GENERAL FEATURES OF MALAYSIA 25 



but is soft and musical, in its liquid sounds somewhat 

 resembling Italian. All Europeans in the Dutch and 

 English possessions speak this language, which is easily 

 and rapidly acquired. 



The Malays and Indonesians, to whom the preceding 

 description is generally applicable, and who agree closely 

 with those of the Malayan Peninsula, inhabit all the islands 

 from Sumatra to Sumbawa, Celebes, the Philippines, Burn, 

 and Ternate, with outlying settlements in Gilolo, Ceram, 

 Amboina, Banda, and at several points on the Papuan 

 islands. Only a small portion of these have Malay as 

 their language, that tongue being found chiefly in the 

 central plateau of Sumatra, and around the coast of 

 Borneo. In every other part of the Malayan area other 

 languages are spoken, some of them being merely dialects 

 of Malay, others distinct but allied languages. Many, 

 again, as the Bugis of Macassar, and especially the 

 languages of the people of Ternate and Tidor, are totally 

 unlike ]\ialay. 



Again, the Malays may be divided into two great 

 groups — the savage and the semi-civilised peoples. The 

 Dyaks of Borneo are the best example of the former. 

 They have no writing or literature, no regular government 

 or religion, and they wear only the scantiest clothing of 

 the usual savage type. But they are by no means a low 

 class of savages, for they build good houses, cultivate 

 the ground, make pottery and canoes, work in iron, and 

 even construct roads and bridges. In the same stage 

 are some of the inland tribes of Sumatra, Celebes, and 

 Burn. The semi-civilised people comprise all the other 

 Malayan tribes. These possess written languages, and 

 many of them peculiar alphabets ; they have some scanty 

 literature, established governments, and some form of 



