WILD NEW GUINEA

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXVII, Issue 8441, 29 May 1913, Page 2

WILD NEW GUINEA

QUAINT CUSTOMS SAVAGES STILL UNTOUCHED BY CIVILISATION. Regions of Papua that know nothing of civilisation, and are inhabited by savages of many types, were recently explored by Air \V. N. Beaver, who arrived in Sydney last week, en route to England on twelve months’ furlough. Mr Beaver is the Resident Magistrate for the western division of the territory, and was in charge of the expedition that went in search of Mr Staniforth Smith when concern was felt for tho safety of that official’s exploring party. A little while ago ho traversed a stretch of country near the Dutch boundary that had been previously untrodden by white men, and got into touch with a number of new tribes, as well as with some of the Tugeri, among whom head-hunting is regarded as a noble sport. Ho found them all disnosed to be friendly. Some quaint customs are observed in this out-of-the-way part. The men of some of the tribes wear their hair in long plaits, often extending to their waists, and pierce their nostrils, two cassowary or kangaroo claws being inserted, which at a distance resemble horns or tusks. The men of another tribe between the Fly and Bamu rivers wear cone-shaped hats, made of fibre, sometimes several feet m height, on_tho top of which they stick a "bunch of feathers ; while at certain seasons the women wear veils made of netted string over their face and breasts. The country inhabited by this tribe is very swampy. It is practically under water for nine months of the year, and the people to a large extent live in long shallow canoes, the prows of which are often beautifully carved, the favourite design being the head of an alligator with its teeth showing

Various gruesome articles, suen mummified hands and painted skulls, are regarded as great treasures fay tribes on the Kikori and Bamu rivers. Polygamy is the rule there, most men having two. wives, and some a halfdozen or more: wmle Mr Beaver knew one chief to have as many as 40 wives. Cannibalism and head-hunting were being put down with a firm hand, as the sphere of Government influence was extending.