Page:History of the Indian Archipelago Vol 2.djvu/132

 114 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON Tip indigenous civilization in the Indian Archipelago, wholly independent of foreign instruction ; that the principal tribes understood the culture of grain j the use of iron, tin, and gold ; of the larger ani- mals ; that they had a national kalendar, and pro- bably understood the art of writing. If we con- sider how small their progress has since been, be- yond what is implied by this statement, we shall not think very highly of the extent and value of the improvements which the islanders received from the Hindus, and the catalogue of them will not be difficult to sum up. The Hindus may have in- structed the islanders in the knowledge of copper and silver ; perhaps taught them to tame the horse and elephant, which are commonly known by San- skrit names ; instructed them in the use of cotton and of the fabric manufactured from it ; in that of pepper, and the manufacture of a drug from the in- digo plant, and in the culture of some Indian fruits. Finally, the Hindus taught the East- Insular tribes a new kalendar, which became supplemental to their own without superseding it ; they modified their writing, gave them a new literature and a new re- ligion, fortunately unaccompanied by the unsocial and revolting genius of genuine Hinduism. The introduction of a portion of Arabic has, a§ in other situations, been, among the tribes of the Indian islands, the consequence of the adoption of the Mahomedan religion. Into the distant regions