Page:History of the Indian Archipelago Vol 2.djvu/73

 CHAPTER III. LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE OF CELEBES. A fjoide Difference between the Languages of the Eastern and Western portions of the Archipelago. — Alphabet of Celebes, — Tviio great Languages spoken in CelebeSy the Bugis and Macassar. — Character of both. — Their Literatare. — Speci- men of their Poetry. — Composition and Derivation of the Languages of the Eastern portion of the Archipelago. The moment we pass the island of Lombok, pro- ceeding eastward, striking features of difference are, to the most ordinary observer, discernible in the manners, customs, and state of civilization of the people of the Indian islands. The great island of Celebes is the centre from which that peculiar description of civilization which characterizes this portion of the Archipelago seems to have emanated. The eastern portion of the Archipelago has, in- deed, received improvement through the more ge- neral sources of civilization, of which all the nations have partaken ; but a more local one seems to have likewise operated.