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received and a brass tray, or other receptacle, 
containing little boxes which hold betel-nut, lime, 
tobacco, etc., for the guests’ entertainment are 
usually kept there. Sleeping mats, belonging to 
bachelor members of the family, will often be found 
here, as well as sitting mats, a bird cage and 
possibly some agricultural implements, 'bird-traps 
or fishing nets. 
A European, visiting a Malay house for the 
first time, would be struck by the absence of tables 
and chairs, for the floor, decorously covered with 
mats, is the dining table, the bed, and the sitting 
place. For this reason the feet are washed before 
entering the house, and no Malay would think of 
going into a friend’s house in European boots, if 
he was wearing them. 
The furnishing of the inner room, or rooms, 
of the house, if belonging to a peasant, is little more 
elaborate than that of the verandah — some more 
mats, pillows, a box containing clothes, possibly a 
creese suspended against the wall, or a spear, and 
perhaps a mosquito-net and a mattress. 
The kitchen contains a few simple cooking- 
utensils, a coconut-grater, some wooden spoons and 
stirrers, two or three cooking-pots of clay or brass, 
a board for grinding up condiments, a water- jar 
and dipper, some European or Chinese plates and 
saucers (or occasionally wooden plates) and some 
natural or clay gourds for holding water. European 
cups and glasses are also to be seen, the latter 
having displaced the old-time half coconut shell, 
copies of which were sometimes made in silver. 
The hearth consists of a rectangular frame of 
wood containing hard clay and some stones for 
