MANUFACTURE OF CLOTH. 155 



tartan. The sarongs, or cloths worn round the waists 

 of the men, and into which the kris is frequently 

 stuck, manufactured on the coast, are, however, much 

 preferred to any cloths the produce of Europe, or of 

 Celebes or Java, on account of their great durability. 

 The sarongs from Celebes, which, next to their own, are 

 most esteemed, sell in the bazaar for two dollars each ; 

 the coarsest of those of the town sell for three, and the 

 finest and those brought from Kalekka for four or 

 five dollars. A much finer and dark-coloured kind, 

 the produce of the looms of Soolu and Magindanau, 

 are very highly esteemed. They cost on the west 

 coast from eight to twenty dollars, and are rarely to be 

 purchased ; at Bruni, where they are more commonly 

 used by the people of rank, their price is very little 

 lower, though the supply is greater and more regular. 

 It is curious that the price of these cotton cloths 

 should be more than that of silk of the same size, the 

 produce of other countries where the art of weaving is 

 in greater perfection. All the fabrication of cloths is 

 carried on by the females, and a slave who is clever 

 at this branch of industry is proportionately valued. 

 Though silks are much worn by the women, they do 

 not attempt themselves to manufacture them ; they 

 are all brought from Singapore, and those manufac- 

 tured at the Anambas islands, particularly at Siantan, 

 are generally used. They are of the same patterns as 

 the other Malayan cloths, and cost in Sarawak about 

 three to four Spanish dollars, or 12s. 6d. to IQs. 8d. 

 sterling. Those brought from Palembang and Tring- 



