THE GILBERT ISLANDS.

Otago Witness, Issue 1893, 2 March 1888, Page 32

THE GILBERT ISLANDS.

A PRIMITIVE PEOPLE AND TIIEIR

STRANGE HOME. The Influence of Environment Upon the Vocabulary of the Race-The Struggle for Existence and How it is Maintained— Division of the Land Among the Inhabitants— The Sources of Their Food Supply-Catching Sharks— Canoes and Canoeing-Sports of the Islanders.

There is a race of people living almost exactly equi-disfcaut between the two continents of America and Asia, who though they dwell in the tropics and are not far distant from lands which are types of the luxuriousness of vegetation, the abundance of moisture, and the variety of scenery associated generally with the equatorial regions of the world, still have no words in their primitive language for such natural features as a liver, stream, lake, pond, spring, or other body ot fresh water; or for a mountain, hill, valley, plain, crag, or bluff; for a meadow, pasture, field, or grass plot of any kind ; for any four-footed animal- save, perhaps, a specie of rat; for any land bird ; for but two or three flowers or fruits, and for no minerals or metals, simply because none of these physical features belong to their land,

none of the fauna and flora so common elsewhere are indigenous to that country.

This singular region is now called the 1 Gilbert Islands, formerly known as the Kingsmill Group, and locally as the Radick Chain of Coral Atolls. They lie between 175deg and 177deg W. and2deg S. and 30min N. of the equator. On the isothermic charts they are encircled by a line of their own, within which prevails the highest average temperature of any spot in the world, not that it seems to be very hot there, but the temperature varies but little night or day, winter of summer. The group is made up of some 15 islands lying close to each other in a long chain running nearly north and south. Each island is made entirely of coral, built probably on volcanic peaks which are either the remains of a sunken continent or the highest point of areas of slowly rising land. Whichever hypothesis is correct those wonderful islands j are thousands of miles distant from the nearest important bodies of land, each lying — to quote Professor Dana's words in his " Coral and Coral Islands "—" like a wraith thrown upon the water" — in the illimitable waste of the Pacific.

Sighting: the Islands.

We sailed toward them over the deep blue sparkling ocean ; and the first indication we have of our nearness to them is seeing in the clear sky ahead of us a peculiar greenish patch of colour which is the reflection from the shallow of the lagoon enclosed within the circling sand beach of each island.

Next there appears upon the horizon vaguel} defined points which are tho tops of cocoanut palms with which the islands are densely covered. These grow, as it were, out of the ocean, and finally are seen to rise from a long low beach of snow-white sand against which break the long swells over which our vessel rides. Before the gentle trade winds we sweep around a point of the nearest island, and, gliding along outside the leeward reef, haul sharply on the wind and pass into the lagoon, where we tack and fill for a while, winding in and out amongst the great heads of " mushroom " coral that everywhere rise from the smooth sandy bottom, finally anchoring off one of the villages, the thatched huts of which are clustered thickly along the sloping shore.

The island we have touched at is a fair type of all those in the group. It is crescentshaped — at least that portion which is above water is, though from each tip of the visible crescent there is continued a reef thai completes the circle inclosing the lagoon in which we are anchored. The strip of dry land may possibly be seven miles long from one point to the other, and in the centre — its widest part — three-quarters of a mile wide. The average height above the sea of the habitable portion is, say, 6ft, there being one or two sand-dunes perhaps 10ft high. The entire surface is covered with white sand, worn from the coral of which the whole island is made.

The lagoon in which our vessel is anchored is a wonderful place. There we are, in the middle of the Pacific, riding quietly at anchor in a smooth sheet of beautifully transparent water of a pale green tint, shot here and there with opalescent blues and purples, while all around, only separated from us by a low reef, roll heavy waves, breaking in a snowy surf against the thin barrier of frail coral I

And what is quite as wonderful is that the narrow strip of smooth, white sand, is covered with tens of thousands of magnificent cocoanut palms ! They and a variety of the "screw" palm — the Pandanus odor issimus — make up about all there of is tree growth on these islands, the soil of which is so sterile that the entire botany of the group comprises but 24 varieties of plants of all kinds.

But the cocoanut is at home there, and its milk and mep.t—with what js obtained from the ocean — form the food of the inhabitants. There is, to be sure, the sweetish kernels of the nut of the screw palm, which are rolled into a sort of thin paste not unlike that made from the berries of the jujube tree, but it cannot be said that the people live on this, no great quantity being prepared. Oocoanuts and fish are the main articles of diet.

Canoe-making and Sailing.

Cruising about outside the reef and in the lagoon are plenty of the graceful canoes made by the Gilberb Islanders. As they have no large trees out of which to hollow their canoes — as the Hawaiians do — they build them of small pieces of the hard outside shell of cocoanut tree trunks. The keel, which may be from 20ft to even 50ft in length, is made of a number of narrow strips neatly spliced together, and to this, and to each other, are fitted flat pieces of wood, none of which are more than 2ffc long and Bin wide. These are so neatly joined, and so firmly sewed together with small cord made from tho fibre of the cocoanut leaf, that the leakage of the slight crafts is but trifling.

The ribs and other parts of the frame are made from the crooked branches of a low, gnarled shrub, whose wood is hard and tough. A light staging to sit on is fastened in the centre of the craft, and two poles are adjusted across it, a log of light wood being fastened to their outer ends to act as a counter weight when on one tack and afloat when on the other ; the whole arrangement, called an "outrigger," preventing the canoe from rolling over. Then, with a triangular mat spread as a sail, and with a native in the stern steering with a broad-bladed paddle, and two or three more standing on the staging, their long black hair streaming in the wind, away skims the pretty craft at a rate that would leave many of our modern sloop yachts behind.

A Primitive People.

The Gilbert Islanders, while probably nearly related to the Hawaiians, are not their equals physically or mentally. Still they are a fine-looking people, and among them may be found many specimens of manly and womanly beauty. There is no difficulty in noting their physical characteristics, as the ordinary "clothing" of the men is a short mat wrapped around the middle, and of the women a thick fringed belt tied about the hips just below the waist. Sometimes the females— the elder ones— are further screened by a child carelessly thrown over the back or riding astride of one hip/ but this is only done when the * howling youngsters refuse to be left behind when the villagers rush to the beach to see the white strangers.

The young girls often coquettishly screen their heads and necks — from the sun — with broad fans simply braided from a palm leaf. One article of dress they much affect are pretty little models of a woman's bonnet of the " coal-scuttle " pattern. These are not worn on the head, where they would look ridiculous, being only big enough for a small doll, but are fastened to a lock of their coal black, glossy hair, which is very abundant, and of which they are rery vain.

This rather scant costume i 3 completed by suspending about the neck a flat disc cut from a pearly shell, but that this is not strictly an essential part of their dress was proven by their taking off and giving us several of them — for tobacco !

The crowd that mustered on the beach as we landed was noisy and curious, but goodnaturedly so. When, as happened in a few instances, they were not accustomed to a near view of white men, they — the young witches of girls especially— indulged in much merriment at our uncouth appearance. They made great fun, our interpreter told us, of the heavy " homes " (broad-leafed hats) we wore, of our being wrapped up in clothes, and of our feet being cased in little canoes (our shoes !) so that we could hardly wade through the loose, dry sand. But when, from the pockets of our " loose skins," we drew plugs of tobacco their ridicule changed to respectful admiration, and a hundred little attentions were paid us. They knew what tobacco was — and coveted it.

Real Estate and Other Property.

The inhabitants of these islands live in small communities, each one of which is " a village." Every householder owns his piece of land, may be Gft or 12ft or even 18ft wide— though this last width is rare— and as long as the island is wide, and extending from the shore to the lagoon inside to the surf -beaten barrier reef outside the crescent. All that grows on one of these narrow strips is the sole property of the household owning it, while the sea and the fisheries are held in common. All that is really of value on the land thus curiously partitioned off are the cocoanut trees. The meat of the unripe, tender nuts is eaten, and the milk drunk in lieu of water, of which there is none that is not vilely brackish. The kernels of the full-grown nuts yield the "cocoanut oil" of commerce, and it is this meat which, when dried, that is called " coprah." This coprah is the chief article of trade with the foreigners. There are a few pounds of " beche-le-mer " (a dried sea slug) sold, and from this group come the huge "clam" shells — sometimes 6ffc across— which are occasionally seen for sale in civilised lands.

Though the aggregate quantity of coprah prepared yearly on the islands is quite large, yet, as it takes the most of six or eight goodsized cocoanuts to make a pound of dried coprah, and as this sells for from two to three cents a pound to the trader, it will be seen that the food supply, as well as the income of the natives, is very small. If he eats and drinks too much he has nothing left to buy " trade " with ; if he sells all his cocoanuts he is apt to starve.

Preventing Over Population.

The present population of the Gilbert Islands taxes the resources of the land to its utmost. The cocoanut trees are, as a rule, crowded as closely together as they can grow, there not being even "standing room" for any more. But the young folks still insist upon marrying, and the newcomers — their offspring — must be provided for, if they live 1 They marry young— of ten at 12 years of age — and something has to be done for their children. Something is done ; they are, most of them, killed, and generally before they have drawn a breath of independent life"!

This is shocking to us; but amorg a people where 80 per cent, of tho deaths are <' by violence," and tho marriage of a boy and girl means the subdivision of an already insufficient strip of food-producing land, infanticide and fceticide are looked upon as the proper thing to practise, as is the quiet 11 putting out of the way " of their old, wornout, and, consequently, useless grandparents. These customs and an occasional "war" with neighbouring islanders keep the population at about one figure, the "census returns" showing no material loss or gain year after year.

A Village anil It.s Government.

The Gilbert Islander does not generally care to have any sides to his dv, elling. He sets up four corner posts, about 4ft high, made from the trunks of screw palms, cut off and inverted so as to stand alone on the stumps of the branches. Lashed from one to the other of these are long slender trunks of cocoanut palms, and from these again spring pairs of rafters, which in their turn support the neatly thatched roof. The gable ends are then closed, and the house is complete. Not a nail or pin of any kind is used. All the beams, rafters, and the thatch are secured by ingenious lashings, made generally from the palm leaf fibre, though sometimes braided from the owner's own hair. The floor space is smoothed off and then covered with a thick bed of small, smooth pebbles of coral. On this are spread plenty of soft, thick mats, made of course from palm leaves; and then, with a supply of young cocoanuts at hand, with a string of the shells filled with a good supply of " toddy " hanging outside the house, and a huge fragment of shark, baked in a wide oven in the sand, the islander is content to eat and sleep until hungry again.

Tn the middle of every village is a Council House. This is a large hut. One that we measured being 120 ft long, GOft wide, and GOft high at the ridgepole, built on the same plan as the dwellings, but intended as a place of meeting, especially for the " old men," who rule each community. These " potent, grave, and reverend signors"meet daily and hear and decide all complaints, and issue all ordinances for the government of the people. If their decisions and ordinances happen to meet with the approval of a majority of those interested they are adopted. If they don't another lot are promulgated next day, and so on until the matter is settled or dropped.

No dweller in one village can take up his abode in another until he is "adopted," as it were, by some influential resident. We were so adopted in the first village we landed at, with many demonstrations of good will and eternal friendship, which lasted until our present supply of tobacco and some gorgeous.

tin jewellery we had brought along was ex* hausted, and then we were left to get fresh cocoanut milk and toddy when we could. j£j

A National Beverage.— Fishlug ana Fun.

" Toddy," of which mention has been made, is obtained by cutting off the fruit-bearing stem of the cocoanut while the nuts are yet very small. Under the stump of the stem is suspended a good-sized cocoanut shell which, in the course of 12 hours, is filled with the juice dripping from the freshly cut branch. This juice is quite sweet when fresh, bat in a few hours ferments and acquires a pleasant " twange " —something like new-cider. Kept 24 hours it :is quite intoxicating ; about as much so as beer, probably. A good "toddy tree " will be bearing a half-dozen of these cocoanut shells at a time, each suspended from an amputated fruit-bearing stem. When the flow of sap gets slow from one of these a fresh slice is taken oft 1 from the end, and the juice starts again.

The Gilbert Islanders manage to have a good deal of fun. Being as much at home in the water as they are on what land they have, they ail — big and little — go in bathing at all hours of the day and moonlight nights. What they can't do in and under the water isn't worth attempting. In the serious business of fishing, too, they are up to all sorts of tricks. A man will provide himself with a lot of water-tight cocoanut shells as floats, and from each he suspends three or four short lines armed with fishhooks made out of sharp fish bones. These he takes in his canoe, and going out a little way, baits his fcooks and sets the shells floating about. Soon he will see one bob and whirl around and then, slipping overboard, he disappears under the water for a time. While down he goes from float to float, detaching the fish from the hook, stowing them into a net hung around his neck, baits the hooks from a supply he carries in his mouth, and eventually returns to his canoe with his net crowded full. All this he does without taking breath —apparently. At times they will discover some spot in the lagoon where a shark has established himself. They will feed him for a day or two with a mixture of fish and cocoanut meat until he is gorged. Then calling the village out to help in the sport, a thick rope of cocoanut fibre is laid along the beach, the noosed end being carried out in a canoe until over the sleeping brute. One man then glides overboard, and quietly descending, manages to slip the nooso over the shark's tail and draw it tight. This being done, the signal is given, and as the crowd of villagers, chanting merrily, tramp over the beach with the rope the infuriated but helpless shark is dragged backwards on to the shore and there despatched with clubs. It is great fun for the simple-minded natives.

Novel Kiteflying.

A favourite amusement among the young 1 people is flying kites. These they make in the shape of a bird with extended wings, the whole affair constructed on a palm leaf and a few small strips of the elastic midrib. They use no string, and they weight the " tail " with a pebble or two. To the tip of each wing is fastened a short cord, to the end of which is tied a small block of wood. So nicely adjusted are these bits of wood and the weight on the tail that, when a halfdozen boys wade out a little way into the lagoon, and eaoh tosses his kite into the air, they are borne forward by tho breeze, gradually drawn down by the weight of the blocks until they touch the water, when the kite, being relieved of their weight, rises suddenly a short distance, again to sink and again to rise until lost in the distance. The flight of these kites is very novel and pretty, and as thdy are made in a few minutes their owners do not mourn over their loss.

"Jackstones" and a variety of checkers —played on the smooth sand — are favourite pastimes with the women and old men Various athletic exercises are practised by the young men, and in tho frequent wars they indulge in their spears and swords, armed with sharks' teeth, and their clubs, made of heavy cocoanut wood, inflict savage wounds.

In former years the Kingsmill Islanders, as they were called, were noted for their savage attacks on vessels visiting their lagoons. Of late years they have become civilised to a certain extent, but they yet remain one of the primitive races of the world, inhabiting one of the most singular regions. — " A Traveller," in the San Francisco Bulletin/