By Ross A. CHAPTER VI. The Capital of Java. 3 Free College Essays.
The native race of Java, the Javans, are from a stock which is believed to have been imported from North Africa, and probably from Arabia. The land now owned by the Dutch, and which the Dutch have occupied since the beginning of the last century, was for a long period under the sway of the Dutch empire, and the Javans, as all other subject races, were governed by the authority of the Dutch residents, who at first only conducted the war with Japan. 1 Later the country was incorporated into Java, and was afterwards occupied by the English, who held it until they relinquished it to the Dutch in 1815.
It is evident, therefore, that the Javans have been of a mixed origin, since they are in part Malay, and in part of an Arab stock, both of which races are mostly to be found in the south of China. But from their continual intercourse with Chinese and Malay traders who came to the coast of Java, there have been intermixed with the Javans the influences of the surrounding races.
The former, especially in the country north of the Java Sea, were a Turanian race, and the latter are Arabian. The former were probably much more important in Java than in Java they are now in the south. The Javans are divided into four large tribes, which are spoken of by the Dutch under the names of highlanders, lowlanders, coast natives and sea-coast natives. These terms are probably in some cases a misnomer, since in later days many have become extinct. In the northern part of the island, where the mountain districts occupy the very highest regions, there is said to have been a considerable number of tribes of hunter-like Indians, whom the Dutch call Batoeang.
The only tribes that remain now are the highlanders and lowlanders, and these, it is said, are the descendants of the original people. The natives of Java are now, for the most part, of dark complexion, and seem, notwithstanding the tropical heat of their climate, to have some of the characteristics of the Chinese, and are also said to have a great resemblance to the Malays, from whom, it is said, they are descended. They are a maritime nation, and are fond of much sea-faring and of active pursuits.
Their food consists principally of vegetables, which they raise in their fields. They do not
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