ABSTRACT
In Sumatra there are the Bataks, a lowly people of strong Malay affinities, who a generation ago were, occasionally at least, cannibals. There are many people’s allied to the Proto-Malays of the Peninsula scattered throughout the neighbouring islands. In Borneo there is the famous Dyaks, who have a language of their own, though, like the Bataks and most races of the Archipelago, most of them understand Malay. Malay as it is spoken by the Peninsular Malays is used all over the territory and also in Patani, the southernmost district of Siam; it is spoken in the islands near Singapore, the Riau Archipelago, on the east coast of Sumatra and the west coast of Borneo. Sir George Maxwell’s Manual illustrates the extent to which Malay is dependent on Sanskrit terms. All the languages used by the chief tribes in Java, Sumatra, Borneo and Celebes is thus connected with Malay, though very different in actual vocabulary and grammar and script.
