Far Off Part 22

The men scarcely work at all, but employ the slaves they have stolen at sea, to labor in their fields. Their houses are not better than barns, and not nearly as strong; for the sides and roof are generally made only of large leaves. They are built upon posts, as in Siam. It is well to be out of the reach of the leeches, crawling on the ground.

The Malays dress in loose clothes, trowsers, and jacket, and broad sash; the women are wrapped in a loose garment, and wear their glossy black hair flowing over their shoulders. The rich men dress magnificently, and quite cover their jackets with gold, while the ladies delight to sparkle with jewels.

BRUNI.

This is the capital. It is often called Borneo, and it is written down in the maps by this name. It is one of the most curious cities in the world; for most of the houses are built in the river, and most of the streets are only water. Every morning a great market is held on the water. The people come in boats from all the country round, bringing fruit and vegetables to sell, and they paddle up and down the city till they have sold their goods.

The Sultan's palace is built upon the bank, close to the water; and the front of his palace is open; so that it is easy to come in a boat, and to gaze upon him, as he sits cross-legged on his throne, arrayed in purple satin, glittering with gold.

There is a mosque in Bruni; but it is built only of brick, and has nothing in it but a wooden pulpit; and hardly anybody goes there, though a man stands outside making a loud noise on a great drum, to invite people to come in.

THE DYAKS.

These are a savage people who inhabit Borneo. They lived there before the Malays came, and they have been obliged to submit to them. They are savages indeed. They are darker than the Malays; yet they are not black; their skin is only the color of copper. Their hair is cut short in front, but streams down their backs; their large mouths show a quant.i.ty of black teeth, made black by chewing the betel-nut. They wear very little clothing, but they adorn their ears, and arms, and legs, with numbers of bra.s.s rings. Their looks are wild and fierce, but not cunning like the looks of the Malays. They are not Mahomedans; they have hardly any religion at all. They believe there are some G.o.ds, but they know hardly anything about them, and they do not want to know. They neither make images to the G.o.ds, nor say prayers to them. They live like the beasts, thinking only of this life; yet they are more unhappy than beasts, for they imagine there are evil spirits among the woods and hills, watching to do them harm. It is often hard to persuade them to go to the top of a mountain, where they say evil spirits dwell. Such a people would be more ready to listen to a missionary than those who have idols, and temples, and priests, and sacred books.

Their wickedness is very great. It is their chief delight to get the heads of their enemies. There are a great many different tribes of Dyaks, and each tribe tries to cut off the heads of other tribes. The Dyaks who live by the sea are the most cruel; they go out in the boats to rob, and to bring home, not _slaves_, but HEADS! And how do they treat a head when they get it? They take out the brains, and then they dry it in the smoke, with the flesh and hair still on; then they put a string through it, and fasten it to their waists. The evening that they have got some new heads, the warriors dance with delight,--their heads dangling by their sides;--and they turn round in the dance, and gaze upon their heads,--and shout,--and yell with triumph! At night they still keep the heads near them; and in the day, they play with them, as children with their dolls, talking to them, putting food in their mouths, and the betel-nut between their ghastly lips. After wearing the heads many days, they hang them up to the ceilings of their rooms.

No English lord thinks so much of his pictures, as the Dyaks do of their heads. They think these heads are the finest ornaments of their houses.

The man who has _most_ heads, is considered the _greatest_ man. A man who has NO HEADS is despised! If he wishes to be respected, he must get a head as soon as he can. Sometimes a man, in order to get a head, will go out to look for a poor fisherman, who has done him no harm, and will come back with his head.

When the Dyaks fight against their enemies, they try to get, not only the heads of _men_, but also the heads of _women_ and CHILDREN. How dreadful it must be to see a poor BABY'S HEAD hanging from the ceiling! There was a Dyak who lost all his property by fire, but he cared not for losing anything, so much as for losing his PRECIOUS HEADS; nothing could console him for THIS loss; some of them he had cut off himself, and others had been cut off by his father, and left to him!

People who are so bent on killing, as these Dyaks are, must have many enemies. The Dyaks are always in fear of being attacked by their enemies.

They are afraid of living in lonely cottages; they think it a better plan for a great many to live together, that they may be able to defend themselves, if surprised in the night. Four hundred Dyaks will live together in one house. The house is very large. To make it more safe, it is built upon _very high posts_, and there are ladders to get up by. The posts are sometimes forty feet high; so that when you are in the house, you find yourself as high as the tall trees. There is one very large room, where all the men and women sit, and talk, and do their work in the day. The women pound the rice, and weave the mats, while the men make weapons of war, and the little children play about. There is always much noise and confusion in this room. There are a great many doors along one side of the long room; and each of these doors leads into a small room where a family lives; the parents, the babies, and the girls sleep there, while the boys of the family sleep in the large room, that has just been described.

You know already what are the ornaments on which each family prides itself,--the HEADS hanging up in their rooms! It is the SEA Dyaks who live in these very large houses.

The HILL Dyaks do not live in houses quite so large. Yet several families inhabit the same house. In the midst of their villages, there is always one house where the boys sleep. In this house all the HEADS of the village are kept. The house is round, and built on posts, and the entrance is underneath through the floor. As this is the best house in the village, travellers are always brought to this house to sleep. Think how dreadful it must be, when you wake in the night to see thirty or forty horrible heads, dangling from the ceiling! The wind, too, which comes in through little doors in the roof, blows the heads about; so that they knock against each other, and seem almost as if they were still alive. This is the HEAD-HOUSE.

These Hill Dyaks do not often get a new head; but when they do, they come to the Head-House at night, and sing to the new head, while they beat upon their loud gongs. What do they say to the new head?

"Your head, and your spirit, are now ours. Persuade your countrymen to be slain by us. Let them wander in the fields, that we may bring the heads of your brethren, and hang them up with your heads."

How much Satan must delight in these prayers. They are prayers just suited to that great MURDERER and DESTROYER!

The Malays are enemies to all the Dyaks; and they have burnt many of their houses, cut down their fruit trees, and taken their children captives. The Dyaks complain bitterly of their sufferings. Some of them say, "We do not live like men, but like monkeys; we are hunted from place to place; we have no houses; and when we light a fire, we fear lest the smoke should make our enemies know where we are."

They say they live like monkeys. But why do they behave like tigers?

An English gentleman, named Sir James Brooke, has settled in Borneo, and has become a chief of a large tract of land. His house is near the river Sarawak. He has persuaded the Sultan of Borneo, to give the English a VERY LITTLE island called the Isle of Labuan. It is a desert island. Of what use can this small island be to England? English soldiers may live there, and try to prevent pirates infesting the seas. If it were not for the pirates, Borneo would be able to send many treasures to foreign countries. It is but a little way from Borneo to Singapore, and there are many English merchants at Singapore, ready to buy the precious things of Borneo. Gold is found in Borneo, mixed with the earth. But I don't know who would dig it up, if it were not for the industrious Chinese, who come over in great numbers to get money in this island. Diamonds are found there, and a valuable metal called antimony.

The sago-tree, the pepper plant, and the sugar-cane, and the cocoa-nut tree are abundant.

The greatest curiosity that Borneo possesses are the eatable nests. These white and transparent nests are found in the caves by the sea-sh.o.r.e, and they are the work of a little swallow. The Chinese give a high price for these nests, that they may make soup for their feasts.

ANIMALS.--Borneo has very few large animals. There are, indeed, enormous alligators in the rivers, but there are no lions or tigers; and even the bears are small, and content to climb the trees for fruit and honey. The majestic animal which is the pride of Ceylon, is not found in Borneo: I mean the elephant.

Yet the woods are filled with living creatures. Squirrels and monkeys sport among the trees. The leaps of the monkeys are amazing; hundreds will jump one after the other, from a tree as high as a house, and not one will miss his footing; yet now and then a monkey has a fall. The most curious kind of monkey is found in Borneo--the Ourang-outang; but it is one of the least active; it climbs carefully from branch to branch, always holding by its hands before it makes a spring. These Ourang-outangs are not as large as a man, yet they are much stronger. All the monkeys sleep in the trees; in a minute a monkey makes its bed by twisting a few branches together.

Beneath the trees--two sorts of animals, very unlike each other, roam about,--the clumsy hog, and the graceful deer. As the _largest_ sort of _monkeys_ is found in Borneo, so is the _smallest_ sort of _deer_. There is a deer that has legs only eight inches long. There is no more elegant creature in the world than this bright-eyed, swift-footed little deer.

j.a.pAN.

This is the name of a great empire. There are three princ.i.p.al islands.

One of these is very long, and very narrow; it is about a thousand miles long,--much longer than Great Britain, but not nearly as broad. Yet the three islands _together_ are larger than our island. There is a fourth island near the j.a.pan islands, called Jesso, and it is filled with j.a.panese people.

You know it is difficult to get into China; but it is far more difficult to get into j.a.pan. The emperor has boats always watching round the coast, to prevent strangers coming into his country. These boats are so made, that they cannot go far from the sh.o.r.e. No j.a.panese s.h.i.+p is ever seen floating in a foreign harbor. If it be difficult to get _into_ j.a.pan, it is also difficult to get _out_ of her. There is a law condemning to _death_ any j.a.panese who leaves his country. The Chinese also are forbidden to leave their land; but _they_ do not mind their laws as well as the j.a.panese mind _theirs_.

I shall not be able to tell you much about j.a.pan; as strangers may not go there, nor natives come from it. English s.h.i.+ps very seldom go to j.a.pan, because they are so closely watched. The guard-boats surround them night and day. When it is dark, lanterns are lighted, in order the better to observe the strangers. One English captain entreated permission to land, that he might observe the stars with his instruments, in order afterwards to make maps; but he could only get leave to land on a little island where there were a few fishermen's huts; and all the time he was there, the j.a.panese officers kept their eye upon him. He was told that he must not measure the land. It seems that the j.a.panese were afraid that his _measuring_ the land would be the beginning of his taking it away.

However, he had no such intention, and was content with measuring the SEA.

He asked the j.a.panese to sell him a supply of fruit and vegetables for his crew, and a supply was brought; but the j.a.panese would take no money in return. He wanted to buy bullocks, that his crew might have beef, but the j.a.panese replied, "You cannot have _them_; for they work hard, and are tired, they draw the plough; they do their duty, and they ought not to be eaten; but the _hogs_ are lazy; they do no work, you may have them to eat, if you wish it." The j.a.panese will not even milk their cows, but they allow the calves to have all the milk.

If you wish to know _why_ the j.a.panese will not allow strangers to land, I must relate some events which happened three hundred years ago.

Some Roman Catholic priests from Spain and Portugal settled in the land, and taught the people about Christ, but they taught them also to wors.h.i.+p the cross, and the Virgin Mary. Thousands of the j.a.panese were baptized, and were called Christians. After some years had pa.s.sed away, the emperor began to fear that the kings of Spain and Portugal would come, and take away his country from him, as they had taken away other countries; so the emperor began to persecute the priests, and all who followed their words.

One emperor after another persecuted the Christians. There is a burning mountain in j.a.pan, and down its terrible yawning mouth many Christians were thrown. One emperor commanded his people instead of _wors.h.i.+pping_ the cross, to _trample_ upon it. To do either--is wicked; to do either is to insult Christ.

All Christians are now hated in j.a.pan. The Dutch tried to persuade the emperors to trust _them_; but they could only get leave to buy and sell at one place, but not to settle in the land.

There are many beautiful things in j.a.pan, especially boxes, and screens, and cabinets, varnished and ornamented in a curious manner, and these are much admired by great people in Europe. There is silk, too, and tea, and porcelain in j.a.pan; but they are not nearly as fine as China. There is gold also.

There are as many people in j.a.pan, as there are in Britain; for the j.a.panese are very industrious, and cultivate abundance of rice, and wheat. Oh! how sad to think that so many millions should be living and dying in darkness; for the chief religion is the false, and foolish religion of Buddha, or, as he is called in j.a.pan, "Budso." How many names are given to that deceiver! Buddha in Ceylon; Fo, in China; Gaudama, in Burmah; Codom, in Siam--and Budso in j.a.pan!

What sort of people are the j.a.panese?

They are a very polite people--much politer than the Chinese, but very proud. They are a learned nation, for they can read and write, and they understand geography, arithmetic, and astronomy. There is a college where many languages are taught, even English. The dress of the gentlemen is elegant;--the loose tunic and trowsers, the sash, and jacket, are made of a kind of fine linen, adorned with various patterns; the stockings are of white jean; sandals are worn upon the feet, but no covering upon the head, although most of the hair is shaven, and the little that remains behind, is tied tightly together; an umbrella or a fan is all that is used to keep off the sun;--except on journeys, and then a large cap of oiled paper, or of plaited gra.s.s is worn. The great mark by which a gentleman is known, is wearing two swords.

The j.a.panese houses are very pretty. In the windows--flower-pots are placed; and when real flowers cannot be had, artificial flowers are used.

In great houses, the ladies are shut up in one part; while in the other, company is received. The house is divided into rooms by large screens, and as these can be moved, the rooms can be made larger, or smaller, as the master pleases. There are no chairs, for the j.a.panese, though so much like the Chinese, do not sit like them on chairs, but on mats beautifully woven. The emperor's palace is called, "The Hall of the Thousand Mats."

Every part of a j.a.panese house is covered with paper, and adorned with paintings, and gold, and silver flowers; even the doors, and the ceilings, are ornamented in this manner. Beautiful boxes, and porcelain jars, add to the beauty of the rooms.

The climate is pleasant, for the winter is short, and the sun is not as hot as in China; so that the ladies, and gentlemen, are almost as fair as Europeans, though the laborers are very dark.

[Ill.u.s.tration: j.a.pANESE GENTLEMAN.]

But j.a.pan is exposed to many dangers, from wind, from water, and from fire--three terrible enemies! The waves dash with violence upon the rocky sh.o.r.es; the wind often blows in fearful hurricanes; while earthquakes and hot streams from the burning mountains, fill the people with terror.

But more terrible than any of these--is wickedness; and very wicked customs are observed in j.a.pan. It is very wicked for a man to kill himself, yet in j.a.pan it is the custom for all courtiers who have offended the emperor, to cut open their own bodies with a sword. The little boys of five years old, begin to learn the dreadful art. They do not really cut themselves, but they are shown _how_ to do it, that when they are men, they may be able to kill themselves in an elegant manner.

How dreadful! Every great man has a white dress, which he never wears, but keeps by him, that he may put it on when he is going to kill himself: and he carries it about with him wherever he goes, for he cannot tell how suddenly he may want it. When a courtier receives a letter sentencing him to die, he invites his friends to a feast; and at the end of it, his sentence is read aloud by the emperor's officer; then he takes his sword, and makes a great gash across his own body; at the same moment, a servant who stands behind him, cuts off his head.

This way of dying is thought very fine, and as a reward, the emperor allows the son of the dead man to occupy his father's place in the court.