The history of Sumatra : $b Containing an account of the government, laws, customs and manners of the native inhabitantsMarsden, William
History
The history of Sumatra : $b Containing an account of the government, laws, customs and manners of the native inhabitants
Marsden, William
Natural history -- Indonesia -- Sumatra; Sumatra (Indonesia)
which a man plants or builds, with the consent of his neighbours, becomes
a species of nominal property, and is transferable; but as it costs him
nothing beside his labour it is only the produce which is esteemed of
value, and the compensation he receives is for this alone. A temporary
usufruct is accordingly all that they attend to, and the price, in case
of sale, is generally ascertained by the coconut, durian, and other
fruit-trees that have been planted on it; the buildings being for the
most part but little durable. Whilst any of those subsist the descendants
of the planter may claim the ground, though it has been for years
abandoned. If they are cut down he may recover damages; but if they have
disappeared in the course of nature the land reverts to the public.
They have a custom of keeping by them a sum of money as a resource
against extremity of distress, and which common exigencies do not call
forth. This is a refined antidote against despair, because, whilst it
remains possible to avoid encroaching on that treasure, their affairs are
not at the worst, and the idea of the little hoard serves to buoy up
their spirits and encourage them to struggle with wretchedness. It
usually therefore continues inviolate and descends to the heir, or is
lost to him by the sudden exit of the parent. From their apprehension of
dishonesty and insecurity of their houses their money is for the most
part concealed in the ground, the cavity of an old beam, or other secret
place; and a man on his death-bed has commonly some important discovery
of this nature to make to his assembled relations.
OUTLAWRY.
The practice of outlawing an individual of a family by the head of it
(called lepas or buang dangan surat, to let loose, or cast out with a
writing) has its foundation in the custom which obliges all the branches
to be responsible for the debts contracted by any one of the kindred.
When an extravagant and unprincipled spendthrift is running a career that
appears likely to involve his family in ruinous consequences, they have
the right of dissolving the connexion and clearing themselves of further
responsibility by this public act, which, as the writ expresses it, sends
forth the outcast, as a deer into the woods, no longer to be considered
as enjoying the privileges of society. This character is what they term
risau, though it is sometimes applied to persons not absolutely outlawed,
but of debauched and irregular manners.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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