when seated, the knee-caps are often exposed, even in the King's Bâlai,—a
practice that would not be tolerated in any other part of the Peninsula. The
women also dispense with an upper garment, and make up the deficiency by a
lavish use of sârong and scarves. The shoulders and upper portion of the chest,
however, are left bare. These and other practices, cause the Kĕlantan Malays to
be much despised by the peoples of other Native States, who regard them as
unmannerly and uncouth. Indeed, prior to 1888, few Kĕlantan men dared to set
foot in Pahang, for, as an old Chief once said in my presence, the only use a
Pahang native had for a Kĕlantan Malay, before the coming of the white men,
was 'as a thing wherewith to sharpen the blade of his dagger,' and this, be it
remembered, is not a mere façon de parler.
After straining my jaws, doing violence to my tongue, and racking my throat, I
have acquired a working knowledge of the Kĕlantan patois, and can now
understand and speak it almost as easily as I do the more refined dialects. This
has helped me to, in some degree, understand the people, and, though they have
many bad qualities, I like them. In a rude, rough way, and without the swagger
of the Pahang Malay, they are sportsmen. I shot over one of them for four years,
and, until he went blind, he was as good a retriever as one would desire to
possess. At Kôta Bharu bull fights, matches between rams, cocks, quails, and
human prize fighters, are the chief amusement of the people. The latter sport is
peculiar to Kĕlantan. The fights begin with the ungainly posturing, and aimless
gesticulation, with which all who have witnessed a Malay sword-dance are
familiar, but when the fencers come to close quarters the interest begins. They
strike, kick, pinch, bite, scratch, and even spit, until one or the other is unable to
move. No time is called, catch as catch can, and strike as best, and where best
you may, are the simple rules of these contests, and the sight is a somewhat
degrading and unpleasant one, though it excites the spectators to ecstasies of
delight and laughter. Most big Chiefs in Kĕlantan keep trained men to take part
in these prize fights, and heavy bets are made on the result.
And the life of these people? Whether in Pahang, Trĕnggânu, or Kĕlantan it is
much the same. Up country the natives live more chastely than do the people of
the capital; they work harder, age sooner, lie less softly, experience less change,
and are chiefly occupied in supporting themselves and their families. They rise
early, work or idle through the day, and go to bed very soon after dark. Their
lives are entirely monotonous, dull, and uneventful, but the knowledge of other
and better things is not for them, and they live contentedly the only life of which
they have any experience. They can rarely afford to support more than one wife,