Note 264 — Chapter X · (continued 2)

The following account of this great capital, and of the country in general, is given by the Chinese; it was furnished by Han-Cham-pit, a Chinese, whose family have for many generations been settled on Java, and translated into English by Mr. Crawfurd, when Resident of Surabaya.

"Extract from a Chinese book called Bun-kyan-tong-ko, printed at Pekin one hundred and five years ago, in the reign of the Emperor Bang-he, and compiled under the direction of his ministers, Tyn-eng, Ong-un-Chin, Ong-Tam, Tyn-yong-twan, and others.

"There is a country called Jaw-wa, formerly called Cha-po; on the sea-coast of it there is a country called Po-kya-lung, by which is the entrance into the country.

"In the reign of the Emperor Hut-pit-lyat, of the family of Gívan Jaw-wa, it was described as being bounded in the following manner: to the east by Ko-li-gin, to the west by Sam-bu-che, to the north by Ko-ta-sit, and to the south by Cham-Sya.

"Subject to this country of Cha-po are Sokit-tan, Ta-pan, Ta-kong, Te-but, and other countries.

"In coming from Chwan-cha (Emwi) by sea one first makes Cham-Sya.

"The people of that country are of a strange appearance, and exceedingly ugly.

"In genius, habits, and language, they are entirely different from the Chinese.

"Jaw-wa became first known to the sovereigns of China in the reign of Saow-Gil-yang, of the dynasty Song[268]. The intercourse was, however, afterwards interrupted.

"After this, in the reign of Tyo-kong-in, of the family of Tyo[269], the king of Jaw-wa, whose name was Bak-lo-cha, sent an embassy with gifts to the Emperor of China.

"The intercourse was again renewed in the reign of Tyo-kyat, of the same family, when the Javans sent a mission with gifts to China.

"Afterwards, in the reign of the Emperor Hut-pit-lyat, and in the thirteenth year of his reign, soldiers were sent from China, but the Javan subjects were very numerous, and they could not succeed[270].

"The water of that country is called pa-chak-an. Here is the mouth of a river. This is the place to invade the country. It was here that Su-pit and Rohin, the generals of Hut-pit-lyat, fought the people of the country.

"The country of Jaw-wa is divided between two kings, one to the west, and one to the east. In the reign of the Emperor Chee-Te, of the dynasty of Beng, when that prince had sat five years on the throne, the western prince, whose name was Fo-wan-pan, made war on the prince of the eastern half of the island, and overthrew his kingdom.

"In the reign of the same Chinese prince, and in the sixteenth year of his reign, the western king of Jaw-wa, whose name now was Yang-wi-see-sa, sent a mission to China, with a present of a white parrot.

"Half a day's journey to the south-west of the river is the king's palace, close to a tank. Within this are two or three hundred houses. Seven or eight persons wait on the king, clothed in silk of various colours.

"The king's palace is built of bricks. In height the wall is thirty feet. Its circumference is about 30,000 paces. The hair on the king's head is in appearance like growing grass; he wears a cap ornamented at top with gold fashioned like leaves. A piece of silk is wrapped over his bosom; round his waist he has a piece of embroidered silk; he wears a short weapon; his feet are bare. Sometimes he rides on an elephant, and sometimes on a bullock.

"With respect to the people, the hair of the men has the appearance of growing grass. The women tie it in a knot at the top of the head; they wear a coat and a long cloth. The men invariably wear a short weapon at the waist, which is of exquisite workmanship.

"Their laws never punish by corporal infliction. They take no account of the measure of a man's offences; the criminal, in all cases, is secured with rattans, and then put to death by stabbing him.

"In their traffic they use the money of China, but of a coinage older than the present times. These coins bear a value double of what they do in China.

"The inhabitants of the country have names, but no surnames. They are of a quarrelsome disposition. In their persons they are ill-favoured and filthy. Their colour is a blueish black. Their heads are like those of large monkeys, and they go bare-legged. They believe in evil spirits. In sitting and sleeping they neither use chairs nor beds: in eating they use neither spoons nor chop-sticks. With respect to food, they do not reject snakes, caterpillars, worms, and insects. They do not scruple to eat and sleep with their dogs.

"In their marriage ceremonies it is the practice for the man to go to the house of the woman, where he stays five days; at the end of this time the bride is received with music and noise at the house of the bridegroom. The bride wears no coat, her hair is loose, her feet are bare, and she wears a piece of silk round her bosom. Sometimes she wears ornaments of gold, pearls, and precious stones.

"With respect to the dead, some are thrown into the water, some burnt, and some buried; all this according to the will of the person expressed before his death. The exports of the country are gold, silver, pearls, rhinoceros' horns, elephants' teeth, tortoise-shell, beetle-nut, black pepper, sapan wood, garu wood, kanglong, cotton, Sundit birds, green pigeons, and doves of various colours, parrots of various colours, red, green, and white, with white deer and white monkeys."