SUMATRA 205 



of Hinduism into Sumatra, or to discover how far and to 

 what extent it became adopted. The tempie-reniains, 

 though found more or less all over the island, are very 

 scattered, and nowhere do they approach in importance 

 those of Java. At Kuta-bangan, in the Dili district, 

 there is a stone temple about 60 feet square, having 

 the figures of men and animals sculptured upon its walls, 

 and various inscribed stones have been found in the 

 neighbourhood. That the cult of Siva existed in the 

 Jambi valley is evident from the statues of the bull Nandi, 

 the vehicle of Mahadewa, and the elephant-headed god 

 Ganesa discovered there. The images are carved out of 

 granite, and were therefore probably made in the high- 

 lands of the interior. At IMuara Takus, on the Kanipar 

 river, are other Hindu ruins of importance, and the 

 Menangkabo district has perhaps afibrded more examples 

 than any other part of the island. The Hindu inliuence 

 doubtless came as much from the south as from the north, 

 with the stream of Javanese immigration which has more 

 than once been alluded to. Of how long it lasted we have 

 not much more knowledge than we have of its establish- 

 ment. About the thirteenth century Islamism began to 

 gain a footing, and is now the accepted religion of almost 

 all the civilised and semi-civilised tribes. Over a vast 

 area, however, pure paganism exists, and Christianit}-, both 

 here and among the Mohammedans, has met with little 

 or no success. 



9. Products, Trade, and Agriculture. 



While Java may be regarded as the garden of the 

 Netherlands India, where, under the "culture system," 

 almost every tropical product has the benefit of the most 



