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large distance and its water is clear and sweet , for which reason the marm- 

 ers who pass it, call it the sea of fresh water. 



The ground is fertile and rice abundant ; its grain is pointed and small, 

 but has a delicious flavour. 



The manners and customs of the people are rather good. The weath- 

 er is always warm; men and women have their hair in a knot and wear a 

 striped sarong round their loins. 



Articles of import are gold, silver, iron goods, earthenware, etc. 



This place probably is the mouth of the river Rekan and the adjaeent part 

 of the Sumatra coast. It falls into the sea south of the Aru-group through a large estuary, 

 into wliich two other rivers of considerable importance discharge their waters and where, 

 during the rainy season , the sea water may easily be covered by a sheet of fresh water. 

 As there was no place of note in this neighbourhood , the name of this phenomenon 

 has been given to the whole locality. 



The kingdom of Aru 0. 



Ying-yai Shêng-lan (1416). 



Going from Malacca with a ship for four days and nights, one may 

 arrive there. 



In this country is a river called the Fresh-water river and entering 

 this, one arrivés at the settlement. On the south of this country are large 

 mountains, on the north it has the sea, on the west it is connected with 

 Sumatra and on the east there is all flat land. 



The soil is only fit for dry ïïcefields and the rice is of a very small 

 grain, but there is always a sufficiënt quantity of it. The people live from 

 agriculture and fishing. 



Their manners and customs . are pure; the ceremonies of marriage, 

 burial etc. are similar to those in Java and Malacca. Foreign goods are little 

 used by them. Cotton cloth is called k'au-ni ( 2 ). Besides rice they have 

 plenty of cattle, goats, fowls and ducks; milk is much used amongst them. 



The king and the people are all Mahomedans. 



In the forest is a sort of flying tiger, of the size of a cat; its whole 

 body is covered with hairs of an ashy colour and it has fleshy wings like a 



(*) ije" pfo , perhaps kain, the Malay naine for textiles 



