94 OLD MAN OF THE SEA. 



The principal objection to the orang utan theory is that 

 Simia satyrus is red, and not black. . But in explanation of 

 this I would suggest that there has been some confusion be- 

 tween Simia satyrus, which is red, and hylobates lar which 

 is black. *At the risk being considered fanciful, I am even 

 prepared to suggest that the white beard, with which some 

 some old versions of the Arabian Story and the modern illus- 

 trator to Lane's translation have adorned the " Old Man " 

 are an embelishment of the white ruff of Hylobates lar. A 

 minor objection is the fact that grapes do not grow in the 

 countries where the orang utan is found. Toddy, however, 

 and other similar intoxicants are well known; and it is not 

 improbable that the words " grape juice " were inserted by 

 some copyist. 



Let us take it that Sindbad's persecutor was an orang 

 utan. How do we get from orang utan to " Man of the 

 Sea " ? Simply, I think ; through the Malay. " Man of the 

 Sea" (orang laut) is a mistake for "Man of the Forest" 

 (orang utan). 



It is well known that orang utan has two meanings: 

 it is the name for the ape, and is also the generic name for the 

 aborigines. They are known as orang utan; orang bukit, 

 (men of the hills) ; or, in the case of the tribes driven inland, 

 orang dalam (men of the interior), or orang darat (men of 

 the land) ; whilst in contradistinction to the latter, the tribes 

 driven to the coast are known as orang laut (men of the sea) . 



Thus the Sakei are divided into Sakei laut and Sakei 

 darat, in the same way that Dyaks are divided into Sea-Dyaks 

 and Land-Dyaks. 



* In the account of Sindbad's adventure in his third voyage, in 

 the Island of Apes, Lane's translation describes the apes as being 

 "covered with hair like black felt," while in the Calcutta edition and 

 Langles' edition they are described as "red downy creatures." I 

 suggest that the mariner who described the animals as red was think- 

 ing of the orang utan, and that the other who described them as 

 black was thinking of the wah-wah. A similar confusion seems to 

 have been made in the case of the " Old Man." 



Jour. Straits Branch, 



