136 a Transactions. 
Rejangs. But the next three numerals, viz., seven, eight, and nine, in Malay, 
are not Barata, but of their own invention, adopted at a time when the rise 
and progress of the tribe demanded the addition, and the manner of invention 
may be explained as follows :—Seven is expressed by tudju, that means to 
point which act is done by the seventh, or forefinger of the right hand after 
the left had been counted. Eight is expressed by delapan, that is dua lapang, — 
or two spaces between it and the last, or tenth, finger (the small finger of the 
right hand). That this is the correct interpretation is proved by another 
language in Sumatra, viz., that of Prince’s Island, which uses the same term 
- for eight and sa lapan for nine, that is one space between it and the last ; 
while the Acheenese for the same numeral (nine) use sa, korong, i.e.—one 
wanting. Nine is expressed in Malay by sambilan, i.e.—one count from the 
last. This idiom is common to the language, thus, for example, “ half-past 
three ” they express by saying “ half of four o’clock.” Tenis expressed by the 
word sapulo, that is sa-wlo, or one end or head, the “ p” being inserted for the 
sake of euphony, a very common practice in the Malay language. 
Thus we see that of all the numerals in the table the Malay, in common 
with remote Timor, has borrowed least from the Barata tongue, and so far as 
the evidence goes, it has, had little connection with the origin of the 
Polynesian languages, including that of New Zealand, This I adduce as another 
proof of the theory I have previously advanced on other data before this 
Society. ; 
With the extinction of the Barata power there arose the Malayan 
influence, but which extended, in its most palmy days, only from Sumatra to 
Ternati. Its original seat in the highlands of Sumatra, viz., Menangkabau, 
by its fertility and temperate climate, was well fitted to develop a race 
superior in energy to those found on the sea boards and enervating plains of 
the Malayan Peninsula and adjacent districts. The proximity of the river 
outlets of Menangkabau to the Straits of Singapore, the key of eastern 
navigation, placed the Malay race (once developed into a nation) in a 
strategical position eminently superior to the only powerful nations that 
could come in contact with them, viz., the Siamese and Javanese. The whole 
basin of Malacca must be described as barren, so the region, while being the 
key to the Archipelago, can only be said to be fitted for trade or piratical 
adventure. In these pursuits we find, from native history, that the Malays 
competed with the Bugis over the length and breadth of the Archipelago, 
drawing down on themselves the intermittent wrath of the kings of Kalinga, 
:Siam, and Java. 
Marco Polo visited their capital, at that time fixed at Singapura (Singa- 
pore) in the year 1292, a valuable date, a desideratum of which native 
oe histories are entirely deficient, for by this we may estimate the chronology of 
