204 ON THE LANGUAGES AND LITERATURE 



Befigal, and otlicr parts of Indiay which is a fact that 

 cannot easily be called in question. It is surprizing 

 that this singular custom has received so httle inves- 

 tigation. 



The names of the different Batta tribes, of whom I 

 have been able to hear, arc the following — • 



1. Balta Sebalungu, 5. Batta Tcru, 



2. Batta Padembanin, 6. Batta fiila, ' 



3. Batta Kwalu, 7. Batta Kuriilang, 



4. Batta Paniiay, 8. Batta Sipagabu, 



In many of the Batta customs, considerable simi- 

 larity to those oi the Nairs 0^ Malabar may be traced, 

 as in the law of inlieritance, according to which it is 

 jiot the son, but the nephew, that succeeds. 



The Batta language has considerable claims to ori- 

 ginality, though it is not only connected with the 

 Malayu^ but also with the BiigisTmA Bima languages. 

 In point of construction it is equally simple as the 

 Malay u, but it is wdth the Bugis that it seems to 

 have the most intimate connection. Indeed, the 

 manners of the aboriginal Bugis are supposed to have 

 exhibited no small resemblance to the peculiar cus- 

 toms of the Batta nation ; for the Rajja or Ta-Rajja 

 tribe, in the central parts of the island Celebes, are 

 said still to eat their prisoners of war. The Batta 

 language is the chief source of that diversity of dia- 

 lect which is discoverable in the languages of Suma- 

 tra. The Bajang or Rtjang dialect is formed by the 

 mixture of the Batta and Malayu; tha Lampung, by 

 mixing Malay and Batta with a proportion oi^ Java- 

 nese. The KarrowSy who are subject to Achi or A chin, 

 use only a slight variation of the Batta language^ 

 while the language of Achi proper consists of a mix- 

 ture of 7l7tf/67/M and J5fi/^fl, with all the jargon? used 



