CORONATION DAY IN MALAY.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 646, 25 October 1909, Page 8

CORONATION DAY IN MALAY.

• '.- -/- r : — ..- i it. ; : . : : VA,New. Zealander.now.livjng';in the Province. . ': of Pahang, in/tho Malay Peninsula, describes in one/of.hia/lotters..how- the residents, of tie ~ township of Raub- and- the surrounding 'district celebrated /Corouatiou -Day (August. iith)/' Ac-' cordtug, to/him, Malays' are past niasters'in the, ' ai'tbf feasts' of/ ail kinds, and ■ thby -thiew;: themselves.' into., 'tori / /this,^sidc'e'.'it.was.in'' : honour 'of the King;: with; "■ 'even more than thoir usual .ardour. -He gobs on , to.say:—"Tho great events'of the day were the : -nati'v,o,.sporbs.an(l. I tne Malay .feast, in >prepara- ;■ /tibn for which all.,tho pative.clorks in-tho place • had b,een flying' around, collecting, subscriptions and donations of every'kiud,. so that on the appointed day ,we had/something'like seven; Or ' /eight'.hundred'dollais to /cut'.out.' -Crowds of- ■ visitors camb.in from all oyer I'ahang, and,'-in' |, addition: : to'/the -sports, ifct'ub-played;-.first, ofi. ~' all;i/Bentong;'-and -then'. Kuala -Lipsis,. Associa-' : tioh football,'w'ihmn'g;both mutches, whioh; of : :'/course.-^.uti.them'all, jhto'liigh good humour to '; ' begin /with; •Before: beginning the "sports all the children.ih';;the''placo;headed a-procession,made; , ' .up'princiil'ally'of Malays and;Kranis,''marching in state all.round. tho-'Padang of "Recreation ; ■ Reserye, and pulling up .finally, in. front of-the club's'tan'd,':where'.they sang asongi'n praiso of King Edward r .to the accompaniment; of the' ' beating of'tomtoms and. drums and'the clash- ■ ;.in'g bf-quber.,musical instruments,/ ,:.'.;.,,, ■ 1 ,i; As'a; spectacle, thescenej/when-allithe "people - 'wer'ojrgathored 'together; on 'the grounds, ■was' . ' 'gorgeous in.the extreme, and, perhaps,'no one, -.: unless'they have been in the East, can; have any conception of/how it.looked ffom'the.club, .. stand''iis the'eiwd moved about or remained massed: together,;;/;.Big burley'.Sikhs in snow white robos, Malay men in their, bright tar'tan-i ~ -like sarongs with' baps (jackets) of white'or. of ; c' other"colours, dMVivom.oh; 'looking most, charm-; ,i ing/in ; ;their ; brilliantl,y-coloured silken sarongs,'' ! as. many as three,, ? difforent 6een' everywhere. ' They,.(tho women),also.had on all their,jewel- .'. ; lery—bangles, and anklets of hehyy,: Malay- ] ; wrought silver, ear pendants,' and necklaces, many of which wore ofiextreme.beauty, but all ' wero most caret ul to: shield their "faces, from '■ ; the eyes of:the infidel/by/'meahsof the sarong, '. worn under "the arras' and'.brought over,/the .' head from the back. They..also wore pretty, .' little slippors"mth;nbiiited'toes curling right' ; .back arid having'no'heels, giving quite '; like appearance.to an'otherwise quite ordinary ' : foot.. The' mass of vivid ; cblburs blending to- ' ;gether as they-did-in tho glaring sunshine, was ' marvellous and .-well,worth'seeing. The' Malays, : both men'and women, cariy themselves splen- , didly, bot aro small and slight—the'.contrast . between them and;,tho Sikhs in size is very:. | marked. ~'•-.'"' '; '. ■'; '.V" ~-.-,'. ■■■■ "In the first half of the. programme there was ■ ■ -nothing very out of the'way, the/competitors : 'for that part being children. A little-stir was' ' - caused when.the prasidont.was seized/with sun- / stroke, and had to be. carried off the field.' However,'it/was nothing very serious, and that kind of seizure,is,fairly common in these parts ; "of tho world. At twelve the Malays'adjourned 1 for. their feast; and the' white elephant did, i likewise. After.tiffeh,..things began to go.once. '■ imore. .The tug-of-ivar' .was .won by a''team of 1 Sikh policemen/against .Chinese and'.Tamils,! ; and they certainly • wero : a hefty lot. • In the 1 pony nice the pomes got /so pxcited that; all; i threw their'riders, but one managed to keep' ' bothhiß seat'and the. course, amidst wild ap- '; plause and laughtorifrom all:around, until ho; ' won, but, unfortunately for his "glory, he-was 1 ~ thrown shortly/after. '.....;:/.'/, '. ". •■.'-." ! : i •-i-'An.unrehi.a'sed ihcidontwas the "advent, of a. ! : 'tiger ;on-tho'dadang,'',and'a;6cene,of indescrib-: ' /able excitement and confusion ensued.' A party, : llad gone out the day'before the sports, amongst ! them one of my Malays/Benyong by name, armed with my Winchester, and'it washe, I be-' '! lioye,-' who was' rbsponsible' for the animal's ': timely end. He had three others with him, but, .; ,/'they, had guns only; and, when they bailed the . /tiger 1 /up,- they climber .trees'/-and fired from ■' ;T thein. Benyong,, hqwever,;stood down to.it,' ■ and got .the-tiger-i'rijthe head, and also'in .the ! 'right'shoulder, and' other; places as - well.'- '■ It 'ln'easured.eight':i'eet .three .inches,-and.is reck-- , .bhed a big one. The natives are intensely super- ■'. have suffered enough, i ffom>thom.\-Thby wU.'.not'even, breathe, j namV.saying/tnat.heiknowsoil that is said;;of. '■ '' him, and \nll surely descend upon, those who; '. /speak disrespectfully Cor with, murdefous intent. - ' /of-him.''./ ".-; .'' ■ "■' •,;ln the eyeing,about nine, the Main Silat, one , -of..'the chief, events v/of 'the''programme took iplacel . It is':a;hativfi danco,, both' riien and '-taking part to the inusic of tonitoins, drum's, and violin,'but itwas not'particularly attractive./-The movements'wero very ■ slow; the uiusic.monotonous, and tho particular; performer's not at .all' beautiful. One or two of '' the nien" sinoked'';while;dancing,; which' was J 'father-, an .'. thing for. Malaya to do. There w'as'a'^ery'rirettylittle'girl about-bvelve' .y'earaibld..w;hb-really.«did dance well, bat she ;was'about the only one,'. The girls up to about • - ten iii this "country /wear their hair done' up ; ;in;a',b,6b'.at. J thb , .,back/of their heads. In:the . 1 • dance'the performeis watch oiie another's feet : 1 tijo".much;--and-.';the -bent head -rather spoils v •'thirigs.-''.':.'rhey-'never/.-touch one another, hut : I /sidle'"round; Varying "distances. Malays..w?,U •'. all night to watch this dance,.but,; to ' -an!outsider, there is not bnoughv life to' hold';or ;;' /atliact the attention 'for - any length/ of time. ; .'At'ten.o'clock thO r fireworks started, and were ■ really rather wondorful, tho Chinese taking a; ■ big. hand in this part /of the programme, and ■ keeping things, going-heartily all night.' ••'".-' • : 'Malays aire" somewhat; like the Maoris in not ■ liking labour/of-any-kind, unless, it gives them 1 [• a-.-sense-of' ; iiiipoftahce;". To s'ee .them ordering ' Chinese about, when they are in a position ■to ■ ; do sa./'is' very arousing. They are quite, con- ■ ' torit'itb;.see"Chinese' and Tamils,doing all the 1 W,ork, quite understanding that all- revenue is ■ - spent '-/on'» the country,, and they; thoroughly [■ 'trustHhose'in'office.'Tbe conntryis prosperous, and they- have 'little- or no taxation, consel queritly the knowledge .that they benefit through 3 these aliensl fills ,them .with: an,amused,-.toler-t ancb.'tbat takes umbrage at ho difference in ( , religion or in colour. They are Mohammedans,J but are really.somewhat lax in their obser--1 vances , of! ;.the rites of thoir, fajth. Also. no ' .; ipobple on earth have a keener sense of .humour , or are.readier for. jokes than they are—evon'the j ol'dest of them-is' morb like .a schoolboy; than . anything olse. As an instanco, showing,, how i domocEriio'even the Malays;have become, .one j of my/mtradors, a.r'ajali, was'greatly..enraged' e by 1 one of' the men in tho gang threatening to f punch his hrad., It was a ffcarful shock to Mb e dignityr-bi one time a word of disrespect /to a -' rajah/wbuid have co3t the speaker his life: as if"- it" was,., with; some, diilicultyj that/the' i ;mttnaOT,'was.'presented/from';takingi/somewhnt i cxtienie'meoanTes.with the offending one. ■ j -.' ■■;