The History of Java, v. 1-2

by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles

The price of a krís blade, newly manufactured, varies from half a rupee to fifty dollars; but the same krís, if it is of good character, and if its descent can be traced for three or four generations, is frequently prized at ten times that sum. A pándi employed to manufacture a good krís blade, if the materials are furnished, is paid three dollars for the job.

The manufacture of sheaths or scabbards (sárong) for the krís constitute an exclusive profession; and the manufacturers are called túkang meráng'gi, or mergóngso. These men attend at the public market, where they occupy a particular quarter, in which may be seen people employed in the finishing or repair of every part of the mounting necessary for this instrument; some upon the handle, others upon the sheath; some in applying the paint and lacquer, others attending with a preparation of acids and arsenic for cleaning the blade, and bringing out the appearance of the pámur, a white metal obtained from Biliton and Celebes, which is worked up with the iron, in order to produce the damasked appearance of the blade.

Copper is manufactured into the kettles and pots employed by the natives for cooking; most of the other domestic vessels are of brass, which is manufactured into various other articles, from the smallest, such as buttons, ear-studs, and other ornaments, in imitation of the gold patterns, to brass guns of considerable calibre, employed for the defence of small vessels. A very extensive foundery of this kind is established at Grésik. From the specimen of the casts in brass, copper, &c. which are occasionally dug up near many of the ruinous temples sacred to the ancient worship of the country, we may assert, that great proficiency was once attained in this art: like that, however, of stone-cutting, it has very much declined.

Gold and silver, as is well known, are wrought by the natives of the Eastern Islands into exquisite ornaments; and the Javans are by no means behind their neighbours, the Sumatrans, in the knowledge of this manufacture. They do not, however, usually work the gold into those beautiful filigree patterns, described as common among the Maláyus on Sumatra, nor is their work generally so fine.

Diamond-cutters, and persons skilled in the knowledge of cutting precious stones, are also to be found in the principal capitals.

Carving in wood is followed as a particular profession, and the Javans may be considered as expert in all kinds of carpenter's work, but more particularly in cabinet-work. They imitate any pattern, and the furniture used by the Europeans in the eastern part of the Island is almost exclusively of their workmanship. Carriages and other vehicles are also manufactured by the natives after the European fashion.

Boat and ship-building is an art in which the Javans are tolerably well versed, particularly the former. The latter is confined principally to those districts in which the Europeans have built ships, for the Javans have seldom attempted the construction of square-rigged vessels on their own account. The best carpenters for ship-building are found in the districts of Rembáng and Grésik, but small native vessels and boats are continually constructed by the natives in almost every district along the north coast.

When the quantity of teak timber, and the advantages of Java in respect of ports and harbours, are considered, the most flattering prospects are held out, that this Island may, in time, be able to supply shipping to an increasing commerce of its own, and perhaps aid the dock-yards of other states.

Among the articles, the making of which may be interesting to Europeans, from the difference of the materials used or the process employed, is that of paper. The paper in common use with the Javans is prepared from the glúga (morus papyrifera) which is cultivated for this purpose, and generally called the delúwang, or paper tree. Having arrived at the age of two or three years, the young trees are cut while the bark easily peels off, and the fragments are portioned about twelve or eighteen inches in length, according to the intended size of the paper. These fragments are first immersed in water about twenty-four hours, in order that the epidermis may be separated; this being effected, the fibrous tissue of the inner bark is rendered soft and tractable by soaking in water, and by long and repeated beating with a piece of wood. During the intervals of this process, the fragments of the bark are piled in heaps in wooden troughs, and the affusion of fresh water is repeated till all impurities are carried off. The separate portions, which are about two or three inches broad, are then attached to each other on a plane surface, generally formed by the trunk of a plantain tree, and the union of the fibres is finally effected by continued beating. The quality of the paper depends upon the care employed in the preparation, and on the frequent affusion of fresh water. By applying successive layers to the spots which are bare from the defect of the fibres, and beating them till they unite, an uniform thickness is attained. The paper which is intended for writing is momentarily immersed in a decoction of rice, and rendered smooth and equal, by being rubbed to a polish on a plane surface. Such paper as is intended for common domestic purposes, for packing goods, &c. does not require this operation: in this the fibrous contexture of the bark is quite obvious; it much resembles a species of paper brought from Japan, and manufactured from the same tree, and was formerly employed instead of cloth by the poorer inhabitants. The process of manufacturing is strikingly like that in use among the inhabitants of the South Sea Islands, for the preparation of their cloth. The culture of this plant, as well as the manufacture of paper, is chiefly confined to particular districts, where it forms the principal occupation of the priests, who gain a livelihood by it.

Large quantities of a coarse and homely sugar, distinguished by the name of Javan sugar, are prepared from the cocoa-nut, áren, and other palms. The average quantity of liquor extracted from one of these trees during a day and night, is about two quarts, and this is estimated to give from three to four ounces of sugar. The trees begin to yield it at about six or seven years of age, and continue to do so for ten or twelve years. The process of preparing the sugar is extremely simple: it consists merely in boiling the liquor in an earthen pot for a few hours, and afterwards pouring it into small cases made of leaves and prepared for the purpose, in which, when cool, it attains a due consistence.