MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 



59.5 



this colonization and consequent 

 civilization flowed, and the periods 

 at which it was introduced into 

 different states, is a subject new 

 to the historian, and not uninter- 

 esting to the philosopher. 



If we admit the natural in- 

 ference, that the population of the 

 islands originally emigrated from 

 the continent, and, at the same 

 time, the probability, that the 

 country lying between Siam and 

 China, is the immediate source 

 from whence such emigration ori- 

 ginally proceeded, the history of 

 the Eastern Islands may, with 

 reference to that of Java in par- 

 ticular, in which a powerful Hindu 

 government wa? without duubt 

 early established, be divided into 

 five distinct periods. 



The first division would include 

 the period commencing with the 

 earliest accounts of the popula- 

 tion, down to the first establish- 

 ment of a foreign colony in Java, 

 of which the written annals of ihe 

 country make mention. The date 

 of this is pretty accurately ascer- 

 tained, and may be fixed at about 

 the commencement of the sixtii 

 century of the Javanese era, or 

 A. D. 600 ; at which time only the 

 period of authentic history can be 

 considered to commence. 



The origin of all nations is bu- 

 ried in obscurity ; and, unless we 

 may succeed in obtaining new 

 lights from Siam or China, we 

 shall have but little to guide us, 

 during the early part of this divi- 

 sion, beyond conjecture, and such 

 general inferences as may be 

 drawn frou} a similarity in per- 

 son, language and usages, still 

 found to prevail among the less 

 ci\iiized tribes. According to the 

 division of Sir William Jones, the 



original population of the islands 

 were doubtless of the Tartar race, 

 and probably from the same stock 

 as the Siamese. The Javans date 

 the commencement of their era 

 from the arrival of Adi Saka, the 

 minister of Prabu Joyo Boyo, so- 

 vei eign of Hastiria, and the fifth 

 in descent from Arjimo the favo- 

 rite of Krisna, and tlie lea<ling 

 hero of the B'rata Yud'ha. This 

 epoch corresponds with that of 

 the introduction of a new faith 

 into China, and the further pe- 

 ninsula, by Saka, Shaka, or Sakia, 

 as he is difi'erently termed, and 

 with tiie chronology of tlie Hin- 

 dus, as explained by Sir AVilliam 

 Jones, in which Saka is supposed 

 to have reigned seventy-nine years 

 subsequent to the commencement 

 of the christian era. But whether 

 Saka himself, or only some of his 

 followers, assuming this name, 

 found their way to Java, may be 

 questionab'e ; and it is not im- 

 possible that the Javanese may 

 have subsequently adopted the 

 era, on a more extended inter- 

 course with the further peninsula. 

 A connection would at any rate ap- 

 pear to have existed between Java 

 and Siam ; as this Adi Saka is not 

 only represented to have founded 

 the present era of Java, but to 

 have introduced tiie oiiginal let- 

 ters of the Javanese alphabet, by 

 a modification of the letters used 

 in Western India, and in Siam. 

 It does not appear that either he 

 or liis followers established tliem- 

 selves in any authority; and we 

 can trace but little with certainty 

 during the following five centu- 

 ries. Some of the Javanese ac- 

 counts lefer to the arrival of va- 

 rious settlers during this period ; 

 but we find no traces either of a 



govern- 



