ere the chiefs of the neighbouring kampong
assemble, hear the evidence, and deliberate upon the crime and
probable guilt of the party; when condemned, the sentence is
ratified by the chiefs drinking the tuah, or toddy, which is
final, and may be considered equivalent to signing and sealing
with us.

I was very particular in my inquiries whether the assembly were
intoxicated on the occasions of these punishments. I was assured
it was never the case. The people take rice with them, and eat it
with the meat, but no tuah is allowed. The punishment is always
inflicted in public. The men alone are allowed to partake, as the
flesh of man is prohibited to women (probably from an
apprehension they might become too fond of it). The flesh is not
allowed to be carried away from the spot, but must be consumed at
the time. I am assured that the Battas are more attached to these
laws than the Mahomedans are to the Koran, and that the number of
the punishments is very considerable. My informants considered
that there could be no less than fifty or sixty men eaten in a
year, and this in times of peace; but they were unable to
estimate the true extent, considering the great population of the
country; they were confident, however, that these laws were
strictly enforced wherever the name of Batta was known, and that
it was only in the immediate vicinity of our settlements that
they were modified and neglected. For proof, they referred me to
every Batta in the vicinity, and to the number of skulls to be
seen in every village, each of which was from a victim of the
kind.

With regard to the relish with which the parties devour the
flesh, it appeared that, independent of the desire of revenge
which may be supposed to exist among the principals, about
one-half of the people eat it with a relish, and speak of it with
delight; the other half, though present, may not partake. Human
flesh is, however, generally considered preferable to cow or
buffalo beef, or hog, and was admitted to be so even by my
informants. Adverting to the possible origin of this practice, it
was observed that formerly they ate their parents when too old
for work; this, however, is no longer the case, and thus a step
has been gained in civilization. It is admitted that the parties
may