496 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 



nut-trees. The natives are called Rejangs, and form 

 a distinct nation from the Malays of Menangkabau. 

 They have an alphabet and language peculiar to 

 themselves, but belong to the same Malay race as all 

 the others in the island of Sumatra. In order that 

 I might see them dance, the Resident invited the 

 rajah to come to the house of the cont/i'oleur in the 

 evening and bring with him the " miah gadis^'' liter- 

 ally " the virgins," of the village, but really the un- 

 married females. They were all clad in a sarong, 

 fastened high round the waist, and over the shoulders 

 was thrown a sort of scarf, which was so folded that 

 one end would hang down behind, between the shoul- 

 ders. Their dance consisted in little more than stretch- 

 ing both arms back until the backs of the hands 

 nearly touched each other, and holding the edges of 

 the scarf between the fingers. This peculiar figure 

 they take in order to give their busts the fullest ap- 

 pearance possible, and captivate some one of the 

 young men looking on. From this position they 

 changed their hands to near the shoulders, the arms 

 being extended and the forearms being turned back 

 toward the head. The hands were then twisted 

 round, mth the wrist for a pivot. 



Several young men appeared quite charmed and 

 eagerly joined in the dance. The postures they as- 

 sumed were quite similar. It is on such festive oc- 

 casions that marriage contracts are generally made. 

 The price of a bride, ji^^jur^ is fixed by the Dutch 

 Government at twenty guilders, eight Mexican dollars, 

 that is, the parents cannot now recover more than 

 that sum for their daughter in case their son-in-law 



