136 Transactions. 



Kejangs. 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 dekqya^i, 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 samhilan, 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." Ten is expressed by the 

 word sa2:>ulo, that is sa-ulo, or one end or head, the " p " being inserted for the 

 sake of euphony, a very common practice in the Malay lang-uage. 



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 

 histories are entirely deficient, for by this we may estimate the chronology of 



