k. —— that it belongs to the Kawi language; where two initials occur it is used in both.
APPENDIX F.
ACCOUNT OF CELEBES.
Celebes is an island of which hitherto the public has had but very scanty accounts. The part of it best known to Europeans is Makásar, situated nearly at the southernmost extremity of the western side: it was here the first European settlement on the island was established. On the south part of Celebes there are not any ascertained volcanos, but some are said to exist in the northern division. Some of the mountains are very high. The Bontain mountain, called by the natives Lámpo Bátan (big belly), is the highest on the south part of the island, and being seen at the distance of one hundred and twenty miles, must be about eight thousand five hundred feet above the level of the sea.
The largest river on the southern limb is that called Chinrána, which formerly constituted the boundary between the kingdoms of Bóni and Lúwu. It rises on the north side of the Bontain mountain, and runs northward as far as Mario, whence, inclining towards the north-east, it passes through part of Sóping, and then, turning to the east, enters Wáju, after having received a navigable stream from the Laut-Sála, or Fresh-water Lake. After passing through Wáju it follows a south-east course, and falls into the bay of Bóni, a few miles below the town of Chinrána. This river is navigable for boats as far as Mário, and admits of the passage of práhus of five or six kóyans as far as the fresh-water lake. Along the whole of the coast, at no great distance from each other, smaller streams fall into the sea, some of them being so considerable as to admit of a navigation of five or six miles, and many of them at their mouths affording shelter to trading práhus. Among the most considerable are Baróbo, Linjé, and Kájang, to the east; Duniáng, Lémbang, Halikóngkong, Pónre, and Jenepónto, on the south; and Chikoang, Tape Jára, Sándra bóni, Gúa, Télu, Mā́ros, Benáng'a, Langkára, and Pontiána, on the west.
It has not been ascertained by whom, or at what particular time, the name of Celebes was conferred on this island. It is generally attributed to the Portuguese, and certainly is of foreign origin: none of the natives, except those who have intercourse with Europeans, recognize either the whole island or any part of it under this appellation; even among those who make use of the word, it is applied to Sumbáwa, an island about two hundred and fifty miles to the south-west of it, as well as to what we call Celebes.
In the south-western limb of the island there are two principal languages, called by Europeans the Makásar and Búgis, and by the natives Mengkása or Mengkasára, and Wági or Ugi. The former, or some dialect of it, is spoken in all the districts extending from Bálu kúmba to Segére. The petty states included in this compass are Bálu kúmba, Bontain, Tarabáya, Gúa, Máros, and Segére. The Búgis is much more general beyond and over the whole tract extending from Bóni to Lúwu, comprehending the four great states of Lúwu, Bóni, Wáju, and Sóping, besides their numerous dependencies.
In Mándhar and its vicinity is spoken the Mándhar language. The centre and body of the island to the northward is distinguished by being inhabited by the Turájas or Harafúras, who speak a more simple dialect, and are considered the aborigines of the island; and on the north-east corner of the island at Manádu and Gúnung télu, the inhabitants are distinguished by some peculiarities.
The following observations must be understood as principally referring to the south-western limb, the part of the island which fell under the influence of Makásar.
It is impossible to ascertain, with any degree of precision, either the origin of the inhabitants or their present numbers. From the most correct accounts that could be obtained, it would appear that the southern limb contains a population of about half a million; but from the quantity of land now lying waste, which bears the appearance of having been once cultivated, from the number of decayed and half-choked water-cuts, evidently once used for the purpose of irrigation, and the multitude of spots where ranges of cocoa-nut trees mark out the sites of villages and cottages no longer in existence, we may infer that the number of inhabitants has greatly declined. At present there seem to be no serious checks to population, except the wars and the lawless violence of the people, and what often occasions, and always aggravates them, slavery and the slave trade. The people seem to procure a sufficient subsistence without much exertion. The climate is salubrious, and there is abundance of water. Marriages are early. In the history of the island the years of famine are particularly noticed. The women are held in more esteem than could be expected from the state of civilization in general, and undergo none of those severe hardships, privations, or labours, that restrict fecundity in other parts of the world. Polygamy prevails, the number of wives being limited only by the means of the husband to purchase or support them. It is more difficult to procure a wife than a husband; a female slave bears a higher price in the market than a male; and the compensation fixed for the murder of a man is only thirty dollars, while that required for the life of a woman is forty.