layan words oran kaya, the literal translation of which is, a rich man.
The dignity of orancaye, is by no means an empty title: it gives those petty chiefs the means of making their fortune, which they seldom fail to do, although very vexatiously to those who are subjected to them; for when raising contributions on the poor Amboynians, on account of the agents of the Company, they take care not to neglect their own interests. It nevertheless happens sometimes, that their fortunes decline faster than they increased, when the agents of the Company find the means of turning the avarice of the orancayes to their own advantage.
The inhabitants of Amboyna speak the Malayan language, which is very soft. Its analogy with the language spoken in the South Sea Islands, has induced me to present the reader, at the end of the second volume, with a very copious vocabulary, which I collected at Amboyna and in the island of Java, where I remained a long time, at the close of this expedition.
The use of betel has been established among those people, time immemorial. They take some young leaves of the pepper tree called piper striboa, in Malay siri, and having covered them with a little very fine lime, made of burnt shells, and newly flaked, they chew them with the arec-
nut.
