Volume 1 — CHAPTER II. (continued 2)

Compared with the western Asiatics, the Javans have but few prejudices regarding food. They are Mahomedans, and consequently abstain rigidly from swine's flesh, and commonly from inebriating liquors; and some few families, from the remains of a superstition which has descended to them from their Hindu ancestors, will not eat of the flesh of the bull or cow; but with these exceptions, there are few articles which come amiss to them. They live principally upon vegetable food, and rice is on Java, what it is throughout Asia, the chief article of subsistence; but fish, flesh, and fowl are likewise daily served up at their meals, according to the circumstances of the parties. With fish they are abundantly supplied; and what cannot be consumed while fresh, is salted, or dried, and conveyed into the inland provinces. They do not eat of the turtle or other amphibious animals, but none of the fish known to Europeans are objected to by them. The flesh of the buffalo, the ox, the deer, the goat, and various kinds of poultry, are daily exposed for sale in their markets, and are of very general consumption. The flesh of the horse is also highly esteemed by the common people; but the killing of horses for food is generally prohibited, except when maimed or diseased. The hide of the buffalo is cut into slices, soaked, and fried as a favourite dish. The flesh of the deer, dried and smoked, is well known throughout the Malayan Archipelago, under the term dinding, and is an article in high request on Java.

The dairy forms no part of domestic economy of Java, neither milk itself, nor any preparation from it, being prized or used by the natives: a circumstance very remarkable, considering that they were undoubtedly Hindus at one period of their history; and that, if so essential an article of food had once been introduced, it is probable it would always have been cherished. No good reason seems to be assigned for their indifference to milk; except perhaps the essential one, that the cows of Java afford but a very scanty supply of that secretion. The udder of a Javan cow is sometimes not larger than that of a sheep, and seems to afford but a bare subsistence for the calf; yet the buffalo gives a larger quantity, and butter or ghee might equally be prepared from it. The cows of the Indian breed are distinguished by a hump between the shoulders and a larger udder; and it has been found that the secretion of milk can be increased, as it is observed that where particular care has been taken by Europeans even of the Javan cows, they have in a short time afforded double the usual quantity. It has been conjectured, that on the introduction of the Indian breed by the Hindu colonists, the use of milk was forbidden, in order that the number of cattle might more rapidly increase; but the Javans have no tradition to this effect. It is however remarkable, that an absolute aversion to this aliment exists on that part of the continent of Asia, in which many popular usages are found similar to those of the east insular nations. In a recent publication it is stated of the people between Siam and China, who are not, by the bye, very nice in what they eat, "qu'ils ne se permettent pas le lait des animaux, et qu'ils ont pour cette boisson la répugnance que peut inspirer la boisson du sang. Cette répugnance va même jusqu'à exclure du nombre de ses alimens le beurre et le fromage[44]."

Salt is obtained in abundance throughout every part of the island, but being manufactured on the coast, is proportionally higher in price in the inland districts. The sugar used by the natives is not prepared from the sugar-cane, but from the áren and other palms. It is manufactured by the simple process of boiling down the tári, or liquor which exudes from these trees, which are tapped for the purpose.

None of the palms of Java furnish the worms which are employed for food in other eastern countries, but similar worms are found in various kinds of rótan, sólak, &c. which are considered as dainties, not only by the natives, but by the Chinese and by some Europeans: they are called géndon. Worms of various species, but all equally esteemed as articles of food, are found in the teak and other trees. White ants, in their different states, are one of the most common articles of food in particular districts: they are collected in different ways, and sold generally in the public markets. Their extensive nests are opened to take out the chrysalis; or they are watched, and swarms of the perfect insect are conducted into basins or trays containing a little water, where they soon perish: they are called láron.

The cooking utensils are, as might be supposed, of the most simple kind, and either of coarse pottery or copper. Rice, after several poundings in a trough or mortar, is generally dressed by steam, though not unfrequently boiled in a small quantity of water. In the former case, it is remarkable for its whiteness and consistency when dressed; and in this state it is publicly exposed for sale in the markets and along the high roads. Indian corn is usually roasted in the ear, and offered for sale in the same manner. Other aliments are for the most part prepared in the manner of curry, termed by the Maláyus gulai: of these they have almost an endless variety, distinguished according to the principal ingredients. Besides what may be considered as the principal dishes, they excel in a variety of preparations of pastry and sweetmeats (particularly of the kétan), of which many are by no means unpleasant to an European palate. They are fond of colouring their pastry, as well as other articles of their food. They occasionally make their rice yellow and brown, and even turn their boiled eggs red for variety.

Black pepper, as among the Maláyus, is scarcely ever used, on account of its supposed heating quality. The most common seasoning employed to give a relish to their insipid food, is the lombok; triturated with salt, it is called sámbel, both by the Maláyus and Javans, and this condiment is indispensable and universal. It is of different kinds, according to the substances added to increase or diversify its strength or pungency; the most common addition is trási, denominated by the Maláyus, bláchang. The name lálab is given to various leaves and kernels, mostly eaten raw with rice and sámbel: many of these substances possess a pungency and odour intolerable to Europeans. If several vegetables are mixed together, and prepared by boiling, they constitute what is called jang'an, or greens for the table, of which there are several distinctions. The various legumes are of great importance in the diet of the natives. Padomóro, pin'dang, and semúr, are dishes to which the flesh of the buffalo or fowls is added, and which resemble the Indian curry. Rújak is prepared from unripe mangos and other fruits, which, being grated, receive the addition of capsicum and other spices, and thus constitutes a favourite dish with the natives, though very disagreeable to Europeans.

The Chinese prepare from the gédelé a species of soy, somewhat inferior to that brought from Japan. The káchang-iju is highly useful as a general article of diet, and is a good substitute for various legumes, which form the common nourishment of the continental Indians: it contains much farinaceous matter. Trási or bláchang is prepared in many situations along the northern coast, but is mostly required for the consumption of the interior. It is prepared from prawns or shrimps, and extensive fisheries for the purpose are established in many parts of the coast. The shrimps being taken, are strewed with salt, and exposed to the sun till dry; they are then pounded in wooden mortars, dressed, and formed into masses resembling large cheeses: in this state they constitute an article of trade, and are distributed through the country. The putrescent fluid remaining after the expression strongly impregnated with the odour of the shrimps, is evaporated to the consistence of a jelly, and affords a favourite sauce called pétis. An inferior kind of trási is prepared from small fish, and, when made into the form of small balls, is called blények. Trási blúro is of a reddish colour, and much esteemed at the native capitals. Another kind of pétis is prepared from the flesh of the buffalo, chiefly in the interior districts.

Salted eggs are also an important article in the diet of the Javans. The eggs of ducks being most abundant, are chiefly preserved in this way. The eggs are enveloped in a thick covering made of a mixture of salt and ashes in equal parts, or salt and pounded bricks, and being wrapped each in a large leaf, they are placed on one another in a tub, or large earthen vessel. In ten days they are fit for use; but they are generally kept longer in the mixture, and, being thoroughly impregnated with salt, can be kept many months. In some districts, the eggs of the Muscovy duck are particularly employed for the purpose.

In preparing their food, the Javans may be considered to observe the same degree of cleanliness which is usual with Asiatics in general; and in point of indulgence of appetite, they may be, perhaps, placed about midway between the abstemious Hindu and the unscrupulous Chinese. In a country where vegetation is luxuriant, and cultivation is already considerably advanced, it follows that there must be an abundant supply for a people who subsist principally on vegetable productions; and it may be asserted, that, except where the manifest oppressions of government, or the effects of civil discord, for the moment deprive the labourer of his just reward, there are few countries where the mass of the population are so well fed as on Java. There are few of the natives who cannot obtain their káti, or pound and a quarter of rice a day, with fish, greens, and salt, if not other articles, to season their meal. Where rice is less abundant, its place is supplied by maize or Indian corn, or the variety of beans which are cultivated; and even should a family be driven into the woods, they would still be able to obtain a bare subsistence from the numerous nutritious roots, shoots, and leaves, with which the forests abound. Famine is unknown; and although partial failures of the crop may occur, they are seldom so extensive as to be generally felt by the whole community. Thus abundantly supplied, the Javans seem by no means inclined to reject the bounties of Providence: they are always willing to partake of a hearty meal, and seldom have occasion to make a scanty one. Yet among them a glutton is a term of reproach, and to be notoriously fond of good living is sufficient to attach this epithet to any one.

The Javans, except where respect to Europeans dictates a different practice, eat their meals off the ground. A mat kept for the purpose is laid on the floor, which, when the meal is over, is again carefully rolled up, with the same regularity as the table-cloth in Europe; and a plate of rice being served up to each person present, the whole family or party sit down to partake of the meal in a social manner. A principal dish, containing the sámbel, jángan, or other more highly seasoned preparation, is then handed round, or placed in the centre of the company, from which each person adds what he thinks proper to the allowance of rice before him.

Water is the principal and almost exclusive beverage, and, among people of condition, it is invariably boiled first, and generally drunk warm. Some are in the habit of flavouring the water with cinnamon and other spices; but tea, when it can be procured, is drunk by all classes at intervals during the day.

On occasions of festivals and parties, when many of the chiefs are assembled, the dishes are extremely numerous and crowded; and hospitality being a virtue which the Javans carry almost to an excess, due care is taken that the dependants and retainers are also duly provided for. These, particularly in the highlands of the Súnda districts, where the people are furthest removed from foreign intercourse, and the native manners are consequently better preserved, are arranged in rows at intervals, according to their respective ranks; the first in order sitting at the bottom of the hall, and the lowest at some distance without, where each is carefully supplied with a bountiful proportion of the feast: thus exhibiting, in the mountainous districts of Java, an example of rude hospitality, and union of the different gradations of society in the same company, similar to that which prevailed in the Highlands of Scotland some centuries ago, where, it is said, "those of inferior description were, nevertheless, considered as guests, and had their share, both of the entertainment and of the good cheer of the day."

It is at these parties that the chiefs sometimes indulge in intoxicating liquors, but the practice is not general; and the use of wine, which has been introduced among them by the Dutch, is in most instances rather resorted to from respect to Europeans, than from any attachment to the bottle.

The Javans have universally two meals in the day; one just before noon, and one between seven and eight o'clock in the evening: the former, which is the principal meal, corresponding with the European dinner, and distinguished by the term mángán-áwan, or the day meal; the latter, termed mángán wéngé, or evening meal. They have no regular meal corresponding with the European breakfast; but those who go abroad early in the morning, usually partake of a basin of coffee and some rice cakes before they quit their homes, or purchase something of the kind at one of the numerous wárongs, or stalls, which line the public roads, and are to the common people as so many coffee or eating-houses would be to the European; rice, coffee, cakes, boiled rice, soups, ready dressed meats and vegetables, being at all times exposed in them. What is thus taken by the Javans in the morning to break the fast, is considered as a whet, and termed sarap.

By the custom of the country, good food and lodging are ordered to be provided for all strangers and travellers arriving at a village; and in no country are the rights of hospitality more strictly enjoined by institutions, or more conscientiously and religiously observed by custom and practice. "It is not sufficient," say the Javan institutions, "that a man should place good food before his guest; he is bound to do more: he should render the meal palatable by kind words and treatment, to soothe him after his journey, and to make his heart glad while he partakes of the refreshment." This is called bójo krómo, or real hospitality.

The chewing of betel-leaf (síri), and the areka-nut (pínang), as well as of tobacco (tambáko), and gámbir, is common to all classes. The síri and pínang are used much in the same manner as by the natives of India in general. These stimulants are considered nearly as essential to their comfort, as salt is among Europeans. The commonest labourer contrives to procure at least tobacco, and generally síri; and if he cannot afford a síri box, a small supply will be usually found in the corner of his handkerchief. Cardamums and cloves compose part of the articles in the síri box of a person of condition.

The inhabitants of Java, as a nation, must be accounted sober; although Europeans, in order to serve their own purposes, by inducing some of the chiefs to drink wine to excess, have succeeded, to a certain extent, in corrupting the habits of some individuals in this respect. Two kinds of fermented liquor are however prepared by the Javans, called bádek and bróm: the former from rice; the latter almost exclusively from kétan or glutinous rice. In making bádek, the rice previously boiled is stewed with a ferment called rági, consisting of onions, black pepper, and capsicum, and mixed up into small cakes, which are daily sold in the markets. After frequent stirring, the mixture is rolled into balls, which are piled upon each other in a high earthen vessel, and when fermentation has commenced the bádek exudes and is collected at the bottom. The remaining rice, strongly impregnated with the odour of fermentation, has a sweetish taste, and is daily offered for sale in the markets as a dainty, under the name of tapé. Bádek is, in comparison with bróm, a simple liquor, producing only slight intoxication: it is often administered to children to dislodge worms from the intestines. In making bróm, the kétan is boiled in large quantities, and being stewed with rági, remains exposed in open tubs till fermentation takes place, when the liquor is poured off into close earthen vessels. It is generally buried in the earth for several months, by which the process of fermentation is checked and the strength of the liquor increased: sometimes it is concentrated by boiling. The colour is brown, red, or yellow, according to the kind of kétan employed. Bróm, which has been preserved for several years, is highly esteemed among the natives, constituting a powerful spirit, which causes violent intoxication followed by severe head-ache in persons not accustomed to its use. The substance that remains after separation is a deadly poison to fowls, dogs, and various other animals. Arrack is prepared by distillation: an inferior kind, made in a more simple and economical manner, is called chiu. Both are prepared by the Chinese, and a particular account of the method employed will be found under another head[45]. A kind of small beer is made at Súra-kérta in a mode similar to the European process of brewing, by exciting fermentation in a solution of Javan sugar, with several spices and the leaves of the pári instead of hops. When fresh, the liquor is sprightly, and not unpleasant to the taste; but it cannot be preserved longer than four or five days.

The use of opium, it must be confessed and lamented, has struck deep into the habits, and extended its malignant influence to the morals of the people, and is likely to perpetuate its power in degrading their character and enervating their energies, as long as the European government, overlooking every consideration of policy and humanity, shall allow a paltry addition to their finances to outweigh all regard to the ultimate happiness and prosperity of the country. It is either eaten in its crude state as mánta, or smoked as mádat or chándu. In the preparation of mádat, the crude opium is boiled down with the leaves of tobacco, síri, or the like, and used in a sticky or somewhat liquid state. In chándu, the opium is merely boiled down without any admixture, to a still thicker consistency, and rolled into small balls or pills, in which state, when dry, they are inserted into bámbus, and thus smoked. The crude opium is eaten principally by the people in the interior of the country, in the provinces of the native princes: the opium prepared for smoking is used along the coast, and generally in the other islands of the Archipelago; it is prepared by the Chinese. The use of opium, however, though carried to a considerable extent, is still reckoned disgraceful, and persons addicted to it are looked upon as abandoned characters, and despised accordingly. The effects of this poison on the human frame are so well described by the Dutch commissioners who sat at the Hague in 1803, and who much to their honour declared, "that no consideration of pecuniary advantage ought to weigh with the European government in allowing its use," that together with the opinion of Mr. Hogendorp, who concurred with them, I shall insert their statement here. The wish to do justice to authorities, whose views were so creditable to their country and their own character, and the importance of their opinion to an extensive population, will plead an apology for the length of the extract which I now present.

"The opium trade," observe the Commissioners, "requires likewise attention. The English in Bengal have assumed an exclusive right to collect the same, and they dispose of a considerable number of chests containing that article annually at Calcutta by public auction. It is much in demand on the Malay coast, at Sumatra, Java, and all the islands towards the east and north, and particularly in China, although the use thereof is confined to the lower classes. The effect which it produces on the constitution is different, and depends on the quantity that is taken, or on other circumstances. If used with moderation, it causes a pleasant, yet always somewhat intoxicating sensation, which absorbs all care and anxiety. If a large quantity is taken, it produces a kind of madness, of which the effects are dreadful, especially when the mind is troubled by jealousy, or inflamed with a desire of vengeance or other violent passions. At all times it leaves a slow poison, which undermines the faculty of the soul and the constitution of the body, and renders a person unfit for all kind of labour and an image of the brute creation. The use of opium is so much more dangerous, because a person who is once addicted to it can never leave it off. To satisfy that inclination, he will sacrifice every thing, his own welfare, the subsistence of his wife and children, and neglect his work. Poverty is the natural consequence, and then it becomes indifferent to him by what means he may content his insatiable desire after opium; so that, at last, he no longer respects either the property or life of his fellow-creature.

"If here we were to follow the dictates of our own heart only, and what moral doctrine and humanity prescribe, no law, however severe, could be contrived, which we would not propose, to prevent at least that in future, no subjects of this Republic, or of the Asiatic possessions of the state, should be disgraced by trading in that abominable poison. Yet we consider this as absolutely impracticable at present with respect to those places not subject to the state. Opium is one of the most profitable articles of eastern commerce: as such it is considered by our merchants; and if the navigation to those parts is opened to them (which the interest of the state forcibly urges), it is impossible to oppose trading in the same. In this situation of affairs, therefore, we are rather to advise, that general leave be given to import opium at Malacca, and to allow the exportation from thence to Borneo and all the eastern parts not in the possession of the state."

"Opium," says Mr. Hogendorp, "is a slow though certain poison, which the Company, in order to gain money, sells to the poor Javans. Any one who is once enslaved to it, cannot, it is true, give it up without great difficulty; and if its use were entirely prohibited, some few persons would probably die for want of it, who would otherwise languish on a little longer: but how many would by that means be saved for the future. Most of the crimes, particularly murders, that are now committed, may be imputed to opium as the original cause.

"Large sums of money are every year carried out of the country in exchange for it, and enrich our competitors, the English. Much of it is smuggled into the interior, which adds to the evil. In short, the trade in opium is one of the most injurious and most shameful things which disgrace the present government of India. It is therefore necessary at once, and entirely, to abolish the trade and importation of opium, and to prohibit the same, under the severest penalties that the law permits, since it is a poison. The smuggling of it will then become almost impracticable, and the health, and even the lives of thousands, will be preserved. The money alone which will remain in the country in lieu of it, is more valuable as being in circulation, than the profit which the Company now derives from the sale of it.

"This measure will excite no discontent among the Javans, for the princes and regents, with very few exceptions, do not consume any opium, but, as well as the most respectable of their subjects, look upon it as disgraceful. The use of opium is even adduced as an accusation of bad conduct, and considered as sufficient cause for the removal or banishment of a petty chief."

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