Religion.—Malays have largely become converts to Muhammadanism. The earliest conversion recorded was that of the Achinese, the nearest people of the Archipelago to the continent of Asia. This was in 1206 of our era. The Malays of Malacca were not converted until 1276 ; the inhabitants of the Moluccas not until 1478, and the people of Celebes not until 1495, only the year before Vasco da Gama passed the Cape of Good Hope. Thus the earliest conversion of these islanders took place 574 years after the death of Mahomed, and long after the first zeal of his followers had evaporated.
The Malays were not coerced into Muham madanism, nor have instances of violent con version been frequent in later times. The Arabs and other Muhammadan missionaries have con ciliated the natives, acquired their language, followed their manners, intermarried with them, and their superiority of intelligence and civilisation was employed only for the instruction and con version of a people, the current of whose religious opinions was ready to be directed into any channel into which it was skilfully diverted.
In the Malay Peninsula the race are in part Muhammadan, and in part pagan in the more impracticable parts. To this day there are a few mountaineers in Java still professing a kind of Hinduism, and the Javanese retain numerous of their old pagan superstitions, and have added those of their subsequent religion. They people the air, the woods and rivers, with various classes of spirits. They have the praying or fleeting ghosts ; the barkas-a-han, kabuka-male, and we we, evil spirits ; and the damit and dadun-gawu or tutelary spirits. They now consider the Hindu gods of their former belief not as imaginary beings, but as real demons, and have added the jan of the Arabs. The Malay of Borneo firmly believe in ghosts. If a matt die or be killed, they are afraid to pass the place.
Learning.—Malays can hardly be said to have an indigenous literature, for it is almost entirely derived from Persia, Siam, Arabia, and Java. Arabic is their sacred language. They have, however, a celebrated historic Malay romance, called the Hang Tuah, parts of which are frequently recited in their villages after sunset prayers by their village raconteurs, and some Arabic and Hindu romances stand high in popular favour. They have one Malay historical composition, dated /Lit. 1021. The conversion of the Sumatra Malays
to Muhammadanism arose mainly out of their commercial intercourse with Arabia.
Customs.—Malays rub noses, in lieu of the kissing of Europe. Most of the advanced nations of the Asiatic islands are gamblers, and the little fighting fish of Siam and cock-fighting are largely betted on. In the Archipelago, in Bali, Lombok, Celebes, and the Philippines, cock-fighting is quite a passion. The only material exceptions are the Javanese. The passion for cock-fighting is indeed impressed in the very language of the Malays, which has a specific name for cock fighting, one for the natural spur of the cock, and another for the artificial spur, two names for the comb, three for the crow of the cock, two for a cock-pit, and one for a professional cock-fighter. The passion is nowhere carried further than in the Spanish dominions of the Philippines. There it was licensed by the Government, which derived from it a yearly revenue of about 40,000 dollars, or about £8000.
Malay women of the Peninsula, when engaged to be married, have their teeth filed down about a fourth part.
Mindanao,and the crowd of islands extending from Mindanao to the N.E. coast of Borneo, and separating the Mindoro from the Sulu sea, were the great seat of piracy in the Archipelago.
The Ladrones, or pirates of the Eastern Archi pelago, consisted wholly of the inhabitants of the free Muhammadan states in Sumatra, Lingin, Borneo, Magindanao, and Sulu.
The Malay pirate prahu or prow are stockaded, and armed with heavy guns, generally the mariam and lelah, to which last the Malays are very partial; also matchlocks, long spears, pointed nibong stakes charred at the end, and others cut short for throwing when at close quarters, and large stones. The signal for attack is the sound of a sort of gong, called tawa taws.
The Malay are the great manufacturers of weapons of war. They have the sword, the kris and spear, brass and iron cannon, of sizes called rantaka, jala rambang, ekor lotong," and lelah. They have also the blunderbuss and matchlock, satengar and pemura.
The Baju wear the baju ranti, or chain jacket, and a shield of a long or round form. They swear by their krisses, for which they have a great veneration, and on going into battle, drink the water in which they have been dipped, uttering imprecations on the foe.