1I 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 toTsidibe. Perhaps the nearest approach to him will be found inQatof the Banks Islands, of whom much is told us by Dr. Codrington inThe 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 concerningTsidibe; and the scanty information given to me concerning him differs from what we know ofQat.2Dr. Stapf thinks it is probably a species of Podocarpus or Dacrydium.3Dr. Seligmann refers (Melanesians of British New Guinea, p. 185) to a specimen ofFicus 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 thegabitree isFicus rigo, but, if it be so, there is an interesting similarity in this respect between these people and the Mafulu.4A 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.5Melanesians of British New Guinea, p. 281.6The Melanesians, p. 203.7Seligmann,Melanesians of British New Guinea, p.85.8I 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.9Apparently flying foxes are good omens in Tubetube (Southern Massim). See Seligmann’sMelanesians of British New Guinea, p. 653.10This is very different from the extensive food taboo restrictions which Father Egedi told me were placed upon the bachelors of Mekeo.Note on the Kuni PeopleFather Egedi, who has studied the Kuni people, and has written a series of articles about them in numbers ofAnthropos, 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,1with 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.2Many 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.3The oblique eye, which is occasionally found on the coast,4but 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 Kunipeople 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 says5that 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 says6that “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 refers7to 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 refers8to a funeral ceremony which is quite unknown in Mafulu. But his statement9that thekufu(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 villagekufuor club-house, are allowed upon its platform, which is not the case with the Mafuluemone; and eldest sons of Kuni influential people may not enter into thekufuuntil 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 apparentshape, even though the floor is rectangular. Also according to Father Egedi, Kunikufuare 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,10that 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, ifthe 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.1Dr. 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.2Dr. 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.3Father Egedi thinks that the Lapeka people have some Pokau blood in them. Their language is a mixture of Kuni and Mekeo.4Seligmann’sMelanesians of British New Guinea, p. 16.5Geographical Journal, Vol. XXVI I., p. 235.6Ibid.7Geographical Journal, Vol. XXVII., p. 235.8P. 236.9Ibid.10Geographical Journal, Vol. XXVII., p. 235.ConclusionWhat 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 intheir 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.1Dr. 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, forthe 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 themalso, 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.Andamanese4′ 10½″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′10¾″ given by Mr. Man (The Andaman Islanders, p. 5), and adopted by Messrs. Skeat and Blagden (Pagan Races of the Malay Peninsula, p. 573).Semang4′ 10¾″Skeat and Blagden (Pagan Races, &c., p. 573) and Haddon (Races of Man, &c., p. 9).Aetas4′ 10″This is Dr. Haddon’s figure (Races of Man, &c., p. 9), and it is within half an inch of the 4′ l0½″ given by Dr. Semper (Journal of Anthropologyfor October, 1870, p. 135). Dr. Meyer gives a number of varying measurements (seeJournal 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 dwarfs4′ 9″Captain Rawling (Geographical Journal, vol. 38, p. 245).Mafulu5′ 1″It is merely suggested by me that they arepartlynegrito, which, if correct, would explain the somewhat higher stature.General Physique.AndamaneseWell proportioned, and with good muscular development (Man,Journal of Anthropological Institute, vol. 12, pp. 72 and 73).SemangSturdily built (Haddon,Races of Man, &c., p. 9).AetasWell formed and sprightly (Earle,Papuans, p. 123), and with limbs which, corresponding to their stature, are uncommonly slender, but well formed (Semper,Journal of Anthropologyfor 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 dwarfsOf sturdy build (Rawling,Geographical Journal, vol. 38, p. 241).MafuluFairly strong and muscular, but rather slender and slight in development.Cephalic Index.Andamanese82This 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).Semang78.9Dr. Haddon’s figure (Races of Man, &c., p. 9). Skeat and Blagden describe them as brachycephalic to mesatecephalic (Pagan Races, &c., p. 34).Aetas80Dr. 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 dwarfs80.2This figure is calculated by me from the actual length and breadth given by Captain Rawling (Geographical Journal, vol. 38, p. 245).Mafulu80Nasal Index.Andamanese?Semang101Calculated 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 dwarfs80.9Calculated by me from Captain Rawling’s actual figures.Mafulu84.3Colour 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.AndamaneseVery dark (Races of Man, &c., p. 9).SemangDark chocolate brown, approximating to black. (Ibid.).AetasDark sooty brown (Ibid.).Dutch New Guinea dwarfsBrown (Rawling,Geographical Journal, vol. 38, p. 245).MafuluDark 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.AndamaneseVaries 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).SemangBrownish-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).AetasBrown-black, shining.Semper (Journal of Anthropologyfor 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 instancessun-burned at top toa 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 decidedlydarkbrown.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 peopleseems 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 bodiesof 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.1Nature, 9 June, 1910, p. 434.
1I 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 toTsidibe. Perhaps the nearest approach to him will be found inQatof the Banks Islands, of whom much is told us by Dr. Codrington inThe 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 concerningTsidibe; and the scanty information given to me concerning him differs from what we know ofQat.2Dr. Stapf thinks it is probably a species of Podocarpus or Dacrydium.3Dr. Seligmann refers (Melanesians of British New Guinea, p. 185) to a specimen ofFicus 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 thegabitree isFicus rigo, but, if it be so, there is an interesting similarity in this respect between these people and the Mafulu.4A 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.5Melanesians of British New Guinea, p. 281.6The Melanesians, p. 203.7Seligmann,Melanesians of British New Guinea, p.85.8I 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.9Apparently flying foxes are good omens in Tubetube (Southern Massim). See Seligmann’sMelanesians of British New Guinea, p. 653.10This is very different from the extensive food taboo restrictions which Father Egedi told me were placed upon the bachelors of Mekeo.
1I 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 toTsidibe. Perhaps the nearest approach to him will be found inQatof the Banks Islands, of whom much is told us by Dr. Codrington inThe 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 concerningTsidibe; and the scanty information given to me concerning him differs from what we know ofQat.
2Dr. Stapf thinks it is probably a species of Podocarpus or Dacrydium.
3Dr. Seligmann refers (Melanesians of British New Guinea, p. 185) to a specimen ofFicus 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 thegabitree isFicus rigo, but, if it be so, there is an interesting similarity in this respect between these people and the Mafulu.
4A 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.
5Melanesians of British New Guinea, p. 281.
6The Melanesians, p. 203.
7Seligmann,Melanesians of British New Guinea, p.85.
8I 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.
9Apparently flying foxes are good omens in Tubetube (Southern Massim). See Seligmann’sMelanesians of British New Guinea, p. 653.
10This is very different from the extensive food taboo restrictions which Father Egedi told me were placed upon the bachelors of Mekeo.
Father Egedi, who has studied the Kuni people, and has written a series of articles about them in numbers ofAnthropos, 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,1with 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.2
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.3
The oblique eye, which is occasionally found on the coast,4but 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 Kunipeople 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 says5that 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 says6that “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 refers7to 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 refers8to a funeral ceremony which is quite unknown in Mafulu. But his statement9that thekufu(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 villagekufuor club-house, are allowed upon its platform, which is not the case with the Mafuluemone; and eldest sons of Kuni influential people may not enter into thekufuuntil 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 apparentshape, even though the floor is rectangular. Also according to Father Egedi, Kunikufuare 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,10that 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, ifthe 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.
1Dr. 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.2Dr. 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.3Father Egedi thinks that the Lapeka people have some Pokau blood in them. Their language is a mixture of Kuni and Mekeo.4Seligmann’sMelanesians of British New Guinea, p. 16.5Geographical Journal, Vol. XXVI I., p. 235.6Ibid.7Geographical Journal, Vol. XXVII., p. 235.8P. 236.9Ibid.10Geographical Journal, Vol. XXVII., p. 235.
1Dr. 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.
2Dr. 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.
3Father Egedi thinks that the Lapeka people have some Pokau blood in them. Their language is a mixture of Kuni and Mekeo.
4Seligmann’sMelanesians of British New Guinea, p. 16.
5Geographical Journal, Vol. XXVI I., p. 235.
6Ibid.
7Geographical Journal, Vol. XXVII., p. 235.
8P. 236.
9Ibid.
10Geographical Journal, Vol. XXVII., p. 235.
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 intheir 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.1
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, forthe 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 themalso, 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.
General Physique.
Cephalic Index.
Nasal Index.
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.
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.
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 peopleseems 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 bodiesof 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.
1Nature, 9 June, 1910, p. 434.
1Nature, 9 June, 1910, p. 434.