The Mafulu mountain people of British New Guinea
Williamson, Robert Wood, 1856-1932
fo) Oo 2 oO = ce "4 uw z < 72) 6 1968 JUN 66259 E9LOM G66°CLS Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2022 with funding from Kahle/Austin Foundation https://archive.org/details/mafulumountainpedOOOwill THE MAFULU MOUNTAIN PEOPLE OF BRITISH NEW GUINEA MACMILLAN AND CO., LIMITED LONDON . BOMBAY . CALCUTTA MELBOURNE THE MACMILLAN COMPANY NEW YORK . BOSTON . CHICAGO DALLAS . SAN FRANCISCO THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, LTD. TORONTO a. . “MOINVG, V YON GALVAOOAG NAWOM ATAAVIV "DIAUGSIUIUOL THE MAFULU MOUNTAIN PEOPLE OF BRITISH NEW GUINEA ROBERT W. WILLIAMSON WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY De Gw ADDON, Sc.D... I-R.S. WITH ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAP MACMILLAN AND CO., LIMITED ST. MARTIN’S STREET, LONDON 1912 cays ys, \al b ] 6 8 COPYRIGHT RICHARD Cay AND Sons, LIMITED, BRUNSWICK STREET, STAMFORD STREET, S.E., AND BUNGAY, SUFFOLK. “ oft vee ; ens CMR r wie Lee a 4 wee ap tee se = mee ess > ea re >. OSE melas ses %* te se . .. PREFACE Tuts 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 Vv vi PREFACE 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 expe- dition 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 PREFACE Vii portion of my journeyings through the Mekeo and Kuni districts, and his Mekeo explanations proved invaluable to me when I reached my Mafulu destina- tion. 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 inter- mediary and interpreter throughout all my enquiries. And finally, when having at some risk prolonged my stay at Mafulu until those enquiries were completed, | 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.! 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 herioc self-sacrifice which impels them to submit cheerfully to the grave and constant hard- ships 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. 1 The photographs of skulls, articles of dress and ornament, implements and weapons were made in London after my return. vill PREFACE 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 identifi- cation; 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, [ 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 ENTRODUCTION BY: DR. AC. HADDONG==. © «4 = in -XVIL CHAPTER I [NERODUCEORY = — 2 9. . © 1) i ee a eS PS I CHAPTER II PHYSIQUE AND CHARACTER me gy ela POU as 17 CHAPTER III DRESS AND ORNAMENT . : : 5 . : c 0 0 a 26 CHAPTER IV DAILY LIFE AND MATTERS CONNECTED WITH IT . . : : 63 CHAPTER V COMMUNITY, CLAN, AND VILLAGE SYSTEMS AND CHIEFTAINSHIP 82 CHAPTER VI VILLAGES, EMONE, HOUSES AND MODES OF INTER-VILLAGE COMMUNICATION ‘ : , ; ; , ; ; ; F 98 CHARTER VDE GOVERNMENT, PROPERTY AND INHERITANCE . . 5 G : 114 CHAPTER VIII THE BIG FEAST Pe alaeks wot) dyad My MEA OO 4. ee aD x CONTENTS CHAPTER IX PAGE SOME OTHER CEREMONIES AND FEASTS . c . . - . 157 ma CHAPTER X MATRIMONIAL AND SEXUAL . : 3 C - * . 3 168 CHAPTER XI KILLING, CANNIBALISM AND WARFARE c c - - - 5 176 CHAPTER XII HUNTING, FISHING AND AGRICULTURE . ; : : : : fo6 CHAPTER XIII BARK CLOTH MAKING, NETTING AND ART 5 : ° = . 201 CHAPTER XIV MUSIC AND SINGING, DANCING, AND TOYS AND GAMES 4 : 212 CHAPTER XV ’ COUNTING, CURRENCY AND TRADE . 4 é ; = 2 > 227. CHAPTER XVI FPANGUAGH «cp lies) (fos, dil’ os wk eco ce mgt ne ee are. CHAPTER XVII ILLNESS, DEATH AND BURIAL 5 . Z > : 3 . - 240 CHAPTER XVIII RELIGION AND SUPERSTITIOUS BELIEFS AND PRACTICES . : 264 CHAPTER XIX NOTE ON THE KUNI PEOPLE ‘ . : . : 5 F 5 290 CHAPTER XX CONCLUSION + 297 CONTENTS 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. x1 PAGE 307 332 yon? = % q = a oe —— — -\ — 7 eo. e ‘ | i i > r\ ah ar) ee a a peat LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PLATE Mafulu Women Decorated for a Dance 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 Fie: 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 ; Sie te 14.—Fig. 1. Belt No.1. Fig. 2. Belt No. a, Fig. 3. Belt No. 4 . : : 5 : 15.—Fig. 1. Belt No. 5 (one and ontyis Fig. 2. Belt No. 6 (one end only). Fig. 3. Belt No.7. 16.—A General Group : : 17.—A Young Chiefs Sister decor ed ior a ‘Dance ; 18, 19.—Women wearing Illness Recovery Capes 20.—Fig. 1. Ear-rings. Fig. 2. Jew’s ae Fig. 3 Hair Fringe : 21.—Man, Woman and Gmicren 22, 23.—A Little Girl with Head Deconuans : 24.—Figs. 1, 2, 5,and 6. Women’s Hair Plaits deco- rated 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 Pendants re Rae be rs Xi Frontispiece . To face page Xiv LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PLATE 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 . . . . « «. Tofacepage %6 20 GLOup Of WOMenw ss een ee * 3 go 27.—A Young Woman . : : : 2 ; 9 ” 94 Ae WOE ee RE es > 5 98 29.—Two Women . Diet eee Fe 98 30.—Fig. 1. Mourning Sting Necklace: Hig, 2. Comb. Fig. 3. Pig’s Tail Ornament for Head. Fig. 4. Whip Lash Head Ornament. Fig. 5. Forehead Ornament . ; :  No. u Fig. 2. Armlet No. 4. he 3. Armlet No.2. Fig. 4. Armlet No.1 < % 118 ‘35.—Woman wearing Dancing Apron. . . . BA 5 122 36, 37.—Decoration of Dancing Aprons ah Rect ae y 126 38, 39.— Py D es : : : 7 > 130 40, 41.—- 2 as % 5 Hoek 33 re 134 42, 43.— ” ” ” s z : ” ” 138 44.—Head Feather Ornaments ‘ ; 3 5 > 142 45.— ” ” ” ~ : c »? » 146 46.—Fig. 1. Head  . : : “s “3 158 49.—At the Spring. : : : . ‘ : : as 162 50.—A Social Gathering . » 9 162 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.6and7. Lime Gourds : Se ees, es 166 52.—Fig. 1. Wooden Dish Figs. 2 and 3. Water- Carrying Gourds 2 Lite el ig meme K 170 53-—Fig. 1. Bag No. 3. Fig. 2. Bag No.4. Fig. 3. Bag. No.6. ; : AD an 174 54.— Village of Salube and Gar oundiie Gonntte P 5 > 178 55.—Village of Seluku, with Chiefs Hmone at End © and Remains of Broken-down Burial Plat- form in Middle . ” ” 182 56.—Village of Amalala, with Chief’s Ree at End. 9 A 186 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PLATE 57.-—Village of Amalala (looking in other direction), with Secondary Hmone at End 58.—Village of Malala, with Secondary Zone at End and Ordinary Grave and Burial Platform of Chief’s Child in Right Foreground : 59.—Village of Uvande, with Chief’s H7zone at End. 60.—Village of Biave, with Chiefs Emone at End and Burial Platform of Chief's Child in Middle 61.—Chiefs Amone in Village Bt Armalni 62.—Chiefs mone in Village of Malala 63.—House in Village of Malala 64.—House in Village of Levo, with Child’s Recate: ment Receptacle to Left. 65.-—Suspension Bridge over St. Joseph River 66.—Bridge over Aduala River 67.—Scene at Big Feast in Village of Ameila 68.—Row of Killed Pigs at Big Feast at es of Amalala 69.—Scene at Village of Cation dunine. eset ations for Big Feast 70.—Scene at Big Feast at Village a Seighes 71.—Young Girl Ornamented for Perineal Band Ceremony ‘ 72.—Feast at Perineal Band Corona Bey Ro : 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) a ae 75.—Fig. 1. Club (pineapple type sof heath: Fig. 2. Club (disc type of a Fig. 3. Drum. Fig. 4. Adze 76.—Fishing Weir 77.—Planting Yams in @udan 78.—Collecting Sweet Potatoes in Garden 79.—Hammering Bark Cloth. 80.—The Ine Pandanus 81.—Mafulu Network : 82.—Funeral Feast (not of Chief). “Gacets eerie to commence Dance down Village Enclosure 83.—The same Funeral Feast. Guest Chief Dancing down Village Enclosure. . To face page XV XVi LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PLATE 84.—Platform Grave of Chief's Child at Back. Ordinary Grave in Front Se LOY ACO DAle = B27 85.—Group of Platform Graves of Chiefs and their Relations . : : Z rf Ps 278 86.—Platform Grave of a Chere Child . 4 ‘ Ff 278 87, 88.—The Gade Fig Tree, in which Chiefs’ Burial Boxes are placed and which is Generally Believed to be Haunted by Spirits : : a PA 282 89.—The Remains of a Chiefs Burial Platform which has collapsed, and beneath which his Skull and some of his Bones are interred Under- ground : 49 e. 286 go.—An mone to which are ung the Skulls ae some of the Bones from Chiefs’ Burial Plat- forms which have Collapsed . ; : .. - 290 g1.—A House with Receptacle for Child’s os ee 4 . 290 Mapa 5% ee he 3.) ane . End of book ILLUSTRATIONS IN TEXT FIGURE PAGE 1.—-Leg band making (commencing stage) : pe Et me 55 2.—Ancient Mortar. . ‘ 75 3.— Illustrative Diagram of a Biarant Gammunty a Valles é 84 pee aera of Front of Z7zone (Front Hood of Roof and Front Platform and Portions of Front Timbers omitted, so as to show Interior) . ‘ : 5 ite 5.—Diagram of Transverse Seencn across Conte df Emone tos 6.—Diagrammatic Sketch of Apse-like Projection of Roof of Emone and Platform Arrangements . : SLOT, 7.—Diagram Illustrating Positions of People eign: Performance at Big Feasts 9. Sty hi : AT 8.—Mafulu Net Making (1st Line a Networe : . 204 9. —Mafulu Net Making (2nd, 3rd, and 4th Lines of Newark) 5 Boys 10.—Mafulu Net Making (5th Line of Network, to which Rest of Net is similar in Stitch) . ; : ‘ : : 5 SEE ZOG) INTRODUCTION By Dr. A. C. HADDON Ir 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 some- thing of savage life, but it was not till about four years ago that he saw his way to attempting the realisa- tion 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 hima 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. Circum- stances 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 xvii b XVili INTRODUCTION 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 investiga- tion 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 INTRODUCTION xix 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 moun- tainous hinterland of the Mekeo district. This was a most happy selection, though no one could have fore- seen 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 xX INTRODUCTION 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 archi- pelago, 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,” Pvoc. Roy. Irish Acad., 3rd ser., IV., 1897, p. 509). Early in 1894, Mr. Ray read a paper before the Anthropological Institute ( Journ. Anth. [nst., XXIV., p. 4 5), in which he adhered to our former discrimination of two linguis- tic stocks and added a third type of language composed INTRODUCTION xxl 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,” /ourn. Roy. Geog. ‘S0e46:1900, 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 Xxii INTRODUCTION a narrow-headed people, but there are some puzzling exceptions, the explanation of which is not yet ascertained. The Papuo-Melanesians contain a some- what 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- and broad-headed elements? or (2) Does the broad-headed element belong to an immigrant people ? or, again (3) Is there an hitherto unidentified in- digenous 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 expedi- tion 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, INTRODUCTION XXill adduces evidence that this is also the case in British territory. It is worth recalling that de Quatrefages and Hamy (Cranza 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 sub- stratum. 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 there- fore 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 STAT Esk wel 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. new sunbroken 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 B eo THE MAFULU MOUNTAIN PEOPLE cunap. 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, i INTRODUCTORY 3 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 Bao 4 THE MAFULU MOUNTAIN PEOPLE — cuap. river Aduala (a tributary of the St. Joseph),’ 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 1 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. pe I INTRODUCTORY 5 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.’ 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, | 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 ques- tion of linguistics. The area in the map which is called by the Fathers 1 Note the change from the Mafulu (Papuan) pronunciation Maméule to the Kuni (Melanesian) pronunciation Mafulu and the similar change from the Mafulu Amdo to the Kuni Ajoa. 6 THE MAFULU MOUNTAIN PEOPLE cnap. 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 | 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.’ But here again the use of the name has, | think, no reference to linguistics. If the Fathers’ linguistic boundary lines are sub- stantially 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 * 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. I INTRODUCTORY 7 their Boboi area. I suggest that it would be con- venient for the present, pending further investigation and delimitation on the spot, and until we know some- thing 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,’ and they being in fact re- garded by him as being the eastern neighbours of the natives of ‘“‘the mountains inland of Mekeo Nara and Kabadi,” * 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.”* Turning to the question of the Fuyuge boundary, Dr. Strong says that the Fuyuge people occupy the upper waters of the St. Joseph river,* and he is quoted by Dr. Seligmann as having stated that the Afoa 1 Melanesians of British New Guinea, p. 29. S Weel, We, Mie 3 Lancet, February 17, 1906, p. 427. 4 Geographical Journal for September, 1908, p. 274. 8 THE MAFULU MOUNTAIN PEOPLE cuap, 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.”' 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,” which brings it into the Fuyuge area. The inclusion of the upper valley of the river 1 Melanesians of British New Guinea, p. 32. ” British New Guinea Anmual Report for June, 1906, p. 29. F INTRODUCTORY 9 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, how- ever, 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 associa- tions ; 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' and the illustrations accom- panying 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.” 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, 1 British New Guinea Annual Report for June 30, 1906, pp. 85 to 93. 2 Melanesians of British New Guinea, p. 33- 10 THE MAFULU MOUNTAIN PEOPLE cuap. 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 pro- jection 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 im- portant 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 plat- form 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 illustra- tion shows to be identical with the special form of Mafulu netting. On the other hand, as regards the Chirima weapons, implements and _ utensils, a com- parison 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, I INTRODUCTORY 1a some of them are different. As examples of this | 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,’ 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 un- known among the Mafulu. Again some of the Chirima weapons, as figured by Mr. 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.’ It is curious 1 Apparently bows and arrows are not found among the tribes of the Lower Mambare river (Annual Report for June, 1897, Appendix C, p. 7.) 2 Annual Report for June, 1894, p. 32. 12 THE MAFULU MOUNTAIN PEOPLE — cnap. 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,' a statement which, though probably intended broadly, is in accord with the suggestion that they are connected with the Mafulu- speaking people. 