II.] 



VISIT OF THE SULTAN. 



31 



they would be the " Betel Box m AVaitmg," and the " Bearer m 



Ordinary of the Tobacco Case." The " Gentleman Usher of the 



Eevolver" was happily absent, for the way in 



which liis forefinger had trifled with the trigger 



on the pre\'ious day had filled us with alarm. 



But the most important of all these people were 



two men who bore the spears of the Sultan and 



Sultana. These weapons, like the imrangs, are 



of Sulu manufacture, and even those carried by 



the common people are wonderfully well made. 



The Sultan's were, of course, of still better 



quality. Of \f&xj steel, rough and without any 



trace of pohsh, as are all the best blades of 



Malay make, they were very sharp, and were 



fitted with a hilt of embossed silver about a 



foot in length. The Sultana's spear was of 



curious shape; double -bladed, with the two 



blades meeting at the hilt. The shafts of these 



weapons appear to be usually made of the wood 



of the Areca palm, the toughness and density 



of which renders it a favourite material for this 



purpose throughout Malaysia and the Pacific 



Islands. 



There were perhaps forty or fifty other 

 Sulus on board, besides the two Turks and a 

 Sikh of gigantic stature. The former w^ere mostly of inferior rank, 

 but almost all were dressed m embroidered jackets of different 

 colours, with Chinese gold buttons. They wore turbans of silk or 

 cotton, worked with gold thread. All these are made on the island, 

 and are good, but . too gaudy, one of the favourite colours being a 

 bright green. A tight-fittmg cotton garment, much like a pah of 

 ridmg breeches, seemed to usurp the place of the sarong in a great 

 number of cases, reaching to the ankle, and leaving the feet bare. 

 The inevitable parang is stuck in a twisted cotton belt. 



THE SULTANA S SPEAR. 



