22 
PAPERS ON MALAY SUSyECTS, 
neighbours to the north. The two races share the same 
beliefs and possess tlie same type of tribal sorcerers, the 
same double system of burial and the same practice of 
tattooing and painting the face. The langaages, too, are 
very closely connected ; and it would not be surprising to 
learn that the elaborate grammatical structure of the 
language of tlie Mai Darat of Kara par is to be found alsQ 
in the speech of the alien Mai Darat of the Plus. Thi^? 
represents a very intimate relationship indeed as compared 
with the position of the same tribe relative to the Seraang, 
the Besi^i and the Jaknu, Even in little things the 
relationship shows itself : the songs of the Xorthern and 
Central Bakai are alike meaningless, while those of the 
Besisi and Semang are full of meaning; the men of the 
Northern and Centt*al Sakai conceal tlieir names from 
strangers,, while the Besisi, Jakun and Hemang make no 
such concealment; the numeral systems of the two races 
are also akin. But while these two Sakai tribes are 
related more eloselv to each other than to the rest thev 
differ from one another in some important details. The 
Northern Sakai are a cleanly race; the Central Sakai 
are dii*ty to a disgusting degree. The Northern Sakai 
know the use of the bow; the Central Sakai do not. 
The Northern Sakai build long communal houses of very 
massive construction ; the Central Sakai live in flimsy 
huts. The Northern Sakai make large communal clear- 
ings where they live for two or three years at a time ; 
the Central Sakai have only small family clearings 
which they abandon till the crop is ready for harvesting. 
One might almost snspect the Central Sakai of being a 
degraded offshoot of the northern race were it not that 
it seems to be the purer race of the two. The Northern 
Sakai intermarries readily with other races ; the Central 
