The Traveller.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 245, 20 May 1876, Page 6

The Traveller.

EXPLORATIONS IN NEW GUINEA. (Continued. J THE KOIARI. Even among this tribe their features differ, but the color of the skin is more uniform, the shade not varying perceptibly from the darker among the Motu. Their features may be classed into two types, the one having aquiline and the other flatter noses, with nostrils more distended. In every case the forehead is high, the cheekbones slightly prominent, and the face generally elongated, mouth large, and lips somewhat thicker than the Motu. Their teeth are discolored black by betel chewing, and the chin is finely shaped, several wearing short curly beards, whiskers, and moustaches. The average height of the men is sft. 3in., and of the women 4ft. 94in., while the Koitapu, who next approach them in manners and general appearance, measure only sft. lin. and 4ft. Bin. respectively. But although shorter of stature than the Motu, they are more thiclcly-built, muscular, and powerful-looking men. They are more generous, equally cheerful in their dispositions, evidently witty, energetic, and quick to comprehend, though timid at first of strangers. Two men alone differed in the manner of wearing their hair from all the rest I had seen or heard of inhabiting the peninsula—the one being matted like a mop, after the manner of the Kulkaliga race; and the other, consisting of a series of small tufts, covering a head of long frizzed hair. In both cases the skin was darker, though at first sight imperceptibly so, and the nose was flatter ; otherwise, little difference could be traced in their physiognomies. This was only the manner of dressing the hair; but it showed that they were either imitating the fashion of a former people inhabiting that part of New Guinea, or that they had travelled among the Kulkaliga, which to a mountain people is improbable. ILEMA. The Ilema are taller and slightly darker than the Motu, the average height of the men being sft. sJin., and of the women sft. lin. Their features are rather coarser, but vary in form and color, being half a shade darker ; their hair is blacker, and is parted across the cranium from ear to ear, when it is frizzed out in front and behind into light airy masses. They are industrious cultivators of the soil, and their country is productive in sago, and all ordinary vegetables and fruits. A tradition current among the Motu states that tobacco was first introduced from their country probably about one hundred years ago. The bamboo pipe is always used. MAIVA. The Maiva resemble the Ilema in physique more than they do the Motu, while their average height is the same. Several dialects are spoken among them, that of Roro (Yule Island) being very dissimilar to others spoken on the mainland. Indeed the Roro natives are lighter, and vary sufficient in physique from those on the mainland to warrant the conclusion that they must have landed there at a more recent date. What would assist in supporting this opinion is that whereas the district of Roro to the north, Laval to the south, and Derena to the west, belong to the present inhabitants, the district of Boii-a to the east has been conquered from them by the inhabitants of Mou, a village situated on the mainland opposite. The Maiva proper appear also to be more hospitable than the islanders or than the Motu. KIRAPUNO. Without doubt, the most handsome tribe, not only in the peninsula, but in the whole of New Guinea, is the Kirapuno, peopling the neighborhood of Hood Point. The color of the hair first attracts the attention, being among the children of a light golden color, and among the young men and women of a rich auburn, decreasing in brilliancy with age, so that an elderly man frequently appears to have black hair, although, on closer examination, it is generally found to retain a reddish tint. Among the Polynesians the head is sometimes dipped into a preparation of lime, which turns it yellow, but I cannot make out that the Kirapuno adopt or are cognizant of this method. Their hair grows in ringlets or curling locks, which, combined with its color,

the compai-ative fairness of their skins, their symmetrical features, and the fine proportions of their bodies, constitute them a people of surpassing beauty. This, however, is an attribute seldom enjoyed by the women or elderly men, although as children they are pictures of loveliness. I have seen an Albino among these people as fair as any European, similar freaks of nature being not infrequent among the Polynesians. The only weapons used by them are the spear, stone club, and paru or sword club, 4ft. long, made of black wood called orta by the Motu, and partially ornamented. CHARACTER. Their general character differs widely from that of the pure Malay, and to a less extent from that of the Polynesian, which is chiefly owing to intermarriages, but is no doubt attributable in some measure to unaccustomed atmospheric and dietary influences, caused by change of location. They are a merry and laughter-loving people, fond of speaking, and loving a joke when not played in a too practical form upon themselves, but are hot of temjDer and quick to resent a supposed injury though soon reconciled, and I have known them to bring some trifling present as a sort of apology for any hastiness on their part. They are fairly moral, but by no means modest; clean in their habits, particularly in their eating, and generally active. They are peacefully disposed towards the white man, when they understand his pacific intentions, and soon become attached. The women are not debased as we find them among the Papuan race, but mix freely with the men, attending to their domestic occupations, and being the reverse of shy at foreigners. Their skin, unlike that of the Kulkaliga and the Papuan, has no disagreeable odour attached to it, and they are fond of all sweet-scented herbs, with which they often decorate their arms and heads. The women are great talkers, taking an active part in every disturbance or discussion of interest, and making the hardest and most determined bargains, so that where the husband failshiswife generally succeeds. Whenallowed liberties they do not fail to take advantage, and at Port Moresby in particular they are accomplished thieves, inveterate liars, confinned beggars, and ungenerous to a degree. These are their four worst characteristics, but we found those in the interior and other visitors from north and south quite different, though whether naturally so or through fear I cannot say. A firm and determined bearing ought to be exercised from the first so as to prevent them from becoming too familiar, or any nonobservance of this might lead to serious consequences with unscrupulous settlers, who would not hesitate to shoot down those who had been accustomed to rank themselves among the privileged. The term “ savage,” as applied to these people, is a total misnomer, for they are neither cannibals nor possess other degrading qualities which marie most savage tribes. Both sexes are very vain of their outward appearance, oiling their bodies and adorning themselves with shell, feather, and bone ornaments, and on all festive occasions each trying to outvie the other in his scanty wardrobe. They are friendly with the other tribes, although none feel perfectly secure in the country of another—with what degree of reason, however 1 , I am unable to say, as they always appear to be hospitably treated, judging from those cases which have come under my observation. It is certain that the inland tribe is regarded by the Motu with a sort of superstitious dread, notwithstanding that peace was formally made between them a couple of years ago, as they found it would be advantageous for both. Long droughts, contrary winds, or any calamity such as they might bring about, is often attributed to them. OCCUPATIONS. The duties of the Anuapata (Motu) women consist in bringing firewood ; also water in hordus or earthenware vessels from a small and the only running stream, half a mile away ; attending to the cooking, which is done on the raised floor inside their houses ; trimming the banana plants and tying up the bunches ; carrying fruit and vegetables from their plantations’ in kiapas, or large net bags, suspended from the head, likewise made by them ; in making pottery, and attending to the children. Usually they make two journeys daily for water, the pitcher, containing as much as an ordinary bucket, being carried on the shoulder without any apparent effort. The duties of the men are less arduous, consisting ®f hunting mikanis or wallabies (a small species of kangaroo), which are plentiful ; digging and attending to the fencing of their umas or plantations ; making varu or twine from the fibre of the pandanus leaf; jin making rekis or fishing nets, and in manufacturing body ornaments, in which they are assisted by the women and children. They fish likewise with nets, but are not so expert as the Kirapuno, who make that one of their chief occupations, and even sell fish to the Motu themselves for earthenware pottery, when they call there on their trading voyages. The karaut, or fishing spear, resembling a besom, is also some times used. VILLAGES AND POPULATION. All the villages of the coast tribes are built so low down upon the beach that at high water the sea flows under the houses, which are consequently built upon poles let into the shingles, so that the floors are from six to ten feet above. These villages may average 4 miles apart, each containing 60 houses, and 6 inhabitants to the house, the distance between them varying from one village in twenty miles to three villages in half a mile ; which, reckoning the coast line of the peninsula at 800 miles, would give a population of 72,000. The inland villages are thinly scattered, and are not so large. The largest we saw did not contain more than fifteen houses, and the smallest only five. Dividing the Koiari country into sections of ten mile 3 square, we might find ten villages in each, containing the same number of houses, which, with an average of six inhabitants per house, would give us a population of 600 to 100 square miles ; or taking the area of the peninsula at 21,000 , square miles, would give an inland population

of 126,000. If this be added to the sea coast population, it would make the total peninsula population to number 198,000, or nearly ten persons to the square mile. This, I believe, to be the only method by which an approximate estimate can be obtained. The inland villages are not often isolated, but are built comparatively close to each other, so that many miles may frequently be passed by without seeing any signs of one, when several will be suddenly seen on the surrounding hill tops, or high up on their sides, but never in the valleys. The houses in these usually face a common centre, or are built in rows facing one another, leaving an open space between, with the chief’s house at one end. HABITATIONS. The Motu houses are generally arranged in a single but very irregular line along the beach, with the back facing the sea and the front inland. They average 25ft. long by 15ft. wide and 12ft. from the floor to the centre of the roof, which slopes downwards on either side, the whole village resembling a quantity of pigeon-cots placed on poles. The sides, ends, and roof are thatched with long coarse grass, and the floors are made of wide boards generally obtained from the sides of some old canoe. A landing projects out in a line with the floor on the land side, over which is a grass verandah, and which i 3 reached by a roughly constructed ladder 6ft. wide. Access is had to the interior by a doorway from the landing, and at the reverse or sea end is an aperture leading into a smaller landing, closed in on all sides, which serves as a pantry, and at the same time lets in sufficient light for the requirements of the inmates. From the irregularity with which they are built they at first present a tumbledown appearance, though in reality they are strong and substantial. The fire is made upon a quantity of old ashes, always kept in the centre of the floor, and the ura, or earthenware cooking pots, set in readiness upon them. The fire is lighted between three empty pitchers, which are placed so as to form a triangle, when another containing the food to be cooked is placed upon the trio. The inside beams support their hunting and war weapons, sundry fishing-nets, net bags filled with their most prized body ornaments, and usually a drum, &c. The whole are neatly dispersed, and the interior is fairly clean, though on the death of an inmate the beams and other conspicuous places are blackened by smoke. The men refrain from •ating until after their return from the chase, but at other times they have three regular meals a day in their own homes. The size and general form of the habitations of the Koiari or mountain tribe much resemble those just described, being likewise built on poles, but the height of the floor from the ground does not usually exceed 4ft. The floor is made of sago palm stalks, laid widthways, the broad end of one being laid against the narrow end of the adjoining ones. The front is also made of sago palm stalks placed vertically, and fitted with a door of the same material, swinging upon hinges constructed from certain creepers. This front, however, partakes of the nature of a partition, as it is placed 4ft. or 6ft. back, thus leaving a stage of such width whereon the traveller sleeps and the inmates spend much of their time. Sheaves of grass, 4ft. high, are placed as ornaments at each end of the roof, and the whole is particularly clean and neat ; though from the necessarily uneven nature of the floor it is less comfortable than a Motu house. Indeed, it is common to see a Koiari with huge hard swellings on each thigh, derived simply from this cause. Each Koiari village contains one or more kohora, or house, picturesquely built, among the foliage of some tall tree, at a height of 80ft. or 35ft. above the ground, reached by a ladder of bamboos tied together. They seem to be thus raised aloft, in order that Vat a, the evil spirit, who both they, the Koitapu, and Motu fear, and who is supposed by them to wander about the surface of the earth during the dark hours of night, may have the greater difficulty in gaining a foothold. At the same time it answers all the purposes of a sentry or look-out station. The Koitapu houses resemble the Koiari—those of the chiefs being rather larger than the rest. RELIGION, SUPERSTITIONS, AND CHARMS. None of these tribes believe in a god, although they have some idea of a future state, for they will point over the sea, and say that after death their spirits -will inhabit the space above it called Taurau, drawing no distinction in that transitional state between the good and bad on earth. This, and the fear of Vata, appear to constitute, the only semblance of any religious feeling that exists among them; but notwithstanding this they, but especially the inland tribes, are so light-hearted that I have been forced to ask myself “ into what European town, what civilised community, could I enter and find the same feeling of contentedness pervading it.” A few years ago they had no idea of any other land existing but their own, hence the date of their first settling in it must be remote. At rare intervals, the sail of some distant ship would be spied on the horizon; but it was generally supposed to be a spirit floating on the surface of the deep. They are ready to attribute any extraordinary occurrence to some supernatural agency, either of man or of Vata. When they saw Pockets piercing the heavens, they imagined the stars were being communicated with; and one descending near a chief’s house, was placed in front of it as a charm. Stone charms are sometimes placed in the houses of the Motu to cure an invalid from sickness, or are placed in the plantations to make them more fruitful. Any peculiarly-shaped stone is treasured up for such a purpose, those I saw having been only a few inches long, and shaped like an egg-glass. Perhaps their most valued charm is that worn in dance and war, for giving them supernatural strength, endurance, and gracefulness. No inducement will make them part with these, excepting in an isolated instance, such as after three months I was fortunate enough in finding. As these vary in different tribes, I must briefly describe separately those I have seen.

The Motu Kotsiva is made of two rows of boar’s tusks placed between a light frame twelve inches long, each row containing eleven sets of tusks, diminishing in size as they near the centre, and having their convex sides outwards. The whole are traversed by a longitudinal strip along the centre, and each end is hung with native ribbons of tappo. During fights it is held vertically in the mouth by these ribbons, so that it hangs suspendedand during dances it is carried in the mouth by the upper framework in a longititudinal position. The men only wear them.

The Koiari and Koitapu ( Musihalca) are both alike, and always accompanies them, being ordinarily worn suspended from the neck. It is made of tortoiseshell, twelve inches long by six wide, each side being fitted with three sets of boars’ tusks, fastened on their edge, with their concave sides outwards. lied seeds and a couple of shells ornament the front ; while a piece of cocoanut cloth, nine inches long, overlaid with feathers, and fastened on behind, hangs down to a depth of four inches. A string of large hollow seeds, which clank together, and a mouthpiece behind, complete this charm. It is used only in war ; and when carried in the mouth, their features, as though involuntarily, immediately assume a defiant expression. The Kirapuno ( Kotsiva) consists of a split bamboo, sixteen inches long and two wide, burnt in various devices, and partially decorated with feathers, the bamboo itself forming the mouthpiece on the inner end, whereby it is carried horizontally during dances. In war it is held vertically by a ribbon tied x'ound the outer end. Neither the Maiva or Ilema believe in these charms, to the best of my knowledge. MOTU FORM OF GOVERNMENT. THE CHIEFS. Each village has its own loia-pata or great chief or chiefs, but they have not the absolute power accorded to those bearing a similar title in the South Seas. Nor can I find that it is hereditary, but appears to be given to those who are feared the most by the people, on account of some act of prowess through which they have distinguished themselves, as well as to others who, by their good common sense and discretion, have shown themselves superior in intellect to the majority of their fellow-men. On an average there is one chief to every hundred inhabitants of a village, and they are usually from forty to sixty years of age. Other than by the weight their words or the veneration their age may command with the people, they are powerless to order, to punish, to quell a disturbance, or to make war, the women as well as the men having a voice in these matters. Notwithstanding this, their advice is generally taken in any matter concerning the interests of the village, or in any personal dispute. The chiefs own larger portions of land than the others, and attend to the plantations themselves, receiving no tax or tribute from the people. Their undaunted air gives them a ready distinction, made still plainer by a musimusi or shell forehead ornament attached by a string of red beads. No reception houses are set apart by the Motu, Koiari, or Koitapu, as is the case among the Maiva, so that it becomes the duties of the chiefs to lodge and entertain the chief strangers from a distance, and they expect to be similarly treated when they go inland or make journeys in their canoes to villages along the sea coast. On such occasions many of the inhabitants go out either on foot or by boat, as the case may be, to meet and welcome the strangei’s, and when they leave, after a few days or weeks, the chiefs accompany them a short distance on their way back. For his hospitality a small present of vegetables, &c., is given, depending upon the chief produce in the country of the visitor. If he be a Koiari he will give either yams, taros, sugar-cane, betelnut, or sweet-scented herbs; if he be a Kirapuna he will give cocoanuts and fish, although he generally prefers living on his canoe; if he be an Ilema he will give sago and variegated crotons, and if a Maiva he will give cocoanuts, vegetables, and a rose-colored lime. The Motu chiefs (especially at Port Moresby), taking advantage of their position, and on account of the scarcity of food, will wait for hours in the hopes of obtaining something to eat. The Koiaris have abundance, to which fact, and the difference in climate, I in a great measure attribute their physical superiority. The sons of the chiefs accompany the others in their hunting and fishing excursions, while the wife attends to the ordinary domestic duties of her sex. CLIMATE. The high land surrounding Port Moresby, its limestone formation, free as the neighborhood is from marshy land, comparatively free as it is from mangroves, and open as the villages are to the sea breezes, one would imagine a healthier locality need not be looked for. This is a mistake, and although I am unable to state the precise cause, it is unfortunately too easy to prove my assertion correct. Among 17 Rarotonga and Savage Island native teachers with their wives (making a total number of 34), two-thirds of whom had only been located there or in the vicinity one year, and the remainder two and a-half years, no less than 17 deaths have occurred, nine of which took place between December, 1874, and November, 1875, from fever and ague. ‘But though they make better missionary pioneers than white men, it is questionable whether it will be doing right in the future to send more out without laying the correct statistics before them in all their grim reality. Among those still living attacks are of frequent occurrence. Speaking of my own small party after a three months’ residence, two members suffered from occasional attacks, and in one case rather severely. Roro (Yule Island) has been stated as healthy ; it is of coral formation, hilly, and has every appearance of being so, although I believe it to be more healthy than Port Moresby, yet the mainland opposite is, I feel convinced, less so. An eminent Italian naturalist, after a residence of some months upon the island, told me his health had not suffered ; hut his assistant had nevertheless been obliged to return to

Europe in consequence of ill-health. Two gentlemen who since landed there were, after a three months’ residence, so altered in appearance that at first sight I scarcely recognised them. Both were suffering from fever and ague, and one was obliged to return. The climate is relaxing, and most averse to the healing of sores. The slightest scratch or bruise breaks out into a fester, which increases in size, and lasts for months. From the merest bruise by a mangrove root I have known the skin to break out into an open sore four inches in diameter, and I have personally experienced this in a lesser though at the same time unpleasant degree. Well-ventilated houses, good diet, and stimulants taken in moderation are, I feel confident, essentially necessary to the preservation of anything like health. The year 1875 was, the natives say, an exceptionally fine one, but the climate is always very equitable. In that year the variation of Anuapata was 7‘40 between the maximum heat of any month and 3 1 between the minimum heat of the same period. The hottest month was February, the thermometer at 9 o’clock in the morning averaging 90-43, and the coldest at the same hour was August, which averaged 83’3 ; tlm average day temperature for • the year having been 86 71. and the average night temperature 73’5. The most rainy months were between November and May (exclusive), and the finest between April and December (exclusive.) Pi April, when the greatest rainfall occurred, it registered 8'56 inches, and in November, when the least occurred, it indicated 0 - 23 inches. July was the next finest month, when 0’35 inches fell ; and in the three months following and the two previous ones the total rainfall was only 9’35 inches, while the entire fall for the year was 34-44 inches. This, however, does not apply to the interior, where we frequently saw it raining, accompanied by forked lightning and teriffic peals of thunder, although fine along the coast. The south-east monsoon may be said to commence in May, although these winds are sometime experienced in April, lasting with regularity and often with considerable force until the end of October. Light variable winds mark the months of November and December, when light north-westers continue with more or less regularity until the end of April.