Three hanks and a half of coarse yarn, and from five to nine of fine, make one sárong, or three head handkerchiefs, the price of which, undyed, is from half a rupee to four Spanish dollars; if dyed, the ging'ams bring from one rupee to four Spanish dollars, and the bátik from a rupee and a half to six Spanish dollars for the same quantity.
Another kind of coloured cottons, in imitation of the Indian chintz, is also prepared; but it is not held in much estimation, on account of the superiority of the foreign chintzes imported, and the uncertainty of the colours, which the natives allege will not stand in the same manner as those which have undergone the process of the batîk, frequently fading in the second washing. In these cloths, the patterns being carved on small wooden blocks are stamped as in India. They serve as coverlids, and are employed as a substitute for the Indian palempore, when the latter is not procurable. The price is about four rupees.
The natives of Java, like those of every other country, must have been, from the earliest times, in the habit of manufacturing various articles of leather; but the art of rendering it more compact, more tough, and more durable, by the application of the tanning principle, has been acquired only by their connexion with Europeans. They now practice it with considerable success, and prepare tolerable leather in several districts. There are two trees of which the bark is particularly preferred for tanning; one in the maritime districts, the other in the interior. These, with some others which are occasionally added, contain very large quantities of the tanning principle, which makes excellent leather in a short space of time. Of this native article, boots, shoes, saddles, harness, &c. are made in several parts of the island; but in the greatest perfection at Súra-kérta, where the prices are moderate, and the manufacture extensive and improving. Neither the leather nor the workmanship of these articles is considered much inferior to what is procured at Madras and Bengal. The prices are moderate: for a pair of shoes half a crown, for boots ten shillings, for a saddle from thirty to forty shillings, and for a set of harness for four horses from ten to twelve pounds.
Neither flax nor hemp is cultivated for the purposes of manufacture. The latter is sometimes found in the gardens of the natives of continental India, particularly at Batavia, who employ it only to excite intoxication; but the island affords various productions, the fibrous bark of which is made into thread, ropes, and other similar articles. These are, with one or two exceptions, never cultivated, and when required for use, may be collected in sufficient quantity on spots where they are of spontaneous growth. A particular account of these has already been given in the first chapter, when describing the vegetable productions of the island.
To enable rope or cord which is often exposed to water or moisture, as fishing-nets, cables, and the like, to resist its influence, the sap exuding from various trees is employed.
No manufactures are calculated to show more clearly the extent to which the arts of life are carried in a country, than those in which the metals are used. Without the knowledge of iron, our dominion over nature would be very limited; as may be seen in the case of the Americans at the discovery of the western hemisphere. The manufacture and use of iron and steel has been known over the Eastern Islands, as well as in the western world, from time immemorial. The various iron implements of husbandry, the common implements and tools, the instruments and military weapons now in use among the natives of these regions, are fabricated by themselves. The importance and difficulty of the art may be gathered from the distinction which the knowledge and practice of it conferred.
The profession of a smith is still considered honourable among the Javans, and in the early parts of their history, such artizans held a high rank, and were largely endowed with lands. The first mention made of them is during the reign of the chiefs of Pajajáran, in the eleventh century. On the decline of that empire they went over, to the number of eight hundred families, to Majapáhit, where they were kindly received, and a record is preserved of the names of the head master-smiths. On the destruction of that empire in the fifteenth century, they were dispersed, and settled in different districts of the island, where their descendants are still discoverable. They are distinguished by the term Pándi.
Iron is cast in small quantities of a few ounces, and used occasionally for the point of the ploughshare. The metal is rendered fluid in about half an hour: charcoal is invariably used, and the operation is termed sing'i or chitak.
The bellows, which is peculiar, and believed to have been in use at the time of Pajajáran and Majapáhit, and of which a representation sculptured in stone was found in the recently discovered ruins at Suku (which bear date in the fourteenth century of the Javan æra), appears to be the same as that described by Dampier[51], in his account of Majindánao and the neighbouring islands. "Their bellows," says this faithful and intelligent traveller, "are much different from ours. They are made of a wooden cylinder, the trunk of a tree, about three feet long, bored hollow like a pump, and set upright on the ground, on which the fire itself is made. Near the lower end there is a small hole in the side of the trunk next the fire, made to receive a pipe, through which the wind is driven by a great bunch of fine feathers fastened to one end of the stick, which closing up the inside of the cylinder, drives the air out of the cylinder through the pipe. Two of these trunks or cylinders are placed so nigh together, that a man standing between them may work them both at once, alternately, one with each hand." This account so exactly corresponds with the Javan bellows, that no further description is necessary. The Chinese bellows are partially used. The wages of a man skilled in iron-work are sometimes as high as a rupee a day.
Cutlery of every description is made by the smith. The most important manufacture of this kind is the krís, or dagger, of the peculiar form well known to be worn by all the more civilized inhabitants of the Eastern Islands.