1850.] 



of Continental India, fyc. 



107 



may be practicable further to investigate without meantime 

 assuming any thing positive. 



" The corrective hint that the Malays consider the term 

 Batlak to relate to districts rather than to inhabitants is va- 

 luable : it differs from the impression produced by authors 

 writing about them ; but as vague modes of expression are 

 too common with all authors, and as they are among the 

 obstacles to real progress in knowledge, obligation would be 

 felt for any further correctives of authors from local know- 

 ledge.* 



" Finally among the names selected for inferential deduc- 

 tion on being of Hindu origin is the term Naga Saribu ; 

 chiefly because of the first Sanscrit word (meaning snake or 

 serpent) ; and partly because the other word is very much the 

 same with a Tamil one denoting splendour, or magnificence ; 

 but if this be a purely Malay word meaning a thousand, as is 

 very readily conceded, and is now believed to be the case, so 

 much the stronger is the reference : for we immediately re- 

 ' cognize the thousand headed snake Adi-sesha ; as conspi- 

 cuous in Hindu record as Mafia Meru itself with its thousand 

 peaks : respecting which by the way there is a mythological 

 coincidence not necessary to be stated here. 



" On the whole therefore it may be safely concluded that 

 an early connexion existed between India and Java, and be- 

 tween India and Sumatra by way of Java. The traces are 

 strong and undeniable ; though forming matter for fuller 

 development. Whether the Battas are originally descended 

 from a low tribe of Hindus or otherwise, cannot possibly be 

 determined without local investigation on the island of Su- 

 matra itself; a matter not very practicable. Thus much 

 however is known : which is that they owned fealty to an im- 

 perial family evidently of Hindu origin • and that they still 

 hold all descendants of that family in superstitious reverence, 

 in common with all other Sumatran." 



* I think however that the remark was made by Dr. Ley. 



