Steve Green wrote to me: Found this in a little book I bought for Ann many years ago in Oxford, and thought you might like to see it in view of your recent adventures.The book's entitled TALES ABOUT ANIMALS, by J Bland, published by Milner & Company (Paternoster Row, London). There's no date, but Ann's copy is inscribed "Xmas 1882".This does look more like an orang-pendek than an orang-utan. I think the two were confused by many early travellers. There might even be remains mis-labelled in Dutch museums.
Orang-utan means more than one thing and Orang Pendek means more than one thing. In both terms the "Orang" part means "Person"(ie, human being) and both term,s are used for regular Homo sapiens that happen to live in the forest countries.
ReplyDeleteIn this case the name "Orangutan" was used indiscriminately for and Anthropoid ape in the period. AND in this particular case the "Orangutan" is the one described from AFRICA as a "Pygmy". That one is usually said to have been a chimpanzee. The text indicates the identity. The illustration of the creature with a walking-stick was standard in all the early depictions.
I have also seen a skeleton of a gorilla depicted in old books and called an "Orangutan". The orangutan's scientific name, Pongo, is actually an African name for a gorilla.
This illustration looks more like the girl Richard tried to pull the last time we were out together at the pub.In fact, the stick she is holding is the one she had to use to beat him off with...
ReplyDeleteAdam Davies