1832.] 
ISLAND OF SUMATRA, 
143 
oil of cocoanut; while those whose circumstances will permit, 
make use of an aromatic oil, extracted from gum benjamin, as a 
very pleasant perfume. The females wear no covering on their 
heads, either for protection or ornament, with the exception of a 
modest v/reath of flowers ; their hair, in the language of St. Paul, 
being their " covering and their glory." The flowers which com- 
pose this wreath are generally white, or of a pale yellow, and 
are always selected when only half blown, and strung with neat- 
ness and simplicity, without the least indication of show or 
gaudiness. 
Among the country people, and more especially in the southern 
districts, the young and unmarried females are distinguished by a 
narrow fillet, which, passing round the forehead and over the hair, 
is fastened at the back of the head. Among the wealthy, this 
fillet is generally of gold or silver, to match the zone ; while the 
poorer classes substitute a single leaf of the ?ieepah-tree. Their 
maiden state is also denoted by bracelets of silver or gold on the 
wrists. The young women in the country villages manufacture 
the cloth for their own cayen-sarong, which, with them only, 
reaches from the breast to the knees. Those worn by the Malay 
ladies nearer the coast, are of greater length, and more showy and 
expensive ; and yet the rural maids, with their shorter dress, evince 
more innocent simplicity and genuine modesty, than their metro- 
politan neighbours. 
Both sexes practise the unaccountable custom of filing, black- 
ing, and otherwise disfiguring their teeth, especially by an inordi- 
nate use of the betele-nut. The women in the Lampoon district 
actually file their teeth nearly down even with the gums ; and never 
seem to be satisfied while a single natural beauty is retained in their 
mouths ; thus evincing the greatest ingratitude to nature, from 
whom they each originally derived two beautiful rows of pearls, 
set in coral arches of the brightest red. Their teeth naturally 
are regularly set, and of the most exquisite whiteness. 
Having thus very cursorily touched upon the geographical loca- 
tion and geological features of the Island of Sumatra, together 
with its climate, winds, mountains, rivers, lakes, soil, minerals, 
and inhabitants, including a brief description of the persons and 
dress of the latter, we shall now proceed to drop a few words on 
their villages, buildings, and domestic ^ts. 
