MALAYS, a race of people inhabiting the Malay Peninsula and the Malay Archipelago, and claiming to have their native country in the highlands of Sumatra. The civilization of In dia appears to have extended itself to the Malays at an early date. In the 13th cen tury the Malays were on the peninsula of Malacca, where they built a city of the same name, and founded an empire. The sultans had subdued Sumatra previously to their settling in Malacca. They afterward possessed them selves of the rest of the Sunda Isles, of the Philippines, the Moluccas and some of the Australian groups, where Malay tribes are found resembling, in their features, religion and government, the Malays of Malacca. At that time they acted a splendid part in Asia; they carried on commerce, in part with their own ships, and planted colonies. Great numbers of ships from China, Cochin China, Hindustan and Siam filled the harbors of Malacca. They are now divided into distinct tribes, without any general head. This is partly owing to the supe riority which the Europeans, particularly the Dutch, have obtained in the Indian seas, and partly to the feudal system of the Malays, by which the national power has been divided and a common spirit prevented by the increasing power of the vassals. The civilized Malays profess the Mohammedan religion. Besides the Koran, the Malays have various local laws. They are fierce and warlike, always bearing arms, and much addicted to the use of force, treacherous in their alliances and were formerly addicted to piracy. The Malay language is widely used as the language of commerce throughout the South Seas and in 'the islands south of the Philippines. Physically considered the Malays are of low stature, slight in figure and with very small wrists and ankles. The face is round, the eyes black and somewhat almond-shaped, the nose short and small, cheek bones prominent, features flat, the hair straight and black, the complexion yellowish. In vari ous respects they bear a close resemblance to the Mongolians of eastern Asia, but differ from them radically in language, all their dialects belonging to a distinct Malayo-Polynesian fam ily which is widely distributed throughout the Indian and Pacific oceans. The Malays long pursued a piratical career, darting from hidden streams in their well-manned proas on any vessel that approached too near the coast, or more boldly lying in wait in fleets in the open sea, for any expected rich prize. Of late years the lessons taught them by European and American war vessels have forced the Malays to desist from piracy, their old lawless, roving habits being largely abandoned for their more settled occupations of trade and agriculture. Among the many Malay tribes are the Sakais, or tree dwellers, who build their houses in forked trees, 8 to 12 feet above the ground, reached by bamboo ladders which are hoistd at wilL The tree-dwellers formerly made use of long blow-guns shooting poisoned arrows. The
bamboo furnishes most of their articles of orna ment and utility. The blow-gun was a bam boo about an inch and a half in diameter and six and a half feet in length. The bore, drilled most accurately, was a quarter of an inch, and the darts nine inches in length, about the cir cumference of a heavy darning-needle, sharp ened at one end and poisoned. With these they secured all the meat they eat in thejungle — birds, monkeys, snakes and lizards. They also have knives made of bamboo.
The Malay intellect varies from that of savagery in the uncivilized tribes of the in terior to a rather high degree of culture among the coast tribes. Much of their civilization is due to foreign influences, chiefly Hindu and Arab. The Malay language, which is soft and harmonious and of simple structure, is written in the Arabic character, which is ill suited for the purpose. Lately the Roman system has been largely adopted, especially in the Dutch and English dependencies. The literature, which is copious, comprises poetical composi tions, such as rhyming-proverbs, love-songs and dramas displaying some originality, but little imagination. The prose writings are mostly based on Arab or Persian models.
Bibliography.— Bastian,
(Ber lin 1884-94) ; Brunmund and Von Hoevell, (Altertilmer des ostindischen Archipels' (Ber lin 1865) ; Bicicmore, A. S. (East Indian Archi pelago' (New York 1869) ; Buschan, (Illus trierte Volkerkunde (Stuttgart 1910) ; Craw furd, John, 'History of the Indian Archipelago' (Edinburgh 1820) ; Forbes, (A Naturalists' Wanderings in the Eastern Archipelago' (Lon don 1878) ; Fraser, J. F., 'Quaint Subjects of the King' (London 1909) ; Greentree and Nich olson, 'Catalogue of Malay Manuscripts and Manuscripts Relating to the Malay Language in the Bodleian Library' (Oxford 1912); Groenvelt, 'Notes on the Malay Archipelago and Malacca, Compiled from Chinese Sources' (Batavia 1876) ; Hagen, 'Anthropologischer At las ostasiatischer Volker' (Wiesbaden 1898); Marsden, 'History of Sumatra' (London 1811) ; Martin, (Reisen in den Molukken' (Ley den 1894) ; Meyer, 'Bilderschriften des ostin dischen Archipels and der Siidsee' (Leipzig 1%1); id.,
des ostindischen Archipels' (Dresden 1884) ; Raffles, 'History of Java' (London 1817) ; Rosenberg, (Der Malayische Archipel' (Leipzig 1878) Skeat, W. W., 'Malay Magic (London 1900) ; id., (Fables and Folk-Tales from an Eastern For est' (Cambridge 1901) ; Steven,