1836,] 



On the Language, fyc. 



139 



XIV. — On the Language of the Battas of Sumatra, by Lieutenant T. J 0 

 Newbold ; with Remarks on its Hindu affinities ; <fc, by the Rev, 

 "Wo Taylor. 



Bellary, May 3lst, 1836c 

 Sir^ — I have the pleasure to present to the Society an alphabet of the 

 Battas of Sumatra, with a specimen of their writing, recently received 

 from the Straits; also a copy of a code of Bugis' maritime law3, with 

 a translation and vocabulary, and alphabet in the Bugis character. 



Mr. Marsden has published an alphabet of the singular language of 

 the Butt as, in his history of Sumatra : but, as this differs somewhat 

 from the one now sent, not only in the arrangement of the letters, but 

 in its being written from the left to right, instead of from bottom to 

 top, (a circumstance which Dr. Leyden, in his dissertation on the lan- 

 guages and literature of the Indo-Chinese nations, takes notice of in 

 the following words—" Marsden has given a tolerably correct Batta 

 alphabet r in his History of Sumatra t but instead of placing the charac- 

 ters in a perpendicular line, he has arranged them horizontally, which 

 conveys an erroneous idea of their natural form;") I have deemed it 

 worthy of notice, particularly as so little is known respecting the 

 literature of this singular family of mankind, a subject to which I 

 would fain urge the attention of those who have leisure and opportunity. 

 The authors I shall have occasion to quote, have hitherto afforded us 

 accounts but little satisfactory on this point, indeed scarcely more than 

 to excite attention and curiosity. 



Jhe Alphabet of the Battas consists of nineteen letters, which in 

 power resemble those of the Ldmpungs, the Bugis and the Japans. 

 According to Mr. Marsden (as previously alluded to), the character is 

 written from left to right; and, according to Dr. Leyden, from the 

 bottom to top. Mr. Anderson, however, in his mission to Sumatra, 

 asserts, that both authors are correct, from the circumstances of a 

 Karau-karau Batta having written, in his presence, from left to right, 

 upon paper with a pen ; and the great cannibal rajah of Munto Panel 

 having inscribed, upon a joint of bamboo, with a knife, from bottom to 

 top. 



From what I have heard from Battas who have migrated, and from 

 the specimens of their writing which have reached me, I should incline 

 to the opinion of Dr. Leyden, that the Batta characters are written, 

 generally, in a manner directly opposite to those of the Chinese, from 

 bottom to top. They bear some analogy to the Tagdla, or Philippine, 

 characters. The language is supposed to be one of the most ancient 

 in Sumatra, and, if we may credit the Battas themselves, it forms the 

 basis of all other languages prevalent in that vast island. The Rejdng 

 and Lampung dialects are certainly formed upon it ; and, according to 

 Dr. Leyden, it is connected with the Bugis and Birna languages, as 



