Rensselaer Republican, Volume 17, Number 51, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 August 1885 — A Sumatra Girl of High Degree. [ARTICLE]

A Sumatra Girl of High Degree.

The appearance and attire of a Lampong miss on state occasions is thus given by Henry O. Forbes, F. B. G. S.: The center of attraction is tbe long line of maidenhood, glittering in silver and gold of native workmanship. The hair of each girl, neatly arranged and odoriferous from an abundance of cocoanut and cajaput oil, is tied in a knot behind and transfixed by a high backed comb overlaid with gold plates. Her head is crowned with a coronet of gold of form and magnificence according to her “pongkat.” A shawl worn sashwise hangs from the shoulder to the ground, while from above the middle hangs a rich sarong or petticoat of home-grown and spun silk, interwoven with gold thread and decorated with hundreds of small coins of the Dutch mint, which jingle pleasingly as she dances. Above this the body is girt with a silk slendang, half concealing the breasts. The arms, shoulders and chest are bare, except for the numerous gold and silver collars end necklets and bracelets of patterns peculiar to her marga (territorial division), with .which she is loaded. Often these collars are composed entirely of the large dollar pieces of Spain, Holland and—Mexico, and of half crowns. Of the highest born maidens, the arms from the wrist to the elbow are almost concealed by tbe display of pure “barbaric gold,” for they may wear as many bracelets as they choose, while their sisters less fortunate in the matter of blood and rank must conform to the regulation number corresponding to their degree. The breast is overlaid with crescent-shaped goldjplates suspended in tiers. The waist is encircled by a belt of one of the precious metals, secured by an elaborately carved buckle of the . same material. The rather bony fingers are encircled with many rings, and even the nails are lengthened by additions of silver into talon-like claws, so that altogether tbe Lampong maiden presents a dazzling appearance in the dim, uncertain light of a lamplit balai.