocean, betray a common 

 original; and if it is I'ecoUect 

 ed that this custom, as well as 

 that of plucking tlie beard, was 

 noticed in South America, the 

 question may aiise, in what ccmrse 

 vir dir^'Ctiun the tide of popxdation 

 has flowed. In a recent publica- 

 tion, an idea h;is been started, in 

 reference to the sinnlarity of the 

 languages, that the population of 

 the Philippines and of the islands 

 in the South Sea originally emi- 

 grated from America, it will not 

 be required of me to go into any 

 description of those singular ap- 

 pendujfes to the virile member. 



noticed by the writers on Peg\i, 

 Siam and Caniboja, and adopted 

 among many tribes of Borneo 

 and the Moluccas. Whatever may 

 have been the origin of this very 

 singular custom, traces are to be 

 found, even in Java of the vene- 

 ration in which it once was held. 

 The practice of triumphing over 

 a subdued enemy may be common 

 to the barbarous state in general; 

 but the deliberate system of man- 

 hunting, in oider to procure heads 

 as a trophy of manliness and mi- 

 litary gallantry, however it may 

 have originated in this feeling of 

 uncivilized nature, may be ranked 

 among the peculiarities of this 

 portion of the globe. 



'Jhe language of the different 

 tribes of Borneo is asceitained to 

 bear a strong lesemblance to that 

 of "he scattered tiibes of Cam- 

 boja, Cliampa and Laos. The 

 position maintained by IMr. Mars- 

 den, that the INIalayan is a branch 

 or dialect of the widely extended 

 language prevailing through the 

 islands of the Archipelago to which 

 it gives name, as well as those of 

 the South Sea, appears to be esta- 

 blished and contiimed as our in- 

 formation advances ; and, if we 

 except the Papuas, and scattered 

 tribes having curled hair, we find 

 the general description given of 

 tlie persons of the Siamese and 

 the ruder population of the adja- 

 cent countries, which have not 

 admitted any considerable admix- 

 ture from the Chinese, to come 

 very near to the inhabitants of 

 the Archipelago, who, in fact, mify 

 be said to ditl'er only in being of 

 a smaller size, and in as far as 

 foreign colonization a?id inter- 

 course may have clianged them. 



To traca the sources whence 



this 



