CHAPTER XI.

Sumatra The Kingdom of Menangcabow-Its former Power and Splendour-. Curious Proclamation of the Sultan-Arts and Manufactures of the PeopleFire-arms and Gunpowder-The Battas; their Religion, Character, Manners, Customs-The Kingdom of Acheen-Description of the Inhabitants, Government, Religion, &c.-Severity of their Punishments-Cruel Sport of the Quallah-Battooans-Dress and Character of the Achenese-Their Oratory-Revival of Trade after the late War-Imbecility of the Government-The Rajah of Trumon Islands on the Coast-Pulo Nyas Parents sell their Children for Slaves -The Pogies-Islands and Inhabitants of Egano-Winds and Currents-Surveys and Charts, by Captains Endicott and Gillis.

THE ancient and comparatively powerful empire of Menangcabow, comprises an extensive tract in the centre of the Island of Sumatra, reaching several leagues to the north, and nearly one hundred miles to the south of the equator. It also communicates, by several rivers, with the seacoast on each side of the island. The seat, or capital of this monarchy, is called Paggarooyoong, where the sultan or emperor holds his court, from whence his power and influence were formerly felt in almost every part of the island. Even the sultans and kings of Acheen, Indrapoor, MocoMoco, Palembang, and Jambee, confessed his supremacy, and paid him an annual tribute; while his name and power were acknowledged and respected by the neighbouring princes of the east.

But the period of this greatness and splendour is lost in the mists of antiquity, and only known to us by tradition; for when Sumatra was first visited by Europeans, as has been seen in preceding pages, the sultans of Acheen, Pasay, &c., were all independent of the monarch of Menangcabow; although some of them still paid him a complimentary tribute. For centuries past there has been a great deal of mystery thrown around the history and character of this inland imperial court by Mahometan priests, who affect to regard the sultan as the sovereign head of their faith, on the island; although his present power is in fact but little more, if any, than that of a common rajah.

The proclamations and imperial edicts which have emanated

from this court are generally ridiculously pompous, as those of weak monarchs most generally are; carrying terror to the ignorant and imbecile, while they are contemned by the intelligent and the strong. The titles and epithets applied to this inland potentate, and adopted by himself, are the most extravagant and absurd; far surpassing those assumed by the emperors of Persia and Tartary, or even by the head of the Celestial Empire himself, the "Father of ten thousand years." The reading world is indebted to Alexander Dalrymple, Esq., for rescuing from oblivion one of these curious productions, written by the Sultan of Menangcabow about a century since, and addressed to the Sultan of Moco-Moco.

In style, this imperial document is far more rational than many similar effusions we have seen; and is, taking it altogether, a production so remarkable, especially when the magnitude of its object is taken into view, that it forcibly reminds us of the wellknown comparison of

"Ocean into tempest tost,

To waft a feather, or to drown a fly."

The reader, therefore, we feel assured, will not regret its introduction in this place.

"Praised be Almighty God! Sultan Gaggar Allum, the great and noble king, whose extensive power reacheth unto the limits of the wide ocean; unto whom God grants whatever he desires, and over whom no evil spirit, nor even Satan himself, has any influence; who is invested with an authority to punish evil-doers, and has the most tender heart in the support of the innocent; has no malice in his mind, but preserveth the righteous with the greatest reverence, and nourisheth the poor and needy, feeding them daily from his own table. His authority reacheth over the whole universe, and his candour and goodness are known to all men. (Mention made of the three brothers.) The ambassador of God, and his prophet Mahomet; the beloved of mankind; and ruler of the island called Percho. At the time God made the heavens, the earth, the sun, the moon, and even before evil spirits were created, this Sultan Gaggar Allum had his residence in the clouds; but when the world was habitable, God gave him a bird called Hocinet, that had the gift of speech; this he sent down on

earth to look out for a spot where he might establish an inheritance, and the first place he alighted upon was the fertile island. of Lancapore, situated between Palimban and Jambee, and from thence sprang the famous kingdom of Menangcabow, which will be renowned and mighty until the judgment day.

"This Maha Rajah Doorja is blessed with a long life, and an uninterrupted course of prosperity, which he will maintain in the name, and through the grace of the holy prophet, to the end that God's divine will may be fulfilled upon earth. He is endowed with the highest abilities, and the most profound wisdom and circumspection in the governing the many tributary kings and subjects. He is righteous and charitable, and preserveth the honour and glory of his ancestors. His justice and clemency are felt in distant regions, and his name will be revered until the last day. When he openeth his mouth he is full of goodness, and his words are as grateful as rose-water to the thirsty. His breath is like the soft wind of the heavens (janatecool ferdoors), and his lips are the instruments of truth; sending forth perfumes more delightful than benjamin or myrrh. His nostrils breath ambergris and musk; and his countenance has the lustre of diamonds. He is dreadful in battle, and not to be conquered, his courage and valour being matchless. He, the Sultan Maha Rajah Doorja, was crowned with a sacred crown from God; and possesses the wood called kainat, in conjunction with the emperors of Rome and China. He is the sultan that keeps the cloth called sansista kallah, which weaves itself, and adds one thread yearly of fine pearls; and when that cloth shall be finished, the world will be no more. He also possesses the true negataroona, and a kind of gold called jatta jattee, which is so heavy that a small lump will snap the datte wood. This is the sultan that enjoys the sword se mandang gerey, which has one hundred and ninety wide notches in the field of battle, and is the weapon that killed the spirit of kattee moone; the dagger, known by the name of hangin singa, is also his, and will, at his command, fight for itself, with which he has vanquished many nations. He also possesses the lance lambing lamboora, the blade of which, called segar, was given him by an inhabitant of the sea. He likewise has horses of infinite strength and courage; and mountains of spontaneous fire. This is the sultan who keeps the flower champaka, that is

blue, and to be found in no other country but his (being yellow elsewhere). He possesses the shrub sera mangeree, and the reed arver priendue, to which birds of all countries come at the time of their death. He has also drums made of the tree silagooree, and another instrument of the like nature of the wood called pooloot-pooloot, which send their sound through his whole dominions whenever they are beat. He has a bechar house, built of the hallowed wood jylatong, and each beam in it, though strong and large, is yet as light as bamboo. He also possesses a carpet made of grass, and a lump of gold in the shape of a man, given him by a god of the woods.

"After this salutation, and the information I have given of my greatness and power, which I attribute to the good and holy prophet Mahomet, I am to acquaint you with the commands of the sultan, whose presence bringeth death to all who attempt to approach him without permission; and also those of the Sultan of Indrapoor, who has four breasts. This friendly sheet of paper is brought from the two sultans above named, by their bird ongas, unto their son Sultan Condam Shah, to acquaint him with their intention, under this great seal, which is, that they order their son, Sultan Condam Shah, to oblige the English Company to settle in the district called Biangnoor, at a place called 'field of sheep,' that they may not have occasion to be ashamed at their frequent refusal of our goodness in permitting them to trade with us and with our subjects; and that in case he cannot succeed in this affair, we hereby advise him that the ties of friendship subsisting between us and our son are broken; and we direct that he send us an answer immediately, that we may know the result, and take our measures accordingly-for all this island is our own."

The Malays of Menangcabow are expert in the use of the Arabic characters; but their writing is confined almost exclusively to transcribing portions of the Alcoran, and never extended to the more important use of preserving records connected with the history of their country. They have, however, acquired no little celebrity in composing cabars, or historical tales, which are generally a mixture of truth with fiction, written in a style not unlike the romances of Arabia, highly poetical, and abounding with the marvellous. The recitation of these stories is a common amusement in all parts of the island.

In the useful arts, they excel the natives of every other section of Sumatra; displaying no inconsiderable skill and ingenuity in their handicrafts, particularly in filigree-work of gold and silver. In the working of iron, steel, and other metals, many of these Malays are firstrate artists; and it is from their factories and armories that the more warlike tribes of the north have been accustomed to procure their fire-arms and other martial weapons. from time immemorial. The arts of smelting iron, casting cannon, and manufacturing firelocks, have been practised by them from a very remote period; as appears from the fact, that such weapons were adroitly used by the Sumatrans, in their earliest conflicts with the Portuguese.

The delicate and difficult process of preparing steel from iron, has also been long familiar to them, as has been already intimated. in another place. The quality of their swords and kris blades, has never been equalled in any other part of the world; the steel of which they are composed appearing entirely different from that which we are accustomed to handle, and exhibiting veins of different colours. The shape of the blade is peculiar, it being neither straight like a dagger or dirk, nor uniformly curved like a cutlass or sabre; but it is waving, like the attenuated flame of a torch, which gives an increased magnitude to the wounds they inflict, and render them more difficult to heal. The hafts or handles of these weapons are curiously wrought and ornamented, generally embellished with the carved head and beak of a bird, with human arms, like the Isis of the Egyptians.

The art of making gunpowder with them is of course coeval with, if not anterior to, that of constructing engines for its use. It was no doubt brought from the continent by the first emigrants; for fire-arms of some description were used in India, even before its invasion by Alexander the Great, as appears from the writings. of Philostratus. This celebrated historian, in his life of Apollonus Typhaneus, tells us that the cities of Oxydracia, in farther India, could never have been taken by Alexander, "for they come not out into the field (says he) to fight those who attack them; but these holy men, beloved by the gods, overthrow their enemies with lightnings and thunderbolts, shot from their walls."

The military forces of Menangcabow, in addition to their firearms, are provided with ranjows, or sharp-pointed spears of bam

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