The Malay archipelago : the land of the orang-utan ... - Wallace Online

270 THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO. [chap.verted to Christianity. In the larger villages there are Europeanmissionaries ; but there is little or no external difference betweenthe Christian and Alfuro villages, noi% as far as I have seen, intheir inhabitants. The people seem more decidedly Papuanthan those of Gilolo. They are darker in colour, and a numberof them have the frizzly Papuan hair ;their features also areliarsh and prominent, and the women in particular are far lessengaging than those of tlie Malay race. Captain Van der Beckwas never tired of abusing the inhabitants of these Christianvillages as thieves, liars, and drunkards, besides being incorrigiblylazy. In the city of Amboyna my friends DoctorsMohnike and Doleschall, as well as most of the European residentsand traders, made exactly the same complaint, and wouldrather have Mahometans for servants, even if convicts, thanany of the native Christians. One great cause of this is the factthat with the Mahometans temperance is a part of their religion,and has become so much a habit that practically the rule isnever transgressed. One fertile source of want, and one greatincentive to idleness and crime, is thus present with tlie oneclass, but absent in the other ; but besides this the Cliristianslook upon themselves as nearly the equals of the Europeans,who profess the same religion, and as far sviperior to thefollowers of Islam, and ai^e therefore prone to despise work, andto endeavour to live by trade, or by cultivating their own land.It need hardly be said that witli people in this low state ofcivilization religion is almost wholly ceremonial, and that neitherare the doctrines of Christianity comprehended, nor its moralprecepts obeyed. At the same time, as far as my own experiencegoes, I have found the better class of " Orang Sirani'"' as civil,obliging, and industrious as the ]\Ialays, and only inferior tothem from their tendency to get intoxicated.Having written to the Assistant Resident of Saparna (whohas jurisdiction over the opposite part of the coast of Coram)for a boat to pursue my journey, I received one rather largerthan necessary with a crew of twenty men. I therefore badeadieu to my kind friend Captain Van der Beck, and left on theevening after its arrival for the village of Elpij^uti, which wereached in two days. I had intended to stay here, but not likingthe appearance of the place, which seemed to have no virginforest near it, I determined to proceed about twelve miles furtherup the bay of Amahay, to a village recently foi'med, and inhabitedby indigenes from the interior, and where some extensivecacao plantations were being made by some gentlemenof Amboyna. I reached the place (called Awaiya) the sameafternoon, and with the assistance of Mr. Peters (the managerof the j^lantations) and the native chief, obtained a small house,got all my things on shore, and paid and discharged my twentyboatmen, two of whom had almost driven me to distraction bybeating tom-toms the whole voyage.I found the people here very nearly in a state of nature, and