Narrative of the Circumnavigation of the Globe by the Austrian Frigate Novara, Volume II: (Commodore B. Von Wullerstorf-Urbair,) Undertaken by Order of the Imperial Government in the Years 1857, 1858, & 1859, Under the Immediate Auspices of His I. and R. Highness the Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian, Commander-In-Chief of the; Austrian Navy.Scherzer, Karl, Ritter von
History
Narrative of the Circumnavigation of the Globe by the Austrian Frigate Novara, Volume II: (Commodore B. Von Wullerstorf-Urbair,) Undertaken by Order of the Imperial Government in the Years 1857, 1858, & 1859, Under the Immediate Auspices of His I. and R. Highness the Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian, Commander-In-Chief of the; Austrian Navy.
Scherzer, Karl, Ritter von
Novara Expedition (1857-1859); Voyages around the world -- History -- 19th century
Our next excursion was to the village of Enuang or Enong, where lay at
anchor, under the British flag, two Malay prahus from Pulo Penang, manned
by Malay crews, and taking in cargoes of ripe cocoa-nuts, edible birds'
nests, and sea-slugs, or Trepang. The captain of one of these prahus and
the greater number of the crew were laid up with fever. The supercargo, a
Chinese named Owi-Bing-Hong, spoke English fluently, and was of the utmost
service to us in our communications with the natives. Enuang is larger
than Itoe, and has about a dozen huts, but these are one and all
half-ruinous, very filthy, and utterly neglected. In all the huts we found
numbers of figures, cut in white wood in the very rudest style in various
postures, mostly with a threatening, combative expression, intended to
drive away the evil spirit, of whom the natives seem to stand in great
dread; for it is the universal practice of these islanders to ascribe
whatever happens to them to the influence of an evil spirit, and probably
also the appearance of the _Novara_ in the harbour of Nangkauri was laid
to the account of the ill intentions of an Eewee. One constantly sees
fruit, tobacco, or betel-leaves, prepared with pearl-lime, strewed in
small portions at various spots in the interiors of the huts, or suspended
on the bamboo ladders by which they are entered, the object being to
propitiate the Eewee in the event of his being hungry on his arrival! In
one of the abandoned huts we discovered a figure resembling a cat, rudely
carved in wood, before which the natives had placed tobacco and
cocoa-nuts; almost all these figures were besmeared with soot, and daubed
with some red pigment, and their abdomens hung with long pendent dried
palm-leaves.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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