The Island of Sumatra is immediately east of the Island of Java, about which we read in National Geographic Magazine (see this blog, Thursday, August 15, 2013, "Java!"). W. Robert Moore writes of the people there in "Among the Hill Tribes of Sumatra," National Geographic Magazine, February, 1930.
"Sumatra. . .is only slightly smaller than the aggregate areas of our nine New England and Middle Atlantic states. . .and is thirteen times larger than its Netherland guardian, but has a somewhat smaller population" (p. 188). Mr. Moore traveled by steamship to Sumatra, then by bus and rail to reach the interior of the country. He found beautiful scenery and contrasting cultures, some of which had been isolated in the mountain regions until the recent building of railroads by the European conquerors. The Equator crossed the Island of Sumatra.
As an inhabitant of America, a former colony of foreign powers, I can sympathize with the Sumatra natives but not the Dutch, who, although they appeared to treat the natives with justice, carried off their resources and exploited the land. I also like to compare other cultures with my own as to the treatment of women, children, the elderly, and minorities.
"In the Padang Highlands the women are rulers of the household and control both the possessions and the children. The husbands, free from such responsibility, help work the family rice fields, and they are skillful craftsmen in both wood and metal. Many of the houses exhibit unique designs on the wooden walls." Possessions accumulated by men pass to their sisters rather than to their wives" (p. 197).
Many of the cultures Mr. Moore encountered appeared to be highly civilized. "Each Batak village has its court and market square. The structure in the foreground is used for native trials and public meetings, and on trading days barter goes on around it" (caption, Color Plate VI).
"Feminine merchants predominate at the Fort de Kock market. . .both girls are of the Menangkabaus, a tribe which accords it women positions of honor and responsibility" (caption, Color Plate VII).
"In the last fifty years the Bataks have undergone a great change They are no longer hostile to the white man and they have long since ceased the practice of the ceremonial eating (a fine distinction from cannibalism) of their elderly relatives and their enemies. They are now a peaceful agricultural and pastoral people" (p. 207).
The eating of the aged is thought to have been based on a vague conception of immortality. The aged man's body would thus become part of the strong brown bodies around him, and the wisdom of the wise and experienced would also be passed onto their successors, while fallen warriors would give of their strength and bravery" (p. 210).
"Some of the Bataks have been converted to Christianity, others have become nominally Mohammedans, yet a majority of them still cling to their ancient religious beliefs and animistic practices" (p. 210).
The natives were very inventive and trained pet monkeys to climb tall coconut palm trees and pick only the ripe coconuts. Strings were tied to the monkeys so they wouldn't escape into the jungle.
Other than the coast lands, the mountains, and the valleys, the Island of Sumatra contained flooded rice terraces wherever possible and steaming volcanoes (Sibajak and Krakatau - last erupted in 1928).
Dutch exports (and profits) from its Colony of Sumatra included tea, rubber, and tobacco. There was minimal gold and spices' exports with the oil exploration underway in 1930. In addition to the native workers, mostly women, huge tea plantations imported workers from both China and nearby Java. One company "employs some 40,000 Javanese, Tamil, and Chinese men and women laborers, who are supervised by a large staff of foreign managers" (p. 226).
When his trip to the interior of Sumatra was concluded, Mr. Moore again traveled by train and bus to the coast and boarded a ship. "The steamer slipped out from the mangrove swamps into the Malacca Strait. Not long after, as I looked back along the wash of the throbbing screw, a crimsoning, dusk-filled horizon closed over the Sumatran coast. Thus ended our visit to the fascinating island astride the Equator, of which few travelers see anything beyond the distant smoky blue mountains, as their steamers leave the Malayan port India-bound" (p, 227).
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