BY THE REV. J. E. TENISON-WOODS. 



101 



name, according to Crawfurd, from prabu a lord, and tings the 

 Hindoo priapus, an emblem of the goddess Siva, and of the 

 Phallus worship which once prevailed there. It is also called by 

 the Malays Bang*, or the M fetid." He adds that the place has 

 been colonized from Madura about 150 years ago, and on this 

 account it is Madurese and not Javanese, which is the language o£ 

 the country about. The dialects are of two kinds of Malay, but 

 intimately connected with the language of Bali, and having many 

 words in common with that of Sunda.* The appearance of the 

 town is prepossessing in the extreme on account of the beautiful 

 way in which the wide streets are laid out in gardens. As a 

 matter of fact, this is the case with all the towns under Dutch 

 influence in the Indian Archipelago. But some show the effect of 

 this supervision more than others, depending in a great measure 

 on the number of Europeans resident in the town. This of course 

 is proportionate to the population, importance, industries and 

 commerce of the seaport. In Probolingo there is a lai^e sugar 

 industry and export trade. The town is furthermore adorned 

 with a pretentious looking club-house. There is an hotel also, 

 which is by no means to be found in every large town in Java. 

 On account of some family rejoicings amongst the native princes, 

 I saw Probolingo in its holiday attire, in beautiful though hot 

 -weather, and certainly it left a pleasing impression. There is a 

 curious circumstance about the customs of this people; as a rule 

 throughout Java the land belongs to the inhabitants, in the sense 

 that it is held by the villages or campongs for the benefit of the 

 free native population. But in Madura there is a private here- 

 ditary right of property which exists nowhere else in Java except 

 amongst the Soudanese, and those colonists who occupy this 

 district. Probolingo is the capital of a province extending across 

 the island. 



*For further particulars about tho Javanese, Madurese, Balinese and 

 Soudanese- dialects, aee Rallies' History of Java, Vol. L, p. 400. Ia the 

 provinces east of Surabaya the language partakes much of the Madurese. 

 See also Crawfurd's " Dissertation on the Grammar and Dictionary of tho 

 Malay Language." 



