Malays (properly Malayus, a Malay word, the der- ivation of which has not yet been satisfactorily ascer- tained) is the name given to a great branch of the hu- man family dwelling in the Malay peninsula, in the islands, large and small, of the Indian Archipelago, in Madagascar, and in the numerous islands of the Pacific. In the fivefold division of mankind laid down by Bhi- menbach, the Malays are treated as a distinct race, while in the threefold division of Latham they are re- garded as a branch of the Mongolidse. Prichard, how- ever, subdivides the various representatives of the Malay family into three branches, viz. : (1.) the Indo-Malayan, comprehending the Malays proper of Malacca, and the inhabitants of Sumatra, Java, Celebes, the Moluccas, and the Philippines, with whom, perhaps, may be associated the natives of the Caroline Islands and the Ladrones; (2.) the Polynesians ; and (3.) the jNIadecasses, or people of Madagascar. Following Latham, we shall here con- fine ourselves to the Malays proper, the natives of ]\Iad- agascar having been already noticed under that head- ing, and reserving the Polynesians generally and the Maori in particular for distinct articles. In physical appearance tlie Malays are a brown-complexioned race, rather darker than the Chinese, but not so swarthy as the Hindus; they have long, black, shining, but coarse hair; little or no beard; a large mouth; eyes large and dark; nose generally short and flat; lips rather thicker tlian those of Europeans; and cheek-bones high. lu stature, the Indo-^Ialays are for the most jjart below the middle height, while tlie Polynesians generally exceed it; the Indo-Malays have also slight, well-formed limbs, and are particular!}' small about the wrists and ankles. "The profile," according to Dr. Pickering, '• is usually more vertical than in the white race, but this may be owing in part to the mode of carriage, for the skull does
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not show a superior facial angle." This people must, however, be classified, as there is a great distinction among them from a civilized stand-point. There is a class of Malays who have a written language (the spoken language is essentially the same with all the Malays), and who have made some progress in the arts of life ; then there are the sea-people, orang-laut, literally " men of the sea," a kind of sea-gipsies or robbers ; and there are also the orang hcnma or oranrj ut(tn, " wild men" or " sav- ages," dwelling in the woods or forests, and supposed to be the aborigines of the peninsula and islands.
Oriffin and Language. — The name oi Malaija seems to have been first used about tlie middle of the 12th centu- ry. The first settlement is by themselves stated to have been Menangkabo, in the island of Sumatra, rather than the peninsula itself. Even the Malays of Borneo claim to have come from IMenangkabo. Palembang, howev- er, also in Sumatra, has been mentioned as the original seat of Malay civilization ; while others, again, point to Java as the source from which both Menangkabo and Palembang received their first settlers. "The Java- nese," says Crawfurd," would seem to have been even the foiuiders of Malacca. Monuments have been discov- ered which prove'the presence of this people in the country of the Malays. Thus Sir Stamford Raffles, when he visited Menangkabo, found there inscriptions on stone in the ancient character of Java, such as are frequent in that island; and he was supported in his conclusion l)v tlie learned natives of Java who accompanied him in his journey. The settlement of the Javanese in several parts of Sumatra is, indeed, sufficiently attested. In Palembang they have been immemoriaUy the ruling people ; and, although the Malay language is the pop- ular one, the Javanese, in its peculiar written character, is still that of the court." According to Wallace the Malays are found in Malacca, Sumatra, Borneo, Tidore, Temata, Macian, and Obi. The northern peninsula of Gilolo and the island Ceram are inhabited by Alfuri ; Timor and the neighboring isles as far to the west as Flores and Sandalwood, and as far to tlie east as Timor- lant, are inhal)ited by a peoi)le more akin to the Papoos than to the Malays, the Timorese being strictly distin- guished from both ; tlie inhabitants of the island Burn are partly Malays, partly Alfuri ; while the Papoos in- habit New Guinea, the Kay and Am isles, Meisol, Sal- watty, and Weigim, and all the country eastward as far as the Fiji Isles. (Comp. P. INIiiller, Liiignistische Eth- nographie, in Jiehm, Geograph. Jahrbuch [Gotha], 1868, vol. ii.) The Malay language is simple and easy in its construction, harmonious in its proniuiciation, and easily acquired by Europeans. It is the lingua Franca of the Eastern Archipelago. Of its numerous dialects, the Ja- vanese is the most refined, a superiority which it owes to the infiuence upon it of Sanscrit literature. From the Arabians (who gave the IMalays iMohammcdanism) their characters are borrowed, and many Arabic words have also been incorporated with the jNIalay language, by means of which the Javanese are able to supply the deficiency of scientific terms in their own tongue.
Ikligion. — The civilized IMalays are generally iVlo- hammedans in religious belief; they embraced tlie faith of the Crescent in the 13th or 14th century. The tribes in the interior and the '• men of the sea" have either no religion at all, or only the most debased superstition. In the years 1805-38 a sect of wild fanatics, the Pailris- Priests, also called Orang-Patih, white men (after their dress), sought to re-establish their suiierstitious creed by fire .and swurd. They did much mischief until the Hollanders found that their own safety as rulers was threatene<l, and, after a short war, suiuhicd tlic Padris and broke their power most substantially. The moral character of the ludd-^Ial.avs generally in not high ; they are passionate, treacheniiis and revengeful. But it must be said that the cruelty and persecution which the jMalays suffered at the liands of tlie Pdrtuguose, who became their ciincpierdrs in tlie KJtli century, and af- terwards under the sway of the Hollanders, greatly