Note 31 — Chapter V · CONCLUSION.
Reading edition
“In the district of Allas [in Sumatra] a custom prevails, by which, if a man has been sold to the hill people, however unfairly, he is restricted on his return from associating with his countrymen as their equal, unless he brings with him a sum of money, and pays a fine for his re-enfranchisement to his kalippah or chief. This regulation has taken its rise from an idea of contamination among the people, and from art and avarice among the chiefs.” Marsden, p. 255. Similarly, among the Maori, according to Polack (II p. 55), “chiefs who have tasted of slavery are often taunted by their friends, by whom they may have been ransomed, as having been slaves.” Brown (New Zealand, p. 62) remarks: “They attach great importance to the circumstance of never having been taken in war.” ↑