Ch. XV.] MALAY DEESS AND CHAEACTEE. 243 



shapeless and ugly mouth, which is rendered even worse by 

 the detestable habit, common to both sexes, of chewing 

 betel-nut, which reddens the teeth, lips, gums, and saliva of 

 an uniform blood-colour, and has a most unsightly appear- 

 ance. They usually affect bright colours in their costume — 

 the men wearing a baju or jacket of thin material, more or 

 less variegated, and trowsers, sluar, of a similar character, 

 while the head is enveloped in a saputangan or coloured 

 handkerchief. With the women the sarong (literally a 

 sheath) plays an important part. In less frequented places 

 it is the sole article of dress, and consists of a wide skirt or 

 sack, of equal size above and below, fastened just beneath 

 the breasts and reaching to the ankles, the shoulders and 

 arms only being left bare. In young girls the little sarong 

 is commonly of a yeUow colour, and indistinguishable at a 

 distance from flesh-tint; it is simply fastened round the 

 waist, and is the only garment, and a very graceful one, 

 exhibiting the contour of the figure, especially when, as in 

 some cases, it is ornamented with a quasi-classic pattern, 

 strongly reminding one of the antique female dresses which 

 we meet with in Hope's " Costume of the Ancients." 



The Malays are very lazy, and averse to any, especially 

 continuous, labour ; and scarcely anything can induce them 

 to undertake active employment. The women have imi- 

 versaUy a listless, shuffling gait, and languid appearance, 

 which is very characteristic, and not improved by the use of 

 slippers, which simply hang upon their toes without any 

 fastening. 



A Malay village is a common but picturesque and interest- 

 ing feature of the neighbourhood of Singapore. Its situation 

 and surroundings cannot fail to strike a stranger, and to be 

 a matter of interest to the observant. These villages are 



B 2 



