Some Observations Sent from the East-Indies; Being in Answer to Some Queries Sent Thither

by Richard Waller, Esq; F. R. S.

Author(s): Richard Waller
Source: Philosophical Transactions (1683-1775), Vol. 20 (1698), pp. 273-277
Published by: The Royal Society
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/102528 .
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( 273 )
I Soge (>&lervatiors
feSt oM the EaRXludies X
beiag za /5M^<0w t to J0ZXe 2;tvti@S f9Xt tbiLer
by hichard \va11Cr) E@) Fe AS b5*
TT dens aot appear that the StMv43&sA
%s}tt*2 c72>-
.t ioynad to the mai*.z LandX t11cre beinO no Sourdirg>
3 thty CAll it, @>Wdn. the lIX1nd and the Ma!n) and tSX
Eartiz Sand and Sknlls of t1le one much diSring fron
the tther : TIle xftnAll SheSlss calied} CoviesX usk jicIl pals
for NIoney in- Bengale and ather places, are claicfly bund
ECRee
The 'orth and South Pote are not viGble unrler ho
Linea ^+or ta vl:<e cleareft Niglzt tile Hor jzon is overscall
Wittl a thick m;gelty VarkneXs, that no Star can be [eenF
The Poles are .Geldom vifilbie till elae3r 1savv Five or Sit
Degrecs LatitudeX thougll the DJgllt be never -o Cl&at.
Gum kawk ls th: HXOufCX of a larg; iort of Ants, which
they maic on ths B; ughs of Trecsg Udich erves to
kecp them fron the EJwacher, Cr.
'Tis cerraxn that Cl<,VeS will attraA Water at Wonae
DiRance, WCHLS dally exsrienced
amongA the Dutct
ln this Country xvi-ao malte a conSd.*rai;le
Advantage
thereby l have known a Bag of Cloves 1aid 9Ver W&^
ter One or Two Foor DiSance) ulch has in a lXiight?s
time imb'd a confiderable
Quantity o: Water and
grown fo moill that the Water tnig,ht be prefsnd ran
tllenz.
71:here !has been fec3a an O>;Ewr*Shell
1n Baxt Elzat
has been about Eighcen Inches I)z-ameter) and fe.veral i
Maccao that has been Eightecn Irlciles long, and Five Ow
Six broacl, sNholE Meat witain bas l}ecn proportionabIe-
t0 the Shell.
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( 574 )
f an1 welf informgd by the PerSons that did fee it) ttlat
at Btavia a whole Dllck was taken out of the Belly of
a Srake; and that xn AcDia they did lkill a Snalse that
03ad a xs7hQ1e Decr in its Beliy, which they took out, be-
Dg fre(h and good, and that they did drefs and eat part
of the Dper.
Thy draw their Wire in Moulds of feveral Sizes, gra
dua'iy, as xse do ; s^Jhether they have any Art to make
it more Plfant i know not.
Ilae Chinefies Gild Paper wsth Leat:Gold and SilverX
laid on with a very good Sort. of Varnith they haves
wlaich is the fame wherewith they VarniSh their Lacker'd
Wares X all which, after it is throughly dry, they put
tn a Screw*Prefs, and with an InArument like our Plain
Sl.ave it as Sne as they PlaSe 9 and fo they cut their To-
baccos ulhich is as fine as a Hair.
Amber (>areece is found more or leS in moR Pares;
great Quar3tities are found at yapan, and to the EaIt-
ward of 7a;}, and at the Maldiv;Ifitands; which, they
fay) tIley find ger3erally fafipned to the Roots of Trees
that ,rov in thz Sea rlear the Shear, and that while it is
kept undpr Water 'tis Soft and Pliable like Wax, and
fometimes like Geily ^ Thcre is now a Piece in Iadi
wYIa;ch I lave ien, that wcsgis above Tw3 ThouSnd
.
The People of va Marry, and bave Chiidren at
Nine and Ten Years of Age A and generally leave Chi5dZ
beari^ngfat or before Thirty. At fenguia t5Crt are Wa
tnen csmfnon to any tilat will hire them, at Fight or
:NJine Years of Age
The yapas and Ctxna Varniffi is made of TurpenX
tine a^d a c-urious fort of 0V1 they have. wZhich they
tNiS and 5Dyl tO a contenient ContlRenceX xvhlch never
canGes any [;velling in the TIands cr Face, Sc. of thoNe
thSt m^ake or work st; The Swelling that oRen happens
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( ay A
ao thoSe ehat work the Lacker'd W<rv> and itAttstBe$
tO thoKe that only paSs by the Shops and lonk on t07pwm at
Tork is from thc Lack, and not ti5tw \Tarnffi; svhlctX
taclk is the Sap or JUICC of a Tret which tuns out Xosvw
Jy by cutting the Tree Rand is catcll'd by Potts fiRned
to the Tree; tis of tl:<e Colour and Subftance of Cream^
the Top, tlsat is expolEd to the Air, immediatWly turns
131acks and the Way that they make it Black and Gt tor
lIfe, is to put a fmall Quantity in a Bow)}} and itir it
continually with a piece ofsfmooth fron for Twet3ty four
tr Thirty HOUYS, uvhich wsill both thicken it and mhe it
7oiack; to which tiley put a QSlantity of very Ent Potw
der of ahny fort of burnt Bouglas: aazd lMaiX it xrery v;ei
togetherX and tllen wXXth a BrutM lay it fmnotll on any
thng tlzey deS;grl to Lack, then ler t dry very well xa
the SutlX whtcb vvill be Elarder than tile Board it is iaid QN 9
>7henbtss througi:ly dry you tnutt ruo tt with a fmooth
Stone and Water till it is as fmootll as Gla@ and on
tliat lay your AJarrlffi made of Turpenine and Oy! boil'd
to a due C;onfiRance) for Black Lack: but if you woud
hate Red, or a-ny other colour'd LackX 57ou msuR mix:
your Colour in fine Powder vtZith your Varninhs and take
care to lay yGur VarniSh an as fmbotEl as pofilble yow
canX for tlleress !:es the Art of Lacking ?ell. If y<3u;
would print in Gold or Sitzer, Sc. you muLt with a fine
Penci diptd in the faid XTt^Dia1) draW what FRowersaBirdsp
@:$ 570U peafeX and 1er it Ifre till t begins to be dry ;
tll<fl lAy on your LeaCCold, or Silvcr or Psn*Dut
Sc.
tt is well knosvns tha-t ttzere is amongA the Brane3 a
Lasguage ca11ed, the SvxJcreetX writ In a different Cha-
tafter from ttiat now in l>Se l in whch I <nglag; are
wrttten thn PsrWaeX tz Sacred Hiflory. The SPaRram
be*ng to the.n wshat tho l3*ble ls to Chri(tians; and the
F3uR BCS k WhEYCO5C)nC iS IDI}) CQaiXNg tLeiR D1YIS
T t X nity
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( t76 )
nityX Lavw, Phy6ck, Cc. and Some other Bxoks Tllis
Ianguage ls not underitood by ail BramznesX but only
by the Seudiolls and Learned amO>g t}ivt24 1 askcd one
of the moEt eminent amotlg tIAen tt1 ttliS PcCy how
long it sAtas fince tie faid Language was lo wtho anr
f*cred that i %'AS {poke in tEle Age of the Gods, or \fi-htn
they lived upon EarthX whicll by ther Caltultion conw
inued many Thoufand YearsX and eraded WO many Years
paR as we recken frorn the Flood, or tiacreabouts : but
tlley have ltttle Knowledge in Chronology Itns evident-
that iverI of the Languages now [poke in Ifzlian are
derived from the Wanlcreetss and one of the Bramzaesw
writ a Bzk to kew that tne preint [IindvJ?ax or Lanb
guage fpoken by the h4oor-s irl particu!ar, is derisred
trom thence.
I tave inqui>d of Tuto oF he ;5; linowing Bra>wines
in tTatb o56n) anal tlley both agre tha; our SgwdEy
sn evry Weel; sstas a Hety DaY? or Day of Refit with
tilUn) and tbr Sar they |juld abuk me, l have asked
a itslv or Mahometan Pri-;a} a Natittt of IndiaX and
ont Yha+ alw?ays lisred amongt:t them and he gave methe
fimc Acce3dntX BefidAs this tte7 have tbeir Monthly
@He y 9ayS S tOr tht tighth Day aRer the Change oi the
Mt2 jS trT-ts 8 J^3ay of Devetion > as aSio t1lW FourZ
t;eenth and the E;<vventh Dat7s from the Change, a (iridc
Fa0, calted 2ata DaJee or faka D0ee; fo likewiSe the
Lightll Day frorn the Full Moon, and tlle Fourteenth-
are Days of Dcvotion) and the Eleventh a Eaka Dafieev
I3CEdes thtSe tIey have tlzzoughoUt the Ye >r {Cvcral Fev
iLlsval ]:)atrs and triJnes, as in o*laer Religionsfi
tJpon thW i:)earll of any Perbs, ahe ;Rext of Kin, eSpew
Ci$11y aL Fluzba-nd for a Wifes a Father Sor a ChildX @
Tice rerra, aS a1b a Brother for a Br-other or Si0er de-
ceaSUdX do hdourn Flfteen Days, durtng whzch ttme they
tat onl3r Rice ai Water and aro1 not cixhct to cat 3ctle
.
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t - 77 )
or
mark
t1ziw
Foredeads, })ut u{9
JEveral
Wafihings, and
Vartt\ty of ovher
CeremonXesa as
carrying of
Viduals to
GardensX
Croves) an-d
taqes to
diribute and
make
Hev?eraI
Pr;a.vcrs that God
twould
grant the
deceaid
Party
a
gond
i?1acw n the
other
W<Crid}
forgive him his
SinS
bt
fitJO2rsO
UStO
hima Sc and
upon the
Slxttenth
tty
SR.it a
FeaR to ali rhest
Friends and
Re]ations
and
thote of their own
Coaft) as ttley are ableX and likeZ
w7ife
Yeae
upon the Da$t of his
Deathg
they give
AlmsX,
i. e.
lidtuais to
more or leSs
poor
Peopile, as
they arB
6te3
With
WllOM
they
make
Prayers for the
Dead
I-61} e
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