THE MOLUCCAS 
343 
The total population in 1887 was 20,030, of which 
about 6000 were Mohammedans. In 1886 and 1887 
smallpox carried off at least 3000. The islands are 
ruled by eighteen Bajas, whose title is hereditary, and 
who hold the silver or gold-mounted sticks which the 
Dutch confer upon the princes or chiefs subject to them 
throughout the archipelago. Villages are very numerous 
all round the coast of Great Ke. They are surrounded 
by stone walls, and the houses, which are here as else¬ 
where pile-built, are family, not communal, as in Borneo 
and Hew Guinea. A certain amount of uncultivated 
land belongs to each village, the boundaries of which are 
established by the chiefs; and here, according to Captain 
Langen, the native may cut sago-palms or timber, but 
the coco-nuts are regarded as general property, and are 
under the guardianship of the chiefs, who on certain days 
permit them to be gathered, the nuts being divided 
among the people in proportion to their rank. 
The Ke islanders exhibit the artistic skill of the 
Papuans, showing especial taste in carving, and under¬ 
standing the rudiments of drawing—a rare accomplish¬ 
ment in Malaysia. On the face of some sea-cliffs on the 
north-west coast of Huhu Eoa are coloured, incised 
drawings of animals, praus, etc., which, if not ancient, are 
at all events not of recent date, and are looked upon by 
the natives as the work of spirits. But the industry in 
which they most excel, and for which they are celebrated 
throughout the archipelago, is shipbuilding. In this 
they are wonderfully clever, for the vessels are built not 
only with very simple tools, but without the use of iron, 
the solid planks being secured together by pegs and 
fastened to the ribs by rattan. So truly do they work, 
that planks 20 or 30 feet long are fitted to each 
other on the curved sides of a vessel with such accuracy 
