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0227 Cathay and the Way Thither : vol.2
Cathay and the Way Thither : vol.2 / Page 227 (Color Image)

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doi: 10.20676/00000042
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AND THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO.   467

In twenty-five days more they reached the island of Java, as he calls it, but in fact that which we call SIJMATRA.1

ation. The coloured handkerchiefs on the head are quite a characteristic of the people in question ; I cannot say as much for the goat-skins.

Dulaurier, however, points out that Barah Nagcir may represent the Malay Bcirat "West," and Nagarcc " City or Country." This is the more worthy of notice as the crew of the junk were probably Malays, but the interpretation would be quite consistent with the position that I suggest. I take the dog's muzzle to be only a strong way of describing the protruding lips and coarse features of one common type of Indo-Chinese face. The story as regards the beautiful women of these dog-headed men is exactly as Jordanus had heard it (Fr. Jord., p. 44; and compare Odoric, p. 97). This probably alludes to the fact that among some of these races, and the Burmese may be especially instanced, considerable elegance and refinement of feature is not unfrequently seen among the

women ; there is one type of face almost Italian, of which I have seen repeated instances in Burmese female faces, never amongst the men. A

like story existed amongst the Chinese and Tartars, but in it the men were dogs and not dog-faced merely ; this story however probably had a similar origin (see King Hethum's Narr. in Journ. As., ser. ii, tom. xii,

p. 288, and Plano Carpini, p. 657). I give an example of the type of male face that I suppose to be alluded to ; it represents however two heads of the Sunda peasantry in Java, as I have no Burmese heads available.

1 The terms Jawa, Jawi, appear to have been applied by the Arabs to the islands and productions of the Archipelago generally (Crawf. Dict. Ind. Islands, p. 165), but certainly also at times to Sumatra specifically, as by Abulfeda and Marco Polo (Java Minor). There is evidence however that even in old times of Hindu influence in the islands Sumatra bore the name of Java or rather Yava (see Friedrich in the Batavian Transactions, vol. xxvi, p. 77, and preced.).

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