332 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 



Mohammedans or Christians. The latter, the Orang 

 Sirani (Nazarenes), strike the traveller at once on land- 

 ing, dressed as they are from head to foot in black. 

 Even the garments are altered, the Malay sarong being 

 discarded for trousers, and the costume is utterly 

 unsuited to the climate. These people, at all events in 

 the town, are in many respects inferior to the Moham- 

 medans, being lazy, proud, and untruthful, and their 

 religion appears hardly better than a modified fetichism. 

 " It seems," writes Mr. Forbes, " to lie on them like an 

 awesome thraldom." Otherwise, they are much superior 

 in point of civilisation to the ordinary coast natives of 

 the islands, although a species of mild Mafia exists — the 

 Kakian society — which seems to include persons of all 

 nationalities and colour. 



The town of Amboina is situated on the south side of 

 the western inlet, about ten miles from the open sea. It 

 is a free port, carrying on trade over a wide area. It is 

 well laid out with regular and broad streets and a wide 

 green plein, and the red laterite roads and abundant 

 flowers and foliage give it an attractive appearance. 

 There is an imposing Government House, and Fort 

 Victoria, originally built by the Portuguese, but enlarged 

 and strengthened by the Dutch in 1609, is a massive 

 building which has managed to survive the earthquakes, 

 and still protects the large storehouses in which in 

 former days the cloves were kept. Amboina may be 

 regarded as, primarily, a mihtary station. Here, too, are 

 the headquarters of the mission staff and schoolmasters. 

 Amboina is celebrated for its shells, collections of which 

 have been made by the natives ever since the days of 

 Eumphius two centuries ago, and there is, perhaps, no 

 one locality in the world where so many beautiful 

 varieties are to be easily obtained, the traders bringing 



