The Goliath beetles of the coast of Guinea are roasted and eaten by the natives, who doubtless, like many other savages, not knowing the value of that which they are eating, often make a _bonne bouche_ of what an entomologist would most eagerly desire to preserve. Several of the more brilliant tropical beetles are made use of as ornaments, not only by the savage tribes, but among nations which are able to command the costliest gems of the East. The golden elytra of the Sternocera chrysis and Sternocera sternicornis serve to enrich the embroidery of the Indian zenana, while the joints of the legs are strung on silken threads, and form bracelets of singular brilliancy. The ladies in Brazil wear necklaces composed of the azure green and golden wings of lustrous Chrysomelidæ and Curculionidæ, particularly of the Diamond beetle (_Entimus nobilis_); and in Jamaica, the elytra of the Buprestis gigas are set in ear-rings, whose gold-green brilliancy rivals the rare and costly Chrysopras in beauty. [Illustration: DIAMOND BEETLE.] [Illustration: BUPRESTIS GIGAS.] [Illustration: MALAY PIRATES.] CHAPTER XX. THE MALAYAN RACE. Physical Conformation of the Malays--Betel Chewing--Their Moral Character--Limited Intelligence of the Malays--Their Maritime Tastes--Piracy--Gambling--Cock-fighting--Running A-muck!-- Fishing--Malayan Superstitions--The Battas--Their Cannibalism-- Eating a Man alive--The Begus--Aërial Huts--Funeral Ceremonies-- The Dyaks--Head-hunting--The Sumpitan--Large Houses. Unlike the apathetic Indian hunter, whose wishes are bounded by the forest or the savannah, where the chase provides him with a scanty subsistence, or the good-humoured Negro who, fond of agriculture, and attached to the soil on which he was born, never thinks of wandering of his own free will to distant countries, the roving race of the Malays has scattered its colonies far and wide over the Indian Archipelago. The colour of the various tribes of this remarkable people is a yellowish-brown, and varies but little throughout the numerous islands extending from Sumatra and the peninsula of Malacca to the Moluccas. The hair is black, coarse and straight, the beard scanty. The stature is below the average European size, the breast well developed, the limbs meagre. The face is broad and somewhat flat, with high cheek-bones, a small nose, a large mouth with broad lips, and black eyes with angular orbits. The children and young people of both sexes are often really handsome in face and graceful in figure, but as they advance in age their features become hard, and frequently present a repulsive appearance.