Book Title: Indian Antiquary Vol 42
Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Devadatta Ramkrishna Bhandarkar
Publisher: Swati Publications
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130
THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY
[MAY, 1913.
was worth ton duit ayam. and ten pitis were worth one gambar ayam. He traded his rice up country at the rate of five dollars to the gantang. From this basis I got the very unsatisfactory statements which follow :
1 gambar ayam kechil fetched i chupak of rice 1 gambar ayam běsar
2 chapak 1 gambar bělalang kěchil
1 chupak 1 gambar bělalang běbar
1 chupak and 1 kal? 1 gambar buaya kěchil*
1 chapak The small crocodile was worth five pitis, which gives 50 duit ayam or 20 to the dollar.5
It appears that 8 keping might weigh 3 pikul 20 kati; that is, be 20 kati out. He said that
the tortoise (kekura or Iurakura) was worth 3 piak (tali) the middle sized crocodile (buaya pěněngah)
>>
5 tals the small crocodile buaya (kēchil) » » 1 pěn juru the small mantis bělalang (kěchil)
►
1 penjuru the small cock (ayam kěchil)
» 1 penjuru the large cock (ayam besar)
, 2 penjuru At the same time there were crocodiles as large as balf a képing (slab), and there were mantises worth 3 pěnjuru.
He said that these coins were made to order by any bellows-smith (tukang pengěmbus) or magician (pawang), and that they were made for ornament, not use.
The oldest native I have met, Tukang Awang of Palau Tiga, a man who can remember ten Sultans," and was 15 years old in the time of Marhum Jabat, could give me no information beyond the duit ayam currenoy. He, however, had never been in a tin district.
I send herewith a photograph of some of these coins. Better photographs to follow. Notice the bělalang (mantis) in the second row, also in the foreground the primitive Pasir Panjang Laut specimens sent you. The oval shell-backed casting is a jongkong. That is, the sulong relau, eldest born or firstling of the smelting-house ;, or sulong klian, oldest born of the mine.
I Here duit ayam, cook' doit- onsh' (money): pitis, ordinary ash' oont gambar ayam, model of oook (tin ourronay). This gives 1000 cash to the dollar.
9 Unit measure of oapacity: 2 kal = 1 chupak: 4 chupak = 1 gantang. • Stevens, E. I. Trade, p. 87, makes the caul or kal of Achin to be about gantang. • gambar model: köchil=small : berar-largo : ayam cook : belalang mantis buaya orocodile.
5 This is a wrong assumption, these 'orocodiles' were clearly 16 to the dollar, m the informant was speak. ing of the Dutch not the British soale. The son of this statement is explained, ante. p. 96.
• The trader Wan, however, here referring to the bhara of 420 lbs. which was the standard for the animal aurrenoy, see ante. p. 90.
+ This table shows, in terms of tin currenoy at the standard of 420lbs. to the bahara crocodile mantis of 1 penjur - 1405.
Oook
mantis of 8 panjuru = 420z. tortoise of 6 penjuru
= 840s. crocodile of 10 penjuru - 140 oz. crocodile of keping (slab) - 263 lbs.
Other observations are that the whole is on the Dutok scale of the great vin (58 lbs.). The tortoise representa the great viss: the mantis the half-great-viss or tali.
• Thus perpetuating a clear error, . It is however clearly a crocodile : Plate II. fig. 2, no
