442 



A NATUMAZlSrS WAmEBINOS 



had disappeared, the kingdom would have been bound to 

 replace it in kind, or in value ! In this way I never bad any 

 anxiety about the safety of my property. 



The six eggs (the two tapers included) provided for our 

 bodily sustenance by the Rajah, being anything but suflieient 

 for three men who Iiad travelled thrf)Ugh sun and rain for 

 eleven hours, 1 sent a sharp message tbat something more 

 substantial must be forthc<jming, and at once. Prom a series of 

 terrible bowlings that readied our ears from the royal guard- 

 room, it was evident that my message had been passed on to 

 some unfortunate menial accompanied by an applicivtion to 

 quicken bis search, which resulted in a fowl and some other 

 comestibles finaliy being brought. 



On the 'kth April I was roused early by a vigorous tatoo 

 from the Eajah*s guard-house. The katjeru, or royal drummer, 

 is a hereditary official of high and coveted rank in the 

 kingdom, for they hold that when Sfnromak made Timor he 

 gave the people a standard-bearer to lead them to war, and a 

 katjeru to mxik beside bim— " like man and wife." 



As the Eajah, notwithstanding the noisy tatoo at bis door, 

 seemed to be u very late riser, I set out for the crest, of the hill 

 above our camp to take a round of observations. To reach the 

 most convenient place for my purpose I had to pass tlirough a 

 strong barricafled enclosure in which were several apparently 

 closed up and uninhabited houses. It was some minutes 

 before it struck me that I was in the presence of, to me the 

 most interesting of their buildings and their most sacred 

 institution — which 1 bad seen, but Avithout learning anything 

 about, at Sauo — tlie JJ-ma-LuHf a designation which I scarcely 

 know how to translate other than by Pomali House. 



1 am extremely doubtful whether it is to be reckoned among 

 their really reJifjlom institutions or not. It has connection 

 with tlie jiractice of the Tahoo, but whether it has been 

 introduced into this island along with a race that migrated 

 from the Pacific, or has arisen de tmvo among themselves I am 

 unable to conjecture. It is just possible that on their own 

 customs they may have grafted an imitation of some of the 

 rites of the Romish ritual, which has now more or less been 

 known to them for 300 years. If a family . cluster consists of 

 several houses, there is invariably one nmong them called the 



