[10] i.e., Tortoise-shell.—B. [↑]
[11] Yu-ta seems to be the abacá.—B. Stangl prints “yii-ta.” [↑]
[12] Coins of Siam and Java? For it appears that such coins circulated in the country.—B.
Stangl reads the second half of this note “But how did it come to pass current in the country?” It is probable that the commercial gold was in the form of gold dust or ornaments of gold. If there were any Javanese or Siamese gold coins in the country (and it is highly improbable), they must have been taken there by the Chinese, who were keen traders who early penetrated to all parts of the eastern archipelagoes. [↑]
[13] Stangl inserts here “iron fixtures” [enseres de hierro]. [↑]
[14] The following paragraph begins chapter xli in Stangl. [↑]
[15] Ka-may-en is Mait or the modern Mindoro; and Pa-lao-yu, Paragua. “Pa-chi-neng” may also be read “Pa-kat-lung” and “Ba-ki-lung.” It seems to be the term for the true Visayans, while under the name San-hsii are understood the Visayans proper, together with the islands of Mindoro and Palawan.—B. [↑]
[16] I believe that the word “tribe” means here village or settlement; for I think that the author meant to say that the villages usually had one thousand families.—B. [↑]
[17] This phrase needs explanation. The Indians were accustomed to stain the teeth black, a custom quite general among many Malay nations. The Negritos, on the contrary, did not stain them.—B
In Chao Ju-kua’s description, Stangl translates “round eyes of a shining appearance,” instead of “round yellow eyes.” [↑]