532 TRAVELS IN THE EAST INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 



long after tlie arrival of tLe Portuguese. Tlie archi- 

 tects were probably not natives, but tlie Arabs, wbo 

 have not only traded witli this people, but succeeded 

 in convertiuo; them to Mohammedanism. Palembansj 

 Lama, or Old Palembang, is situated on the left bank, 

 a mile or two below the fort. Landing with the na- 

 tives under a waringin-tree, I followed a narrow path 

 over the low land for a mile, and came to the grave 

 of a native queen. All possible virtues are ascribed 

 to her by the natives, and many were on their way 

 to this shrine to make vows and repeat their Moham- 

 medan formulas, or were already returning home- 

 ward. Those who were going stopped at a little vil- 

 lage by the way to purchase bunches of a kind of 

 balm which they placed in the tomb. After meet- 

 ing with many worshippers, I was quite surprised to 

 find the grave was only protected by an old wooden 

 building. The coffin was a rectangular piece of 

 wood, about a foot and a half wide, and five feet 

 long, in which was inserted at the head and foot a 

 small square post, about two feet high. Near the 

 grave of the queen were those of her nearest relatives. 

 This is regarded as the oldest grave that can be iden- 

 tified in this vicinity. It is supposed to have the 

 power to shield its worshippers from sickness and all 

 kinds of misfortune. The Mohammedanism of this 

 people, therefore, even when it is purest, is largely 

 mingled with their previous superstitions. 



Nearer Palembang we visited the tombs of later 

 princes. A high wall encloses several separate build- 

 ings fi'om twenty to thirty feet square, and surmount- 

 ed by domes, and within are the coffins, much like 



