63 



Steveus and tiually dismisjses the "Professor" by ([Uotiui,', with some 

 show of approvril, a casual remark that he was " the bit>;gest liar iu 

 Asia." It was certainly time that the " Pi*ofessor's " statements 

 should begin to be taken with the salt of incredulity. Dr. Martin's 

 account of the distributions and divisions of the wild tribes (pp. 177- 

 218) comes next. It is the least satisfactory part of the book ; he 

 mentions very few tribes, confuses the Blandas and Besisi, and devotes 

 for too much attention to trivial points, such as the spelling of tribal 

 names. How can it really help us to know that the word " Semang " 

 has been spelt in no less than seven different ways ? 



The consideration oi the " Physical Anthropology " of the Sakai 

 and Semang takes up no less than 483 pages, and is by far the 

 most valuable portion of Mr. Martin's Avork. Of course, we need more 

 data. No single aboriginal tribe has yet been exhaustively studied ; 

 many tribes are still practically unknown; the material that we 

 possess is of unequal value. The " Evgology " of the wild tribes 

 is discussed in about 350 pages, and Dr. Martin completes his work 

 with 41 pages of " Concluding Remarks " on the anthropological 

 position of the wild tribes of the Malay Peninsula. His conclusions 

 are mainly negative. A good bibliography and some excellent 

 plates are included in the second volume of Dr. Martin's work. 



There can be no question of the utility of Dr. Martin's book. 

 Except iu the matter of linguistics, it completely supersedes every 

 existing work, and is an excellent statement of the results obtained up 

 to the present by the study of these little-known wild tribes. But 

 they still remain little known. The great desideratum — a full account 

 of the distribution of the aborigines and of their differences — is still 

 lacking. Three tribes — Senoi, Semang and Besisi — loom far too large 

 in all accounts of the wild tribes of the Peninsula. We are left 

 to jvidge the others by these three. Yet there are immense diiferences 

 that are not to be so easily dismissed. The Kenaboi language differs 

 far more from the language of the neighbouring Besisi, than the 

 Besisi differs from Semang. What again is the exjjlauation of 

 the common element in the language of the Besisi, Semang and 

 Senoi, when the racial diiferences are so great Y What is the explana- 

 tion of the ergological diiferences, the different types of blowpipe 

 coming from different parts of the Peninsula, tlie differing poisons, the 

 various ways of making fire ? What is the true relation between 

 the so-called "Bastard Semang" and the Senoi and Semang? Mere 

 admixture of race will not explain the differences. Sakai Research 

 is too much confined to " stock " ti'ibes ; we want to know more about 

 the men of the Ncnggiri, of Kuautau, of Ulu Rompin and the Kenaboi. 

 There are numerous questions still remaining to be answered ; and until 

 more data are available any ambitious work on the wild tribes 

 must run the risk of being considered premature. 



R. J. WILKINSON. 



