Malays

Disposition.

In ordinary circumstances, the Malay is not treacherous, and in many instances men of this race have risked their own lives on behalf of Europeans who chanced to be their friends. They are courteous and self-respecting. Their code of manners is minute and strict, and they observe its provisions faithfully. The Malays are indolent, pleasure-loving, improvident, fond of bright clothing, of comfort, of ease, and dislike toil exceedingly. They have no idea of the value of money, and little notion of honesty where money is concerned. They borrow rather than earn money. They frequently refuse to work for a wage though in sore need of cash, and yet at the invitation of one who is their friend they will toil unremittingly without any thought of reward. They are addicted to gambling, and formerly were much given to fighting, but their courage on the whole is not high if judged by European standards. The sexual morality of the Malays is very lax, but prostitution is not common. Polygamy, though allowed by their religion, is practised for the most part among the wealthy classes only. The Malays show a marvellous loyalty to their rajas and chiefs.

Acts of homicidal mania called amuck (amok), which word in the vernacular means to attack, can in some cases certainly be traced to madness pur et simple, but the typical amok is usually the result of circumstances which render a Malay desperate. The motive is often inadequate from the point of view of a Euro pean, but to the Malay it is sufficient to make him weary of life and anxious to court death. Briefly, where a man of another race might not improbably commit suicide, a Malay runs amok, killing all whom he may meet until he himself is slain.

The nervous affliction called latch, to which many Malays are subject, is also a curious trait. The victims lose for the time all self-control and all sense of their own identity, imitating the ac tions of any person who chances to rivet their attention.

Costume and Weapons.

The Malays wear a loose coat and trousers, and a cap or head-kerchief, but the characteristic item of their costume is the sarong, a silk or cotton cloth about two yards long by a yard and a quarter wide, the ends of which are sewn together, forming a kind of skirt. This is worn round the waist folded in a knot, the women allowing it to fall to the ankle, the men, when properly dressed in accordance with ancient custom, folding it over the hilt of their waist-weapon, and draping it around them so that it reaches nearly to the knee. In the hall of

a raja on state occasions a head-kerchief twisted into a peak is worn, and the coat is furnished with a high collar extending round the back of the neck only. This coat is open in front, leaving the chest bare. The trousers are short and of a peculiar cut and material, being coloured many hues in parallel hori zontal lines. The sarong is of Celebes manufacture and made of cotton, to the surface of which a high polish is imparted by fric tion with a shell. The typical fighting costume of the Malay is a sleeveless jacket with texts from the Koran written upon it, short tight drawers reaching to the middle of the thigh, and the sarong is then bound tightly around the waist, leaving the hilt of the dagger worn in the girdle exposed to view.

The principal weapon of the Malays is the kris, a short dagger with a small wooden or ivory handle, of which there are many varieties. The blade of a kris may either be wavy or straight, but if wavy the number of waves must always be uneven in number. The kris most prized by the Malays are those of Bugis (Celebes) manufacture, and of these the kind called tuasek are of the greatest value. Besides the short kris, the Malays use long straight kris with very narrow blades, shorter straight kris of the same form, short broad swords called sundang, long swords of ordi nary pattern called pedang, somewhat shorter swords curved like scimitars with curiously carved handles called chenangkas, and short stabbing daggers called tumbok lades. The principal tools of the Malays are the parang or golok, a heavy knife used in the jungle, without which no peasant ever stirs abroad from his house, the beliong or native axe, and the pisau rant, which is used for scraping rattan. Their implements consist of a plough fashioned from a fork of a tree, and a rude harrow. Reaping is usually per formed by the aid of a curious little knife which severs each ear of grain separately. The fisherfolk use many kinds of nets, which they manufacture themselves. Sails, paddles, oars and punting poles are all in use. (H. CO BIBLIOGRAPHY.—See H. Schurtz, Indonesien (1913) ; R. 0. Winstedt, Malaya (1923) and Shaman, Saiva and Sufi (1925) ; I. H. N. Evans, Papers on the Ethnology and Archaeology of the Malay Peninsula (1927) ; L. R. Wheeler, The Modern Malay (1928). See also many volumes of Papers on Malay Subjects (Singapore, periodically).