290 
THIS BIND A OF JOIIOUE* 
may have been, the teachers of the Binua until I have made further 
enquiries on the subject. 
In offering- some introductory remarks to a series of contributions 
to the ethnography of the Archipelago (in which this hurriedly writ¬ 
ten paper has accidentally taken precedence,) I took occasion to dwell 
on the extreme interest of the languages of even the rudest races, 
and the necessity imposed by our very imperfect knowledge of any, 
and ignorance of most, of ascertaining these languages before seeking 
to penetrate the thick darkness which envelopes the early history of 
this region. The Binua supply a strong illustration of this necessity. 
In our immediate vicinity a people are found in the middle of the 
Johore forest. No one knows how long they have lived there, or 
whence their forefathers came. They themselves have lost the last 
vestige of the tradition of their real origin, and it is a mystery to the Ma¬ 
lays who must have known them for many centuries. They have abso¬ 
lutely no history that goes farther back than two or three generations. 
It is the language alone therefore that can enable us to cross the 
gulph of oblivion that stretches between them and their progenitors. 
If it cannot afford materials to construct a solid and unbroken bridge, 
it may at least supply us with stepping stones. At present 1 offer 
no observations on the remnants of the original language. Many of 
tile dialects with which it is necessary to compare them are not to 
be found in books, and the task is one demanding much time and 
extensive research. Some highly interesting results have already 
been obtained from a partial comparison, hut it would be premature 
to enter on this until my enquiries are more advanced. While a large 
proportion of the words differ from those dialects of the Bermun 
tribes with which I am acquainted, several occur in those foreign 
languages which have other words in common with the latter. These 
aboriginal words are in some respects the most valuable discoveries 
which Johore has afforded. I found no architectural monuments of 
the Hindu era of the Archipelago, no ancient images or inscriptions, 
such as, in the north of the Peninsula, in Sumatra, Java and Borneo, 
excite the enthusiasm and reward the toil of the archeologist. But 
in the living symbols preserved in the language we are transported to 
ages still more remote. The primitive people of the Archipelago 
speak to us in words free from Sanskrit and Arabic taint, which 
claim for their descendants, now secluded in the central forest of Jo. 
bore, a brotherhood with many nations which have risen to Import¬ 
ance on the busy stage of the eastern world. How much of the an¬ 
cient history of the Archipelago has been transmitted to us in the 
