TALES OF NEW GUINEA.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume I, Issue 16, 31 December 1910, Page 4 (Supplement)

TALES OF NEW GUINEA.

JHE WHOLE ETIQUETTE OF EATING MAN. Monotonv is not generally looked for as a characteristic of existence in a country whore death is regarded as a mere incident, and cannibalistic feasts ere oi everyday occurrence. And l-’npua. or British New Guinea, is no exception, as was made clear by Air. J. H. P. Murray, the lieutenant-gov-ernor — now in L indon on a short holiday - in an interview with a represen-

s tatd'o *.f ‘-Answers." i "Tim settled part.” said his honour, "is Sai-, r than London : and even the <’.'-,trict' oll'.side Government influence are safe enough, if you travel with an ; armed es ort. ; CASUAL C ANNIBALISM. 1 "Papua is a country without rail1 wavs, and positively, the only means of travelling and tr-m-port is on foot. Of an Australian it is said that he will ! w-dk two milts to find a hors? to carry < lim one: but in Papua the country it impossible for riding - even to an Aus- ! tralinr. Where it is not densely woodi od nnd entangled with undergrowth, it

'it -te?p and stony: or it is swampy. I All over the island gold is found : but, l except in th • creeks, the outcrops are i hidden hv dense masses of decayed i leaves nnd other vegetable matter. j ‘Tli" country is brimful of interest, i ansi the natives, at one.* utterly savage 1 end euriouslv intalligant. are among I the most pie‘uresoue and wonderful i peoples of tim world. I ‘ln th? di-tricts beyond Government

1 -"flrn’me. and. one would suppose, in 1 ihe ui>exn’o>ed parts, cannibalism is i rife: although, in travelling through ; the country, yon don t of* "n c ‘ r p.’ l " j -<-rn«s cvwb'Pg's of the practice. th? j canndirds the.nselves take good care of j that. , i ‘‘But, not so long ago. on one of I m v efficia' excursions. I came upon the I roasted body of a man. partially eaten, i ha.'.'dng from a house, within easy I reach. As a matter of fact, the finding of su b remains is unite a casual matter. It is as though I went down to my pantry : I might find a leg of mutt n thee, and I wight not. | “As Government influence extends, however, the natives are easily l**’’ - suade 1 to give up et en secret cannibalism. ROAST OR BOILED? I “Possib'y, the eating of human flesh is frequently connected with some religious rites' With some of the tribes, l:ef< re a man-hunting expedition is entered upon, a sorcerer stands by the j canoe, calling loudly, ‘Shall we go? Sha'd. we go?’ Should the boat rock, i it is looked upon as a propitious omen, i The "aniie is quickly manned, one native taking up a position in the bow, spear in hand, and away they go. “As to cooking, some tribes prefer to roast their victims, and others to boil them. One curious point of etiquette, in many parts, is th.it you must not eat the man you have yourself killed, although you mav exchange v ith another successful fellow-tribes-man .

•‘l’nfortunatelv, some of the most intensely inter: sting statements regarding the curious characteristics and histerns of-tribes of the interior can only bo given as heres-iy, though some of ihe--e accounts mu t be taken with a grain of salt. “Frequently, for ins* *i nc. I have 1 card of a race of pigmies with tails. If a few of these imaginary beings could actualk be found, they would le <f ex i'ene int-e-est t? men of science, or would nvk-* a f-'-tune for th? first showman to exploit then.

“The Pn’ti.in is fairtv truthful : but I have known of *i nalive who horst"'! that ho had not onlv soon these tailed rigmies. but had pract's d a practical joko or them. Those little follows are said to live in hou-es set on wooden piles, and having hobs in the floor, through which th?' inhabitants allow their rails to dangle. Our practical joker could not resist the temptation, and, according to his own account, h? tied a knot in each tail, roused the little men, ard fled to the hills. Th?, predicament of his victims can better be imagined than described.

'■.Some of the Papuan tribes live in huts in sma'l villages: hut others build huge houses each consisting of a tall, narrow structure, pprhus a hnndrel yards long, and seventy feet high, with a roof re "lading one of ;,n upturned canoe. One hens? will accommodate over one hundred natives, and sometines many more. DIVIDED lIOUSETIOLDf-; ‘ Most Papuans are remarkable linguists, nearly every tribe having a distinct language: and I hare come across individual natives speaking seven or e ght tonguts. •‘ln one part of the country, lius--1 • ml and wife speak, to some extent, separate ’ringvag.-;. though, of course, each unders a ds th? oth r's tiir.gti-•. B it each must use only his or her < wn. By the v. ay, I may mention that r lii.s trait is by no means uncomn on in the South Sea Islands, 'And b.< des the-e two languages, th:< tribo employs a third—especially tor fishing expeditions. These fishing excursions io a neighbouring island are taken jieriodicaUy, and the natives have a superstition that anyone neglecting :<> use the third language on tb <" n-casii-n: wi 1 find all sorts of dre-idfnl t-hinzs happening to him. These are n • re.dly di.stiir-t languages, but ach lontain s many words peculiar to

• ‘'The Papuan falls very readilv nni der civilis'd influence, and scon be- : comes anxious to avoid anytlrng that is j not in aeeordanc" with rhe whiFe man’s i < ode. For i>. st.ir.ee, with 50,:." tribes. 1 can: i alism h'i< be ■< m>. not abhori i- : t. but bad form. I ] RE THE RE-MARRIAGE QUESTION. ' One nm zistr;t' had an amusing deputation <r.o n r.n inland village, the chief of which, having hea v d of the white man's nil.-'. w:'= desirmi- of conrulting h,m on an in'portan' social one st'on. Was R legal, ho w.-.nf.-'d to i-'new, for a wid iw to marry again? Mlion i:- was msitr--’ I >h ie v. a-■ no oh-j-eticn wh-itc-.-.;- to h r doin-’ so. Ire and bis followers «een ed mightil.v pleased. He had heard. I•' oxi’lamed. that pre oh;-.-ted to c i I.;'- and Imd thought ir_w : >s i’ist nossib’e wo nii Tit cromßv <>l to widows re-marrying. '•Re hap; the greatest oh-’-ae’e to the '■nicker spread <>f th"''wliite man's innt'enc’ anion r the Papuan aborigines are *ho sorcerers. For ore thing the Pannan I ••’ii’* . s that onb- old p-ople r p P n nat.n'i] n nt'i, - ’bat. i>1 1 .. n r.r<'r a vnnn" perren or .'me of middle a-re masses awar it is coT-In'od that it is f>n n f t re evi! i •flur.i.v of a ' ' Op ono isl-ind fl’e gnbv p-rs.-n i,- di-rev-Ctcvl by aknd of b-.- O r-d al.

cerer holds several leaves and an ant, and his hand is closed. One after the other, the accused are called by name, and. suddenly, the closed hand of the sorcerer opens, and the man whose name was last mentioned is the guiltyparty. Then ' there is a desperate eha e. generally followed by capture and d-a:h. “The average Papuan does not look upon the taking of human life as an i.ffence. but more as a matter of custom. 1 have known a native fall fastasleep a few minutes after his trial far murder had cimmenced, and receive his death sentence with a yawn. "Of course, in dealing with the natives, you have to differentiate between the one uho has lived long under the white man’s influence and the one who has only his own sav.aga. inst’nets and tiiba.l customs to guide him. "The one might get seven years' I :mpr : sonm?nt. and the other got. off I with little mor? than a reprimand, for exactiv similar offences."