The Mafulu: Mountain People of British New Guinea

By Robert Wood Williamson

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Title: The Mafulu
Mountain People of British New Guinea

Author: Robert W. Williamson

Release Date: March 4, 2006 [EBook #17910]
Last updated: January 27, 2009

Language: English

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The Mafulu
Mountain People of British New Guinea

Robert W. Williamson

With an Introduction

A. C. Haddon, Sc.D., F.R.S.

With Illustrations and Map

Macmillan and Co., Limited
St. Martin's Street, London
1912

PREFACE

This book is the outcome of an expedition to British New Guinea
in 1910, in which, after a short stay among the people of some of
the western Solomon Islands, including those of that old centre
of the head hunters, the Rubiana lagoon, and a preparatory and
instructive journey in New Guinea among the large villages of the
Mekeo district, I struck across country by a little known route,
via Lapeka, to Ido-Ido and on to Dilava, and thus passed by way of
further preparation through the Kuni country, and ultimately reached
the district of the Mafulu villages, of whose people very little was
known, and which was therefore the mecca of my pilgrimage.

I endeavoured to carry out the enquiries of which the book is a record
as carefully and accurately as possible; but it must be remembered
that the Mafulu people had seen very few white men, except some
of the Fathers of the Catholic Mission of the Sacred Heart, the
visits of Government officials and once or twice of a scientific
traveller having been but few and far between, and only short; that
the mission station in Mafulu (the remotest station of the mission)
had only been established five years previously; that the people
were utterly unaccustomed to the type of questioning which systematic
ethnological enquiry involves, and that necessarily there was often
the usual hesitation in giving the required information.

I cannot doubt, therefore, that future enquiries and investigations
made in the same district will bring to light errors and
misunderstandings, which even with the greatest care can hardly be
avoided in the case of a first attempt on new ground, where everything
has to be investigated and worked up from the beginning. I hope,
however, that the bulk of my notes will be found to have been correct
in substance so far as they go.

I regret that my ignorance of tropical flora and fauna has made it
impossible for me to give the names of many of the plants and animals
to which I refer.

There are many people, more than I can mention here, to whom I owe my
grateful thanks. Prior to my departure for the South Seas Dr. Haddon
took great trouble in helping and advising me, and, indeed, I doubt
whether I should have ventured upon my solitary expedition if I had
not had his stimulating encouragement.

In New Guinea I had the never-failing hospitality and kindness
of my good friend Monseigneur de Boismenu (the Bishop of the
Mission of the Sacred Heart) and the Fathers and Brothers of the
Mission. Among the latter I would specially mention Father Egedi
and Father Clauser. Father Egedi (whose name is already familiar
to students of New Guinea Ethnology) was my friend and travelling
companion during a portion of my journeyings through the Mekeo and
Kuni districts, and his Mekeo explanations proved invaluable to me
when I reached my Mafulu destination. And dear good Father Clauser
was a pillar of help in Mafulu. He placed at my disposal all his
existing knowledge concerning the people, and was my intermediary
and interpreter throughout all my enquiries. And finally, when having
at some risk prolonged my stay at Mafulu until those enquiries were
completed, I was at last compelled by the serious state of my health
to beat a retreat, and be carried down to the coast, he undertook
to do the whole of my photographing and physical measurements, and
the care and skill with which he did so are evidenced by the results
as disclosed in this book. [1] I must also add that the frontispiece
and plates 17, 67, 68, 69 and 70 are taken from previous photographs
which Father Clauser kindly placed at my disposal. My remembrance of
His Lordship the Bishop, and of the Reverend Fathers and the Brothers
of the Mission will ever be one of affectionate personal regard, and
of admiration of the spirit of heroic self-sacrifice which impels
them to submit cheerfully to the grave and constant hardships and
dangers to which their labour of love necessarily exposes them.

Since my return home Dr. Seligmann has given me immense help, advising
me upon my notes, placing material at my disposal, and afterwards
reading through a considerable portion of my manuscript. Mr. T.A. Joyce
and Mr. J. Edge Partington helped me in arranging and dealing with
the things which I had brought back to the British Museum. Dr. Keith
examined and reported upon some skulls which I had obtained,
and advised me upon my notes on physique. Dr. Stapf helped me in
matters of botanical identification; Mr. S.H. Ray has given me the
full benefit of his wide knowledge of South Pacific linguistics,
and has written the appendices to the book. And, finally, Dr. Haddon
has very kindly read through my proof sheets.

In conclusion, I would add that there is still an immense amount
of detailed work to be done among the Mafulu people, and that
the districts of the Ambo and Boboi and Oru Lopiku people, still
further back among the mountains, offer an almost virgin field for
investigation to anyone who will take the trouble to go there.

CONTENTS

Introduction, by Dr. A.C. Haddon

CHAPTER I

Introductory

CHAPTER II

Physique and Character

CHAPTER III

Dress and Ornament

CHAPTER IV

Daily Life and Matters Connected with It

CHAPTER V

Community, Clan, and Village Systems and Chieftainship

CHAPTER VI

Villages, Emone, Houses and Modes of Inter-Village Communication

CHAPTER VII

Government, Property and Inheritance

CHAPTER VIII

The Big Feast

CHAPTER IX

Some Other Ceremonies and Feasts

CHAPTER X

Matrimonial and Sexual

CHAPTER XI

Killing, Cannibalism and Warfare

CHAPTER XII

Hunting, Fishing and Agriculture

CHAPTER XIII

Bark Cloth Making, Netting and Art

CHAPTER XIV

Music and Singing, Dancing, and Toys and Games

CHAPTER XV

Counting, Currency and Trade

CHAPTER XVI

Language

CHAPTER XVII

Illness, Death and Burial

CHAPTER XVIII

Religion and Superstitious Beliefs and Practices

CHAPTER XIX

Note on the Kuni People

CHAPTER XX

Conclusion

APPENDIX I

A Grammar of the Fuyuge Language

APPENDIX II

Note on the Afoa Language

APPENDIX III

Note on the Kovio Language

APPENDIX IV

A Comparative Vocabulary of the Fuyuge, Afoa, and Kovio Languages

APPENDIX V

Notes on the Papuan Languages Spoken about the Head Waters of the
St. Joseph River, Central Papua

PLATES

Mafulu Women Decorated for a Dance. ... _Frontispiece_
1 Kuni Scenery.
2 Mafulu Scenery.
3 Skull A.
4 Skull C.
5 Husband, Wife and Child.
6 Man and Two Women.
7, 8 Man, Young Man and Boy.
9 Different Types of Men.
10 An Unusual Type.
11, 12 Two Unusual Types.
13 Fig. 1. Section of Man's Perineal Band. Fig. 2. Decoration
near end of Woman's Perineal Band. Fig. 3. Section of Woman's
Perineal Band. Fig. 4. Section of Man's or Woman's Dancing
Ribbon.
14 Fig. 1. Belt No. 1. Fig. 2. Belt No. 3. Fig. 3. Belt No. 4.
15 Fig. 1. Belt No. 5 (one end only). Fig. 2. Belt No. 6
(one end only). Fig. 3. Belt No. 7.
16 A General Group.
17 A Young Chief's Sister decorated for a Dance.
18, 19 Women wearing Illness Recovery Capes.
20 Fig. 1. Ear-rings. Fig. 2. Jew's Harp. Fig. 3. Hair Fringe.
21 Man, Woman and Children.
22, 23 A Little Girl with Head Decorations.
24 Figs. 1, 2, 5, and 6. Women's Hair Plaits decorated
with European Beads, Shells, Shell Discs, Dog's Tooth,
and Betel Nut Fruit. Fig. 3. Man's Hair Plait with Cane
Pendant. Fig. 4. Man's Hair Plait with Betel Nut Pendant.
25 Fig. 1. Leg Band. Figs. 2 and 4. Women's Hair Plaits
decorated with Shells and Dogs' Teeth. Fig. 3. Bone Implement
used (as a Fork) for Eating.
26 Group of Women.
27 A Young Woman.
28 Two Women.
29 Two Women.
30 Fig. 1. Mourning String
Necklace. Fig. 2. Comb. Fig. 3. Pig's Tail Ornament for
Head. Fig. 4. Whip Lash Head Ornament. Fig. 5. Forehead
Ornament.
31 Necklaces.
32 A Necklace.
33 Necklaces.
34 Fig. 1. Armlet No. 5. Fig. 2. Armlet No. 4. Fig. 3. Armlet
No. 2. Fig. 4. Armlet No. 1.
35 Woman wearing Dancing Apron.
36, 37 Decoration of Dancing Aprons.
38, 39 Decoration of Dancing Aprons.
40, 41 Decoration of Dancing Aprons.
42, 43 Decoration of Dancing Aprons.
44 Head Feather Ornaments.
45 Head Feather Ornaments.
46 Fig. 1. Head Feather Ornament. Fig. 2. Back Feather
Ornament.
47 Plaited Head Feather Frames.
48 Mother and Baby.
49 At the Spring.
50 A Social Gathering.
51 Fig. 1. Small Smoking Pipe. Fig. 2. Pig-bone Scraping
Implement. Fig. 3. Stone Bark Cloth Beater. Fig. 4. Drilling
Implement. Fig. 5. Bamboo Knife. Figs. 6 and 7. Lime Gourds.
52 Fig. 1. Wooden Dish. Figs. 2 and 3. Water-Carrying Gourds.
53 Fig. 1. Bag No. 3. Fig. 2. Bag No. 4. Fig. 3. Bag. No. 6.
54 Village of Salube and Surrounding Country.
55 Village of Seluku, with Chiefs _Emone_ at End and Remains
of Broken-down Burial Platform in Middle.
56 Village of Amalala, with Chiefs _Emone_ at End..
57 Village of Amalala (looking in other direction), with
Secondary _Emone_ at End.
58 Village of Malala, with Secondary _Emone_ at End and
Ordinary Grave and Burial Platform of Chief's Child in Right
Foreground.
59 Village of Uvande, with Chief's _Emone_ at End.
60 Village of Biave, with Chief's _Emone_ at End and Burial
Platform of Chief's Child in Middle.
61 Chief's _Emone_ in Village of Amalala.
62 Chief's _Emone_ in Village of Malala.
63 House in Village of Malala.
64 House in Village of Levo, with Child's Excrement Receptacle
to Left.
65 Suspension Bridge over St. Joseph River.
66 Bridge over Aduala River.
67 Scene at Big Feast in Village of Amalala.
68 Row of Killed Pigs at Big Feast at Village of Amalala.
69 Scene at Village of Seluku during Preparations for Big
Feast.
70 Scene at Big Feast at Village of Seluku.
71 Young Girl Ornamented for Perineal Band Ceremony.
72 Feast at Perineal Band Ceremony.
73 Figs, 1, 2, and 3. Points of War Spears. Fig. 4. Point of
War-Arrow. Fig. 5. Point of Bird-Shooting Arrow.
74 Fig. 1. Bow. Fig. 2. Shield (outside). Fig. 3. Shield
(inside).
75 Fig. 1. Club (pineapple type of head). Fig. 2. Club (disc
type of head). Fig. 3. Drum. Fig. 4. Adze.
76 Fishing Weir.
77 Planting Yams in Garden.
78 Collecting Sweet Potatoes in Garden.
79 Hammering Bark Cloth.
80 The Ine Pandanus.
81 Mafulu Network.
82 Funeral Feast (not of Chief). Guests assembled to commence
Dance down Village Enclosure.
83 The same Funeral Feast. Guest Chief Dancing down Village
Enclosure.
84 Platform Grave of Chief's Child at Back. Ordinary Grave
in Front.
85 Group of Platform Graves of Chiefs and their Relations.
86 Platform Grave of a Chief's Child.
87, 88 The _Gabe_ Fig Tree, in which Chiefs' Burial Boxes
are placed and which is Generally Believed to be Haunted
by Spirits.
89 The Remains of a Chiefs Burial Platform which has collapsed,
and beneath which his Skull and some of his Bones are interred
Underground.
90 An _Emone_ to which are hung the Skulls and some of the
Bones from Chiefs' Burial Platforms which have Collapsed.
91 A House with Receptacle for Child's Excrement.

Map.

ILLUSTRATIONS IN TEXT

1. Leg band making (commencing stage)
2. Ancient Mortar
3. Illustrative Diagram of a Mafulu Community of Villages
4. Diagram of Front of _Emone_ (Front Hood of Roof and Front
Platform and Portions of Front Timbers omitted, so as to
show Interior)
5. Diagram of Transverse Section across Centre of Emone
6. Diagrammatic Sketch of Apse-like Projection of Roof of
_Emone_ and Platform Arrangements
7. Diagram Illustrating Positions of People during Performance
at Big Feast
8. Mafulu Net Making (1st Line of Network)
9. Mafulu Net Making (2nd, 3rd, and 4th Lines of Network)
10. Mafulu Net Making (5th Line of Network, to which Rest of
Net is similar in Stitch)

INTRODUCTION

By Dr. A.C. Haddon

It is a great pleasure to me to introduce Mr. Williamson's book to
the notice of ethnologists and the general public, as I am convinced
that it will be read with interest and profit.

Perhaps I may be permitted in this place to make a few personal
remarks. Mr. Williamson was formerly a solicitor, and always had a
great longing to see something of savage life, but it was not till
about four years ago that he saw his way to attempting the realisation
of this desire by an expedition to Melanesia. He made my acquaintance
in the summer of 1908, and seeing that he was so keenly interested,
I lent him a number of books and all my MS. notes on Melanesia;
by the help of these and by the study of other books he gained a
good knowledge of the ethnology of that area. In November, 1908, he
started for Oceania for the first time and reached Fiji, from which
place he had intended to start on his expedition. Circumstances
over which he had no control, however, prevented the carrying out
of his original programme; so he went to Sydney, and there arranged
modified plans. He was on the point of executing these, when he was
again frustrated by a telegram from England which necessitated his
immediate return. It was a sad blow to him to have his long-cherished
schemes thus thwarted and rendered abortive, but, undaunted, he set
about to plan another expedition. Accordingly, in January, 1910, he
once more set sail for Australia as a starting place for the Solomon
Islands and British New Guinea, and this time achieved success; the
book which he now offers to the public is the result of this plucky
enterprise. In justice to the author it should be known that, owing
to climatic and other conditions, he was unwell during the whole of
his time in New Guinea, and had an injured foot and leg that hurt him
every step he took. The only wonder is that he was able to accomplish
so large and so thorough a piece of work as he has done.

It is interesting to note the different ways by which various
investigators have entered the field of Ethnology. Some have approached
it from the literary or classical side, but very few indeed of
these have ever had any experience in the field. The majority of
field workers have had a previous training in science--zoology not
unnaturally has sent more recruits than any other branch of science. A
few students have been lawyers, but so far as I am aware Mr. Williamson
is the first British lawyer who has gone into the field, and he has
proved that legal training may be a very good preliminary discipline
for ethnological investigation in the field, as it gives invaluable
practice in the best methods of acquiring and sifting of evidence. A
lawyer must also necessarily have a wide knowledge of human nature
and an appreciation of varied ways of thought and action.

It was with such an equipment and fortified by extensive reading in
Ethnology, that Mr. Williamson was prepared for his self-imposed
task. Proof of his powers of observation will be found in the
excellent descriptions of objects of material culture with which he
has presented us.

I now turn to some of the scientific aspects of his
book. Mr. Williamson especially set before himself the work of
investigating some tribes in the mountainous hinterland of the Mekeo
district. This was a most happy selection, though no one could have
foreseen the especial interest of these people.

Thanks mainly to the systematic investigations of Dr. Seligmann and to
the sporadic observations of missionaries, government officials and
travellers, we have a good general knowledge of many of the peoples
of the eastern coast of the south-eastern peninsula of New Guinea,
and of some of the islands from the Trobriands to the Louisiades. The
Ethnology of the fertile and populous Mekeo district has been mainly
made known to us by the investigations of various members of the
Sacred Heart Mission, and by Dr. Seligmann. What little we know of
the Papuan Gulf district is due to missionaries among the coastal
tribes, Mr. James Chalmers and Mr. W. Holmes. Dr. G. Landtman is at
present investigating the natives of the delta of the Fly river and
Daudai. The natives of the Torres Straits islands have also been
studied as fully as is possible. But of the mountain region lying
behind the Mekeo district very little indeed has been published; so
Mr. Williamson's book fills a gap in our knowledge of Papuan ethnology.

We have as yet a very imperfect knowledge of the ethnological history
of New Guinea. Speaking very broadly, it is generally admitted that
the bulk of the population belongs to the Papuan race, a dark-skinned,
woolly-haired people who have also spread over western Oceania; but,
to a greater or less extent, New Guinea has been subject to cultural
and racial influences from all sides, except from Australia, where the
movement has been the other way. Thus the East Indian archipelago has
directly affected parts of Netherlands New Guinea, and its influence
is to be traced to a variable degree in localities in the Bismarck
archipelago, German New Guinea (Kaiser Wilhelm's Land), Western
Oceania, and British New Guinea or Papua, as it is termed officially.

The south-eastern peninsula of New Guinea--or at all events the
coastal regions--has been largely affected by immigrants, who were
themselves a mixed people, and who came later at various times. It is
to these immigrants that Mr. Ray and I applied the term Melanesian
(Ray, S. H., and Haddon, A. C., "A Study of the Languages of Torres
Straits," _Proc. Roy. Irish Acad._, 3rd ser., IV., 1897, p. 509). Early
in 1894, Mr. Ray read a paper before the Anthropological Institute
(_Journ. Anth. Inst._, XXIV., p. 15), in which he adhered to our former
discrimination of two linguistic stocks and added a third type of
language composed of a mixture of the other two, for which he proposed
the name Melano-Papuan. These languages, according to Mr. Ray, occur
in the Trobriands, Woodlarks and the Louisiades, and similar languages
are found in the northern Solomon Islands. For some years I had been
studying the decorative art of British New Guinea, and from physical
and artistic and other cultural reasons had come to the conclusion
that the Melanesians of British New Guinea should be broken up into
two elements: one consisting of the Motu and allied Melanesians,
and the other of the inhabitants of the Massim district--an area
extending slightly beyond that of Mr. Ray's Melano-Papuans ("The
Decorative Art of British New Guinea," _Cunningham Memoirs_, X.,
_Roy. Irish Acad._, 1894, pp. 253-269). I reinforced my position
six years later ("Studies in the Anthropo-geography of British New
Guinea," _Journ. Roy. Geog. Soc._, 1900, pp. 265, 414). Dr. Seligmann,
in his valuable paper "A Classification of the Natives of British
New Guinea" (_Journ. Roy. Anth. Inst._, XXXIX., 1909, pp. 246, 315)
corroborated these views and designated the two groups of "Melanesians"
as the Eastern and Western Papuo-Melanesians. The following year he
published the great book to which Mr. Williamson so frequently refers,
and in which this classification is maintained, and these two groups
together with the Papuans, are termed Papuasians.

The Motu stock of the Western Papuo-Melanesians have extended
their dispersal as far as the Mekeo district, where they came
into contact with other peoples. It has been shown that the true
Papuans are a narrow-headed people, but there are some puzzling
exceptions, the explanation of which is not yet ascertained. The
Papuo-Melanesians contain a somewhat broad-headed element, and
there is a slightly broad-headed population in the central range
of the south-east peninsula, the extent of which has not yet been
determined. The questions naturally arise: (1) Is the true Papuan a
variable stock including both long- broad-headed elements? or (2)
Does the broad-headed element belong to an immigrant people? or,
again (3) Is there an hitherto unidentified indigenous broad-headed
race? I doubt if the time is ripe for a definite answer to any of
these questions. Furthermore, we have yet to assign to their original
sources the differences in culture which characterise various groups
of people in New Guinea. Something has been done in this direction,
but much more has yet to be learnt.

So far I have not referred to a Negrito element in the Ethnology of
New Guinea. From time to time we have heard rumours of pygmy people,
and German travellers have recorded very short individuals in Kaiser
Wilhelm's Land; but it was not till the expedition to Netherlands New
Guinea of the British Ornithological Union of 1910-11 that a definite
pygmy race was demonstrated. I think this can be no longer denied,
and the observations made by German ethnologists show that the race in
a more or less modified state is widely spread. Now Mr. Williamson,
whose work in New Guinea was contemporaneous with that of the
Netherlands New Guinea expedition, adduces evidence that this is
also the case in British territory. It is worth recalling that de
Quatrefages and Hamy (_Crania Ethnica_, 1882, pp. 207-210, 253-256)
distinguish a "Negrito-Papuan" and a "Papuan" element in the Torres
Straits. This problem will be discussed in Vol. I. of the Reports of
the Cambridge Expedition to Torres Straits. I feel little doubt that
Mr. Williamson has shown strong evidence that the Mafulu and probably
other adjacent mountain tribes are essentially a pygmy--that is to say
a Negrito--people who have been modified to some extent by Papuan and
possibly Papuo-Melanesian influence, both physical and cultural. He
has marshalled his data with great skill, and has dissected out, as it
were, the physical and cultural elements of the Negrito substratum. It
only remains for other observers to study Negritos in other parts of
New Guinea to see how far these claims can be substantiated. It is
evident therefore that, apart from the valuable detailed information
which Mr. Williamson has given us concerning a hitherto unknown tribe,
he has opened up a problem of considerable interest and magnitude.

A.C. Haddon.

THE MAFULU MOUNTAIN PEOPLE OF BRITISH NEW GUINEA

CHAPTER I

Introductory

The map appended to this volume is (with the exception of the red
lines and red lettering upon it) a reproduction of a portion of the map
relating to the explorations and surveys of Dr. Strong, Mr. Monckton
and Captain Barton, which was published in the _Geographical Journal_
for September, 1908, and the use of which has been kindly permitted
me by the Royal Geographical Society. I have eliminated the red route
lines which appear in the original map, so as to avoid confusion with
the red lines which I have added. The unbroken red lines and the red
lettering upon my map are copied from a map, also kindly placed at
my disposal, which has been recently prepared by Father Fillodean
of the Mission of the Sacred Heart, and these lines mark roughly
what the Fathers of the Mission believe to be the boundaries of the
several linguistic areas within the district covered by their map. It
will be observed that some of these lines are not continued so as to
surround and complete the definition of the areas which they indicate;
but this defect is unavoidable, as the Fathers' map only covered a
relatively small area, and even in that map the lines were not all
carried to its margin. It will also be noticed that, though the Fathers
introduce the two names Oru Lopiku and Boboi as being linguistically
distinct, they have not indicated the boundary line between the two
areas. Father Egedi, however, informed me that this boundary passes
along the ridge of hills south of the Ufafa river as far as Mt. Eleia,
and thence along the Ukalama river to the Kuni boundary. The Ukalama
river is not shown in the Geographical Society's map; but I may
say that it is shown in the Fathers' map as rising in Mt. Eleia,
and flowing thence in a south-easterly direction, and so joining the
St. Joseph river close to Dilava. The broken red line upon my map does
not appear in the Fathers' map, but has been added by me to indicate
what, I understand, the Fathers believe to be a continued boundary,
so far as ascertained, of the Fuyuge linguistic area, called by them
the Mafulu area, to which I am about to draw attention.

The term Mafulu is the Kuni pronunciation of Mambule, which is the
name, as used by themselves, of the people who live in a group of
villages within and near the north-westerly corner of the area of the
Fuyuge-speaking people, whose Papuan language, so far as ascertained,
appears, subject to local dialectal differences, to be the same, and
may, I was informed, be regarded as one common language throughout
the Fuyuge area.

The Fathers of the Mission have adopted the name Mafulu in a wider
sense, as including all the people with whom they have come in
contact of the Fuyuge-speaking area; and, though my investigations,
which form the subject-matter of this book, have been conducted only
in the neighbourhood of Mafulu itself, I was assured that, so far as
the Fathers have been able to ascertain, all these Fuyuge people not
only have similar languages, but also are substantially similar in
physique and in culture. My observations concerning the Mafulu people
may therefore, if this statement is correct, be regarded as applying,
not only to the inhabitants of the portion of the north-westerly corner
of the Fuyuge area in which the Mafulu group of villages is placed,
but to those of the whole of the north-westerly portion of the area,
and generally in a greater or less degree of accuracy to those of
the northerly and north-easterly parts of the area, and possibly the
southerly ones also.

The boundaries of this Fuyuge-speaking area can hardly be regarded
as definitely ascertained; and the discrepancies, even as regards
the courses of the rivers and the positions of the mountains, which
appear in the few available maps make it difficult to deal with the
question. The area, so far as actually ascertained by the Fathers
of the Mission, roughly speaking, covers, and seems to extend also
some distance to the south or south-west of a triangle, the western
apex of which is the junction of the river Kea with the river Aduala
(a tributary of the St. Joseph), [2] whose north-eastern apex is
Mt. Albert Edward, and whose south-eastern apex is Mt. Scratchley. It
includes the valley of the Aduala river and its streams (except those
flowing into it from the north in the region of the western apex of the
triangle) within its northern boundary, and the valley of the upper
Vanapa river and its rivers and streams in the neighbourhood of its
eastern boundary; but this eastern boundary has been found to extend
also so as to include the upper valley of the river Chirima. How far
the area extends to the south or south-west of the triangle above
mentioned appears to be uncertain.

The linguistic area to the north of the Mafulu or Fuyuge people is
that of the Ambo people, who are somewhat similar in appearance to
the Mafulu, and whose language is also Papuan, and, though differing
from the Mafulu language, is, I was told, somewhat similar to it in
grammatical construction and as regards a few of its words. The area
to the west is that of the Kuni people, whose language is Melanesian,
but whose ordinary modes of life are, I was informed, more like those
of the Mafulu than are those of the Papuan-speaking Ambo. The areas
to the east and south cannot be so definitely stated, but are dealt
with below.

As regards these Ambo people I may, in view of divergences of names
which appear in maps, explain that Ambo is a contraction of Ambore,
and is the name given to the people by their Mafulu neighbours, whilst
Afoa is the name given to them by the Kuni people, and is adopted
in the Geographical Society's map. [3] As regards the Kuni people,
their name is the one adopted by themselves.

Concerning the boundaries of the Fuyuge linguistic area as above
indicated, and the people whose districts adjoin that area, I propose
here to draw attention to four names, and to refer to some observations
bearing on the subject of the probable Fuyuge boundary which are to
be found in existing literature.

The term Kovio, though primarily the name of Mt. Yule, and properly
applicable to the people living in the neighbourhood of that mountain,
is now, I think, often used to express all the mountain tribes
of the hinterland of the Mekeo and Pokau, and perhaps the Kabadi,
districts. But the use of this name has not, I believe, been generally
associated with any question of linguistics.

The area in the map which is called by the Fathers Boboi is occupied
by people whose language, I was told by the Fathers, is Papuan,
but is distinct from the languages of the Ambo and the Fuyuge areas.

Kamaweka is a name which appears in several of Dr. Seligmann's
publications. It seems to have been originally used by Captain
Barton to designate the natives of the district of which Inavaurene,
to the north-east of the Mekeo plains, is the centre, but to have
been afterwards regarded as a somewhat more general term; and I think
Dr. Seligmann uses it in a very general sense, almost, if not quite,
equivalent to the wide application above referred to of the term Kovio,
and which might include the Papuan-speaking Boboi and Ambo people, and
even perhaps the people of the northern Mafulu villages. [4] But here
again the use of the name has, I think, no reference to linguistics.

If the Fathers' linguistic boundary lines are substantially correct,
each of the two terms Kovio and Kamaweka, as now used, would appear
to cover more than one linguistic area; and in any case these terms
seem to have widened and to have become somewhat indefinite. It will
be seen on reference to the map and to Father Egedi's information
as to the Oru Lopiku and Boboi boundaries that both Mt. Yule and
Inavaurene are within the area which the Fathers call Oru Lopiku, but
that Inavaurene is not far from their Boboi area. I suggest that it
would be convenient for the present, pending further investigation
and delimitation on the spot, and until we know something of the
difference between the languages of the Oru Lopiku and Boboi people,
to adopt the term Kovio as a general name for, and confine it to,
the two areas Boboi and Oru Lopiku; though for linguistic purposes
the names Boboi and Oru Lopiku, which at present indicate very little
to us, may eventually be accepted and come into general use.

The Koiari people of the foothills and lateral spurs behind the Motu
area, also referred to from time to time in Dr. Seligmann's writings,
must be eastern next door neighbours of the Fuyuge-speaking people,
the western boundary of these Koiari being stated by him to be the
Vanapa river, [5] and they being in fact regarded by him as being
the eastern neighbours of the natives of "the mountains inland of
Mekeo Nara and Kabadi," [6] and being referred to by him as being
the people from whose district the Kamaweka and Kuni are reached by
"passing westward"--the word used is "eastward," but this is obviously
a printer's error--"in the mountains, keeping roughly parallel with
the coast." [7]

Turning to the question of the Fuyuge boundary, Dr. Strong says that
the Fuyuge people occupy the upper waters of the St. Joseph river,
[8] and he is quoted by Dr. Seligmann as having stated that the Afoa
language "is spoken in the villages on Mt. Pizoko and the northern
slopes of Mt. Davidson," and that "the Afoa villages lie to the north
of the Fuyuge-speaking communities, stretching westward for an unknown
distance behind Mt. Davidson." [9] If the information given to me
verbally by the Fathers of the Mission of the Sacred Heart and the
red linguistic boundary lines roughly drawn by them, and introduced
into my map, be correct, these statements require modification, for
according to the Fathers the Mafulu or Fuyuge-speaking area does not
include any part of the St. Joseph river, as its extreme north-westerly
corner lies to the east of the junction--close to the boundary line
between the Afoa (Ambo) and the Kuni areas--of the rivers Alabula
and Aduala, and Mt. Pizoko is within the Fuyuge area, and not within
that of the Afoa, and Mt. Davidson is within the Boboi area. I think
that, though the Fathers' lines are admittedly not exact, they and
the information supplied by the Fathers to me are likely to be more
trustworthy in these respects, especially as regards boundaries near to
the actual Mafulu villages, than the earlier statements of Dr. Strong,
as they are the outcome of recent and careful investigation; and,
as regards Mt. Pizoko, I may mention that Dr. Strong himself seems to
have subsequently regarded that mountain as being within the Mafulu
district, [10] which brings it into the Fuyuge area.

The inclusion of the upper valley of the river Chirima within the
Fuyuge or Mafulu-speaking area is perhaps surprising, as this valley is
separated from the general Fuyuge area by one of the southern ridges
of Mt. Albert Edward, and more or less so by the ridges of Mt. Stone
Wigg and the Wharton range, and as the Chirima is a tributary flowing
into the Mambare river, which is one of the great watercourses of
Northern New Guinea. The Mafulu Fathers, however, had no doubt as
to the correctness of the inclusion, which seems to open out the
possibility of some, at all events, of the Fuyuge people having
northern associations; and indeed Monseigneur de Boismenu told me
that he believed that the Mafulu people were in touch with Northern
New Guinea, and got some of their shell ornaments, or the shells from
which they were made, from the northern coast.

It is interesting, therefore, to turn for the purpose of comparison
to the report of Mr. Monckton's expedition to Mt. Albert Edward by
way of the Upper Chirima valley in 1906 [11] and the illustrations
accompanying it, with which I incorporate a description of the people
of this valley given to Dr. Seligmann by Mr. Money, who was with
Mr. Monckton. [12]

From these it appears that the Upper Chirima people are short in
stature and sturdily built. Both sexes wear the perineal band,
the front of which is made (I am not sure whether this applies to
women as well as to men) to bulge out by padding. In some cases the
men's hair is tied up in a bunch with string, and in others it is
bound up in various styles with native cloth. Some of the men have
their hair done up in small plaits over the forehead. All the above
descriptions, except that of the padding of the band, are applicable to
the Mafulu. Some of the Chirima houses have a curious apse-like roof
projection over the front platform, which is a specially distinctive
feature of a Mafulu house, and one with this projection figured by
Mr. Monckton is indistinguishable from a typical Mafulu house. The
Chirima people place the bodies of their dead on raised platforms,
and apparently sometimes put the body of an infant on the platform
erection of an adult, but below the latter. This also is a practice
of the Mafulu; and, though the latter people confine platform burial
(if such it may be called) to chiefs and their families and important
persons, it is possible that some such limitation of the custom exists
in the Chirima valley also, but did not come under Mr. Monckton's
notice. A burial platform figured by him might well be a Mafulu burial
platform, except that the curious cone-shaped receptacle for the child
is a form for which I cannot vouch as regards the Mafulu. The Chirima
have a special and peculiar form of netting, which Mr. Monckton's
illustration shows to be identical with the special form of Mafulu
netting. On the other hand, as regards the Chirima weapons, implements
and utensils, a comparison of Mr. Monckton's verbal descriptions and
figures with what I have seen in Mafulu, and describe in this book,
leads me to the conclusion that, though many of these are similar to
those of Mafulu, some of them are different. As examples of this I may
say that the drill implements of the Chirima people are very similar
to, and their stone cloth-beaters appear to be identical with, those
used by the Mafulu; whilst on the other hand their war bows are much
longer, [13] and their method of producing fire seems to be totally
different; also they apparently have bull-roarers, which to the best
of my knowledge are unknown among the Mafulu. Again some of the Chirima
weapons, as figured by Mr. Monckton, disclose ideas of artistic design,
including that of the curved line and a rude representation of a man,
which I have not met with among the Mafulu. As regards this last
point I draw attention to Mr. Monckton's figures of carving on a bow
and on wooden clubs. I think, however, that in such matters as these
local differences might well arise between people who are really
more or less identical, especially if their respective districts
are on opposite sides of the main mountain range of the country, and
still more so if the people of one of the districts (in the present
case I refer to the Chirima people) may perhaps have been subject to
the influence of other people beyond them. As to this latter point,
however, I should say that these Chirima people seem to be, so far as
dress, ornaments, &c., are concerned, much nearer to the Mafulu than
they are to the natives of the Mambare river itself, as described
by Sir William Macgregor. [14] It is curious also that the dogs of
the Chirima people are not yellow dingoes, but are black and white,
as is the case in Mafulu.

I notice that Dr. Seligmann suggests that these Chirima valley people
are related to the natives of the neighbourhood of Mt. Yule, [15] a
statement which, though probably intended broadly, is in accord with
the suggestion that they are connected with the Mafulu-speaking people.

The natives of Mt. Scratchley (apparently the eastern or south-eastern
side), visited by Sir William Macgregor in 1896, appear from his
description of them [16] to show a few points of resemblance to the
Mafulu people. In particular I refer to their "dark bronze" colour,
to the wearing by women of the perineal band (to which, however, is
added a mantle and "in most cases" a grass petticoat, which is not done
in Mafulu), to the absence of tattooing or cicatrical ornamentation,
to their "large earrings made out of tails of lizards covered by
narrow straps of palm leaves dyed yellow" (which, though not correctly
descriptive of the Mafulu earring, is apparently something like it),
to their use of pigs' tails as ear ornaments, to their plaiting of the
hair and the decoration of the plaited hair with teeth and shells, to
their small charm bags and to the shortness of their bows. Also to the
construction of their houses, with the roof carried down to the ground,
with a fireplace about 2 feet wide extending down the centre of the
building from one end to the other, and having an inclined floor on
each side, and especially to the curious apse-like roof projections
in front of these houses (Dr. Haddon calls them "pent roofs" [17]),
Sir William's figure of which is, like that of the Chirima villages,
identical, or nearly so, with that of a Mafulu house. But Sir William's
description of the physique of these Mt. Scratchley people and other
matters make it clear, I think, that they belong to a type different
from that of the Mafulu, though they must be next door neighbours of
the Fuyuge-speaking people. Dr. Seligmann, in commenting upon this
description of these people, expresses the opinion that they are
Papuo-Melanesians. [18]

The natives in the region of Mt. Musgrave and Mt. Knutsford, as
described by Mr. Thomson, [19] appear, at all events so far as dress
is concerned, to be utterly different from the Mafulu.

Dr. Seligmann states that Dr. Strong has informed him that the
southern boundary of the Fuyuge-speaking area is the Kabadi country,
[20] and he had previously referred to Korona, immediately behind
the Kabadi and Doura districts, as being within the area, [21] and,
indeed, the Geographical Society's map shows the Fuyuge area as
at all events extending as far south as Korona. I do not know how
far inland the Kabadi and Doura people extend; but I may say that
the Mafulu Fathers expressed grave doubt as to the extension of the
Fuyuge area so far south as is indicated by the map.

If the Fuyuge area does in fact reach the Kabadi boundary, and if my
notes on the Mafulu people are, as suggested, broadly descriptive of
the natives of the whole Fuyuge area, there must be a very sudden
and sharp differentiation, as the Kabadi people are apparently an
offshoot from Mekeo, [22] with apparently other Papuo-Melanesian blood
(especially Roro) introduced. [23]

The contour and appearance of the country in the actual Mafulu district
of the Fuyuge area is strikingly different from that of the immediately
adjoining Kuni country, the sharp steep ridges and narrow deep-cut
valleys of the latter, with their thick unbroken covering of almost
impenetrable forest, changing to higher mountain ranges with lateral
ridges among them, and with frequent gentle undulating slopes and
wider and more open valleys; while, interspersed with the forests,
are small patches and great stretches of grass land, sometimes thinly
covered or scattered with timber and sometimes quite open and devoid
of trees. [24] And this condition continues, I was told, over the
greater part of the triangular area above referred to.

Plates 1 and 2 give, I think, a fair illustration of what I mean,
the steep contours and thickly wooded character of the foreground and
nearer middle distance shown by Plate 1 being typical Kuni scenery,
and the more open nature of the country displayed by Plate 2 and the
comparative freedom from forest of its foreground being typical of
the higher uplands of Mafulu. [25]

It will be noticed that the physical character of the Mafulu country
is more favourable to continued occupation than is that of the Kuni
country; and it is a fact that the Mafulu people are not so restless
and ready to move as are the Kuni folk; and, even when they do migrate,
it is generally to a spot comparatively near to their old villages.

The geological formation of the lower hills on which the actual Mafulu
villages are placed and the intervening valleys is partly limestone;
and I was told that limestone formation was also found further to
the east.

Throughout this book I shall use the term "Mafulu" as including,
not only the little group of villages near the north-westerly corner
of the Fuyuge linguistic area actually known by that name, but also
the other groups of Fuyuge villages in the north-western portion of
that area; and, as above indicated, it is believed by the Fathers of
the Mission that I should be substantially correct if I included the
whole of the northern and north-eastern, and probably the southern
portions of the known part of that area, and possibly the entire area.

CHAPTER II

Physique and Character

Physique.

The Mafulu people are of short stature, though perhaps a trifle taller
than the Kuni.

They are as a rule fairly strong and muscular in build, the women
in particular having very strongly developed thighs; but, speaking
generally, their limbs are more slender, and their general development
is slighter, than is usually the case among the Roro and Mekeo people.

They appear to be usually mesaticephalic, but to have a very marked
tendency to brachycephaly.

Their noses seemed to me to be generally strong, and of prominent
size, varying considerably in width of bridge, but usually having
rather widely distending nostrils; and sometimes the width of the
nose was equal to its length, or nearly so.

Referring to the above matters, the following are the results of
twenty measurements of Mafulu men. These were obtained from men of
upwards of six different communities or groups of villages, so as to
avoid the possible misleading character of measurements made in only
one village or group of villages, in which some family relationship
between the persons measured might militate against the true average
character of the figures obtained.

1 150 18.5 14.7 79.5 77.5 4.9 4.4 89.8
2 155 18.8 15.1 80.3 78.3 4.8 4.8 100.0
3 155 19.5 14.8 75.9 73.9 5.3 4.3 81.1
4 157 18.5 15.4 83.2 81.2 4.3 4.3 100.0
5 153 18.9 14.6 77.2 75.2 4.8 4.4 91.7
6 151 18.6 14.3 76.9 74.9 4.9 3.8 77.6
7 151 19.3 15.2 78.8 76.8 5.4 4.4 81.5
8 163 19.4 14.5 74.7 72.7 5.6 4.4 78.6
9 162 18.8 15.2 80.9 78.9 5.3 4.0 75.5
10 163 17.4 15.1 86.8 84.8 5.5 4.6 83.6
11 155 18.0 14.0 77.8 75.8 5.3 4.4 83.0
12 157 17.4 14.6 83.9 81.9 4.6 4.0 87.0
13 158 19.7 14.8 75.1 73.1 5.3 4.3 81.1
14 160 17.9 14.4 80.4 78.4 5.1 4.3 84.3
15 153 17.7 14.7 83.1 81.1 5.2 4.1 78.8
16 156 18.5 14.8 80.0 78.0 5.5 4.5 81.8
17 152 17.7 14.9 84.2 82.2 5.6 4.0 71.4
18 154 18.6 14.9 80.1 78.1 5.2 4.5 86.5
19 150 17.8 15.2 85.4 83.4 4.9 3.9 79.6
20 147 18.8 14.5 77.1 75.1 4.6 3.8 82.6

Analysing these figures, we get the following results:--

Highest number. Lowest number. Average.

Stature [26] 163 cm. 147 cm. 155.1 cm.
(64.2 ins.) (57.9 ins.) (61.1 ins.)
Head length 19.7 cm. 17.4 cm. 18.5 cm.
Head breadth 15.4 cm. 14.0 cm. 14.8 cm.
Cephalic index 86.8 74.7 80.0
Cranial index 84.8 72.7 78.0
Nose length 5.6 cm. 4.3 cm. 5.1 cm.
Nose breadth 4.8 cm. 3.8 cm. 4.3 cm.
Nasal index 100.0 71.4 84.3 [27]

Number of cranial indices under 75 = 4 (20 per cent.).
Number of cranial indices between 75 and 80 = 10 (50 per cent.).
Number of cranial indices over 80 = 6 (30 per cent.).

There are a few points in connection with these figures to which I
would draw attention. The very short man (No. 20--height, 147 cm.) has
a cranial index of 75.1, on the border line between dolichocephaly
and mesaticephaly. He has also a short nose (4.6 cm.), and is one
of the two with the narrowest noses (3.8 c.m.). The very tall man
(No. 8--height, 163 cm.) has a long head (19.4 cm.), and the lowest
dolichocephalic cranial index of 72.7, and is one of two with the
longest noses (5.6 cm.). The other very tall man (No. 10--height,
163 cm.) has one of the two shortest heads (17.4 cm.), and the highest
brachycephalic cranial index of 84.8, and has a long nose (5.5 cm.) The
man (No. 2) whose nasal index is 100 has the mesaticephalic cranial
index of 78.3 (almost the average index). The other man (No. 4)
whose nasal index is 100 has a head of exactly the average length
(18.5 cm.) and the greatest breadth (15.4 cm.), and the brachycephalic
cranial index of 81.2. The man (No. 17) with the lowest nasal index
of 71.4 has a very short head (17.7 cm.), and the brachycephalic
cranial index of 82.2.

The following tables, however, illustrate the fact that the
measurements of these twenty men do not appear to indicate, as
regards them, any marked connection between stature, cranial index,
and nasal index.

Order in stature (beginning with the shortest):

20--1--19--6--7--17--5--15--18--2--3--11--16--4--12--13--14--9--8--10.

Order in progress upwards of cranial indices:

8--13--3--6-20--5--ll--7--1--16--18--2--14--9--15--4--12--17--19--10.

Order in progress upwards of nasal indices:

17--9--6--8--15--19--3--13--7--16--20--11--10--14--18--12--1--5--2--4.

I brought home three Mafulu skulls, which Dr. Keith kindly had measured
at the Royal College of Surgeons, with the following results [28]:--

A 17.6 14.0 12.2 79.5 69.3
B 18.2 14.1 13.2 77.5 72.5
C 17.3 12.7 12.5 73.4 72.3

It will be observed that the lowest of these three cranial indices is
a trifle higher than the lowest of those of the head measurements,
that the highest of them is much lower than the highest of those
of the head measurements, and that their average (76.8) is a little
below the average of those of the head measurements.

Dr. Keith had further measurements made of these skulls from the
point of view of prognathism and characters of noses and orbits,
with the following results:

mm. mm. mm. mm. mm. mm.
A 98 102 48 26 40 35
B 99 96 49 25 42 35
C 97 102 47 26 38 35

Dr. Keith, referring to these skulls, says that they disclose
relatively small brains, the cranial capacity of A being 1,230 c.c.,
that of B being 1,330 c.c., and that of C being 1,130 c.c. He compares
these figures with the average cranial capacity of the male European,
which he puts at 1,500 c.c.

The eyes of the Mafulu people are dark brown and very bright. I never
saw among them those oblique eyes, almost recalling the Mongolian,
which, according to Dr. Seligmann, are found, though rarely only,
on the coast, [29] and of which I saw many instances among the
Kuni people.

Their lips are usually not so thick as are those of the Mekeo and
Roro people, and are generally finer and more delicate in shape.

In view of their Papuan language I kept a sharp look out for the
curious backward sloping foreheads and projecting brow ridges and
Jewish-looking noses which are so often found among the Western
Papuans; but, although I saw a few examples of these, they were rare,
and I did not observe any noticeable tendency in these directions in
the faces of the people generally. [30]

A curious characteristic with them is the big toe, which is usually
much developed, and projects outwards at a larger angle than is the
case with the Roro and Mekeo people, and is much used for holding on
to roots, &c., whilst travelling along their rough mountain paths.

Their general colour is a dark sooty brown, a trifle darker, perhaps,
than that of the Kuni people, and contrasting forcibly with the
varying shades of chocolate which you find among the Roro and Mekeo
people. They are smooth-skinned.

Their hair is frizzly, and generally dark brown, often quite dark,
almost even approaching to black, and sometimes perhaps quite
black. But it is frequently lighter; and indeed I was often, when
observing men's hair lit up by sunshine, impressed by the fact that
its brown colour was not even what we should in Europe call dark. [31]
I often saw marked variations in the depth of hair colour on the
head of the same individual. I saw no examples of the comparatively
straight or curly type of hair which is found in the Pokau district
and elsewhere. [32]

Plate 3 gives front and side views of the mesaticephalic (almost
brachycephalic) skull A and Plate 4 gives similar views of the
dolichocephalic skull C. All the photographs were made as nearly as
possible exactly half the sizes of the originals; but the photographer
has made the front view of skull A about an eighth of an inch too
narrow (with, of course, a corresponding deficiency in height), so
that the tendency to roundness of this skull is not quite sufficiently
shown, and the proportion of its height to its length is reduced,
in the plate. I am not a craniologist, and so I do not attempt to
discuss the more detailed points of interest which arise in connection
with these skulls.

A good idea of the somewhat varying characters of the general physiques
and features of the people will be obtained from my plates; but there
are a few of these plates which I may mention here.

The people shown in Plates 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 16 may, I think, be
regarded as fairly typical, and I would draw attention to the somewhat
Melanesian tendency of feature which is disclosed by the faces of
the man in Plate 6, the young man in the middle in Plate 7 and the
fourth and sixth men from the left in Plate 9; also to the great
diversity shown in Plate 9. The man shown in Plate 10, with his thick
and strong muscular development, is of a type which is occasionally
seen, but which is, I believe, unusual. The two men figured in Plates
11 and 12 are, I think, specially interesting. The one to the right,
with his somewhat backward sloping forehead, and slightly arched nose,
shows a distinct tendency towards the type of the Western Papuan, to
which I have already referred. The other one is in general shape of
head and appearance of features not unlike some of the dwarf people
found by the recent expedition into Dutch New Guinea (see the man to
the left in Plate 4 of the page of illustrations in _The Illustrated
London News_ for September 2, 1911), and indeed there is almost an
Australian tendency in his face. It is noticeable that he has a beard
and moustache, which is quite unusual among the Mafulu. A somewhat
similar type of face may be noticed in one or two of the other plates.

Character and Temperament.

It is difficult to speak with any degree of definiteness on this
question. It must be borne in mind that the Mafulu people have been
very little in touch with white people, the missionaries, who have only
been there since 1905, and on rare occasions a Government official or
scientific traveller, being almost the only white men whom the bulk
of them have ever seen; and they have been but slightly affected by
the outside influences which for some years past have been constantly
brought to bear upon the natives of the adjoining coast line and the
people of the Mekeo plains; so that comparisons of these people with
their more up-to-date neighbours as regards their relative natural
characters may well be in some respects misleading.

Subject, however, to this caution I would say that they are lazy
and easy-going (though not so much so as the Roro and Mekeo people),
lively, excitable, cheerful, merry, fairly intelligent (this being
judged rather from the young people), very superstitious, brave,
with much power of enduring pain, cruel, not more revengeful perhaps
than is usual among uncivilised natives, friendly one with another,
not quarrelsome, but untrustworthy and not over-faithful even in
their dealings with one another, though honest as regards boundaries
and property rights and in the sense of not stealing from one another
within their own communities (this being regarded as a most shameful
offence), and of very loose sexual morality.

A difference between them and the Mekeo and Roro natives is that
they appear to be not so conservative as the latter, being more
ready to abandon old traditions and adopt new ideas; though this
characteristic is one which shows itself in the young people rather
than in the elders with their formed habits.

CHAPTER III

Dress and Ornament

Dress.

The perineal band, made of bark cloth, is the one article of dress
which is universally worn by both men and women.

These bands are made by both men and women, but are coloured by men
only. They are commonly unstained and undecorated; but some of them,
and especially those worn for visiting and at dances, are more or
less decorated. Some that I have noticed are stained in one colour
covering the whole garment; others in two colours arranged in alternate
transverse bands, sometimes with narrow spaces of unstained cloth
between; and again others have bands of one colour alternating with
bands of unstained cloth. Some are decorated with lines or groups
of lines of one colour, or alternating lines or groups of lines of
two colours, painted transversely across the cloth. Others, while
simply stained in one colour or stained or decorated in one of the
ways above described, have another simple terminal design near the
end of the garment.

The men's bands are usually small and narrow, as compared with those
worn by the Roro and Mekeo people; and the women's bands seemed to me
to be generally even narrower than those of the men, particularly in
front. Men's bands, which I have measured, were about 6 inches wide at
one end, narrowing down to about 3 inches at the other; and the widths
of women's bands were 4 or 5 inches or less at one end, narrowing
down to about 2 inches at the other. But the bands of both men and
women, especially those of the latter, often become so crumpled up and
creased with wear that the portion passing between the legs dwindles
down to about an inch or less in width. One is tempted to think, as
regards both men and women, that, from the point of view of covering,
the bands might be dispensed with altogether. This remark applies
still more strongly to the case of young boys and unmarried girls,
including among the latter big full-grown girls, who are in fact
fully developed women, whose bands can hardly be regarded as being
more than nominal, and who, especially the girls and young women,
and even sometimes married women who are nursing their babies, can
really only be described as being practically naked.

Plate 13 (Figs, 1, 2, and 3) illustrates the staining and decoration
of perineal bands. [33] Fig. 1 is a section of a man's band about
6 inches wide. The transverse lines, which extend along the whole
length of the band, are in alternate groups of black and red. The
background is unevenly stained yellow behind the black lines; but the
background behind the red lines and the spaces intervening between the
groups of lines are unstained. Fig. 2 is the pattern near the end of
a woman's band about 5 inches wide. The lines are coloured red. There
is no pattern on the rest of the band; but the whole of the band,
including the background of the pattern, is stained yellow. Fig. 3 is
a section of a woman's band about 2 1/2 inches wide. The colouring
is in alternate bands of red and yellow with irregular unstained
spaces between.

I was struck with the gradual reduction of the women's dress as I
travelled from the coast, with its Roro inhabitants, through Mekeo,
and thence by Lapeka and Ido-ido to Dilava, and on by Deva-deva to
Mafulu. The petticoats of the Roro women gave way to the shorter
ones of Mekeo, and these seemed to get shorter as I went further
inland. Then at Lapeka they were still shorter. At Ido-ido, which
is Kuni, the petticoats ceased, and there was only the perineal
band. Then, again, at Dilava (still Kuni) this band was narrower,
and at Deva-deva, and finally at Mafulu, it was often, as I have said,
almost nominal.

I was told that the age at which a boy usually begins to wear his
band is about 10 or 12, or in the case of a chief's son 16 or 17;
but that girls assume their bands at a somewhat earlier age, say at
7 or 8. So far as my personal observation went I should have thought
that the usual maximum age of nakedness for both boys and girls was
rather younger, and I never saw a naked boy of an age anything like 16.

The assumption of the perineal band is the subject of a ceremony
which will be dealt with hereafter.

Caps are very often worn by men, but not by women or children. These
are simply pieces of plain unstained bark cloth about 9 inches wide,
which are coiled and twisted on the head. The result is often a
shapeless mass; but there are methods of arranging the cloth in
definite ways which produce describable results. Sometimes the cloth
is merely coiled several times around the head, so as to produce
a tall thin turban-shaped band, the crown of the head being left
uncovered. Often this plan is extended by turning the end of the
cloth over, so as to cover the top of the head, thus producing in
some cases a result which resembles a fez, and in other cases one
which looks more like a tight skullcap. Again the cap often has its
centre terminating in an end or tassel hanging over, thus making it
look like a cap of liberty; and yet again I have seen the cap look
almost like the square paper caps often worn by certain artisans at
home. These caps are seen in several of the plates.

Abdominal belts are commonly worn by both men and women, but not as
a rule by children. There are several distinct forms of these:--

(1) A thick strong dark-coloured belt (Plate 14, Fig. I) made of tree
bark; made and worn by men only. The belt is about 3 or more inches
wide and is often so long that it passes twice round the body, the
outer end being fastened to the coil beneath it by two strings. This
form of belt is sometimes ornamented with simple straight-lined
geometric patterns carved into the belt, but it is never coloured. The
process of manufacture is as follows: they cut off a strip of bark
large enough for one, two, three, or four belts, and coil it up in
concentric circles, like the two circles of the belt when worn. They
then place it so coiled into water, and leave it there to soak for
a few days, after which they strip off the outer part, leaving the
smooth inner bark, which they dry, and finally cut into the required
lengths, to which they add the attachment strings made of native fibre.

(2) A belt made of a material looking like split cane and thin strips
from the fibre of what I was told was a creeping plant [34]; made
and worn by men only. The latter material is obtained by splitting
the fibre into thin strips. These strips and the strips of split
cane-like material are rather coarse in texture. The former are of
a dull red-brown colour (natural, not produced by staining) and the
latter are stone-yellow. The two are plaited together in geometric
patterns. The width of the belt is about 2 inches. It only passes once
round the man's body; and the plaiting is finished with the belt on
the body, so that it can only afterwards be removed by unplaiting or
cutting it off.

(3) A belt (Plate 14, Fig. 2) made of stone-yellow unsplit cane;
made and worn by both men and women. This is the simplest form of
belt, being merely a strip of cane intertwined (not plaited) so as
to form a band about half an inch wide, and left the natural colour
of the cane. Both men and women, when short of food, use this belt
to reduce the pain of hunger, by tightening it over the stomach. It
is, therefore, much worn during a period of restricted diet prior to
a feast. Women also use it, along with their other ordinary means,
to bring about abortion, the belt being for this purpose drawn very
tightly round the body. Often two, or even three, such belts are
worn together.

(4) A belt (Plate 14, Fig. 3) made of coarse, sometimes very coarse,
stone-yellow split cane or cane-like material; made and worn by men
only. This belt is left the natural colour of the material, which is
plaited so as to form a band from half an inch to 2 inches broad, the
two ends of which are bound together with cane. It also, like No. 2,
is finished on the body. A man will often wear two or three of these
belts together.

(5) A belt (Plate 15, Fig. i) made out of the inner fibre of a creeping
plant [35]; made and worn by men only. The fibre threads used for
this belt are very fine, so the plaiting is minute, instead of being
coarse like that of No. 2; but it is generally done rather loosely
and openly. The belt is usually about 2 inches wide or a trifle less
and is often plaited in slightly varying geometric patterns. It is
not stained in manufacture, but the natural stone-grey colour of the
fibre soon becomes tinted as the result of wear and the staining of
the wearer's body, and in particular it often becomes an ornamental
red. This belt also is finished on the man's body.

(6) A belt (Plate 15, Fig. 2) made of the inner fibre of what I was
told was another creeping plant [36] and the stem of a plant which
I believe to be one of the Dendrobiums [37]; made and worn by men
only. The fibres of the former plant are stained black; the reedy stems
of the other plant are put in short bamboo stems filled with water,
and then boiled. They are then easily split up into flattish straws,
and become a colour varying from rather bright yellow to brown. For
making the belt these two materials, looking rather like black and
bright yellow straw, are plaited together in various geometrical
patterns. The width of the belt is 2 inches, or a trifle more. It is
tied at the ends with fibre string.

(7) A rather special form of belt (Plate 15, Fig. 3) used mainly for
visiting and dancing; made and worn by both men and women. The belt is
made out of a hank of loose separate strands between 4 and 5 feet long,
tied together with string or bark cloth at two opposite points, so as
to form a belt of between 2 feet and 2 feet 6 inches in length. For
better description I would liken it to a skein of wool, as it looks
when held on the hands of one person for the purpose of being wound
off into a ball by someone else, but which, instead of being wound
off, is tied up at the two points where it passes round the hands of
the holder, and is then pulled out into a straight line of double the
original number of strands, and so forms a single many-stranded belt
of 2 feet or more in length. It is fastened round the waist with a
piece of bark cloth attached to one of the points where the hank has
been tied up. [38]

The number of strands is considerable. Belts examined by me and counted
gave numbers varying from eighteen to thirty-five, and the number of
strands of the belt round the body would be double that. Each strand
is made of three parts plaited together, and is one-eighth of an inch
or less in width. Various materials, including all the materials
used for armlets (see below), are employed for making these belts,
some for one and some for another. Sometimes a belt has its strands
all plaited out of one material only, in which case the belt will
be all of one colour. Sometimes its strands are plaited out of two
different coloured materials. There is no colouring of the belt,
except that of its strands.

Belt No. 1, as worn, is seen in Plates 9 and 11. Belt No. 3 is worn by
the man at the extreme right in Plate 16. It is worn by many of the
women figured in the plates, and several of them have two belts. One
of the women figured in Plates 18 and 19 has three of them. Belt No. 4
is worn by one of the men figured in Plates 7 and 8 (he has three of
them). Belt No. 7 is worn by one or two of the women figured in the
frontispiece, the one to the extreme right having a many-stranded belt,
and it is excellently illustrated in Plate 17.

Capes made of bark cloth are made and worn by men and women. They are
only put on after recovery from an illness by which the wearer has
been laid up, including childbirth. The cape is simply a plain long
narrow piece of undyed bark cloth. The corners of one end are fastened
together, and the whole of that end is bunched up into a sort of hood,
which is placed over the head, whilst the rest of the cloth hangs
down as a narrow strip behind. The cape in no way covers or conceals
any part of the body when viewed from the front or side. It is only
worn for a few days; but whilst wearing it the wearer discards all,
or nearly all, his or her ornaments. I could learn no reason for the
custom. Plates 18 and 19 show these capes, and the way in which they
are worn.

Mourning strings (Plate 30, Fig. 1) are made and worn by both men and
women. These are plain undecorated necklaces varying much in size and
appearance; sometimes they are made of undyed twisted bark cloth, and
vary in thickness from one-sixteenth of an inch to an inch; sometimes
they are only made of string, and are quite thin. There is always
an end or tassel to the necklace, made out of the extremities of the
neck part, and hanging in front over the chest; and, if the necklace
is of string, and not of bark cloth, some bark cloth is twisted round
this tassel. This sign of grief is after a death worn by the widow or
widower or other nearest relative (male or female) of the deceased;
and at times two people of equal degree of relationship will both wear
it. It is worn until the formal ending of the mourning. The woman to
the extreme right in Plate 26 is wearing one of these.

Widows' vests. These are mourning garments, only worn by the widows of
chiefs. The garment, which is made by women, is a vest made of string
network (like a string bag), the mesh of which is the special Mafulu
mesh, which will be described hereafter, and it is not coloured. It
is plainly and simply made, with openings at the top for the neck,
and at the sides for the arms (no sleeves), and coming down to
about the waist, without any other opening either in front or at the
back. This garment is also worn until the formal end of the period
of mourning. [39] I was unable to secure a picture of one of these.

There is no special dress for chiefs to distinguish them from other
people.

European calico clothing has not been adopted by these people, even
in the district where they are in touch with the missionaries. Indeed
I may say that the people, happily for their own health, show no
inclination to wear more clothing; and no doubt as a result of their
conservatism in this respect they escape many a fatal cold and attack
of pneumonia, and the spread of infectious skin diseases is somewhat
reduced. I may also add that the Bishop and Fathers of the Mission
do not attempt, or seem to desire, to urge the people who come under
their influence to endanger their health and their lives for the sake
of conforming to views as to clothing which have played such havoc
with tropical natives in many parts of the globe. [40]

Physical Body Decoration, &c.

Tattooing and body-scarring are not practised by either men or women
among the Mafulu.

Depilation. When a young man's beard begins to grow, the hairs
of the beard and moustache and eye-brows are extracted. No other
depilation is practised by men, and none whatever by women; and none
of them shave any part of the body. The depilation is effected with
two fibre threads twisted round each other, the hair to be extracted
being inserted between the threads. Anyone can do this, and there is
no ceremony connected with it.

Nose-piercing. The septa of the noses of both men and women are
pierced at or after the age of 15 or 18, and either before or after
marriage. This is done for men by men, and for women by women. There
is no special person whose duty it is to do it, but he or she must
be one who knows the incantations which are required. There is no
restriction as to diet or otherwise placed upon the operator prior
to the operation, but there is a day's food restriction imposed upon
the person whose nose is to be pierced.

Two instruments are used for the operation, one being a piercing
instrument made of pig bone and sharpened, and the other being a small
wooden plug, also sharpened. The operator first visibly, but silently,
engages in two incantations, during the former of which he holds up
the thumb and first finger of his right hand, and during the latter
of which he holds up the two instruments. He then with the thumb
and first finger of his right hand holds the septum of the nose of
the person to be operated upon, whom I will call the "patient," and
with the left hand pierces the septum with the bone instrument. He
next inserts the wooden plug into the hole, so as to make it larger,
and leaves the plug there. Then he takes a blade of grass, which he
also inserts through the hole, by the side of the plug, and, holding
the grass by the two ends, he makes it rotate round and round the
plug. This is a painful process, which frequently causes tears and
cries from the patient. He then probably goes through the same process
with various other patients, as it is the custom to operate on several
persons at the same time.

The patients are then all lodged in houses built for the purpose, one
house being for men and one for women. These are not houses which are
kept permanently standing, but are specially built on each occasion
on which the nose-boring operation is going to be performed. A great
swelling of the patients' noses develops, and this spreads more or
less over their faces. The patients are confined in the special houses
until the holes in their noses are large enough and the wounds are
healed. During this confinement each patient has himself to do what
is requisite to further enlarge the hole by the insertion into it from
time to time of pieces of wood and by putting in rolled up leaves and
pushing pieces of wood inside these leaves. During all this period he
is not allowed to come out of the house, at all events not so as to be
seen, and his diet is confined to sweet potato, cooked in a certain
way. The cooking for all the patients, men and women, is done by the
woman nose-piercing operator, assisted by other women. The potatoes
are wrapped up in leaves (usually banana), each potato being generally
wrapped up separately in one or more leaves; and, when so wrapped up,
they are cooked in red-hot ashes, and then taken to the houses where
the patients are.

When the hole in any patient's nose has reached the requisite size,
and the wound is healed, he inserts a large croton leaf [41] into
the hole; he may then come out and return to his own house, retaining
the croton leaf in his nose. He must next occupy himself in searching
for a black non-poisonous snake about 12 or 18 inches long, which is
commonly found in the grass. I cannot say what snake this is, but
I am advised that it is probably _Tropidonotus mairii_. Its native
name is _fal' ul' obe_, which means "germ of the ground." Until he
finds this snake he must keep the croton leaf in his nose, and is
still under the same restriction as to food, which is cooked in the
same way and by the same persons as before. On finding the snake,
he secures it alive, removes the croton leaf from the hole in his
nose, and inserts into it the tail end of the living snake; then,
holding the head of the snake in one of his hands, and the tail in
the other, he draws the snake slowly through the hole, until its head
is close to the hole. He then lets the head drop from his hand, and
with a quick movement of the other hand draws it through the nose,
and throws the snake, still living, away. [42] This completes the
nose-piercing; but there still rests upon the patient the duty of
going to the river, and there catching an eel, which he gives to the
people who have been feeding him during his illness.

The nose-piercing is generally done at one of the big feasts; and,
as these are rare in any one village, you usually find in the villages
many fully-grown people whose noses have not been pierced; though as
to this I may say that nose-piercing is more generally indulged in by
chiefs and important people and their families than by the village rank
and file. It commonly happens, however, that a good many people have
to be done when the occasion arises. Each person to be operated upon
has to provide a domestic pig for the big feast. I have been unable
to discover the origin and meaning of the nose-piercing ceremony. [43]

Ear-piercing is done to both men and women, generally when quite young,
say at seven or twelve years of age. Both the lower and the upper lobes
are pierced, sometimes only one or the other, and sometimes both;
but the lower lobe is the one more commonly pierced. They can do it
themselves, or can get someone else to do it. There is no ceremony. The
piercing is done with the thorn of a tree, and the hole is afterwards
gradually widened by the insertion of small pieces of wood. They never
make large holes, or enlarge them greatly afterwards, as the holes are
only used for the hanging of pendants, and not for the insertion of
discs. After the piercing the patient must, until the wound is healed,
abstain from all food except sweet potato; but there is no restriction
as to the way in which this food is to be cooked, or the person who
is to cook it. There is as regards ear-piercing no difference between
the case of chiefs' children and those of other people.

Body-staining is usual with both men and women, who do it for
themselves, or get others to help them. There is no ceremony
in connection with it. The colours generally adopted are red,
greyish-yellow and black. The red stain is procured from an earth,
which is obtained from the low countries; but they themselves also
have an earth which is used, and produces a more bronzy red. The
yellow stain is also got from an earth. All these coloured earths
are worked into a paste with water, or with animal fat, if they can
get it. I think they also get a red stain from the fruit of a species
of Pandanus; but I am not quite clear as to this. The black stain is
obtained from crushed vegetable ashes mixed with fat or water. The
staining of the face is usually of a simple character. It may cover
the whole face all in one colour or in different colours, and often
one side of the face is stained one colour, and the other side another
colour. They also make stripes and spots or either of them of any
colour or colours on any part of the face. The red colour (I think
especially that obtained from the Pandanus fruit) is also often applied
in staining the whole body, this being especially done for dances and
visiting; though a young dandy will often do it at other times. The
black is the symbol of mourning, and will be referred to hereafter.

Hairdressing may be conveniently dealt with here. The Mafulu
hairdressing is quite simple and rough, very different from the
big, spreading, elaborately prepared and carefully combed mops of
Mekeo. This is a factor which a traveller in this part of New Guinea
may well bear in mind in connection with his impedimenta, as he has
no difficulty in getting the Kuni and Mafulu people to carry packages
on their heads, which the Mekeo folk are unwilling to do.

The modes in which the men dress their hair, so far as I was able to
notice, may be roughly divided into the following categories:--(_a_)
A simple crop of hair either cut quite close or allowed to grow fairly
long, or anything between these two, but not dressed in any way,
and probably uncombed, unkempt and untidy. This is the commonest
form. (_b_) The same as (_a_), but with a band round the hair,
separating the upper part of it from the lower, and giving the former
a somewhat chignon-like appearance, (_c_) The hair done up all over
the head in three-stranded plaits a few inches long, and about an
eighth of an inch thick, having the appearance of short thick pieces
of string, (_d_) The top of the head undressed, but the sides, and
sometimes the back, of the head done up in plaits like (_c_). (_e_)
A manufactured long shaped fringe of hair, human, but not the hair
of the wearer (Plate 20, Fig. 3), is often worn over the forehead,
just under the wearer's own hair, so as to form, as it were, a part
of it, pieces of string being attached to the ends of the fringe
and passed round the back of the head, where they are tied. These
fringes are made by tying a series of little bunches of hair close
to one another along the double string, which forms the base of the
fringe. Specimens examined by me were about 12 inches long and 1 1/4
inches wide (this width being the length of the bunches of hair),
and contained about twenty bunches. It is usual to have two or three
of these strings of bunches of hair tied together at the ends, thus
making one broad fringe. These fringes are often worn in connection
with styles (_c_) and (_d_) of hairdressing; but I never noticed them
in association with (_a_) and (_b_).

I was told that men who have become bald sometimes wear complete
artificial wigs, though I never saw an example of this.

The hairdressing of the women seemed to be similar to that of the men,
except that I never saw the chignon-producing band, that they do not
wear fringes, and that the entire or partial plaiting of the hair is
more frequently adopted by them than it is by the men. I do not know
whether the women ever indulge in entire wigs.

Method (_a_) is seen in many of the plates. Method (_b_) is
illustrated, though not very well, in Plate 9 (the fourth and
fifth man from the left) and in Plate 21 (the young man to the
left, behind). Method (_c_) is adopted by four of the women in the
frontispiece, by some of the women in Plate 16, by the woman in Plate
17, and by the little girl in Plates 22 and 23. Method (_d_) is well
illustrated by the second woman from the right in the frontispiece.

The cutting of the hair of both men and women is effected with sharp
pieces of stone of the sort used for making adze blades, or with
sharp pieces of bamboo or shell.

Infant deformation is not practised in any form by the Mafulu people;
nor do they circumcise their children.

Ornaments.

The string-like plaits in which men and women arrange their
hair, and especially those of the women, are often decorated with
ornaments. Small cowrie and other shells, or native or European beads,
or both, are strung by women on to these plaits, sometimes in a line
along all or the greater part of the length of the plait, sometimes
as a pendant at the end of it, and sometimes in both ways; and any
other small ornamental object may be added. Dogs' teeth are also
used by both men and women in the same way; but these are, I think,
more commonly strung in line along the plaits, rather than suspended
at the ends of them. Both men and women wear suspended at the ends
of these plaits wild betel-nut fruit, looking like elongated acorns;
and men, but not women, wear in the same way small pieces of cane, an
inch or two long, into which the ends of the plaits are inserted. All
these forms of decoration may be found associated together. They are
in the case of men usually confined to the plaits at the sides, being
also often attached to the side ends of the artificial fringes; but
they are sometimes used for the back of the head also. The women often
wear them also at the top of the head, and in wearing them at the sides
sometimes have them hanging in long strings reaching to the shoulders.

Plate 24 (Figs. 1, 2, 5, and 6) and Plate 25 (Figs. 2 and 4) are
ornamented plaits cut off the heads of women. The ornaments shown
include beads, shells, discs made out of shells, dogs' teeth and
betel-nut fruit. Plate 24 (Figs. 3 and 4) are ornamented plaits cut
off the heads of men, one of them having a cane pendant, and the
other a pendant of betel-nut.

The appearance of these things, as worn, is seen in Plates 16, 26,
27, 28 and 29 (the habit of wearing a single dog-tooth at each side
of the head, as shown by 27, being a common one, and 28 showing
the equally common habit of wearing a couple of betel-nuts at each
side). Their appearance, when worn in abundance for a festal dance,
is excellently shown in the frontispiece and in Plate 17; and the
little girl in Plates 22 and 23, though too young to be a dancer,
is decorated for an occasion.

Pigs' tails are a common head decoration for women, and are also worn,
though not so frequently, by men. These tails are covered with the
natural hair of the tail, and are brown-coloured. They are suspended
by strings passing round the crown of the head or from the plaits at
the sides of the head. They are generally only about 6 inches long;
but sometimes the ornaments into which they are made are much longer,
and I have seen them worn by women hanging down as far as the level
of the breast. These pigtails are sometimes worn hanging in clusters
of several tails. They are also often, in the case of women, decorated
with shells, beads, dogs' teeth, etc., which are attached like tassels
to their upper ends. [44]

Plate 30, Fig. 3 shows a pigtail ornament for hanging over the head,
with the tails suspended on both sides and strings of beads and dogs'
teeth hanging from the upper ends of the tails. The ornament is worn
by the middle man in Plate 9 and by the little girl figured in Plates
22 and 23, and it is seen more extensively worn by women decorated
for dancing in the frontispiece and in Plate 17, and by the girl in
Plate 71.

A peculiar and less usual sort of head ornament (Plate 30, Fig. 4),
worn by both men and women, is a cluster of about a dozen or less of
bark cloth strings, about 1 1/2 feet long, fastened together at the
top, and there suspended by a string tied round the top of the head,
so as to hang down like the lashes of a several-thonged whip over the
back. The individual strings of the cluster are quite thin, but they
are decorated with the yellow and brown straw-like material above
referred to in connection with abdominal belt No. 6 (being prepared
from the same plant, apparently Dendrobium, and in the same way),
the material being twisted in a close spiral round the strings, and
making them look, when seen from a short distance off, like strings
of very small yellow and brown beads, irregularly arranged in varying
lengths of the two colours, shading off gradually from one to the
other. Even when so bound round, these strings are only about 1/16
to 1/8 of an inch thick.

The Mafulu comb (Plate 30, Fig. 2) differs in construction from
the wooden combs, all made in one piece, which are commonly used in
Mekeo. It is made of four, five, or six thin pieces of wood, which are
left blunt at one end, but are sharpened to points at the other. These
are bound together with straw-like work, sometimes beautifully done,
the binding being nearly always near to the blunt ends, though it
is sometimes almost in the middle. [45] The combs so made are flat,
with the blunt ends converging and generally fastened together, and
the long sharp ends, which are the ends to be inserted into the hair,
spreading outwards. The bound-up blunt ends are in fact a point, or,
say, half an inch or less (occasionally more) across. The spread of
the sharp ends varies from 1 to 2 inches or more. The straw-like
binding may be light or dark brown, or partly one and partly the
other. Sometimes only the two outside prongs meet together at the blunt
end, and the inner prongs do not extend much, or at all, beyond the
upper edge of the straw-like work binding. The fastening together of
the blunt converging tips is done sometimes with native thread just
at the tips, and sometimes with a little straw work rather further
down; occasionally it is missing altogether. The comb figured is not
so converging at the blunt ends or so spreading at the sharp ends
as is usual, and its blunt ends are not bound together. These combs
are only worn by men; they are commonly worn in front, projecting
forwards over the forehead, as is done in Mekeo; but they are also
worn at the back of the head, projecting sideways to either right or
left. A feather (generally a white cockatoo feather), or sometimes two
feathers, are often inserted into the straw-like work of the comb,
so as to stand up vertically when the comb is worn, and there wave,
or rather wag, backwards and forwards in the wind. I could not learn
any significance in these feathers, such as applies to many of the
upright head feathers worn by the young men of Mekeo. The comb is
worn by several of the men figured in Plate 9, one of them wearing
it in front and the others having it standing out sideways at the back.

The almost universal type of earring (Plate 20, Fig. 1), varying
from 2 to 3 inches in circumference, is made out of the tail of the
cuscus. The ring is made by removing the hair from the animal's tail,
drying the tail, and fastening the pointed end into or on to the blunt
cut-off stump end, tying them firmly together. The ring is then bound
closely round with the yellow and brown material (Dendrobium) of belt
No. 6; but a space of 1 or 2 inches is generally left uncovered at the
part where the two ends of the tail are fastened together. The simplest
form is a single earring, which passes through the hole in the ear;
but I have seen two rings hanging to the ear; and frequently a second
ring is hung on to the first, and often a third to the second, and
sometimes a fourth to the third; or perhaps, instead of the fourth
ring, there may be two rings hanging to the second one. In fact,
there are varieties of ways in which the fancy of the wearer and the
number of rings he possesses will cause him to wear them. They are
worn by both men and women. [46] They may be seen in several plates,
but unfortunately are not very clear. The most distinct are, I think,
those worn by the second woman from the left in Plate 26 and the
woman on the left in Plate 28. The second woman from the left in the
frontispiece has two of them hanging from her right ear.

Pigs' tails, similar to those worn from the hair, are also worn by
both men and women, especially the latter, suspended from the ears;
and here again they vary much in length, and are often decorated with
tassel-like hanging ornaments of shells, beads, etc.

Forehead ornaments (Plate 30, Fig 5) are made by men and worn by them
at dances. This ornament is a band, very slightly curved, which is
worn across the forehead, just under and surrounding the basis of the
dancing feathers. It is generally about 16 inches long and between
4 and 5 inches broad in the middle, from which it narrows somewhat
towards the ends. Its manufacture consists of a ground basis of the
material of belt No. 5, into which are interplaited in geometric
patterns the two black and yellow and brown materials which are used
for belt No. 6. It is fixed on to the forehead by means of strings
attached to its two ends, and passing round, and tied at the back of,
the head.

Nose ornaments. These are straight pencil-shaped pieces of shell,
generally about 6 inches long, which are passed through the hole in
the septum of the nose. They are only worn at dances and on special
occasions; but the people from time to time insert bits of wood or
cane or bone or some other thing into the hole for the purpose of
keeping it open. There are temporary pegs in the noses of the fifth
man to the left in Plate 9 and the man in Plate 10. The nose ornament
is worn by the woman to the extreme right in the frontispiece.

Necklaces and straight pendants, suspended from the neck and
hanging over the chest, are common, though they are not usually
worn in anything approaching the profusion seen in Mekeo and on
the coast. These are made chiefly of shells of various sorts (cut
or whole), dogs' teeth and beads, as in Mekeo. The shells include
the cowries and the small closely packed overlapping cut shells so
generally used in Mekeo for necklaces, and the flat disc-like shell
sections, which are here, as in Mekeo, specially used for straight
hanging pendants; also those lovely large crescent-shaped discs of
pearl shell, which are well known to New Guinea travellers. The shells
are, of course, all obtained directly or indirectly from the coast;
in fact, these are some of the chief articles for which the mountain
people exchange their stone implements and special mountain feathers,
so the similarity in the ornaments is to be expected; but it is only
within a quite recent time that the pearl crescents have found their
way to Mafulu. I do not propose to describe at length the various
forms of shell ornament, as they are very similar to, and indeed I
think practically the same as, those of Mekeo. Some of the necklaces
are figured in Plates 31, 32 and 33, and they are worn by many of
the people figured in other plates, especially the frontispiece and
Plate 17. Straight pendant ornaments are seen in the frontispiece and
in Plates 6, 17, 26 and others. The crescent-shaped pearl ornaments
are seen in the frontispiece and in Plates 6, 7, 16, 28 and others,
a very large one being worn by the little girl in Plate 71.

There is, however, one shell necklace which is peculiar to the
mountains, and, I think, to Mafulu (I do not know whether the Kuni
people also wear it), where it is worn as an emblem of mourning
by persons who are relatives of the deceased, but who are not
sufficiently closely related to him to stain themselves with black
during the period of mourning. This necklace is made of white cowrie
shells varying in size from half an inch to an inch long, each of
which has its convex side ground away, so as to show on one side the
untouched mouth of the shell and on the other an open cavity. The
shells are strung, sometimes closely and sometimes loosely, on to a
double band of thin cord. Specimens of this type of necklace measured
by me varied in length from 36 inches (with 97 shells) to 20 inches
(with 38 shells). It is worn until the period of mourning is formally
terminated. The middle necklace in Plate 33 is a mourning shell
necklace, and it is seen on the neck of the woman to the right in
Plate 29.

Pigs' tail ornaments similar to those already described are also worn
suspended by neck-bands over the chest.

Armlets and wrist-bands are worn by both men and women, and more or
less by children, including quite young ones, at the higher end of
the upper arm and just above the wrist. They are made by men only,
and vary in width from half an inch to 5 or 6 inches, the wider ones
being generally worn on the upper arm. There are several common forms
of these: (1) The more usual form (Plate 34, Fig. 4) is made of the
thin and finely plaited stone-grey material described in abdominal
belt No. 5, and is made in the same way, subject to the difference
that the plaiting is more closely done. Measured specimens of this
armlet varied in width from 1 to 2 1/4 inches, and displayed different
varieties of diagonal twill stitch. (2) Another common form (Plate 34,
Fig. 3) is made of the coarser-plaited black and yellow and brown
materials described concerning No. 6 belt, and is made in the same
way. Specimens of this armlet varied in width from 1 to 5 inches. (3)
There is another form which in fineness of material and plait is
between Nos. 1 and 2. I was told that this is made out of another
creeping plant, and is left in its own natural unstained colour, which,
however, in this case is a dull brown red. (4) Another form (Plate
34, Fig. 2) is made of the coarse dull red-brown and stone-yellow
materials described with reference to belt No. 2, and is made in
the same way. A specimen of this armlet was 2 1/4 inches wide. (5)
Another form (Plate 34, Fig. 1) is in make something like No. 4, but
the two materials used are the stone-yellow material of belt No. 2
and the black material of belt No. 6, and the plaiting materials are
much finer in thickness than are those of armlet No. 4. Specimens
of this armlet varied in width from 3/4 to 1 1/4 inches. (6) The
beautiful large cut single-shell wrist ornament, commonly worn on
the coast and plains, whence the Mafulu people procure it. Armlets
will be seen worn by many of the people figured in the plates.

There is no practice of putting armlets on young folk, and retaining
them in after life, so as to tighten round and contract the arm.

Leg-bands (Plate 25, Fig. 1) and anklets are worn by both men and
women, and also by children, just below the knee and above the ankle.

There is a form of plaited leg-band somewhat similar in make to armlet
No. 5, and between half-an-inch and an inch in width, though the
colour of this leg-band is a dull brown. But the usual form of leg-band
and anklet is made by women only out of thread fibre by a process of
manufacture quite distinct from the stiff plait work adopted for some
of the belts and for the armlets. They make their thread out of fine
vegetable fibre as they proceed with the manufacture of the band,
rolling the individual fibres with their hands upon their thighs,
and then rolling these fibres into two-strand threads, and from time
to time in this way making more thread, which is worked into the open
ends of the then working thread as it is required--all this being
done in the usual native method.

I had an opportunity of watching a woman making a leg-band, and I think
the process is worth describing. She first made a thread 5 or 6 feet
long by the method above referred to, the thread being a two-strand
one, made out of small lengths about 5 or 6 inches long of the
original fibre, rolled together and added to from time to time until
the full length of 5 or 6 feet of thread had been made. The thread
was of the thickness of very coarse European thread or exceedingly
fine string. She next wound the thread into a triple loop of the size
of the proposed leg-band. This triple loop was to be the base upon
which she was to make the leg-band, of which it would form the first
line and upper edge. It was only about 11 inches in circumference, and
thus left two ends, one of which (I will call it "the working thread")
was a long one, and the other of which (I will call it "the inside
thread") was a short one. Both these threads hung down together from
the same point (which I will call "the starting point"). She then,
commencing at the starting point, worked the working thread round the
triple base by a series of interlacing loops in the form shown (very
greatly magnified) in Fig. 1; but the loops were drawn quite tight,
and not left loose, as, for the purpose of illustration, I have had to
make them in the figure. This process was carried round the base until
she had again reached the starting point, at which stage the base,
with its tightly drawn loop work all around it, was firm and strong,
and there were still the two ends of thread hanging from the starting
point. Here and at subsequent stages of the work she added to the
lengths of these two ends from time to time in the way above described
when they needed it, and the two ends of thread were therefore always
present. Then began the making of the second line. This was commenced
at the starting point, from which the two ends of thread hung,
and was effected by a series of loops made with the working thread
in the way already described, except that these loops, instead of
passing round the whole of the base line, passed through holes which
she bored with a thorn, as she went on, in the extreme bottom edge of
that line, and also that, in making this second line, she passed the
inside thread through each loop before she drew the latter tight; so
that the second line was itself composed of a single internal thread,
around which the loops were drawn. The second line was continued in
this way until she again reached the starting point (but, of course,
one line lower down), from which the two ends of thread hung down as
before. The third and following lines were made by a process identical
with that of the second one, the holes for each line being pricked
through the bottom of that above it. I did not see the completion of
the band, but I may say that the final line is similar to the second
and subsequent ones, and is not a triple-threaded line like the first
one. It was amazing to see this woman doing her work. She was an old
woman, but she did the whole of the work with her fingers, and she must
have had wonderful eyesight and steadiness of hand, as she made the
minute scarcely visible prick holes, and passed the end of her working
thread through them, with the utmost apparent ease and quickness.

The band thus produced is of very small, close, fine work, and is
quite soft, flexible and elastic, like European canvas, instead of
being stiff and hard, like the plaited belts and armlets. The band
is generally about an inch (more or less) in width. It is not dyed
or coloured in any way, but is often decorated with beads, which
are worked into the fabric in one or more horizontal lines, but as
a rule, I think, only at irregular intervals, and not in continuous
lines. These bands and anklets are seen in many of the plates. In
Plates 10, 11 and 12 the bead decorations are seen.

Dancing aprons are made out of bark cloth by both men and women,
but coloured by men only. The apron, which is worn at dances by women
only, is about 6 to 12 inches wide. It is worn, as shown in Plate 35,
in front of the body, being passed over the abdominal belt or a cord
so as to hang over it in two folds, one behind the other; and the
front fold, which is the part which shows (the back fold being more
or less concealed), and is generally 18 inches to 2 feet in length,
has at its base a fringe made by cutting the end of the cloth up into
strips, equal or unequal in width, the number of which may be only six
or less, or may be fifteen or twenty. The front fold is often wholly
or partly stained, the colour of the stain being usually yellow, and
is always more or less covered with a decorative design, the colours
of which are usually black and red. The back fold is generally stained
yellow, but never has any design upon it. The fringe is also usually
stained yellow, and is without design, except occasionally perhaps
a few horizontal lines of colour.

I may say here, as regards these colours, that, so far as my
observation went, the colours of the decorative patterns were always
black and red, and the general staining was always yellow; and indeed
the last-mentioned colour does not show up against the natural colour
of the cloth sufficiently clearly to adapt it for actual design
work. I am not, however, prepared to say that this allocation of
the colours is in fact an invariable one; and, as I know that red
is used for general staining of perineal bands and dancing ribbons,
it is possible that it, as well as yellow, is used for aprons.

Numerous variations of design are to be found in these garments;
and indeed I may say that it is in these and in the feather head
decorations that the Mafulu people mainly indulge such artistic powers
as they possess.

Plates 36 to 43 are examples of decoration of the front folds of
these dancing aprons [47]; and I give the following particulars
concerning them, first stating that, subject to what may appear in
my particulars, the darker lines and spots represent black ones in
the apron, and the lighter ones represent red ones.

Plate.
| Average width of apron in inches.
| | Notes on ground staining and other matters.

36 6 1/2 Background of design unstained, but back fold of
apron and fringe stained yellow.
37 [48] 7 3/4 Ditto ditto ditto
38 5 1/4 Only a little irregular yellow staining behind the
design. Back fold of apron and fringe stained yellow.
39 6 Background of design (except fringe part) unstained,
but back fold of apron and fringe stained yellow.
40 7 Background of upper (zig-zag) part of design unstained,
but that of lower (rectangular) part and whole of
back fold of apron and fringe stained yellow.
41 10 1/2 Faintly tinted broad horizontal and vertical lines
and triangles in figure represent yellow stain. No
other staining in the apron.
42 6 3/4 Background of design unstained, but back fold end of
apron and fringe stained yellow.
43 6 3/4 No background staining in the apron. The smallness
of the amount of decoration and the substitution of
two tails for a fringe are, I think, unusual.

Dancing ribbons are made out of bark cloth by both men and women,
but are coloured by men only. These are worn by both men and women at
dances, the ribbons hanging round the body from the abdominal belt or a
cord, three or four or five of them being worn by one person, and one
of these commonly hanging in front. They are generally 2 or 3 inches
wide and about 4 feet long, but a portion of this length is required
for hitching the ribbon round the belt. I think their ornamentation
is confined to staining in transverse bands of alternating colour or
of one colour and unstained cloth. Plate 13, Fig. 4, illustrates the
colouring of two ribbons (each 2 inches wide), the alternation in one
case being red and yellow, and in the other red and unstained cloth;
and the men figured in Plate 70 are wearing ribbons, though they are
not very clearly shown in the plate.

The feather ornaments for the head, and especially those worn at
dances, and the feather ornaments worn on the back at dances present
such an enormous variety of colours and designs that it would be
impossible to describe them here without very greatly increasing the
length of the book. The ornaments are often very large, sometimes
containing eight or ten or even twelve rows of feathers, one behind
another. They can usually be distinguished from those made by the Mekeo
people by a general inferiority in design and make of the ornament as
a whole, the Mafulu people having less artistic skill in this respect
than the people of the lowlands. The ornaments include feathers of
parrots, cockatoos, hornbills, cassowaries, birds of paradise, bower
birds and some others. One never or rarely sees feathers of sea-birds,
or waterfowl, or Goura pigeons (which, I was told, are not found among
the mountains), as the Mafulu people in their trading with the people
of the plains take in exchange things which they cannot themselves
procure, rather than feathers, which are so plentiful with them.

The black cassowary feather is important in Mafulu as being the
special feather distinction of chiefs; but, though chiefs are as
a rule possessed of more and better ornaments than are the poorer
and unimportant people, they have no other special and distinctive
ornament.

Plates 44 and 45 illustrate some of these head feather ornaments. Plate
44, Fig. 1, shows an ornament made out of the brown fibrous exterior of
the wild betel-nut, black pigeon feathers and white cockatoo feathers,
the betel fibre and black pigeon feathers being, I was told, only
used in the mountains. Plate 44, Fig. 2, shows one made out of brown
feathers of young cassowary, white cockatoo feathers and red-black
parrot feathers. Plate 44, Fig. 3, shows one made out of bright red
and green parrot feathers. Plate 45, Fig. 1, shows one made out
of black cassowary feathers, white cockatoo feathers, red parrot
feathers and long red feathers of the bird of paradise. Plate 45,
Fig. 2, is made of cassowary feathers only. This ornament is worn in
front of the head, over the forehead, and is specially worn by chiefs.

Plate 46, Fig. 1, shows a head feather ornament which is peculiar
to the mountains. The crescent-shaped body of the ornament, which is
made of short feathers taken from the neck of the cassowary, is worn
in front over the forehead, and the cockade of hawk feathers stands
up over the head.

Plate 46, Fig. 2, shows a back ornament of cassowary feathers which
is specially intended to be worn by chiefs at dances. The custom is
to have from five to twelve of these ornaments hanging vertically
side by side, suspended to a horizontal stick, which is fastened on
the chief's back at the height of the shoulders, so that the feathers
hang like a mantle over his back. The mode in which feather ornaments
for the back are hung on sticks is seen in Plate 70, where a stick
with pendant ornaments is being held by two boys in front.

Plaited frames (Plate 47) are worn by men in connection with these head
feather ornaments. These frames are flat curved bands, rigid or nearly
so, generally forming half or nearly half a circle of an external
diameter of about 9 inches, and being about 1 inch in width. They
are worn at dances and on solemn occasions. They are placed round
the top of the forehead, not vertically, but with their upper edges
sloping obliquely forward, and have at their ends strings, which pass
over the ears and are tied at the back of the head. These frames help
to support the feather ornaments, and prevent them from falling down
over the face. They are made by men only. A groundwork of small split
cane or other material runs in parallel curved lines from end to end,
single pieces of the material being generally doubled back at the ends
so as to form several lines; and this is strengthened and ornamented
by interplaiting into it either split cane or some other material
obtained from the splitting of the inside fibre of a plant in the way
previously referred to. There are varieties of material and of pattern
worked up in different designs of interplaiting. Some of the materials
are uncoloured or merely the natural colour of the material, and others
are in two colours, generally brown or reddish-brown and yellow. These
frames display a considerable amount of variety of artistic design.

The feather erections used at special and important dances, and
especially those worn by chiefs, are enormous things, towering 6
or 12 feet above the wearer's head, and are generally larger than
those of Mekeo. They are held in a framework, which has an inverted
basket-shaped part to rest on the head, and downward pointing rods,
which are tied to the shoulders. The frames are to a great extent
similar to those of Mekeo, but, having a larger burden to bear, they
are more strongly made. These feather erections and their frames are
seen in Plate 70.

Here, as in other parts of New Guinea, both men and women, but
especially men, love to decorate themselves with bright flowers and
leaves and grasses, these being worn in the hair and in bunches stuck
into their belts, armlets and leg-bands, and indeed in any places
where they can be conveniently fastened.

It is not the practice with the Mafulu for mothers to wear the
umbilical cords of any of their children, though apparently the Kuni
people do so.

CHAPTER IV

Daily Life and Matters Connected with It

Daily Life.

The early morning finds the wife and young children and unmarried
daughters in the house. The husband has been sleeping either there
or in the _emone_ (clubhouse), but most probably the latter. The
unmarried sons are in the _emone_, except any very young ones, who
have not been formally admitted to it in a way which will be hereafter
described. The women cook the breakfast for the whole family inside the
house at about six or seven o'clock, and then take the food of the men
to the _emone_. After breakfast most of the men and women go off to the
gardens and the bush. The women's work there is chiefly the planting
of sweet potatoes, taro and other things, and cleaning the gardens;
and in the afternoon they get food from the gardens and firewood from
the bush, all of which they bring home to the village; also they have
to clear off the undergrowth from newly cleared bush. The men's work is
mainly the yam and banana and sugar-cane planting, each in its season,
and the cutting down of big trees and making fences, if they happen to
be opening out new garden land. They also sometimes help the women with
their work. Or they may have hunting expeditions in the bush, or go
off in fishing parties to the river. In all matters the men of Mafulu,
though lazy, are not so lazy as those of Mekeo and the coast. In the
middle of the day the women cook the meal for everyone in the gardens,
this being done on the spot, and there they all eat it. At three, four,
or five o'clock all the people of the village have returned to it,
except perhaps when they are very busy taking advantage of good weather
for making new clearings or other special work. In the evening they
have another meal cooked in the village. At every meal in the village
the pigs have to be fed also, these sharing the food of the people
themselves, or feeding on raw potatoes. Unless there is dancing going
on, or they are tempted by a fine moonlight night to sit out talking,
the people all terminate their routine day by going to bed early.

As regards the daily social conduct of the people among themselves,
I was told that the members of a family generally live harmoniously
together (subject as regards husbands and wives to the matters which
will be mentioned later), that children are usually treated kindly
and affectionately by their parents, and that there is very little
quarrelling within a village; and what I saw when I was among the
Mafulu people certainly seemed to confirm all this.

There are various detailed matters of daily life which will appear
under their appropriate headings; but I will here deal with a few
of them.

Food.

The vegetable foods of the Mafulu people are sweet potato and other
plants of the same type, yam and other foods of the same type, taro and
other foods of that type, banana of different sorts, sugar-cane, a kind
of wild native bean, a cultivated reed-like plant with an asparagus
flavour (what it is I do not know), several plants of the pumpkin and
cucumber type, one of them being very small, like a gherkin, fruit from
two different species of Pandanus, almonds, the fruit of the _malage_
(described later on), and others, both cultivated and wild. The
sugar-cane is specially eaten by them when working in the gardens. [49]

Their animal food consists of wild pig and, on occasions, village pig,
a small form of cassowary, kangaroo, a small kind of wallaby, kangaroo
rat, "iguana," an animal called _gaivale_ (I could not find out what
this is), various wild birds, fish, eels, mice, a large species of
snake and other things.

Their staple drink is water, but when travelling they cut down a
species of bamboo, and drink the watery fluid which it contains. After
boiling any food in bamboo stems they drink the water which has been
used for the purpose, and which has become a sort of thin flavoured
soup.

Betel-chewing is apparently not indulged in by these people as
extensively as it is done in Mekeo and on the coast; but they like it
well enough, and for a month or so before a big feast, during which
period they are under a strict taboo restriction as to food, they
indulge in it largely. The betel used by them is not the cultivated
form used in Mekeo and on the coast, but a wild species, only about
half the size of the other; and the lime used is not, as in Mekeo
and on the coast, made by grinding down sea-shells, but is obtained
from the mountain stone, which is ground down to a powder. The gourds
(Plate 51, Figs. 6 and 7) in which the lime is carried are similar to
those used in Mekeo, except that usually they are not ornamented, or,
if they are so, the ornamentation is only done in simple straight-lined
geometric patterns. The spatulae are sometimes very simply and rudely
decorated. The people spit out the betel after chewing, instead of
swallowing it, as is the custom in Mekeo.

Cooking and Eating and Their Utensils.

They have no cooking utensils, other than the simple pieces of bamboo
stem, which they use for boiling.

Their usual methods of cooking are roasting and boiling.

Roasting is usually effected by making a fire, letting it die
down into red-hot ashes, and then putting the food without wrap or
covering into the ashes, turning it from time to time. They also
roast by holding the food on sticks in the flame of the burning fire,
turning it occasionally. Stone cooking is adopted for pig and other
meats. They make a big fire, on the top of which they spread the
stones; when the stones are hot enough, they remove some of them,
place the meat without wrap or covering on the others, then place the
removed stones on the meat, and finally pile on these stones a big
covering of leaves to keep in the heat. Stone cooking in the gardens
is done in a slightly different way; there they dig in the ground a
round hole about 1 foot deep and from 1 1/2 to 2 feet in diameter, and
in this hole they make their fire, on which they pile their stones;
and the rest of the process is the same as before. This hole-making
process is never adopted in the village. The only reason for it which
was suggested was that the method was quicker, and that in the gardens
they are in a hurry. Of course, holes of this sort dug in the open
village enclosure would be a source of danger, especially at night.

Boiling is done in pieces of bamboo about 4 inches in diameter
and about 15 or 18 inches long. They fill these with water, put the
food into them, and then place or hold the bamboo stems in a slanting
position in the flames. This method is specially used for cooking sweet
potatoes, but it is their only method of boiling anything. Water, which
they keep stored and carry in bamboo receptacles and hollow pumpkins,
is boiled in bamboo stems in the same way. The bamboo storage vessels
are generally from 2 to 5 feet long, the intersecting nodes, other
than that at one end, having been removed. The pumpkins (Plate 52,
Figs. 2 and 3) are similar to those used by the Roro coast people and
in Mekeo, except that the usual form, instead of being rather short
and broad with a narrow opening, is longer and narrower, some of them
being, say, 3 feet long, and often very curved and crooked in shape.

Their only eating utensils are wooden dishes and small pieces of wood,
or sometimes of cassowary or kangaroo bone, which are used as forks,
and pieces of split bamboo, which are used for cutting meat; but these
latter are used for other purposes, and rather come within the list
of ordinary implements, and will be there described. They also use
prepared pig-bones as forks; but these again are largely used for
other purposes, and will be described under the same heading.

The dishes (Plate 52, Fig. 1) are made out of the trunk of a tree
called _ongome_. The usual length of a dish, without its handles,
is between 1 and 2 feet; its width varies from 9 inches to 1 foot,
and its depth from 3 to 6 inches. It is rudely carved out of the
tree-trunk, [50] the work being done with stone adzes--unless they
happen to possess European axes--and it generally has a handle at one
or both ends. It is not decorated with carving in any way. The common
form of handle is merely a simple knob about 3 inches long and 1 1/2
inches wide. But it is sometimes less simple, and I have a dish one
of the handles of which is divided into two projecting pieces about
7 1/2 inches long and joined to each other at the end. The handle
is always carved out of the same piece of wood as is the dish;
never made separately and afterwards attached. The wooden forks
are simply bits cut from trees and sharpened at one end, and they
are without prongs. Their use is only temporary, and they are not
permanently stored as household utensils. The cassowary and kangaroo
bone implements (Plate 25, Fig. 3) are also merely roughly pointed
unpronged pieces of bone, and otherwise without special form. When
eating _en famille_ they do not always use these pointed wooden and
bone sticks, but very commonly take the food out of the dish with
their hands only; but if the family had guests with them they would
probably use the sticks more, and their hands less. The men and women
often eat together, sitting round the dish and helping themselves
out of it, though, if there are too many to do this conveniently,
pieces will be handed out to some of them.

Various Implements.

Besides the cooking and eating implements above described and
other things, such as weapons of war and of hunting and fishing,
and implements for manufacture, agriculture and music, which will be
dealt with under their own headings, there are a few miscellaneous
things which may be conveniently described here.

Bamboo knives (Plate 51, Fig. 5). These are simple strips made out of
a special mountain form of bamboo, and are generally 8 to 10 inches
long and about 1 inch wide. One edge is left straight for its whole
length, and the other is cut away near the end, very much as we cut
away one side of a quill pen, so as to produce a sharp point. The
side edge which is used for cutting is the one which is not cut away
at the end; and when it gets blunt it is renewed by simply peeling
off a length of fibre, thus producing a new edge, bevelled inwards
towards the concave side of the implement, and making a hard and
very sharp fresh cutting edge. The point can of course be sharpened
at any time in the obvious way.

Pig-bone implements (Plate 51, Fig. 2). These are the implements
which are often used as forks, but they have straight edges also
with which they are used as scraping knives, and they are utilised
for many other purposes. The implement, which is, I think, similar
to what is commonly found in Mekeo and on the coast, is made out of
the leg-bone of a pig, and is generally from 5 to 8 inches long. One
side of the bone is ground away, so as to make the implement flattish
in section, one side (the outside unground part of the bone) being
somewhat convex, and the other (where the bone has been ground away)
being rather concave. Some of the joint end of the bone is left to
serve as a handle; and from this the bone is made to narrow down to
a blunt, rather flattish and rounded point, somewhat like that of
a pointed paper-cutter. The side edge is used for scraping, and the
point for sticking into things.

Smoking pipes are in the ordinary well-known form of Mekeo and the
coast, being made of sections of bamboo stem in which the natural
intersecting node near the mouthpiece end is bored and the node at the
other end is left closed, and between these two nodes, near to the
closed one, is a flute-like hole, in which is placed the cigarette
of tobacco wrapped up in a leaf. They are, however, generally not
ornamented; or, if they are so, it is merely in a simple geometric
pattern of straight lines. I obtained one pipe (Plate 51, Fig. 1) of
an unusual type, being much smaller than is usual. A special feature
of this pipe is its decoration, which includes groups of concentric
circles. This is the only example of a curved line which I ever met
with among the Mafulu villages, and it is probable that it had not
been made there.

Boring drills (Plate 51, Fig. 4) are also similar to those of Mekeo
and the coast, except that there the fly-wheel is, I think, usually
a horizontal circular disc, through the centre of which the upright
shaft of the implement passes, whereas in the Mafulu boring instrument
the fly-wheel, through which the shaft passes, is a rudely cut flat
horizontal piece of wood about 9 or 10 inches long, 2 inches broad,
and half an inch or less thick, and also that in Mafulu the native
point, made out of a pointed fragment of the stone used for making
club-heads, adze blades and cloth-beaters, is not generally replaced
by a European iron point, as is so commonly the case in Mekeo and
near the coast. These drills are used for boring dogs' teeth and
shells and other similar hard-substanced things, but are useless
for boring articles of wood or other soft substances, in which the
roughly formed point would stick. [51]

Fire-making. This is a question of process, rather than of implement,
but may be dealt with here. To produce fire, the Mafulu native
takes two pieces of very dry and inflammable wood, one larger than
the other, and some dry bark cloth fluff. He then holds the smaller
piece of wood and the fluff together, and rubs them on the larger
piece of wood. After four or five minutes the fluff catches fire,
without bursting into actual flame, upon which the native continues the
rubbing process, blowing gently upon the fluff, until the two pieces
of wood begin to smoulder, and can then be blown into a sufficient
flame for lighting a fire.

Carrying bags. These are all made of network. I shall say something
about the mode of netting and colouring them hereafter, and will here
only deal with the bags and their use. They are of various sizes,

(1) There are the large bags used by women for carrying heavy objects,
such as firewood, vegetables and fruit, which they bring back to
the village on their return in the afternoon from the gardens and
bush. These bags are carried in the usual way, the band over the
opening of the bag being passed across the front of the head above the
forehead, and the bag hanging over the back behind. They are curved
in shape, the ends of the bag being at both its top and bottom edges
higher than are the centres of those edges, so that, when a bag is
laid out flat, its top line is a concave one and its bottom line is a
convex one. The network at the two ends of the top line is continued
into the loop band by means of which the bag is carried. The usual
dimensions of one of these bags, as it lies flat and unstretched
on a table (the measurements being made along the curved lines)
are as follows--top line about 2 feet, bottom line about 3 feet,
and side lines about 18 inches. But when filled with vegetables,
firewood, etc., they expand considerably, especially those made of
"Mafulu network," of which I shall speak hereafter. These bags are
uncoloured. (2) There are similar, but somewhat smaller, bags, in
which the women carry lighter things, and which in particular they
use for carrying their babies. They frequently carry this bag and
the larger one together; and you will often see a woman with a big
bag heavily laden with vegetables or firewood or both, and another
smaller bag (perhaps also slung behind over the top of the big one,
or hanging from her head at her side, or over her breast), which
contains her baby, apparently rolled up into a ball. These bags also
are uncoloured. (3) There are other bags, similar perhaps in size to
No. 2, used for visiting and at feasts, dances and similar occasions,
and also sometimes used for carrying babies. The top line of one of
these is generally about 2 feet long, the bottom line a trifle longer,
and the side lines about 1 foot. These are coloured in decorative
patterns. (4) There are small bags of various sizes carried by men
slung over their shoulders or arms, and used to hold their betel-nut,
pepper and tobacco and various little implements and utensils of
daily life. These are sometimes uncoloured and sometimes coloured. (5)
There are the very small charm bags, only about 2 inches or a trifle
more square, which are used by both men and women (I think only the
married ones) for carrying charms, and are worn hanging like lockets
from the neck. They are sometimes coloured.

Plate 53 gives illustrations of three of these bags--Fig. 1 being a
woman's ornamented bag No. 3, and Fig. 2 being a man's ornamented bag
No. 4; but this last-mentioned bag is rather a large one of its type,
the usual difference in size between Nos. 3 and 4 being greater than
the two examples figured would suggest. The patterns of both these
bags, and especially of the larger one, are more regular than is
usually the case. The bag shown in Fig. 3 will be dealt with hereafter
under the heading of netting.

As regards women, the carrying of bags, either full or empty, hanging
over their backs is so common that one might almost regard the bag
as an additional article of dress. I may say here in advance of
my observations on netting that the distinctive features of Mafulu
bags, as compared with those made in Mekeo and on the coast, are the
special and peculiar form of netting which is commonly adopted for
some of them and the curious lines of colouring with which they are
often ornamented.

Hammocks are commonly used in the houses and _emone_ for sleeping. [52]
These also are made of network and will be referred to later. The
distinctive feature of network mentioned in relation to bags applies
to these also, but not that of colouring.

Pottery is not made or used in Mafulu.

I may perhaps refer here to what I imagine to be an ancient stone
mortar, which I found at Mafulu, and which I have endeavoured to show
in Fig. 2. A portion of the upper part of the original was broken away,
and I regret that I did not try to sketch it just as it was, instead
of adopting the easier course of following what had been the original
lines. I am also sorry that its great weight made it impossible for me
to bring it down with me to the coast, [53] and that by an oversight
I did not secure a photograph of it. The vessel was well and evenly
shaped. It had perfectly smooth surfaces, without any trace of cutting
or chipping, and must have been made by grinding. It was devoid of any
trace of decoration. Its top external diameter was about 12 inches,
its height, when standing upright on its base, was about 8 inches,
and the thickness of the bowl at the lip about 1 inch. I was told
that similar things are from time to time found in the district,
generally on the ridges, far away from water. A Mafulu chief said
that the Mafulu name for these things is _idagafe._ The natives have
no knowledge of their origin or past use, the only explanation of the
latter which was suggested being that they were used as looking-glasses
by looking into the scummy surface of the water inside them. [54]

European things. The Mafulu people are now beginning, mainly through
the missionaries of the Sacred Heart, and also through their contact
with Mekeo and other lowland tribes, to get into touch with European
manufactures. Trade beads, knives, axes, plane irons (used by them
in place of stone blades for their adzes), matches and other things
are beginning to find their way directly and indirectly into such of
the villages as are nearest to the opportunities of procuring them
by exchange or labour.

Domestic Animals.

Dogs may occasionally, though only rarely, be seen in the villages,
but these are small black, brownish-black, or black and white dogs
with very bushy tails, and not the yellow dingo dogs which infest
the villages of Mekeo; and even these Mafulu dogs are, I was told,
not truly a Mafulu institution, having been obtained by the people,
I think, only recently from their Kuni neighbours. A tame cockatoo may
also very occasionally be seen, and even, though still more rarely,
a tame hornbill. There are no cocks and hens.

The universal domestic animal of the Mafulu, however, is the pig,
and he is so important to them that he is worthy of notice. These
pigs are "village" pigs, which, though naturally identical with "wild"
pigs--being, in fact, wild pigs which have been caught alive or their
descendants--have to be distinguished from wild pigs, and especially
so in connection with feasts and ceremonies.

Village pigs are the individual property of the householders who
possess them, there being no system of community or village ownership;
and, when required for feasts and ceremonies, each household has to
provide such pig or pigs as custom requires of it. They are bred in the
villages by their owners, and by them brought up, fed and tended, the
work of feeding and looking after them being the duty of the women. No
distinguishing ownership marks are put upon the pigs, but their owners
know their own pigs, and still more do the pigs know the people who
feed them; so that disputes as to ownership do not arise. The number
of pigs owned by these people is enormous in proportion to the size
of their villages, and I was told that a comparatively small village
will be able at a big feast to provide a number of village pigs much
in excess of what will be produced by one of the big Mekeo villages.

These village pigs often wander away into the bush, and may disappear
from sight for months; but they nevertheless still continue to
be village pigs. If, however, they are not seen or heard of for a
very long time (say six months), they are regarded as having become
wild pigs, and may be caught and appropriated as such. It is usual
with village pigs to clip or shorten their ears and tails, or even
sometimes to remove their eyes, so as to keep them from wandering
into the gardens. [55] But even a village pig thus marked as such
would be regarded as having become a wild pig if it had disappeared
for a very long time.

Village pigs (as distinguished from wild pigs) are, as will be seen
below, never eaten in their own village on ceremonial occasions,
or indeed perhaps at all, being only killed and cut up and given to
the visitors to take away and eat in their own villages.

Etiquette.

These simple people do not appear to have many customs which come
under the heading of etiquette, pure and simple.

A boy must soon, say within a few weeks, after he has received his
perineal band leave the parental home, and go to live in the _emone;_
but this rule only refers to his general life, and does not prohibit
him from ever entering his parents' house. If he receives his band
when he is very young, this rule will not begin to operate until he
is ten or twelve years old. He is in no case under any prohibition
from being in or crossing the village enclosure. A girl is allowed to
enter the _emone_, though she may not sleep there, prior to receiving
her band, but after that she must never enter it.

A young unmarried man, who has arrived at the marriageable age, must
not eat in the presence of women. He can eat in the bush, or inside
the _emone_, but he must not eat on the platform of the _emone_,
where women might see him. There appear to be no other customs
of mutual avoidance, as, for example, that between son-in-law and
mother-in-law, and with reference to other marriage relationships,
such as are found in some of the Solomon Islands, and among various
other primitive races.

Children and unimportant adults must always pass behind a chief,
not in front of him, and when a chief is speaking, everyone else,
old and young, must be silent.

Young men and girls associate and talk freely together in public
among other people, but no young man would go about alone with a girl,
unless he was misconducting himself with her, or wished to do so.

Visiting is purely friendly and social, and there is no personal
system of formal and ceremonial visiting, except as between communities
or villages.

There do not appear to be any forms of physical salutation, but there
are recognised ways in which men address one another on meeting and
parting. If A and B meet in the bush, A may say to B, "Where do you
come from?", and B will answer, "I come from----." A may then say,
"Where are you going to?", and B will reply to this. Then B may
put similar questions to A, and will be similarly answered. These
questions are not necessarily asked because the questioner is really
anxious for information, but are in the nature of a formality,--the
equivalent of our "How do you do?" The system of asking and answering
these questions, though well recognised as a social form, is not
in practice strictly adhered to. Also A, on coming to a village and
finding B there, and wishing to salute him, will call him by name,
and B will then call A by name. Then A will say, "You are here,"
and B will reply, "I am here." This form is more strictly carried
out than is the other one. Then when A leaves he will say to B,
"I am going," and B will answer, "Go." Then B will call A by his
name, and A will call B by name, and the formality is finished. If A,
being very friendly with B, comes to his village to see him, on A's
departure B, and probably B's family, will accompany A out of the
village, and will stand watching his departure until he is about to
disappear round the corner of the path; and then they will call out
his name, and he will respond by calling out B's name.

Gestures may perhaps be included under this heading, though there is
apparently but little to be said about the matter. When a question
is asked, an affirmative reply is indicated by nodding the head,
and a negative one by shaking it; and, though I asked if this was
not probably the result of association with people who had been among
white men, I was told that it was not so. A negative answer is also
often expressed by shrugging the shoulders, and a kind of grimace
with the lips. The nodding of the head to a negative question, such
as "Are you not well?" signifies assent to the negative, that is,
that he is not well, and so vice-versa with the shaking of the head.

CHAPTER V

Community, Clan, and Village Systems and Chieftainship

Communities, Clans, and Villages.

The native populations of the Mafulu area are scattered about in
small groups or clusters of villages or hamlets; and, as each cluster
of villages is for many purposes a composite and connected whole,
I propose to call such a cluster a "community." Friendships, based
on proximity and frequent intercourse and intermarriage, doubtless
arise between neighbouring communities, but otherwise there does
not appear to be any idea in the minds of the people of any general
relationship or common interest between these various communities of
the area. Each community regards the members of every other community
within the area as outsiders, just as much so as are, say, the Ambo
people to the north and the Kuni people to the west. If a community,
or group of communities together, were the subject of an attack from
either Ambo or Kuni natives, each of these being people whose language
is different--as regards the Kuni utterly different--from that of the
Mafulu, there would apparently be no thought of other Mafulu-speaking
communities, as such, coming to assist in repelling the attack. Hence
in dealing with the question of inter-village relationship, I have
to fix my mind mainly upon the community and its constituent parts.

Concerning the situation as between one community and another,
as they regard themselves as quite distinct and unrelated, the only
question which seems to arise is that of the ownership of, and rights
over, the intervening bush and other land. The boundaries between
what is regarded as the preserve of one community, within which its
members may hunt and fish, clear for garden purposes, cut timber, and
collect fruit, and that of an adjoining community are perfectly well
known. The longitudinal boundaries along the valleys are almost always
the rivers and streams, which form good boundary marks; but those
across the hills and ridges from stream to stream are, I was told,
equally defined in the minds of the natives, though no artificial
boundary marks are visible. These boundaries are mutually respected,
and trouble and fighting over boundary and trespass questions are,
I was told, practically unknown, the people in this respect differing
from those of Mekeo.

A community comprises several villages, the number of which may vary
from, say, two to eight. But the relationship between all the villages
is not identical. There is a clan system, and there is generally more
than one clan in a community. Often there are three or more of such
clans. Each clan, however, has its own villages, or sometimes one
village only, within the community, and two clans are never found
represented in any one village, [56] or any one clan spread over two
or more communities.

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic illustration of a typical Mafulu community,
the circles representing villages of one clan, the squares those of
another clan, and the triangle being the sole village of a third clan.

I have said that the entire community is for many purposes a composite
whole. In many matters they act together as a community. This is
especially so as regards the big feast, which I shall describe
hereafter. It is so also to a large extent in some other ceremonies
and in the organisation of hunting and fishing parties and sometimes
in fighting. And the community as a whole has its boundaries, within
which are the general community rights of hunting, fishing, etc.,
as above stated.

But the relationship between a group of villages of any one clan
within the community is of a much closer and more intimate character
than is that of the community as a whole. These villages of one
clan have a common _amidi_ or chief, a common _emone_ or clubhouse,
and a practice of mutual support and help in fighting for redress
of injury to one or more of the individual members; and there is a
special social relationship between their members, and in particular
clan exogamy prevails with them, marriages between people of the same
clan, even though in different villages, being reprobated almost as
much as are marriages between people of the same village.

The Mafulu word for village is _emi_, but there are no words
signifying the idea of a community of villages and that of a group
of villages belonging to the same clan within that community. As
regards the latter there is the word _imbele_, but this word is used
to express the intimate social relationship existing between the
members of a clan, and not to express the idea of an actual group of
villages. Communities and villages have geographical names. The name
adopted for a community will probably be the name of some adjoining
river or ridge. That adopted for a village will probably be the name
of the exact crest or spot on which it is placed, the minuteness of
the geographical nomenclature here being remarkable. Clan-groups of
villages, forming part of a community, have, as such, no geographical
names, but a member of one such group will distinguish himself from
those of another group by saying that he is a man of----, giving the
name of the chief of the clan occupying the group.

I was assured that, when there are two or more villages of a clan with
a common chief and emone, they have originally been one village which
has split up, an event which undoubtedly does in fact take place;
while on the other hand the several villages of a clan, presumably
the outcome of a previous splitting-up of a single village, will
sometimes amalgamate together into one village, which thus becomes
the only village of the clan. But two villages of different clans
could never amalgamate in this way. The following are examples of
these village changes:--

Near to the Mafulu Mission station is a community called Sivu, which
includes seven villages occupied by three clans, as follows [57]:--

1. Voitele Belonging to a clan whose chief, Jaria, lives
at Amalala, where the clan _emone_ is.
2. Amalala
3. Kodo-Malabe
4. Motaligo
5. Malala Belonging to a clan whose chief, Gito-iola, lived
at Malala, where the clan _emone_ is. (He has
recently retired in favour of his eldest son,
Anum' Iva, who is the present chief, and also lives
there.)
6. Gelva
7. Seluku Being the only village of a clan whose chief, Baiva,
has recently died. His eldest son, who has succeeded
him, is an infant. There is no regency.

Also near the Mission station is a community called Alo, which includes
four villages occupied by two clans, as follows:--

1. Asida Belonging to a clan whose chief, Amo-Kau, lives
at Asida, where the _emone_ is.
2. Kotsi
3. Ingomaunda
4. Uvande Being the only village of a clan whose chief
is Iu-Baibe.

Referring to these villages, in the year 1899 the clan now occupying
the four villages Voitele, Amalala, Kodo-Malabe and Motaligo had only
a single village, Kaidiabe, the clan's chief being the above-mentioned
Jaria. Then there was a Government punitive expedition, following
the attack of the natives upon Monseigneur de Boismenu (the present
Bishop of the Mission of the Sacred Heart in British New Guinea) and
his friends, who were making their first exploration of the district,
in which expedition a number of natives, including the brother of
the chief, were killed. After that the village was abandoned, and
the three villages of Voitele, Amalala and Motaligo arose in its
place. Subsequently after a big feast, which was held at Amalala in
the year 1909, that village put out an offshoot, which is the present
village of Kodo-Malabe. Also in the year 1909 the village of Uvande
was represented by seven villages, all belonging to one clan under
the chieftainship of Iu-Baibe, the names of which were Ipolo, Olona,
Isisibei, Valamenga, Amada, Angasabe and Amambu; but after the feast
above mentioned the people of that clan all abandoned their villages,
and joined together in forming the present village of Uvande.

The chief, that is the true chief, of a clan has his house in one of
the villages of the clan, and if, as sometimes occurs, he has houses
in two or more of these villages, there is one village in which is
what is regarded as his usual residence, and this is the village in
which is the _emone_ of the clan.

As regards the relative predominance of the various clans of a
community and their respective chiefs in matters affecting the whole
community (_e.g.,_ the arranging and holding of a big feast), there
is no rule or system. The predominance will probably, unless there
be a great disparity in the actual size or importance of the clans,
and perhaps even to a certain extent notwithstanding such a disparity,
fall to the clan whose chief by his superior ability or courage or
force of character, or perhaps capacity for palavering, has succeeded
in securing for himself a predominating influence in the community.

The word _imbele_ and certain other words are used to designate the
closeness or otherwise of the connection between individuals. _Imbele_
signifies the close connection which exists between members of one
clan, and a man will say of another member of his clan that he is
his _imbele_. The word _bilage_ signifies a community connection,
which is recognised as being not so close as a clan connection;
and a man will say of another, who is outside his own clan, but is a
member of his own community, that he is his _bilage_. The expression
_a-gata_ signifies absence of any connection, and a man will refer
to a member of another community, Mafulu, Kuni, Ambo, or anything
else (there is no distinction between these in the use of the term)
as being _a-gata_, thereby meaning that he is an outsider.

This brings me to the question of the use by me of the term "clan" to
designate the intimate association above referred to. To begin with,
there is a considerable difference between the situation produced by
the clan system, if it may be regarded as such, of Mafulu and that of,
say, Mekeo, where one finds several clans occupying one village, and
where members of one clan may be scattered over several more or less
distant villages; though this latter difference might perhaps arise in
part from natural geographical causes, the flat lowlands of the Mekeo
people being highly favourable to inter-village communication over
their whole areas, and to the holding of their recognised and numerous
markets, whilst it may almost be assumed that such intercommunication
would be more restricted, at all events in days gone by, among the
Mafulu inhabitants of the mountains.

Then again in Mafulu there are no clan badges, nor are there any
realistic or conventional representations of, or designs which can
to my mind be possibly regarded as representing, or having had their
origin in the representation of, animals, birds, fishes, plants,
or anything else. As regards this, however, it may be mentioned
that the Mafulu people are very primitive and undeveloped, and have
not in their art any designs which could readily partake of this
imitative character, their artistic efforts never producing curves,
and indeed not going beyond geometric designs composed of straight
lines, rectangular and zig-zag patterns and spots.

Also I was unable to discover the faintest trace of any idea
which might be regarded as being totemistic, or having a totemistic
origin. In particular, although enquiry was made from ten independent
and trustworthy native sources, I could not find a trace of any system
of general clan taboo against the killing or the eating of any animal,
bird, fish, or plant. It is true that there are various temporary
food taboos associated with special conditions and events, and that
there are certain things the eating of which is regarded as permanently
taboo to certain individuals; but the former of these restrictions are
general and are not associated with particular clans or communities,
and the latter restrictions relate separately to the individuals only,
and apparently are based in each case on the fact that the food has
been found to disagree with him; though whether the restriction is
the result of mere common sense based upon individual experience,
or has in it an element of superstition as to something which may be
harmful to the individual concerned, is a point upon which I could
not get satisfactory explanation.

Again, still dealing with the question of totemism, I may say that
the community and village names (as already stated, there are no
clan names) do not appear to be referable to any possible totemistic
objects. There is no specific ancestor worship, in connection with
which I could endeavour to trace out an association between that
ancestor and a totemistic object, and there is no special reverence
paid to any animal or vegetable, except certain trees and creepers,
the fear of which is associated with spirits and ghosts generally,
and not with ghosts of individual persons, and except as regards
omen superstitions concerning flying foxes and fireflies, which are
general and universal among all these people, and except as regards
the possible imitative character of the Mafulu dancing, which, if
existent, is probably also universal.

Moreover, I was told that now, at any rate, the people regard their
_imbele_ or clan relationship as a social one, as well as one of
actual blood, a statement which is illustrated by the fact that,
if a member of one clan leaves his village to reside permanently in a
village of another clan, he will regard the members of the latter clan,
and will himself be regarded by them, as being _imbele_, although he
does not part with the continuing _imbele_ connection between himself
and the other members of his original clan.

On the other hand the association between members of a clan
is exceedingly close, so much so that a serious injury done by
an outsider to one member of a clan (_e.g._, his murder, or the
case of his wife eloping with a stranger and her family refusing to
compensate him for the price which he had paid for her on marriage)
is taken up by the entire clan, who will join the injured individual
in full force to inflict retribution; and, as already stated, the
members of a clan share in one common chief and one common _emone_,
intermarriage between them is regarded as wrong, and apparently each
group of villages occupied by a single clan has in origin been a single
village, and may well have a common descent. I think, therefore, that
I am justified in regarding these internal sections of a community
as clans.

Chiefs, Sub-Chiefs and Notables and Their Emone

At the head of each clan is the _amidi_, or chief of the clan. He is,
and is recognised as being, the only true chief.

He is the most important personage of his clan, and is treated
with the respect due to his office; but, though he takes a leading
part in all matters affecting the clan, he is not a person with any
administrative or judicial functions, and he has no power of punishment
or control over the members of the clan. In public ceremonial matters
of importance, however, he has functions which rest primarily upon him
alone, and he does, in fact, always perform these functions in his own
village; and on the occasion of a big feast (as to which see below),
he does so in whatever village of the clan that feast may be held.

The chief lives in one of the villages of the clan, but may have
houses in other villages of that clan also. In the village in which
he mainly resides is his _emone_ or club-house, which is the only
true _emone_ of the clan; and for the upkeep and repair of this he is
responsible. This is the ceremonial _emone_ in his own village, and
is always the one used in connection with the ceremony of a big feast
in any village of the clan; and, if the feast be held in a village
other than that in which is his then existing _emone_, another one is
built in that village in lieu of his former one in the other village.

There is not in connection with these chiefs and their ceremonies any
distinctive difference in importance between the right and the left
as regards the positions occupied by them on the _emone_ platform or
the structure of the _emone_, such as is found among the Roro people.

Next in rank to the chief, and at the head of each village of the clan,
there is a sub-chief, or _em' u babe_, this term meaning "father of the
village." He is not regarded as a true chief, but he is entitled, and
it is his duty, to perform in his own village all the functions of the
chief, except those connected with the big feast. He and the similar
sub-chiefs of the other villages of the clan are the persons who take
the prominent part in supporting the chief in any ceremonial function
concerning the whole clan in which the latter may be engaged, and in
particular at the big feast. The _em' u babe_ is usually a relative
of the chief, and at all events is an important personage. He also
has in his own village his _emone_, which is the principal _emone_
of that village, and is used for all ceremonial functions in that
village except the big feast, but it is not regarded as being a true
_emone_. The chief holds in his own village of residence both his
office of _amidi_ and that of _em' u babe_, there being no other
person holding the latter office in that village.

Next in rank to the sub-chiefs come a number of _ake baibe_, which
means "great men." These are the leading people--the aristocracy--of
the clan. There are no distinctive social grades of rank among
them. Their number is often very large in proportion to the total
number of male inhabitants of a village; indeed sometimes almost
every member of a village will claim to belong to this class. These
people are in no sense office-bearers, and have no special duties
to perform, though on a ceremonial occasion they are entitled to
have their importance borne in mind. Each of them also is entitled
to have an _emone_ (here again not a true _emone_) in his village,
but in fact their numbers often make this practically impossible,
and you rarely see more than two or three _emone_ in one village.

The above are all the chiefs and notables of the clan. There is no
such thing as a war chief.

Aristocracy in its various forms is not a condition to which a man
attains on getting older--it is attained by inheritance.

The office of the chief is hereditary in the male line by strict
rules of descent and primogeniture. On the death of a chief his office
descends to his eldest son, or if that son has died leaving children,
it descends to the eldest son of that son, and so on for subsequent
generations. Failing the eldest son or male issue in the male line
of the eldest son, the office devolves upon the late chiefs second
son or his male issue in the male line. And so on for other sons
and their issue. Failing such male issue the office passes to a
collateral relation of the late chief on his father's side (_e.g._,
the late chief's next eldest brother or that brother's son, or the
late chief's second brother or that brother's son), the ascertainment
of the devolution being based upon a general principle of nearest
male relationship in the male line and primogeniture. [58]

The chief holds his office for life, but he may in his lifetime
resign it in favour of the person entitled to succeed him, and this
in fact often occurs. He cannot, however, on the appointment of
his successor still continue in office himself, so as to create a
joint chieftainship, as is done in Mekeo. He, as chief, is subject
to no special taboo, and there is no qualification for office,
other, of course, than hereditary right; but no chief can perform
the functions of his office, or build for himself an _emone_,
until he has married. There is no ceremony on the chiefs accession
to office on the death of his predecessor; but there is a ceremony
(to be described hereafter) on a chief's abdication in favour of his
successor. Cases have, I was told, occurred in which a man has in
one way or another forced himself into the position of chief, though
not qualified by descent, and has thus become a chief, from whom
subsequent chieftainship descent has been traced, but I could learn
nothing of the circumstances under which this had occurred. Also it
has happened that, when a chief has been weak, and has not asserted his
position, a sub-chief has more or less usurped his power and influence,
without actually upsetting his chieftainship or supplanting him in
his performance of ceremonial duties.

If the chief on acquiring office by inheritance is a child, or not
qualified to act (_e.g._, unmarried), he is nevertheless chief; but
some person will usually act as his guardian, and perform his functions
for him until he has qualified. This person will probably be one of the
young chief's eldest male paternal relations (_e.g._, the eldest living
brother of the last previous chief), and will presumably be a person
of consequence; but he will not necessarily be one of the sub-chiefs.

All the above observations concerning the hereditary nature of a
chief's office and subsequently explained matters apply also to the
case of a sub-chief, except that there is no ceremony on his resigning
office in favour of his successor, and that the usurpation of the
office of a sub-chief, of the occurrence of which I found no record,
would perhaps be more difficult of accomplishment. In the event of
a village throwing off an offshoot village, or itself splitting up
into two villages, the then existing sub-chief of the original village
would continue his office in it or, in case of a division, in one of
the villages resulting from the split, and the other village would have
for its sub-chief some one of the _ake-baibe_ of the original village,
probably the one who was most active in organising the split. On
the other hand, if several villages united into one, one only of
their sub-chiefs could be sub-chief of the village arising from the
amalgamation, and the others would sink to the rank of _ake-baibe_.

The observations concerning the hereditary nature of a chiefs rank
also apply to the _ake-baibe_. I have no information concerning them
on the other points; but these are not so important as regards these
people, who have no official position and have no duties to perform.

There are, as will be seen hereafter, a number of persons who are
employed from time to time to perform various acts and functions of a
ceremonious or superstitious character, notably the man who has the
important duty of killing pigs at feasts; but these men are not by
virtue of their offices or functions either chiefs or sub-chiefs, or
even notables or important personages. It is in each case a matter of
the specific personal power which the man is believed to possess. Any
of them might happen to be an important personage, and the pig-killer,
whose office is a prominent one, would probably be one; though in his
case muscular strength would, I understand, be an important element
of qualification. [59]

CHAPTER VI

Villages, Emone, Houses and Modes of Inter-Village Communication

Villages and Their Emone and Houses.

The Mafulu villages are generally situated on narrow plateaux or
ridges, sloping down on each side; but the plateaux are not usually so
narrow, nor the slopes so steep, as are those of the Kuni district, and
the villages themselves are not generally so narrow, as the contour of
the country does not involve these conditions to the same extent. Also
the Mafulu villages are on the lower ridges only, and not on the high
mountains; but the actual elevations above sea-level of these lower
ridges are, I think, generally higher than those of the top ridges of
the Kuni. Plate 54 shows the position and surroundings of the village
of Salube (community of Auga), and is a good representative example,
except that the plate does not show any open grassland.

The villages are, or were, protected with stockades and with pits
outside the stockades, and sometimes with platforms on trees near the
stockade boundaries, from which platforms the inhabitants can shoot
and hurl stones upon an enemy climbing up the slope. The stockade
is made of timber, is about 15 to 25 feet high, and is generally
constructed in three or more parallel rows or lines, each of the
lines having openings, but the openings never being opposite to one
another. These protections have now, however, been largely, though
not entirely, discontinued. [60] It is, or was, also the practice,
when expecting an attack, to put into the ground in the approaches
to the village calthrop-like arrow-headed objects, with their points
projecting upwards.

The average size of the villages is small compared with that of the
large villages of Mekeo, some of them having only six or eight houses,
though many villages have thirty houses, and some of them have fifty
or sixty or more. The houses and _emone_ are much smaller than those
of Mekeo, and much ruder and simpler in construction and they have
no carving or other decoration. There are no communal houses.

The houses are ranged in two parallel rows along the side of the ridge,
with an open village space between them, the space being considerably
longer than it is broad, and more or less irregular in shape. The
houses are generally built with their door-openings facing inwards
towards the village enclosure.

At one end of the village, and facing down the open space, is the
chief's or sub-chief's _emone_. These are, like the Roro _marea_
and the Mekeo _ufu_, used, not only in connection with ceremonies,
but also as living houses for men, especially unmarried men, and
for the accommodation of visitors to the village. There are probably
also in the village the _emone_ of one or more of the notables before
mentioned, of which one will be at the other end of the village and
any others will be among the houses at the side of, and facing into,
the village enclosure. There are not often more than three _emone_,
true or otherwise, in one village.

You of course do not find the surrounding palm groves of Mekeo and the
coast; nor do you generally see the waste space behind the houses,
or the ring of garden plots outside the waste space, the position
of the village on its ridge being usually hardly adapted to the
latter. You may, however, often find garden plots very near to the
village. Each family has its own house, and, except as regards the
_emone_ and their use, there are no separate houses for men or women,
or for any class of them.

The Mafulu _emone_ is an oblong building, erected on piles of very
varying height, the interior floor being anything from 3 to 15 feet
above the ground. In size also it varies very much, but generally it
is internally about 12 to 15 feet long from front to back, and about
8 to 12 feet in width. The roof, which is thatched with long, rather
broad leaves, is constructed on the ridge and gable principle, with
the gable ends facing the front and the back, and the roof sloping
on both sides in convex curves from the ridge downwards. Remarkable
and specially distinctive features of the building are the thatched
roof appendages projecting from the tops of the two gable ends
(front and back), the forms of which appendages are somewhat like a
hood or the convex fan-shaped semicircular roof of an apse, and in
construction are sometimes made as rounded overhanging continuations
of the upper part of the roof, and sometimes as independent additions,
not continuous with, and not forming parts of, the actual roof. In
front of the building, but not at the back, is a platform at a level
about a foot below that of the inner floor, extending the whole
length of the front of the building, and projecting forwards to a
distance of from 2 to 5 feet. The approach from the ground to this
platform in the case of a high-built emone is a rudely constructed
ladder, but when the building is only low and near the ground it is
generally merely a rough sloping piece of tree trunk, or even only a
stump. The two gable ends are enclosed with walls made of horizontal
tree branches, two or three of which are, at both the front and rear
ends of the building, discontinued for a short distance in the centre,
so as to leave openings. These openings are, say, 2 feet or more
above the level of the front outside platform, and 1 foot or more
above that of the inside floor, and are usually very small; so that,
in entering or leaving the building, you have to step up to, or even
climb, and wriggle yourself through the opening, and then step down
on the other side. Inside the building you find the centre of the
floor space occupied by a longitudinal fireplace, about 2 feet broad,
extending from front to back of the building; and the floors on each
side of this fireplace slope upwards somewhat from the visible level
of the fire-place towards the sides of the building. The fireplace
part of the interior is, in fact, dropped to a level below that of
the adjoining floors, so as to form a long trough, which is filled
up with soil upon which the fire can burn; and it is the visible
top level of this soil covering which is practically flush with
the inside lower level of the adjacent upward-sloping floors. Some
distance below the roof there is usually an open ceiling of reeds,
used for the purpose of storing and drying fruits and other things,
and especially, as will be seen hereafter, for drying fruit required
in the preparation for the big feast.

Fig. 4 is a diagram of the front of an _emone_, disclosing the internal
plan of the floor and fireplace, for which purpose the front hood of
the roof and the front platform are omitted from the plan, and of the
horizontal front timbers the third up from the bottom is shown at the
ends only, the middle part being omitted, and small portions of the
timbers immediately above them are omitted. The words in parentheses
appearing in the explanatory notes to the figure are the Mafulu names
for the various parts of the building.

_Explanatory Notes to Fig._ 4.

(_a_) Main posts, one at the front of the building, one in the middle,
and one at the back (_apopo_).

(_b_) Posts supporting roof, a line of them running along each side
(_tedele_).

(_c_) Posts supporting outer edge of flooring, a line of them on each
side (_emuje_ or _aje_).

(_d_) Post supporting inner edge of flooring and hearth, a line of
them on each side (_foj' ul' emuje_).

(_e_) Lower ridge pole (_tanguve_).

(_f_) Main downward-sloping roof work, strongly made, going all the
way back, only four or five of them on each side (_loko-loko_).

(_g_) Upper ridge pole (_tope_).

(_h_) Main horizontal roof work, resting on _f_ (_gegebe_).

(_i_) Upper downward-sloping roof work, not so thick as _f_ resting
on _h_, going all the way back at intervals of about 1 foot (_engala_).

(_k_) Upper horizontal roof work, not so thick as _h_
resting on _i_ (_gegebe_)

(_l_) Thatch made of leaves (_asase_).

_Note._--The roof (excluding the hood) projects forward and overhangs
a little beyond the post _a_, so as to overhang the greater part, but
not the whole, of the platform; the hood (not shown in this figure)
is really intended to shelter the platform.

(_m_) Pole supporting roof (_karia_).

(_n_) Pole supporting outer edge of floor (_karia_).

(_o_) Pole supporting inner edge of floor and enclosing hearth
(_jakusube_).

(_p_) Floor, composed of transverse woodwork (_koimame_) with thin
light longitudinal lath work on top of it (_ondovo_).

(_q_) Pole above inner edge of floor and edging hearth, not so thick
as _o_ (_bubuje_).

(_r_) Floor of fireplace, upon which soil is put (_foj' ul maovo_).

(_s_) Pieces of wood supported by _c_ and _d_, going right across
building and over floor of fireplace, but under its earth, all the
way back (_kooije_).

(_t_) Wall timbers below top of door-opening, at front and back
(_kautape_).

_Note._--_t_(1)goes right across under door-opening, but the middle
portion of it is omitted from the diagram, and the lower edges
of timbers _t_ (2) are partly broken off, so as to show floor and
fireplace.

(_u_) Wall timbers above top of door-opening (_dibindi_).

_Note._--_t_ and _u_ together-the whole wall-are called _bou_.

(_v_) Uprights bracing together _t_ and _u_ (Mafulu name unknown).

(_w_) Ceiling made with reeds and used for storing and drying fruit,
etc. It may occupy the whole length of the building and the whole
width of it, or part only of either or both of these (_avale_).

(_x_) Space filled up with soil and used as hearth (_foje_).

(_y_) Door-opening, one at back also (_akomimbe_).

Fig. 5 is a diagram of a transverse section across the centre of an
_emone_, showing the internal construction. The explanatory note only
deals with portions not explained in those to Fig. 4.

_Explanatory Note to Fig._ 5.

Post _a_ is the main central support of the building corresponding
with post _a_ in Fig. 4. Posts _b b_ are central side supports to
the roof. Poles _c_ and _d_ are attached to posts _a b b_, and help
to strengthen the fabric. These poles are also used for hanging up
sleeping hammocks, the other extremities of which are hung to the
_loko-loko_ of the roof (Fig. 4, _f_). The name for post _a_ is _dudu_,
but this word is often used to express the whole structure _a b b c d_.

I have endeavoured in the diagrammatic sketch--Fig. 6--to illustrate
the apse-like projection of the roof of an _emone_ and the platform
arrangements. I have in this sketch denuded the apse roof of its
thatch, showing it in skeleton only; and I have shaded all timber
work behind the platform, in order more clearly to define the latter.

_Explanatory Notes to Fig._ 6.

(_a_) Front end of thatch (_asase_) of main roof.

(_b c d_) Front apse-shaped roof (_siafele_), the thatch having been
removed to show its internal construction.

(_b c, b e, b d_) Downward-sloping roof work (_engala_).

(_f f, c d_] Horizontal roof work (_gegebe_), carried round in curves.

_Note._--Sometimes the apse-shaped roof is constructed as a
continuation of the main roof of the building, in which case
the _gegebe_ of the former are a continuation of those of the
latter. Sometimes the apse roof is a separate appendage, not connected
with the main roof, and in that case the _gegebe_ of the former are
separate from those of the latter, and are fixed at their extremities
to the _loko-loko_ of the main roof.

(_g_) Posts supporting the platform (_purum'-ul' emuge_).

(_h_) Horizontal platform supports resting at one end on _g_ and at
the other end fixed to either the _tedele_ or the _emuje_.

(_i_) Platform (_purume_).

_Note._--It will be seen that the front _apopo_ passes through the
platform.

(_k_) Additional supports to the apse roof, which are sometimes added,
but are not usual. Their lower ends rest on the platform and they are
connected with the apse roof at its outer edge (Mafulu name unknown).

(_l_) A stump by which to get on to the platform. This is often a
rough sloping piece of tree-trunk; where the platform of the emone
is high it is a rudely constructed ladder (_gigide_).

_Note._--The entire façade of the front gable end is called _konimbe_
(which means door) or _purume_ (which means platform). That of the
back gable end is called _apei_.

_Note._--The height of the door-opening above the outside platform
is shown in this figure.

The houses are in construction very similar to the _emone_, and in
fact the above description of the latter may be taken as a description
of a house, subject to the following modifications: (i.) The house is
never raised high, its floor always being within a foot or two of the
ground, (ii.) It is smaller than the _emone_, its average internal
dimensions being about 8 to 12 feet long, and 8 to 10 feet wide,
(iii.) The roof generally slopes down on both sides to the level of
the ground (concealing the side structure of the house) or nearly
so. (iv.) The projecting hood of the roof is only added at the front
of the building, and not at the rear; and it is usually separate from,
and not continuous with, the real roof. [61] (v.) The platform is
generally small and narrow, and often only extends for half the length
of the front of the house, and, being always within a foot or two of
the ground, it does not possess or require a ladder or tree-trunk
approach; it is also narrower. Frequently there is no platform at
all. (vi.) There is no entrance opening at the back of the house,
(vii.) The front entrance opening is smaller and narrower and more
difficult of entry. When the family are absent, they generally put
sticks across this opening to bar entry, whereas the entrance opening
of the _emone_ is always open, (viii.) The centre house support very
often consists of one post only, instead of a combination, (ix.) There
is often on one side of the entrance opening a small space of the
inside of the house fenced off for occupation by the pigs, and there is
a little aperture by which they can get into this space from outside,
(x.) The _avale_ ceiling is usually absent; and, even if there be one,
it will only extend under a small portion of the roof. [62]

The following are explanations of my plates of villages and their
buildings.

Plate.
| Explanation.

55 Village of Seluku (community of Sivu), with chief's _emone_
at the end facing up the enclosure.
56 Village of Amalala (community of Sivu), with chief's _emone_
at the end of the enclosure.
57 The same village of Amalala (photographed in the other direction),
with secondary _emone_ at the end of the enclosure.
58 Village of Malala (community of Sivu), with secondary _emone_
at the end of the enclosure.
59 Village of Uvande (community of Alo), with chief's _emone_ at
the end of the enclosure.
60 Village of Biave (community of Mambu), with chief's _emone_
at the end of the enclosure.
61 The chief's _emone_ in village of Amalala.
62 The chief's _emone_ in the village of Malala, at the other end
of the enclosure.
63 A house in the same village.
64 A house in village of Levo (community of Mambu).

Communications.

The native paths of the Mafulu people, or at all events those passing
through forests, are, like those of most other mountain natives,
usually difficult for white men to traverse. The forest tracks in
particular are often quite unrecognisable as such to an inexperienced
white man, and are generally very narrow and beset with a tangle of
stems and hanging roots and creepers of the trees and bush undergrowth,
which catch the unwary traveller across the legs or body or hands
or face at every turn, and are often so concealed by the grass and
vegetation that, unless he be very careful, he is apt to be constantly
tripped up by them; and moreover these entanglements are often armed
with thorns or prickles, or have serrated edges, a sweep of which may
tear the traveller's clothes, or lacerate his hands or face. Then
there are at every turn and corner rough trunks of fallen trees,
visible or concealed, often more or less rotten and treacherous,
to be got over; and such things are frequently the only means of
crossing ditches and ravines of black rotting vegetable mud. Moreover
the paths are often very steep; and, indeed, it is this fact, and the
presence of rough stones and roots, which renders the very prominent
outward turn of the people's big toes, with their prehensile power,
such useful physical attributes.

Their bridges may be divided into four types, namely: (1) A single
tree thrown across the stream, having either been blown down, and so
fallen across it accidentally, or been purposely placed across it by
the natives. (2) Two or more such trunks placed in parallel lines
across the stream, and covered with a rough platform of transverse
pieces of wood. (3) The suspension bridge. I regret that I am unable
to give a detailed description of Mafulu suspension bridges, but I
think I am correct in saying that they are very similar to those of the
Kuni people, one of whose bridges is described in the _Annual Report_
for June, 1909, as being 150 feet long and 20 feet above water at the
lowest part, and as being made of lawyer vine (I do not know whether
this would be right for Mafulu), with flooring of pieces of stick
supported on strips of bark, and as presenting a crazy appearance,
which made the Governor's carriers afraid of crossing it, though
it was in fact perfectly safe, and had very little movement, even
in the middle. I also give in Plate 65 a photograph taken by myself
[63] of a bridge over the St. Joseph river, close to the Kuni village
of Ido-ido, which, though a Kuni bridge, may, I think, be taken as
fairly illustrative of a Mafulu bridge over a wide river. [64] Plate
66 is a photograph, taken in Mafulu, of another form of suspension
bridge used by them, and adapted to narrower rivers, the river in
this case being the Aduala. (4) The bamboo bridge. This is a highly
arched bridge of bamboo stems. The people take two long stems, and
splice them together at their narrow ends, the total length of the
spliced pair being considerably greater than the width of the river
to be bridged. They then place the spliced pair of bamboos across
the river, with one end against a strong backing and support on one
side of the river and the other end at the other side, where it will
extend for some little distance beyond the river bank. This further
end is then forcibly bent backward to the bank by a number of men
working together, and is there fixed and backed. The bamboo stems
then form a high arch over the river. They then fix another pair
of stems in the same way, close to and parallel with the first one;
and the double arch so formed is connected all the way across with
short pieces of wood, tied firmly to the stems, so as to strengthen
the bridge and form a footway, by which it can be crossed. They then
generally add a hand rail on one side.

One can hardly leave the question of physical communications without
also referring to the marvellous system of verbal communication which
exists amongst the Mafulu and Kuni and other mountain people. Messages
are shouted across the valleys from village to village in a way which
to the unaccustomed traveller is amazing. It never seemed to me that
any attempt was made specially to articulate the words and syllables
of the message, or to repeat them slowly, so as to make them more
readily heard at a distance off, though the last syllable of each
sentence is always prolonged into a continuous sort of wail. This
system of wireless telegraphy has, however, been before described by
other writers, so I need say no more about it.

CHAPTER VII

Government, Property, and Inheritance

Government and Justice.

There is, as might be expected, no organised system of government
among the Mafulu, nor is there any official administration of justice.

As regards government, the chiefs in informal consultation with the
sub-chiefs and prominent personages deal with important questions
affecting the community or clan or village as a whole, such as the
holding of big feasts and important ceremonies, the migrations or
splitting-up or amalgamation of villages, and warlike operations; but
events of this character are not frequent. And as to justice, neither
the chiefs nor any other persons have any official duties of settling
personal disputes or trying or punishing wrongdoers. The active
functions of the chiefs, in fact, appear to be largely ceremonial.

Concerning the question of justice, it would seem, indeed, that
a judicial system is hardly requisite. Personal disputes between
members of a village or clan, or even of a community, on such possible
subjects as inheritance, boundary, ownership of property, trespass
and the like, and wrongful acts within the village or the community,
are exceedingly rare, except as regards adultery and wounding and
killing cases arising from acts of adultery, which are more common.

There are certain things which from immemorial custom are regarded
as being wrong, and appropriate punishments for which are generally
recognised, especially stealing, wounding, killing and adultery; but
the punishment for these is administered by the injured parties and
their friends, favoured and supported by public opinion, and often,
where the offender belongs to another clan, actively helped by the
whole clan of the injured parties.

The penalty for stealing is the return or replacement of the article
stolen; but stealing within the community, and perhaps even more so
within the clan or village, is regarded as such a disgraceful offence,
more so, I believe, than either killing or adultery, that its mere
discovery involves a distressing punishment to the offender. As regards
wounding and killing, the recognised rule is blood for blood, and a
life for a life. The recognised code for adultery will be stated in
the chapter on matrimonial matters.

Any retribution for a serious offence committed by someone outside
the clan of the person injured is often directed, not only against
the offender himself, but against his whole clan.

There is a method of discovering the whereabouts of a stolen article,
and the identity of the thief, through the medium of a man who is
believed to have special powers of ascertaining them. This man takes
one of the large broad single-shell arm ornaments, which he places on
its edge on the ground, and one of the pig-bone implements already
described, which he places standing on its point upon the convex
surface of the shell. To make the implement stand in this way he puts
on the point, and makes to adhere to the shell a small piece of wild
bees' wax, this being done, I was told, surreptitiously, though I
cannot say to what extent the people are deceived by the dodge, or
are aware of it. The implement stands on the shell for a few seconds,
after which it falls down. Previously to doing this he has told his
client of certain possible directions in which the implement may fall,
and intimated that, whichever that may be, it will be the direction
in which the lost article must be sought. He has also given certain
alternative names of possible culprits, one of such names being
associated with each of the alternative directions of falling. The
fall of the implement thus indicates the quarter in which the lost
article may be found and the name of the thief. Father Clauser saw
this performance enacted in connection with a pig which had been
stolen from a chief; the falling bone successfully pointed to the
direction in which the pig was afterwards found, and there was no
doubt that the alleged thief was in fact the true culprit. Presumably
the operator makes private enquiries before trying his experiment,
and knows how to control the fall of the implement.

Property and Inheritance.

The property of a Mafulu native may be classified as being (1) his
movable belongings, such as clothing, ornaments, implements and pigs;
(2) his house in the village; (3) his bush land; (4) his gardens.

The movable belongings are, of course, his own absolute property.

The village house is also his own; but this does not include the site
of that house, which continues to be the property of the village. Every
grown-up male inhabitant of the village has the right to build for
himself one house in that village; he is not entitled to have more than
one there, but he may have a house in each of two or more villages,
and a chief or very important man is allowed two or three houses in
the same village. On a house being pulled down and not rebuilt, or
being abandoned and left to decay, the site reverts to the village,
and another person may build a house upon it. [65] Houses are never
sold, but the ordinary life of a house is only a few years.

The man's bush land is his own property, and his ownership includes
all trees and growth which may be upon it, and which no other man may
cut down, but it does not include game, this being the common property
of the community; and any member of the community is entitled to pass
over the land, hunt on it, and fish in streams passing through it,
as he pleases. The whole of the bush land of the community belongs
in separate portions to different owners, one man sometimes owning
two or more of such portions; and it is most remarkable that, though
there are apparently no artificial boundary marks between the various
portions, these boundaries are, somehow or other, known and respected,
and disputes with reference to them are practically unknown. How the
original allocations and allotments of land have been made does not
appear to be known to the people themselves.

The man's garden plot or plots are also his own, having been cleared
by him or some predecessor of his out of his or that predecessor's
own bush land; and he may build in his gardens as many houses as
he pleases. His ownership of his garden plot is more exclusive than
is that of his bush land, as other people are not entitled to pass
over it. But on the other hand, if he abandons the garden, and nature
again overruns it with growth--a process which takes place with great
rapidity--it ceases to be his garden, and reverts to, and becomes
absorbed in, the portion of the bush out of which it had been cleared;
and if, as it may be, he is not the sole owner of that portion of bush,
he loses his exclusive right to the land, which as a garden had been
his own sole property.

No man can sell or exchange either his bush land or his garden plots,
and changes in their ownership therefore only arise through death
and inheritance. This statement, however, is, I think, subject to the
qualification that an owner of bush-land will sometimes allow his son
or other male descendant to clear and make for himself a garden in it;
but I am not sure as to the point.

On a man's death his widow, if any, does not inherit any portion of his
property, either movable or immovable, but three things are allowed
to her. She is generally allowed one pig, which will be required by
her at a later date for the ceremony of the removal of her mourning;
and she shares with her husband's children, or, if there be none,
she has the sole right to, the then current season's crops and fruit
resulting from the planting effected by her late husband and herself,
though this is a right which, after her return home to her own people,
she would not continue to exercise; and she is allowed to continue to
occupy her husband's house, but this latter privilege terminates at
the mourning removal ceremony, when the house will be pulled down, and
its site will revert to the village, and she will probably return to
her own people in her own village, if she has not done so previously.

Subject to these three allowances, I may dismiss the widow entirely
in dealing with the law of inheritance. I may also dismiss the
man's female children by saying that, if there be male children, the
females do not share at all in the inheritance, and even if there be
no male children the female children will only perhaps be allowed,
apparently rather as a matter of grace than of right, to share in
his movable effects; and that, subject to this, everything goes to
the man's male relatives. I may also eliminate the man's pigs, as
apparently any pigs he has, other than that retained for his widow,
are killed at his funeral.

On the death of an owner everything he possesses goes, except as above
mentioned, to his sons. They divide the movable things between them,
but the bush and garden land pass to them jointly, and there is no
process by which either of these can be divided and portioned among
them. The male children of a deceased son, and the male children of
any deceased male child of that deceased son (and so on for subsequent
generations), inherit between them in lieu of that son. There does not
appear, however, to be any idea in the Mafulu mind of each son of the
deceased owner being entitled to a specific equal fractional share,
or of the descendants of a deceased son of that owner being between
them only entitled to one share, _per stirpes_. They apparently do
not get beyond the general idea that these people, whoever they may
be and to whatever generations they may belong, become the owners of
the property.

They take possession of and cultivate the existing gardens as joint
property. Any one of them will be allowed to clear some of their
portion of bush, and fence it, and plant it as a garden, and it will
then become the sole property of that one man, and if he dies it
will pass as his own property to his own heirs; though, as before
stated, if he abandons it, and lets it be swallowed up by the bush,
it will cease to be his own garden, and will again be included in the
family's joint portion of bush land, and on his death his heirs will
only come into the joint bush ownership.

In this way the ownership of a garden must often be in several persons,
with no well-defined rights _inter se_, and the general ownership of
bush land which has never been cleared, or which, having been cleared,
has been abandoned and reverted, must often be in a very large number
of persons without defined rights. In fact, so far as bush land is
concerned, one only has to remember that on the death of an owner it
passes into joint ownership of children--that on the deaths of these
children fresh groups of persons come into the joint ownership--that
this may go on indefinitely, generation after generation--that bush,
having once got into the ownership of many people, is hardly likely
to again fall by descents into a single ownership--that indeed the
tendency must be for the number of owners of any one portion of bush
steadily to increase--and finally that there is no way by which the
extensively divided ownership can be terminated by either partition
or alienation--and one then realises the extraordinary complications
of family ownership of bush land which must commonly exist.

As regards both movable effects and gardens and bush land there must
be endless occasions for dispute. How are the movable things to be
divided among the inheritors, and, in particular, who is to take
perhaps one valuable article, which may be worth all the rest put
together? How are questions of doubtful claims to heirship to bush
and garden land to be determined? How is the joint ownership of the
gardens to be dealt with, and how is the work there to be apportioned,
and the products of the gardens divided? How are the mutual rights
of the bush land to be regulated, and especially what is to happen
if each of two or more joint owners desires to clear and allocate
to himself as a garden, a specially eligible piece of bush? Such
situations in England would bristle with lawsuits, and I tried to
find out how these questions were actually dealt with by the Mafulu;
but there is no judicial system there, and the only answer I could
get was that in these matters, as in the case of inter-community bush
boundaries and personal bush boundaries, disputes were practically
unknown; though it was pointed out to me, as regards bush land,
that the amount of it belonging to any one family was usually so
large that crowding out could hardly arise.

If a man dies without male descendants in the male line, then, subject
perhaps to some sort of claim of his daughters, if any, to share in
his movable effects, his property goes to his nearest male relative
or relatives in the male line. This would primarily be his father,
if living, but the father could hardly be the inheritor of anything
but movable things and perhaps garden land, as the deceased could not
be the owner of bush land during the lifetime of his father. Subject as
regards movable things and perhaps gardens to this right of the father,
the persons to inherit everything would be deceased's brothers and the
male descendants in the male line of any such brothers who had died;
or in default of these it would be the father's (not the mother's)
brothers and their male descendants in the male line, and so on for
more distant male relatives, every descent being traced strictly in
the male line only, on a principle similar to that above explained.

Male infants, by which term I mean young children, there being of
course no infancy in the defined sense in which the term is used
in English law, like adults, may become possessed of property by
inheritance as regards bush and garden land, and by inheritance
or otherwise as regards movable property, but they would hardly be
likely to be the owners of houses; and the descent from these infants
is the same as that in the case of adults.

No woman can possess any property, other than movable property,
and even this is at best confined to the clothes and ornaments which
she wears. On the death of a married woman all her effects go to her
husband, or, if he be dead, they go to her children or descendants,
male and female, equally, If she has no children or descendants, they
go to her husband's father, or, failing him, to such other person or
persons as would have been entitled to inherit if her effects had
been those of her husband. Her own blood relations do not come in,
as she had been bought and paid for by her husband. If the deceased
woman were a spinster, then her effects would pass to her father,
or, failing him, to her brothers, or, failing them, to her nearest
male relatives on her father's side.

The guardianship of and responsibility for infant children whose
father dies falls primarily upon the children's mother, and she,
if and when she returned to her own people, would probably take the
children away with her, though her sons, who shared in the inheritance
from their father, would usually come back again to their own village
when they became grown up, and might do so even when comparatively
young. If there is no mother of the children, the guardianship and
responsibility is taken up by one or more of the relatives of either
the deceased father or deceased mother of the children, and it might
be that some children would be taken over by some of such relatives,
and some by others. There appears, however, to be no regular rule as
to all this, the question being largely one of convenience.

Adopted children have in all matters of inheritance the same rights
as actual children.

From the above particulars it will be seen that there is no system
of descent in the female line or of mother-right among the Mafulu,
and I could not find any trace of such a thing having ever existed
with them. As to this I would draw attention to the facts that the
mother's relatives do not come in specially, as they do among the
Roro and Mekeo people, in connection with the perineal band ceremony;
that a boy owes no service to his maternal uncle, as is the case among
the Koita; that there is no equivalent of the Koita _Heni_ ceremony;
that in no case can a woman be a chief, or chieftainship descend by
the female line; that children belong to the clan of their father,
and not to that of their mother; and that no duty or responsibility
for orphan children devolves specially upon their mother's relations.

CHAPTER VIII

The Big Feast

This is the greatest and most important social function of a Mafulu
community of villages. I was unable to get any information as to its
real intent and origin, but a clue to this may, I think, be found in
the formal cutting down of the grave platform of a chief, the dipping
of chiefs' bones in the blood of the slain pigs, and the touching of
other chiefs' bones with the bones so dipped, which constitute such
important features of the function, and which perhaps point to an
idea of in some way finally propitiating or driving away or "laying"
the ghosts of the chiefs whose bones are the subject of the ceremony.

The feast, though only to be solemnised in one village, is organised
and given by the whole community of villages. There is no (now)
known matter or event with reference to which it is held. It is
decided upon and arranged and prepared for long beforehand, say a
year or two, and feasts will only be held in one village at intervals
of perhaps fifteen or twenty years. The decision to hold a feast is
arrived at by the chiefs of the clans of the community which proposes
to give it. The village at which the feast is to be held will not
necessarily be the largest one of the community, or one in which is
a then existing chiefs _emone_. The guests to be invited to it will
be the people of some other (only one other) community, and at the
outset it will be ascertained more or less informally whether or not
they will be willing to accept the invitation.

When the feast has been resolved upon, the preparations for it
begin immediately, that is a year or two before the date on which it
is to be held. Large quantities will be required of yam, taro and
sugar-cane, and of a special form of banana (not ripening on the
trees, and requiring to be cooked); also of the large fruit of the
_ine_, a giant species of Pandanus (see Plate 80--the figure seated
on the ground near to the base of the tree gives an idea of the size
of the latter and of the fruit head which is hanging from it), which
is cultivated in the bush, and the fruit heads of which are oval or
nearly round, and have a transverse diameter of about 18 inches; and
of another fruit, called by the natives _malage_, which grows wild,
chiefly by streams, and is also cultivated, and the fruit of which
was described to me as being rather like an apple, almost round,
green in colour, and 4 or 5 inches in diameter. [66] And above all
things will be wanted an enormous number of village pigs (not wild
pigs); and sweet potatoes must be plentiful for the feeding of these
pigs. And finally they will need plenty of native tobacco for their
guests. In view of these requirements it is obvious that a year or two
is by no means an excessive period for the preparations for the feast.

The existing yam and taro gardens, intended for community consumption
alone, will be quite insufficient for the purpose, and fresh bush
land is at once cleared, and new gardens are made and planted,
the products of these new gardens being allocated specially for the
feast, and not used for any other purpose. There is also an extensive
planting of sugar-cane, probably in old potato gardens. For bananas
there will probably be no great need of preparation, as they are
grown plentifully, and there is no specific appropriation of these;
but the sufficiency of the supply of the tobacco for the visitors,
and of the sweet potatoes for the pigs, has to be seen to, also
that of the _ine_ Pandanus trees, the fruit of which has often to be
procured from elsewhere, and of the trees. And finally the village
pigs must be bred and fattened, for which latter purpose it is a
common practice to send young pigs to people in other communities;
and these people will be invited to the big feast, and will have pig
given to them, though not members of the invited community; but never
in any case will any of them have a part of a pig which he himself
has fattened. The cultivated vegetable foods and the pigs are not
provided on a communistic basis, but are supplied by the individual
members of the community, each household of which is expected to
do its duty in this respect; and no person who or whose family has
not provided at least one pig (some of them provide more than one)
will be allowed to take part in the preliminary feast and subsequent
dancing, to be mentioned below.

The bringing in and storing of the _ine_ and _malage_ fruits commence
at an early stage. The _ine_ fruits are collected when quite ripe;
they split the large fruit heads up into two or more parts, put these
into baskets roughly made of cane (at least half a fruit head in
each basket), and place these baskets in the _avale_ or ceiling of
the _emone_, where the fruits get dried and smoked by the heat and
smoke of the fire constantly burning beneath. If, as is sometimes
the case, the _emone_ has no _avale_ one is constructed specially
for the purpose. The fruits are left there until required; in fact,
if taken away from the smoke, they would go bad. Sometimes, instead of
putting portions of the fruit heads into baskets, they take out from
them the almond-shaped seeds, which are the portions to be eaten,
string these together, each seed being tied round and not pierced,
and hang them to the roof of the _emone_ above the _avale_. The fruits
of the _malage_ are gathered and put into holes or side streams by a
river, and there left for from seven to ten months, until the pulp,
which is very poisonous, is all rotted away, a terrible smell being
emitted during the process; they then take the pips or seeds, the
insides of which, after the surrounding shells have been cracked,
are the edible parts, and place these in baskets made out of the
almost amplexicaul bases of the leaves of a species of palm tree,
and so store them also on the _avale_ of the _emone_. [67]

Large preparations of a structural and repairing nature are also
required in the village where the feast is to be held. The _emone_,
the true chiefs _emone_, of the village is repaired or pulled down
and entirely rebuilt; or, if that village does not possess such an
_emone_, one is erected in it. In point of fact the usual practice is,
I was informed, to build a new _emone_, the occasion of an intended
feast being the usually recognised time for the doing of this. [68]
The houses of the village are put into repair. The people of the other
villages of the same community build houses for themselves in the feast
village, so that on the occasion of the feast all the members of the
community (the hosts) will be living in that village. View platforms,
from which the dancing can be watched, are built by all the people of
the community. These are built between the houses where possible, or
at all events so as to obstruct the view from the houses as little as
possible. They are built on upright poles, and are generally between
12 and 20 feet high, each platform having a roof, which will probably
be somewhat similar to the roofs of the houses. Sometimes there are
two platforms under one roof, but this is not usual. Sometimes the
platforms, instead of being on posts, are in trees, being, however,
roofed like the others. Two or more houses may join in making one
platform for themselves and their friends. All the above works are
put in hand at an early stage.

The following are done later, perhaps not till after the sending out
of the formal invitation (see below), but they may conveniently be
dealt with here. The people erect near to, but outside, the village in
which the feast is to be held one or more sheds for the accommodation
of the guests, the number of sheds depending upon the requirements of
the case. These are merely gable and ridge-shaped roofs, which descend
on each side down to the ground, or very close to it, being supported
by posts, and there being no flooring. They are called _olor' eme_,
which means dancers' houses. Posts about 20 or 25 feet high and 12
inches or nearly so in diameter are erected in various places in the
village enclosure, and each of these posts is surrounded with three,
four, or five upright bamboo stems, which are bound to the post so as
together to make a composite post of which the big one is the strong
supporting centre. The leaf branches of these bamboos, starting out
from the nodes of the stems, are cut off 3 or 4 inches from their
bases, thus leaving small pegs or hooks to which vegetables, etc.,
can be afterwards hung; and in the case of each post one only of its
surrounding bamboos has the top branches and leaves left on. Each
household is responsible for the erection of one post. I may here say
in advance that upon these post clusters will be hung successively,
yams and taro in the upper parts, human skulls and bones lower down,
and croton leaves by way of decoration at the bottom. The sugar-cane
and banana and _ine_ and _malage_ are dealt with in another way. There
is a further erection of thin poles, which will be mentioned in its
proper place.

About six months before the anticipated date of the big feast
there is a preliminary festivity, which is regarded as a sort of
intimation that the long-intended feast is shortly to take place. To
this festivity people of villages of any neighbouring communities,
say within an hour or two's walk, are invited. There is no dancing,
but there is a distribution among the guests of a portion of each of
the vegetables and fruits which will be consumed at the feast, and a
village pig is killed and cut up, and its parts are also distributed
among the guests, who then return home.

After this preliminary festivity dancing begins in the village
in which the feast is to be held and in the other villages of the
same community, and this dancing goes on, subject to weather, every
day until the evening prior to the day upon which the feast takes
place. The men dance in the villages, beginning at about sundown, and
going on through the evening, and perhaps throughout the night. Only
men who or whose families have provided at least one pig for the feast
are allowed to join in the dancing. Bachelors join in the dancing,
subject to the above condition. The women dance outside their villages,
and, as regards them, there is no pig qualification.

About a month before the date on which the feast is proposed to be
held, a formal invitation is sent out to the community which is to be
invited to it, and who, as above stated, have already been approached
informally in the matter. For this purpose a number, perhaps ten,
twenty, or thirty, of the men of the community giving the feast start
off, taking with them several bunches of croton leaves--one bunch
for each village of the invited community. These men, if the invited
community be some distance off, only carry the croton leaves as far
as some neighbouring community, probably about one day's journey off,
where they stay the night, and then return. During their progress,
and particularly as they arrive at their destination, they are all
singing. Then the men of this neighbouring community carry the croton
leaves a stage further; and so on till they reach their ultimate
destination. This may involve two or three sets of messengers, but
occasionally one or two of the original messengers may go the whole
way. These croton leaves are delivered to the chiefs of the several
clans of the invited community, and they are tied to the front central
posts of the village _emone_, the true _emone_ of the chiefs village,
and, as regards other villages, the _emone_ of the sub-chiefs. [69]

The exact date of the feast depends upon the guests, who may come in
a month after receiving the croton leaves, or may be later; and the
community giving the feast do not know on what date their guests will
arrive until news comes that they are actually on their way, though
in the meantime messengers will be passing backwards and forwards
and native wireless telegraphy (shouting from ridge to ridge) will
be employed.

As soon as the formal invitation has been sent the people of the
community giving the feast begin to bring in the yams from the gardens,
which they do day by day, singing as they do so; and these yams are
stored away in the houses as they are brought in. When the yams have
all been collected, they are brought out and spread in one, two,
or three long lines along the centre of the village open space. The
owner of each post knows which are his own yams, and they will go to
his post. When the yams are laid out on the ground, the chiefs inspect
them, and select the best ones, which are to be given to the chiefs
of the community invited to the dance. To these selected yams they
tie croton leaves as distinguishing marks. Then each man stands by
his own yams, and has a boy standing by his own post; each man picks
up his best yams, and whilst holding these they all (only the men with
the yams) begin to sing. The moment the song is over, each man rushes
with his selected best yam to his post, and hands the yam to the boy,
who climbs up the post, and hangs up the yam. After this they hang
the rest of the yams, each man running with them to the post, and
giving them to the boy, who climbs up and hangs the yam whilst the man
runs back for another, the performance being all in apparent disorder
and there being no singing. Some of the best-shaped yams are hung to
little cross-sticks about 3 or 4 feet long, which the boys then and
there attach to those bamboo stems which have their top branches and
leaves left upon them, the sticks being attached just below these
branches. These selected yams will include those with the croton
leaves, which are intended for chiefs. Of the rest the better yams
are hung up higher on the posts, and the poorer ones lower down. The
lowest of them will probably be 5 or 6 feet from the ground.

After hanging the yams, the next step is to erect in the ground all
round the village enclosure and in front of the houses a number of
tall young slender straight-stemmed tree poles, with the top branches
and leaves only left upon them. These poles are connected with one
another by long stems, fixed horizontally to them at a height of 7
or 8 feet from the ground, the stems thus forming a sort of long line
or girdle encircling the village enclosure.

The men then go to their gardens and bring in the sugar-canes,
singing as they do so, and these they hang to the horizontal stems,
but without ceremony. The sugar-canes are all in thick bundles, perhaps
12 or 18 inches thick, and these bundles are hung horizontally end
to end immediately under the line of stems, so as also to make a
continuous encircling line.

Next they bring in the bananas, again singing, and these they hang up
on the tall, slender tree poles, and on the platforms of the houses,
and under the view platforms, but without ceremony.

Lastly, again singing, they bring in the taro, and hang these up,
mixed with the yams (not below them) on the posts, again without
ceremony. The hanging up of the taro is left to the last, and, in
fact, is not done till it is known that the guests are on their way,
as the taro would be spoilt by bad weather.

In hanging the yam and the taro the people all work
simultaneously--that is, they are all hanging yams at the same time and
all hanging taro at the same time. But as regards the sugar cane and
banana each man works in his own time without waiting for, or being
waited for by, the others. Women may help the men in all these things,
except the ceremonious hanging up of the yams.

They do not, however, hang all the yam, sugar-cane, banana and taro,
some of each being kept back in the houses for a purpose which will
appear hereafter.

The _ine_ and _malage_ fruits are not hung up at all, but are kept
in the _avale_ of the village _emone_ until the day of the actual
feast, when the various vegetables and fruits are, as will be seen,
put in heaps for distribution among the guests.

They then further decorate the posts with human skulls and bones,
which are hung round in circles below the yams and taro, but not
reaching to the ground. These are the skulls and bones of chiefs and
members of their families and sub-chiefs and important personages
only of the community, and the bones used are only the larger bones
of the arms and legs; skulls will, so far as possible, be used for
the purpose in preference to the other bones. These skulls and bones
are taken from wherever they may then happen to be; some of them will
be in burial boxes on trees, [70] some may be in graves underground,
and some may be hung up in the village _emone_; though it may here
be mentioned that those underground and in the _emone_ are not,
as I shall show later, in their original places of sepulture.

Finally croton leaves, tied in sheaves, are arranged round the posts
below the skulls and bones, so as to decorate the posts down to
the ground.

One other specially important matter must here be mentioned. There
will probably be in or by the edge of the village enclosure a high
box-shaped wooden burial platform, [71] supported on poles, and
containing the skull and all the bones of a chief, these platforms
and a special sort of tree being, as will be explained later on, the
only places where they and their families and important personages
are originally buried. If so, the people add to the bones on this
platform such of the other skulls and special arm and leg bones,
collected as above mentioned, as are not required for decorating the
posts. If, as is most improbable, there is no such burial platform,
then they erect one, and upon it place all the available skulls and
special bones not required for the posts.

These various preparations bring us to the evening before the day
of the feast, upon which evening the women, married and unmarried,
of the community, whose families have supplied pigs for the feast,
dance together in full dancing decorations in the village enclosure,
beginning at about sundown, and, if weather permits, dancing all
through the night. There is no ceremony connected with this dancing.

The next day is the feast day. The guests are in the special guest
houses outside the village, where they are dressing for the dance. They
have probably arrived the day before, in which case they may have
come into the village to watch the women dancing in the evening;
but they are not regarded as having formally arrived. These guests
include married and unmarried men, women and children, nobody of the
invited community being left behind, except old men and women who
cannot walk. The women have brought with them their carrying bags,
in which they carry all their men's and their own goods (_e.g._,
knives, feathers, ornaments, etc.), including not only the things
used for the ceremony, but all their other portable property, which
they do not wish to expose to risk of theft by leaving at home.

They have also brought special ornamental bags to be used in the
dance as mentioned below.

The people of the village in the meantime erect one, two, or three
(generally three) trees in a group in the very centre of the village
enclosure.

And now come the successive ceremonies of the feast, in which both
married and unmarried men and women take part; in describing these
ceremonies I will call the people of the community giving the feast
the "hosts," and the visitors attending it the "guests."

First: All or nearly all the men hosts go in a body out of the
village to the guests' houses, singing as they go. They are all
fully ornamented for a feast, but do not wear their special dancing
ornaments, and they do not carry their spears, or as a rule any other
weapons. Each chiefs ornaments include a bunch of black cassowary
feathers tied round his head behind, and falling down over his
shoulders, this being his distinctive ornament; but otherwise his
ornaments do not differ from those of the rest, except probably as
regards quantity and quality. The object of this visit is to ascertain
if the guests are ready, and if they are not ready the men hosts
wait until they are so. Then the men hosts return to the village,
singing as before, and all the guests, men and women, follow them; but
they do not sing, and they do not enter the village. The men hosts,
on returning, retire to their houses and the view platforms, where
also are the women hosts, thus leaving the village enclosure empty.

Second: All the women guests, except two, then enter the village. They
are fully ornamented for the feast, but do not wear their special
dancing ornaments. They all have large carrying bags on their backs,
not the common ones of everyday use, but the ornamental ones; and in
these they carry and show off all their own and their husbands' riches
other than what they respectively are actually wearing. They enter
at one end of the village enclosure (I will hereafter call this the
"entrance end") by the side of the end _emone_ of the village (this
may be the chiefs true _emone_ or it may be the secondary _emone_),
and walk in single file along one side of the village enclosure,
and half of them walk round the other end (which I will call the
"far end") in front of the _emone_ there (which also will be either
the true one or the other one), and back again along the other side,
until there are two rows of them, _vis-à-vis_ at opposite sides of
the enclosure, none of them remaining at the far end in front of the
_emone_ there. If they are very numerous, there may be lines on both
sides of the enclosure, stretching from end to end; whereas if they
are few only, they would be in facing lines at the far end only of
the enclosure. This is all done silently.

Third: All the women hosts, fully ornamented for a feast, but without
special dancing ornaments, then enter the enclosure at the entrance
end, and congregate at the far end of it, in front of the far _emone_
and between the two facing lines of women guests, and facing towards
the centre of the enclosure. The group of them stretches as far
forward towards the centre of the enclosure as their number allows;
but it will never extend beyond the special trees, which have been
last erected in the centre. This also is done in silence.

Fourth: The two women guests excluded from the general entry now
come in. They are presumably the wives of chiefs. They are also
decorated for the feast, but without full dancing ornaments. Each
of them, however, holds in her mouth something intended to give her
a terrible appearance, probably two pairs of pigs' tusks, one pair
curling, crescent-like, upwards, and the other pair similarly curling
downwards, or a piece of cloth; but this is only carried by her for
this particular scene of the performance, and not afterwards. Each of
them also carries two spears, one in each hand. These two women rush
into the village enclosure, one entering at each side of the _emone_
at the entrance end. They run along the two sides of the enclosure,
one at each side, in front of the lines of women guests already there
(between them and the central group of host women), brandishing
their spears as they do so, but in silence. When they reach the far
end of the enclosure they meet each other in front of the _emone_
there; and then, if that happens to be the true (chief's) _emone_,
they brandish their spears in a hostile manner at the building,
the spears sometimes even striking it, though they do not leave the
women's hands, and there is probably a little pause or halt in their
running for the purpose of this attack. They then pass each other,
and return as they had come, still brandishing their spears, but
each on the opposite side, until they are both at the entrance end of
the enclosure. If the _emone_ at this end is the true _emone_, then
the attack is made upon it, instead of upon the other one. They then
generally again pass each other, and go round the enclosure a second
time, and again attack the _emone_ exactly as before. During the first
part of this performance the host women congregated in the far end of
the enclosure are all dancing a sort of non-progressive goose step,
there being, however, no singing. But, when the two guest women on
the return journey of their second circuit reach the front row of
the host women, the latter advance in a body silently dancing (but
not travelling so fast as the two guest women) down the enclosure,
and so following the two guest women, until they are all congregated
at the entrance end of the enclosure. The positions of the _dramatis
personæ_ up to and including the stage of proceedings lastly described
will be better understood by reference to Fig. 7 and its accompanying
notes. At the end of this stage the lines of guest women are still
as shown; but the two special guest women and all the host women are
at the entrance end of the enclosure.

Fifth: Such of the guest men as are not going to join in the real
ultimate dance (see heading 9) enter the village at the entrance end,
they also being fully ornamented, but not wearing their special
dancing ornaments. They carry their spears, and perhaps in their
other hands their clubs or adzes. Any chiefs who may be among them
wear their black cassowary feather ornaments, like those of the host
chiefs. They all advance along the enclosure, jumping and dancing and
brandishing their spears, but not singing; and in front of them go all
the host women, dancing as before, also in silence. This double body of
people, host women in front, and guest men behind, advance _en masse_
along the village enclosure. When, in doing this, the guest men reach
the three last-erected special trees in the middle of the enclosure,
they attack the trees with their spears, never letting the spears leave
their hands, and with kicks, and thus try to knock the trees down. If
they succeed in doing so, then this part of the performance is at an
end, and these guest men disperse and spread about at both sides and
ends of the village; but the host and guest women return from wherever
they are to the entrance end. If the guest men's first attack on the
trees is not successful, they pass them, and continue their advance,
as before, to the far end of the enclosure and return back again in
the other direction, the host women still dancing in front of them;
and on this return journey they repeat their attack on the trees. If
again unsuccessful, they go on to their starting point, and go a second
time through the same performance as before, going up the enclosure,
and, if necessary, down again; and, if still unsuccessful, they will
probably try a third time, the host women always dancing in front of
them as before. The whole of this is one continuous movement, going on
till the trees are down. If after the third double attempt the guest
men have still been unsuccessful, they relinquish their efforts; and in
that case the pig-killer of the hosts' village (as to whom see below)
steps forward, and cuts down the trees with his adze. When the trees
are down, the performance is at an end, the guest men retire, and
the host and guest women return to the entrance end, as above stated.

Sixth: Such of the chiefs of the guests as do not intend to join in the
real ultimate dance (heading 9) then step forward into the enclosure at
the entrance end. Their number may be two or three or more. They wear
their full dancing ornaments, including their black cassowary feather
ornaments and the enormous feather erections on their heads, which
for chiefs are even larger and heavier than for other people. They
carry their drums, but not spears or clubs or adzes. The two special
guest women who have already been mentioned and two other guest women,
all with their full dancing ornaments, also come forward. A line is
formed with the chiefs in the middle and the four women at the two
ends. In front of this line are all the host women, still decorated as
before, but without special dancing ornaments. Then the whole group,
host women in front and the guest chiefs and their four attendant
guest women in a line behind, dance forward along the enclosure. In
doing this, they face the direction in which they are progressing,
and their progress is slow. This is done to the accompaniment of
the beating by the dancing chiefs of their drums, but there is no
singing. When the dancing party reach the far end of the enclosure,
they go back again in the same way; and so on again until the chiefs
(with the great weights they are carrying) are tired; then they
stop. But the men hosts thereupon politely press them to go on again,
giving them in fact a sort of complimentary encore, and this they
will probably do. After about half-an-hour from the commencement of
the dancing they finally stop. Then the chief of the clan in one of
whose villages the dance is held comes forward and removes the heavy
head-pieces from the dancing chiefs.

Seventh: An important ceremony now occurs. The chief of the clan cuts
away the supports of the burial platform already mentioned, whereupon
the platform falls to the ground, and the skulls and bones upon it
roll on the ground. These are picked up, and the skulls and big arm
and leg bones are put on one side. There is no singing or ceremony
in connection with this. The platform is not rebuilt; and what is
afterwards done with the skulls and bones will be seen hereafter.

Eighth: There is now a distribution among the chiefs and more important
male guests of the yam, taro, sugar-cane and bananas, which at the
time of the hanging up on the village posts were kept back and put
into the houses, and of tobacco. The chief of the clan, with help from
others, makes a number of heaps of these things in the centre of the
village enclosure, the number of heaps corresponding to the number of
recipients. Then, standing successively before each of these heaps,
he calls out in turn the names of the men who are to receive them,
chiefs being given the first priority, and specially important people
the next. Each man comes forward, usually bringing with him his
wife or some other woman with a bag, picks up his heap, and takes
it away. And so with all of them in turn, till all is finished. On
each heap there is usually, but not always, a portion of a village
pig, which has that morning been killed under the burial platform,
before it was cut down. The guests, men and women, then return to
the guest houses, where the women cook the food which has been given,
and it is eaten by the men and themselves.

Ninth: The real dance now takes place, beginning perhaps at 9 or
10 in the evening, and lasting the whole night, and perhaps till 10
o'clock the following morning. The dancing is done by some only of
the guest men, and none of their women, and none of the hosts, either
men or women, join in it. The dancers are all arrayed in full dancing
ornaments, including their heavy head feather erections, and chiefs
also wear their cassowary feathers; and they all carry their drums
and spears, and sometimes clubs or adzes. After the dance has begun,
the chief of the clan in whose village the dance occurs distributes,
with assistance, among the more important of these dancers, especially
chiefs, the skulls and bones which had been put on one side after
the cutting down of the burial platform, and probably some or all
of the skulls and bones which had been hung upon the big posts;
and the dancers receiving these skulls and bones wear them as
additional decoration upon their arms throughout the dance. Guest
chiefs dance with the others, but owing to the heavy weight of the
head ornaments they have to carry, they will be tired sooner than
the others. The dancing party enter the village at the entrance end,
walking backwards. Directly after they have entered the village they,
still having their backs to it, begin to beat their drums, after doing
which for a short time they turn round, and the dancing begins. The
dancers beat their drums whilst dancing, but neither they nor the
other people sing during the actual dancing. There are, however,
intervals in the dancing (not the mere rest intervals, such as they
have in Mekeo, and which they also have in Mafulu, but intervals which
are themselves an actual part of the dance), and during these intervals
the drums are not being beaten, and the dancers and the other people,
hosts, guests, men and women, all sing. I shall have something more
to say about dancing generally later on. At a subsequent stage the
skulls and bones with which the dancers have been decorated, including
those which had fallen from the burial platform, are all again hung
up among the other skulls and bones on the big posts.

Tenth: This is the stage at which occur various other ceremonies,
which, though themselves quite distinct from that of the big feast, and
performed, often several of them together, when there is no big feast,
are also, some or all of them, generally or always introduced into it,
as being a convenient occasion for them. The ceremonies in question
are those connected with the assumption of the perineal band, admission
to the _emone_ and the giving of the right to carry a drum and dance,
that of nose-piercing, and that on the devolution of chieftainship. The
nose-piercing ceremony has already been described. The others will
be dealt with later.

Eleventh: Next comes the general distribution among the guests of the
vegetables and fruits, including all those which have been hung up
and displayed, as above described, and the _ine_ fruit, prepared in
two ways, and _malage_ fruit. Every male guest who has joined in the
real dance is, speaking generally, entitled to have a share; though
sometimes, where there are two or three members of one family, shares
may be given to one or two of them only, instead of to each. The chiefs
of the community giving the feast work together in carrying out the
distribution. The various things are collected into a number of heaps
about the village, the number of heaps corresponding to the number
of portions to be distributed; and each heap contains something of
everything. Excluded from these heaps, however, are the _ine_ seeds
which have been put on strings and preserved separately, as before
explained. For these are erected stakes about 10 feet high, round
which the strings of seeds are twined. The number of these stakes
is less than the number of heaps, because they are only planted
near to the heaps which contain none of the _ine_ fruit prepared
the other way, so that each dancing guest gets some of this fruit,
done in either one way or the other. Then the chiefs of the hosts'
community stand round one of the heaps and shout wildly, calling upon
the recipient. This may be done by name, or it may in the case of a
chief be done by the name of a spot, say a mound or hollow, adjoining
the village from which he comes. Here, again, priority is given first
to chiefs, and next to important personages. The man so called upon
comes running forward with his wife or another woman, picks up his
vegetables and fruit, and runs back again with them. Then the chiefs
go on to another heap, and again afterwards to the others, one by one,
going through the same process in each case, until everything has been
distributed. Some of the women then go back to their own villages,
carrying with them a portion of the food which has been given to their
husbands, but leaving the rest with the latter. Sometimes some of the
guest men go home also. But anyone who is proposing to return to the
village of the feast must leave some of his food, or bring food on
his return, as no more will be given to him.

Twelfth: The next stage is the collection of the village pigs. This
may take some time, as many of them are running about in the bush,
and have to be caught; and some of them have been agisted out as above
mentioned, and have to be fetched. This may involve a delay of a week
or ten days, during which most or all of the guests remain, sleeping
in their guest houses at night, and perhaps roaming about among other
villages in the neighbourhood by day. During this interval there is
neither singing nor dancing.

Thirteenth: The village pigs are all brought in alive, and placed under
the houses of the village, each pig having its legs tied up and being
tied to the house. When all is ready, the chief of the clan announces
that the killing of the pigs will take place on the following morning.

Fourteenth: The next morning all the people, both hosts and guests,
are in the village to watch the pig-killing; and people from other
communities, who are not guests, and will not receive any pig, come
too. The pigs are brought out one by one, and killed by hitting them
on the head with clubs or adzes or anything else. This is not a chiefs
duty. There is a man who is the recognised pig-killer, and who, as
already stated, will probably be a man of some position, though not
either a chief or a sub-chief. Where there are many pigs, as at the
big feast, there will be a number of other men helping him. Each pig is
killed on the site of the burial platform which has been cut down. As
the pigs are killed, their bodies are carried away and placed on the
ground in a row, commencing at the end of the village enclosure, and
forming a central line along it; and it is usual also to place upon the
row of dead pigs a continuous line of long thin poles, laid end to end,
which are afterwards kept tied to the _emone_ as a record of the total
length of the line of pigs, and thus of the number of pigs killed. The
number of pigs killed is generally very large in proportion to the
size of the community giving the feast, much more so than is the case
in the villages of Mekeo and the coast. It may be anything from fifty
to over one hundred; in fact at a recent feast given by a community
of seven villages, having between them about a hundred houses, they
killed 135 pigs. Some chiefs of the hosts' community then take some
of the bones (not skulls) from the big posts, and dip them into the
mouths of the pigs, from which the blood is flowing. They have been
seen to dip one bone into several pigs. There does not appear to be
any method of selection of the bones to be dipped. They then touch
with the bones which have been so dipped the skulls and all the other
bones on the posts, which include the skulls and other special bones
of all the chiefs and members of their families and other prominent
people buried in and by the villages of the community since the last
previous big feast was held there. After this all the bones are again
hung up on the posts. I may say here in advance that, when the feast
is over, all the bones are removed from the posts; and, the ceremony
as regards those bones having been performed, they will never again
be the subject of ceremonial observance. They, or some of them, may
be hung up in the _emone_, but if so it is known that they are not
to be used again for ceremonial purposes; or they may be put in a
box in a tree, or hung up on a tree, not necessarily of the special
species used for burying; or they may be simply flung away anywhere
in the bush. Whilst the bodies of the slain pigs lie in a line, and
before the cutting up, it is the duty of each man who has had a pig
fed up for him to pay the man who has done so, the payment probably
being a string of dogs' teeth, or head feather ornaments. Next, the
hosts set to work to cut up the pigs. This is not done by a chief or
special person, nor is there any ceremony connected with it. Each pig
is cut into seven parts, namely, (1) the head, (2-5) the four legs,
(6) the bowels and internal parts, and (7) the back and sides. I was
told that each part of each pig is destined for a certain person, as
arranged beforehand. It follows that, if there are, say, 100 pigs,
there are 700 predestined pieces, which are known and remembered,
though there are no means of recording them. It is difficult to believe
the truth of this, but I was assured that it was correct. The pieces
of each pig are placed on banana leaves, by the side of the spot where
the body had lain, and all the pieces are distributed among the male
guests. Everybody who has given a pig knows the length of each part
of it, though he could not express it in numerals. Each male guest
has a piece given to him, which, if the feast be a return feast,
will correspond in some way, which I could not understand, with what
he had himself provided at the previous feast. But dancers receive
larger and better portions than do mere singers. People who have fed
up pigs for members of the hosts' community also receive portions. In
the distribution of pig each man is called in turn as before, and in
the same order of priority, and runs up and gets his piece of pig, and
runs back with it; but in this case he is not accompanied by a woman.

Fifteenth: The feast is now over, and all the guests return to their
homes, taking away with them everything that has been given to them.

Sixteenth: The village has, however, to undergo a process which I may
perhaps call purification. As soon as possible after the guests have
gone, the men of the community go off into the bush and capture wild
pigs, for which purpose they may have to hunt for three or four days,
or even for a week or more. They must have at least one pig, and they
generally have two or more, even up to six. When caught, the pigs
are brought alive into the village, and are killed upon the site of
the cut-down burial platform, this being done by the pig-killer. The
pigs are then cut up and eaten by the members of the villages of the
community, those of the village itself eating their portions there,
and those of the other villages taking their portions away and eating
them in their own villages. Except as regards the killing of the pigs
on the site of the grave, the whole performance appears to be quite
informal. After the eating of the pigs, perhaps on the same day,
or if, as is probable, the feast lasts until late in the evening,
then on the next day, the women of the village clear away the filthy
mess of blood and garbage by which the village enclosure is filled,
and sweep the enclosure from end to end with branches of trees. Then
the bulk of the villagers leave the village and go off into the
gardens and the bush for a period of about six months. The feast
has denuded the village of food, including even sweet potatoes,
to which they have had no time to attend during the period before
the feast, and which have been used up in the feeding of the village
pigs required for it. New gardens are needed, and therefore new bush
has to be cut down, and the land must be cleared and planted with
various things, and especially with sweet potato. For this purpose
it is requisite or usual for them to build temporary houses on the
scene of their labours, in which the people live. The old people,
however, remain in the village, as do also some of the younger ones,
who have to tend the gardens close to it. At the end of the period
they all return, and village life goes on as usual. What the idea in
the native mind may be concerning what I have called the purification
of the village is a matter upon which I was unable to find any clue,
beyond what may be suspected from the actual facts of the proceeding;
but I think it probably has a superstitious origin. Although in
theory all the village pigs have been killed and given to the guests
at the big feast, there are always some left wandering in the bush,
which have not been caught. These pigs are, however, never used in the
purification ceremony, in which they always kill wild pigs only. It has
been suggested to me that a reason for this may be that, if they killed
village pigs, they would thereby advertise the fact that they had not
killed and distributed all their village pigs at the big feast; but
this hardly seems to be a satisfactory explanation. It clearly falls
to the ground as regards present intent if, as I was told, there always
is an unkilled residue of village pigs after a big feast. The practice
of killing wild pigs only would seem to associate itself with the fact
that pigs killed at this ceremony are eaten in the village itself,
for there seems to be no doubt that among the Mafulu people village
pigs are never eaten in their own village on ceremonial occasions;
and indeed it seems doubtful whether they are ever eaten there at all.

In fact, it appears to be a general custom in connection with all
ceremonial feasts to which outside guests are invited, to kill village
pigs only at the feast, and for these to be given to the guests to be
eaten by them in their own villages, and afterwards to have a second
feast, to which outside guests are not invited, and at which wild pigs
are killed, and eaten by the villagers themselves within the village.

The pig-killing is generally, and perhaps always, done in the morning.

It is thought by the Mafulu Fathers of the Mission as regards the
subsequent partial desertion of the village that, although it is only
partial, and although there is a practical reason for it, it is based
upon superstition, and is regarded by the people as being a formal
leaving of the village, pending its complete purification.

Plates 67 to 70 are reproductions of four photographs which Father
Clauser was good enough to give me, the two former ones having been
taken at the big feast held in the village of Amalala in the year 1909
and the two latter prior to and at a big feast held in the village
of Seluku.

I have thought it better to avoid the insertion of frequent, and
perhaps somewhat confusing, references to these plates in the body of
my notes upon the feast, and to take the plates separately, drawing
attention to what appear to be points of interest in them.

Plate 67 represents the scene at Amalala immediately prior to or
during the general distribution of vegetables and fruits (_ante_
heading 11). A comparison of this scene with the village in its normal
condition, as shown in Plates 56 and 57, gives some idea of the very
extensive and elaborate preparations which are made for the feast. On
the right hand side are seen some view platforms, and beyond them on
the same side is a normal house. Here and there are the big posts
surrounded with bamboo stems (notice these posts denuded of their
bamboo appendages still remaining in the village enclosure as shown
in Plates 56 and 57). Some of the vegetables are seen still hanging
upon these post clusters, and near the base of two of them are seen
the sheaves of croton leaves. There are apparently no skulls and bones
upon the posts seen in the plate, but possibly the re-hanging of these
had not been attended to when the photo was taken, or perhaps they had
been suspended to other posts not shown in the photograph. Upon the
ground are the heaps of vegetables, and close to some of these are the
stakes round which are twined strings of seeds of the _ine_ Pandanus.

Plate 68 is a photograph taken after the subsequent pig-killing, and
shows the pigs' bodies lying in a row along the centre of the village
enclosure, with the measuring line of poles placed above them. It
will be noticed that the elaborate view platforms have been cleared
away, but that the bamboo stems have not yet been removed from their
central posts.

Plate 69 represents a scene at Seluku prior to a big feast then about
to be held. The view platforms have not yet been erected. But the post
clusters have been erected, and the yams and croton leaves have been
hung upon them. In the centre of the village enclosure is the chief's
grave platform, which will be cut down during the festivities in the
way above described.

The bones of the chief are in the box-like receptacle at the top of
the structure, and the receptacle rather further down (underneath
the other one) contains the bones of a chief's child.

Plate 70 shows five men at the Seluku feast with full dancing
ornaments, including the great feather head ornaments. One of them has
donned a piece of European calico, and the one to the extreme right
appears to have done the same. These would doubtless be regarded as
highly decorative additions. A few long thin dancing ribbons can be
seen hanging from their belts. The elaborate carved (turtle?) shell
ornament hanging over the breast of the man to the left is certainly
not of Mafulu make, and has probably come from the coast. I never
saw anything like it when I was at Mafulu. The two boys in front are
holding the ornament of elaborately prepared strings of feathers hung
upon a stick, and worn by dancers on their backs, and into which the
best feathers are generally put.

CHAPTER IX

Some other Ceremonies and Feasts

Ceremony on Birth.

There is no ceremony on the birth of a child, except in the case of the
first-born of a chief. On this occasion the women of a neighbouring
community are invited. They come in their full dancing ornaments,
and armed in both hands with spears and either clubs or adzes. They
rush into the village, first to the chiefs house and then to his
_emone_; and at each of these they make a warlike demonstration,
actually hurling their spears at the buildings with such force that
the spears sometimes go through the thatch of the roof. Then follows a
distribution of vegetables among the visitors, after which one, two,
or three village pigs are killed under a chiefs burial platform or
on the site of a past one, cut up in the ordinary way, as at the big
feast, given to the visitors and taken away by them, and the ceremony
is over. There is no singing. [72]

Ceremony on Assumption of Perineal Band.

This ceremony is performed for both boys and girls, and usually for
several at one time.

The children are heavily adorned with ornaments, consisting, as
a rule, chiefly of dogs' teeth, which are hung round their necks,
or over their foreheads; and they usually have belts of dogs' teeth
round their waists. Any persons may decorate the children.

Prior to the ceremony a number of box-like receptacles are erected in
the village by the children's relatives, there being one receptacle
for each child for whom the ceremony is to be performed. These
receptacles are made with upright corner poles 8 or 10 feet high,
boxed in with cross-pieces of wood up to a height of 5 or 6 feet. In
these receptacles are put yams and taro, upon their upright poles are
hung bananas and upon their cross-pieces of wood are hung lengths of
sugar-cane; all this being done by the families of the children.

Guests are invited from some other community or communities. There is
a dance, in which only people from outside communities take part. A
village pig must be provided by the family of each child. Each
of these pigs is killed by the pig-killer under a chiefs platform
grave, or, if no such platform then exists, upon the site of one,
and is cut up. Before the cutting-up, however, the child in each
case stands upon the body of the pig, and whilst he so stands he
is dressed with a feather ornament put over his head, but which,
instead of being tied up in the usual way at the back of the head,
is left with the ends hanging down over his shoulders. The putting
on of this ornament is not a chiefs duty, but is done for each child
by a certain person who has bought the pig from that child's family.

Plate 71 shows a little girl upon whom the perineal band ceremony has
just been performed. She has a string of dogs' teeth over her forehead,
and a belt of dogs' teeth round her waist, an enormous crescent-shell
ornament, some long pigtails, and on her head is the feather ornament,
which hangs down at the sides over her shoulders. Plate 72 is a scene
taken at the feast held in connection with the performance of the
ceremony upon her and some other children.

I could not find out who the person who buys the pig and performs the
ceremony would ordinarily be, nor what motive he has for buying and
paying for a pig which is about to be killed and cut up and distributed
amongst other people; and I am convinced that there must be something
further behind the matter, which I have been unable to ascertain. I
may say that, knowing that among the Roro and Mekeo people a brother
or other male relative of the child's mother takes a prominent part
in the perineal band ceremony, being the recipient of the dog or
pig which is killed, and the person who puts the band upon the boy,
I specially enquired as to any similar relationship on the part
of the person who buys the pig and performs the ceremony among the
Mafulu, but I could find no trace of anything of the sort. [73] Nor,
as already stated, could I find any system of service being rendered
by a boy to his maternal uncle, such as exists among the Koita, [74]
nor anything in the nature of the Koita _Heni_ ceremony, described
by Dr. Seligmann. [75]

It will be seen that this purchasing of the pig by a person who takes
a prominent part in the ceremony affecting an individual appears in
other ceremonies of that nature among the Mafulu.

Following this performance there is a general distribution among
the people, including both visitors and members of the village,
of the various vegetables and fruits, and among the visitors only
of the portions of village pig. The vegetables are eaten then and
there, but the visitors take away the pig for eating in their own
villages. The actual putting on by the child of his perineal band is
done afterwards without further ceremony.

The same ceremony is observed in the case of the son or daughter of a
chief, except that in this case the child is more fully decorated, the
family give two or more pigs, there are more visitors, and the whole
ceremony is on a larger scale; also that, after the performance of
standing on the dead pig and receiving the feather ornament, the child
is placed standing on a platform, which may be only 5 or 6 feet high,
but may be as much as 15 feet, though no further ceremony appears to
be performed whilst it is on that platform. If children of ordinary
people undergo the ceremony at the same time as a chief's child,
they apparently stand on the platform also.

When the ceremony is performed at a big feast, it is substantially
the same as that above described, subject to certain variations,
which almost naturally arise from the change of conditions. There is
no special dancing, as distinguished from the dancing programme of
the big feast. The vegetable food provided will be included in the
general stock, so that the people of the village will not share in
it; and the ceremony of standing on the pig is postponed till a later
day, and on that day, the child, having worn his special ornaments,
other than the feather ornament, at the big feast, will not again
wear them when he stands on the pig, though his feather ornament is
put upon him on that later day.

It may be mentioned that this perineal band ceremony and all the
other ceremonies relating personally to both children and adults, if
not performed at a big feast, may be performed together, the people
concerned in each ceremony being taken more or less in batches; and
indeed this generally is so. But in that case each class of ceremony
would be performed separately. One person may have more than one
ceremony performed for him on the same occasion, but if so a separate
pig must be provided in respect of each of these ceremonies, and there
must be a separate receptacle and a separate supply of food in respect
of each of them, though it does not follow that the total amount of
food to be provided, other than pig, is proportionately increased.

At a subsequent date there will be a purification ceremony, at which
a wild pig or pigs will be killed and eaten by the villagers; though,
if the perineal band ceremony has taken place during a big feast,
the purification ceremony in connection with the latter will be the
only one to take place.

There is no system of seclusion of either boys or girls on attaining
puberty, or in connection with initiation, or on attaining a
marriageable age. Nor is there any initiation ceremony, or wearing
of ceremonial masks, or use of bull-roarers. The custom by which
chiefs' children, when assuming the perineal band, are made to stand
on a platform reminds one, however, of the Hood Peninsular custom
for girls to stand on a dubu platform for the initiation ceremony,
as referred to by Dr. Seligmann. [76]

Ceremony on Admission to Emone.

Both boys and girls must undergo a ceremony before being allowed
to enter the _emone_. It generally takes place when they are two,
three, or four years old. The preliminary decoration of the child
is similar to that adopted for the perineal band ceremony, except
that, if the child has lost either of its parents, this decoration is
omitted. The erection of receptacles and provision of food and pigs,
and the invitation of guests and dancing, and the killing of the pigs
are the same as in the case of the other ceremony; also each child
has to stand on the pig which his people provide for him.

There is, however, no putting on of a feather ornament, but instead
of it the following performance takes place:--Each child has been
carried by its mother or father or other relative, but is taken from
that person by the man who has bought the pig. This man places the
child on the dead pig; then he immediately picks the child up again,
and runs with it to one of the _emone_, upon the platform of which two
rows of men are sitting, and hands it to the man at the end of one of
the rows. The child is then rapidly passed from hand to hand along
that row, and then along the other row, after which it is returned
to its carrier, who runs with it to the other _emone_, on which
also two rows of men are sitting, and where a similar performance
takes place. During all this performance there is much shouting and
calling out to the child-carrier to hurry. Finally, when the child
is again handed back to this man, he returns it to its parents,
and the ceremony is finished.

The ceremony in the case of a chief's child seems to be the same as
that for other children, the platform business of the perineal band
ceremony being apparently omitted in this case.

If the ceremony is performed at a big feast, the variations are
substantially similar to those of the perineal band ceremony; and in
particular the placing of the child on the pig, and the running with
it to the _emone_, are postponed to a later date.

The observations as to the subsequent purification in connection with
the perineal band ceremony apply to this ceremony also.

It will be noticed that girls are included in this admission to the
_emone_. When a girl has undergone the admission ceremony she has free
entry into the _emone_--except that she must not sleep there--until
she formally receives her perineal band, upon which her permission
to enter the _emone_ ceases.

Ceremony Conferring Right to Use Drum and Dance.

This ceremony also applies to both boys and girls; but I omitted to
ascertain the age at which it usually occurs. It is similar to the
perineal band ceremony, except that the child is dressed in dance
ornaments (though not the fullest formal dance ornaments), until we
reach the stage of standing on the pig, and putting on of the feather
ornament, which is omitted; and, instead of it, the person who has
bought the pig places the child upon it, and then for a short time
beats a drum, after which he gives the drum to the child, who also
beats it, and then returns it to him.

I cannot say whether in this case there is any variation of the
ceremony as regards a chief's child; but I do not think there is.

Here again I believe that, when the ceremony takes place at a big
feast, the variations are similar to those above described, and in
particular the standing on the pig and drum-beating are postponed.

The observations as to the subsequent purification in connection with
the perineal band ceremony apply to this one also.

Ceremony on Devolution of Chieftainship

When chieftainship devolves on the death of a chief to his successor,
there is no ceremony connected with the devolution. [77]

When a chief resigns in his lifetime, however, there is a
ceremony. There does not appear to be a special dance and feast
connected with this, it being always tacked on to some other ceremony
or group of ceremonies. This particular ceremony does not, in fact,
begin until after the pig-killing. The retiring chief will have
provided one or more pigs for the purpose of his ceremony, and these
will have been killed with the others. He addresses the people and
tells them that he is giving up his office and transferring it to his
successor; but in doing so he says nothing about that successor's title
to succeed, that being always known and recognised. He then sits on
his pig, and hands to his successor a bamboo knife, such as is used
for the cutting up of pigs. The successor, having received the knife,
takes the place of the retiring chief on the pig, and tells the people
that he accepts the office of chief; after which he goes round to all
the pigs which are there in connection with all the various ceremonies
to be gone through, one after another, and in each case makes with
the knife just given to him a small slit at the end of the mouth
of each pig. [78] This act is regarded as a performance by the new
chief of a chiefs office; and, as under present customs the killing
of the pig is commonly done by the pig-killer, and the cutting of it
up is done by anybody, one is tempted to wonder whether the ceremony
points to some chief's duty of the past, which has ceased to exist,
or to some unknown origin of the status of the pig-killer.

Ceremony on Building of a New Emone.

The usual occasion for the building of a new _emone_ is an impending
big feast, the then existing _emone_ in the village being out of
repair, or there being then no true _emone_ in the village. But _emone_
are built at other times also.

The actual building of the _emone_ is carried out by the whole clan
without ceremony; but when it is finished they erect tall slender
straight-stemmed tree poles, passing through the roof of the _emone_,
and to these they tie bunches of croton leaves. When the _emone_ is
being built in anticipation of a big feast, these poles are like,
and in fact are part of the series of, the poles erected for the
purpose of the feast, as above described. Croton leaves are also
attached to poles after the repairing of a then existing _emone_.

In the case of a new _emone_, after its completion they light a fire
in it, and in that fire cook a wild pig; vegetable food is provided,
and the clan, including members of the village and of other villages,
have a little clan feast of the vegetables, followed by a cutting up
and distribution of the pig. But there is no dancing.

CHAPTER X

Matrimonial and Sexual

A boy is regarded as having reached a marriageable age at about 16,
17, or 18, and the age for a girl is a few years younger. They do
not as a rule marry before they have received their perineal bands;
but there does not appear to be any definite custom against their
doing so; nor are there any acts which must be performed to qualify
for marriage, nor any indications by dress or ornament or otherwise
that a boy or girl has attained a marriageable age.

Marriages are usually contracted with women of another community,
though sometimes the wife will belong to a village of another clan
in the same community. Very rarely only is she of another village of
the same clan, and still more rarely is she of the same village, clan
exogamy being the rule, and marriages within the clan, and still more
within the village, being regarded as irregular and undesirable, and
people who have contracted them being considered as having done wrong.

There does not appear to be any system of special matrimonial
relationship between any communities; and the mode described below, by
which a youth will by lighting a fire decide in which direction he must
travel to seek a wife, would be hardly consistent with any such system.

They have their prohibitive rules of consanguinity; but these are
based merely upon the number of generations between either party and
the common ancestor. The number of degrees within which prohibition
applies in this way is two, thus taking it to the grandparent; and
the result is that no man or woman may properly marry any descendant
of his or her paternal or maternal grandfather or grandmother, however
distant the actual relationship of the persons concerned may be. [79]
Marriages within the prohibited degree do in fact occur; but they
are discountenanced, and are rare.

Polygyny is usual, and is largely practised. A man will often have
two or three, or sometimes even four, wives; and a chief or rich man
may have as many as six. In the case of an ordinary person the wives
all live with their husband in the same house; but a chief or rich
person may have two or more houses. A man who is already married, and
then marries again, goes through a formality, if it may be so called,
similar to that of a first marriage. Opposition from the first wife
sometimes occurs, but this is unusual.

Infant betrothals are common; but they are quite informal, and not the
subject of any ceremony. The parents in such cases, whether of the same
or different communities, are usually intimate friends, and are thus
led to offer their children to each other for intermarriage. There
is a known case of a girl of 16 or 17 years of age, who was what
I can only call betrothed to the unborn son of a chief. A curious
element in this case was that at the date, prior to the birth of
the proposed husband, of what I call the betrothal, the price for
the girl was actually paid--a thing which is never done till the
marriage--and that, as I was most solemnly assured, the living girl
and the unborn boy were in fact regarded, not merely as betrothed,
but as actually married, and that, when the boy died, which he did in
infancy, long before marital relationship between them was possible,
the girl was regarded as being a widow. I could not ascertain what
happened as regards the price which had been paid for the girl. A
couple betrothed in childhood are not subject to any restrictions
as to meeting and mutual companionship, nor is there any mutual
avoidance, nor any increased probability, based on their betrothal,
of immorality between them; though in the more usual case of betrothal
between children of different communities they in ordinary course
are not likely to be constantly seeing each other.

A young man will speak of his sweetheart, present or prospective,
as his _ojande_, which means his "flower"; and this is so even if he
does not yet know her; and, when asked where he is going, he will
reply that he is going to seek an _ojande_. If he is not already
betrothed, and is matrimonially inclined, he has various expedients
for accomplishing his desires. A boy who wants to marry, and does not
know where to seek a wife, will sometimes light a fire in the bush,
or better still in an open space (not in the village), when the air is
still, and wait until a slight breeze blows the flame or smoke a little
in some one direction; and he will then select a community or village
which lies in that direction as the spot in which to seek a wife.

A boy will often carry in a small bag (this does not refer to the
special small charm bag already described) some pieces of wood and
stone, and will rub a piece of tobacco between two of these, and send
this tobacco to the girl of his choice through a female relative of
hers or some other friend; and he believes that in some mysterious way
this will draw her heart towards him, and make her accept him. The
pieces of wood and stone need not be of any particular kind; but he
will have carried them for a considerable time, until they have,
as he thinks, acquired the specific odour of his body; and it is
then that they have obtained their special power. It is impossible
to induce a boy to part with a piece of wood or stone which has been
so seasoned by time, and would take long to replace. Sometimes a boy
will acquire these things by purchase from a magic man, who professes
to be able to impart to them a more effective power.

A proposal of marriage is usually made by the boy through some female
relative of the girl, or other suitable person, and not directly by
him to the girl herself.

Another custom may be mentioned here, though it only relates to a man
who is already married, but wants another wife or wives. In clearing
the bush for yam gardens it is usual, as regards the smaller trees,
to cut away the side branches only, leaving the main trunks for posts
up which the yams will climb; but the man in question will in the
case of one (only one) of these smaller trees leave uncut one, two,
or three of the upper branches, the number so left being the number
of the wives he desires; and everyone understands its meaning.

As regards the relationship of unmarried boys and girls generally,
they are allowed to associate together, without any special precautions
to prevent misconduct, and a good deal of general immorality exists.

The marriage ceremony, following a parental betrothal, or with
parental acquiescence, is a very informal matter, and in fact both
the bargaining for the wife and the ceremony of the marriage are
in striking contrast to the elaborate system of bargaining and mock
raiding by the girl's family, and the wedding ceremonies, which are
adopted in Mekeo. A day is fixed for the marriage, and on that day the
boy goes to the house of the girl's parents, after which he and she
and her parents go to the house of the boy's parents, and the girl
is paid for then and there. After this the young people immediately
live together as a married couple in the house of either his or her
parents, until he has been able to build a house for himself. Neither
are there any special ceremonies in connection with the fixing of
the price. This is generally very small. Dogs' teeth, pearl shell,
necklaces, adzes, etc., are the usual things in which it is paid; but
there is always a pig, which has been killed under, or on the site of,
the grave platform above referred to. The price, in fact, depends upon
the position and wealth of the girl's parents, except that there is
always only one pig. The price is paid to the father of the girl, or,
if dead, to her eldest brother or other nearest male paternal relative.

A runaway marriage is still simpler. The boy has proposed to the girl
through her friend, and she has consented; and they simply run off
into the bush together, and remain in the bush, or the gardens, or a
distant village, until the boy's friends have succeeded in propitiating
the girl's father, and the price has been paid; and then the couple
return to the village.

After marriage, the husband and wife are not as a rule faithful to
each other, the marriage tie being only slight. Adultery on the part
of the wife, but not of the husband, is regarded as a serious offence,
if discovered. The injured husband will beat the guilty wife, and
is entitled to kill the man with whom she has misconducted herself,
and will usually do so; though nowadays he often dares not do so in
districts where he fears Government punishment. Sometimes he will be
content if the adulterer pays him a big price, say a pig; and this
compensation is now commonly accepted in districts where the husband
dares not kill. In either case, the husband generally keeps the wife.

Formal divorce or separation does not exist. A husband who wants to get
rid of his wife will make her life so miserable that she runs away from
him. But more usually the separation originates with the wife, who, not
liking or being tired of her husband, or being in love elsewhere, will
run away and elope altogether with another man. In such a case, the
husband may retaliate on that other man in the way already mentioned;
but that is rather the method adopted in cases of incidental adultery,
and as a rule, when the wife actually elopes, she and her paramour go
off to some other community, and the husband submits to the loss. He
will, however, claim from the wife's people the price which he paid
for her on his marriage. This is sometimes paid, but not always; and,
as the wife almost always belongs to another clan, and generally
to another community, the refusal to pay this claim is one of the
frequent causes of fighting, the members of the husband's clan,
and often the whole community, joining him in a punitive expedition.

When a man dies, or at all events after the removal by the widow
of her mourning, she goes back to her own people, generally taking
with her any of their young children who are then living in the
house. There is no devolution of the wife to the husband's brother,
or anything of that nature. Nor, in case of the death of the wife,
does the husband marry her sister.

Speaking of the people generally, it may certainly be said that sexual
morality among men, women, boys and girls is very low; and there is
no punishment for immorality, except as above stated.

CHAPTER XI

Killing, Cannibalism, and Warfare

Killing.

Individual killing in personal quarrel, as distinguished from
slaying in warfare, is exceedingly rare, except in cases of revenge
upon adulterers. In these cases, however, it is regarded as the
appropriate punishment; and even the family of the adulterer would
hardly retaliate, if satisfied as to his guilt. There is no system of
head-hunting, or of killing victims in connection with any ceremonies,
or of burying alive, [80] or of killing old and sick people, though
the ceremonial blow on the head of a reputed dying man must sometimes
be premature.

Abortion and infanticide, however, are exceedingly common, the
more usual practice being that of procuring abortion. Although
sexual immorality so largely exists, and young unmarried women and
girls are known to indulge in it so freely, and it is not seriously
reprobated, it is regarded as a disgrace for one to give birth to
a child; and if she gets into trouble she will procure abortion or
kill the child. The same thing is also common among married women,
on the ground that they do not wish to have more children. There is
another cause for this among married women, which is peculiar. A woman
must not give birth to a child until she has given a pig to a village
feast; and if she does so it will be a matter of reproach to her. If,
therefore, she finds herself about to have a child, and there is no
festal opportunity for her to give a pig, or if, though there be a
feast, she cannot afford to give a pig, she will probably procure
abortion or kill the child when born. I was told by Father Chabot,
the Father Superior of the Mission, that among the neighbouring Kuni
people a woman would kill her child for extraordinary reasons; and he
furnished an example of this in a woman who killed her child so that
she might use her milk for suckling a young pig, which was regarded
as being more important. Whether such a thing would occur in Mafulu
appears to be doubtful; but it is quite possible, more especially as
the Mafulu women do, in fact, suckle pigs.

Abortion is induced by taking the heavy stone mallet used for bark
cloth beating, and striking the woman on the front of the body over
the womb. It is also assisted by the wearing of the tight cane belt
already mentioned. I could not hear of any system of using drugs
or herbs to procure abortion; but herbs are used to produce general
sterility, which they are believed to be effective in doing.

Married women also often kill their children as the result of a
sort of superstitious ceremony. The child being born, the mother,
in accordance with the custom of the country, goes down to the
river, and throws the placenta into it. She then, however, often
takes a little water from the river, and gives it to the babe. If
the latter seems by the movements of its lips and tongue to accept
and take the water into its mouth, it is a sign that it is to live,
and it is allowed to do so. If not, it is a sign that it is to
die, and she throws it into the river. This custom, which is quite
common, has presumably had a superstitious origin, and it seems to
be practised with superstitious intent now. There appears, however,
to be no doubt that it is also followed for the purpose of keeping
or killing the child, according to the wish of the mother. There is
further, confirming the last statement, a well-known practice, when
the mother goes down to the river with her baby, for some other woman,
who is childless and desires a child, to accompany the mother, and
take from her and adopt the baby; and as to this, there is no doubt
that, before doing so, the woman ascertains from the mother whether
or not she intends to keep her child, and only goes with her to the
river if she does not intend to keep it. This is done quite openly,
with the full knowledge of the second woman's husband and friends;
and everyone knows that the child is not really hers, and how she
acquired it. [81]

Cannibalism.

There is no doubt that the Mafulu people have always been cannibals,
and are so still, subject now to the fear in which they hold the
controlling authority of the white man, and which impels such of them
as are in close touch with the latter to indulge in their practice
only in secrecy. Their cannibalism has been, and is, however, of a
restricted character. They do not kill for the purpose of eating;
and they only eat bodies of people who have been intentionally
killed, not the bodies of those who have been killed by accident,
or died a natural death. Also the victim eaten is always a member
of another community. The killing which is followed by eating is
always a hostile killing in fight; but this fight may be either a
personal and individual one, or it may be a community battle. The
idea of eating the body appears to be a continued act of hostility,
rather than one of gastronomic enjoyment; and I could learn nothing
of any belief as to acquiring the valour and power of the deceased
by eating him. I was informed that the man who has killed the victim
will never himself share in the eating of him, this being the case
both as regards people killed in private personal fighting and those
killed in war. [82] I tried to find out if there were any ceremonies
connected with the eating of human flesh; but could learn nothing upon
the subject, the natives being naturally not readily communicative
with white men on the matter.

Warfare.

Warfare generally occurs between one community or section of a
community (probably a clan) and another community or section of one; it
very rarely occurs within a community. Sometimes two communities join
together in opposition to a third one; but alliances of this sort are
usually only of a temporary character. War among these people is now,
of course, forbidden by the British authorities, and indulgence in it
is a serious punishable offence; but it cannot be said to be abolished.

The usual ground for an attack is either that some member of the
attacked community or section of a community has by personal violence
or by spirit-supported sorcery killed a member of the attacking
community or section, or it is of the matrimonial character above
explained. The underlying idea of the war is a life for a life; and in
the matrimonial matter one life is the sum of vengeance required. Hence
the primary object of an attack has usually been accomplished when
the attacking party has killed one of their opponents. If there are
two or more persons whose deaths have to be avenged, a corresponding
number of lives is required in the battle. Then the attacking party
may suffer loss during the fight, in which case this has to be added
to the account; and loss by the attacked is introduced into the other
side of it to their credit. The number killed in a battle is not,
however, often great.

When the required vengeance has been accomplished, the attacking party
usually cease fighting and return home, if the enemy allow them to
do so. They may retire before their vengeance has been accomplished;
but in that case they are probably doing so as a defeated party, with
the intention of renewing the attack on a subsequent occasion. If
the attacking party cease fighting and try to return, the enemy may
continue their counter attack, especially if they have themselves
suffered loss in the fighting; but I was told that the enemy would
not as a rule follow the attacking party far into the bush. It may be
that what is regarded by the attackers as a correct balance of lives
struck, on which they may retire, is not so regarded by the enemy,
in which case the latter may try to prolong the fight; and, if the
attackers get away, there will probably be a retaliatory expedition,
in which the position of attackers and attacked is reversed. The
primary idea of a life for a life is, however, generally understood
and acknowledged; and if the enemy recognise the truth of the alleged
reason for the attack, and have not lost more life than was required
to balance the account, they usually rest satisfied with the result.

No ceremony or taboo appears to be adopted in anticipation of proposed
hostilities for the purpose of securing success; but individual
fighters often wear charms, upon whose efficacy they rely. Nor do
there appear to be any omens in connection with them other than
certain general ones to be referred to hereafter. The preparations
for a fight and its conduct can hardly be regarded as subjects of
much organisation, as the chiefs are not war chiefs, and there are
no recognised permanent leaders or commanders of the forces, and no
recognised war councils or systematic organisation, either of the
fighting party or of the conduct of the fight. All adult males of
the community engaged are expected to take part, and the leadership
will generally fall upon someone who at the moment is regarded as a
strong and wise fighter.

The men start off on their expedition as an armed, but unorganised,
body, their arms being spears, bows and arrows, [83] clubs, adzes
and shields, and none of their weapons being poisoned. During their
progress to the enemy's community they are generally singing, and their
song relates to the grievance the avenging of which is the object of
the expedition. The warriors do not, I was told, as a rule carry a full
supply of provisions, as they rely largely upon what they can find in
the bush, and what they hope to raid from their enemy's plantations. On
reaching the scene of battle they adopt methods of spying and scouting
and sentry duty, though only on simple and unscientific lines. They
have apparently no generally recognised systems of signs of truce or
truce envoys or hostages. There are certain recognised cries, which
respectively signify the killing of a man and the taking of a prisoner,
by which, when such an event occurs, the fighters on both sides are
aware of it. An enemy wounded on the battlefield may be killed at
once or may be taken prisoner. All prisoners, wounded or otherwise,
are taken home by the party that secures them, and are then killed,
apparently without any prior torture, and generally eaten. A prisoner
thus carried off would be regarded as a man killed, which in fact he
shortly will be. The women of a community follow their fighting men
in the expedition, their duty being to encourage the fighters on the
way out, and during the fight, by their singing; but they remain in
the rear during the battle, and do not actually fight. These women,
of course, also run the risk of being killed or wounded or taken
prisoners.

Fighting between two communities may go on intermittently for
years. Then perhaps the communities may get mutually weary of it,
and decide to make peace. This act is ratified by an exchange between
the two communities of ceremonial visits, with feasts and pig-killing,
but no dancing, the pigs and vegetables and fruit distributed by the
hosts among the visitors on the return visit being exactly similar
in character and quantity to what the latter have given the former
on the prior visit.

The Mafulu war spears are made out of a very hard-wooded palm tree and
another hard red-wooded tree, the name of which I do not know. They
are round in section, tapering at both ends, and are generally from
10 to 12 feet long, and about three-quarters of an inch in diameter at
the widest part. There are three forms of point. The first (Plate 73,
Fig. 1) is simply a tapering off in round section. The second (Plate
73, Fig. 2) is made square in section for a distance of 2 to 2 1/2 feet
from the tip. The third (Plate 73, Fig. 3) is in section a triangle,
of which two sides are equal and the other side is a little larger,
this triangular form being carried for a foot or less from the tip,
and the larger surface being barbed bilaterally. This last-mentioned
form is also generally decorated with a little tuft of bright-coloured
feathers, just above the point where the barbing begins.

The bows (Plate 74, Fig. 1) are made of split bamboo, the convex
side of the bow being the inner section of the split bamboo. These
bows are quite short, generally about 4 feet long when straightened
out, and have triangular-shaped knobs at the ends for holding the
bowstrings. The bowstrings are made of what appears to be strong split
canes (not sugar-canes). The arrows (Plate 73, Fig. 4) are from 6 to
8 feet long, which is extraordinary in comparison with the length
of the bows, and are made in two parts, the shaft being made of a
strong reed, and the point, which is inserted into the reed shaft and
is generally a foot or more long, being single and round-sectioned,
and made of the same materials as are used for spears. There are no
feathers or equivalents of feathers, and the shaft end of the arrow
is cut square and not notched.

The clubs (Plate 75, Figs, 1 and 2) are stone-headed, the heads being
of the pineapple and disc types; but these heads are the same as those
used on the plains and coast, whose people, in fact, get them from
the mountains, and as these are so well-known, it is not necessary
for me to describe them.

The adzes (Plate 75, Fig. 4) are of the usual type, the stone blade
being lashed directly on to the handle. There are two common forms. In
one, which is also used for ordinary adze work, the haft is cut from
a natural branch, with the angle of the head part set obliquely. In
the other, which is also used for cutting timber, the haft is cut
from a branch with the angle of the head part set at right angles,
or nearly so. I do not know to what extent this second form is common
in New Guinea. It is not found in Mekeo.

The shields (Plate 74, Figs. 2 and 3) are thick, heavy, cumbrous
weapons, made out of the wood used for making wooden dishes. The outer
surfaces are convex, and the inner ones concave, the natural convexity
of the circular trunk of the tree from which they are made being
retained. These shields are 4 1/2 to 5 feet long, and usually about
15 or 16 inches wide in the broadest central part, getting somewhat
narrower towards the two ends, where they are rounded off. Each shield
has two strong cane handles in the centre of its internal concave
side, each of which handles is fixed by means of two pairs of holes
bored through the shield, and of thongs which are passed through
these holes and attached to the ends of the handles. The shields are
carried by passing the left arm through the upper handle downwards,
the left hand holding the lower handle.

CHAPTER XII

Hunting, Fishing and Agriculture

Hunting.

This is engaged in more or less all the year round, especially
as regards wild pigs when wanted for village killing. The animals
chiefly hunted are pigs, kangaroos, wallabies, the "Macgregor bear,"
[84] large snakes, cassowaries and other birds.

The hunting weapons and contrivances used are spears, bows and arrows,
nets and traps; but adzes and clubs are used in connection with
net hunting. The spears are those used for war. The bows and arrows
employed for hunting animals and cassowaries are also the same as
those used for war; but these are not much used. For bird-shooting
(excluding cassowary-shooting) they generally use arrows (Plate 73,
Fig. 5) the points of which are made of four rather fine pieces of
bamboo cane, closely bound together at the place of insertion into
the reed shaft, and also bound together further down, but with a
piece of stick or some other material inserted between them inside
this second binding, so as to keep them a little apart and make them
spread outwards, thus producing a four-pronged point. The arrows vary
in length from 5 to 6 or 7 feet, and their points vary from 4 to 10
inches. The adzes and clubs are the same as those used for war.

The people generally hunt in large parties for pigs (hunted with
either spears or nets), kangaroos and wallabies (hunted with nets
only), and Macgregor bears, cassowaries, and big snakes (hunted with
spears only). The hunters may be members of a single village or of a
whole community. They generally return home on the same day, except
when hunting the Macgregor bear, which is only found on the tops of
high mountains, and so requires a longer expedition. They usually
take out with them large numbers of young boys, who are not armed,
and do not take part in the actual killing, but who, when the party
reaches the hunting ground, spread out in the bush, and so find the
animals. While doing this the boys bark like dogs. Sometimes dogs
are taken instead, but this is unusual, as they have not many dogs.

A preliminary ceremony is performed by a person whose special duty
it is, and who, I think, is usually the pig-killer. He takes a
particular kind of fragrant grass, makes an incantation over it,
rubs it on the noses of the dogs (if there are any), [85] and then
ties it in several portions to the meshes of the net to be used. If
there are dogs, but no net, then, after rubbing the dogs' noses,
he throws the grass away. If there is a net, but no clogs, then,
after making the incantation, he ties the grass on to the net as
above mentioned. This appears to be the only ceremony in connection
with hunting; and there is no food or other taboo associated with it,
but some of the charms worn are intended to give success in hunting.

In spear hunting, when children and not dogs are employed, the children
shout as soon as the animal has been found, and then retreat; and,
when the animal has been found by either children or dogs, the hunting
men attack it with their spears, if possible surrounding it.

In net hunting, which of course can only be adopted in fairly open
spaces, the hunters place their net by means of pole supports in the
form of a crescent, perhaps as much as 50 or 60 yards long, this
length, however, requiring several nets put end to end together,
and 2 or 3 feet high. The net is generally put across the base of a
narrow ravine, or across a narrow ridge, these being the routes along
which the animals usually travel. The children or dogs search for
the animal, as in spear hunting; and when it is found, most of the
hunters place themselves in a crescent-shaped formation behind the
animal, so that it is between them and the net, and then gradually
close in upon it, and so drive it into the net. Behind the net are
other hunters, more or less hidden, who kill the animal with club or
adze when it is caught in the net. They sometimes use spears in the
event of an animal jumping over the net, and so trying to escape;
though in net hunting the spears are more especially carried for
purposes of self-defence in case of an attack by the animal.

There is always an enormous amount of shouting all through the
hunt. When the animal has been caught, they generally kill it then and
there, except as regards pigs required alive for village ceremony,
and which are disabled, but not killed. The huntings, except when
pigs are specially required, are usually general; and when any sort
of animal has been killed the hunters are content. They surround the
beast, and make three loud shouting screams, by which the people of the
village or community know, not only that an animal has been killed,
but also what the animal is. It is then brought home, and eaten by
the whole village, if the hunt be a village hunt, or by the community,
if it be a community hunt.

Individual hunting, in which I include hunts by parties of two or
three, is also common. Solitary hunters are generally only searching
for birds (not cassowaries); but parties of two or three will go after
larger game, such as pigs, cassowaries, etc. Such parties hunt the
larger game with spears, clubs and adzes, and shoot the birds, other
than cassowaries, with bows and arrows. They kill their victims as
they can, and bring them home; and they, and probably some of their
friends, eat them.

Trap hunting is much engaged in by single individuals. A common form
of trap used for pigs is a round hole about 6 feet deep and 2 feet in
diameter, which is dug in the ground anywhere in the usual tracks of
the pigs, and is covered over with rotten wood, upon which grass is
spread; and into this hole the pig falls and cannot get out. The maker
of the hole does not necessarily stay by it, but will visit it from
time to time in the hope of having caught a pig. Small tree-climbing
animals are often caught by a plan based upon the inclination of an
animal, seeing a continuous line, to go along it. A little pathway
of sticks is laid along the ground, commencing near a suitable tree,
and carried up to the base of that tree, and then taken up the trunk,
and along a branch, on which it terminates, the parts upon the tree
being bound to it with cane. At the branch termination of this path
is either a noose trap, made out of a piece of native string tied at
one end to the branch, and having at the other end a running noose in
which the animal is caught, or a very primitive baitless framework
trap, so made that the animal, having once got into it, cannot get
out again. Or instead of a trap, the man will erect a small rough
platform upon the same tree, upon which platform he waits, perhaps
all night, until the animal comes, and then shoots it with his bow
and arrow. Another form of trap for small animals is a sort of alley
along the ground, fenced in on each side by a palisading of sticks,
and having at its end a heavy overhanging piece of wood, supported
by an easily moved piece of stick, which the animal, after passing
along the alley, disturbs, so bringing down the piece of wood on to
the top of it; this trap also has no bait. Large snakes are caught
in nooses attached to the ground or hanging from trees.

Birds of all kinds, except cassowaries, are killed with bows and
arrows. There is also a method of killing certain kinds of birds of
paradise which dance on branches of trees, and certain other kinds
and bower birds, which dance on the ground, [86] by means of nooses
as above described, these being tied to the branch of the tree,
or, in the case of ground nooses, tied to a stick or something in
the ground. The natives know the spots where the birds are dancing,
and place the noose traps there. Another method of killing birds is
adopted on narrow forest-covered ridges of the mountains. An open
space or passage about 2 or 3 yards wide is cut in the bush, across
the ridge; and across this passage are suspended three parallel nets,
the inner or central one being of a close and impassable mesh, and the
two outer ones having a mesh so far open that a bird striking against
it can get through. These nets are made of very fine material, and so
are not easily seen, especially as they are more or less in shade from
the trees on each side of the passage. A bird flying from the valley
on either side towards the ridge is attracted by this open passage,
and flies into and along it; it strikes against one of the more open
outer nets, and gets through it, but is confused and bewildered,
and so is easily stopped by the central close-meshed net, where it
is shot with bow and arrow.

Fishing.

Fishing is carried on by the Mafulu people by means of weirs placed
across streams, the weirs having open sluices with intercepting nets,
and smaller nets being used to catch such fish as escape the big
ones. They do not fish with spears, hooks, or bows and arrows, or
with fishing lines, as is done in Mekeo; and even their weir and net
systems are different from the Mekeo ones. Fishing with them is more
or less communistic, as it is generally engaged in by parties of ten
or twenty men (women do not fish), and sometimes nearly all the men
of a village, or even of a community, join in a fishing expedition;
and everyone in the village or community shares more or less in
the spoil. The fishing season is towards the end of the dry season,
say in October or November, when work in the gardens is over, and the
rivers are low. I cannot give the names of the fishes caught, but was
told that the chief ones are large full-bodied carp-like fish and eels.

The large weir nets are simply ordinary frameless nets about 3 to 5
yards long, and 1 yard wide, with a fairly small mesh. The smaller ones
are hand nets, made in two forms. One of these is made of ordinary fine
netting, and is bag-shaped, being strung on a round looped end of cane,
of which the other end is the handle, the net being about the size of
a good-sized butterfly net. The other form is also framed on a looped
cane; but the loop in this case is larger and more oval in shape,
and the netting is made of the web of a large spider. To make it they
take the already looped cane to where there are a number of such webs,
and twist the looped end round and round among the webs, until there
is stretched across the loop a double or treble or quadruple layer of
web, which, though flat when made, is elastic, and when used becomes
under pressure more or less bag-shaped.

The fishers first make a weir of upright sticks placed close together
among the stones in the river bed, the weir stretching across the
greater part of, or sometimes only half-way across, the river. The
side of the river left open and undammed is filled up with stones
to such a height that the water flowing over it is shallow, and the
fish do not escape across it. In the middle of the weir they leave
an open space or sluice, behind which they fasten the big net. [87]
Plate 76 shows a weir on the Aduala river, a portion of the open sluice
being seen on the left. After forming the weir, but before fixing the
net, the fishers all join in a sort of prayer or invocation to the
river. For example, on the Aduala river they will say, "Aduala, give
us plenty of fish, that we may eat well." This is the only ceremony
in connection with the fishing, and there is no food or other taboo
associated with it; but here again charms are often relied upon. The
big net catches most of the fish which are carried down by the rush
of water through the opening in the weir; but a group of fishermen
stand round it with their hand nets, with which they catch any fish
that leap out of the big net, and would otherwise escape, the ordinary
hand nets being usually used for larger fish, and the cobweb ones for
the smaller fish. They often have two or three of these weirs in the
same stream, at some little distance from each other.

A fishing party will often stay and live for some days at the place
where they are fishing, and eat the fish each day as they catch it;
so that what they bring home for the village or community may only
be the result of the last day's sport. But the women will sometimes
come to the fishers, bring them food, and take some fish back to the
village or community. Each community has waters which it regards as
being its own; but disputes as to this apparently do not arise.

A solitary individual sometimes goes off to catch fish with one of
the hand nets above described or with his hands, and eats or keeps
what he catches; but this is unusual.

Agriculture.

Agriculture is never communistic, being entirely an individual or
family matter, men and households and families having their own
gardens and plantations. The trees and plants chiefly cultivated are
those already mentioned as being used for food.

The clearing of the ground is done by men, and is begun about the
end of June. The trees and their branches are used for fencing, the
fencing being also done by men. The clearing away of the undergrowth
is done by women, who pile it in small heaps, which are spread over
the cleared space, being so close together that they almost touch one
another. When these have got quite dry, which may be in a few days, or
not for some time, they burn them, and the ashes add fertility to the
soil. There is no general digging up of the ground, as distinguished
from the digging of holes for individual plants. The clearing of the
trees is done with stone adzes, or in difficult cases by fire; but some
of the people now have European axes, of which some have been acquired
from white men, and some from plain and coast natives. In clearing for
planting yam and plants of the yam type they leave the upright stems of
some of the trees and shrubby undergrowth for the yams, etc., to trail
over. Cultivation of some of the more usual plants is done as follows.

Sweet potatoes and vegetables of similar type are planted by the women
in August and September. They make little holes in the ground about 2
feet apart, and in them plant the potatoes, the roots used being the
young sarmentose runners, which they cut off from the parent plants,
the latter being merely cut down to the ground, and the old tubers
being left in it. These runners are left to grow, and in about three
or four months the young potatoes are ready for eating, and afterwards
there will be a continuous supply from the runners. The digging up of
the day-to-day supply of potatoes is done by the women, the work in
this, and in all other digging, being done with small pointed sticks,
roughly made and not preserved; though now they sometimes have European
knives, these knives and axes being the two European implements which
they use in agriculture, if they possess them.

Yams and similar vegetables are planted by men in August and
September, near to the young tree stems up which they are to trail,
and at distances apart of 2 or 3 yards. In this case, however, there
are two plantings. In the first instance the yam tubers are planted
in pretty deep holes, the tubers being long. The yams then grow,
and twine over the tree stems, and spread. After about ten months
the men dig up the tubers, which in the meantime have grown larger,
and cut away from them all the trailing green growth, and then hang
the tubers up in the houses and _emone_, to let the new growing points
sprout. Then in about another two months the men replant the smaller
tubers, while the larger ones are retained for food.

There are two curious Mafulu practices in connection with
yam-planting. First, before planting each tuber they wrap round it
an ornamental leaf, such as a croton, which they call the "sweetheart
of the yam." Against this leaf they press a piece of limestone. They
then plant the tuber with its sweetheart leaf around it and the piece
of limestone pressing against its side, and fill in the soil; but as
they do the latter they withdraw the piece of limestone, which they
use successively for other yams, and, indeed, keep in their houses
for use year by year. In the villages near the Mafulu Mission Station
the limestone used is generally a piece of stalactite, which they
get from the limestone caves in the mountains. The belief is that by
planting in this way the yams will grow stronger and better. Secondly,
there is a little small-leafed plant of a spreading nature, only a
few inches high, which grows wild in the mountains, but which is
also cultivated, and a patch of which they always plant in a yam
plantation. This plant they also call the "sweetheart of the yam";
and they believe that its presence is beneficial to the plantation.

Yams are ready for supplying food eight or ten months after
planting. They are not, like the potatoes, dug up from day to day,
as they can be stored. The usual period of digging and storing is
about June or July, and this digging is done by both men and women,
the former dealing with the larger yams, which are difficult to get
up, and the latter with the smaller ones.

The yam is apparently regarded by the Mafulu people as a vegetable
possessing an importance which one is tempted to think may have a
more or less superstitious origin-witness the facts that only men
may plant it and that it is the only vegetable in the planting of
which superstitious methods are employed, and the special methods and
ceremonies adopted in the hanging of the yams at the big feast. But
I fancy this idea as to the yam is not confined to the Mafulu; and
indeed Chalmers tells us of a Motu superstition which attributes to
it a human origin; [88] and a perusal of the chapter on sacrifices
in Dr. Codrington's book, _The Melanesians_, leaves the impression
on one's mind that among these people the yam is the one vegetable
which is specially used for sacrificial purposes.

Taro and similar vegetables are planted by women in August and
September among the yams, at distances of 2 or 3 feet apart. For this
purpose they take the young secondary growths which crop up round the
main central plants during the year. [89] They are ready for eating
in, say, May or June of the following year. They are dug up by women
from day to day as wanted, as they, like the sweet potato, cannot
be kept, as the yams are, after being taken up. There is, however,
a method when the taro is ripe and needs digging up, but is not then
required for eating, of making a large hole in the ground, filling it
with grass, digging up the taro, putting it on the grass in the hole,
covering and surrounding it with more grass, and then filling up with
soil, and so preserving the taro for future use by a sort of ensilage
system. I was told that this was not done on the plains.

Bananas are planted by men, this being done every year, and off and on
all through the year, generally in old potato gardens. In this case
they take the young offshoots, which break out near the bases of the
stems. The closeness of planting varies considerably. The fruit is
gathered all through the year by men. A banana will generally begin
to bear fruit about twelve months after planting, though some sorts
of banana take as long as two years.

Sugar-cane is planted by men off and on during the whole year,
generally in old potato gardens, the growing points at the tops
of the canes being put into the ground at distances of 5 or 6 feet
apart. Each plant produces a number of canes, and these begin to be
edible after six or eight months. They are then cut for eating by
both men and women.

As regards both banana and sugar-cane, the people, after planting
them in the potato gardens, allow the potatoes to still go on growing
and spreading; but these potatoes are merely used for the pigs,
the people only eating those grown in their open patches.

Beans of a big coarse-growing sort, with large pods from 8 to 18 inches
long, are planted by women about September by the garden fences of the
potato and yam gardens, and allowed to creep up these fences. They
furnish edible fruit in about three or four months from the time of
planting, and are then gathered by the women. Only the inside seeds
are eaten (not the pod); and even these are so hard that twenty--four
hours' boiling does not soften them--indeed, they are usually roasted.

Pandanus trees are grown in the bush and not in the gardens. The _ine_
which is a large form (Plate 80), is always grown at a height of not
less than 5,000 feet; but there is a smaller one which is grown by
a river or stream. The _malage_ is always grown in the valleys near
brooks and rivers.

As regards the gardens generally, they may be roughly divided into
sweet potato gardens and yam gardens. In the former are also grown
bananas, sugar-cane, beans, pumpkin, cucumber and maize; and in the
latter taro and beans, and the reed plant with the asparagus flavour
to which I have already referred. The general tending of the bananas
and sugar-canes, and to a certain extent the yams, is done by men;
but in other respects the garden produce is looked after by women,
who also attend to the weeding and keeping of the gardens clean,
the men looking after the fences.

Having planted a certain crop in a garden, they let it go on until
it is exhausted, the period for this being different for different
crops; but afterwards they never again plant the same crop in the same
garden. When a crop is exhausted, they may possibly use the same garden
for some other purpose; but as a rule they do not do so, except as
regards the use of old potato gardens for banana and sugar-cane. When
fresh gardens are wanted, fresh portions of bush are cleared; and the
old deserted gardens are quickly re-covered by nature with fresh bush,
the growth of vegetation being very rapid. Most of the gardens are bush
gardens, and, though these may sometimes be close to the village, you
do not find a regular system of gardens within the village clearing,
as you do in the Mekeo district, the situations of the villages being
indeed hardly adapted for this.

CHAPTER XIII

Bark Cloth Making, Netting and Art.

Bark Cloth Making and Netting.

I put the two processes of bark cloth making and netting together,
as being the only forms in which material is made in pieces of
substantial size.

Bark cloth is used for making perineal bands, men's caps,
illness-recovery capes, bark cloth head strings, mourning strings and
dancing aprons and ribbons. Netting is used for fishing and hunting
nets, sleeping hammocks, the various forms of carrying bags and the
mourning vests worn by the widows of chiefs.

Bark Cloth Making.

Bark cloth is made by both men and women out of the bark of three
different kinds of tree; but I do not know what these are. They strip
the bark from the tree, and from the bark they strip off the outer
layer, leaving the inner fibrous layer, which is about 1/8th of an
inch in thickness. They have no method of fastening two pieces of
bark or cloth together, so every garment has to be a single piece,
and the size of the piece to be made depends upon the purpose for
which it is wanted. The cloth is made in the usual way by soaking the
prepared bark in water for about twenty-four hours, and then hammering
it with a heavy mallet upon the rounded surface of a cut-down tree
trunk (Plate 79).

The mallet used (Plate 51, Fig. 3), however, differs from the wooden
mallet of Mekeo and the coast. It is a heavy black roller-shaped
piece of stone, tapering a little at one or both ends, and being
broader at the beating end than at the holding end. It varies in
length from 10 to 18 inches, and has a maximum width of about 2 or
2 1/2 inches. The beating surface is not flattened, as is the case
with the Mekeo beaters, but it is rather deeply scored with a series
of longitudinal and transverse lines, crossing each other at right
angles, or nearly so. This scoring generally covers a surface space
of about 3 inches by 1 or 2 inches, and is done with pointed pieces
of similar stone, or with the tusks of wild pigs.

As the hammering proceeds the bark becomes thinner and larger in
surface, and when this process is finished, the cloth is hung up
to dry.

The colouring of the cloth, if and when this is added, is done by men
only, and, like body-staining, is nearly always in either red, yellow,
or black. The red stain is obtained from the two sorts of earth used
for red face and body-staining, being, as in the other case, mixed with
water or animal fat, so as to produce a paste. Another source of red
stain used for cloth is the fruit of a wild tree growing in the bush,
which fruit they chew and spit out. I do not know what the tree is,
but I do not think it is the Pandanus, whose fruit is, I believe,
used for body-staining. The yellow stain is obtained from the root of
a plant which I understand to be rather like a ginger. They dry the
root in the sun, and afterwards crush it and soak it in water, and the
water so coloured becomes the pigment to be used. The black stain is
obtained in the same way as that used for face-staining. These dyes are
put on to the cloth with the fingers, which the men dip into the dye,
or with feathers. In making a design they do not copy from a pattern
placed before them, nor do they first trace the design on the cloth.

Netting.

In dealing with netting, I should begin with the making of the string;
but, as I think the method adopted is not confined to the mountains,
it is perhaps sufficient to refer to my previous description of
thread-making in connection with the manufacture of leg-bands;
though in most netting the strings are necessarily very much thicker
and stronger than are the threads used for leg-bands, and they are
three-stranded.

Hunting and fishing nets are made by men in a simple open form of
netting, worked on the common principle of the reef knot, and having
diamond-shaped holes, with a knot at each corner of each hole. I shall
refer to this form of netting as "ordinary network." The nets are made
of thick, strong material, except as regards the hand fishing nets,
which are made of the fine material used for making leg-bands. These
nets are never coloured.

Hammocks are made by men. They are sometimes done entirely with
ordinary network, and are then, I think, similar to Mekeo-made
hammocks; but often only two or three lines of netting are done in
this way, the rest of the net being made in a closer and finer pattern
of interlacing knotless network, which is never adopted on the coast
and Mekeo plains (all nets of this description found there having come
down from the mountains) and which I will call "Mafulu network." [90]
I have watched the making of one of these nets, and will endeavour
to describe the process. The ultimate result of the Mafulu network
part of this is shown in Plate 81.

The maker first formed a base line of three strands of native
string stretched out horizontally. This base line is marked _a b_
in Fig. 8. He then wound a long length of netting string round a
rough piece of stick to be used as a sort of netting shuttle. He next
worked the netting string on to the base line by a series of loops
or slip-knots as shown in Fig. 8, strand _c_ of each loop bending
upwards and becoming strand _d_ of the next loop to the right, and
the series of loops extending for the whole length of the base line,
and thus constituting the first loop line of the net. The hitches of
the loops, which appear loose and open in the figure for the purpose
of showing their construction, were really drawn tight on the base
line. On to these loops he then worked one line of ordinary network,
as shown in Fig. 9, the strings _a b c d_ in this figure being the
loops above mentioned, and the knots of this also being, of course,
drawn tight, and not made loose and open, as shown in the figure. The
base of this line again formed a series made one of these lines of
mesh for my instruction; but it is usual in the making of hammocks to
have two or three of them, as appears in the figure. The next stage
commenced the Mafulu network. The form of this is shown in Fig. 10;
and here again the actual network was more closely drawn than is shown
in the illustration, though it was not drawn tight, as in the case
of the ordinary network. The first line of Mafulu network was worked
on to the loops above it, so as to form a continuous line, in which
many loops of Mafulu work were attached to each loop of the line of
ordinary work above, the former being considerably smaller than the
latter. The rest of the network is similarly made in the Mafulu method,
each loop of each line being connected with a loop of the line above,
until the worker almost reaches the other end of the hammock, which
latter is finished off with ordinary network and a final base line, so
as to correspond with the commencing end. Often there are only four or
five loops of Mafulu network attached to each loop of ordinary network
above them; and I have seen hammocks in which the mesh of the ordinary
network part is much smaller, so that each loop of the bottom line of
this mesh has attached to it only one loop of the top line of Mafulu
mesh; and this last variation is common as regards carrying bags.

The hammocks are never coloured; but they are sometimes decorated
with a few Pandanus or _malage_ seeds hung from their borders.

The different forms of carrying bags have already been referred to. I
will now deal with their manufacture and colouring. They are made
exclusively by women; and the fibres used in their manufacture are
not the same as those employed for making nets and hammocks. I will
deal separately with the five forms already described by me.

Nos. 1 and 2 are made of either ordinary or Mafulu network, and are
never coloured. When these, or any other bags, are made of Mafulu
network, their elasticity is very great. No. 3 is always made of
Mafulu network, and coloured. No. 4 is made of Mafulu network, and
is sometimes coloured, and sometimes not. No. 5 is made of Mafulu
network, and is sometimes coloured. The string used in making this
bag is different from that used for the others, and is obtained from
the bark of a small shrub.

The question of manufacture introduces another form of bag (Plate 53,
Fig 3), which I may call No. 6. It is used by men for the purposes of
No. 4, and No 5 is also sometimes made in the same way. The method of
manufacture of No. 6 is, I was told, an uncommon one; and, though I
was able to procure one of these bags, I had not an opportunity of
observing the process by which it was made. The appearance of the
bag, however, suggests a process not unlike that of knitting. Its
outer surface displays a series of thick, strong trie ord-plaited,
vertical ridges, all close together, and looking very like the outside
ridges of a knitted woollen stocking; but on the inner surface these
ridges are not to be seen, and the general appearance of this inside
is one of horizontal lines. The material of this bag is much closer,
thicker and heavier than is that of any of the others.

The colouring of Nos. 3, 4 and 5 is not put into the netting after
its manufacture, as is done with bark cloth. The string itself is
dyed beforehand, and the lines of colour are worked into the bag in
the process of netting. The colouring is confined to the front of
the bag only, being the part which is visible when the bag is worn
hanging over the back or shoulder. Speaking generally, the colouring
is black; but there is often a little red introduced along with the
black. The pattern is in the general form of parallel horizontal
lines or stripes, which, however, are in places made to recess or
turn downwards or upwards at right angles, and subsequently turn
upwards or downwards again, and then continue horizontally as before,
thus giving variety to the mere design of straight horizontal lines;
and these rectangular breaks are often introduced at more or less
symmetrical intervals. There are other details in these patterns,
which can be observed in the plate. I have one of these bags the
lines in which are blue, red and yellow; but I think this colouring
is not usual. The pigments are obtained from the sources described
above with reference to bark cloth.

The colouring of my specimen of No. 6 bag is also worked into the
bag in the process of knitting, or whatever that process should be
called. But this colouring merely consists of four faint horizontal
lines of pale reddish-brown; and I was told that these bags are
generally uncoloured, or only slightly coloured in thin lines.

The mourning vests worn by chiefs' widows are, I believe, made of
Mafulu network; but unfortunately I did not see one of these, and so
cannot describe them.

Art, Design, etc.

Art and design among the Mafulu people are only of a simple and
primitive type. There is no carving or other decoration on their
houses, or even on their _emone,_ nor is there any on their stone
or wooden implements. Art and design, other than the arrangement
of feather ornaments, is, in fact, apparently confined to the very
simple designs scratched upon some of their broad abdominal belts,
smoking pipes and lime gourds and perhaps occasionally on one
or two other things, and to the plaited designs displayed in the
manufacture of other abdominal belts and of arm and leg ornaments
and plaited forehead ornaments and feather frames, and to the very
simple linear patterns in which some of their network is made, and
the ground-staining and pattern-colouring of their perineal bands,
dancing aprons and ribbons. As regards the latter, the designs are of
a very simple nature, never apparently representing anything either
realistically or conventionally, and being confined to geometric
designs of straight lines and bands, rectangular and zig-zag patterns
with coloured triangles within the zig-zag patterns, and spots. The
patterns of the perineal bands and dancing ribbons are very simple
indeed; but those of the dancing aprons are more elaborate, covering
a considerable surface of cloth, and often displaying a fair variety
of design on the same apron.

The Mafulu have no visible method of recording events or numbers,
or sending messages, either by marks or notches on sticks, or tying
of knots in string, or any other method, and they are quite unable
to grasp the meaning of a map.

The limited nature of the ideas of artistic design possessed by the
Mafulu people is, I think, a matter for surprise. They are believed
to have Papuan or Papuo-Melanesian blood in their veins. But, even
if they also have another distinct and more primitive ancestry of
their own, not associated with the Papuo-Melanesian types, or even
with the pure Papuan types, found on the coast and in the plains,
one would imagine that contact with these types would have caused
the Mafulu people to learn something of the more advanced art which
these other peoples display and that we should not have to record
a sudden drop from artistic designs embodying curves and natural
imitative art to a system confined to straight lines, zig-zags,
and spots. This contact with the coast and plain people, or at all
events with the latter, has certainly existed for some time back;
for, though the mutual fear and antagonism between coast and mountain
natives, which is usually found among savage peoples, has doubtless
existed in this case, and is even now not altogether eradicated, [91]
direct or indirect trading relationship, including in particular the
interchange of the stone implements and feathers of the mountains for
the shell decorations of the coast, is not a mere recent development
of the last few years only. It seems to me that the existence of this
decorative hiatus points to a rather small inherent sense of design in
the Mafulu mind. It may be, however, that the absence of imitative art,
to which I have already referred in connection with totemism and clan
badges, is partly due to the absence of totemism and of the imitative
stimulus, which, as Dr. Haddon has more than once pointed out, [92]
arises from it.

CHAPTER XIV

Music and Singing, Dancing and Toys and Games

Music and Singing.

The Mafulu people are naturally musical and have good musical
ears--much more so than is the case in Mekeo and on the coast,
thus conforming to what I believe to be a general rule that music is
usually more indigenous in hill country than it is in the plains. Their
instruments are the drum, the jew's-harp and a small flute; but the
flute is not a true Mafulu instrument, and has probably been acquired
from Mekeo.

The drum (Plate 75, Fig. 3) is like the Mekeo drum, but smaller,
and its open end is cut in deep indentations. The wooden body of the
drum is made from various trees. A pine tree is the favourite one;
but others are used, including a tree the native name of which is
_arive_, which word is also the native word for a drum. The membrane
is made of the skin of a reptile, probably the "iguana." The maker
of a drum must climb up the tree from the wood of which he is about
to make it, and there, until the drum is finished, he must remain
sitting among the branches, or, if these are inconvenient for the
purpose, he may erect a scaffold around the trunk of the tree, with
a platform on the top of it, and work upon that. Whilst working,
he must always keep the upper or tympanic end of his drum facing
the wind, the idea of this being that the wind gets into the drum,
and makes it musical. His food is brought to him, whilst in his tree,
by some woman, probably his mother if he is a bachelor, or his wife
if he is married, and he lets down a string by which he hauls it up;
but he is under no special restriction as to the food he may eat. There
is no superstition, such as is found among the Roro and Mekeo people,
compelling him, in the event of his seeing a woman during the making
of the drum, to throw it away and begin a new one.

The jew's-harp (Plate 20, Fig. 2), though seen in Mekeo, is, I was
told, as regards its manufacture, an instrument of the mountains. It
is made out of bamboo or palm, or some other tree having a hollow
or soft interior, from which is cut a piece about 8 or 10 inches
long. A portion of this piece is cut away longitudinally, leaving
for the making of the instrument only two-thirds or half, or even
one-third, of the convex outside stem circumference on one side and
the flat surface of the cut-away part on the other, and the latter
is then hollowed out, leaving, however, a solid head an inch or two
long at one end. The hollow piece thus produced is cut into three
longitudinal sections or strips, of which the two outside ones are
longer than the central one. The two outside strips are left at their
full width from the head downwards to a distance of 2 or 3 inches
from the other end, from which point they are cut away, very much
as one would cut away the divided nib of a quill pen, so that the
actual tips of these two strips are quite slender, being no broader
than their thickness. These two ends are tied together with fine
vegetable fibre. The centre strip, which is generally narrower than
the other two at its commencement by the head, is further reduced in
width by a more immediate and gradual process of paring down, and so
becomes a very slender vibrating tongue or reed, the tip of which goes
almost up to, but does not quite reach, the point at which the tips of
the two outer strips are bound together. A hole is bored through the
solid head; and through this hole is passed a thick string of native
make from 5 to 10 or 12 inches long, secured at one end by a knot
on the flat side of the head, to keep the string from slipping out,
and having at the other end a large, rough, ornamental tassel. The
tassel is generally in part composed of the untwisted fibres of the
string itself; but to these is added something else, such as a bunch
of feathers, or two smaller bunches of feathers; and among these may
be seen such miscellaneous articles as a fragment of dried-up fruit,
or a part of the backbone of a fish. For playing the instrument,
they place its tail end, with the hollow side inwards, to the mouth,
holding the extreme tip of that end in the fingers of the left hand,
and keep the tongue of the instrument in a constant state of vibration,
by smart, rapid, jerky pullings of the tasselled string.

The flute is merely a small simple instrument made out of a small
bamboo stem, with one or two holes bored in it.

All these instruments are played by both men and women; but the
jew's-harp and flute are regarded only as toys.

I believe the Mafulu people occasionally sing at dances to the beating
of the drums; but this is quite unusual; and they never sing to the
music of the jew's-harp or flute. Both men and women sing, generally
several or many together, not so often alone. Their songs are all
very simple, and are chiefly sung in unison or octaves. I was told
that they sometimes accomplish simple harmonies, the notes of which
may simultaneously rise or fall either with the same or different
intervals, or may rise and fall in contrary motion; or the harmony
may be produced by one man or part of the group sustaining a note,
whilst another changes it; and I myself heard an example of the latter
of these, and also heard singing in which, while a group of men were
singing the same simple air, some of them were occasionally singing
one part of it, whilst the others seemed to be singing another part,
thus producing a very simple catch or canon. I am not, however, quite
certain as to this. Their songs are both cheerful and plaintive;
but the latter predominate, and are mainly in the minor key. The
subjects of their songs are generally sentimental love, and include
ditties by young men about their sweethearts; and I believe that some
of their songs are indecent, though I am not sure of this. They also
have warlike songs; and, when a special event occurs, songs are often
composed with reference to it. For example, not long ago a chief was
taken by the authorities to Port Moresby, and died there; and songs
about this were sung all through his district. Anyone will compose a
topical song; in fact, a man will begin singing one in the _emone,_
making it up as he goes on, and the others will join. The men have a
very pretty custom of singing together very softly when at the end
of the day they have retired to their _emone,_ and have lain down
to sleep, the singing being very gentle, and producing what I can
only describe as a sort of crooning sound, like a lullaby or cradle
song. I once heard one of these songs sung by my carriers the last
thing at night as they lay beneath the floor of the building in which
I was sleeping; and the effect was absolutely charming.

As an example of Mafulu music I give the following, which, though not,
I fear, quite accurate, is I think a substantially correct version of
the music of a war song sung by the Mambule and Sivu communities in
connection with joint hostilities by them against another community,
and I have so far as possible added the song itself.

1st Verse: E! e! e! Si-vu Mambule juju la em u jeka le
2nd Verse: E! e! e! Noul e nul em u ieka la bulu iuju le

It will be observed that the first line is whistling only. I was
informed that it is a common practice to whistle the air before singing
the first verse; though I did not gather that it was always done. It
will also be noticed that simple harmonies occur in the fourth and
fifth bars. I cannot say whether the two parts in the music are
sustained or taken up by the voices upon any defined scheme, and,
if so, what that scheme is. Nor can I say whether the voices which
take the lower notes in the music are silent after the word _la,_ or
repeat that word in the sixth bar, with or without the upper voices,
in order to bring the tune to a full close. I have only given two
verses; and, as regards the song in question, I doubt if there were
any more. Unfortunately I am unable to translate the words, and can
only give the meanings of the following:--

_E! e! e!_ are merely meaningless exclamatory sounds, such as we have
in civilised songs. _Sivu_ is the name of a Fuyuge community close
to the Mission Station, being, in fact, the one referred to by me in
my chapter on communities. _Mambule_ is the name of another of these
communities, further away from the station, being, as stated in my
introductory chapter, the name of the community from which the name
Mafulu arises. I cannot give verbal explanations of any of the other
words; but I may say that a rough translation of the second verse is
"My village, your village is alike (or equal.)"

Dancing.

The Mafulu people, like other New Guinea natives, are fond of dancing,
and indulge in it extensively, especially in connection with feasts
and ceremonies.

Their dancing is of an exceedingly active and lively character. The
movements of the feet are lively and jumping, often half a hop and half
a run; and, whilst dancing, their heads are actively moving backwards
and forwards and to both sides. The general progressive movement of
a dancing party is slow, but not a crawl; and the progress along the
village enclosure is usually accomplished by a series of diagonal
advances, by which they zig-zag backwards and forwards across the
enclosure, and in this way gradually travel along it. Very often the
dancers divide themselves into two parties, which in their zig-zag
progress alternately approach and recede from each other. The dancers
are always facing in the direction in which at that moment they are
moving. Men and women never dance together, except at the big feast,
where they do so in the way already described.

This method of dancing is in striking contrast to that of the Mekeo
people, whose movements are generally very gentle and slow, those
of the feet, which are accompanied by a corresponding genuflexion,
downwards and outwards, being a slow slight step, usually barely
more than a shuffle, the feet being hardly lifted off the ground,
and those of the head being confined to a slow and sedate backwards
and forwards nodding. Also the progress of a party of Mekeo dancers
is generally very slow,--a crawl,--so much so as often to be barely
perceptible, perhaps two or three inches being accomplished at each
step, and the line of progress of a dancing party is usually a straight
line down the village enclosure; and more commonly, though not always,
the position of each dancer is sideways to the then actual direction
of progression. And in Mekeo women and men often dance together in
one group.

Another difference between Mafulu and Mekeo dancing is that among the
Mafulu, though the drum-beating and dancing go on simultaneously, the
singing, in which all the dancers and non-dancers of both sexes join,
does not usually take place during the actual dancing, but only during
periodic pauses, in which the drum-beating and dancing cease; whereas
in Mekeo the drum-beating, dancing and singing all go on continuously
and simultaneously. As regards these Mafulu pauses in the dancing, I
should explain that these are quite distinct from the resting pauses
(in which there is neither drum-beating, dancing, nor singing) which
are customary both among the Mafulu and the Mekeo people.

A further difference arises as regards the dancing decorations. Both
Mafulu and Mekeo natives have elaborate high framework head feather
decorations, which are worn by some, but not necessarily all, of the
dancers; and they are much ornamented about their bodies. But the
Mafulu people generally wear their finest and most beautiful feathers
on their backs, whereas among the Mekeo natives the head ornament is
the chief feature of the decoration; and in Mekeo any man who has not
a framework head decoration generally has sticking in his hair a tall,
upright feather, which sways slowly backwards and forwards in response
to the slow nodding movements of his head.

The special dancing ornaments worn by the Mafulu are the aprons worn
by women, the ribbons worn by men and women, the forehead ornaments
worn by men, the long shell nose ornaments worn by both, and the huge
head feather erections. But for dances the people generally wear
all the decorative finery they possess or are able to borrow; and
they usually with special care paint their faces in various colours,
and their bodies red.

The comparison above given between the dancing of the Mafulu people
and that of the people of Mekeo brings me to a suggestion, made to me
by Father Clauser, that the Mafulu mode of dancing had its origin in an
imitation of that of the red bird of paradise, and the Mekeo mode in an
imitation of that of the goura pigeon. In support of this suggestion
he gave me the following information concerning the dancing of these
birds, which may be compared with the description given above of the
dancing of the Mafulu and Mekeo natives respectively:--

The movements of the red birds of paradise, when dancing, are
remarkably lively, the birds hopping and jumping about the tree
branches and from branch to branch, and bobbing their heads backwards
and forwards and from side to side, almost as though they had gone
mad. The progression along the branches is fairly rapid; but there
is not apparently any continuous line of progression in any given
direction, and the birds seem to have a curious way of approaching
and receding from each other as they do so. The birds always face
in the direction in which they are at the time moving, and do not
dance sideways. Moreover, the dance is an alternation of wild dancing
and intermittent pauses; and during the dancing both the males and
females are silent, but during the pauses they are uttering their
songs or cries.

The dancing movements of the goura pigeons are a gentle slow shuffle,
and are accompanied by a slow bowing or nodding of the head. The
progressive movement is exceedingly slow, and is always a continuous
one in the same direction, and it is usually a sideways movement. The
dancing and accompanying cooing of the pigeons go on continuously
and simultaneously, and the rhythm of the latter is curiously like
the more usual rhythm of the Mekeo drums.

I have unfortunately never had opportunities of observing the dancing
of either of these birds, and so cannot personally vouch for the
correctness of the above descriptions of them. But Father Clauser
has often watched them, and he is undoubtedly a careful observer,
upon whose testimony we may rely; and I may add that my efforts since
my return to England to obtain evidence, confirmatory or otherwise,
of these descriptions have produced confirmation of some of the facts
stated, and have not produced any contradictions.

Then again attention must be drawn to the fact that the magnificent
feather decoration of the bird of paradise is mainly upon or springing
from its back or body, whilst the goura pigeon's sole projecting
decoration, and perhaps its chief beauty, is the crest upon its head,
to which the Mekeo single upright head feather may be likened.

My efforts to obtain light from native sources upon this question of
imitation in Mafulu were fruitless, as the natives questioned knew
nothing of it; and on my return from Mafulu to the coast I did not
again pass through the Mekeo villages. But on reaching the coast I
made further enquiries upon the subject from the Fathers there of the
Mission, and obtained three interesting pieces of information. First,
I was told that the Mekeo clan Inawae of the Mekeo village Oriropetana,
whose clan badge is the goura pigeon, and who are not allowed to
kill and eat it, and whose bird totem it appears to be, say that they
are descended from the goura pigeon, and that an ancestor of theirs,
though himself a man, had all the powers and faculties of movement
of those birds, and that he used to dance with them, and so learnt
the dance and taught it to his people. Unfortunately no enquiry had
been made as to the question of any imitative character in their
present dancing, and the information only emanated from a particular
clan with a particular association with the bird. I therefore do not
attach undue general importance to this case. [93]

Secondly, I was told that the Pokau people, whose dance is practically
the same as that of the Mekeo people, themselves say that their dancing
is an imitation of that of the goura pigeon. This certainly tends
to support Father Clauser's suggestion as regards Mekeo. Thirdly,
some natives of Kuni, who are undoubtedly very similar and closely
related to the Mafulu, and whose dancing is very similar to that of
the latter, were questioned on the subject in my presence, and under
my direction. The question put was, "When Kuni people are dancing,
are they in their dance imitating anything, and if so what?" (no
mention or suggestion being made of a bird or of anything else). The
answer was that they were imitating the dance of the _goloala_, which
I was told was not the red bird of paradise, but was another small
species of that bird with a yellowish-white body, yellow head and
yellowish-white wings. The leading question was then put to them,
whether they were sure the bird was the yellow one described by
them, and not the red one; which question was answered definitely
in the affirmative. And subsequently, when, in order to test their
definiteness and certainty in what they had told me, I showed them a
few postcard pictures of birds of paradise, which included the red
one and others, but not one such as is above described, and almost
invited them to recognise one of these as being the bird they meant,
they were firm in their insistence that the bird to which they referred
was not shown in any of the pictures. This, I think, helps to support
Father Clauser's suggestion as regards the Mafulu, subject of course
to the question of the variety of bird of paradise which is imitated.

Dealing with this question of imitation as a whole, and taking into
consideration the apparently marked similarities between the dancing
of the two tribes of natives and the two genera of birds, and the
further element, perhaps not so strong, as to the similarities
in distribution upon the bodies of their decorations, and bearing
in mind the evidence obtained from native sources, which, though
obviously only fragmentary and insufficient in character, is so far
as it goes distinctly confirmatory, I am impelled to suggest that
Father Clauser's theory is not without foundation, and indeed amounts,
subject to the question of the species of bird of paradise, to a very
substantial possibility. And it is undoubtedly an interesting one. [94]

Toys and Games.

The Mafulu children have neither dolls nor other toys, and do not
make cat's-cradles. The young boys amuse themselves with small bows
and arrows and spears, which they make themselves. One common sport
is for the boys, armed with their spears, to stand in a row and for
another boy to roll in front of them a ball, made out of the root of a
banana tree, with its many rootlets intertwined, and for the boys to
try to hit it with their spears as it passes them. A similar game is
played in Mekeo and on the coast; but there the ball is often made
out of the outer fibre of a cocoanut. Small boys and girls amuse
themselves with glissading down the steep grassy slopes. There is
also a sort of fighting game for boys, in which young men sometimes
join. A number of them divide themselves into two opposing groups,
all armed with little darts, made of reeds on which a few leaves
are left at the head ends; and these two groups mutually attack
each other, advancing and retreating, according to the fortunes of
the fight. Boys, and men also, play at tug-of-war, using long canes
for ropes; and boys and girls have swings, constructed either by
looping two flexible rope-like tree stems together at the bottom,
or with a single rope, with a loop at the bottom, in which to place
their feet. But there are no racing or jumping or gymnastic games,
and no group or singing children's games.

CHAPTER XV

Counting, Currency and Trade

Counting.

Mafulu counting is accomplished by the use of two numerals (one and
two) and of the word "another" and of their hands and feet [95];
and with these materials they have phraseology for counting up to
twenty as follows:--

1 = _Fida_ (one).

2 = _Gegedo_ (two).

3 = _Gegedo minda_ (two and another).

4 = _Gegedo ta gegedo_ (two and two).

5 = _Gegedo ta gegedo minda_ (two and two and another) [or _Bodo fida_
(one hand)].

6 = _Gegedo ta gegedo ta gegedo_ (two and two and two).

7 = _Gegedo ta gegedo ta gegedo minda_ (two and two and two and
another) [or _Bodo fida ta gegedo_ (one hand and two) ].

8 = _Gegedo ta gegedo ta gegedo ta gegedo_ (two and two and two and
two) [or _Bodo fida ta gegedo minda_ (one hand and two and another) ].

9 = _Gegedo ta gegedo ta gegedo ta gegedo minda_ (two and two and
two and two and another) [or _Bodo fida ta gegedo ta gegedo_ (one
hand and two and two) ].

10 = _Bodo gegedo_ (two hands).

11 = _Bodo gegedov' u minda_ (two hands and another). [Note the "v"
at the end of gegedo. The full word is really _gegedove_; but it is
shortened to _gegedo_, unless the next word is a vowel. Also note the
"u." There are two words for "and," namely _ta_ and _une_. The "u"
here is the _une_ shortened, and put instead of _ta_ for euphony].

12 = _Bodo gegedo ta gegedo_ (two hands and two).

13 = _Bodo gegedo ta gegedo minda_ (two hands and two and another).

14 = _Bodo gegedo ta gegedo ta gegedo_ (two hands and two and two).

15 = _Bodo gegedo ta jovari fida_ (two hands and one foot).

16 = _Bodo gegedo ta jovari fidari u minda_ (two hands and one foot
and another). [Note the "n" at the end of _fida_. The full word is
really _fidane_, and the "n" is introduced here for euphony.]

17 = _Bodo gegedo ta jovari fida ta gegedo_ (two hands and one foot
and two).

18 = _Bodo gegedo ta jovari fida ta gegedo minda_ (two hands and one
foot and two and another).

19 = _Bodo gegedo ta jovari fida ta gegedo ta gegedo_ (two hands and
one foot and two and two).

20 = _Bodo gegedo ta jovari gegedo_ (two hands and two feet).

As regards these numerals it will be seen that in some cases
alternatives are given, whilst in other cases, where corresponding
alternatives would appear to be equally applicable, they are not given;
the reason is that in these latter cases the alternatives do not in
fact appear to be used.

There is no numerical phraseology to indicate any number above twenty;
and in the ordinary affairs of life, although numeration can be carried
in this cumbrous way up to twenty, they rarely use the numerals beyond
ten, and anything over that will be referred to as _tale, tale, tale,
tale_ (which may be translated "plenty, plenty, plenty, plenty").

Important counting, such as that of pigs at a feast, is accomplished
by the actual use of the hands and feet. The fingers stretched open
mean nothing; Closing down the thumb of the right hand indicates
one; closing down also the first finger of that hand indicates two;
and so on with the other fingers of the right hand, till you reach
the closing down of the thumb and all the fingers of the right hand,
which indicates five. Then, keeping all the right hand closed, they
begin with the left hand also. Closing down only the thumb indicates
six; and so on as before, until the thumbs and all the fingers of
both hands are closed, which indicates ten. [96]

Then they go to the feet. They keep both hands closed and together,
and with the right fist they point to the toes, beginning with the
big toe of the right foot, and so along the other toes of that foot,
and then go to the big toe of the left foot, and so along the other
toes of that foot, thus reaching the enumerative total of twenty. They
do not, when wishing to indicate a number, simply place their fingers
and hands and feet simultaneously in the requisite position for doing
so. They always go through the whole process of finger and toe counting
from the beginning. For example, to indicate eight, they turn in the
thumb and all the fingers of the right hand, and afterwards the thumb
and two fingers of the left hand, separately, and one alter another,
until the right position is reached; and similarly as regards numbers
over ten, they solemnly turn down all the fingers one after another,
and then point to the toes one after another, until they get to the
right one for indicating the desired number. When the fingers and
toes of the person counting are exhausted, he has recourse to those
of another person, if he wishes to count further, although he has
then passed the limit of numerical phraseology. For the purpose of
counting big numbers they are always sitting, and as in counting they
exhaust hands and feet, the latter are put together, If, for example,
they reach eighty, there are four men sitting, with all their hands
and feet crowded together; and if the number be eighty-three, there
is also a fifth man with a thumb and two fingers of his right hand
closed up. Sometimes a number above ten, but not over twenty, is
indicated with the hands only by counting up to ten in the ordinary
way, and then opening all the fingers and counting again, until they
reach the requisite amount in excess of ten.

I do not think it can be said that these people have in their minds any
real abstract idea of number, at all events beyond twenty. Each finger
turned down and toe pointed to, in succession, seems to represent
to their minds the article (_e.g._, a pig) which is counted, rather
than a step in a process of mental addition. But this is a matter upon
which I can only express myself in a very general way; and indeed the
mental stage at which the mere physical idea of the objects counted
has developed into the abstract idea of numbers would in any case be
exceedingly difficult to ascertain, or even, perhaps, to define.

They never use pebbles or sticks or anything else of that kind,
and have no method of recording numbers or anything else by notching
sticks; and they have no weights or measures.

Currency and Trade.

The Mafulu people have no currency in the true sense, every transaction
being one of exchange; but nevertheless some specific articles,
especially some of the dearer ones, can only be acquired by the
offering of certain other specific articles, and certain things have
definite recognised relative values for the purpose of exchange.

As examples of the former of these statements, I may say that a pig
used to be always paid for in dogs' teeth--though this practice is
not now, I think, so strict--and that some of their finer head feather
dancing ornaments and ornamental nose pieces can still only be paid for
in dogs' teeth; also that there is a special kind of feather ornament,
composed of many small feathers fixed in a line on a string, which can
only be obtained in exchange for a particular sort of shell necklace.

As examples of recognised relative values, I may state that the proper
payment in dogs' teeth for a pig is a chain of dogs' teeth equal in
length to the body of the pig, the latter being measured from the
tip of its nose to the base of its tail; and that the payment for
the special feather ornament is its own length of the corresponding
shell necklace.

Exchange and barter is generally only engaged in between members of
different communities, and not between those of the same community. An
apparent exception to this arises in the purchase of pigs at certain
ceremonies above referred to; but in this case it is really a matter of
ceremony, and not one of ordinary barter. There are no regular markets,
such as exist in some other parts of the country, the exchange of goods
being effected by one or more individuals going with their articles
of exchange to some other community, where they hope to get what they
require. The nearest approach to a market arises intermittently when
there is to be a big feast. Then the communities giving, and invited
to, the feast require a large supply of ornaments, especially for
those who are going to dance, and probably do not possess a sufficient
quantity. They therefore have to procure these ornaments elsewhere;
and the natural place to go to is some other community, possibly a
long way off, which has recently been in the same want of extensive
ornaments for a feast, and has procured and used them, and now has
them, so to speak, in stock, and will be glad to dispose of them
again. Thus ornaments used for feasts are sold and resold and travel
about the country very extensively.

CHAPTER XVI

Language

I have been fortunate in having had some interesting and valuable
linguistic material placed at my disposal for publication by Father
Egedi and in having had further material added to it by Dr. Seligmann
and Mr. Sidney H. Ray. I have thought it better to deal with it in
five appendices, and I am greatly indebted to Mr. Ray for having
undertaken the laborious task of their compilation. I give the
following explanation concerning these appendices.

(1) Is a grammar of the Fuyuge language. The original manuscript is
the work of Father Egedi, the, materials from which it was prepared
by him having been collected in the Mafulu villages. The appendix is
Father Egedi's Grammar, translated and edited by Mr. Ray.

(2) Is a short note on the Afoa language prepared by Dr. W. M. Strong,
when he was Government Agent in Mekeo, and handed by him to
Dr. Seligmann for publication. To this note Mr. Ray has added
a footnote.

(3) Is a note on the Kovio language prepared by Dr. Strong, and handed
by him to Dr. Seligmann. This note refers to the languages spoken in
the neighbourhoods of Inavarene and the Inava valley and of the Upper
Lakekamu river, all of which were found by Dr. Strong to be somewhat
similar. The footnote is by Mr. Ray.

(4) Is a comparative vocabulary, prepared by Mr. Ray, of the
languages of some of the different Papuan-speaking people of the
mountain districts of Central British New Guinea. The words in the
"Mafulu" column are taken from a very lengthy MS. vocabulary compiled
by Father Egedi in Mafulu. Those in the "Kambisa" column were all
collected by the Rev. P. J. Money in the Kambisa villages of the
Upper Chirima valley during Mr. Monckton's expedition, referred to
in my introductory chapter. Most of these words are taken from the
New Guinea _Annual Report_ for 1905-6; but to them have been added
other words, which had been collected by Mr. Money. The words in
the "Korona" column are taken from an MS. vocabulary prepared by
Dr. Strong at Korona, also mentioned in my introductory chapter,
and handed by him to Dr. Seligmann. Those in the "Afoa" column are
taken from an MS. vocabulary prepared by Dr. Strong in connection
with his Afoa notes, to which are added in square brackets some other
words taken from Father Egedi's vocabulary in _Anthropos_ II., 1907,
pp. 1016-1021, this vocabulary being there called by him Tauata. The
words in the "Kovio" column are taken from an MS. vocabulary prepared
by Dr. Strong in connection with his Kovio notes, to which are added
in square brackets some "Oru-Lopiku" words collected by Father Egedi,
and published in _Anthropos_ II., 1907, pp. 1016-1021. As regards this
column I must explain that Dr. Strong's words were all collected within
the districts to which his notes refer, but that Father Egedi's words,
though in part collected there, were, I believe, in part collected
further to the east.

(5) Is a series of notes by Mr. Ray upon the matter contained in the
previous appendices.

I am perhaps open to criticism for introducing into a book of my
own notes on the Mafulu people such extensive material written by
others, and relating to other mountain districts as well as to that
of the Mafulu; but my belief as to the probable similarity in many
respects between the Papuan-speaking natives of these central mountain
districts, and the obvious value and importance of the matter which
has been so kindly placed at my disposal, justify me, I think, in
introducing it; and indeed I should be doing but ill service to New
Guinea ethnology if I did not take advantage of these opportunities
which have been offered to me.

Though I am not qualified to discuss these materials from the
grammatical and scientific linguistic point of view, there are a
few matters to which I should like to draw attention, as affecting
statements appearing in this book, and which were written by me before
I received this linguistic material.

Regarding the question raised in my introductory chapter as to the
extension of the Fuyuge linguistic area so far south as Korona, it
will be noticed that a large number of the words in the Mafulu and
Korona columns are the same, or very similar. Dr. Strong, in some
unpublished MS. notes in Dr. Seligmann's possession, to which I have
had access, says as regards the Mafulu and Korona languages that "there
is nothing to show that the two languages may not be for all practical
purposes identical," and Mr. Ray in his concluding notes classes Mafulu
and Korona together as dialects of Fuyuge. The village of Sikube,
mentioned by Mr. Ray, is, I believe, on the Upper Vanapa river and
north of Mt. Lilley, and so is well within the Fuyuge-speaking area
as defined by the Fathers.

Concerning the Kambisa (Upper Chirima valley) column, the similarity
of many of the words contained in it to those in either the Mafulu
or the Korona column is obvious; and it is curious that some of these
words appear to resemble the Korona words more than they do those of
Mafulu. I also think I may say that the similarity between Kambisa
words on the one hand, and those of either Mafulu or Korona on the
other, is almost equal to the similarity between Mafulu and Korona;
and Mr. Ray classes Kambisa along with Mafulu and Korona as dialects
of Fuyuge. So the statement in the introductory chapter that the
valley of the Upper Chirima river is included in the Fuyuge area has,
I think, stood the test of some detailed linguistic comparison.

The note by Dr. Strong upon what he calls the Kovio language and his
Kovio vocabulary both relate to a district which is within the Fathers'
Oru-Lopiku linguistic area; and I venture to repeat the suggestion,
made in my introductory chapter, that for the present should adopt
the term Kovio for the two areas which the Fathers call Oru-Lopiku
and Boboi, though eventually we may be able to distinguish between
these two areas.

The Afoa or Tauata area is the Fathers' Ambo area. The Afoa column
discloses a very few words which resemble the Fuyuge words; but it
seems obvious that the Afoa language does not belong to the Fuyuge
group, and this is the view taken of it by Mr. Ray.

There are two matters in Mr. Ray's classification in the fifth appendix
which I wish to mention. It seems to have been already assumed that
the Rev. James Chalmers' Kabana language could not have been collected
on Mt. Victoria; and I would point out that this mountain is quite
outside what now appears to be the Fuyuge area. As regards the Afoa
language the references by Dr. Strong to Mt. Pizoko and Mt. Davidson
bring me back to my observations upon the point in my introductory
chapter. If the Fathers are right in putting Mt. Pizoko within the
Fuyuge area, it is hardly correct to say (see introductory chapter)
that the Afoa language is spoken in the villages on Mt. Pizoko; but
it might well be, as quoted by Mr. Ray, that a Fuyuge native in a
Mt. Pizoko village spoke Afoa fluently, as this mountain is close to
the Fathers' Fuyuge-Afoa boundary. Also Mt. Davidson is according to
the Fathers in the Boboi area; but Dr. Strong seems to have regarded
it as Ambo, and to have treated vocabulary matter collected from a
native who came from a village "apparently on the slopes of" that
mountain as having been taken from an Ambo native. In this case,
however, there seems to be some doubt as to where this native did in
fact come from; and the eastern slopes of Mt. Davidson are not far
from the Fathers' Afoa boundary.

I think that these linguistic materials, taken as a whole, are, so far
as they go, well in accord with the delimitation by the Fathers of
the Fuyuge area, except as regards their view concerning Korona, as
to which they did not profess actual knowledge, and merely expressed
a doubt, and subject to the point that, for linguistic purposes at
all events, the Fathers' use of the word "Mafulu" as representing
the whole Fuyuge area is perhaps not desirable, and would be better
replaced by the term "Fuyuge," with subdivisions of "Mafulu," "Korona,"
and "Kambisa," as given by Mr. Ray; though probably Sikube might be
included in either Mafulu or Korona, as geographically it is evidently
between these two.

CHAPTER XVII

Illness, Death, and Burial

Ailments and Remedies.

All serious ailments occurring up to certain ages, and except in
certain cases, are generally assumed to be the work of someone acting
in connection with a spirit; but, speaking generally, no efforts appear
to be made by imprecation or other supernatural method to propitiate
or contend against these spirits, except by the use of general charms
against illness, and except, so far as the propitiation or driving out
of the spirit is involved, by one or other of the specific remedies
for specific ailments mentioned below. The natives have, however,
for common diseases cures of which some are obviously purely fanciful
and superstitious, but some are probably more or less practical.

The chief ailments are colds and complications arising from them,
malaria, dysentery, stomach and bowel and similar complaints, toothache
and wounds.

Dysentery has recognised and accredited curers, both men and women. The
operator chews and crushes with his teeth the root of a vegetable
(I do not know what it is) which they grow in their gardens, and then
wraps it up into a small bundle in a bunch of grass, and gives it to
the patient to suck. This remedy does not appear to be effective.

There are men who are specially skilled in dealing with stomach and
bowel troubles. The operator takes in his hand a stone, and with the
other hand he sprinkles that stone over with ashes. He then makes over
it an incantation, in which, though his lips are seen to be moving,
no sound comes out of them; after which he takes some of the ashes
from the stone, which he still holds in his hand, and with these
ashes he rubs the stomach of the patient, who, I was told, generally
at once feels rather better, or says so.

There are also women who deal with cases believed to be caused by the
presence in the stomach of a snake, which has to be got out. Here
the operator takes a piece of bark cloth, with which she rubs the
front of the patient's body, but without any incantation. Then, as
she removes the cloth from the body, she makes a movement as though
she were wrapping up in it something, presumably the escaped snake;
and afterwards she carries the cloth away with her, and the cure is
thus effected.

A man with toothache will say that "a spirit is eating my teeth." The
people seem to have a knowledge of something inside the teeth,
the nature of which I am not able to state definitely, but which
apparently is, in fact, the nerve, and they recognise that it is in
this something that the pain arises; but I could not ascertain the
connection between this something and the spirit which is supposed
to cause the trouble. If the aching tooth can be got at, they adopt a
method the native explanation of which was translated to me as being a
drawing or driving out of the mysterious something from the tooth. This
is done in some way with an ordinary native comb, without extracting
the tooth itself; but how it is done I could not ascertain. There
is no incantation connected with the operation. Another cure is for
the patient to chew the leaf of a certain tree (I do not know what
tree), so that the sap of it gets into the hole in the tooth, and
thereby, as they think, draws or drives out this nerve, or whatever
the something may be. The Fathers of the Mission told me that both
these two remedies do really appear to be effective.

Wounds are the speciality of many healers with special knowledge of
the curative properties of various plants, and who gather the plant,
make an incantation over it, boil it in water, and then with that
water wash the wound. There are also men who operate surgically on
wounds with knives made of stone or shell or bamboo.

Charms, probably of a poisonous nature, are used generally for the
warding off of sickness, these being carried in the little charm bags.

A general and universal cure for all ailments is a piece of bark,
tied with a piece of string to the neck or head, all neck ornaments
having been first removed.

I regret that as regards all these matters I am only able to indicate
shortly and generally the methods of cure, and can give no further
explanation concerning them.

Death and Burial.

_(Ordinary People.)_

When a man or woman is regarded as dying, he or she is at once attended
by a woman whose permanent office it is to do this, and who has other
women and girls with her to assist her, these others including, but
not necessarily being confined to, the females of the dying man's own
family and relatives. The house is full of women; but there is no
man there. This special woman and the others attend the dying man,
[97] nursing him, washing him from time to time, and keeping the
flies away from him; but they apparently do not attempt any measures
for curing him, their offices only beginning when he is regarded as
dying. In the meantime they all wail, and there are also a number of
other women wailing outside the house.

The special woman watches the dying person; and when she thinks he
is dead she gives him a heavy blow on the side of the head with her
fist, and pronounces him dead. She apparently does not feel his heart,
or do more than watch his face; and I should think it may often be
that in point of fact he is not dead when the blow is given, and
might perhaps have recovered.

Then the women inside the house say to one another that he is dead,
and communicate the news to the people outside; whereupon the men in
the village all commence shouting as loudly as they can. The reason
given for this shouting is that it frightens away the man's ghost;
but if so it is apparently only a partial intimidation of the ghost,
who, as will be seen hereafter, is subjected to further alarms at a
later stage. The men communicate the news in the ordinary way adopted
by these people of shouting it across the valleys; and so it spreads
to other villages, and even to other communities. The man being dead,
the wailing of the women inside and outside the house is changed into
a true funeral wailing song; but this latter only continues for a few
minutes. The special woman and some others, probably relatives only,
remain in the house; but they do not touch the body at this stage. The
other women, probably non-relatives, go out. The relatives of the
deceased, both men and women, immediately smear their bodies with mud,
but no one else in the village does so.

This is the situation until the first party of women, generally
accompanied by men, begin to come in from other villages of the
same, and probably of one or more other, communities. These people
have been laughing and playing and enjoying themselves on their way
to the village, and do so freely until they get close to it. Then
they commence wailing (not the funeral song) and shouting, calling
the deceased by a relationship term, such as father, brother, etc.,
though they may never have heard of him before; and, doing this, they
enter the village, and go to the house. The incoming women, but not
the men, all arrive smeared with mud. The women crowd into and about
the house, still wailing as before, but not the funeral song. They
all see the body; and each woman, after seeing it, comes out and sits
on the platform of the house or on the ground outside. The party of
outside village women then cease their first wailing, and commence
the funeral song, in which they are joined by the female relatives
of the deceased and other women of the village. But again this only
lasts for a few minutes, the period being longer or shorter according
to the importance of the person who has died.

Other similar parties, coming in from other villages, go through the
same performance as they come into the village; and in each case, as
the women of each fresh party come out of the house after seeing the
corpse, there is a fresh outburst of the funeral song on the part of
all the women present, but always only for a few minutes. This goes on
till the last batch of visitors has arrived. The people of the village
know when this last batch has come, because they have been told by
cross-valley shouting which villages are sending parties. The total
number of women in the village is then generally very large. After the
last batch of visitors has arrived, and until the funeral ceremony,
all the women again break out into the funeral song for a few minutes
about once an hour in the daytime, but not so often at night.

The funeral takes place probably about twenty-four hours after
death. The body is now wrapped up by the special woman attendant,
helped by the female relatives of the deceased, in leaves, especially
banana leaves, and bark of trees, and remains so wrapped up in
the house.

It is placed with the knees bent up to the chin, and the heels to the
buttocks. In the meantime men of the village dig a grave 2 or 3 feet
deep in the village open enclosure. When all is ready the funeral
song begins again, the singers this time being the female relatives
of the deceased and the women who have come from outside villages,
but not the other women of the village of the deceased. Men of the
village then carry the corpse, wrapped and doubled up, and place it,
lying on its back, in the grave. There is no real procession from the
house to the grave, though all the people assemble at the latter;
but during the whole of the time, until the body is in the grave,
the singing by the women of the funeral song continues. As soon as
the body is in the grave, all the men, both villagers and visitors,
shout again as before, and for the same purpose. The grave is then
filled up, the women in the meantime singing as before; and when this
is done the funeral is over.

The relatives of the deceased now go into mourning. The widow or
widower or other nearest relative wears the mourning string necklace
already described. He or she, and also the other near relatives,
smear their faces, and sometimes, but not always, their bodies, with
black, to which, as regards the face, but not the body, is added oil or
water. Some more distant relatives, instead of blackening themselves,
wear the mourning shell necklace. And all this will continue,
nominally without break, until the mourning is formally removed, in
the way to be explained hereafter. As a matter of fact, the insignia
of mourning are not worn without interruption, and the black smearing
is by no means so retained; but on any special occasion the person
would take care to appear in mourning. There is a custom under which
the widow or widower or other nearest relative may, instead of wearing
the mourning string necklace, abstain during the period of mourning
from eating some particular food, of which deceased was most fond. [98]

In connection with mourning, I should also mention a curious custom,
which I understand is common, though not universal, for a woman who
has lost a child, and especially a first-born or very clear child,
to amputate the top end of one of her fingers, up to the first joint,
with an adze. Having done this once for one child, she will possibly
do it again for another child; and a woman has been seen with three
fingers mutilated in this way. [99]

The family of the deceased invite men and women from some other
community, but only one community, to a funeral feast, which is
held after an interval of two or three days from the day of the
funeral. On the day appointed these guests arrive. They are all well
ornamented, but, with one exception, they do not wear their dancing
ornaments. One of them, however, usually a chief or the son of a chief
of the community invited, comes in his full dancing ornaments. All
the guest men bring with them their spears, and perhaps adzes or clubs.

When they arrive the following performances take place, the village
enclosure being left by the villagers empty and open:--First two guest
women enter the village enclosure at one end, and run in silence round
it, brandishing spears in both hands, as at the big feast; but they
make no hostile demonstration. When these two women have reached their
starting point, they again do the same thing, brandishing their spears
as before, and all the guest men, except the specially dressed one,
follow them by advancing with a dancing step along the enclosure,
they also brandishing their spears, and also being silent. Thus the
whole group goes to the other end of the village, passing the grave
of the deceased as they do so; then they turn round, and come back
again in the same way, but on their return they stop before they
reach the grave.

Then the specially ornamented guest man enters alone, without his arms,
but with his drum, which he beats. He dances up the village enclosure
in a zigzag course, going from side to side of the enclosure, and
always facing in the direction in which he is at the time moving; and
during his advance he beats his drum., but otherwise he and all the
other people are silent. When in this way he has reached the grave,
the chief of the clan of the village where the funeral takes place,
who does not wear any dancing ornaments, approaches him, and removes
his heavy head ornament. This ends the first part of the ceremony;
and the villagers and guests then chat and conduct themselves in the
ordinary way.

Plates 82 and 83 illustrate scenes at a funeral feast in the village
of Amalala. In the former plate the grave is very clear, and the
remains of an older grave are visible behind the post a little to the
left. At the upper end of the village enclosure are the visitors, who
are about to dance along the enclosure past the grave, and then back
again up to it. The figures in the _emone_ behind are Amalala men,
watching the performance. In the latter plate the visitor chief is
seen dancing along the village enclosure towards the grave.

In the meantime the members of the family of the deceased bring in one
or more village pigs and some vegetables. A number of sticks are laid
upon the ground over the grave, the sticks crossing each other so as
to form a rude ground platform (this is not done by any particular
person), and these sticks are covered with banana leaves. [100] The
pigs are placed on this platform, and are then killed by the pig-killer
and cut up, and the vegetables and pieces of pig are distributed by
the chief of the clan, helped perhaps by the family of the deceased,
among the male visitors. The one specially dressed visitor, being
the only one who has really danced, gets much the largest share. For
example, if there be two or more pigs, he will get an entire pig for
himself. Then the ceremony is over, and the guests return home. The
wood of the platform is not removed from the grave, but is left to
rot there. The killing of the pigs at this ceremony is regarded as
the act which will, they think, finally propitiate or drive away the
ghost of the departed.

It will be noticed that, though representatives from several
communities may be invited and come to the funeral, only one community
is invited to the subsequent funeral feast, just as only one community
is invited to the big feast, which latter we must, I think, associate
with the general superstitious idea of laying the ghosts of past
departed chiefs and notables. I cannot say what is the reason for the
confinement of these invitations to one community only, but it must, I
think, have had some definite origin [101]; and as to this I am struck
by the similarity of the Massim idea, referred to by Dr. Seligmann,
that an individual's death primarily concerns the dead man's hamlet
and one other hamlet of his clan, with which certain death feasts
are exchanged, other members of the clan being comparatively little
affected. [102]

As soon as possible after the funeral pig-killing, they catch some
wild pig or pigs, and kill and eat them, and sweep down the village
by way of purification ceremony, very much as they do in the case
of the big feast, except that it is on a very much smaller scale,
and that the people do not afterwards leave the village.

The ceremony of removal of the mourning may take place after an
interval of only a week or two, or of so much as six months, the
date often depending upon the occurrence of some other ceremony,
at which the removal of the mourning can be carried out without
necessitating a ceremony for itself only. Visitors from some
other community attend. The ceremony only applies to the nearest
relative--the person who wears the string necklace; but, on his or
her mourning being ceremoniously removed, the mourning of all others
in respect of the same deceased ceases automatically. [103] This
nearest relative has to provide a village pig. There is a feast,
and dancing and pig-killing and distribution of food and pig, in
the usual way, and this may be in the village of the deceased or
in some other village of the community. The pig-killing is done by
the pig-killer under the platform of a chiefs platform grave, or on
the site of it. The pig, specially provided by the nearest relative,
is bought and paid for by some person, as in the case of some of the
ceremonies already described, and this person, after the killing of
the pig, without special ceremony, cuts off the mourner's string
necklace, dips it in the blood of the pig, and throws it away;
then he takes some coloured paint, usually red, and with it daubs
two lines on each side of the face across the cheek of the mourner,
who of course at this ceremony will still have his black paint. If
the mourner has been refraining from food, instead of wearing the
necklace, the ceremony is confined to the paint-daubing. Then the
mourner pays this ceremonial pig-buyer for his services, probably in
feathers or dog-teeth, and the mourning is at an end.

There will at a later date be a purification ceremony, at which wild
pigs will be killed, such as has already been described. [104]

Death and Burial.

_(Chiefs.)_

A dying chief is attended by the special woman and others in the
way above described, except that many women of the clan are there,
and that this special attendance and its accompanying wailing begin
earlier, perhaps two or three days earlier, than in the case of an
ordinary person, and that all the women of the clan who are not in
the house wail outside it.

In this case, however, there is a special ceremony for ascertaining
whether or not the chief is in fact going to die--a ceremony which is
usually performed at his own request. Some vegetable food, probably
sweet potato, or perhaps sugar-cane or taro, is given him to eat;
and this he will do although he may be very ill, and may not have been
taking food, though of course, if he were insensible or unable to eat,
this special ceremony could not be carried out. The inedible portions
of this food, _e.g.,_ the peel of the potato or the hard fibres of
the sugar-cane, are then handed to certain magical persons of the
community, whose special duty it is to perform the ceremony about to be
described, but as to whom I was unable to ascertain who and what they
are, and whether they have any other special functions besides those
of this ceremony. Some of these portions of food may even be sent to
some similar magic person of high reputation in another community,
in order that he also may perform the same ceremony. Each of these
magic persons also has handed to him a portion of a perineal band
belonging to, and recently worn by, the ailing chief.

Each of the magic men then wraps up the portion of food which has
been given to him in the piece of band; and this he again wraps up in
leaves, and continues doing so until the parcel has become a round
ball 4 or 5 inches in diameter. The men then separate, and each of
them goes off alone to a spot outside the village, where he collects
some very dry firewood, and heaps it up against the trunk of a tree
to a height of, say, 6 feet. He then engages in an incantation, after
which he puts the ball inside the bottom of the wood pile, and lights
the pile at the bottom. Then he lies down by this fire and closes his
eyes. After an interval of perhaps two to five minutes he gets up,
as though awakening from a bad dream, and hears the wailing in the
adjoining village, and asks himself what all this wailing is about;
and he then appears to remember for what purpose he is there, goes to
the fire, and takes out the ball. If the fire has burnt or scorched
the food wrapped up in the ball, it is an indication that the chief
is to die. If not, it indicates that he will live. These magic men
then return to the village, and report the result. If their report
be that the chief is going to live, the people cease their wailing,
but if it be that he is to die, the wailing continues.

Pausing here for a moment, I may admit that, though I have told
the tale of this ceremony, with its private cogitations--real or
pretended--of the magic men, as it was told to me, the tale is open
to obvious questions. How can a magic man from a distant community
hear the wailing? What would happen if the results of the ceremonies
of the various magic men were to differ? What would be the situation
if a chief whose death was indicated by the ceremony lived, or if one
whose recovery was foretold became worse and died? All these points
I tried to elucidate without success; but possibly the answer to the
query as to divergence of results may be that the men take care that
the results of their experiments shall not differ.

It is believed by the natives that, if a hostile community can secure
some of the food remnants and band, and hand them to their own magic
man, for him to go through the same ceremony, he may maliciously
bring about an unfavourable result, and thus may cause the death
of the chief. If the belief that such a thing had happened arose,
it would be a _casus belli_ with that other community; and a case is
known in which an inter-community fight did occur on this ground.

If the report be that the chief is to die, the special woman attendant
will give him the blow on the head, as in the case of the ordinary
villager. The shouting of the men outside when the chiefs death is
announced is much louder than in the case of a commoner; and as they
shout they brandish their spears, and strike the roof of the chiefs
house with the spear points, and some of the men strike it with
adzes and clubs. The spreading of the news to other communities is
on a wider scale, and the number of people who respond to the news
and come to the funeral is very great, and includes a larger number
of chiefs and prominent men; there are more, and much larger, parties
of them. The funeral song of the women, commenced on the announcement
of death, lasts much longer--indeed for hours. In fact, as numerous
large bodies of people keep coming in, and some of these coming from
a distance may not arrive until just before the funeral, and as the
funeral song has to be recommenced as each fresh party comes in,
and lasts so much longer each time, it follows that this funeral song
practically continues without ceasing from the moment when death is
announced until the actual funeral. The immediate smearing by men and
women of their bodies with mud is done by all the members of the entire
community. When the guests reach the village, they are all, both men
and women, smeared with mud, and they loudly call on the dead chief
by his title _amidi_, or as _babe_ (father). Also the various chiefs'
wives among the guests remain in the house after seeing the body,
instead of coming out with the other guest women.

The funeral does not take place till thirty-six or forty-eight hours
after the death. The various chiefs' wives take part in the wrapping
up of the body; and to the ordinary wrappings are added large pieces
of bark cloth.

The grave [105] is quite different from that of a commoner. There are
two methods of sepulture adopted for chiefs, the grave being in both
cases in or by the edge of the open village enclosure.

The first of these methods is a burial platform, a very rough erection
of upright poles from 9 to 12 feet high, the number of which may be
four, or less or more than that, at the top of which erection is a
rude wooden box-shaped receptacle, about 2 or 3 feet square, and from
6 inches to a foot deep, and uncovered at the top, in which receptacle
the corpse is placed. Sometimes the supporting structure, instead
of being composed of a number of poles, is only a rough tree trunk,
on which the lower ends of the branches are left to support the box.

The second method is tree burial. The tree in which this is done is
a special form of fig tree called _gabi_, the burial box, similar to
the one above described, being placed in its lowest fork, or, if that
be already occupied, then in the next one, and so on. [106] A tree
has been seen with six of these boxes in it, one above another. This
tree is specially used for such burials. The natives will never cut it
down. In selecting a village site they will often specially choose one
where one of these trees is growing; and indeed the presence of such
a tree in the bush raises a probability that there is, or has been,
a native village there. [107]

If a burial platform afterwards falls down through decay, the people
throw away all the bones, except the skull and the larger bones of the
arms and legs; and these they deal with in one of three alternative
ways. They either (1) dig a shallow grave in the ground under the
fallen platform, and put the skull and special bones there, and then
fill in the grave with soil, on this put a heap of stones, and on these
put the wooden remains of the collapsed platform, planting round them
tobacco or croton, or some other fine-leaved plant, or (2) they put
the skull and special bones in a box on the _gabi_ burying tree, or
(3) they take them to the _emone_, and there hang them up till they
are wanted for a big feast. In the same way, if a tree box falls,
they retain only the skull and large arm and leg bones, and replace
them in a new box in the same tree.

We have already seen a chiefs burial platform in the two plates 69 and
70 relating to the big feast at Seluku, and the following plates are
additional illustrations:--Plate 84 is the grave of a chiefs child in
the village of Malala. The supports of the grave rise from the village
enclosure fence behind, and are quite distinct from the underground
commoner's grave, which is seen in front. The positions of the two
graves can be seen in the general view of the village (Plate 58). Plate
85 is a group of graves of chiefs and chiefs' relatives in the village
of Tullalave (community of Auga). Plate 86 shows the grave of a chiefs
child in the village of Faribe (community of Faribe). The form of this
grave is quite different from those of the others, and is not, I think,
so common, but a grave somewhat resembling it is seen in Plate 60.

Plate 87 is a _gabi_ fig tree, used for tree burial, near to the
village of Seluku, and Plate 88 shows the remains of an old burial
box in one of its forks. The bones are still in this box, and indeed
one of them may be just discerned at the extreme left, close to the
upright stem of the tree.

Plate 89 illustrates what I have said as to what is done when a burial
platform falls down from decay. The skull and larger arm and leg bones
of the body have been buried underground, and upon these have been
heaped first stones and then the remains of the collapsed platform, and
one little foliage plant and dried-up looking specimens of others can
be seen around it. This picture was taken in the village of Seluku,
and the actual position of the grave in the village enclosure is
seen in Plate 55. Plate 90, of an _emone_ in the village of Voitele
(community of Sivu) illustrates the alternative plan of hanging the
skull and bones up in the _emone_.

At the funeral all the women present, those of the village and of
the whole community and the guests, join in singing the funeral song;
but here again there is no actual procession, and the carrying of the
body is not necessarily entrusted to any particular person. When the
grave, whether on a platform or on a tree, is reached, all the men
present begin to shout loudly, and there is a terrible noise. They all
have their spears, but there is no brandishing of them. Then some men
(anyone may do this) climb up to the box, and others hand the wrapped
body up to them, and they place it lying on its back in the box. This
ends the actual burial ceremony.

The black mourning face, and sometimes body-staining is then adopted by
all the people of the community, and perhaps also by chiefs from other
communities who have been friends of the dead chief. The special string
necklace worn by the nearest relative and the other family emblems of
mourning are the same as in the case of an ordinary person, except
that the chiefs widow will probably also wear the special mourning
network vest already described, and that the mourning shell necklace,
which in the case of an ordinary man is only worn by distant relatives,
is worn by all the married men and women of the clan who have or can
procure it.

The subsequent ceremony and feast are in this case held one or two
days after the funeral, the acceleration in the case of a chief being
necessary in consequence of the retention of the corpse above ground
and the foul smell which immediately begins to emanate from it. This
feast is on a very large scale, though here again only one community
is invited. The guests enter the village just as they do in the case
of the death of an ordinary person; but they are all specially well
decorated, and the one guest who comes in full dancing ornaments will
certainly be a chief, or at least a chiefs son. The subsequent part
of the ceremony, up to the removal of the head feather ornament from
the dancer, is the same; but this removal is done by the nearest male
relative of the deceased chief, who will probably be the person to whom
the chieftainship has descended. Then follows the feast itself. The
vegetables and village pigs for the feast are provided by the whole
clan, and are in very large quantities. No platform of sticks is
placed on the grave, the grave in this case not being underground;
but the banana leaves are placed around (not under) the supports of
the burial platform, or around the trunk of the burial tree. The pigs
are killed upon these banana leaves by the pig-killer and his helpers,
and the killed pigs are then placed in circles around the platform
or tree, and are there cut up. The distribution of food and pig's
flesh is made by the chiefs nearest male relative, with assistance,
here again the special dancer getting the largest share, and the
ceremony is then over, and the guests return to their villages.

And now a true desertion of the village by its inhabitants takes
place, as indeed is necessary, as the putrefying body is becoming
so offensive; and it will be at least two or three weeks before the
emission of the smells is over. The villagers all go off into the bush,
with the exception of two unhappy men, more or less close relatives of
the dead chief, who have to remain in the village. Whilst there alone
they are well ornamented, though not in their full dancing decoration,
but in particular, though not themselves chiefs, they wear on their
heads the cassowary feathers which are the distinctive decoration of
a chief, and they carry their spears. There they remain amidst the
awful stench of the decomposing body and all the mess and smell of the
pigs' blood and garbage about the village. It is a curious fact that,
in speaking of these two men, the natives do not speak of them as
watching over the body of the chief, but as watching over the blood
of the killed pigs.

When the stench is over, the villagers in the bush are informed, and
they then return to the village. Then follow the killing and eating
of wild pigs and sweeping down of the village, as in the case of the
death of an ordinary person, but again on a much larger scale.

It will be noticed that, though the desertion of the village after a
big feast lasts for six months, that which follows a chiefs funeral
only lasts for a few weeks.

The removal of the mourning takes place after an interval which may be
anything between one and six months. This is a special ceremony, and
will not be postponed for the purpose of tacking it on to some other
ceremony, as in the case of an ordinary person's mourning removal; but
other ceremonies will often be tacked on to it. The guests invited are
from only one other community. Here again the person actually dealt
with is the chief mourner, and the removal of mourning from him or
her terminates the mourning for everyone. The village pigs for this
occasion are provided by the dead man's family, and not by the whole
clan, as in the case of a chiefs funeral feast. There will probably
be two or three of such pigs provided; but, as the ceremony is also
available for various other ceremonies, there may be a considerable
number of pigs killed. The dancing and pig-killing and feast are
the same as those of an ordinary mourning-removal ceremony, but on a
larger scale. The pig-killing in this case is done round the platform
or tree on which the chief is buried. The buyer of the pig, who cuts
off the mourning necklace and daubs the face of the chief mourner,
if not a chief, will at all events be a person of importance; but
the ceremonies relating to all these matters are identical with those
already described. There is also the subsequent purification ceremony,
at which wild pigs are killed and eaten as before.

The graves of chiefs' wives and members of their families, and
other persons of special importance, are platform or tree graves,
like those of chiefs, and the funeral ceremonies on the deaths of
these people are very similar to those of chiefs, though they are on
a scale which is smaller, in proportion to the relative smallness
of the importance of the person to be buried; and they are subject
to a few detailed differences, which the difference of the situation
involves. The special magic ceremony for ascertaining if the patient
is or is not going to die is not performed in the case of these people.

CHAPTER XVIII

Religion and Superstitious Beliefs and Practices

Religion and Superstitions.

These are subjects which I should hardly have ventured to introduce
into this book if I had had to rely exclusively upon enquiries made
only during my stay among the Mafulu villages, without having the
benefit of five years' observation by the Mafulu Fathers of the
Mission. And, notwithstanding this additional facility, my notes
on these questions will be found to involve puzzles and apparent
inconsistencies; and there is no part of the book which should be
read and accepted with greater reserve and doubt as to possible
misunderstanding. Subject to this caution, I give the information as
I have obtained it.

I heard nothing to justify the idea of the Mafulu people having
any belief in a universal God or All Father; but there is a general
belief among them in a mysterious individual named _Tsidibe_, who may
be a man, or may be a spirit (they appear to be vague as to this),
who has immense power, and who once passed through their country in
a direction from east to west. Wherever you may be, if you speak of
this personage, and ask to be told in which direction he travelled,
they always point out one which is from east to west. They believe
that it was _Tsidibe_ who taught them all their customs, including
dancing and manufacture, and that he ultimately reached and remained
in the land of the white man, where he is now living; and that the
superior knowledge of the white man in manufacture, and especially
in the making of clothes, has been acquired from him. The idea of
his ultimate association with the white man can hardly, however, be
a very ancient tradition. One of the Fathers was seriously asked by a
native whether he had ever seen _Tsidibe_. They seem to think that he
is essentially a beneficent being. They regret his having left their
country; but they have no doubt as to this, and do not regard him as
still continuing to exercise any influence over them and their affairs,
have no ceremonies or observances with reference to him, and do not
address to him any supplications. As traces of his passage through
their country they will show you extraordinarily shaped rocks and
stones, such as fragments which have fallen from above into the valley,
and rocks and stones which have lodged in strange positions. But there
are no ceremonies with reference to these and the natives have no
fear of them, and indeed they will proudly point them out to you as
evidences of this mysterious being having been in their country, and
of his power. They would not hesitate to touch one of these stones,
but they would never injure it. I learnt nothing about him which
would justify me in suggesting that the Mafulu people deified him
as an ancestor, or even regarded him as being one, though some of
the matters attributed to him are perhaps not dissimilar from those
often attributed to deified ancestors. [108]

They certainly have a lively belief in ghosts of people who have
lived and died, and in spirits which have never occupied human form,
all of whom (ghosts and spirits) are evil disposed, and in sorcery.

Every human being, male and female, has during life a mysterious
ghostly self, in addition to his bodily visible and conscious self;
and this ghostly self will on his death survive him as a ghost. There
appears to be no idea of this ghostly self leaving the body in times
of sleeping or dreaming; though, if a man dreams of someone who is
dead, he thinks that he has been visited by that person's ghost.

At death the ghost leaves the body, and becomes, and remains, a
malevolent being. There is no idea of re-incarnation, or of the ghost
passing into any animal or plant, though, as will be seen hereafter,
it sometimes apparently _becomes_ a plant; and there is no difference
in their minds between the case of a person who has died naturally
and one who has been killed in battle or otherwise, or between persons
who have or have not been eaten, or who have or have not been buried,
though in case of burial there are the methods of getting rid of the
ghost; and there is no superstitious avoidance of graves or fear of
mentioning a deceased person by name, and no superstition as to the
shadows of living persons passing over graves and sacred places. Except
as above stated, I found no trace of any belief in a future state.

When on the death of a man or woman or child, the ghostly self leaves
the body, or at all events when the funeral pig-killing has been
performed, the ghost goes away to the tops of the mountains, where
apparently it exists as a ghost for ever. The shouting immediately
after the death, and afterwards at the funeral, are steps towards
driving it there; and the pig-killing ceremony completes the
process. On reaching the mountains the ghost _becomes_ one of two
things. The ghost of a young or grown-up person up to, say, forty or
forty-five years of age becomes the shimmering light upon the ground
and undergrowth, which occurs here and there where the dense forest of
the mountains is penetrated by the sun's beams. It is apparently only
the light which shimmers on the ground and undergrowth, and not that
in the air. The ghost of an elderly person over forty or forty-five
years of age becomes a large sort of fungus, which is indigenous to
the mountains, where alone it is found. Any native who on a hunting
expedition or otherwise meets with a glade in which this shimmering
light occurs will carefully pass round it, instead of going across
it; and any native finding one of these fungi will neither eat nor
touch, nor even tread upon it; though indeed, as regards the eating,
I understand that this particular fungus is one of the poisonous
non-edible forms. A native who, after the recent death of another,
is travelling in the mountains, and there finds a young fungus of
this species only just starting into growth, will think that it is
probably the ghost of the recently departed one.

As regards the use by me with reference to both sunbeams and fungi of
the word "_becomes_" I recognise that it may justify much doubt and
questioning. The idea of actually _becoming_ the flickering light or
the fungus, as distinguished from that of entering into or haunting
it, is a difficult one to grasp, especially as regards the flickering
light. I tried to get to the bottom of this question when I was at
Mafulu; but the belief as to actual _becoming_ was insisted upon, and
I could get no further. I cannot doubt, however, that there is much
room for further investigation on the point, which is of a character
concerning which misapprehension may well arise, especially in dealing
with such simple and primitive people as are the Mafulu natives.

The foods of these ghosts in both their forms are the ghostly elements
of the usual native vegetable foods (sweet potato, yam, taro, banana,
and in fact every vegetable food) and the ghostly elements of the
excrement of the still living natives; and the ghosts come down from
the mountains to the villages and gardens to procure these foods. Here
again the difficulty as to meaning above referred to arises, as they
can hardly imagine that the flickering lights cease to flicker in their
mountain glades, or that the fungi cease to exist in their mountain
habitats during these food-seeking incursions; and yet, unless this
be so, the superstitious difficulty is increased. A ghost is also
sometimes for some reason or other dissatisfied with his mountain
abode; and he will then return to the village (not apparently in the
visible form of a flickering light or a fungus).

As the intentions of the ghost towards living humanity are always
evil, his visits, whether for procuring food or in consequence of
dissatisfaction with his habitat, are feared by the people; but I
could not ascertain what was the nature of the injuries by the ghost to
themselves of which they were afraid, nor could I hear of any actual
instance of a disaster or misfortune which had been attributed to the
machinations of such a ghost. When sleeping in their dark enclosed
houses, however, the people fill up all openings by which the ghost
might enter (this does not apply to the _emone_, the entrance openings
of which are not closed at night; but perhaps the fact that a number
of men are always sleeping together there gives them confidence);
and when the Mission Station at Mafulu was started the natives were
amazed at the missionaries daring to sleep alone in rooms with open
doors and windows, through which the ghosts might enter.

Having by the shouting prior to and at the dead man's funeral wholly
or partially driven his ghost to the mountains, and in some way,
as it would seem, further placated or influenced the ghost by the
subsequent pig-killing over or by his grave at the funeral feast, there
is no method of which I could gain information by which the people can
actually keep him there, or prevent his periodic returns to the village
and gardens for food, or his return from a mountain home with which
he is dissatisfied; and there are apparently no prayers, incantations
or other ceremonies for the purpose of placating, or intimidating, or
in any way influencing the ghost. This statement is subject, however,
to the existence of the practice of pig-killing at the various other
ceremonies before described (always apparently done under or by or
on the site of a chiefs grave), which is evidently superstitious in
character, and must have reference to the ghosts of the departed chiefs
and notables, being intended, or having originally been intended,
to placate or influence them in some way or other; and especially it
would seem that this must be so as regards the dipping of the mourner's
string necklace in dead pigs' blood at the mourning-removal ceremony,
and as regards the pig-killing at the big feast, at which the skulls
and bones of all the then departed chiefs and notables are carefully
collected, and made the objects of ceremonious dipping in blood, or
touching with bones so dipped, and after which these skulls and bones
may be thrown away, as not requiring further ceremony. And concerning
all these ceremonies, if we bear in mind the special fear which many
primitive people seem to have of the ghosts of their great men, as
distinguished from those of the unimportant ones, it seems, I think,
to be natural that the graves and the skulls and bones of the great
ones should be those which are specially dealt with, and the dealing
with which may possibly, so far as the big feasts are concerned,
have been the original purpose for which the feasts were held.

The mental attitude and conduct of the people towards ghosts may have
originated in some form of ancestor worship, but I found nothing now
existing to indicate this; and in particular I could learn nothing
of any recognition of, or ceremonial observances with reference to,
the individual ghosts of known persons, as distinguished from the
ghosts generally.

I could find no direct information as to any belief in ghosts of
animals or plants; but the fact that the living edible plants have
a ghostly self, upon which the human ghosts feed, seems to involve
the idea during the life of those plants; and in that case one sees
no reason why the ghost of the plant should not survive the plant
itself, just as the ghost of the living person survives him at his
death. Also the existence of a ghostly element in human excrement
opens out a wide field of ghostly possibilities.

Spirits which have never been human beings are also malevolent;
though when we come to the operations of magic men or sorcerers,
and to incantations and the use of charms, the powers in connection
with all of which appear to be ascribed to spirits, it will be noticed
that these are by no means necessarily and invariably engaged or used
for malevolent purposes.

I was not able to obtain any satisfactory information as to these
spirits, or their supposed attributes, nor, except as regards illness
and death, as to the nature of, and ground for, the fears which the
natives feel concerning them; indeed, this is a subject upon which
most natives all over the world are inclined to be reticent, partly
or largely from fear. Even as regards the sacred places which these
spirits are supposed to haunt, though the natives are not unwilling
to pass them, and will mention the fact that they are sacred, they
are unwilling to talk about them. My notes as to spirits, other than
those in connection with sorcery producing illness and death, must
therefore be practically confined to the sacred places haunted by the
spirits, and the demeanour and acts of the natives with reference to,
and when they pass, these places.

Speaking generally, any place which has something specially peculiar
or unusual in its appearance is likely to be regarded as the abode of
a spirit. A waterfall, or a deep still pool in the course of a river
(but not the river itself), or a deep narrow rocky river ravine,
or a strangely shaped rock come under this category. There are also
certain trees and creepers which are regarded as implying the presence
of a spirit in their vicinity, although that vicinity has in itself
nothing unusual. I can, however, only give a few illustrative examples
of this general idea.

There are three special trees and two or three special creepers
which imply the presence of a spirit. What the creepers are I could
not ascertain; but the trees are a very large palm which grows
on the mountains and not on the coast, a form of pine tree, [109]
and the _gabi_ fig-tree, used for burial of chiefs. [110] It does
not necessarily follow that every specimen of any one of these trees
and creepers is spirit-haunted; but some are known to be so, and all
are apparently so much under suspicion that, though the natives will
speak of them and will pass them, they are afraid to cut them down.

At the time when the path near the newly erected Mission Station at
Mafulu was being opened some of these creepers had to be cleared away,
and the Mission Fathers had the utmost difficulty with the natives,
only two or three of whom could be persuaded to help in the work,
whilst the others stood aloof and afraid. In the same way, when
the Fathers wanted to cut down some of the special palms, only two
natives were induced to help in this, and even they only did so on the
condition that the Fathers themselves made the first strokes; and the
Fathers were warned by the natives that evil would befall them. It was
a curious coincidence that the Father who did this tree-cutting, being
then and having been for a long time past perfectly well in health,
was that evening taken ill with a bad sore, which nearly necessitated
his being carried down to the head Mission Station on the coast.

There is a very common ceremony performed when natives, in travelling
through the country, pass a spirit-haunted spot. The leader of the
party turns round, and in a low voice tells the others that they are
approaching the spot, whereupon they all become silent, though up to
that point they have been chattering. The leader then takes a wisp of
grass and ties it in a knot, and all the others do the same. They then
walk on in silence for a period, which may be anything from five to
fifteen minutes, after which, as they pass the spot, the leader turns
round and throws his bunch of grass on the ground, and the others do
the same. In this way they avert the danger and afterwards chatter
as before. [111] Another somewhat similar ceremony commences, like
the former one, with silence; but, instead of throwing grass down as
they pass the haunted spot, the visible sign of which in this case is
a hole in the ground, the leader stops and looks round at the others,
and then presses the palm of his hand down into the interior of the
hole, and the others do the same; and after this all is safe and well,
as in the former case. In travelling through the country these holes
with numerous impressions of hands in them are to be seen; and you may
in one day's journey pass several of these signs of haunted places,
of either or both sorts, within a comparatively short distance of one
another. The hole in which the people put their hands may not have
originally existed, and may have been produced by the oft-repeated
pressure of hands on the ground as natives passed the haunted spot;
but on this point I am unable to make any statement. Nor have I
been able to ascertain what the difference, if any, is, or has been,
between the places where they put grass and those in which they merely
press the hands.

I found no evidence of any general idea of supernatural powers being
possessed by natural inanimate objects, such as rivers or rocks; but,
as already stated, fishers are in the habit of addressing the stream
in supplication for fish, and it is possible there are other examples
of the same sort of thing, which I did not discover.

Magic or sorcery, and those who practise it, and incantations and
charms, and those who supply charms, are naturally associated with
either ghosts or spirits, or both. Among the Mafulu people they are,
I was assured, associated solely with spirits, and not with ghosts;
and, though I have no confirmatory evidence of the accuracy of this
statement, I can only in these notes assume that it is correct. It
may well be, however, that in the minds of the people themselves the
distinction between the ghost of a person who has lived and died and
the spirit which has never lived in visible human form is not really
quite clearly defined; or that powers which are now regarded by them
as spirits have had an origin, possibly long ago, in what were then
believed to be ghosts. I shall revert to this point at a later stage.

Sorcery.

The Mafulu magic men or sorcerers are different from those of the
Mekeo plains. There is not among the Mafulu, as there is in Mekeo,
a large body of powerful professional sorcerers, who are a source of
constant terror to the other people of their own villages, and are
yet to a certain extent relied upon and desired by those people as
a counterpoise to the powers of sorcerers of other villages; and a
Mafulu native, unless prevented by a fear of outside hostility in
no way connected with the supernatural, will travel alone outside
his own community in a way in which fear of the sorcerers would
make a Mekeo native unwilling to do so. The Mafulu sorcerers are a
somewhat less powerful people; but they claim, and are supposed to
have, certain powers of divination, or actual causation, or both, of
certain things. So far as I could learn, the sorcerer's supernatural
powers would never be exercised in a hostile way against anyone of
his own village, or indeed of his own clan, or even, as a rule, of
his own community. Apparently the sorcerer's victim is nearly always
a member of some other community; and the sorcerers of a community do
not appear to be in any way either feared or shunned by the members of
that community. And, even as regards their acts of hostility against
members of other communities, these do not seem to be performed to
an extent in any way approaching what is found in Mekeo.

It seemed to me at first, as regards these sorcerers, that there was
a confusion in the Mafulu mind between divination and causation. The
question as to this arose specially in connection with the ceremony
for ascertaining whether a chief was or was not going to die. The
people of a clan and the ailing chief certainly assume that the
sorcerers who perform the ceremony under instructions, whether they
be of the same community or of some other community, will by their
magical powers merely divine the death or recovery of the chief;
and the idea does not enter their heads that these sorcerers may
actually cause the death. And yet they will accuse a hostile sorcerer
of causing the death by an exactly similar ceremony, and will go to
war over the matter. Probably, however, it is rather a question of
the sorcerer's assumed volition--that is, it is assumed that the
friendly sorcerer does not want the chief to die, and the people
rely upon him to confine himself to a divination ceremony, and not
to engage in hostile sorcery; whereas a hostile sorcerer might do the
latter. I may add that I was led to suspect that the burning test was
regarded as being only a matter of divination, and that the causation,
if it occurred, was effected by means of the previous incantation.

There are also, besides the sorcerers, a number of specialists, who
can hardly perhaps be called true sorcerers, but who have certain
specific powers, or are acquainted with certain specific forms of
incantation, and whose services are from time to time sought by
the people. It is impossible for me to point to any definite line
of demarcation between the true sorcerers and these smaller people;
and it cannot be doubted that the powers of the latter, like those
of the former, are, or have been, based upon the supernatural, even
though they themselves do not claim to be and are not regarded as
being magic men in the highest sense. I think I may regard them as
being more or less the Mafulu equivalents of the Roro individuals
whom Dr. Seligmann calls "departmental experts." [112]

Dealing first with the true sorcerers, they undoubtedly include
among their number the men who perform the special ceremonial already
described for ascertaining whether a sick chief is or is not destined
to die. They also seem to include the makers or providers of the
various charms, including those which are carried in the little charm
bags and the love charms used by young men, as already mentioned. There
are also two other matters which are regarded as coming within the
province of the true sorcerers, of which one relates to rain and the
other relates to illness and death. I will deal with them separately.

The rain sorcerer is apparently merely a diviner. Dr. Seligmann would
perhaps include him among the departmental experts, but the Fathers
of the Mission regard him as being a true sorcerer. He is the man
to whom the people go in anticipation of a proposed important event,
such as a big feast, or perhaps a fighting or large hunting expedition,
to ascertain and inform them whether the period in which it is proposed
that the event shall occur will be fine or wet; but he does not profess
to be able to do more than this, and they never expect him to prevent
or bring about the rain, or in any way hold him responsible for the
weather as it may in fact eventually occur.

The sorcery connected with illness and death is not so simple; and
there is no doubt that it is not confined to powers of divination,
but includes powers of actual causation. This department of
sorcery obviously includes the ceremonial in connection with the
supposed dying chief. But it is not confined to this ceremony,
as it is generally believed by the Mafulu people that sickness,
which does not necessarily end in death, and death itself, can be,
and commonly is, brought about by the operation of sorcerers in one
way or another through the medium of certain things. The only things
of this nature concerning which I was able to obtain information are
(1) the inedible part of some vegetable food which the victim has
recently eaten (_e.g.,_ the outside part of a sweet potato or banana
or the cane part of a sugar cane), and (2) the victim's discharged
excrement or urine. I found no trace of any use for purposes of
sorcery of the edible remnants of the victim's food, nor (except
as regards a woman's placenta, to which I shall refer presently)
of any part of his body, such as his hair or nails; and, in fact,
the free way in which the natives throw away their hair when cut is
inconsistent with any belief as to its possible use against them.

First, the inedible remnants of recently consumed vegetable food. The
use of this as a medium for causing illness and death is apparently
confined to the case of a victim who has passed the stage of very
young childhood. Why this is so I could not learn; though in point
of fact a mere infant would hardly be eating such things as a regular
practice. A man or woman, however, never carelessly throws aside his
own food remnants of this character; and his reason for this is fear
of sorcery. He carefully keeps them under his control until he can
take them to a river, into which he throws them, after which they
are harmless as a medium against him. The fear concerning these
remains is that a sorcerer will use them for a ceremony somewhat
similar to that described in connection with the death of a chief,
but in a hostile way. No such precautions are taken with reference
to similar food eaten by very young children.

Secondly, the discharged excrement and urine. This, for some reason,
only applies to the case of an infant or quite young child. Here again
I could not learn the reason for the limitation; but it is confirmed
by the fact that grown-up persons take no pains whatever to avoid
the passing of these things into the possession of other people,
whereas, as regards little children, the mothers or other persons
having charge of them always take careful precautions. The mother
picks up her little child's excrement, and wraps it in a leaf, and then
either carefully hides it in a hole in the ground, or throws it into
the river, or places it in a little raised-up nest-like receptacle,
which is sometimes erected near the house for this purpose, and where
also it is regarded as being safe. One of these receptacles, shaped
like an inverted cone, is shown in Plate 91, and a somewhat similar
one is seen in Plate 64. As regards the urine, she pours upon it,
as it lies on the ground or on the house floor or platform, a little
clean water which she obtains from any handy source, or sometimes from
a little store which, when away from other water supply, she often
carries about with her for the purpose. I could get no information as
to the way in which the sorcerer would use the excrement or urine as
a medium for hostile purposes; though there is apparently no process
similar to that of the fire used in connection with the inedible food
remnants of the adult.

It will have been noticed that the mode of rendering the inedible
food remnants of a grown-up person immune from sorcery, and one
of the methods of making the infants' excrement immune, is that of
throwing them into the river; and even as regards infants' urine,
which apparently is not, and as a rule hardly could be, actually
thrown into the river, the protection is obtained by pouring water
upon it. I think that the belief among the islands of the Pacific in
the power of water to protect against the machinations of spirits or
ghosts is not confined to the Mafulu natives, or indeed to those of
New Guinea. Dr. Codrington mentions its existence as regards human
excrement in Melanesia. [113] I would also refer to a custom of the
Mafulu women after childbirth of throwing the placenta into the river,
a practice which is similar to that of the Koita women, who drop the
placenta into the sea. [114] Probably these practices relating to
placenta are also based upon some idea of protection from sorcerers
and spirits, although I was informed that among the Mafulu there is
no superstitious fear connected with the matter now. If the custom
is in fact superstitious in origin, the list of media for the use of
sorcery already given by me requires enlarging. [115]

Serious illness or death of either an adult or an infant, if not
caused by visible accident, is by the Mafulu, as by other natives,
generally attributed, subject to limitations, to the sorcerers. The
belief of the Mafulu as to this arises if the victim, being an ordinary
person, is comparatively young, or in the strength of life, say under
forty or forty-five, or if the victim, being a chief or a member of
a chief's family or a person of very high position, is even over that
age, unless he is very old, and old age is recognised as the natural
cause of his illness or death.

If the belief arises that the calamity, especially that of death,
has been brought about by spiritualistic influence, the family will
probably go to some person who is believed to be in touch with spirits
and able to designate the culprit. I cannot say whether or not the
person so employed is regarded as being a sorcerer in the full sense
of the word, or as merely one of the inferior types of magic men
above referred to. Probably he is only the latter, as I do not think
there are any juvenile sorcerers among the Mafulu, and this particular
person may be quite a young boy; indeed, there is in a village near to
the Mafulu Mission Station a young boy who is supposed to have this
power. As a matter of fact this boy is not quite right in his head;
but this state of mind is not among the Mafulu in any way a necessary,
or indeed a usual, qualification for a sorcerer or magic man of any
sort. The person appealed to will perhaps tell them who has done the
deed, or will make some oracular statement which will lead to his
identification. The culprit identified by him will in any case be a
member of another clan, and most probably of another community. When
he has been discovered, there will probably be a fight, in which
the members of the victim's clan, or even, especially if the victim
be a chief or big person, the whole of his community, will join the
injured relatives, this question of suspected causing of death being,
like that of non-repayment of the price paid for a runaway wife,
one of the frequent causes of intercommunity fighting.

Reverting here to the matter of ghosts and spirits, one cannot help
noting a similarity between, on the one hand, the ghostly element
of living food plants and the ghostly element of human excrement,
which constitute the food of the ghosts, and, on the other hand, the
physical inedible remnants of food recently eaten by an adult victim
and the physical excrement and urine of an infant victim, which are the
media used for hostile sorcery through the power of spirits; though,
as regards the latter, I have no evidence of a belief that the spirits
eat them. I tried to get further into this matter, but was unable to
do so. Again one is struck by the fact that the special _gabi_ tree,
which is the tree used for the interment of chiefs and notables, is
one of the trees whose presence is regarded as indicating a place
inhabited by spirits. These elements of similarity tend, I think,
to suggest the possibility of some confusion in the native mind as
to the difference between ghosts and spirits, or of some originally
ghostly origin in what are now regarded as spirits.

The class of magic men who are something less than sorcerers,
and whose powers are perhaps confined to the knowledge of certain
specific forms of incantation, would probably include the person who
does the nose-boring, and perhaps the person who detects the causes
of death above referred to. It would also, I think, include the
men who ascertain the whereabouts of a stolen article and discover
the thief, and who perform the ceremony in connection with hunting,
and the persons who effect, or profess to effect, cures of a more or
less superstitious nature, all of whom are probably not regarded as
full sorcerers.

The professional pig-killer is not, as such, either a sorcerer or
a magic man in the minor sense; and, if there has originally been
anything of a superstitious or magic character associated with him or
his functions, I was unable to find any trace of it, except perhaps
as regards the ceremony and incantation in connection with hunting,
which apparently is commonly performed by him.

Charms.

The Mafulu people believe in charms. I have already referred to those
used by young men desirous of marrying. But there are many other more
important charms for various purposes, such as averting illness and
death, success in hunting and fishing, and perhaps preservation in
time of war. These charms may be stones, small pieces of different
sorts of bark, flowers, or various kinds of poisons, though the
poisons appear to be only used for averting illness and death. They
are all procured from sorcerers, who may be of the same or of some
other village, or of another community, and there are sorcerers who
have specialities in certain sorts of charms. These charms are often
carried inside the small charm bags already mentioned.

Omens.

They believe in omens; but of these I was only able to hear of two
examples--namely, flying foxes, [116] and fireflies, the latter,
though common in the plains, being rare on the mountains, and both of
these are bad omens. Any person or party starting off on a journey,
or on a hunting or fishing expedition, and meeting either of these
creatures would probably at once turn back; and I was told that even a
full war party starting off on a punitive expedition would turn back,
or at least halt for a time, if it met one or other of them. I cannot
help thinking there must be some other omens, which I have failed
to discover.

General.

Referring generally to supplications, incantations, and acts
of propitiation, the only examples of them which I was able to
discover were the above-mentioned supplication to the river prior
to fishing, which is apparently spoken by the fishers themselves,
and not merely by a sorcerer or magic man, and the incantations in
connection with nose-piercing, with hunting, with a dying chief,
with the stone operation for stomach complaints, and with the plant
remedies for wounds, and the acts of propitiation, if such they are,
in connection with ceremonious pig-killing, and especially with the
ceremonies performed at a big feast and at or following a funeral; and
as regards the incantations I could learn nothing as to their nature,
nor as to the specific spiritual powers for the influencing of which
they are intended, nor the way in which those powers are moved by them.

In fact, concerning the whole question of ghosts, spirits, sorcery,
charms, omens and superstitions, I cannot imagine that I have
accomplished more than the mere touching of the fringe of it; and I am
sure that, when the Mafulu people have got rather more into touch with
civilisation, and become more accessible and communicative about these
things, there will be much more to be learnt. It may perhaps be that
some of the apparently superstitious acts are, like many such acts
performed in England, based upon beliefs which have long since been
forgotten, and have themselves become mere formalities, to which the
natives do not attach serious superstitious importance; though their
fear of ghosts and spirits is undoubtedly a very real and general one.

There are no secret societies or mysteries, such as are met with
in some of the Solomon Islands, and they have no superstition as
to sneezing.

Taboo.

The subject of taboo may perhaps be referred to under the present
heading, for, though there appear to be no totemic taboos, and
though I have no material showing that the Mafulu taboos are based on
superstitious ideas, it may, I imagine, be assumed that, while some
of these taboos are possibly partly based on medical common sense,
the element of superstition enters more or less into many of them. I
have already referred to a few general restrictions connected with
etiquette, and what I now propose to mention are food taboos.

Young men are not supposed to eat wild pig until they have married,
but this is the only food restriction which is put upon them. [117]
A woman who is about to give birth to a child must eat no food
whatever for a day or rather longer (never more than two days),
before the child is born. I have already referred to the food taboo
on persons undergoing the nose-piercing operation, and the optional
food taboo to which the nearest relative of a deceased person may
submit, in lieu of wearing the mourning string. There is also a
general taboo against any food other than sweet potato and chewing
of betel-nuts, with its condiments of lime and pepper, upon any male
person who intends to take part, either as a dancer or singer, in any
ceremonial dance. This latter term includes the dance at a big feast
and the women's dance on the eve of it, but not the dancing during
the six months' interval before it. It also includes the dance at
any of the various minor ceremonies above described, and at a funeral
ceremony. The period of restriction in the case of the big feast begins
when the formal croton-leaf invitation has gone out to the guests,
about a month before the date of the feast. In the case of a funeral
it is necessarily only quite short, and in cases of other ceremonies
it varies, being largely dependent on the length of period during
which the approach of the ceremony is known. During the period of
restriction the people avail themselves largely of the privilege of
betel-chewing, and prior to a big feast their mouths get very red. In
connection with personal ceremonies upon assumption of the perineal
band, admission to the _emone_ (excepting, as regards this, the case
of a child of very tender years), qualifying for drumming and dancing,
devolution of chieftainship and nose-piercing, the person concerned,
male or female, is under the same food restriction for a day prior
to that of the ceremony, and as regards nose-piercing this taboo
is prior to the actual piercing, and is quite distinct from the
subsequent taboo already referred to. There does not appear to be
any taboo connected with fishing, hunting or war.

The observance of all these taboos is secured only by superstitious
belief or public opinion, or both, there being no method of enforcing
them by punishment or by any exercise of authority by the chiefs.

CHAPTER XIX

Note on the Kuni People

Father Egedi, who has studied the Kuni people, and has written a
series of articles about them in numbers of _Anthropos_, told me
that he regarded them as being a cross between the Papuan-speaking
Mafulu and the Melanesian-speaking Papuo-Melanesians of Mekeo and the
adjoining coast. Whether or not this is absolutely and strictly correct
is a question upon which I will not venture to express an opinion.

In general physique and appearance the Kuni are distinctly and strongly
of the type of the Mafulu, whilst their language is Melanesian; and,
as regards other matters, they in some respects resemble and in other
respects differ from the Mafulu.

As regards physique, Father Egedi distinguishes the Kuni from the
natives of the adjoining coast by their slighter development, slender
limbs and darker colour of skin, in which respects they resemble the
Mafulu; but he regards them as being lower-statured than the tribes
of the interior, which term includes the Mafulu, [118]with greater
regularity of features, and of lighter colour, all of which tallies,
I think, with my own observation of them. But the fact that they are
shorter in stature than the Mafulu, who are themselves shorter than
the coast natives, is perhaps a matter for surprise, if they are
a cross between the two. I have not measured any Kuni heads; but I
should be disposed from general observation to say that they are very
similar to those of the Mafulu, being predominantly mesaticephalic,
with tendencies to brachycephalism. [119]

Many of the Lapeka people, who are Kuni, but are on the borders of
the Upper Mekeo district, seemed to me to have distinctly flattish
faces, with remarkably delicately cut features--some of the women
in particular being exceedingly pretty in profile--and very bright
sparkling eyes. Where these local characteristics came from I cannot
say, as it could hardly be the result of an intermixture of Mekeo
blood. [120]

The oblique eye, which is occasionally found on the coast, [121] but
which I never saw in Mafulu, is, according to Father Egedi, present,
though only rare, among the Kuni. His large amount of opportunity
for observation, and his known care and ability in this respect,
compel me to assume his accuracy; but I can say that I saw a good
many of these eyes among them, and indeed once, having about twenty
of these Kuni people squatting in front of me, I observed that about
half of them had distinctly oblique eyes.

Father Egedi speaks of their hair as being "generally black, rarely
bright, and more rarely chestnut"; and as to this, I would refer to
the fact that the predominating colour of hair among the Mafulu is
dark or darkish brown, so that in this respect the Kuni apparently
tend more to the black-haired coast type of native than do the Mafulu.

Concerning matters other than physique and language, as I only passed
through the Kuni district, and did not attempt serious ethnological
investigation there, I can say but little beyond what I learn from
Father Egedi's articles and a few other sources; and the material
thus available only deals with a few questions.

It would appear from Father Egedi's observations that the relationship
between villages arising from the splitting up into two or more of
an original family village is not so permanent as I believe it to be
among the Mafulu. Dr. Seligmann says [122] that among the Kuni Father
Egedi "could find no trace of intermarrying groups, or groups of clans
claiming common descent," which statement applies to my investigations
among the Mafulu. He further says [123] that "The Dilava folk"
(Dilava is a Kuni village) "marry into all the surrounding villages;
and when a death occurs it is the head of the family of the deceased
who says when mourning shall cease"--statements of which the former,
and I believe the latter, could hardly be correctly made concerning
the Mafulu. He also refers [124] to Kuni war chiefs, an office which
does not exist among the Mafulu, and apparently understands that the
office of these war chiefs is non-hereditary, a statement which could
not be made of any Mafulu chief; and he refers [125] to a funeral
ceremony which is quite unknown in Mafulu. But his statement [126]
that the _kufu_ (club-house) system seems less developed than in
Mekeo would apply very strongly to the Mafulu.

The Kuni superstitious remedies for illnesses, as described by Father
Egedi, are quite different from those of Mafulu, and their food
restrictions, as enumerated by him, are in some respects substantially
distinct from those of the Mafulu, though some of them are more or
less similar.

According to him Kuni women, though they may not enter the village
_kufu_ or club-house, are allowed upon its platform, which is not
the case with the Mafulu _emone_; and eldest sons of Kuni influential
people may not enter into the _kufu_ until their parents have given a
specific feast, which custom is apparently not identical with that of
the Mafulu above described by me, and which applies to all sons of all
members of the village, and not merely to those of influential people.

The Kuni houses differ from those of the Mafulu, being more or
less round or oval in apparent shape, even though the floor is
rectangular. Also according to Father Egedi, Kuni _kufu_ are of
several various sorts, and some of them are constructed in specific
ways, and have specific carved and painted decorations, some of which
are imitative of animals and objects held in veneration; and these
different types of club-house, which include one used only by elderly
bachelors and widowers, have specific names--all of which is quite
different from what is found in Mafulu. Among these club-houses Father
Egedi includes one built at feast times higher up the ridge, outside
the village, for guests' accommodation, which, though apparently
somewhat similar in purpose to the guests' houses at a Mafulu feast,
differs from them in form. Indeed, as regards building construction,
the only point of strong similarity between the Kuni and the Mafulu
which I can trace is the long fireplace extending from front to back
of the building, which with the Kuni is apparently very like that of
the Mafulu.

Father Egedi's statement as to Kuni cannibalism, that speaking
generally it appears to be confined to the bodies of people killed in
war or in private vendetta, and that, though other cases are recorded,
they are regarded as a violation of a custom and are detested, might be
equally well said of the Mafulu; though I did not actually hear of any
known record there of the other cases mentioned. Again his statement
that the actual killer must not share in the feast holds good with
the Mafulu; but I believe that this idea exists elsewhere also.

Concerning the Kuni implements I can only refer to Dr. Seligmann's
statement, [127] that they do not appear to use bows and
shields--which, if correct, is a point of difference between them and
the Mafulu--and to a few other things referred to by Father Egedi in
his articles. From his descriptions I should imagine that the Kuni
pig-bone implements and their bamboo cutting knives are similar, and
that their wooden vegetable dishes are somewhat similar to those of
the Mafulu. But the Kuni have cooking pots (which they get from the
coast), and use forks and spoons and various other implements and
utensils which are not found in Mafulu, and their mode of producing
fire is quite different from the Mafulu mode.

I recognise that the above comparative notes on Kuni culture are only
of a very fragmentary character; but Father Egedi expresses the general
opinion that, though the language of the Kuni people is Melanesian,
their habits and customs "may be considered as making one with those
of the Mafulu people."

On the whole question of Kuni relationship it can, I think, hardly
be doubted that the Kuni have some characteristics which are clearly
those of the Mafulu and other central mountain tribes, and others which
are obviously those of the Papuo-Melanesians of the adjacent plains
and the coast beyond; and the only question seems to be the nature
and origin of the Kuni relationship to these two types of people. It
may be, as suggested by Father Egedi, that they are actually a cross
between these two mixed types; or, if the suggestion in my concluding
chapter as to the possible presence in these Mafulu and other mountain
people of Negrito blood be correct, it may be that the Kuni people
are merely another result of the general Negrito-Papuo-Melanesian
intercrossing, in which the Papuan and Melanesian elements have been
more predominant than they have been with the Mafulu.

CHAPTER XX

Conclusion

What is the origin of these Mafulu people, with their short stature,
small and somewhat rounded heads, slight but active build, sooty
brown skin, and frizzly hair, predominantly brown in colour, and with
their comparatively primitive ideas of organisation, and simple arts
and crafts?

The question is one of no mere local interest, as the answer to
it will probably be the answer to a similar question concerning
most, and perhaps all, of the other Papuan-speaking people of the
mountainous interior of the Central District of British New Guinea,
and may even be a key to the past early history of the entire island.

It has, I think, been hitherto believed that all these mountain people
had a mixed Papuan and Melanesian ancestry; but it was impossible to
be among them, as I was, for some time without being impressed by the
difference in appearance between them and the people of the adjacent
coast and plains, and suspecting that, though they had Papuan and
Melanesian blood in their veins, there was also some third element
there. And the name which obtruded itself upon my mind, whilst in
Mafulu, was Negrito.

The dark skin and the comparatively rounded heads, and, I think, some
shortness of stature are found elsewhere in British New Guinea; though
shortness of stature and rounded heads are unusual, and, I believe,
only local, and I do not know whether even the Papuan skin is ever
quite so dark as that of the Mafulu people. But the almost universal
shortness of stature, the comparatively slight, but strong and active,
build and the brown colour of the hair seemed entirely different from
anything that I had ever seen or read of as regards either the Papuans
or the Melanesians; and all of these, coupled with the tendency to
roundness of head, were consistent with a partial negrito ancestry.

Then on my return to England I learnt that dwarf people had been
found by the recent expedition into Dutch New Guinea organised by
the British Ornithologists' Union. Dr. Haddon has expressed the
opinion that these dwarf people and some dwarf people previously
found by Dr. Rudolph Poch in German New Guinea are all negritoes,
or negritoes crossed with Papuans. [128]

Dr. Keith, to whom I submitted all my notes upon the measurements
and physique of the Mafulu people, and who measured and examined the
three skulls which I brought home, wrote to me as follows:--

"I have examined the observations you have made on the Mafulu. From
your paper one can form, for the first time, a picture of the
physical characters of this tribe; but, when I proceed to assign
the tribe to its proper race, I am at once met by difficulties. In
my opinion the short stature, the pigmented skin, and the small
heads inclined to brachycephaly indicate a strong negrito element,
which we know is widely distributed in the far east, and certainly,
as we should expect, occurs in certain districts of New Guinea. In the
three crania there were characters which one could assign to Papuan,
as well as to a Melanesian stock.... A brown or reddish tinge is
seen not infrequently in the hair of negritoes. You will see that
I am inclined to look on the Mafulu as showing a very considerable
degree of negrito blood, and to regard the more primitive tribes of
New Guinea as being of this nature. If that were so, the Mafulu might
be regarded as belonging to the older population of New Guinea, both
Papuan and Melanesian having added something to their civilisation,
as well as their physical characters."

Dr. Keith then is inclined to agree with my suggestion concerning
the origin of the Mafulu; and Dr. Haddon, having seen my notes upon
physique, said that he endorsed the views expressed by Dr. Keith. And
if the view suggested be correct as regards the Mafulu or Fuyuge
people, I am prepared to say that from what I have heard of the other
mountain Papuan-speaking people of that part of New Guinea, including
the Oru Lopiku (Kovio), Boboi and Ambo people, I am convinced that it
must be correct as regards them also, though the relative predominance
of the three strains may well vary with these different people.

I am hardly qualified to enter into the discussion as to the
relationship, if any, existing between the principal hitherto known
dwarf races, the Pygmies of Central Africa, the Semang of the Malay
Peninsula, the Andamanese and the Aetas of the Philippine Islands,
or to deal with the question whether or not all or some of them are
to be grouped together as forming a distinct and related type, or
are to be regarded as unconnected in the sense that each of them is
merely a local variation, sharing a common ancestry with some other
taller negroid race.

As, however, my suggestion of a partial negrito origin of the
Mafulu people necessarily brings me into contact with this wider
question, and the latter is still one upon which opinions differ,
I may perhaps briefly tabulate some of the chief physical characters
of the Andamanese, the Semang, the Aetas, the dwarf people recently
found in Dutch New Guinea and the Mafulu. I think I may omit the
African pygmies from my tables.

_Stature._

Andamanese 4' 10 1/2''

This is the figure given by Mr. Portman (_Journal of
Anthropological Institute_, vol. 25, p. 366) and by Dr. Haddon
(_Races of Man and their Distribution_, p. 9), and is very near
the 4'10 3/4'' given by Mr. Man (_The Andaman Islanders_, p. 5),
and adopted by Messrs. Skeat and Blagden (_Pagan Races of the
Malay Peninsula_, p. 573).

Semang 4' 10 3/4''
Skeat and Blagden (_Pagan Races_, &c., p. 573) and Haddon (Races
of Man, &c., p. 9).

Aetas 4' 10''

This is Dr. Haddon's figure (_Races of Man, &c._, p. 9), and it
is within half an inch of the 4' l0 1/2'' given by Dr. Semper
(_Journal of Anthropology_ for October, 1870, p. 135). Dr. Meyer
gives a number of varying measurements (see _Journal of
Anthropological Institute,_ vol. 25, p. 174), and Reed gives the
average of 48 males, some of whom were not pure types, only 4' 9"
(_Negritos of Zambales_, p. 32).

Dutch New Guinea dwarfs 4' 9''

Captain Rawling (_Geographical Journal_, vol. 38, p. 245).

Mafulu 5' 1''

It is merely suggested by me that they are _partly_ negrito,
which, if correct, would explain the somewhat higher stature.

_General Physique._

Andamanese

Well proportioned, and with good muscular development (Man,
_Journal of Anthropological Institute_, vol. 12, pp. 72 and 73).

Semang

Sturdily built (Haddon, _Races of Man, &c._, p. 9).

Aetas

Well formed and sprightly (Earle, _Papuans_, p. 123), and with
limbs which, corresponding to their stature, are uncommonly
slender, but well formed (Semper, _Journal of Anthropology_ for
October, 1870, p. 135). Well-built little men with broad chests,
symmetrical limbs, and well-developed muscles (Reed, _Negritos
of Zambales,_ p. 34).

Dutch New Guinea dwarfs

Of sturdy build (Rawling, _Geographical Journal_, vol. 38, p. 241).

Mafulu

Fairly strong and muscular, but rather slender and slight in
development.

_Cephalic Index._

Andamanese 82

This is Dr. Haddon's figure (_Races of Man, &c._,
p. 9). Messrs. Skeat and Blagden say they are decidedly
brachycephalic (_Pagan Races, &c._, p. 573).

Semang 78.9

Dr. Haddon's figure (_Races of Man, &c._, p. 9). Skeat and Blagden
describe them as brachycephalic to mesatecephalic (_Pagan Races,
&c._, p. 34).

Aetas 80

Dr. Haddon's figure (_Races of Man, &c._, p. 9). Skeat and Blagden
describe them as decidedly brachycephalic (_Pagan Races, &c._,
p. 573). Reed gives 82 as the average (_Negritos of Zambales_,
p. 34).

Dutch New Guinea dwarfs 80.2

This figure is calculated by me from the actual length and breadth
given by Captain Rawling (_Geographical Journal_, vol. 38, p. 245).

Mafulu 80

_Nasal Index._

Andamanese ?

Semang 101

Calculated by me from average of actual measurements of 5 people
given by Skeat and Blagden (_Pagan Races, &c._, p. 577).

Aetas ?

Reed records highly varying indices, the bulk of which were
hyperplatyrhine (87.9-108.8), and nearly all the others of which
were ultraplatyrhine (109 and over) (_Negritos of Zambales_,
pp. 34, 35).

Dutch New Guinea dwarfs 80.9

Calculated by me from Captain Rawling's actual figures.

Mafulu 84.3

_Colour of Skin._

Descriptions of this are so general, and so much depends in each case
upon the relative meanings attached by each writer to the terms used
by him, that I prefer to depend as regards the Andamanese, Semang,
and Aetas upon Dr. Haddon's descriptions, which are doubtless based
upon his comparison of those given in previous literature.

Andamanese

Very dark (_Races of Man, &c._, p. 9).

Semang

Dark chocolate brown, approximating to black. (_Ibid._).

Aetas

Dark sooty brown (_Ibid._).

Dutch New Guinea dwarfs

Brown (Rawling, _Geographical Journal_, vol. 38, p. 245).

Mafulu

Dark sooty brown.

_Texture of Hair._

This is frizzly in all cases, as with other negroids, the word "woolly"
often used being, I imagine, intended to imply frizzly.

_Colour of Hair._

This being a point which seems to me to be rather interesting,
I propose to quote various descriptions.

Andamanese

Varies from sooty black to dark brown, old gold, red and light
brown; and, though these may be the colours of individual hairs,
the general appearance is sooty black or yellowish-brown.
Portman (_History of our Relations with the Andamanese_, p. 30).

Varies between black, greyish-black and sooty, the last perhaps
predominating.
Man (_The Andaman Islanders_, p. II).

Black, with a reddish tinge.
Haddon (_Races of Man, &c._, p. 9).

Semang

Brownish-black, not a bluish-black like that of the Malays.
Skeat and Blagden (_Pagan Races, &c.,_ p. 46).

Brownish-black.
Haddon (_Races of Man, &c.,_ p. 9).

Aetas

Brown-black, shining.
Semper (_Journal of Anthropology_ for October, 1870, p. 135).

Rich dark brown.
Writer of article on Semper's work (_Id_.).

Varying from a dark seal-brown to black.
Meyer (_Journal of Anthropological Institute_, vol. 25, p. 174).

Dirty black colour, in some instances _sun-burned at top to_
a reddish-brown. [The italics are mine.]
Reed (_Negritos of Zambales_, p. 35).

Black, sometimes tinged with red.
Haddon (_Races of Man_, &c., P. 9).

Dutch New Guinea dwarfs.

Black.
Rawling (_Geographical Journal_, vol. 38, p. 245).

The hair of some of the pygmies was decidedly _dark_ brown.
Statement made to me by Mr. Walter Goodfellow.

Hair of 3 men (out of 24) distinctly not black, a sort of dirty
rusty brown or rusty black colour; all others black-haired.
Extract supplied to me by Dr. Wollaston from his Diary.

Mafulu.

Generally dark brown, often quite dark, approaching to black,
and sometimes perhaps quite black. But frequently lighter, and
often not what we in Europe should call dark.

I think that the above tables indicate that, though there are
differences, there are elements of similarity between (i) the Mafulu
people, (2) the Dutch New Guinea dwarfs, and (3) one or more of the
Andamanese, Semang and Aetas; but in my comparison of the Mafulu
and the dwarfs of Dutch New Guinea with the other previously known
dwarf races I would specially draw attention to their similarity in
shortness of stature and (as regards most of the Mafulu and a few of
the Dutch New Guinea people) colour of hair; and this impels me to
venture to say a few words on the larger question.

I have searched through much existing literature concerning the
various hitherto discovered dwarf races of the world with reference
to the question whether, even assuming that these people have an
original primary ancestry from which the taller negroid races also
are descended, they must be regarded as having become a related type,
separate and distinct from the latter, as now existing, or whether
they must all be treated as merely separate local variations, each of
them having failed to develop, or retrograded, and in other respects
become different in type from taller negroid races among or near
to whom they are found. And I am struck by the fact that, though
the natural tendency to local variation in stature, shape of head,
colour and other matters is brought forward in support of the latter
theory, no one seems, in connection with the general question, to have
noted the fact that, whilst the hair colour of negroes, Papuans and
Melanesians is black, the hair of all these various dwarf people seems
to be predominantly brown, and that this variation explanation, if
regarded as applying to these dwarf races separately and independently
of one another, involves a remarkable coinciding double variation
(in stature and predominant colour of hair) exhibited by all these
dwarf people as compared with the taller negroids.

On the other hand, if there has been an original separation of
descendants of common primary ancestors of all the negroid races,
which, through variation, has resulted in two main types, one
predominantly full-sized and always black-haired, and the other always
short and predominantly brown-haired, and the pygmies (negritoes and
negrilloes) are to be regarded as being all descendants of the latter
type, who have since for some reason become geographically separated,
there would appear to be nothing remarkable in the double variation.

But in that case we are, I take it, justified in regarding the dwarf
races as being a separate type, to be distinguished from the taller
races; and, if that be so, there appears to be substantial ground
for thinking that the Dutch New Guinea dwarf people and the Mafulu
people are in part descended from people of that type.

I may also draw attention (for what they are worth as points of detail)
to the facts already noted, that the Semang and Andamanese, who bury
their ordinary folk under ground, adopt tree burial, and apparently,
as regards the Semang, platform burial not on trees also, as a more
honourable method of disposing of the bodies of important people and
chiefs; and that as regards these matters the Mafulu custom is similar.

Also the very simple ideas of the Mafulu, as compared with Papuans
and Melanesians, in matters of social organization, implements,
arts and crafts, religion and other things may well, I think, be
associated with a primitive negrito origin.

If the Mafulu people may be properly regarded as having a negrito
ancestry, distinct in type from that of either the Papuans or the
Melanesians, the negrito element would presumably be the earlier one,
Papuan and Melanesian infusion having occurred subsequently. Indeed
it may well be believed that the negrito element is derived from
an original ancestry who were probably the earlier inhabitants of
New Guinea.

CHAPTER I

A Grammar of the Fuyuge Language

Translated and Edited by _Sidney H. Ray_, M.A., from the Manuscript
of the _Rev. Father Egedi_, S.C.

Phonology.

I. Alphabet.

Vowels: _a, e, i, o, u_.

Consonants: _k, g; t, d; p, b, f, v; m, n; r, l; s; y_.

The vowels are pronounced as in Italian, the consonants as in
English. The sound of the Italian _c_ is also found, but is rare.

It is sometimes difficult to distinguish between _o_ and
_u_. Ex. _ombo(le)_ or _umbo(le)_, belly.

_G, b_, and _d_, are often preceded by a nasal, sometimes constant
(and then marked in the vocabulary), sometimes variable according
to the pronunciation of individuals. For the nasals _m_ is employed
before _p_ and _b_, and _n_ before other consonants.

The _i_ and _y_ are very difficult to distinguish, especially when
they follow one another. Ex. _iye_ or _ye_, or _ie_, tree; _iangolo_
or _yangolo_, ear. Father Egidi wrote _j_ for _y_.

The _l_ and _r_ are very difficult to determine. Ex. _aliete_ or
_ariete_, to salute; _naul'i_ and _naur'i_, my eye. In the vocabulary
_l_ is used generally.

The _s_ is often _ts_. Ex. tsivu and sivu; su(le) and tsu(le
grass. Also in the future suffix _t_ or _ts_. Ex. _nati_ or _natsi_,
I will eat.

II. Elision.

A great number of Fuyuge words terminate in an open syllable of which
the vowel is generally _e_. This syllable is usually omitted at the end
of a phrase, and nearly always when the following word commences with
a consonant. But if the following word begins with a vowel the final
_e_ only falls away. Thus the complete form of a word is rarely used,
except to avoid confusion, or for the sake of emphasis. The following
are examples:

_ovo(le),_ pig: _ovol' ovoge,_ boar, _ovo momombe,_ sow.

_ifa(ne),_ beautiful: _ifa ta,_ very fine, _ifan' aka,_ less fine.

_da(le),_ who? _nu da?_ who art thou? _dal' aua?_ who is this?

_i(nde),_ to give: _ne i,_ give me, _ne ind' u,_ give it to me.

_-a(le)_, with: _andal' a?_ with what? _indiv' al' ongai_, cut with
the knife.

_a(le),_ here: _a mo ma?_ must I put it here? _al' itatsi,_ he will
sleep here.

_u(ne),_ and: _kitoval' u kene,_ black parroquet and white, _amb'
un' ale,_ banana and sugar cane.

Note (1). The _b_ in an elision sometimes changes to _p._ Ex. _obe,_
bud, _op'indie,_ to bud.

(2). Sometimes two syllables are elided: Ex. _taume, tame,_ from which
comes _ovo ta,_ a tame pig, and _ovo taum' ifa,_ the tame pig is good.

(3). Words which do not end in _e,_ rarely elide a final vowel, and
never the last syllable. Ex. _kuku,_ tobacco, _kuk' oko nei,_ give me
a little tobacco; _na,_ I, _nu,_ thee, _ongo_ at the foot of, _na n'
ong' ando,_ I am at thy feet; _umbubi, wash, umbub' u,_ wash him.

(4). Some verbs in _-ri_ or _-li_ however often omit this
syllable. Ex. _ivo(ri)_ to wipe, _na ga kodig' ivo,_ I have wiped the
plates; _tsimi(li),_ to lick, _ama tsimi,_ lick the salt; _itu(lili)_
to split, _ol' itu,_ split the wood.

In the grammar and vocabulary the syllable which may be elided is
enclosed in a bracket, and in compound words and phrases the elision
is marked with an apostrophe, as in the preceding examples.

III. Vowel Changes.

1. A final _o_ sometimes changes to _u_ if the word following begins
with a vowel.

Ex. _oko,_ some, a little, _kuk' oku ind' uno,_ give him some tobacco
to smoke.

2. An initial _o,_ on the other hand, sometimes changes to _u_ when
the preceding word begins with _a._

Ex. _ongo,_ under; _na_ ungo ando, remain at my feet.

3. The final _a_ of the word _na,_ I, becomes _e_ when it is followed
by the verb _indi_ in the imperative.

Ex. _ne i, ne inde,_ give me, but _nuga na indi,_ thou hast given me.

Nouns.

I. Gender.

There is no modification or grammatical difference to mark gender.

Sex is indicated by separate words in the case of human beings:
_an(e)_ man, _me(le)_ boy, _ena(ne)_ brother, _amu(le)_ woman,
_ame(le)_ girl, _eta(de)_ sister.

For mammals the words _avoge,_ male, or _momobe,_ female, follow the
noun: _ovol' avoge,_ boar, _ovo' momobe,_ sow.

Dr. Strong notes that the sex of birds is sometimes denoted by the
adjective _ifa(ne),_ good, _i.e.,_ "ornamented," for the male bird, and
_ifan' ul' amu,_ the "wife of the ornamented" for the female: _uruv'
ifa,_ the male hornbill; _uruv' ifan ul' amu,_ the female hornbill.

II. Number.

Only nouns indicating persons have been found with plurals. These
are formed by changing the final _e_ to _i._ Sometimes the _e_ is
changed to _a;_ this may indicate the dual.

Ex. _amu(le)_ woman, plur. amuli and amula; _so(le),_ young man,
plur. _soli_ and _sola; me(le),_ child, plur. _meli_ and _mela._

Note (1). The word _a(ne)_ man, has a double plural in two different
meanings: _ani,_ the men; _ake(da)_ the married men.

(2). The shortened form of the word is often used in the plural. This
naturally is the same as the singular.

III. Case.

1. There is no modification of the noun to express case, but the
equivalents of cases are shown by suffixes. The vocative alone often
takes a final _a_ as in the interrogative form.

Ex. _Tayova, a tsia!_ Tayo, come here!

The subject, direct object, and indirect object are however easily
recognised by their position in the sentence. The subject comes
first, followed by the direct object, then the indirect object if
there be one, with the verb at the end. If there are complements they
immediately precede the word which governs them.

Ex. _naga kuku nu inde,_ I tobacco to thee gave; _Baiv' u mega nembe
u fod' al' ema,_ Baiva's child bird his bow-with killed; _nuni ake
mu letsi gatsi,_ thou men their village-to will-go.

2. The genitive is expressed by means of the possessive adjective.

Ex. _ovo'u ma,_ hair of the pig, lit. pig his hair.

3. Persons belonging to a place sometimes omit the adjective.

Ex. _A Kotsi,_ a man of Kotsi; _An'Alol',_ a man of Alole; _Alol'
amu,_ a woman of Alole; _Ambov'amu,_ a woman of Ambove; _Tseluku ul'
akeda,_ men of Tseluku.

4. Position in a place, or motion to or from a place is shown in
the following ways. When the noun has a shortened for _-tsi_ is
suffixed. If there is no short form the final _e_ of the noun is
changed to _i_ and _-tsi_ is added.

Ex. _nani etsi ando,_ I am in the house; _nuni bulitsi gatsi,_ thou
wilt go to the garden; _naga Mambutsi l'a tela,_ I have come here
from Mambo.

Note (1). Some proper names of places do not take the suffix _-tsi._
Ex. _amul' Alol' itatsi,_ the woman will sleep at Alole.

(2). Other proper names, especially those of mountains and the
villages built on them, take the suffix _-tu_ (upon) instead of _-tsi._
Ex. _Falitu gatsi,_ I will go to Faliba, lit. I will go upon Faliba.

IV. Interrogative Nouns.

The noun in Fuyuge has a special form to indicate the interrogative. If
the noun ends in _e,_ this vowel is changed to _a._ If already ending
in _a,_ the _a_ takes a strong accent. To any other vowel ending _a_
is added.

Ex. _ovo(le)_ pig: interrog. _ovola?_ is it a pig?

_bulomakao,_ cow, &c.: interrog. _bulomakaoa?_ is it a cow?

_kuku,_ tobacco: interrog. _kukua?_ is it tobacco?

_kupa,_ sweet potato: interrog. _kupa?_ is it a sweet potato?

V. Demonstrative Nouns.

These are similar to the Interrogative Nouns and are formed by the
addition of the syllables _-aua, -ana,_ or _-ala_ instead of _a._
This form is both affirmative and interrogative.

Ex. _oyand' aua?_ is it a flower? or, it is a flower.

_Tayov' aua,_ it is Tayo; _kuku aua,_ it is tobacco; _an' ala,_
it is a man; _Ambov' ana,_ it is Ambo.

Adjectives.

I. Adjectives have no Gender. In the expression of Case, Interrogative
and Demonstrative forms they are the same as Nouns.

Ex. _a baibe, amu baibe,_ man tall, woman tall; _uli baibitsi mau,_
pot big-in put it, put it in the big pot; _ifana?_ is it good? _ifan'
ala,_ it is good.

II. Adjectives of Quality.

1. Number.

Number is expressed as with nouns by changing _e_ to _i._ Some
adjectives in _-a_ add _i._ There are no adjectives with the plural
in _-a._ Some adjectives in _-a(ne)_ have the plural _-ai._

Ex. _kakava(ne)_ strong, plur. _kakavani; safa(le),_ plur. _safa(li);
isosonga,_ idle, plur. _isosongai; aka(ne)_ small, plur. _akai._

2. Agreement.

The adjective always follows the noun which it qualifies, and takes
the suffix of the noun.

Ex. _a sesada,_ fence long; _emo gai,_ house old; _kodige kisiakatsi,_
plate little-in: _indiv' amoja(le)_ knife blunt-with; _koua baibitu,_
box big-on.

Sometimes the pronoun _u(ne),_ his, is placed between the noun and
the adjective.

The meaning of this is uncertain, but it appears to be more emphatic,
as _e.g._ "the road which is good," "the house which is bad."

Ex, _enamb' un' ifa,_ the good road, _em' u koi,_ the bad house.

The adjective used as predicate immediately follows the noun, without
a substantive verb.

Ex. _an' ala gududuba,_ that man (is) stingy; _nuni sesada,_ thou
(art) tall; _amu safali,_ the women (are) weak.

Note.--When the subject is represented by a pronoun of the first or
second person dual or plural, the predicate remains singular.

Ex. _dini kakava(ne)_ we (are) strong; _yani kapape,_ you two (are)
weak; but, _muni isosongai,_ they (are) idle.

When the predicate expresses a negation the word expressing the
quality is followed by the adverb _ua(ne)_ not.

Ex. _sesad' ua, onov' aka,_ it is not long, it is short.

3. Comparison.

There is no special form for comparisons. Two positive statements
are made, or a superlative may be used.

Ex. My house is larger than yours may be translated: _naul' e baibe,
nul' a kisiaka,_ my house is large, yours is small, or _nul'e baibe,
naul'a baibe ta,_ your house is large, mine is large much.

Equality is expressed by the suffix _-umba_ or _-yakala._

Ex. _naul' e, nul' em' umba,_ my house is like your house; _nuni
sesada, nauyekala,_ you are tall like me.

A superlative is expressed by the prefix _ande,_ or the suffix _-ta._
But if the adjective in the superlative expresses a lessening of the
quality then _-aka(ne)_ is suffixed.

Ex. _baibe,_ large, _ande baibe,_ larger; _ifa,_ fine, _ifata,_ finer;
but _ono(ve),_ short, _onov'aka,_ shorter.

The prefix _ande_ is used only with adjectives which express an idea
of extension.

When the adjective expresses an actual state rather than a passive,
it is preceded by the sign of past tense, the particle _ga._

Ex. _ant g'ifa,_ the breeches are (have become) good; _ena ga ko,_
the road (is) bad.

III. Demonstrative Adjectives.

The demonstrative adjectives in Fuyuge are represented by the suffixes
-_ana_, this, -_ala_, this, here, -_vala_ that, there. The same
expressions translate the French "le voici," "le voilà."

Ex. _indiv'ana_, this knife; _eni'ala_, this house; _enavala_,
that road.

There is no article, but the expression _u mane_ is used in reference
to any thing which has been previously spoken about.

Ex. _enamb' ifa_, or _enamb' un' ifa_, it (is) a good road; but _enamb
u man' ifa_, the road (which has been mentioned) is good.

IV. Interrogative Adjectives.

For these. _See_ Pronouns.

V. Indefinite Adjectives.

The indefinite adjectives are _oko_, some, a little, part of;
_tale(le)_, several, many; _korio_, several; _gegeto_, a few, several;
_alu(ve)_, all; _urambe_, another; _none_, together, one with the
other; _dovavemunge_? _domamai_? how many?

Note.--When _oko_ is followed by a word beginning with _i_, it
becomes _oku_.

Ex. _Kuku oko nei_, give me some tobacco; _nemb' oko ematsi_, they
will spear the birds; _bodol' oko tsia_, take one of his hands;
_indiv' oko ya_, take a knife; _kuk oko ua_, (there is) no tobacco;
_indiv' oku i_, give him a knife; _ake talel' ando_, there are many
men; _kupa korio inde_, give several potatoes; _me' gegeto indiatsi_,
some children will come; _aked' aluvi etsi ando_, all the men are
in the village; _nau mel' alu_, all my children; _indiv' urambe ya_,
take another knife; _Pitsoke non' ade_, the Pitsoke strike one another;
_oye non' ongete_, the dogs keep beside each other; _kokol' ul' ombo
dovavemunge?_ how many eggs? _nu sise domamai?_ how many dog's teeth?

VI. Possessive Adjectives.

_See_ Possessive Pronouns.

Numerals.

I. There are only two numerals: _fida (ne)_, one, and _gegeto_,
two. _Gegeto_ is also used for a small number, and _gegetom'inda_,
is little used for three. For more than three, _gegeto_, meaning
"a few," or _tale(le)_, "many" is used.

II. There are no ordinals and the only distributive is _fida fida_,
one by one.

Pronouns.

I. Personal Pronouns. Simple.

Singular.

lst Person _na, nave, nani,_ I, me
2nd Person _nu, nove, nuni,_ thou, thee
3rd Person _u(ne), ove, uni,_ he, she, it, him, her

Dual.

lst Person _da, dani,_ we, or us two
2nd Person _ya, yani,_ you two
3rd Person _tu, tuni,_ they, or them two

Plural.

1st Person _di, dini,_ we, us
2nd Person _yi yini,_ you
3rd Person _mu, muni,_ they, them

1. The first form _na, nu, u(ne)_ etc., is used either as subject or
object of the verb, the meaning being only indicated by the position
of the word.

Ex. _na kuku nu inditsi,_ I will give thee tobacco; _na un' adatsi,_
I will strike him; _ya di ong' ando,_ you two are beside us.

When used before the imperative of the verb _indi,_ to give, _na_
becomes _ne._

Ex. _ne i, ne inde,_ give me.

2. The forms _nave_ and _ove_ are rarely used. The commonest use is
with the words _ete,_ to say, _ende,_ also.

Ex. _nav' elete,_ I said; _ov' elete,_ he said; _nav' ende, nov'
ende, ov' ende,_ I also, thou also, he also.

3. The forms _nani, nuni,_ etc., are employed when the verb is
understood, or to indicate opposition or emphasis.

Ex. _da gatsi? dini;_ who will go? we (will); _nuni kakape ta,
nani kakava,_ you are weak, but I am strong; _nani a baibe,_ I am a
great man.

4. The dual is generally observed by the natives. Adjectives used
with the dual pronoun take the singular form.

Ex. _dani sosonga,_ we (are) idle,

5. The dual is often employed with two subjects one of which is plural.

Ex. _Kakao tu, tsimani u g'anga_, Kakao they two, with the policemen,
have started.

When _dani_ is used alone it is generally inclusive of the person
addressed, and means "I and thou." If the third person is intended
the name is used: _dani Okomi' u da gatsi_, we two Okomi with we will
go. _Yani_ is used in a similar way, when one of the persons referred
to is not present: _ya, Dun'u yani natsi_, you two Dune with you will
go. The use of the conjunction _u(ne)_ with the second member of the
subject does not appear to be constant.

6. The pronoun of the third person singular _u(ne)_ when it is the
direct object of the verb usually follows, and often takes the form
-_unde_.

Ex. _kodigitsi mau_, put it in the dish; _nag' al' unde_, I have
seen him.

II. Personal Pronouns. Compound.

From the pronouns _na, nu_, etc., are derived by means of the suffix
-_muku_, alone, the forms _namuku, numuku_, etc., with the meanings,
"I alone, without company," etc.

The suffix -_mule_, is equivalent to self, _namule, numule_, etc.,
myself, thyself, etc.

From _nani, nuni_, etc., come the forms: _naniende_, or _nanienge_,
etc., meaning myself in person, etc.; _nanieke, nunieke_, etc., from
-_eke_, alone; _naniova_, etc., it is my business, _nanibila_, I by
myself, without help. _Nani endebila_ is more emphatic than _nanibila_.

Ex. _numuku andola_? art thou quite alone? _da gatsi? uniende_; who
will go? he himself; _nu da? nanienge_; who art thou? it is myself;
_amed' unieke ando_, the chief is alone; _ake muniova_, it is the
men's business; _dinieke al' andetsi_, we will stay here alone;
_isong' unibila_, his own rainbow appears.

III. Possessive Pronouns.

1. These are formed from the simple forms of the personal pronouns
by suffixing -_ula(ne)_ literally "his thing."

Singular. Dual. Plural.

1. _naula(ne)_ 1. _daula(ne)_ 1. _diula(ne)_
2. _nula(ne)_ 2. _yaula(ne)_ 2. _yula(ne)_
3. _ula(ne)_ 3. _tula(le)_ 3. _mula(ne)_

They translate the English mine, thine, etc. Sometimes in compounds
the final _n_ becomes _nd_. Ex. _nauland' aua_, here is mine.

2. The adjectival forms appear without the syllable _la_.

Singular. Dual. Plural.

1. _nau_(_le_) 1. _dau_(_le_) 1. _diu_(_le_)
2. _nu_(_le_) 2. _yau_(_le_) 2. _yu_(_le_)
3. _u_(_le_) 3. _tu_(_le_) 3. _mu_(_le_)

These adjectives precede the noun which they govern. With personal
nouns the forms _naula_, etc., are sometimes used.

Ex. _nau me_ and _naula me_, my son; _diu vase_ and _diula vase_,
our guest.

Note.--The form _nulu_ is heard in the phrase _nulu babe_, thy father.

The suffix _mule_ is also used in the sense of "own."

Ex. _numul' ul' i to, n' alo_, your own name, which I know; _namul'
ul i_, my own name. These suggest that the true possessive is simply
_ul_(_e_) or _ula_(_ne_).

IV. Interrogative Pronouns.

1. These are: _Da_(_le_)? _dau_(_ne_)? who,
which? _anda_(_le_)? what? _unau_? which? They are used also as
adjectives.

Ex. _Nu da_? who art thou? _dau ga ne_? who has eaten it? _anda l'
elete_? what did he say? _Ivi: unau_? Ivi: which one?

2. When the verb is preceded by the particle _ga_, _dau_(_ne_) must
be used instead of _da_(_le_).

V. Indefinite Pronouns.

These are the same as the Indefinite Adjectives.

VI. Relative Pronouns.

The suffix _niu_(_ne_) or _u_(_ne_) takes the place of a relative
pronoun.

Ex. _A yaigegemune_, the man who descends; _audati itedemu bulitsi
jalo tolom elota_, in the garden which they are cutting now when the
food is ripe; _ovo jamun' imbade_, the meat taken from the pig; _fal'
itamun' akeda_, the men who have dug the ground.

Verbs.

I. Conjugation.

The Fuyuge verb is conjugated by modifications of the terminal
syllables, or by a particle added to the subject.

II. The Particle, Ga.

The particle _ga_ (often _g'_ before a vowel) is generally used with
the past tense, and is rarely absent in the positive form of the
verb. But it may be used also with the present and future. With the
present it seems to indicate reference to a preceding action in the
sense of "being on the point of," "ready to." With the future it has
almost the sense of "go."

Ex. _Ake ga nembe na,_ the men have eaten the bird; _amu g'anga_
the women are gone; _naga bulitsi gatsi,_ I am going to go away to
the garden; _naga sue,_ I am going away.

Note (1). _Ga_ always immediately follows the subject, except with
the past of the verb _ange(ge),_ to go, which always has _g'anga._

(2). When the subject is not a pronoun, the pronoun of the 3rd
pers. sing. is often expressed.

(3). _Ga_ never appears to be used in a negative expression.

Ex. _Naga ipitsial' uruv' ema,_ I have killed with the gun a toucan;
_mel ul' etsi g'anga,_ the child to his village has gone; _Okom' ug'
nemb' ema,_ Okome has killed a bird; _ake kupa me na,_ the men have
not eaten the potatoes.

III. Person and Number.

These are not expressed by the verb in Fuyuge.

IV. Tense and Mode.

1. There are three principal tenses, present, past and future. The
present is found in the indicative and imperative modes, the
past in the indicative only, and the future in the indicative and
subjunctive. Besides these, there is a method of expressing the
infinitive, a passive participle, and two forms of verbal adjectives.

2. _Paradigm of tenses and modes._

ememe, umbubi, isiei,
pierce wash follow

Indicative present ememe umbubi isiei
Indicative past (1) ema(me) umbubi(ne) isia
Indicative past (2) emo(ne)
Indicative future ematsi(me) umbubitsi(me) isiatsi
Imperative (1) ema umbubi isia
Imperative (2) emau umbubu
Subjunctive (1) emo(le) umbubi(ne) isio(me)
Subjunctive (2) emo(me)
Infinitive ema(me) umbubi(me) isie(me)
Past participle emam(ane) umbubim(ane)
Verbal adjective (1) emabul(ane) umbubibul(ane)
Verbal adjective (2) ememond(ana)

If the Imperative be regarded as the stem, there appear to be three
Conjugations, but Dr. Strong gives four based on past tense, thus:
i. Verbs with monosyllabic roots, 2. Verbs with roots in _a_, 3. Verbs
with roots in _i_, 4. Verbs with roots in _e_.

His examples are:--

1. 2. 3. 4.
nen, itede, ongai, bole,
eat cut break leave

Present nene itede ongai bolo
Past na ita ongai bole
Future natsi itatsi ongaitsi bolatsi
Imperative nu ito ongai bo(le)
Subjunctive no ito ongai bolo
Infinitive namubabe itamubabe ongaimubabe bolamane
Past participle namane itaname ongaimane bolamane
Adjectival nab'ula(ne) itedondona ongaibula(ne) bolabula(ne)

3. _Notes on the foregoing paradigms._

_a._ Indicative present.

Most verbs double the last syllable of the stem, which in the first
conjugation always ends in _e_. There are, however, some exceptions,
especially among verbs in _i_, and those which have a verbal
suffix. The syllable _-te_ when doubled is always _-tede_.

Ex. _Nag alili_, I see; _nani e gadi_, I build (tie up) the house;
_nani okid' atede_, I light the fire.

_b._ Indicative past.

The difference between the two forms, both of which are preceded
by the particle _ga_, is not yet clearly made out. The ending _e_
seems to refer to the time when the action finished, whilst _-a_
has a more general signification.

Ex. _Naga ne_, I have eaten, _naga kupa na_, I ate the potatoes. There
is another form which replaces the final syllable of the present
tense by _-ua_. Verbs in _-i_ add _-ua_ to the final syllable. But
it is uncertain whether this expresses the near past, or includes an
idea of movement.

Ex. _na bul' elelua_, I have just worked in the garden; _nu a gadi ua_,
you have just tied up the fence.

_c_. Indicative future.

If the syllables preceding the suffix _-tsi_ also contain _-tsi-ti_. In
monosyllabic verbs especially, a second form of the future is often
found, which retains the doubling of the present tense.

Ex. _etsiati_, will come; _nenetsi_, will eat; _yeyetsi_, will
take. For _ga_ with the future, see below.

_d_. Imperative.

The first form of the imperative has less force than the second. In
the first conjugation the second form always terminates in _-au_,
even when the first form is irregular. The last syllable of the
imperative is often lost, especially when the ending is _-li_.

Ex. _aitodede_, runs, imperat. _aitode_ and _aitodau_; _itulili_,
ward off, imperat. _itu_; _bole_, leaves, imperat. _bole_, _bo_,
and _bolau_; _ameme_, puts, imperat. _a_ and _ama_.

The imperative is only used for the second person. In the first and
third (sometimes even in the second) it is replaced by the subjunctive.

Ex. _di ango_, let us go; _to n'alo_, speak, that I may know; _go di
go_, go that we may go.

_e_. Subjunctive.

The two forms of the subjunctive are distinguished only in composition,
and have not yet been clearly understood. The last syllable besides is
rarely heard except in questions, and refers then to the interrogative
form. The subjunctive without a conjunction is used in simple phrases
consisting only of subject and object.

Ex. _kuku gadi, di no_, roll the tobacco (make cigarette), that we
may smoke (eat).

_f_. Infinitive.

The forms given as infinitive are uncertain. They may be verbal
nouns. They are used in phrases such as: _nam' u babe_, father of
eating, for 'a great eater': _tsimilim' u babe_, father of licking,
cf. _andaval' u babe_, father of crying, one who causes crying.

_g_. Past Participle.

This does not easily lose the final syllable when it ends a
sentence. In other cases, when it is followed by the word it qualifies
it loses _-ane_, if the qualified word begins with a vowel, and _-ne_
in other cases.

Ex. _iy' ongaimane_, the cut tree, _indiv' ongaima ya_, or _ongaim'
indi' ya_, take the broken knife, _g'usangaman' ul' ande_, the thing
of death.

The past participle of some verbs has not yet been ascertained.

_h_. Verbal Adjectives.

The exact difference between the two forms is not accurately
ascertained. The first seems to indicate an instrument, and is
equivalent to the phrase "used for," the second appears to indicate
habitual rather than momentary use. When qualifying persons _-onde_
is used for _-ondana_.

Ex. _indi kupa fifitabula_, knife for scraping potatoes; _ai
safatsilibula_, a yam which has rotted; _kulule iy' adedondona_,
a hammer for striking wood; _nuni oyatonde_, you are only joking;
_nani falawa me nonde_, I don't eat bread.

In composition _-ande_, or at least _-nde_, is lost when the word
qualified follows.

Ex. _ai filibulanda_, a yam for planting, _filibula' ai ne i_, give me
the yam for planting; _ambe nenondana_, the eatable banana, _nenond'
ambe ya_, take the eatable banana.

V. Negation.

The negative of the verb is formed by the particle _me_ or _mi_
preceding. In the imperative it also precedes, but when emphasis
is laid upon the negation _mi_ follows. The difference between _me_
and _mi_ is not clear, but _me_ appears to be used only before verbs
beginning with a consonant, and _mi_ with other verbs.

A negative participle or infinitive does not appear. For the verbal
adjective the suffix _-ua(ne)_ is used.

Ex. _Na mi alele_, I do not understand; _nani matsine mi engatsi_,
I will not put on the (shell) bracelet; _mi unde_, do not fear;
_kolose mi_, do not play; _me ya_, do not take; _nenond' an' ua_,
what is not eaten.

VI. Interrogative.

The interrogative is only employed with reference to the verb itself,
not to the complements. It changes with the conjugation and varies
for present, past and future tense.

Present. Past 1. Past 2. Future 1. Future 2.

ememoma? emama? emena? emolà? emómà?
umbubima? umbibia? umbubina? umbubila? umbubima?

The present in the first conjugation keeps the reduplication of the
stem, and changes the final _e_ to _-oma_. The second conjugation
simply adds _-ma_. The interrogative in the past simply changes the _e_
of the positive indicative to _a_ in both forms. The future is formed
in the same way from the subjunctive with a stress upon the final _a_
in the first conjugation.

Ex. _Nuga malele yera?_ have you taken the book? _uga nemb' emama?_ has
he killed the bird? _nu aiti golà?_ would you start to-morrow? _kupa
g'ilama?_ are the potatoes cooked?

Note (1). The future interrogative replies to the question, "Can
I..."? or "Should I..."?

(2). The interrogative of the near past (_cf.p._ 318, 3, _b_) is
formed by substituting _-una_ for _-ua_.

Ex. _nug' em' aliluna?_ Have you just come to see the village?

(3). The form of the second future as _umbibia_ is rarely heard,
except with the verb _alili_, see, from which comes _'Aria?_ see?

(4). The negative interrogative is formed like the simple negative
by _me_ or _mi_ preceding the verb.

The questions "What should I do?" "What should I say," How should
I begin it?" are translated by the expression _do(le)... maiti_,
from _do(le)?_ where?

Ex. _dotamaiti?_ how should I say? _dol' imaiti?_ what should I
do? _do yela maiti?_ how shall I call?

VII. Substantive Verb.

1. In the present tense there is no substantive verb. The predicate and
subject are combined as in the examples already given (cf. p. 312,
2). But when the present indicates a state in opposition to one
preceding it, _ga_ is used before the adjective, or if in opposition
to a future state, the verb _ando_ follows.

Ex. _Kuku ga ko_, the tobacco is bad; _balava ga ua_, the bread is
finished; _indi ga kouatu_, the knife is on the box; _ambe g'ifa_,
the banana is good; _ambe gos' ando_, the banana is (still) green
(not ripe).

The past is more difficult to express. It always requires an adverb
of time.

Ex. _Mele maleke ifa, audati ga ko_, the child formerly was good,
now he is bad.

3. For other tenses the verb is translated only by the auxiliaries
_-elele_ and _-angege_, for which cf. p. 322, 7.

VIII. Auxiliary Verbs.

1. The particle _ga_ may be used to make any expression whatever
attributive.

Ex. _Yu g'ua_, the water is finished (_i.e_., is not); _malele ga
kouatsi_, the book is in the box.

In such examples there is almost the sense of a past action, as if
it were "The water (has become) nothing," "the book has been put
(is already in) the box."

2. The verbs _ete, tede_, to say, or to do, and _elele_, to become,
are often used to form a noun stem into a verb. _Ete_ and _tede_
give the sense of _sounding_, _elele_ gives the sense of _using_
whatever the noun expresses.

Ex.

_fioli_, flute, _fioliete_, to play the flute.
_yuve_, water, _yuv' elele_, to bathe.
_ule_, thunder, _ulonete_, to thunder.
_ivule_, dye, _ivul' elele_, to paint one's self.
_andavale_, crying, _andav' ete_, to weep.
_bule_, earth, _bul' elele_, to cultivate.

3. The Tenses, etc., of these verbs are found as follows:

1 2

Pres. indic. ete or tede. elele.
Imperative. ta. elau, ele, e.
Past indic. te(ne). elame.
Subjunctive. to(me), to(le). elo(me), elo(le).
Past indic. ta(me). elene.
Infinitive. ta(me). ela(me).
Future indic. tatsi(me). elatsi(me).
Verbal adj. tond(ana). ?

4. The negative is formed regularly by _mi_.

Ex. _nani yu mi elatsi_, I shall not bathe; _degu mi e_, don't
get dirty.

5. The interrogative is regular.

Pres. or past, _tena?_ or _tama? elena?_ or _elama?_ Fut. _toma?_
and _tola? eloma?_ and _elola?_

6. The auxiliaries _ete, tede, elele_, should be distinguished from
the regular verb, _tede_ or _ta_, to make. The latter is a distinct
verb used when the result of the action is to produce a new thing.

Ex. _Sambari tatsi_, will make a wall; _ombo tatsi_, will make a sieve.

7. The verbs _elele_ and _angege_, both meaning "to become," may be
regarded as auxiliary verbs when they are used with adjectives, often
taking the place of a substantive verb. In this use _elele_ is never,
and _angege_ very rarely used in the past tense, the particle _ga_
taking their place.

Both are regular except in the imperative, which has respectively _ela_
and _elau_, _ange_ and _angau_.

Ex. _Ifan' eloma?_ will he become handsome? _ifa mi elatsi?_ he will
not be handsome? _indi g' ifa_, the knife is good; _yuv' uan angatsi_,
the water will cease (become nothing); _mel g' us' anga_, or _me g'
use_, the child is dead.

IX. Verbal Suffixes.

1. The suffix _-i_, added to a noun stem, forms generally a neuter
verb.

Ex. _abe_, work, _abi_, to work; _iso_(_ne_), smoke, _isoni_, to give
forth smoke; _kese_, a clean vegetable, _kesi_, to clean vegetables.

2. The suffix _-tede_, added to a noun stem, forms usually an active
verb.

Ex. _foye_, ashes, _foitede_, to cook in ashes; _gurube_, neck,
_gurutede_, to hang at the neck.

3. The suffix of manner defining the verb, is formed by adding the
adjective with the final syllable changed to _-i_.

Note (1). The suffix of manner is always added to the infinitive form
of the preceding verb.

(2). In the negative these compound verbs are considered a single word.

Ex. _te_, say, _ifane_, good, _tam' ifani_, to say well. _i_, do,
_koye_, bad, _i'koi_, to do badly. _ilele_, cook, _akane_, small,
_ilam'akani_, to half-cook.

4. The suffix _-matede_ appears to have a causative signification.

Ex. _ga koda_ (perhaps the past of _kodede_,) pierced, _komatede_,
to pierce (of a man); _ga siuda_, extinguished, _siumatede_,
to extinguish.

Note. This suffix appears in some examples as a separate verb in the
same sense.

Ex. _yuv' olola mata_, warm up the water; _indi koi matatsi_, the
knife will become bad.

The negative is not known.

5. The suffixes _-meme_ and _-ngo_ are added to neuter verbs. The
first has an active meaning, the second is passive.

Ex. _yu_, to be upright, _yuma_, to put upright, _yungo_, to be
upright. _yari_(?), _yarima_, to hang, _yaringo_, to be hanging.

Note (1). _Meme_ is regularly conjugated; _-ngo_ is imperfectly known.

(2). Negative forms are _me yumatsi_, will not place upright, _mi
yaringo_, not hanging.

6. The auxiliary verbs, except _ga_, may perhaps be included among
the suffixes (_see_ p. 322, VIII.).

X. Verbal Prefixes.

The prefix _ya-_ renders a neuter verb active or causative.

Ex. _yaigege_, to go down, _yeyaigege_, to carry down. _faikadede_,
to come back, _yefaika(dede)_, to give back. _yu_, to stand up,
_yeyu_, to set up.

XI. Irregular Verbs.

1. Many verbs are irregular in the imperative.

Ex.

_angege_, imperat. _ange_, go.
_atede_, imperat. _ade_, kindle, burn.
_ende_, imperat. _ende_, undo.
_etsie_, imperat. _etsie_, come up (ladder).
_faikadede_, imperat. _faika(dede)_, go back.
_idede_, imperat. _de_, gather, pluck.
_isie_, imperat. _isia_, follow;
_itede_, imperat. _ide_, sting, bite.
_itulili_, imperat. _itu(li)_, split.
_ivori_, imperat. _ivo(ri)_, wipe.
_kosisi_, imperat. _kose_, turn.
_telele_, imperat. _te(le)_, come.
_yelele_, imperat. _ye(le)_, call.

2. Other irregular verbs are the following. Only those forms known
are entered.

_Aitodede_, to run: imperat. _attode_, infin. _aitode(me)_.
_ando_ and _ande_, to be there: fut. _andetsi_, imperat. _ande_,
subj. _ando_, and _ande_.
_bole_, to leave: past, _bo(le)_, imperat. _bo(le)_.
_ete_, to tell: past, _ete_ and _elete_, imperat. _eta_ and _ta_.
_faduatsiete_, to ache (head): fut. _faduatatsi_.
_iei_, to throw: fut. _iatsi_, imperat. _ia_.
_indi_, to give;, imperat. _i(nde)_, subj. _i(ndi)_.
_ingale_, to carry (on shoulder): past, _ingala_ and _inge_,
imperat. _inga_, subj. _ingo_.
_itede_ and _ito_, to lay down: past, _ito_ and _ita_, near past,
_itova_, imperat. _ito_.
_songe_, to go: pres. and past, _se_, near past, _sova_,
imperat. _so(nge)_, subj. _so_, interrog. _sona?_
_sue_, to walk, go: pres. _sue_, fut. _susuetsi_.
_utsisi_, to draw: fut. _utsist_, imperat. _ude_.

Note (1). The verbs _ando_ and _ito_ are not yet accurately understood.

(2). The verb _ete_ has a double conjugation, the initial _e_ being
retained or omitted at will. The past _elete_ is used in reporting
the words of another person.

(3). The verb _faduatsiete_ is a type of several verbs which end in
_ete_, preceded by the syllable _tsi_. All these appear to lose _tsi_
in the future, although some have both forms.

Ex. _kiovatsiete_, to cry (of black parrot): fut. _kiovatatsi_
and _kiovatsitatsi_.
_puatsiete_, to make a cracking noise: fut. _puatatsi_ and
_puatsiatsi_.

(4). The verb _sue_ in the meaning "go away" always has _ga_.

Ex. _nu ga sua? na ga sua_, are you going away? I am going away.

The verb _angege_, to go, in the past tense has the particle ga
prefixed to the verb instead of suffixed to the pronoun.

Ex. _na nul etsi ganga_, I went to your village.

XII. Notes on Some Verbs.

1. _Tede_ and _i_.

There is a difference in the meaning of the verbs _tede_, (_ete_)
and _i_, both used for "do" or "make." The first is used when the
object by which one obtains the action is indicated, the second is
used when the action only is expressed, and might then be translated
by the phrase "to go to work, to set about."

Ex. _olon'ete_, to snore, make a sound with the _olo_(_ne_ hole,
_i.e._, the nostrils, _ung'ul 'olo. na (melauk') i koitsi_, I shall
do the thing wrong.

2. _Gege, angege, engege, songe._

All of these have the general meaning of "go." Their differences are
not yet clearly understood. _Engege_ appears to mean "go up." _Songe_
is specially employed when the following phrase indicates a final
proposition, or an answer to the questions "Where do you come from?" or
"Where are you going?"

Ex. _nuni o' gega_, thou hast passed down there; _di engo_, let us
go up; _na song' em' aritsi_, I am going to see the village; _nu do
sona_? where have you been? (or, where do you come from?); _na bulitsi
sova_, I have been in the garden (or, I have come from the garden).

3. _Idede_.

This verb has a general meaning besides the special one "to gather."

Ex. _fang' idede_, to set a trap; _di yu molots' idoma_? should we
make a water-pipe?

4. _Ameme_.

This verb has the general meaning of passing, or making anything
pass, through an opening. The object which has the opening does not
take suffixes.

Ex. _kupa ulin' ama_, put the potatoes in the pot; _na ul' olol'
amene_, I passed it through the hole; _iso nu emana? andavete_,
does the smoke irritate you? you are weeping.

Adverbs.

I. Adverbs generally precede the verb which they modify. The exceptions
are the interrogative na? (is it not so?) which always comes at the
end of the sentence, and _-ta_ (at first), which follows the verb.

Ex. _aiti balava natsi_, to-morrow bread I shall eat; _aiti nu inditsi
na_? to-morrow I will give it you, shall I not? _kuku neta_, I eat
the tobacco at first.

Note.--This _ta_ appears to be almost a conjunction, and the phrase
might be translated "when I shall have smoked (eaten) the tobacco."

II. Adverbs of Place.

_do(le)?_ where.
_a(le)_), here.
_va(ie)_, there.
_ombatsi_, underneath.
_gisa(le)_, far.
_ime(li)?_ far.
_kugume_, near.
_tsi_, inside.
_val'enga_, outside.
_tu_, on, over
_ibe(le)_, down there.
_o(me)_, up there.
_yo(le)_, there above.

III. Adverbs of Time.

The adverbs of time are not very definite. For example _audati_,
"to-day, now," means also "in a few days" or "a few days ago." The
latter meaning is also attributed to _arima_, and the former to _aiti_.

_aida_? when?
_vomarima_, day before yesterday.
_arima_, yesterday.
_male(ke)_, formerly.
_malieke)_, formerly.
_audali)_, to-day, now.
_aiti(me)_, to-morrow.
_vomaiti_, day after to-morrow.
_talele_, often, for ever.
_dedi_, just now, later (near).
_ido(ve)_, not yet (with fut.) immediately.
_ulsienga_, later on, in the future.
_utsimata_, later on, in the future.
_utsinenga_, later on, in the future.
_kelavalage_, for a time.
_-ta_, at first.
_vo(ye_, again.

IV. Adverbs of Quantity.

_dovavemunge_? how much? how many?
_domamai_? how much? how many?
_avevemunge_, as much, so much, as many, so many.
_tale(le)_, many.
_apa(le)_, enough.
_kisiaka_, few, little.
_oko_, few, little.
_-ta_, very.
_ande_, very.
_boboi_, entirely, quite.
_gegeto_, few.

Note. When _apa_ is used with a numeral it precedes it. Ex. _apa
gegeto_, two are sufficient.

V. Adverbs of Affirmation, Negation and Interrogation.

_e_, yes.
_akai(ge)_, truly.
_g'akai_, truly.
_me_! what! certainly!
_ila_! I who knows?
_ua(ne)_, not, no.
_nà_? is it not (French, n'est ce pas?).
_óuo_! not at all, by no means.
_andal'ai(me)_? why?

Note. _Me_, _óuo_, and _ila_ are almost interjections.

VI. Adverbs of Manner and Likeness.

The adverbs of manner are often replaced by noun suffixes attached
to the verb, with the final _i_. (See Verbal Suffixes, p. 323).

_unoi_, together.
_akaumai(nge)_, further, beyond, besides.
_uneke_, only.
_ende_, also.
_elele_, quickly.
_dedi_, slowly
_fidefide_, continually.
_kela_, without reason, gratis.

Note. When _ende_ modifies a verb with subject in the third person,
it is preceded by the pronoun _ove_. Ex. _nau fud' ov' ende fufuli_,
my bones (they) also ache.

Prepositions and Postpositions.

I. Prepositions.

Only two prepositions are found in Fuyuge. These are _ise_, near,
and _ga_, by.

Ex. _aked' is' okid' ando_, the men are near the fire; _ganda_? _ga
ma_! by what do you swear? by the thread.

Note. _Ga_, in the sense of "by," is much used, and corresponds to
a kind of oath.

II. Postpositions.

1. All the postpositions are used as suffixes to the words which they
govern. When the noun to which they are suffixed has a double form,
the postposition is added to the short form.

Ex. _uli-tsi_ from _uli(ne)_ pot: _fatsi_ from _fa(le)_, ground.

There are however some exceptions.

2. When the postposition begins with a consonant, the final _e_
of a noun changes to _i_.

Ex. _kodigi-tsi_ from _kodige_, plate; _bulitsi_ from _bule_, garden.

3. The postpositions are often used as nouns.

Ex. _balava u tsi ido asi_, the inside of the loaf is still raw.

III. List of Postpositions.

_-ai(me)_, because of, for: _ovol' aim' andavete_, I weep for the pig.

_-a(le)_, with, by (instrumental): _isong' al' oki ya -andal' a? isong'
ale_, take the fire with the tongs--with what? with the tongs; _amul'
al' ul'ese_, the woman with her child; _uli sond' al' ale_, a pot
with a handle.

_-ala_, to, adherent to, along: _yo' ata yarima_, hang it on the
rattan; _enamb' ata malele yatsi_, I will take it along the road.

_-fendateme_, near (within bounds): _Sivu Alo fendatem' ando_, Sivu
is near Alo.

_-noi_, with (?): _yini danoi gatsi_, you will go with us two.

_-ongo_, before, at the side of (with an idea of inferiority):
_na nu ongo ando_, I am before thee (at thy service); _non' ongo_,
one beside the other.

_-enga_, from the side of, towards: _nani Ambov'enga g'anga_, I have
been (gone) towards Ambove.

_-kaine_, towards: _dedi yi kaine tsiati_, later on I will come
towards you.

_teti_, under: _sosoeteti ando_, he is under the bed.

_tsi_, to (movement, and time, rest), at, at the place of (Fr. chez):
_nani etsi andota, u bulitsi g'anga_, I am in the house, he has gone
into the garden; _naga Mambutsil' a tela_, I am come here from Mambo;
_kouatsi ma_, put it in the box; _tutsi etsiati_, he will come in
the night; _nu datsi sona_? who has he been with?

_-tu_, upon (to or at places on mountains): _kulumitu, ma_, put it
on the table; _Falitu g'anga_, he is gone to Faliba.

Note. _Ale_ in the sense of "with" is used when the second substantive
is considered as an accessory to the first. Ex. _an' al amu_, a married
man (man with a wife); _uli sondal' ale_, pot with a handle. There
are not yet enough examples to distinguish the two forms.

IV. Prepositional Phrases.

_u mome_, above: _kurum' u mome yarime_, hang it over the table; _u
bane_, behind; _mel' an' u ban' ando_, the child is behind the man;
_ul' umbo(le)_, in the middle of; _Veke ul' umbol' ando_, he is at Vee.

Conjunctions.

I. Copulative.

_-u(ne)_, and, with; _naga kitoval' u kene' ema_, I killed a black
and white parrot.

_Une_ is generally only used to connect two nouns, and is placed
between the two. But sometimes it comes after the second, especially
when meaning "with," and the first noun is then followed by the
personal pronoun. There are a few doubtful examples of _une_ joining
two phrases: _ake tale mu, Augustin' un' ando_, many men are with
Augustin.

II. Adversative.

_-ta_, yet, but: _nuni safa' ta nani kakava_, you are weak but I
am strong.

_Ta_, meaning "but," precedes the phrase which it governs: _nuni natsi,
ta nani fema_, you will eat, but I do not.

III. Sequence.

_-ta_, when (when a fact is accomplished, or will certainly happen),
lest: _aked' indiota, dinoi gatsi_, when the men arrive, we will
go together.

_Ta_ in this sense follows the verb, which is in the past if the action
depends on the person who speaks or is spoken to, in other cases in
the subjunctive: _kuku neta, etsi gatsi_, when I (or you) have eaten,
I will (or you will) go to the village; _mulamula angetota, gadiu_,
lest the medicine fall, tie it up.

_-tamai_, when (uncertain event): _oki finolitamai, na natatsi_,
when the fire blazes, warn me.

_Tamai_ always requires the subjunctive.

_-mai_, if: _Augusto bubulimai, dimuku e gaditsi_. If Augusto delays,
we ourselves will build the house.

_-umba_, so, like: _an' umba ne i_, give me (one) like that.

Interjections.

_mamu(la)_! admiration.
_ile_! sadness.
_fanimo(le)_, commiseration.
_fanikoe_! commiseration.
_-e_ (suffix), commiseration.
_segoa_! joy at another's misfortune.
_biu_! contempt.
_alaila_! a command for silence.
_faiamela_! expresses the recognition of an error.

Notes on Dependent Clauses.

1. A final proposition with the future is expressed in four ways.

a. By the infinitive preceding the verb which it governs: _na nul'
em' arim' an gatsi_, I will go to see thy village, lit, I thy village
to-see will-go.

b. By the simple future preceded by the verb: _na songe, Tsekari
aritsi_, I go, I shall see Tseka.

c. By the future preceding the verb: _ake Mambutsi itatsi m' ando_,
the men remain to sleep at Mambo.

d. By the suffix _-du(le]: Pe' Egidi yol' itadul andemai, puatsitatsi,_
If Père Egidi stays to sleep up there, he will fire a gun; _ake Baidane
(gatsi) ame boladu_, the men will go to Baidane to leave the girl;
_muto yetadu, Labao gatsi_; I will go to Yule Is to take the sheep,
(_muto_, Fr. mouton). The use of the verb "to go" is not certain.

2. A dependent sentence with the past is expressed in two ways.

a. By the simple past: _na so, fang' an_, I went to see the trap.

b. By the suffix _-ua_, with the omission of the verb: _Tsekan'
alilua_, I went to see Tseka, which might also be translated: _na sova,
Tsekan' ari_.

3. Causative sentences appear to be governed by the same rules as
the preceding.

Ex. _ame nu arim' undede_, the girl is afraid to see you; _andal'
un' arim' ete_, what has he seen to talk about.

4. Conditional sentences precede the principal and have their verb
in the subjunctive with the conjunction _-mai_ or _-tamai_. (See
p. 330, III.).

5. A dependent sentence expressing time also precedes the principal
sentence. It has its verb in the subjunctive or indicative, followed
by the conjunction _-ta_ or sometimes _-tamai_. (See p. 330, III.).

CHAPTER II

Note on the Afoa Language

By Dr. W. M. Strong

The vocabulary recorded below was obtained from a Fuyuge native who
spoke the Afoa language. He had travelled with me to the Afoa-speaking
villages on Mount Pitsoko and I could assure myself that he spoke the
language fluently. In spite of the vocabulary having been obtained
through a Fuyuge native there is very little similarity between this
and the Fuyuge vocabulary. It should be noted that the words for "I"
and for "thou" are substantially the same in the two languages.

I also obtained a short vocabulary from a native who came down the
coast to me, and found that this was substantially the same as the
Pitsoko vocabulary. The native had come from a village which appeared
to be situated on the slopes of Mount Davidson and on the inland side
of it. According to native accounts the Afoa language is spoken in
numerous villages which stretch from Mount Davidson to the head of
the St. Joseph River in the Mafulu district. All the Afoa villages
are situated north of the St. Joseph and its main branches.

[Dr. Strong gives only the pronoun: _nui,_ thou; and the
numerals: _koane,_ one; _atolowai,_ two; _atolowai-itima,_ three;
_atolowai-atolowai,_ four; _atolowai-atolowai-itima,_ five.

The Pronouns given by Father Egidi for Tauata ("Anthropos," II. 1907,
pp. 1009-1015) are:--

Singular. Plural. Dual.

lst Person, _nai_, _na_. _nanei_, _nane_. _nonei_, _none_.
2nd Person, _nui_, _nu_. _nunei_, _nune_ _nuvei_, _nuve_.
3rd Person, _omei_, _ome_. _otei_, _ote_. _olei_(?).

The Possessives are:--

Singular. Plural. Dual.

lst Person, _ne_, _neve_. _nane_,_nanene_. _none_.

2nd Person, _ni_, _nie_. _nune_. _nuvene_.

3rd Person, _ote_, _otene_. _otene_. _olene_.

The Interrogatives are: _te_? who? _te_? _teile_? what
thing? _te_? _tue_? which?

The Numerals, according to Father Egidi, are, _kone_, one;
_atolo_(_ai_), two; _atoloai-laina_, three; _talele_, _memene_, many;
_konekone_, few.

S. H. R.]

CHAPTER III

Note on the Kovio Language.

By Dr. W. M. Strong.

Substantially the same language is spoken in the whole of the
neighbourhood of Mount Yule. I have travelled all around this
mountain and the same interpreter was able to make himself understood
everywhere. The vocabulary recorded below was collected by means
of the Motuan from a native of Lopiko in the Inava valley. I have
also collected short vocabularies from the village of Inavarene in
the same valley, and from the Kwoifa district of the upper part of
the Lakekamu river. These vocabularies show close similarities with
that of Lopiko. The natives around the Pic Eleia also speak much the
same language.

The vocabulary of the language bears no resemblance to any other
language I am acquainted with. It is peculiar in that a word often ends
in a consonant preceded by a short vowel. There is also an unusual
consonant sound in the language. This sound seems to vary between a
"ch" and a "tch" sound.

The pronouns are as follows;--

First person: _na_.
Second person: _ni_.
Third person: _pi_.

These were obtained without much difficulty as well as the
corresponding possessives _nemai_, _nimai_, and _pimai_; but plurals
could not be obtained. Possibly the above are both singular and
plural. The possessive precedes the noun, _e.g._, _nemai tupumagi_,
my house. [129] A binary system of counting is shown in the following
numerals:--

One: _uniuni_.
Two: _karaala_.
Three: _naralavievi napuevi_.
Four: _naralavievi naralavievi_.
Five: _naralavievi naralavievi napuievi_.
Ten: _kowa_.
Eleven: _kowa uniuni_.
Twelve: _kowa karaala_.
Twenty: _kowakowa_.

Seven, eight, and nine were also translated by saying _naralavievi_
for each two, and _napuevi_ for one over. The numeral follows the noun,
e.g., _inai karaala_, two spears. [130]

CHAPTER IV

A Comparative Vocabulary of the Fuyuge, Afoa, and Kovio Languages

Prepared by Sidney H. Ray, M.A.

[From the MSS. of Rev. Father Egedi, Rev. P.J. Money, and
Dr. W.M. Strong. Words in square brackets from "Antropos," II.,
pp. 1016-1021. _Cf_. Appendix V.]

English: Adze
Mafulu: so(ve)
Kambisa: so(nda)
Korona: itau
Afoa: kealeve
Kovio: labian)ed

English: Ankle
Mafulu: sog' u' kodabe [131]
Kambisa: segikanan [132]
Korona: --
Afoa: --
Kovio: --

English: Areca-nut
Mafulu: kese
Kambisa: kesi
Korona: soroma
Afoa: iluve; [vonuve]
Kovio: koveo; [auliri-koyo]

English: Arm
Mafulu: bodo(le); matange (_shoulder_)
Kambisa: ia; kosa (_shoulder_)
Korona: ya
Afoa: kalab; [kala(pe)]
Kovio: malau; [malao]

English: Armlet
Mafulu: koio(ne) (_cane_); matsi(ne) (_shell_)
Kambisa: ino (_cane_)
Korona: --
Afoa: [torite; litsi]
Kovio: [loria]

English: Arrow
Mafulu: fod' u' komome
Kambisa: --
Korona: fode
Afoa: --
Kovio: [kilelupa]

English: Ashes
Mafulu: foye
Kambisa: hoi
Korona: --
Afoa: enamiro [133]; pita; [sepe]
Kovio: iziuvate; [itekamite]

English: Backbone
Mafulu: bane
Kambisa: bano
Korona: --
Afoa: [momo(pe) (_back_)]
Kovio: --

English: Bad
Mafulu: ko(ye)
Kambisa: --
Korona: ko
Afoa: k=o=ali
Kovio: kep)ip; [amifu]

English: Bag, Basket
Mafulu: anon(ne)
Kambisa: ha(_netted_)
Korona: --
Afoa: [lamui]
Kovio: [lamui]

English: Bamboo
Mafulu: bione; e(re) (_pipe_)
Kambisa: e
Korona: tobo [134]
Afoa: ila; [vioni; ila (_pipe_)]
Kovio: nelele; [pidele; nerele (_pipe_)]

English: Banana
Mafulu: ambe
Kambisa: --
Korona: haba
Afoa: pelai
Kovio: teri; [teli]

English: Barter
Mafulu: davani
Kambisa: --
Korona: --
Afoa: tvatava [135]
Kovio: --

English: Beard
Mafulu: anama(le)
Kambisa: hanama
Korona: --
Afoa: --
Kovio: --

English: Belly
Mafulu: ombo(le)
Kambisa: hombo (_stomach_)
Korona: obo
Afoa: aniami; [aniame (_abdomen_); kutote (_belly_)]
Kovio: dapoale; [data]

English: Belt (waist string)
Mafulu: ganinge; ganingame (_bark_); tafade (_ratan_)
Kambisa: misu
Korona: --
Afoa: [terite; afafe; teupe]
Kovio: [tabatsio; talakota]

English: Bird
Mafulu: nembe
Kambisa: neba
Korona: nebe
Afoa: kile
Kovio: id)ep; [ite]

English: Bite
Mafulu: angale (_of men_); itede (_of dog_)
Kambisa: --
Korona: --
Afoa: kanaiva
Kovio: --

English: Black
Mafulu: dube
Kambisa: --
Korona: duba
Afoa: lumatu
Kovio: alolamala; [tumuta].

English: Blood
Mafulu: tana(le)
Kambisa: --
Korona: tana
Afoa: ilive
Kovio: uiau-toro; [ueho].

English: Boat
Mafulu: --
Kambisa: --
Korona: asi [136]
Afoa: --
Kovio: --

English: Body
Mafulu: mule
Kambisa: --
Korona: --
Afoa: [kotsi(pe)]
Kovio: ulan-utoro ; [koki].

English: Bone
Mafulu: fude
Kambisa: --
Korona: ufudi
Afoa: kemiabi
Kovio: kateleru.

English: Bow, _n_
Mafulu: fode
Kambisa: --
Korona: fode
Afoa: --
Kovio: --

English: Bowels
Mafulu: taride; gige
Kambisa: --
Korona: --
Afoa: [kimu(ve)]
Kovio: [tsikamaki].

English: Branch
Mafulu: bodo(le); gobe (_young_)
Kambisa: --
Korona: uga
Afoa: ietami
Kovio: litaud

English: Breast
Mafulu: ouba
Kambisa: duda; kononda [137] (_chest_); bononga (_breast-bone_)
Korona: --
Afoa: talate [opipe]
Kovio: apiteu; [apetei (_woman's_)].

English: Bring
Mafulu: yetsia (_up_); yayeitsie (_down_)
Kambisa: --
Korona: neda
Afoa: ainakava
Kovio: [boale?].

English: Bury
Mafulu: mudi
Kambisa: --
Korona: --
Afoa: alota
Kovio: --

English: Butterfly
Mafulu: keneke
Kambisa: --
Korona: kaneke
Afoa: gotaubi
Kovio: --

English: By an Bye
Mafulu: dedi; ido(ve) (_not yet_)
Kambisa: gadavi
Korona: --
Afoa: [epe (_not yet_)]
Kovio: --

English: Cane
Mafulu: yokome; seene (_ratan_)
Kambisa: ongo
Korona: --
Afoa: --
Kovio: --

English: Charcoal
Mafulu: --
Kambisa: urugum
Korona: orugu
Afoa: (ena)imiti [138]
Kovio: --

English: Cheek
Mafulu: omenge
Kambisa: hanan
Korona: --
Afoa: --
Kovio: --

English: Chest
Mafulu: kavale
Kambisa: kononda
Korona: konode
Afoa: kaluvi
Kovio: lipat; [ulako].

English: Chief
Mafulu: ame(de)
Kambisa: --
Korona: --
Afoa: --
Kovio: --

English: Child
Mafulu: mele; ese (_son_); ame(le) (_girl_); ayame(le) (_small_)
Kambisa: isa; isoko (_boy_); amuri (_girl_)
Korona: isia
Afoa: lu [lu; pie (_boy_); epi (_girl_)]
Kovio: nekeotoro; [koemala; feimala (_boy_); nalemala; etaofu (_girl_)].

English: Chin
Mafulu: ana
Kambisa: ana
Korona: --
Afoa: [natau(pe)]
Kovio: [akumare].

English: Claw (_of bird_)
Mafulu: fodo(le)
Kambisa: --
Korona: bodo [139]
Afoa: kila karabe
Kovio: --

English: Cloth (_native_)
Mafulu: kogo(ve)
Kambisa: hudo
Korona: --
Afoa: [etape]
Kovio: [tsimika].

English: Cloud
Mafulu: unu(me)
Kambisa: --
Korona: --
Afoa: ulua; [ponive]
Kovio: unida; [lariatsi].

English: Club
Mafulu: gilise (_pineapple_); gadaibe (_disc_); kongomu (_wood_)
Kambisa: hadufa (_wood_)
Korona: hadoga (_pine-apple_)
Afoa: yetikwi
Kovio: ineri (_stone_)

English: Coconut
Mafulu: fofo(ne)
Kambisa: bao
Korona: fofo
Afoa: --
Kovio: teri.

English: Cold
Mafulu: yuyuma
Kambisa: --
Korona: dudure
Afoa: loola
Kovio: delea; [abatata].

English: Come
Mafulu: tsia
Kambisa: --
Korona: yeterun
Afoa: lai
Kovio: [imaro]

English: Crocodile
Mafulu: fua
Kambisa: --
Korona: fuai
Afoa: --
Kovio: --

English: Cuscus
Mafulu: --
Kambisa: ano [140]
Korona: --
Afoa: --
Kovio: --

English: Darkness
Mafulu: tu(be)
Kambisa: --
Korona: gerenama
Afoa: guviti
Kovio: dubare

English: Daylight
Mafulu: ev' ul' aveve [141]
Kambisa: --
Korona: --
Afoa: --
Kovio: --

English: Die
Mafulu: usangege
Kambisa: --
Korona: usaga
Afoa: lae-elu; [kelui]
Kovio: [nusuaka]

English: Dig
Mafulu: tsie
Kambisa: --
Korona: --
Afoa: amatita
Kovio: --

English: Digging-stick
Mafulu: itsive
Kambisa: --
Korona: iti
Afoa: --
Kovio: --

English: Dog
Mafulu: oi(e)
Kambisa: hu
Korona: ho
Afoa: kovela
Kovio: gad)ep; [katefu]

English: Door
Mafulu: akonimbe
Kambisa: --
Korona: --
Afoa: --
Kovio: --

English: Dress (_man's_)
Mafulu: ganinge
Kambisa: haninga
Korona: --
Afoa: --
Kovio: --

English: Dress (_woman's_)
Mafulu: yangile (_petticoat_); yamba(le)
Kambisa: iambaro
Korona: --
Afoa: --
Kovio: --

English: Drink
Mafulu: nene
Kambisa: --
Korona: eu' naida
Afoa: kwaiana
Kovio: [naro]

English: Ear
Mafulu: yangolo(me)
Kambisa: gadoro
Korona: i
Afoa: kepapi
Kovio: katoli

English: Earring
Mafulu: --
Kambisa: kemang
Korona: --
Afoa: --
Kovio: --

English: Earth (ground)
Mafulu: bu(le), fa(le)
Kambisa: hoa
Korona: fa(la)
Afoa: amati
Kovio: kamad; [amatsi]

English: Eat
Mafulu: nene
Kambisa: --
Korona: adako' naida
Afoa: na)nai [142]; [nai]
Kovio: [naro]

English: Egg
Mafulu: ombo(le)
Kambisa: --
Korona: obo
Afoa: kile' mutube
Kovio: nekeo

English: Elbow
Mafulu: bodol'u' kodabe [143]
Kambisa: hukanan [144]
Korona: ya' koba
Afoa: oma' kaluve
Kovio: mala-gagoboro

English: Eye
Mafulu: i(me)
Kambisa: i(ng)
Korona: yago
Afoa: tabe; [va(pe)]
Kovio: ita-kwaru; [itau]

English: Eyebrow
Mafulu: ingob' u' male [145]
Kambisa: ing' ode [146]
Korona: --
Afoa: --
Kovio: ita-dunali

English: Eyelash
Mafulu: --
Kambisa: ing' uba
Korona: --
Afoa: --
Kovio: ita-kalam

English: Face
Mafulu: mede
Kambisa: --
Korona: yodoge
Afoa: keuwil [keu(ve)]
Kovio: tara-ata; [kawasata]

English: Far off
Mafulu: gisa(le)
Kambisa: busara
Korona: --
Afoa: ainioari [ainiole]
Kovio: waladekatch; [lulusivelaka]

English: Father
Mafulu: ba(be)
Kambisa: --
Korona: bane
Afoa: ati
Kovio: papai; [fafae; vavafu]

English: Fear
Mafulu: undede
Kambisa: --
Korona: --
Afoa: nu)kela [147]
Kovio: --

English: Feather
Mafulu: ma(le); pame (_of wing_)
Kambisa: wasa (_cassowary plum_)
Korona: --
Afoa: kili' amute
Kovio: atch; [akoatsi]

English: Finger
Mafulu: bodol' u' gobe [148] (_index_); bodol' u' feneme [149] (_middle
and ring_); bodol' u' talave [150] (_little finger_); bodol'
u' mame [151] (_thumb_)
Kambisa: naria (_thumb_)
Korona: yaro' goba [148]
Afoa: lelevai; [kalaopue (_index and ring_); kimataliope (_middle_);
leleva (_little_); amo(te) _thumb_]
Kovio: mala-tiporotch; [obido (_index_); upurau; kaitaita (_middle_);
upurau; gitaguruita (_ring_); itarao; taravalara (_little_);
banoe (_thumb_)]

English: Fire
Mafulu: oki(de)
Kambisa: uki
Korona: oke
Afoa: )enami
Kovio: iziradi; [iti]

English: Fish
Mafulu: garume
Kambisa: garung
Korona: unuma (?)
Afoa: gapila; [kapita]
Kovio: rapiamala; [kavila]

English: Flea
Mafulu: yo(le)
Kambisa: kasin
Korona: --
Afoa: --
Kovio: --

English: Flesh
Mafulu: mise
Kambisa: --
Korona: misa
Afoa: miluti
Kovio: [muditsi]

English: Flower
Mafulu: sive; oyande
Kambisa: --
Korona: unida [152]
Afoa: iadaude
Kovio: [ulatu]

English: Fly, _n._
Mafulu: sungulu(me)
Kambisa: --
Korona: sigurum
Afoa: tainanu; [tainamu]
Kovio: [muni]

English: Fly, _v._
Mafulu: iyei
Kambisa: --
Korona: --
Afoa: --
Kovio: --

English: Fog
Mafulu: unu(me)
Kambisa: hunu
Korona: --
Afoa: --
Kovio: --

English: Food
Mafulu: imbade (_animal_); yalove (_vegetable_)
Kambisa: --
Korona: --
Afoa: [nifite (_animal_); valive; kalai (_vegetable_)]
Kovio: [muditsi (_animal_); taraj (_vegetable_)]

English: Foot
Mafulu: yovali, so(ge); sog' u' tobo (_sole_) [153]
Kambisa: suga; hu tobo' (_sole_)
Korona: sogo
Afoa: lomineti; [lo(ape)]
Kovio: ina-tiporotch; [teporotsi]

English: Forehead
Mafulu: mede; ingobe (_bone of eyebrow_)
Kambisa: anone (_temple_)
Korona: mida
Afoa: miavi
Kovio: [tavatau]

English: Forest
Mafulu: mavane (_hunting-ground_); siu(le), tsiu(le) (_bush_)
Kambisa: --
Korona: bu [154]
Afoa: sule; [kalite]
Kovio: yaped; [buloka]

English: Fowl
Mafulu: kokole
Kambisa: --
Korona: --
Afoa: --
Kovio: --

English: Fruit
Mafulu: dede
Kambisa: --
Korona: --
Afoa: ietaube; [eadauda]
Kovio: ulau; [kalitu; ulata]

English: Garden
Mafulu: bu(le)
Kambisa: --
Korona: --
Afoa: --
Kovio: [volomala; volofu]

English: Ghost
Mafulu: sila(le)
Kambisa: --
Korona: --
Afoa: --
Kovio: --

English: Give
Mafulu: indi
Kambisa: --
Korona: ide
Afoa: nu)inie [155]; [ini]
Kovio: [nanara]

English: Go
Mafulu: gege
Kambisa: --
Korona: hego
Afoa: lo; [la]
Kovio: [taro]

English: Good
Mafulu: ifa(ne)
Kambisa: --
Korona: ifi
Afoa: ladi; [kato]
Kovio: aupumara; [tsimafu]

English: Great
Mafulu: baibe
Kambisa: mataka
Korona: baibe
Afoa: kalowo
Kovio: aputep; [tovenaetsi]

English: Hair (of head)
Mafulu: alome
Kambisa: ha; makoko (_dressed_)
Korona: --
Afoa: auwataute; [voto(pe)]
Kovio: nanaled; [manala; manalreta].

English: Hair (of body)
Mafulu: ma(le)
Kambisa: --
Korona: --
Afoa: auwuti; [avute]
Kovio: ada; [akoatsi]

English: Hand
Mafulu: bodo(le); bodol' u'-tobo (palm) [156]
Kambisa: ia; ia'tobo (_palm_)
Korona: yaro' uba
Afoa: galatopute [kalaopue]
Kovio: mala-kapunatch; [mala=tu portosi]

English: Hard
Mafulu: kakava(ne)
Kambisa: --
Korona: --
Afoa: avava
Kovio: maradi; [unamane]

English: Head
Mafulu: ade(de)
Kambisa: hondu
Korona: ha
Afoa: ni)adi; [ade] [157]
Kovio: gagau; [kakao]

English: Head-wrap
Mafulu: ogoupe
Kambisa: suno
Korona: --
Afoa: --
Kovio: --

English: Hear
Mafulu: alele
Kambisa: --
Korona: --
Afoa: lanita
Kovio: --

English: Hill
Mafulu: kume
Kambisa: kumo
Korona: bunga
Afoa: itavi; [maive; lavave (_uninhabited_); itave (_crest_)]
Kovio: la-ôâ-uta; [laoaka]

English: Hip
Mafulu: ol'u'ga(ye) [158]
Kambisa: huru
Korona: --
Afoa: --
Kovio: --

English: Hook
Mafulu: --
Kambisa: --
Korona: kimai [159]
Afoa: --
Kovio: --

English: Hot
Mafulu: olola
Kambisa: --
Korona: giganfe
Afoa: nunali
Kovio: midilamolamo

English: House
Mafulu: e(me); emo(ne) (_communal_)
Kambisa: e(m)
Korona: e
Afoa: geade; [kia(te); tumute (_communal_)]
Kovio: tupumagi; [dema(ki); dubumaki (_communal_)]

English: Husband
Mafulu: a(ne)
Kambisa: --
Korona: --
Afoa: omen)iva; [vale; mu] [160]
Kovio: anawab

English: Iron
Mafulu: tavili [161]
Kambisa: --
Korona: nani
Afoa: nai
Kovio: --

English: Kill
Mafulu: adede; ememe
Kambisa: --
Korona: --
Afoa: [amui]
Kovio: [mavemara]

English: Knee
Mafulu: amia
Kambisa: amiang
Korona: --
Afoa: --
Kovio:

English: Knife
Mafulu: indi(ve)
Kambisa: indi(fa)
Korona: --
Afoa: [tiveja(ve)] [162]
Kovio: [vesti]

English: Know
Mafulu: tsitsiva
Kambisa: --
Korona: --
Afoa: nu)ali; [ni]
Kovio: [edemaka]

English: Leaf
Mafulu: tu(le)
Kambisa: idu
Korona: utu
Afoa: valupi
Kovio: aukwata; [aufu; aubota]

English: Leg
Mafulu: yovali; fande (shin); mude (thigh); mise (_calf_)
Kambisa: furo (_shin_); muda (_thigh_)
Korona: mude (_thigh_)
Afoa: wolupi (_thigh_); [keniame; kupuame (_thigh_)]
Kovio: alile (_thigh_); [inako; apota (_thigh_)]

English: Lime
Mafulu: abe
Kambisa: --
Korona: hava
Afoa: [kaute]
Kovio: wati.

English: Lip
Mafulu: ude
Kambisa: uba
Korona: udu
Afoa: getapi
Kovio: ridokalule (_upper_); akoitale (_lower_); [kijtakorutsi]

English: Live
Mafulu: asilando (_be alive_)
Kambisa: --
Korona: asihera
Afoa: kajli
Kovio: [watara (_alive_)]

English: Liver
Mafulu: dube
Kambisa: --
Korona: hade
Afoa: kimaule
Kovio: --

English: Long
Mafulu: sesada
Kambisa: busa
Korona: --
Afoa: [tsyani]
Kovio: [tovenaemita].

English: Louse
Mafulu: i(ye)
Kambisa: --
Korona: hi
Afoa: iate
Kovio: [inepu].

English: Male
Mafulu: avoge
Kambisa: --
Korona: --
Afoa: --
Kovio: --

English: Man
Mafulu: a(ne)
Kambisa: --
Korona: a
Afoa: woale;[vale]
Kovio: kalauotoro;[abo(te); mala; abofu].

English: Many
Mafulu: tale; taluvi
Kambisa: --
Korona: harut
Afoa: tatele;[talele]
Kovio: maimitara.

English: Mat
Mafulu: --
Kambisa: --
Korona: --
Afoa: unite
Kovio: tau-ud.

English: Milk
Mafulu: oubatsinge; oub'indidi [163] (_to suckle_)
Kambisa: --
Korona: obo
Afoa: mulape
Kovio: apiteu.

English: Mirror
Mafulu: aveve
Kambisa: idida
Korona: --
Afoa: --
Kovio: --

English: Moon
Mafulu: one
Kambisa: hama
Korona: hoana
Afoa: oani;[one]
Kovio: nonitch;[onea, nonitsi].

English: Morning
Mafulu: tutsi
Kambisa: --
Korona: --
Afoa: laliate' govelai [kuwitue]
Kovio: --

English: Mosquito
Mafulu: maingogo
Kambisa: --
Korona: igogesa
Afoa: nipope
Kovio: --

English: Mother
Mafulu: ma(me)
Kambisa: --
Korona: uma
Afoa: aumen)ini [164]; [ine]
Kovio: nei; [nei, nonofu].

English: Mouth
Mafulu: ambode
Kambisa: gobang
Korona: adinu
Afoa: nautabe; [natave, yolote]
Kovio: akwot;[khidatsi].

English: Nail (_finger_)
Mafulu: fodo(le); koko (_of cassowary_)
Kambisa: bodong (_of toe_) [165]
Korona: --
Afoa: [viloipe]
Kovio: [tevetsi].

English: Name
Mafulu: i(ve)
Kambisa: --
Korona: --
Afoa: apete
Kovio: nitiab;[vitane].

English: Navel
Mafulu: kombolu
Kambisa: kumburu
Korona: koboro
Afoa: oatobe; [otove]
Kovio: autau; [koto].

English: Near
Mafulu: kugume
Kambisa: kuguraga
Korona: --
Afoa: amauli;[amavola]
Kovio: kauwari.

English: Neck
Mafulu: gurube; kalolo (_throat_)
Kambisa: indu (_back_); aroro (_throat_)
Korona: --
Afoa: [kumulute]
Kovio: neneviro;[nelevio].

English: Necklace
Mafulu: sale, sambu (_shell_); tsiba, [Dog's incisors] sise [Dog's canine]
(_dogs' teeth_); yakeva (_pearl_)
Kambisa: sa (_shell_)
Korona: --
Afoa: [telenate [Dog's incisors]; lulate [Dog's canine]
Kovio: [kulolobotsi[Dog's incisors]; kitetsi[Dog's canine]].

English: Night
Mafulu: tu(be)
Kambisa: --
Korona: --
Afoa: guve'teletai[kuvite]
Kovio: --

English: Nipple
Mafulu: ouba' ul' unge [166]
Kambisa: --
Korona: --
Afoa: oalube; [okobe]
Kovio: apiteu.

English: No
Mafulu: mi, ua(ne)
Kambisa: --
Korona: --
Afoa: muinu
Kovio: [nai].

English: Nose
Mafulu: unge
Kambisa: unga
Korona: unga
Afoa: kiti [ki(te)]
Kovio: watarupu;[wata(rube)].

English: Nostril
Mafulu: ung' ul' olo [167]
Kambisa: urorong
Korona: --
Afoa: --
Kovio: --

English: Paddle
Mafulu: --
Kambisa: --
Korona: bara [168]
Afoa: --
Kovio: --

English: Pig
Mafulu: ovo(le) (_wild_); ovota (_tame_); oleda (_large_); foilange
(_wild boar_).
Kambisa: sika
Korona: o'o
Afoa: polu
Kovio: woromala; [voro(mala)].

English: Pot
Mafulu: uli(ne); kodige (_dish_);
Kambisa: --
Korona: --
Afoa: [kapite; lua(pe) (_dish_); nau(pe) (_earthen dish_)] [169]
Kovio: kaivitch; [apitsi; kuetsi; kapaitsi (_earthen dish_)].

English: Pumpkin
Mafulu: botame; tobo(le) (_goard_).
Kambisa: bata
Korona: --
Afoa: --
Kovio: --

English: Rain
Mafulu: yangose
Kambisa: --
Korona: yagosa
Afoa: iti
Kovio: uteli.

English: Rat
Mafulu: giliminde
Kambisa: --
Korona: sui
Afoa: keni
Kovio: keniani.

English: Red
Mafulu: ilalama
Kambisa: --
Korona: --
Afoa: boratu; [polatu]
Kovio: lolalumala.

English: Rib
Mafulu: auale
Kambisa: awari
Korona: --
Afoa: [malupe]
Kovio: [elavotsi].

English: River
Mafulu: yu(ve)
Kambisa: --
Korona: --
Afoa: ipe
Kovio: everi.

English: Road
Mafulu: enambe; foida (_along flank of mountain_)
Kambisa: enambo
Korona: enaba
Afoa: kani
Kovio: abatu.

English: Root
Mafulu: okasili
Kambisa: --
Korona: okusi
Afoa: kilu' mute
Kovio: mudene.

English: Rope
Mafulu: knoage
Kambisa: --
Korona: yu
Afoa: pumave; [pumave inate]
Kovio: pemarap; [leka; vilape].

English: Sago
Mafulu: balck' u; ta(ye) [170]
Kambisa: --
Korona: --
Afoa: --
Kovio: --

English: Salt
Mafulu: ama(ne)
Kambisa: hanamo
Korona: ama
Afoa: limanevi
Kovio: [yota].

English: Sand
Mafulu: sanga(ve)
Kambisa: --
Korona: soana
Afoa: nunu
Kovio: [utsiaio].

English: Scratch
Mafulu: fifiete; sisilimi (_one's self_)
Kambisa: --
Korona: --
Afoa: malitana
Kovio: --

English: Sea
Mafulu: ise
Kambisa: --
Korona: isa
Afoa: --
Kovio: tapala.

English: See
Mafulu: ariri
Kambisa: --
Korona: --
Afoa: na)nukava [171]
Kovio: [italara].

English: Shadow
Mafulu: sove; abebe; avevene (_of object_);
Kambisa: --
Korona: --
Afoa: ala
Kovio: utupapu.

English: Sit
Mafulu: tegid' ande [172]
Kambisa: --
Korona: --
Afoa: na)navi9
Kovio: [ularo].

English: Skin
Mafulu: ode
Kambisa: --
Korona: hode
Afoa: gotipe; [kotsi(pe)]
Kovio: komotoro; [kalukalutsi].

English: Sky
Mafulu: asolo(ne)
Kambisa: asoro
Korona: --
Afoa: [manape]
Kovio: abat; [abatsi].

English: Sleep
Mafulu: imaritade
Kambisa: --
Korona: --
Afoa: utewu; [utevoi]
Kovio: [voile; waro (_rest_)].

English: Small
Mafulu: kisi; aka(ne); kisiaka(ne) (_very_)
Kambisa: ami'aga
Korona: kisibaga
Afoa: eveeve
Kovio: peipu; [utsiaitsi].

English: Smoke
Mafulu: iso(ne)
Kambisa: isong
Korona: isoa
Afoa: etaivi
Kovio: [itiaulo].

English: Snake
Mafulu: tsivili
Kambisa: --
Korona: hemai [173]
Afoa: nai; [kovo]
Kovio: toiepe; [toepo].

English: Soft
Mafulu: safe(le)
Kambisa: --
Korona: --
Afoa: tamenu; [oluolue]
Kovio: ketitau; [peopeo].

English: Sour
Mafulu: beekoi (_bitter_)
Kambisa: --
Korona: --
Afoa: --
Kovio: --

English: Speak
Mafulu: ave(te)
Kambisa: --
Korona: --
Afoa: tananipa; [te]
Kovio: [wade].

English: Spear
Mafulu: eme(le); idika (_with barbs of cassowary claws_)
Kambisa: himi(ra)
Korona: hemi
Afoa: --
Kovio: inari.

English: Spit
Mafulu: sabete
Kambisa: --
Korona: --
Afoa: luiteta
Kovio: --

English: Spittle
Mafulu: sabe
Kambisa: --
Korona: --
Afoa: --
Kovio: --

English: Stand
Mafulu: yu
Kambisa: --
Korona: --
Afoa: lugila; [kilai]
Kovio: [lavaka].

English: Star
Mafulu: alile
Kambisa: duba [174]
Korona: harira
Afoa: tui; [imuli]
Kovio: kapu.

English: Stay
Mafulu: vayu
Kambisa: --
Korona: --
Afoa: loia
Kovio: --

English: Stone
Mafulu: bute
Kambisa: io
Korona: butia
Afoa: eviti; [evi(te)]
Kovio: geleo; [kile].

English: Sugar-cane
Mafulu: ale
Kambisa: teba [175]
Korona: --
Afoa: tu(ami)
Kovio: apiu; [api].

English: Sun
Mafulu: eve
Kambisa: ewu(ri)
Korona: eurima
Afoa: wati; [vata(ve)]
Kovio: stamari; [kita].

English: Sweet
Mafulu: bebena
Kambisa: --
Korona: --
Afoa: --
Kovio: --

English: Sweet potato
Mafulu: kupa
Kambisa: kupe
Korona: gupe
Afoa: gupe; [kupeame; vetoe]
Kovio: kouwai; [vetore].

English: Taro
Mafulu: munde
Kambisa: munda
Korona: mude
Afoa: ku(we)
Kovio: gamach; [gimale].

English: Taste, _v._
Mafulu: tovogi
Kambisa: --
Korona: --
Afoa: --
Kovio: --

English: Thick
Mafulu: kakava(ne)
Kambisa: --
Korona: --
Afoa: [evoevotupi]
Kovio: inep.

English: Thin
Mafulu: fafale; garibe
Kambisa: --
Korona: --
Afoa: [itape]
Kovio: krawida.

English: Tobacco
Mafulu: vilu (_native_); kuku (_foreign_); matsika (_stick_)
Kambisa: ewuta
Korona: --
Afoa: [emuna(te) (_native_)]
Kovio: [munamuna (_native_)].

English: To-day
Mafulu: audati
Kambisa: --
Korona: --
Afoa: kailili
Kovio: [tetefa; vae].

English: Tomohawk
Mafulu: so(ve)
Kambisa: so(nda)
Korona: --
Afoa: [amu(te)]
Kovio: --

English: To-morrow
Mafulu: aiti
Kambisa: --
Korona: --
Afoa: kila
Kovio: [kavokae].

English: Tongue
Mafulu: usese
Kambisa: asisino
Korona: asiesa
Afoa: aivi
Kovio: tananio; [tzinao].

English: Tooth
Mafulu: ato(le)
Kambisa: usi [176]
Korona: atu
Afoa: noto(ab); [noto(ape)]
Kovio: kitira; [rita (tsi)].

English: Tree
Mafulu: i(ye)
Kambisa: i (_wood_)
Korona: i
Afoa: enade; [ea(te)]
Kovio: ida.

English: Valley
Mafulu: ole (_below_)
Kambisa: horo
Korona: --
Afoa: --
Kovio: --

English: Village
Mafulu: e(me)
Kambisa: haru
Korona: eda
Afoa: geade; [kia(te); mai(te)]
Kovio: deata; [dela].

English: Water
Mafulu: yu(ve)
Kambisa: iu
Korona: eu(wa)
Afoa: i(pe)
Kovio: eweo; [eveo; evori].

English: Weep
Mafulu: andavel'ete; availili
Kambisa: --
Korona: --
Afoa: kowaitai
Kovio: [inivade].

English: White
Mafulu: kogola; fofoye (_ash colour_)
Kambisa: --
Korona: foa
Afoa: ilitu
Kovio: unimala; [aela].

English: Wife
Mafulu: amu(le)
Kambisa: --
Korona: --
Afoa: omen)iva [177]; [iva]
Kovio: anamara.

English: Wind
Mafulu: gubu(le)
Kambisa: --
Korona: gubu(ra)
Afoa: kavi; [oive]
Kovio: tamara; [tsinu].

English: Wing
Mafulu: geoge; fala(le) (_feathers_); pilulupe (_of bat_)
Kambisa: --
Korona: --
Afoa: --
Kovio: --

English: Woman
Mafulu: amu(le)
Kambisa: mamo [178]
Korona: amu
Afoa: iva
Kovio: anakave; [anatemada, anakave; anafu].

English: Wrist
Mafulu: bodul' u' gurube [179]
Kambisa: ia' u' gidiba
Korona: --
Afoa: --
Kovio: --

English: Yam
Mafulu: ai(ne)
Kambisa: --
Korona: hain
Afoa: loite
Kovio: darai; [tarae].

English: Yellow
Mafulu: yangogona [180]
Kambisa: --
Korona: yarem
Afoa: epe
Kovio: katech.

English: Yes
Mafulu: e
Kambisa: --
Korona: --
Afoa: namoade
Kovio: --

English: Yesterday
Mafulu: arima
Kambisa: --
Korona: --
Afoa: kila
Kovio: [orivafari].

CHAPTER V

Appendix V

Notes on the Papuan Languages spoken about the Head Waters of the
St. Joseph River, Central Papua

By Sidney H. Ray, M.A.

The grammars and vocabularies collected by the Rev. Father Egedi,
the Rev. E. P. Money and Dr. W. M. Strong illustrate the languages
spoken in the higher hill country extending from the district about
Mount Yule to Mount Albert Edward and the Upper Vanapa River. They
form three distinct groups.

1. Fuyuge, comprising the dialects of Mafulu, Kambisa, Korona and
Sikube.

2. Afoa or Ambo, including Tauata.

3. Kovio, including Oru Lopiko.

SECTION I

I. Classification.

1. Fuyuge:--The first specimen of any lanugage of the Fuyuge group was
collected by the Rev. James Chalmers in 1879. This was called by him
Kabana, and was printed in a collection of vocabularies in 1888. [181]
From a note on the original MS., the vocabulary was assumed to be
the dialect of a village on Mount Victoria (called by Chalmers Mount
Owen Stanley). [182] But as Sir William MacGregor pointed out, [183]
there are no villages on that mountain, hence Chalmers, in assigning
a locality to the vocabulary some time after its collection, must
have been mistaken. The language of Chalmers' Kabana is nearly the
same as that of a vocabulary collected by Mr. A. Giulianetti at the
village of Sikube in the Upper Vetapa or Vanapa valley, north of
Mount Lilley. This was published in 1898. [184]

A few words from the village of Kambisa, in Sirima (Chirima)
valley were published in the Annual Report on British New Guinea
for 1905-6, [185] and I have since been favoured by the compiler,
the Rev. P. J. Money, with a fuller list. The Rev. Father Egedi
published in 1907 a vocabulary of Fuyuge along with his account of
the Tauata or Afoa tribe. [186] Dr. Strong collected a vocabulary
from the natives of Korona, a village situated close to the head of
Galley Reach. This was collected with the help of a Motu-speaking
native, and contains a few apparently Melanesian words. Dr. Strong
was spontaneously told that these had been introduced from the coast
in quite recent times. (_Cf_. § III.)

The words in the comparative vocabulary are taken from an extensive
collection in Mafulu by the Rev. Father Egedi. They represent the
same dialect as the Grammar in Appendix I.

That Mafulu, Kambisa, and Korona, with Sikube and Kabana, represent
the same language is plain.

The Kabana pronoun _nahu_, I, the Sikube _na(nio_) I, _nu_(_ni_) thou,
and the Kambisa _na_, I, _nu_, thou, _hu_, he, agree with the Fuyuge
_na, na(ni_), I, _nu, nu(ni_) thou, _u_, he. The Kabana _nauera_, mine,
is the Fuyuge _naula_. The Kambisa _nara-ndo_, mine, _nura-ndo_, thine,
_hura-ndo_ his, also show a suffix _ndo_ corresponding to Mafulu _ne_
in _naula(ne_), mine, _nula(ne_) thine, _ula(ne_) his, and in the
vocabulary the Kambisa suffix _nda_ corresponds to the Korona _de_ in
the word for "chest." There is, however, no evidence that the Korona
_de_ is equivalent to the Mafulu _ne_. The word given in Sikube for
"woman," _amuri_, is the Fuyuge plural _amuli_, "women."

A few other likenesses appear, as _e.g._, Kambisa suffix _ng_
represents Mafulu _me, ne_; Kambisa _fa_, the Fuyuge _ve_; Kambisa _a_,
Korona _la_, Mafulu _le_.

The following extract shows the likeness of the vocabulary. [187]

Mafulu. Kambisa. Sikube. Kabana. Korona.

Adze so so cho -- itau
Arm, hand -- ia ia ia ya
Belly ombo hombo -- habe obo
Bird nembe neba membe -- nebe
Cassowary
plume -- wasa vasa -- --
Child, son me, ese isa me ese isia
Club gilise hadufa adufa, -- hadoga
girishia
Dog oi hu hu, fu hoa ho
Ear yangolo gadoro gaderu gadero i
Eye i i i e yago
Forest -- -- bu = garden -- bu
Father ba -- -- ba ba
Fire oki uki okia okia oke
Foot soge siga suku suge sogo
Go gege -- henga inga hego
Ground bu, fa hoa bu = garden -- fa
Hair, head ade ha ha ha ha
House e e -- e e
Knife indi indi indi -- --
Leaf tu idu itu idu utu
Lip, mouth ude uba ude ude uau
Moon one hama -- hama hoana
Navel kombolu kumburu -- habera = koboro
belly
Nose unge unga hunge unuga unga
Pig ovo -- obu -- o'o
Rain yangose -- iangushe iangose yagosa
Smoke iso iso ishio -- isoa
Stone bute io -- io butia
Sun, day eve ewuri -- evurima eurima
Sugar-cane -- teba tebe -- --
Taro munde munda mude -- mude
Thigh mude muda mude -- mude
Tongue usese asisino asese asese asiesa
Tooth ato usi ado ado atu
Village e haru e -- eda
Water yu iu iu iu eu
Woman amu ?mamo = amu amu amu
mother

The numerals show similar agreements. These will be illustrated in
the next section.

2. Afoa.--The Afoa vocabulary was collected by Dr. Strong in
the villages on Mount Pitsoko from a Fuyuge native who spoke
Afoa fluently. Dr. Strong also obtained a short vocabulary from a
native who came from a village apparently on the slopes of Mount
Davidson. The language is substantially the same as the Tauata or
Tauatape of which Rev. Father Egedi has published a Vocabulary and
Grammar. [188] There are, however, a few slight differences which
seem to confirm Father Egedi's statement that there is probably a
difference of pronunciation in the various Afoa villages. [189] Father
Egedi writes: _p, v, k, t, l, ts_ where Dr. Strong has: _b, w, g, d, r,
t_. The latter also has final _i_ for _e_, _oa_ for _a_ or _o_, _ia_
for _ea_, _u_ for _oi_ _ai_ for _ei_. Sometimes _b_ represents _m_
or _v_. Some of Dr. Strong's words show marks of Afoa grammar, as,
_e.g._, the words for eat, see, sit, give, head, husband or wife,
mother, are: _na nai_, I eat; _na nu kava_, I thee see; _na navi_,
I sit; _nu inie_, thou givest; _ni adi_, your head; _omen iva_, his
wife or her husband; _aumen ini_, his mother. The Tauata words are
added to the Afoa Vocabulary in square brackets.

3. Kovio.--The language called Kovio by Dr. Strong is substantially
the same as the Oru Lopiko of Rev. Father Egedi. [190] The same or
a similar language is said to be found in four places, viz.--

1. Lopiko in the Inava valley.
2. Inavarene in the Inava valley.
3. Kwoifa district on upper Lakekamu River.
4. Villages round Pic Eleia.

Details of these dialects are not given.

SECTION II

II. Comparison.

The three groups of languages illustrated in these vocabularies
present the usual Papuan characteristics of great differences. A
certain amount of resemblance may be found in some of the pronouns,
and possibly in a few other words, but generally speaking the languages
are not only quite unconnected with each other, but are also distinct
from the known Papuan languages surrounding them.

I. Thou. He. We. You. They.
I. Fuyuge na, nani nu, nuni u, uni di, dini yi, yini tu, tuni
Kambisa na nu u -- -- ha-ru
Sikube na-nio nu-ni -- -- -- --
Kabana nau -- -- -- -- --
II. Afoa na nu-i ome -- -- --
Tauata na, nai nu, nu-i ome, ome-i nane, nane-i nune, nunei ote, ote-i
III. Kovio na ni pi -- -- --
Oru-Lopiko na, naro ni, niro pi, piro dae, daro ali, alero valo, valoro
West Toaripi ara-o a-o are-o ela-o e-o ere-o
Namau na-i ni-i u ene-i noro oro
Kiwai mo ro nou nimo nigo nei
North-east, Binandele na imo owa kaena, nakare imomae owawa
East, Koita da a au no yai yau
South-east, Mailu ia ga noa gea aea omoa

It is interesting here to note the agreement in the forms of the
first and second persons singular, with a wide difference in the other
pronouns. Similar words for these two pronouns occur in other Papuan
languages as _e.g._, Kai (Finschhafen) _no_, Kelana Kai _nai_, "I,"
and Bongu and Bogadjim (Astrolabe Bay), _ni_, Kelana Kai _ne_, "thou."

The widespread use of a suffix, used when the pronoun is emphatic,
is noteworthy. The possessive case also is formed as in some other
Papuan languages by a suffix added to the root of the pronoun. _Cf._--

My. Thy. His. Our. Your. Their.
Fuyuge nau(le) nu(le) u(le) diu(le) yu(le) ta(le)
naula(ne) nula(ne) ula(ne) diula(ne) yula(ne) tala(ne)
Kambisa narando nurando hurando -- -- haruando
Tauata neve nie omene nanene nuvene otene
Kovio nemai nimai pimai -- -- --
Oru-Lopiko nema nima pima daema alima valoma
Toaripi arave ave areve elave eve ereve
Binandele nato ito ounda, kaenato itomane omida
owanda

Sometimes the simple form of the pronoun is prefixed to the noun in
Tauata to indicate the possessive, as in Namau and Koita. Tauata _na
ate_, Koita _di omote_, Namau, _na uku_, "my head."

The numerals also show great differences. As far as "three" they
appear as follows:

Fuyuge. Korona. Sikitbe. Afoa. Tauata. Kovio. Oru Lopiko.
1. fida(ne) fida(ne) fidana koane kone uniuni konepu
2. gegeto gegeda iuara atolowai atoloai karaala kalotolo
3. gegeto m'inaa gegeda-fidane iuara-minda atolowai-itime atoloai-laina naralavievi-napuevi konekhalavi

Some of these words have other meanings. Thus Fuyuge 2, _gegeto_
is given also as "few." In Tauata 1, _kone_ duplicated as _konekone_
is "few," whilst _onioni_, means "alone." In Oru Lopiko 1, _konepu_
compares with _onionipu_, "few."

These numerals are all different from Mailu, Koita, Binandele,
Toaripi and Namau.

Mailu. Koita. Binandele. Toaripi. Namau. Kiwai.
1. omu kobua, igagu da farakeka monou nao
2. ava abu tote orakoria morere netowa.
3. aiseri abi-gaga tamonde oroisoria morere-monou netowa-naobi

The vocabulary shows very few agreements, and there is very little
evidence in support of a connection of any one of these dialects with
its neighbours. The following correspondences may be purely accidental.

Bamboo. Afoa, _ila_; Namau, _ina_.

Banana. Korona, _haba_; Iworo, _sabari_.

Barter. Afoa, _tavatava_; Toaripi, _tavatava_.

Belly. Oru Lop., _data_; Sogeri, Koiari, _detu_.

Black. Fuyuge, _dube, duba_; Neneba, _aduve_; Koiari, Koita, _dubu_.

Blood. Fuyuge, _tana_; Koiari, Koita, _tago_.

Bone. Fuyuge, _fude, &c._; Toaripi, _uti_.

Child. Fuyuge, _me(le_); Binandele, _mai_; Berepo, _me_.

Fuyuge, _isia_; Kambisa, _isa_; Ubere, _esi_; Neneba, _eche_.

Coconut. Kambisa, _bao_; Koiari, _bagha_.

Crocodile. Fuyuge, _fua, fuai_; Koiari, _fuie_.

Dig. Fuyuge, _etsia_; Toaripi, _isei_.

Dog. Fuyuge, _oi, ho_; Agi, Ubere, _o_; Koiari, &c., _to_.

Eat, Drink. Fuyuge, _na, nene_; Namau, _na_.

Fire. Tauata, _ena_; Koiari, _vene_; Koita, _veni_.

Foot. Fuyuge, &c., _soge, suga_; Amara, _joka_.

Male. Tauata, _mu_; Toaripi, _mo_. Oru Lopiko, _vitapu_; Toaripi,
_vita_.

Man. Fuyuge _a(ne_); Neneba, _ana_; Koiari, Koita, _ata_.

Mother. Oru Lopiko, Kovio, _nei_, Uberi, _neia_; Koita, _neina_;
Tauata; _ine_; Koiari, _ine_.

Pig. Kambisa, _sika_; Musa River, _siko_.

Fuyuge, _avo_; Koiari, _ofo_; Koita, _oho_.

Rope. Fuyuge, _konange_; Gosisi, _goda_; Koiari, Koita,_gote_.

Salt. Fuyuge, _ama(ne_); Neneba, Iworo, _amani_.

Taro. Fuyuge, &c., _munde_, _muda_; Neneba, _muda_.

Tree. Fuyuge, _i_, _iye_; Kovio, _ida_; Koiari, Koita, _idi_.

Water. Fuyuge, &c., _yu_; Afoa, _i(pe_); Neneba, _ei_; Ubere, _e_.

Woman. Fuyuge, _amu_; Iworo, Neneba, _amuro_, wife.

SECTION III

III. Papuan and Melanesian.

Three Melanesian languages are spoken in the country around the lower
courses of the St. Joseph and Aroa rivers, and are thus in immediate
contact with the Papuan languages spoken about the upper waters. These
Melanesian languages are the Mekeo, Kuni and Pokau. It is, therefore,
of some importance to note whether any apparently non-Melanesian
elements in these languages may be traced to the influence of the
neighbouring Papuan tongues.

In Grammar the only non-Melanesian characteristic which appears is the
preceding of the substantive by the genitive, but in the vocabularies
a few correspondences are found.

Bamboo Pokau, _ileile_; Fuyuge, _ele_; Afoa,
_ila_. Sinaugoro, _tobo_; Korono, _tobo_. Kuni, _bioni_; Mekeo,
_piengi_; Fuyuge, _bione_.
Big Kuni, _galoa_; Afoa, _kalowo_.
Bird Mekeo, _inei_; Afoa, _kile_; Oru Lopiko, _ite_.
Breast Pokau, _pede_; Oru Lopiko, _apetei_.
Chest Mekeo, _olanga_; Oru Lopiko, _ulako_.
Couch Kuni, _itsifu_; Tauata, _itsifu_.
Crocodile Roro, _puaea_; Kabadi, _ua_; Fuyuge, _fua_.
Dog Pokau, _oveka_; Kuni, _ojame_, _obeka_; Fuyuge,
_oi(e_); Afoa, _kovela_.
Fork Kuni, _ini_; Tauata, _ini_.
Girdle Kuni, _afafa_; Tauata, _afafe_.
Hammock Kuni, _totoe_; Fuyuge, _sosoe_; Tauata, _totolo_;
Oru Lopiko, _totoki_.
Head Mekeo, _kangia_; Oru Lopiko, _kakuo_.
Hill Mekeo, _iku_; Fuyuge, _ku(me_).
House Mekeo, _ea_; Fuyuge, _e(me_).
Knife Mekeo, _aiva_; Kuni, _atsiva_; Tauata, _tiveya_;
Oru Lopiko, _vetsi_.
Many Kuni, _talelea_; Afoa, _talele_; Fuyuge, _talele_.
Rope Mekeo, _ue_; Korona, _yu_.
Spoon Kuni, _nima_; Tauata, _dima_.
Sweet Potato Kuni, _gubea_; Fuyuge, _kupa_, _gupe_; Afoa, _gupe_.
White Mekeo, _foenga_; Korona, _foa_.

But there are many apparently non-Melanesian words in Mekeo, Kuni
and Pokau, which are different in each language, and cannot be traced
to the neighbouring Papuan. The inference is that such words may be
remnants of other Papuan tongues spoken in the St. Joseph and Aroa
Basins, which have been absorbed by the immigrant Melanesian speech.

Only three Melanesian words in the list appear to have been adopted by
the Papuans. These are: Tauata _nau_ (_pe_), earthen dish, which is
Kuni, Motu, Pokau, &c., _nau_; Fuyuge asi boat, Pokau and Motu asi;
and Fuyuge _bara_, paddle, the Motu, Kabadi _bara_, Mekeo _fanga_,
oar. The Fuyuge _kokole_ fowl is also probably the Mekeo _kokolo_.

NOTES

[1] The photographs of skulls, articles of dress and ornament,
implements and weapons were made in London after my return.

[2] The Geographical Society's map used by me is somewhat confusing
as regards the upper reaches of the St. Joseph or Angabunga river
and the rivers flowing into and forming it. The Fathers' map makes
the St. Joseph river commence under that name at the confluence, at
a point a little to the west of 8° 30' S. Lat. and 147° E. Long.,
of the river Alabula (called in one of its upper parts Loloipa),
flowing from the north, and the river Aduala, flowing from Mt. Albert
Edward in the north-east; and this arrangement, which is practically
in accord with a map appended to the British New Guinea _Annual
Report_ for June, 1900, is, I think, probably the most suitable and
correct one. The Aduala is the river the upper part of which is in
the Geographical Society's map called Angabunga. The Fathers' map
shows the river Kea flowing into the Aduala at a distance of about
two miles above the confluence of the latter with the Alabula; but,
according to the Report map, this distance is about 12 miles.

[3] Note the change from the Mafulu (Papuan) pronunciation _Mambule_
to the Kuni (Melanesian) pronunciation _Mafulu_ and the similar change
from the Mafulu _Ambo_ to the Kuni _Ajoa_.

[4] See Dr. Seligmann's "Hunterian Lecture" in the _Lancet_ for
February 17, 1906, p. 427; Seligmann and Strong in the _Geographical
Journal_ for March, 1906, pp. 233 and 236; also Dr. Seligmann's
"Classification of the Natives of British New Guinea" in the _Journal
of the Royal Anthropological Institute_ for December, 1909, p. 329.

[5] _Melanesians of British New Guinea_, p. 29.

[6] _Ibid._ p. 31.

[7] _Lancet_, February 17, 1906, p. 427.

[8] _Geographical Journal_ for September, 1908, p. 274.

[9] _Melanesians of British New Guinea_, p. 32.

[10] British New Guinea _Annual Report_ for June, 1906, p. 29.

[11] British New Guinea _Annual Report_ for June 30, 1906, pp. 85
to 93.

[12] _Melanesians of British New Guinea_, p. 33.

[13] Apparently bows and arrows are not found among the tribes of the
Lower Mambare river (_Annual Report_ for June, 1897, Appendix C, p. 7.)

[14] _Annual Report_ for June, 1894, p. 32.

[15] _Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute_ for December,
1909, p. 329.

[16] _Annual Report_ for June, 1897, Appendix C, p. 7.

[17] _Geographical Journal_ for October, 1900, p. 422.

[18] _Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute_ for December,
1909, p. 330.

[19] _British New Guinea_, p. 94.

[20] _Melanesians of British New Guinea_, p. 32.

[21] _Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute_ for December,
1909, p. 329.

[22] Seligmann and Strong--_Geographical Journal_ for March, 1906,
p. 232.

[23] Seligmann's _Melanesians of British New Guinea_, p. 27.

[24] Dr. Strong has referred (_Geographical Journal_ for September,
1908, p. 272) to the considerable areas of open grass country at the
source of the St. Joseph river; and in his remarks which appeared in
the _Annual Report_ for June, 1906, p. 28, he referred to the same
matter, and spoke of the valleys being for the most part less steep
than those of the Kuni district.

[25] I must state that Plate 2 represents a scene taken from a spot
near to Deva-deva, which, though close to what is regarded as the
boundary between the Kuni and Mafulu areas, is in fact just within
the former. The general appearance of the scenery is, however,
distinctly Mafulu.

[26] Dr. Strong's measurements of seven Mafulu men referred to by
Dr. Seligmann (_Journal of Royal Anthropological Institute_, Vol. 39,
p. 329) showed an average stature of 59 1/2 inches, and an average
cephalic index of 80.0. It will be noticed that my figures show a
somewhat higher average stature, but that my average cephalic index
is the same. Dr. Seligmann here speaks of the Mafulu as being almost
as short as the men of Inavaurene, and even more round-headed.

[27] This is the index calculated on average lengths and breadths. The
average of the indices is 83.8, the difference arising from the
omission in working out of each index of second points of decimals.

[28] Dr. Keith thinks they are all skulls of males. They are now in
College Museum, and are numbered 1186.32, 1186.33 and 1186.34 in the
College Catalogue.

[29] _Melanesians of British New Guinea_, p.16.

[30] Dr. Haddon refers (_Geographical Journal_, Vol. 16, p.291)
to the finding by the Mission Fathers of "another type of native,
evidently an example of the convex-nosed Papuan," in the upper waters
of the Alabula river. I gather from the habitat of these natives that
they must have been either Ambo or Oru Lopiku. I should be surprised
to hear the Semitic nose was common in either of those areas.

[31] Dr. Seligmann, in speaking of the Koiari people, refers to an
occasional reddish or gingery tinge of facial hair (_Melanesians of
British New Guinea,_, p. 29). I never noticed this among the Mafulu.

[32] Since writing the above, I have learnt that some of the dwarf
people found by the expedition into Dutch New Guinea organised by
the British Ornithologists' Union had brown hair. Mr. Goodfellow
tells me that "the hair of some of the pygmies was decidedly _dark_
brown"; and Dr. Wollaston gives me the following extract from his
diary for March 1, 1911, relating to twenty-four pygmies then under
observation:--"Hair of three men distinctly _not_ black, a sort of
dirty rusty brown or rusty black colour--all others black-haired."

[33] This plate and the plates of dancing aprons were produced by
first drawing the objects, and then photographing the drawings. It
would have been more satisfactory if I could have photographed the
objects themselves. But they were much crumpled, and I was advised
that with many of them the camera would not indicate differences of
colour, and that in one or two of them even the design itself would
not come out clearly.

[34] Dr. Stapf, to whom I showed one of the armlets, No. 4, the
materials of which are said to be the same as those used for this belt,
said that the split cane-like material is a strip from the periphery
of the petiole or stem of a palm, and that the other material is
sclerenchyma fibre from the petiole or rhizome of a fern, and not
that of a creeping plant. I may say that I felt a doubt at the time
as to the complete accuracy of the information given to me concerning
the vegetable materials used for the manufacture of various articles,
and there may well be errors as to these.

[35] Dr. Stapf, to whom I showed one of these belts, says that it is
made of the separated woody strands from the stem of a climbing plant
(possibly one of the Cucurbitaceae or Aristolochiaceae).

[36] Dr. Stapf, having inspected one of the belts, thinks this material
is composed of split strips of sclerenchyma fibre from the petiole
or rhizome of a fern, and not that of a creeping plant.

[37] Dr. Stapf, to whom I showed a written description which I had
made of the plant, and who has also examined the belt, is of opinion
that it belongs to the Diplocaulobium section of Dendrobium.

[38] I have examined at the British Museum a belt made by the dwarf
mountain people found by the recent expedition organised by the
British Ornithologists' Union. This belt is made in hank-like form,
remarkably similar to that of my Mafulu belt No. 7, though in other
respects it differs from the latter, and it is much smaller. The only
other thing of similar hank-like form which I have been able to find
at the Museum is a small belt or head ornament (it is said to be the
latter) made by Sakai people of the Malay Peninsula.

[39] Chalmers describes a young woman in the foot hills behind
Port Moresby who "had a net over her shoulders and covering her
breasts as a token of mourning" (_Work and Adventures in New Guinea_
p. 26). Compare also the Koita custom referred to by Dr. Seligmann
(_Melanesians of British New Guinea_, p. 164) for a widow to wear
two netted vests. The same custom is found at Hula.

[40] See reference to this question in the _Annual Report_ for June,
1906, p. 13.

[41] I shall from time to time have to refer to the croton, and in
doing so I am applying to the plant in question the name commonly
given to it; but Dr. Stapf tells me that the plant so commonly called
is really a codioeum.

[42] The Rev. Mr. Dauncey, of the L.M.S. station at Delena (a Roro
village on the coast) told me that in his village it is a common thing
for a native to pick up a small white snake about 12 inches long,
and pass it through the hole in his nose; and that the Pokau people
sometimes pass the tip of the tail of a larger black snake into these
holes, the intention of both practices being to keep the hole open. In
neither of these cases is the practice a part of an original ceremony
connected with nose-piercing, such as that of Mafulu; but it may well
be that all the practices have superstitious origins.

[43] There is apparently no corresponding ceremony among the Koita
natives (Seligmann, _Melanesians of British New Guinea_, p. 72), nor
among the Roro people (_Id_., p. 256), and I do not believe there is
any such in Mekeo.

[44] I do not think these pigtails are used as ornaments by the Roro
and Mekeo people, though Dr. Seligmann says that a Koita bridegroom
wears them in his ears on his wedding day (_Melanesians of British
New Guinea_, p. 78).

[45] Dr. Stapf, to whose inspection I have submitted two of these
combs, said they were made of palm-wood--split and shaped pieces from
the periphery of the petiole or stem of a palm--and that the material
used for binding the teeth of the combs together was sclerenchyma
fibre from the petiole or rhizome of a fern.

[46] These earrings are, I think, sometimes found in Mekeo; but they
have all come from the mountains.

[47] See note on p. 27 as to the way in which these plates have
been produced.

[48] Only the two ends of the pattern have been copied, the
intermediate part being the same throughout, as is shown.

[49] I am unable to state the various forms and varieties of these
vegetables, but I give the following native names for plants of the
yam, taro, and sweet potato types:--Yams include _tsiolo, avanve,
buba, aligarde, vaule, vonide, poloide_ and _ilavuide_. Taros include
_auvari, elume, lupeliolu, kamulepe, ivuvana_ and _fude_. Sweet
potatoes include _asi, bili, dube, saisasumulube_ and _amb' u tolo_
(this last name means "ripe banana," and the reason suggested for
the name is that the potato tastes rather like a ripe banana).

[50] Dr. Stapf says the wood is that of a rather soft-wooded
dicotyledonous tree (possibly urticaceous).

[51] The Chirima boring instrument figured by Mr. Monckton (_Annual
Report_ for June 30, 1906) is rather of the Mafulu type, but in this
case the fly-wheel, instead of being a flat piece of wood, appears to
be made of a split reed bound on either side of the upright cane shaft.

[52] Hammocks are also used in the plains and on the coast, but only,
I think, to a very limited extent; whereas in the mountains, of at
all events the Mafulu district, they are used largely.

[53] I had a considerable quantity of impedimenta, and unfortunately
my condition made it necessary for me to be carried down also; and
I had great difficulty in getting enough carriers.

[54] Compare the differently shaped mortar found in the Yodda valley
and described and figured in the _Annual Report_ for June, 1904, p. 31.

[55] The practice of destroying the pigs' eyes in the Kuni district
is referred to in the _Annual Report_ for June, 1900, p. 61.

[56] This is subject to the qualification which arises from the fact
(stated below) that a member of one clan who migrates to a village of
another clan retains his _imbele_ relationship to the members of his
own old clan, although he has by his change of residence obtained a
similar relationship to the members of the clan in whose village he
has settled.

[57] See _Annual Report_ for June, 1910, which on p. 5 speaks of
"several villages round about the Mission, known as Sivu."

[58] Compare the Koita system, under which under certain conditions
the son of a chief's sister might succeed him (Seligmann, _Melanesians
of British New Guinea_, p. 52). Such a thing could not take place
among the Mafulu.

[59] I do not know how far this pig-killer may be compared with the
Roro _ovia akiva_, or chief of the knife, referred to by Dr. Seligmann
(_Melanesians of British New Guinea_, p. 219). The Mafulu pig-killer
cannot be regarded as being even a quasi-chief, and his office is
not hereditary. It is noticeable also that he is the man who kills
the pigs, whereas the _ovia akiva_ only cuts up the bodies after the
pigs have been killed by someone else.

[60] I do not suggest that these defences are peculiar to the
Mafulu area. I believe they are used by other mountain natives of
the Central District.

[61] Though this curious-shaped hood in front of a house is apparently
a speciality of the mountains, so far as British New Guinea is
concerned, I do not suggest that it does not exist elsewhere. In fact,
some of the native houses which I have seen in the Rubiana Lagoon
district of the Solomon Islands had a somewhat similar projection,
though in them the front wall of the house, with its little
door-opening, was carried round below the outer edge of the hood,
which thus formed part of the roof of the interior, instead of being
merely a shelter over the outside platform, as is the case in Mafulu.

[62] Dr. Haddon refers (_Geographical Journal, Vol. XVI._, p. 422)
to conical ground houses with elliptical and circular bases found in
villages on the top of steep hills behind the Mekeo district and on
the southern spur of Mt. Davidson, and says that in some places, as
on the Aduala affluent of the Angabunga (_i.e._, St. Joseph's) river,
the houses are oblong, having a short ridge pole. I think that the
elliptical houses to which he refers have probably been Kuni houses,
to which his description could well be applied, and that the oblong
houses have been Mafulu. The villages with very narrow streets,
and the houses of which are, he says, built partly on the crest and
partly on the slope, are also in this respect typically Kuni.

[63] This photograph had to be taken from an awkward position above,
from which I had to point the camera downwards to the bridge.

[64] See also description of suspension bridge over Vanapa river in
lower hill districts given in _Annual Report_ for June, 1889, p. 38.

[65] Compare the Koita system under which the owner of the house owns
the site of it also, and the latter passes on his death to his heirs
(Seligmann's _Melanesians of British New Guinea_, p. 89.)

[66] See note 1 on p. 128.

[67] Father Egedi describes in _Anthropos_ a Kuni method of preparing
a fruit similar to the one described here, and which also gives rise to
terrible smells. The tree is referred to by him as being a bread-fruit;
and Dr. Stapf thinks that the _malage_ may possibly be one of the
Artocarpus genus, of which some have smooth or almost smooth fruit,
and some are said to have poisonous sap, and the seeds of many of
which are eaten, or of some closely allied type.

[68] The information obtained by me at Mafulu did not go beyond the
actual facts as stated by me. I cannot, however, help suspecting
that there is, or has been, a close connection between the building
of anemone and the holding of a big feast, and that the latter
may be compared with the tabu ceremonial of the Koita described by
Dr. Seligmann (_Melanesians of British New Guinea_, pp. 141 and 145
_et seq_.). Indeed there are some elements of similarity between the
two feasts.

[69] Compare the Roro custom for the messengers carrying an invitation
to important feasts to take with them bunches of areca nut, which
are hung in the _marea_ of the local groups of the invited _itsubu_
(Seligmann's _Melanesians of British New Guinea_, p. 218).

[70] See note on p. 256 as to the use by me of the terms "grave,"
"bury" and "burial."

[71] _Ibid._

[72] It is the custom among the Kuni people when any woman (not
merely the wife of a chief) has her first baby for the women of
her own village, and probably of some neighbouring villages also,
to assemble in the village and to attack her house and the village
club-house with darts, which the women throw with their hands at the
roofs. At Ido-ido I saw that the roofs of the club-house and of some of
the ordinary houses had a number of these darts sticking into them. The
darts were made out of twigs of trees, and were about five or six feet
long; and each of them had a bunch of grass tied in a whorl at or near
its head, and some of them had a similar bunch similarly tied at or
near its middle. See also Dr. Seligmann's reference (_Melanesians
of British New Guinea_, p. 298) to the Roro custom for warriors,
when returning from a successful campaign, to throw their spears at
the roof and sides of the marea. In Mekeo there is no corresponding
ceremony on the birth of a first child; but men, women and children
of the village collect by the house and sing all through the night;
and in the morning the woman's husband will kill a pig or dog for them,
which they cook and eat without ceremony.

[73] Dr. Seligmann refers to this custom among the Roro people
(_Melanesians of British New Guinea_, p. 256), and there is no doubt
that it exists among the Mekeo people also. Father Desnoes, of the
Sacred Heart Mission, told me that in Mekeo, though the pig used to
be given when the boy adopted his perineal band at the age of four,
five, six, or seven, it is now generally given earlier. The pig is
there regarded as the price paid for the child, and is called the
child's _engifunga_.

[74] Seligmann's _Melanesians of British New Guinea_, p. 67.

[75] Seligmann's _Melanesians of British New Guinea_, p. 71.

[76] _Melanesians of British New Guinea_, p. 21.

[77] In Mekeo such a devolution of chieftainship is the occasion for
a very large feast.

[78] This ceremony is different from the Mekeo ceremony on the
elevation by a chief of his successor to a joint chieftainship, of
which some particulars were given to me by Father Egedi; but there
is an element of similarity to a Mekeo custom for the new chief,
after the pigs have been killed and partly cut up by someone else,
to cut the backs of the pigs in slices.

[79] According to Dr. Seligmann, among the Koita the forbidden
degrees of relationship extend to third cousins (_Melanesians of
British New Guinea_, p. 82); whereas it will be seen that among the
Mafulu it only extends, as between people of the same generation,
to first cousins. But a Mafulu native who was grandson of the common
ancestor would be prohibited from marrying his first cousin once
removed (great-granddaughter of that ancestor) or his first cousin
twice removed (great-great-granddaughter of that ancestor).

[80] But see p. 178, note 1.

[81] Half-a-dozen years ago, before open systematic killing and
cannibalism were checked, it was a Kuni custom, when a woman died in
her confinement, to bury the living baby with the dead mother. I have
not heard of this custom in Mafulu, and do not know whether or not it
exists, or has existed, there; but as regards matters of this sort the
Mafulu and the Kuni are very similar. My statement that there is no
burying alive must be taken subject to the possibility of this custom.

[82] This custom is found elsewhere.

[83] From Dr. Haddon's distribution chart in Vol. XVI. of _The
Geographical Journal_, it will be seen that the Mafulu district is
just about at the junction between his spear area and his bow and
arrow area.

[84] I have never seen the animal called the "Macgregor bear," and I
do not know what it is. The Fathers assured me it was a bear; but in
view of the great unlikelihood of this, I consulted the authorities
at the Natural History Museum, and they think it is probably one of
the marsupials. It is named after Sir William Macgregor. It is found
in the mountains, where the forest is very thick.

[85] Compare the Motumotu (Toaripi) practice of rubbing the dogs'
mouths with a special plant, referred to by Chalmers (_Pioneering in
New Guinea_, p. 305).

[86] The birds of paradise which dance in trees include, I was told,
what the Fathers called the "Red," the "Blue," the "Black," the
"Superb" and the "Six-feathered." Those which dance on the ground
include the "Magnificent."

[87] In Mekeo the weir is made with wicker-work, at the openings in
which basket fish-traps are placed.

[88] _Pioneering in New Guinea_, pp. 3 and 4.

[89] Dr. Stapf tells me that taro is usually propagated by means of
tubers or division of crowns, that is that either the whole tuber
is planted or it is cut up, as potatoes are done, into pieces, each
of which has an eye, and each of which is planted. It would appear
that the Mafulu method, as explained to me, amounts to much the same
thing, the only difference being that instead of planting a crown, or a
piece with an eye from which a fresh shoot will proceed, they let that
shoot first grow into a young plant and then transplant the latter.

[90] I have examined at the British Museum some net work of the
dwarf people of the interior of Dutch New Guinea, brought home by
the recent expedition organised by the British Ornithologists' Union,
and found it to be similar in stitch to the Mafulu network.

[91] The 1910 comet was regarded by some of the Mekeo people with
terror, because they thought it presaged a descent of the mountain
natives upon themselves.

[92] See _Evolution in Art_ (1895), p. 264; and _Geographical Journal_,
Vol. 16, p. 433.

[93] I would point out, however, that the Inawae clan is part of,
and is probably largely representative of, the original Inawae
_ngopu_ group of the great Biofa tribe of Mekeo, and that this
Inawae group is rather widely scattered over Mekeo (see Seligmann's
_Melanesians of British New Guinea_, p. 321 and pp. 369 to 372);
so that the information obtained is probably not really of a merely
local character.

[94] Sir W. Macgregor, in describing (_Ann. Rep._, June, 1890,
p. 47) the movements and actions of the Kiwai (Fly river mouth)
natives prior to a canoe attack by them upon him, says: "The canoes
darted hither and thither, as if performing a circus dance or a
Highland reel, and all these movements were accompanied by the chant
of a paean that sounded as if composed to imitate the cooing--soft,
plaintive, and melodious--of the pigeons of their native forests";
and he refers to the performance as a "canoe choral dance." It was,
of course, not a dance in the sense in which I am dealing with the
subject here; but the apparently imitative character of the singing is
perhaps worth noticing in connection with this dancing question. See
also the description (_Country Life_, March 4, 1911) by Mr. Walter
Goodfellow, the leader of the recent expedition into Dutch New Guinea,
of the dancing and accompanying singing of the Mimika natives whom
he met there, and his suggestion that the final calls of these songs
were derived from that of the greater paradise bird. Mr. Goodfellow
has since told me with reference to these Mimika songs that he was
forcibly struck by the resemblance of the termination of _most_
of the songs to the common cry of the greater bird of paradise, and
said: "They finished with the same abrupt note, repeated three times
(like the birds)." Dr. Haddon has been good enough to lend me the
manuscript of his notes on the dances performed in the islands of
Torres Straits, which will probably have appeared in Vol. IV. of the
_Reports of the Cambridge Anthropological Expedition to Torres Straits_
before this book is published. Here again I find interesting records
of imitative dancing. One dance imitates the swimming movements of
the large lizard (Varanus), another is an imitation of the movements
of a crab, another imitates those of a pigeon, and another those of
a pelican. At a dance which I witnessed in the Roro village of Seria
a party from Delena danced the "Cassowary" dance; and Father Egedi
says it is certainly so called because its movements are in some way
an imitation of those of the cassowary.

[95] Compare the Western Papuans, who, according to Dr. Seligmann,
also have only two numerals, but who are apparently not able to
count to anything like the extent which can be done by the Mafulu
(_Melanesians of British New Guinea_, p. 4). According to Mr. Monckton
the Kambisi (Chirima valley) people only count on their fingers and
up to ten, not on their toes and up to twenty (_Annual Report_, June,
1906, p. 89). Father Egedi told me that the Mekeo people only count
on their fingers and up to ten.

[96] I believe that in Mekeo they begin with the left hand and with
the small finger, thus reversing the Mafulu order of counting; but
I am not quite certain as to this.

[97] Though here and afterwards I use the word "man," it must be
understood that the notes apply to deaths of women also.

[98] This food taboo is with the Mafulu only an optional alternative;
but it may be compared with the corresponding food taboo placed
upon all the relatives of the deceased by the Koita (see Seligmann's
_Melanesians of British New Guinea,_ p. 164).

[99] I was told of this Mafulu practice as being adopted only on the
death of the woman's child. But the custom is referred to by the Mekeo
Government Agent (Mr. Giulianetti) in the _Annual Report_ for June,
1900, pp. 73 and 78; and, according to him, its adoption applies
also to deaths of other relatives--husband, father, and mother being
especially mentioned by him--and he suggests that there are rules
as regards these amputations, and says he understood that a mother
would cut off the first joint for her children, and the second for
her husband, father, or mother. He also gives information as to the
way in which the amputation is effected.

[100] The sticks are seen in the plates, having been placed on the
grave before the photographs were taken.

[101] I am not aware of any ground for believing that the community
invited is one with which intermarriage is specially common. Indeed,
as stated above, I do not think that there are special matrimonial
relationships between communities.

[102] _Melanesians of British New Guinea,_ p. 13.

[103] I was told that in the Mekeo mourning-removal ceremony each of
the persons wearing the insignia of mourning has to go through the
ceremony, which consists of the cutting of his necklace or something
else with a shell.

[104] Compare Dr. Seligmann's references in _Melanesians of British
New Guinea_ to the mourning removal ceremonies of the Koita (p. 165),
the Roro (p. 277), and the Mekeo (p. 359).

[105] I recognise that, though the terms "grave," "bury," and "burial"
are correctly applied to the mode of interment underground of an
ordinary person, the term "grave" is clearly an incorrect one for
the overground platform box and tree box in one or other of which
a chiefs body is placed; and the use with reference to this mode of
disposal of the dead of the terms "bury" and "burial" is, I think,
at least unsuitable. But with this apology, and for lack of a short
and convenient, but more accurate, substitute adapted to the three
methods, I use these terms throughout with reference to all of them.

[106] This Mafulu practice of tree burial is referred to in the
_Annual Report_ for June, 1900, p. 63.

[107] Platform burial in one form or another is not peculiar to the
Mafulu district. It is perhaps common among many of the mountain
people. Sir William Macgregor found it in the mountains of the
Vanapa watershed (_Annual Report_, 1897-8, pp. 22 and 23), and
Dr. Seligmann regards it, I think, as a custom among the general class
of what he calls "Kama-weka" (_Melanesians of British New Guinea_,
p. 32). Mr. J. P. Thomson records its occurrence even in the lower
waters of the Kemp Welch river (_British New Guinea_, p. 53, and
see also his further references to the matter on pp. 59 and 67). In
view of a suggestion which I make in my concluding chapter as to
the possible origin of the Mafulu people, it is also interesting to
note that platform or tree burial is, or used to be, adopted, for
important people only, by the Semang of the Malay Peninsula and the
Andamanese. As regards the Semang, though they now employ a simple form
of interment, their more honourable practice was to expose the dead
in trees (Skeat and Blagden, _Pagan Races of the Malay Peninsula_,
Vol. II., p. 89); and, though the bodies of the Pangan (East Coast
Semang) lay members were buried in the ground, those of their great
magicians were deposited in trees (_Ibid._, Vol. II., p. 91); and
apparently this was the case among the Semang as regards the bodies
of chiefs (_Ibid._, Vol. I., p. 587). And concerning the Andamanese
it is recorded that the skeleton of a man who, for reasons given, was
believed to have been a chief was found lying on a platform of sticks
placed across forks of a tree about 12 feet from the ground, a mode
which was compared with the method of underground burial which had
previously been met with (_Transactions of the Ethnological Society,
New Series_, Vol. V. p. 42). Mr. Portman records (_History of our
Relations with the Andamanese_, Vol. II., p. 547) similar tree burial
of two chiefs and the wife of a chief, and refers to the practice of
burying underground "or, what is more honourable," on a platform up
in a tree (_Ibid_., Vol. I., p. 43). The practice is also mentioned
by Mr. Man, who, after referring (_The Andaman Islanders_, p. 76)
to underground interment and platform burial, of which "the latter
is considered the more complimentary," states (pp. 76 and 77) that a
small stage is constructed of sticks and boughs about 8 to 12 feet
above the ground, _generally_ (the italics are mine) between the
forked branches of some large tree, and to it the body is lashed.

[108] I have been unable to find an account of any spiritual or partly
spiritual being associated with the beliefs of Papuans or Melanesians
who can be regarded as being similar to _Tsidibe_. Perhaps the
nearest approach to him will be found in _Qat_ of the Banks Islands,
of whom much is told us by Dr. Codrington in _The Melanesians_,
and who apparently is not regarded as having been of divine rank,
but is rather a specially powerful, but perhaps semi-human, spiritual
individual, who, though not having originally created mankind and the
animal and vegetable world and the objects and forces of nature as
a whole, has had, and it would seem still has, considerable creative
and influencing powers over them all. But I could learn no detailed
legends concerning _Tsidibe_; and the scanty information given to me
concerning him differs from what we know of _Qat_.

[109] Dr. Stapf thinks it is probably a species of Podocarpus or
Dacrydium.

[110] Dr. Seligmann refers (_Melanesians of British New Guinea_,
p. 185) to a specimen of _Ficus rigo_, in which a taboo, having the
power of making Koita folk sick, is believed to be immanent. I do
not know whether or not the _gabi_ tree is _Ficus rigo_, but, if it
be so, there is an interesting similarity in this respect between
these people and the Mafulu.

[111] A knotted wisp of grass is, I think, a common form of taboo
sign in parts of New Guinea; and Dr. Seligmann refers (_Melanesians of
British New Guinea_, pp. 136 to 138) to its use by the Koita for the
protection of cocoanuts and other trees and firewood, and as part of
the protective sign for new gardens. The use of the wisp by the Mafulu
people, as above described, is not a taboo used for the protection
of an object from human interference, being intended to protect
the travellers in some way from the spirit or spirits haunting the
spot. But there is, I think, an underlying similarity of superstitious
ideas involved by the two purposes for which the wisps are used.

[112] _Melanesians of British New Guinea_, p. 281.

[113] _The Melanesians_, p. 203.

[114] Seligmann, _Melanesians of British New Guinea_, p.85.

[115] I imagine a somewhat similar superstitious origin may be assumed
as regards the idea of general purification (I of course do not refer
to mere physical surface washing) by bathing: and Father Egedi says
(_Anthropos_, Vol. V., p. 755) that the Kuni people, after a cannibal
feast, had to confine themselves until the end of the moon which
commenced before the feast to certain food, and that they then all
bathed in running water and returned purified and free to eat any food.

[116] Apparently flying foxes are good omens in Tubetube (Southern
Massim). See Seligmann's _Melanesians of British New Guinea_, p. 653.

[117] This is very different from the extensive food taboo restrictions
which Father Egedi told me were placed upon the bachelors of Mekeo.

[118] Dr. Seligmann puts their average stature at 60.5 in. (_Lancet,_
Feb. 17th, 1906, p. 427), which is less than the Mafulu average of
61.1 in. given by me above.

[119] Dr. Seligmann puts their average cephalic index calculated
from fifteen measurements at 78 (_Geographical Journal_, Vol. XXVII.,
p. 234), which is below the Mafulu average cephalic index of 80 given
by me above.

[120] Father Egedi thinks that the Lapeka people have some Pokau
blood in them. Their language is a mixture of Kuni and Mekeo.

[121] Seligmann's _Melanesians of British New Guinea_, p. 16.

[122] _Geographical Journal_, Vol. XXVI I., p. 235.

[123] _Ibid._

[124] _Geographical Journal_, Vol. XXVII., p. 235.

[125] P. 236.

[126] _Ibid._

[127] _Geographical Journal_, Vol. XXVII., p. 235.

[128] _Nature_, 9 June, 1910, p. 434.

[129] The Rev. Father Egedi's Vocabulary of Oru Lopiko gives the
pronouns thus:

Singular. Plural.

1st Person, _na_, _naro_. _dae_, _daro_.
2nd Person, _ni_, _niro_. _ali_, _alero_.
3rd Person, _pi_, _piro_. _valo_, _valoro_.

The Possessives are formed with _ma_: _nema_, _nima_, _pima_, _daema_,
_lima_, _valoma_.

The Interrogatives are: _tsia_? who? _itara_? _vaina_? what
thing? (S.H.R.)

[130] These numerals differ from the Oru Lopiko of Father Egidi. He
gives: _konepu_, one; _kalotolo_, two; _konekhalavi_, three;
_maimitara_, many; _onionipu_, few. (S.H.R.)

[131] Foot's joint.

[132] Cf. M. _kon(on)de_, knot in wood.

[133] Cf. Fire.

[134] Cf. M. _tobo_, gourd.

[135] Probably introduced. Mekeo _avaava_, Pokau _tavatava_, buy.

[136] Introduced. Motu _asi_.

[137] Cf. M. _kon(on)de_, knot in wood.

[138] Cf. Fire.

[139] Cf. Finger.

[140] Cf. bag.

[141] Sun its light.

[142] _Na,_ I.

[143] Arm's joint.

[144] Cf. M. _kon(on)de,_ knot in wood.

[145] Eyebrow's hair.

[146] Eye-skin.

[147] _Nu,_ thou.

[148] Cf. Branch.

[149] _Feneme_, eel.

[150] Cf. _tala(pe)_, sp. thread.

[151] Finger's mother.

[152] Cf. Earth.

[153] Foot's hollow. Cf. Pumpkin.

[154] Cf. Earth.

[155] _Nu_, thou.

[156] Hand's hollow.

[157] _ Ni_, you.

[158] Side's tongue.

[159] Introduced (Motu, _Kimai_).

[160] _omen_, his.

[161] Also handcuffs.

[162] _Nu_, thou.

[163] To give the breast.

[164] _aumen_, his?.

[165] _Cf._ Finger.

[166] Breast, its nose.

[167] Nose, its hole.

[168] Introduced (Kabadi, Motu, _bara_).

[169] Kabadi, &c., _nau_.

[170] Sagopalm's important part.

[171] _Na_, I.

[172] Sit and Stay.

[173] _Cf._ M. ememe, _pierce._

[174] _Cf._ Night, Darkness, Black.

[175] _Cf._ M. _tsibe_, a reed.

[176] _Cf._ M. _usi(le_), tusk.

[177] _Omen_, he, his.

[178] _Cf_. Mother.

[179] Hand's neck.

[180] _Yango(ne_) a plant of which the roots give a yellow stain

[181] _British New Guinea Vocabularies_. London: The Society for
Promoting Christian Knowledge.

[182] _A Comparative Vocabulary of the Dialects of British New
Guinea_. Compiled by Sidney H. Ray. London, 1895.

[183] _Annual Report on British New Guinea_. 1896-7, p. 13.

[184] _Annual Report on British New Guinea_. 1897-8, p. 35.

[185] _British New Guinea. Annual Report for the Year ending 30th
June_, 1906. p. 93.

[186] _Anthropos II, Heft_ 6. pp. 1016-1021.

[187] In comparing I have omitted the non-essential syllable.

[188] _Anthropos_, II. _Heft_ 6, pp. 1009-1021.

[189] _Op. cit._, p. 1009.

[190] _Op. cit._, pp. 1016-1021.

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