of hills, in the neighbourhood of what is termed the Sandy Sea. The
site of their villages, as well as the construction of their houses,
is peculiar, and differ entirely from what is elsewhere observed on
Java. They are not shaded by trees but built on spacious open terraces,
rising one above the other, each house occupying a terrace, and being
in length from thirty to seventy, and even eighty feet. The door is
invariably in one corner, at the end of the building, opposite to
that in which the fire-place is built. The building appears to be
constructed with the ordinary roof, having along the front an enclosed
veranda or gallery, about eight feet broad. The fire-place is built of
brick, and is so highly venerated that it is considered a sacrilege for
any stranger to touch it. Across the upper part of the building rafters
are run, so as to form a kind of attic story, in which are deposited
the most valuable property and implements of husbandry.
"The head of the village takes the title of _Peting'gi_, as in the
low-lands, and is generally assisted by a _Kabâyan_, both elected by
the people from their own village. There are four priests who are
here termed _Dúkuns_ (a term elsewhere only applied to doctors and
midwives), having charge of the state records and the sacred books.
"These _Dúkuns_, who are in general intelligent men, can give no
account of the era when they were first established on these hills;
they can produce no traditional history of their origin, whence they
came, or who entrusted them with the sacred books, to the faith
contained in which they still adhere. These, they concur in stating,
were handed down to them by their fathers, to whose hereditary office
of preserving them they have succeeded. The sole duty required of
them is again to hand them down in safety to their children, and to
perform the _púja_ (praisegiving), according to the directions they
contain. These records consist of three compositions, written on
the _lontar_-leaf detailing the origin of the world, disclosing the
attributes of the Deity, and prescribing the forms of worship to be
observed on different occasions. When a woman is delivered of her first
child, the _Dúkun_ takes a leaf of the _alang_ grass, and scraping the
skin of the hands of the mother and her infant, as well as the ground,
pronounces a short benediction.
"When a marriage is agreed upon, the bride and bridegroom being brought
before the _Dúkun_ within the house, in the first place bow with
respect towards the south, then to the fire-place, then to the earth,
and lastly, on looking up to the upper story of the house where the
implements of husbandry are placed. The parties then, submissively
bowing to the _Dúkun_, he repeats a prayer, commencing with the words,
'_Hong! kendága Bráma ang'-gas siwang'ga ána ma siwáha sangyang g'ni
sira kang_,' &c.; while the bride washes the feet of the bridegroom. At
the conclusion of this ceremony, the friends and family of the parties
make presents to each of krises, buffaloes, implements of husbandry,
&c.; in return for which the bride and bridegroom respectfully present
them with betel-leaf.
"At the marriage-feast which ensues, the _Dúkun_ repeats two _púja_.
The marriage is not, however, consummated till the fifth day after
the above ceremony. This interval between the solemnities and the
consummation of marriage is termed by them _úndang mántu_; and is in
some cases still observed by the Javans in other parts of the island,
under the name, _únduh mántu_.
"At the interment of an inhabitant of _Teng'ger_ the corpse is lowered
into the grave with the head placed towards the south (contrary to
the direction observed by the Mahometans), and is guarded from the
immediate contact of the earth by a covering of bambus and planks.
When the grave is closed, two posts are planted over the body: one
erected perpendicularly on the breast, the other on the lower part of
the belly; and between them is placed a hollowed bambu in an inverted
position, into which, during seven successive days, they daily pour a
vessel of pure water, laying beside the bambu two dishes, also daily
replenished with eatables. At the expiration of the seventh day, the
feast of the dead is announced, and the relations and friends of the
deceased assemble to be present at the ceremony, and to partake of
entertainments conducted in the following manner:
"A figure of about half a cubit high, representing the human form,
made of leaves and ornamented with variegated flowers, is prepared
and placed in a conspicuous situation, supported round the body by
the clothes of the deceased. The _Dúkun_ then places in front of the
garland an incense-pot with burning ashes, together with a vessel
containing water, and repeats the two _púja_ to fire and water; the
former commencing with, '_Hong! Kendága Bráma gangsi wang'ga ya nama
siwáha_," &c.; the latter with, "_Hong! hong gang'ga máha tirta ráta
mejil saking háti_, &c.; burning _dúpa_, or incense, at stated periods
during the former; and occasionally sprinkling the water over the feast
during the repetition of the latter.
"The clothes of the deceased are then divided among the relatives
and friends; the garland is burned; another _púja_, commencing with,
"_Hong! áwigna mastúna ma sidam, hong! aráning_," &c., is repeated;
while the remains of the sacred water are sprinkled over the feast.
The parties now sit down to the enjoyment of it, invoking a blessing
from the Almighty on themselves, their houses, and their lands. No more
solemnities are observed till the expiration of a thousand days; when,
if the memory of the deceased is beloved and cherished, the ceremony
and feast are repeated; if otherwise, no further notice is taken of
him: and having thus obtained what the Romans call his _justa_, he is
allowed to be forgotten.
"Being questioned regarding the tenets of their religion, they replied
that they believed in a _Déwa_, who was all-powerful; that the name
by which the _Déwa_ was designated was _Búmi Trúka Sáng'yáng Dewáta
Bátur_, and that the particulars of their worship were contained in a
book called _Pángláwu_, which they presented to me.
"On being questioned regarding the _ádat_ against adultery, theft,
and other crimes, their reply was unanimous and ready--that crimes of
this kind were unknown to them, and that consequently no punishment
was fixed, either by law or custom; that if a man did wrong, the head
of the village chid him for it, the reproach of which was always
sufficient punishment for a man of _Teng'ger_. This account of their
moral character is fully confirmed by the Regents of the districts,
under whose authority they are placed, and also by the residents.
They, in fact, seem to be almost without crime, and are universally
peaceable, orderly, honest, industrious, and happy. They are
unacquainted with the vice of gambling and the use of opium.
"The aggregate population is about twelve hundred souls; and they
occupy, without exception, the most beautifully rich and romantic spots
on Java; a region in which the thermometer is frequently as low as
forty-two. The summits and slopes of the hills are covered with Alpine
firs, and plants common to an European climate flourish in luxuriance.
"Their language does not differ much from the Javan of the present day,
though more gutturally pronounced. Upon a comparison of about a hundred
words with the Javan vernacular two only were found to differ. They
do not marry or intermix with the people of the low-lands, priding
themselves on their independence and purity in this respect."
BALI.
As in Java, the people of Bali took a civilization from India. Unlike
the Javanese, they have retained it to the present day.
SUMBAWA, ENDÉ, OMBAY.
At Bali and Java, the type is unequivocally Malay. At Timor it is Malay
also, but altered. The Timorians are considerably darker than the
Javanese; their features are coarser, their lips are sometimes thick,
and their hair often frizzy. In the islands between, occur numerous
transitional forms; both in feature and language.
In respect to this last, the islands at the head of this section afford
three remarkable vocabularies. 1. The Timbora, from a district of
Sumbawa; 2. The Mangarei, from a part of Endé, or Floris; 3. The Ombay,
from the island so called; the inhabitants of which are described by
Arago as black cannibals with flattened noses and thickened lips.
In each of these vocabularies, Malay words form the greater proportion.
In each of them, however, are also found Australian vocables.
The following, from the three _very short_ vocabularies of these three
languages, are what I published in the Appendix to Mr. Jukes' Voyage of
the _Fly_.
1. Arm=_ibarana_, Ombay; _porene_, Pine Gorine dialect of Australia.
2. Hand=_ouine_, Ombay; _hingue_, New Caledonia.
3. Nose=_imouni_, Ombay; _maninya_, _mandeg_, _mandeinne_, New
Caledonia; _mena_, Van Diemen's Land, western dialect: _mini_,
Mangarei: _meoun_, _muidge_, _mugui_, Macquarie Harbour.
4. Head=_imocila_, Ombay; _moos_ (= hair), Darnley Island; _moochi_ (=
hair), Massied; _immoos_ (= beard), Darnley Islands; _eeta moochi_, (=
beard) Massied.
5. Knee=_icici-bouka_, Ombay; _bowka_, _boulkay_ (= forefinger),
Darnley Islands.
6. Leg=_iraka_, Ombay; _horag-nata_, Jhongworong dialect of the
Australian.
7. Bosom=_ami_, Ombay; _naem_, Darnley Island.
8. Thigh=_itena_, Ombay; _tinna-mook_ (= foot), Wioutro dialect of
Australian. The root, _tin_, is very general throughout Australia in
the sense of _foot_.
9. Belly=_te-kap-ana_, Ombay; _coopoi_ (= navel), Darnley Island.
10. Stars=_ipi-berre_, Mangarei; _bering_, _birrong_, Sydney.
11. Hand=_tanaraga_, Mangarei; _taintu_, Timbora; _tamira_, Sydney.
12. Head=_jahé_, Mangarei; _chow_, King George's Sound.
13. Stars=_kingkong_, Timbora; _chindy_, King George's Sound, Australia.
14. Moon=_mang'ong_, Timbora; _meuc_, King George's Sound.
15. Sun=_ingkong_, Timbora; _coing_, Sydney.
16. Blood=_kero_, Timbora; _gnoorong_, Cowagary dialect of Australia.
17. Head=_kokore_, Timbora; _gogorrah_, Cowagary.
18. Fish=_appi_, Mangarei; _wapi_, Darnley Island.
It is considered, that this list, short as it, is calculated to
contract the broad line of demarcation, implied in the following
extract from Marsden:--
"We have rarely met with any Negrito language, in which many corrupt
Polynesian words might not be detected. In those of New Holland or
Australia, such a mixture is not found. Among them no foreign terms
that connect them with the languages, even of other _Papua_ or Negrito
countries, can be discovered; with regard to the physical qualities of
the natives, it is nearly superfluous to state, that they are Negritos
of the most decided class."
TIMOR.
The multiplicity of languages, or dialects, spoken on the island
Timor, has been noticed by most voyagers. Some have put the mutually
unintelligible forms of speech as high as thirty. Unfortunately the
details of this variety are not known. Such Timor vocabularies as
we possess, represent the language of Koepang; the locality where
the contact with the trading world both of the East and West, is
greatest, _i.e._, with the Dutch and with the Malays. This makes the
language Malay--though less Malay than the Malay of Sumatra, Celebes,
and Borneo; the points wherein it differs being, frequently, points
wherein it agrees with the Bima, Savu, and Endé, and other intermediate
islands. Nevertheless, it is highly probable that the Timor of
Koepang no more exactly represents the languages of some of the
wilder mountaineers of the interior, than the Malay of Kedah exactly
represents the languages of the Samang or Jokong.
When the wilder inhabitants are represented at all, they are
represented as approaching the character of the Negro.
On the other hand some are fairer than the generality. Both these
are phenomena that we have either seen before, or shall see in the
sequel--in the Samang of Malacca, and the Dyaks of Borneo, as well as
in Durville's Arafuras of Celebes.
In one particular village, near the north-eastern extremity, Mr. Earle
found red hair, a specimen of which was in the possession of Dr.
Prichard. In noting this, we must also note the habit of colouring the
hair, which will be shown in the sequel to be a Papua custom.
Curly hair also was met with by the same observer; and so was coarse
bushy hair; those tribes where it was found being the tribes that
suffered from the oppression of the others, and which supplied them
with slaves.
TIMOR LAUT.
From an English sailor who lived sometime in Timor Laut as a prisoner
and a slave, I had the opportunity of collecting a few facts concerning
Timor Laut, or _Timor of the Sea_. The numerals, which was all he knew
of the language, were Malay. The people he described as dark, but not
so dark as some of the slaves, whom they were in the habit of either
purchasing or stealing. He knew of no second race, nor of any second
language in the island.
THE SERWATTY AND KI ISLANDS.
For the Serwatty and Ki Islands, the best, indeed, nearly the only
information, is to be collected from the voyage of the _Durga_, and
from subsequent observations by Mr. Earle, the translator of the
Voyage, and himself an independent investigator. Here, with one
exception, the personal appearance was that of the Javanese and Bugis.
The language throughout, which was particularly investigated, is
Oceanic, _i.e._, approaching the Malay or the Polynesian. The Kissa
dialect, the one best known in detail, exhibited some letter-changes,
which will be found frequent in the Polynesian, viz., _h_ for _s_, _k_
for _t_, _w_ for _b_, along with the ejection of the final _ng_.
ENGLISH. KISSA. BUGIS.
_Stone_ wahku bahtu.
_Heavy_ werek beret.
_Heart_ akin ati.
_Dead_ maki mati.
_Slave_ ahka ata.
_Yam_ ubi uwi.
_Feather_ huhu bulu.
_Milk_ huhu susu.
_Hard_ kereh keres.[54]
MOA.
Moa is one of the Serwatty group; and it forms the exception just
noticed. In Moa, and in Moa alone, did Mr. Earle find the coarse bushy
hair, the dark complexion, and the muddy sclerotica that suggested the
idea of a Papua[55] intermixture. The Moa people are oppressed and
kidnapped by the natives of the neighbouring island of Letti.
Subsequent enquiry showed that they had migrated from the south side of
Timor.
THE ARRU ISLES.
Like the last, the Arru Isles are known to us, from the voyage of the
_Durga_, and Mr. Earle's notices. He especially excepts them from
the category of the Ki and Serwatty groups. In the Arru Islands, he
recognised Papua characters, and refers them to Papua intermixture. In
the southern part of the group this is most conspicuous.
Timor, and the Arru Islands bring us to Australia, and New Guinea,
parts of Kelænonesia, or true Negrito areas. How far the transition
from the Oceanic tribes of the Protonesian to the Oceanic tribes of the
Negrito type, both in the way of language and physical conformation,
is abrupt or gradual, is to be studied in the islands last enumerated.
At present we will return to Java, and follow the Malay population in a
different direction, _i.e._ from south to north, rather than from east
to west.
BORNEO.
Of all the portions of the Indian Archipelago, the vast island of
Borneo, the greatest in the world after Australia, and lying under the
Equator, presents us with the Malay development on the largest scale.
In the exceeding paucity of the elements of Indian culture it stands in
remarkable opposition to Java, and even to Celebes and the Philippines,
whilst the Mahometan influences are extended but little beyond the
large towns and the coast. Hence the central parts are Malay in the
most unmodified form; even as the Batta districts of Sumatra are Malay.
Our knowledge, however, has by no means been proportionate to the
number and variety of facts capable of being elicited. Indeed, with the
exception of New Guinea, Central Africa, and parts of South America,
Borneo has been, to the ethnologist, the darkest area in the world.
That there were Mahometan Malays in the towns, that there were pirates
on the coast, and that there were _Dyaks_ in the interior has, until
lately, been the sum of our information. As far as it goes this is
true. In addition, however, there has been (and continues to be) a
belief in the existence of _Blacks_ in the more inaccessible parts of
the mountains, especially the Kenebalow range.
As to the vocabularies, scanty as they were (and are), they have
always been sufficient to prove a Malay origin, for such tribes as
they represented. Whether, however, the population was homogeneous
throughout, or whether there was a second (so-called) race, analogous
to the Samangs of Malacca was uncertain.
The publication of the observations of the Rajah of Sarawak, and of his
visitors, has dispelled much darkness. Still the light is imperfect;
or, rather, it is partial. What we now know we know in detail, and
on authoritative evidence; our knowledge being, chiefly, for the
north-western coast, from Pontianak, on the Equator, to the parts round
the Kenebalow mountain on the northern extremity of the island.
I shall just give so much of Sir J. Brooke's observations as bear upon
those points wherein the ethnology of Borneo either explains or differs
from that of Sumatra.
The Borneo equivalents to the Battas of Sumatra are the Dyaks; a term
applied by the Mahometan Malays to the non-Mahometan portion of the
population. The utter absence of an alphabet is the first point of
distinction. The _comparative_ absence of a Hindoo mythology is the
second. Fragmentary and distorted as is the Hindu Pantheon in Sumatra,
it has had still less influence in Borneo. However, it exists in
the terms _Jowata_ and _Battara_ (at least), and in certain _real_
elements of the Dyak creed as well. These names are connected with the
cosmogony--when Jowata took the earth in both hands, and the right
handful became man, the left, woman. Below the earth is Sabyan; where
the houses are fitted up with moskito curtains, and where there are
other creature-comforts besides. Euhemeristic elements are superadded.
The memory of great chieftains is held in superstitious reverence;
Beadum being one of them. Numerous details in the way of superstitions,
regarding charms and omens, and the ceremonies attendant upon births,
deaths, and marriages, fill up the picture of the paganism of Borneo.
I am not aware, however, that any of them, curious as they are, are of
sufficient importance to indicate either new ethnological affinities in
respect to the tribes that adopt them, or to induce us to refine upon
old ones. Indeed, the customs, as between tribe and tribe, are far from
being uniform; as, for instance, in regard to the burial of the dead.
Some burn the corpse, but without any ceremonies. Others place it in
a light coffin, suspended on the bough of a tree, and so leave it. In
some cases the forms are few or none. In others they are preeminently
elaborate.
As a mark of distinction between different tribes, two customs take a
prominent place: the habit of tattooing, and the use of the sumpitan.
The first is either general, or limited to certain parts of the body.
In some tribes it is not adopted at all.
The second is a pipe, about five feet long; with an arrow made of wood;
thin, light, sharp-pointed, and dipped in the poison of the upas-tree.
As this is fugacious, the points are generally dipped afresh when
wanted. At least five arrows can be discharged in the time required for
loading and firing a musket. For about twenty yards the aim is so true,
that no two arrows shot at the same mark will be above an inch or two
apart. The utmost range is one hundred yards. The poison is virulent,
but not deadly.
In many cases the use of the sumpitan (which is by no means universal)
and the habit of tattooing go together.
Numerous other _differentiæ_, equally important (or unimportant), may
be collected from any of the recent works on Borneo.
_Head-hunting._--This is one of the Malay habits, which is better
studied in Borneo than elsewhere. The earliest writers describe the
Dyaks as being cannibals, and something more; as being hunters of their
kind, not merely for the sake of an unnatural feast, but simply for
the sake of collecting heads as articles of _virtù_. Something of this
sort, in the way of gratuitous bloodshed, we have seen in Sumatra, and
something of the sort we shall find in the Philippines, and (I fear)
elsewhere also.
In Borneo it is one of the essential elements of courtship. Before a
youth can marry he must lay at the feet of his bride elect, the head
of some one belonging to another tribe, killed by himself. According,
then, to theory, every marriage involves a murder. I believe, however,
that the practice is less general than the theory demands. Still a
morbid passion for the possession of human heads is a trait of the Dyak
character. Skulls are the commonest ornaments of a Dyak house, and the
possession of them the best _primâ facie_ evidence of manly courage.
There is, then, a continual cause of bloodshed on land, and there is
piracy by sea; the northern parts of Borneo, and the Sulu Archipelago,
being the chief seats of the latter. Indeed the corsairs that give a
dangerous character to the Indian Archipelago are almost all from these
parts.
These two forms of warfare, the chronic state of hostility for the
parts inland, and the system of robbery on the high seas, supply some
of the elements of an explanation of the system just noticed; to which
may be added the division of the population into a multiplicity of
distinct tribes. Still, it is so good a rule to receive with scepticism
all accounts that violate the common feelings of human nature, that I
allow myself to believe that causes, as yet imperfectly understood,
modify and diminish a practice so horrible as the one in question.
That it should be so general as the theory demands is incompatible
with the proportions between the male and female population, which are
much the same in Borneo as elsewhere. So it is, also, with the express
statement of Sir J. Brooke, who says, that the passion for heads has
much diminished amongst certain of the Sarawak tribes. In one case,
an offer of some was refused; the reason alleged being that it would
revive fresh sorrows. The parties who thus declined, gave a favourable
account of some of the customs by which the horrors of a Dyak war were
abated:--
"If one tribe claimed a debt of another, it was always demanded, and
the claim discussed. If payment was refused, the claimants departed,
telling the others to listen to their birds, as they might expect an
attack. Even after this, it was often the case, that a tribe friendly
to each mediated between them, and endeavoured to make a settlement of
their contending claims. If they failed, the tribes were then at war.
Recently, however, Parimban has attacked without due notice, and often
by treachery, and the Sow Dyaks, as well as the Singè, practise the
same treachery. The old custom likewise was, that no house should be
set on fire, no paddy destroyed, and that _a naked woman_ could not be
killed, nor a woman with child. These laudable and praiseworthy customs
have fallen into disuse, yet they give a pleasing picture of Dyak
character, and relieve, by a touch of humanity, the otherwise barbarous
nature of their warfare.
"_Babukid, bubukkid, or mode of defiance._--I have before mentioned
this practice of defiance, and I since find it is appealed to as a
final judgment in disputes about property, and usually occurs in
families when the right to land and fruit-trees comes to be discussed.
Each party then sallies forth in search of _a head_; if one only
succeed, his claim is acknowledged; if both succeed, the property
continues common to both. It is on these occasions that the Dyaks are
dangerous; and perhaps an European, whose inheritance depended on the
issue, would not be very scrupulous as to the means of success. It must
be understood, however, that the individuals do not go alone, but a
party accompanies each, or they may send a party without being present.
The loss of life is not heavy from this cause, and it is chiefly
resorted to by the Singè and Sows, and is about as rational as our
trials by combat."
This babukid must be a check of a permanent sort.
_Houses._--With certain of the Dyak tribes the houses are not huts, nor
yet mere dwelling-houses of ordinary dimensions. They hold from one
hundred to two hundred persons each; and are raised above the ground on
piles. This form of domestic architecture is important in itself; and
it is also important, because it appears again in New Guinea, and has
already been found in Java.
The conclusion which we come to from our present _data_ in respect to
Borneo is, that the whole population is Malay, in the way that the
Sumatran population is Malay; _i.e._ within comparatively narrow limits.
_a._ There is no tribe so different from the Mahometan Malays as the
Samang are from the Malays of Malacca.
_b._ Still less is there any representative of a lower form of
humanity; such as the fabulous Orang Gugu and Orang Cúbu of Sumatra are
said to be; although, as in Sumatra, there are reports of the kind.
The tribes described by Mr. Brooke are chiefly the Lundu, Sakarran, the
Sarebas, the Suntah, Sow, Sibnow, Meri, Millanow, and Kayan; also the
Bajow, or Sea-Gipsies, who live as wanderers (pilots or pirates, as the
case may be) on the ocean, and are found on Borneo, the Sulu islands,
Celebes, and elsewhere.
The vocabularies given by Sir J. Brooke are--1. the Suntah; 2. Sow; 3.
Sibnow; 4. Sakarran; 5. Meri; 6. Millanow; 7. Malo; 8. Kayan. These
last are extended very nearly to the centre of the island.
In the way of intermixture, the nations that are most in contact with
the Borneans, especially the Mahometan Malays, are the Arabs and
Chinese.
CELEBES.
_Languages or dialects._--_a._ The Bugis.[56] _b._ The
Macassar. _c._ The Mandhar. _d._ The Harafura of Durville (Qu.
the Turaja of Crawfurd and Raffles).
_Alphabet of the Bugis._--Like, but probably formed
independently of the Tagala alphabet of the Philippines;
Sanskrit in origin.
Although the Mandhar and Macassar languages, or dialects, are less
developed as the instruments of literature than the Bugis, and although
the area over which they are spoken is less, whilst their commercial
importance is inconsiderable, there is no reason to believe that they
represent a civilization different in _kind_ from that of the Bugis.
This is not the case with the fourth dialect. I have called it the
Harafura of Durville, because the only vocabulary known to me has
been collected by that voyager. It is Malay, as truly as the Dyak of
Borneo is Malay; whilst those who speak it, although called Harafuras,
are Dyaks in frame and complexion. They were seen by Durville; and
especially described as being fairer in complexion than the other
inhabitants of the island. I have little doubt but that the Harafuras
of Durville are the Turajas of Crawfurd and Raffles.
The Bugis, however, represent the learning, and the commercial activity
of Celebes.
At present they are Mahometans. In A.D. 1504, when they were visited by
the Portuguese, they were beginning to be so; their missionaries being
the Mahometans of Sumatra and Malacca, and the religion, which was
displaced, being Hinduism.
How far this came direct from India, or how far it came by way of Java,
is uncertain. The results were the same for the two islands--in kind,
but not in degree. An alphabet, and a literature, indicative of Indian
influence, are common to both Java and Celebes. In the first island,
however, they are the more developed. Inscriptions have hitherto been
found in Java alone. The remains of temples have been attributed to
Celebes, but they have not been described, and they have not been seen
by Europeans.
The safe inference is, that the Hindu civilization extended itself
somewhat later to Celebes than it did to Java; and that it took root
less generally.
The Bugis are essentially maritime and commercial; and their name in
the latter department is a good one; they being active, enterprising,
and men who consider themselves bound by what they say.
_Bugis approach to a constitutional government._--I am following,
implicitly, both the facts and the deductions of Sir J. Brooke, who
writes from personal knowledge of the island of Celebes, which he
visited from his Rajahship of Sarawak, in giving prominence to what may
be considered the nearest approach to a _constitution_, that is to be
found in any Malay area.
One of the kingdoms into which the southern limb of Celebes is divided
is the kingdom of Wajo. Beginning with the lowest ranks, the so-called
constitution of Wajo is as follows:--
_Servitude._--This is of a mild form, and of the domestic kind.
Although so extensive in respect to its _numerical_ dimensions, as for
one freeman to have, sometimes, upwards of fifty slaves, an export
or import trade is unknown. Debt creates the usual supply; since by
incurring an amount which he cannot discharge by means of his property,
the debtor forfeits his personal freedom. As this forfeiture extends to
his family, bondsmanship becomes hereditary.
_Freeman not of noble birth._--The lowest sort of political power
exercised by a _freeman not of noble birth_, seems to be the power of
holding meetings, where opinions may be stated, but where resolutions
can not be passed. The practical bearing of this seems to be, that
the higher magistrates have a means of knowing the feelings of the
population at large upon any particular measure. Such meetings are
convened by the special representatives of the people, _i.e._ of the
not _noble_ portion of the state--the _Pangawas_.
_The Pangawas._--These are rude analogues of the _tribunes_ of the
Roman constitution. They are elected by the people. They, alone, can
convene certain councils. They have a _veto_ upon the appointment of
the _aru matoah_, or sovereign magistrate. The details as to the state
of the towns and villages, and the number of the population is in their
hands. No summons to military service is valid without their consent.
The number of pangawas is three.
_The Council of Forty._--A council of forty arangs, or nobles of
inferior rank, is appealed to in cases of importance and difficulty by
the--
_Six hereditary Rajahs._--Of these, three are civil, and three
military. With these rests the election of the--
_Aru Matoah_, or chief magistrate.
Reversing the view here taken, and looking at the Wajo constitution
from its highest elements downwards, the form becomes as follows:--
Aru Matoah.
The six Rajahs, of which the _Aru Beting_ is chief.
Council of Forty.
Three Pangawas.
General Council, or Meeting.
I must confess, that in the details both of the Wajo and Boni
Constitutions, as given by Sir J. Brooke, I find several difficulties
and inconsistencies. I presume, however, that each is accurate in the
main points, and also that it is (so to say) _more of a constitution_
than could easily be found in any Malay parts elsewhere.
The Boni Constitution, just mentioned, is that of another of the
Bugis kingdoms. It is the same in principle as that of Wajo, but less
attended to in practice.
I agree, too, in the comparison between these constitutions and those
forms of European feudalism wherein the right of free citizens first
began to be respected. I am also well prepared to believe that,
however much the _written_ constitution may have in it the elements of
self-developed political freedom, the _details_ of its working may be
unsatisfactory; as we are especially informed is the case. When I find
that each rajah is said to possess the power of life and death over his
retainers, I find a statement that requires much explanation before
it can be made compatible with the asserted freedom of the people at
large. So also I observe, that the office as _pangawa_ is, practically,
hereditary--a great limitation to a true tribunicial authority.
An element of confusion, rather than a restraint upon individual
freedom, is to be found in the principle upon which the _aru matoah_ is
elected. The six rajahs must be unanimous. Failing this, one of them,
the _aru beting_, with the support of the _pangawas_, and the council
of forty, may nominate. Furthermore, during the vacancy, the _aru
beting_ acts as the _locum tenens_, but only within certain limits. He
is no _aru matoah_ in the eyes of the other Bugis kingdoms, so that
he is no _aru matoah_ for any matters of what may be called _foreign
policy_.
As unanimity is rare, and as the _aru beting_ has an interest in
keeping the tenure of supreme power in abeyance, disputed elections
continually interfere with the peace of the Bugis states; from whence
it follows, as a necessary consequence, that the powers of the six
hereditary rajahs increase at the expense of the powers of the _aru
matoah_; a process by which the government becomes a close oligarchy,
rather than an elective monarchy.
As a foundation for a constitution like the preceding, tenacity of the
purity of blood must, necessarily, be a leading element. It exists in
Celebes to the fullest extent. Though men may marry in a caste below
the one they belong to, women are limited to their own. The practice
here is more equalizing than the rule.
In Bugis polygamy, separate wives have separate establishments, and
years may elapse without husband or wife having any communication with
one another. Still, unless a divorce--procurable on light grounds--be
effected, the marriage continues.
To the highest offices of the state, even to that of _aru matoah_,
women are eligible; so much so that, at the present moment, four out of
six of the hereditary rajahs are females.
* * * * *
"The strangest custom I have observed (_i.e._ among the Bugis) is, that
some men dress like women, and some women like men; not occasionally,
but all their lives, devoting themselves to the occupations and
pursuits of their adopted sex. In the case of males, it seems that
the parents of a boy, upon perceiving in him certain peculiarities of
habit and appearance, are induced thereby to present him to one of the
rajahs, by whom he is received. These youths acquire much influence
over their masters. It would appear, however, from all I could learn,
that the practice leads among the Bugis to none of those vices that
constitute the opprobrium of Western Europe."[57]
By allowing ourselves to argue from the sanctity attributed by
many ancient nations (_e.g._ the Greeks and Germans) to the female
character, and by comparing the form which this strange custom takes
in Borneo, where it is connected with the sacerdotal office, we arrive
at a plausible explanation. Among the Sea Dyaks "their doctor, or
magician, or both combined, is a man set apart for that office, who is
thereafter considered as a woman. _She_, or _he_ marries a husband,
adopts children, dresses as a female, and lives amongst the women,
performing the domestic duties peculiar to the sex. The principal
occupation is curing people by divers charms, driving away the devil
and evil spirits. It must be allowed that the whole constitution of
this office is an example of gross superstition; but the ceremonies
attendant on it are in themselves inoffensive. A branch of a tree is
fixed on the house; around it white cloth is wrapped; and near this
spot the spathe of the betel or areca tree is placed (the spathe being
indispensable); then the people assemble, and with unseemly noises
rattling shells and beating gongs proclaim their joy and satisfaction.
"The office itself is called 'Manang;' and no particular age is
specified, the 'Manang' being young or old, as chance may determine.
The present occupier of this important post became so when quite a
child, and he is now well stricken in years, and much respected by his
tribe."[58]
THE MOLUCCAS.
_First Group._--Ternati, Tidor, Mortay (or Morintay), Gilolo.
_Second Group._--Banda, and other small islands.
_Third Group._--Amboyna, Ceram, Buru, Saparua, &c.
The inhabitants of these groups, or clusters, fall under the three
heads which we are now prepared to expect.
1. _Mahometan Malays._--The influence of the Mahometan Malays had
organized rajahships in the Moluccas anterior to their discovery, A.D.
1521. Of these, the most important was that of Ternati; the territory
of which extends over Tidor, Gilolo, Mortay, and part of Celebes.
2. _A population of the character of the Bugis_, _i.e._ the population
of the Archipelago, as developed by the influence of the sea-coast and
the commerce that it evolved.
3. _A population of the interior of the Dyak_(?) _type._--Respecting
these last I have not the definite information I could wish for. Small
as are some of the islands--Amboyna and Tidor--tribes inferior and
subordinate to the natives of the coasts and town, have been ascribed
to the interior. Forrest states that these are Papua. This they are
likely enough to be. Still it would not be surprising if they were
light-coloured, and of the Dyak type.
Since the publication of Sir Stamford Raffles' tabulated vocabularies
for these parts, I have looked in vain for any vocabulary representing
a language other than the Malay. The Guebé vocabulary of Durville is
Malay, and the Amboyna and Ceram vocabularies of Roorda van Eysingen
are Malay.
The European influences have been Portuguese in the first instance.
Afterwards and, at present, Dutch. Chinese settlements also are
numerous.
Eastward of the Molucca Islands we come to New Guinea and the islands
in its immediate neighbourhood. These belong to another department of
the subject. The division at present to be noticed is the Philippine
portion of the Malay area. This lies northward to the parts already
described, and may have received its population by any one (or more
than one) of the following lines of connexion.
1. _The Long island of Palawan._--Luçon, Mindoro, Busvagaon, Calamian,
Palawan, Balabac, _North-western Borneo_.
2. _The Sulu Archipelago._--Mindanao, Basilian, the Sulus,
_North-eastern Borneo_.
3. _Sangir and the islands to the north and south of it_--Mindanao,
Serangani, Sangir, Siao, the Guning Tellu country in the _North-east of
Celebes_.
4. _Mindanao, Serangani Salibabo, Gilolo_: Gilolo being equidistant
between Celebes and Papua.
The first of these lines is the most probable.
PALAWAN.
Palawan, or Paragoa, is mentioned more from its prominence
as a continuity of Borneo than for the sake of description.
It is little known: partially under the Spaniards, partially
independent.
THE SÚLÚS.
These are also stepping-stones from Borneo. They are Malay; and
the headquarters of a Malay power; the most piratical of these
seas. The Sultan of Sulu is the terror of the Dyaks of Borneo.
He is also the sovereign of part of that island, of part of
Palawan, and of the Cayagan group. I only know the short Sulu
vocabulary of Rienzi.
THE PHILIPPINES.
_Divisions._--1. The southern island of Magindano, or Mindanao.
2. The northern island of Luçon, or Luçonia. 3. The Bissayan
Archipelago between the two. Of this last, the most important
islands are Mindoro, Samar, Leyte, Panay, and the Isola de
Negros.
_Population._--Malay and Negrito.
Although at the present moment the aboriginal population of the
Philippines may be studied in detail, such detail will be avoided; and
no more than four leading points will be noticed.
1. _The Blacks of the Philippine group._--The existence of tribes
darker coloured than the generality, is one of the earliest of the
observations on these parts; and its confirmation one of the latest
facts in modern ethnology.
Beginning at the island of Mindanao, we find, in Mallat,[59] the names
of the following tribes--Dumagas, Malanaos, Manabos, and Tagabaloys.
These are not described in detail, but are said to belong to the same
type with the Negroes of the Bissayan Archipelago and Luçonia. They
constitute the still savage tribes of the forests and mountains.
In the Archipelago our knowledge becomes more distinct, though still
imperfect. The Blacks of Lasso were visited by Lafond Lurcy. They were
nearly naked, with hair like cotton, very slim, and very undersized.
Dr. Prichard makes these Negritos members of a group which he calls the
_puny Negroes of the Archipelago_.
What Lafond Lurcy writes coincides with the statements of Mallat; who
speaks of the Blacks of the type in question as being very Negro in
feature, with the nose _peu épaté_, and with the hair _crépu_.
The _Isola de Negros_ takes its name from the greater proportion of the
population being of this character, _i.e._ black, after the manner of
the African.
In Luçonia, however, a second type appears.
IGOROTS.
Taller than the southern Blacks; more copper-coloured than
black; eyes oblique; frontal sinuses much developed; hair
harsh, hard, lank, and bright-black. Painted; tattooed on their
hands with a figure like the sun.
BUSIKS.
More agricultural than the Igorots. Tattooed.
BUSAOS.
Milder in temper than the Igorots; tattooed on the arms only;
pierced and enlarged ears.
ITETEPANES.
Small, and short; black; flat-nosed; eyes less oblique than
those of the Igorots; hair straight.
All this verifies the statement of the Abbate Bernardo del Fuente,[60]
according to which there are two varieties of Philippine Blacks, one
with long, fine, and glossy, and one with crisped hair.
2. _The Philippine languages._--Of these the most important are the
Tagala, the Bissayan, the Pampango, the Iloco, and the Abac. Of the
Bissayan there are several dialects: the Mindanao, the Samar, the Iolo,
the Bohol. The structure of the Tagala has been particularly studied
by Humboldt. It represents the Malay in its most complex form; and is
essentially agglutinate in respect to its inflection.
All the numerous Philippine dialects and languages are fundamentally
Malay. Those of the Blacks are but little known. Still, as far as our
knowledge extends, the philological phenomenon is the same as with the
Samang of the Malayan Peninsula. The difference in language is less
than the difference of form and colour.
3. _The Extent of Hindu influences._--These are less in the Philippines
than in Celebes, and much less than in Java and Bali. Still the
Philippines have a native alphabet, and this native alphabet has the
same origin with the alphabets of Sumatra, Java, and Celebes; _viz._
the Hindu Devanagari.
4. _The remains of the original mythology._--I give what I know of this
in the following note from Marsden's Sumatra,[61] where it is inserted
from Thevenot, for the sake of illustrating that of Sumatra.
"The chief deity of the _Tagalas_ is called _Bathala mei Capal_, and
also _Dinata_; and their principal idolatry consists in adoring those
of their ancestors who signalised themselves for courage or abilities;
calling them _Humalagar_, i.e. _manes_. They make slaves of the people
who do not keep silence at the tombs of their ancestors. They have
great veneration for the crocodile, which they call _nono_, signifying
grandfather, and make offerings to it. Every old tree they look upon
as a superior being, and think it a crime to cut it down. They worship
also stones, rocks, and points of land, shooting arrows at these last
as they pass them. They have priests, who, at their sacrifices, make
many contortions and grimaces, as if possessed with a devil. The first
man and woman, they say, were produced from a bamboo, which burst in
the island of _Sumatra_; and they quarrelled about their marriage.
The people mark their bodies in various figures, and render them of
the colour of ashes; have large holes in their ears; blacken and file
their teeth, and make an opening, which they fill up with gold. They
used to write from top to bottom, till the Spaniards taught them to
write from left to right. Bamboos and palm-leaves serve them for paper.
They cover their houses with straw, leaves of trees, or bamboos split
in two, which serve for tiles. They hire people to sing and weep at
their funerals; burn _benzoin_; bury their dead on the third day in
strong coffins, and sometimes kill slaves to accompany their deceased
masters. They held the _caiman_, or alligator, in great reverence,
and when they saw him they called him _nono_, or grandfather, praying
with great tenderness that he would do them no harm; and, to this
end, offered him of whatever they had in their boats, throwing it
into the water. There was not an old tree to which they did not offer
divine worship, especially that called _balete_; and even at this time
they have some respect for them. Beside these they had certain idols
inherited from their ancestors, which the Tagalas called _anito_, and
the Bissayans, _divata_. Some of these were for the mountains and
plains, and they asked their leave when they would pass them. Others
for the corn-fields; and to these they recommend them, that they might
be fertile, placing meat and drink in the fields for the use of the
_anitos_. There was one of the sea, who had care of their fishing
and navigation; another of the house, whose favour they implored at
the birth of a child, and under whose protection they placed it.
They made _anitos_ also of their deceased ancestors, and to these
were their first invocations in all difficulties and dangers. They
reckoned amongst these beings all those who were killed by lightning
or alligators, or had any disastrous death, and believed that they
were carried up to the happy state, by the rainbow, which they call
_balan-gao_. In general, they endeavoured to attribute this kind of
divinity to their fathers, when they died in years; and the old men,
vain with this barbarous notion, affected in their sickness a gravity
and composure of mind, as they conceived, more than human, because
they thought themselves commencing _anitos_. They were to be interred
at places marked out by themselves, that they might be discovered at
a distance and worshipped. The missionaries have had great trouble
in demolishing their tombs and idols; but the Indians, inland, still
continue the custom of _pasing tubi sa nono_, or asking permission
of their dead ancestors, when they enter any wood, mountain, or
corn-field, for hunting or sowing; and if they omit this ceremony,
imagine their _nonos_ will punish them with bad fortune.
"Their notions of the creation of the world, and formation of mankind,
had something ridiculously extravagant. They believed that the world at
first consisted only of sky and water, and between these two, a glede;
which, weary with flying about, and finding no place to rest, set the
water at variance with the sky, which, in order to keep it in bounds,
and that it should not get uppermost, loaded the water with a number
of islands, in which the glede might settle and leave them at peace.
Mankind, they said, sprang out of a large cane with two joints, that,
floating about in the water, was at length thrown by the waves against
the feet of the glede, as it stood on shore, which opened it with its
bill, and the man came out of one joint, and the woman out of the
other. These were soon after married by consent of their god, _Bathala
Meycapal_, which caused the first trembling of the earth; and from
thence are descended the different nations of the world."
THE BABYANIS.
_Locality._--Due north of Luçon.
THE BASHIS.
_Locality._--Due north of the Babyanis.
I have no details respecting the Babyanis and the Bashis. They have
been noticed, however, as forming the tract from Luçon to--
FORMOSA.
_Name._--Chinese Taï-ouan, originally Toung-fan.
_Political Relations._--Western side, subject to China. Eastern
side independent.
_Languages._--Numerous dialects. The only known vocabulary,
Malay.
_Authority._--Klaproth. Description de Formose, Melanges
Asiatiques, p. 195.
The knowledge of the island of Formosa on the part of the Chinese
begins no earlier than the year 1430 A.D.; and its oldest name in
Chinese, _Toung-fan_, means _barbarians of the East_. The later name
means the _Bay of Heights_.
This term is explained by the geological structure of the island. It is
bisected from north to south by a line of mountains, upon which snow
lies during November and December. This range is a line of demarcation
in ethnology as well as politics. West of it we have the district that
pays tribute to the Chinese, and in which there is a standing Chinese
army, and a number of Chinese immigrants--chiefly employed in the rice
cultivation. In the mountains themselves, and to the east of them,
are the Aborigines. These are said to approach the Negro type, and to
differ from one another in language--a fact that we are now prepared to
expect rather than to discredit. Their arms are the dart and bow; and
their swiftness of foot is described by the Chinese as being equal to
that of the swiftest dogs.
They are Malayan in stock, and apparently but little mixed. The
Japanese, and the Lúchú on the northern part of the island, and the
Dutch on the present Chinese locality seem to have been their chief
visitors. Neither held their ground permanently.
That an island so near as Formosa should have been so long unknown to
the Chinese, surprises Klaproth; who reasonably thinks that it was
known at an earlier period, but known under a different name. The more
so, as the Pescadores islands, half-way between, are within sight of
the mainland.
It is safe to consider that the population of Formosa is a continuance
of the population of Luçon, and the Bashi islands. Of the island
Lang-khiao, at the southernmost end of Formosa, I find, in Klaproth, an
express statement that it is inhabited, and that its inhabitants are
great breeders of sheep.
Of the Pescadores the original population is unknown. From what I
collect from Klaproth, the natives were removed in 1387, A.D., by the
Chinese, and transplanted elsewhere. How far this was, partial or
complete, is uncertain. At present they are inhabited--probably by the
Chinese, who replaced the exiles of 1387.
* * * * *
There can be but little doubt that Formosa was peopled from the
northern part of Luçonia; in which case its inhabitants represent the
stock of the Igorots, Busiks, &c., as modified by a more northern
position, and by Chinese rather than Malay elements.
With Formosa we reach the northernmost limits of the Malays in this
direction. The Lúchú islands, north of Formosa, have their affinities
with Japan, and Japan has its affinities with the North and West,
rather than with the South and East.
THE POLYNESIANS.
_Area._--From the small islands to the west of the Pelews
to Easter Island, west and east. From the Mariannes and the
Sandwich Islands north, to New Zealand south.
_Physical Conformation._--Modified Protonesian. Stature,
perhaps, taller; tendency to corpulence more common; colour
oftener approaching that of the European; hair often waved or
curling; nose frequently aquiline.
_Nutrition._--But little azotized; saccharine and amylaceous.
_Aliment._--Preeminently vegetable, the coco-nut, the taro, the
banana. Fish.
_Negative Characters._--Little, or no, use of the bow and
arrow; considered to be a differential point between Polynesia
and Kelænonesia.
_Conditions of Social and Physical Development._--Absence of
large animals, either as beasts of burden or as food. Nearly
general absence of rice and pulse. Intercourse entirely by
means of canoes. Between Polynesia and Protonesia little or
none. Between the different portions of Polynesia limited or
partial. Malay and Hindu influences obscure. Present influences
European; of recent date.
_Religion._--Paganism, apparently indigenous. Uniform in its
general character over a great extent.
_Languages._--Allied to each other, and mutually intelligible
over large areas. Grammatical structure akin to the Tagala.
Malay words numerous and evident.
_Divisions._--1. Micronesian Branch. 2. Proper Polynesian
Branch.
Reasons will now be given for drawing a distinction between the
Micronesians and the Proper Polynesians, and also for taking the
Micronesians first in order. In the former I follow Prichard. In the
latter I believe my arrangement is singular.
1. MM. Dumont Durville and Lesson, to whose observations on this, as
in many other portions of oceanic ethnology, much of our information
is due, have agreed in disconnecting the natives of the Western
Oceanic Islands from those of the Eastern; insisting upon a difference
of language, and a difference in physical conformation. Nay more,
they would connect them with the Mongols of the Continent. To give
prominence to this difference of opinion on the part of judges so well
qualified as the two investigators in question, was Pilchard's reason
for thus separating the Archipelago of the Pacific into two sections.
For my own part I consider that the grounds of difference set forth
by MM. Lesson and Dumont Durville, although insufficient to establish
the double position of an _affinity_ with the Mongolians, and of a
_no_-affinity with the Polynesians, are sufficient to justify the
sub-division of the kind in question. The absence, in Micronesia,
of certain Polynesian customs, and the modified form of others are
additional reasons.
2. The reason for taking the Micronesian branch before the Proper
Polynesian, involves the following question--What was the line of
population by which the innumerable islands of the Pacific, from the
Pelews to Easter Island, and from the Sandwich Islands to New Zealand
became inhabited by tribes, different from, but still allied to, the
Protonesian Malays?--That line, whichever it be, where the continuity
of successive islands is the greatest, and, whereon the fewest
considerable interspaces of ocean are to be found.
This is the general answer, _à priori_; subject to modification from
the counterbalancing phenomena of winds, or currents unfavourable to
the supposed migration.
Now this answer, when applied to the geographical details regarding the
distribution of land and sea in the great Oceanic area, indicates the
following line--New Guinea, New Ireland, the New Hebrides, the Figis,
and the Tonga group, &c. From hence the Navigators' Isles, the Isles of
the Dangerous Archipelago, the Kingsmill, and other groups, carry the
frequently-diverging streams of population over the Caroline Islands,
the Ladrones, the Pelews, Easter Island, &c.
This view, however, so natural an inference from a mere land-and-sea
survey, is complicated by the ethnological position of the New Guinea,
New Ireland, and New Hebrides population. These are _not_ Protonesian,
and they are _not_ Polynesian. Lastly, they are _not_ intermediate
to the two. They _break_ rather than propagate the continuity of the
human stream; a continuity which exists geographically but fails
ethnologically.
The recognition of this conflict between the two probabilities, has
determined me to consider the Micronesian Archipelago, as that part of
Polynesia which is the part most likely to have been first peopled;
and hence comes a reason for taking it first in order.
THE MICRONESIAN BRANCH OF THE POLYNESIAN STOCK.
_Area._--The Pelew, Caroline, Marianne Islands. The Tarawan
group. As far south as about 7° S. L.
_Physical Conformation._--More Mongolian, in the limited sense
of the term, than the proper Polynesian. Varieties both of hair
and complexion.
_Language._--Dialects, probably, mutually intelligible.
Probably unintelligible to the Proper Polynesians.
_Political relations._--Partly independent; partly subject to
Spain.
_Religion._--Paganism and Romanism.
_European intermixture._--Chiefly Spanish.
_Negative characters._--Absence of the _tabu_ under the form in
which it appears in Polynesia. Use of the drink called _kava_
either restricted, or modified. Considered to be differential
points between Micronesia and Polynesia.
In these negative characters (of which, however, it is doubtful whether
the exact extent has been ascertained), superadded to the fact, of
the Micronesian dialects forming a separate language unintelligible
to the Polynesian, and to the difference--real or supposed--in their
physical appearance, lie good and sufficient reasons for considering
the Micronesians to form a separate division. To which may be added,
considerable differences in the way of creed and mythology.
LORD NORTH'S ISLAND.
_Locality._--Latitude 3° 2´ N. Longitude 131° 4´ E.
_Population._--About three or four hundred.
_Physical conformation._--Complexion, light copper, lighter
than that of the Malays or Pelew islanders. Face broad,
cheek-bones high, nose flattened.
_Pantheon._--Chief deity _Yaris_. Progenitor _Pita-kat_.
The account of Horace Holden,[62] an American sailor, who, with
eleven others, reached the island of Tobi, in a boat, and who was
detained there two years, is our only source of information for this
important locality--_the nearest point of contact between Polynesia and
Protonesia_.
No tribes have a harder struggle for existence. During the whole of
Holden's residence, only five turtle were taken; fish being also
scanty. Hence coco-nuts and the taro formed the chief food. It is
reasonable, as well as charitable, to refer the churlishness of their
tempers to this state of indigence. Perhaps, also, it is the reason why
the men, as compared with the women, take a fair share of the labour of
cultivation--a custom rare in other parts of Polynesia.
The effects of hunger in reducing the population are seconded by those
of war. And here, the only weapons are the spear and club--_no bows and
no arrows_.
The houses "are built of small trees and rods, and thatched with
leaves. They have two stories, a ground-floor, and a loft, which is
entered by a hole or scuttle through the horizontal partition or upper
floor.
"For ornament they sometimes wear in their ears, which are always
bored, a folded leaf; and round their necks a necklace made of the
shell of the coco-nut, and a small white sea-shell."
All this merely connects them with the Micronesians. The tradition
respecting _Pita-kat_ is more important. He "came many years ago from
the island of Ternati, and gave them their religion, and such simple
arts as they possessed."
SONSORAL.--JOHANNES ISLAND.
_Locality._--West of the Pelews. Nearest point to the
Philippines.
THE PELEW GROUP.
_Synonym._--Palaos.
_Chief Islands._--Corror, Babelthouap, Pelelion.
_Native quadrupeds._--Rats.
_Vegetable products._--Coco-nut, bread-fruit, yam, batata,
taro, ebony, sugarcane, orange, banana, bamboo, paper-mulberry.
Rice and pulse wanting.
The paucity of quadrupeds, and the abundance of tropical vegetables is
common to the Pelew Islands, and the whole of Polynesia. Hence, it is
mentioned once for all. The chief exception, however, is an important
one. The _hog_ will be found to be _partially_ distributed; and the
partial character of its distribution has been one of the instruments
of ethnological criticism (especially in the hands of the French
naturalists), by means of which the order of succession in which the
different islands have been peopled has been investigated.
CLUSTER OF GOULOU.[63]
_Direction._--North-east from the Pelews.
_Locality._--Between the Pelews and the--
CLUSTER OF YAP. OULUTHY OR EGOY ISLANDS. THE MARIANNES.
_Synonym._--Ladrones.
_Name of Natives._--Chamorros.
_Chief islands._--Guam, Rota, Tinian.
_Physical appearance of Natives._--Stature higher than that of
the other islanders, tendency to corpulence greater.
_Intermixture._--Considerable, _i.e._ with Polynesians,
Philippine islanders, Spaniards.
Rota and Tinian are remarkable for containing the remains of massive
stone buildings; the original use of which is wholly unknown to the
present natives. The same phenomenon will be repeated in Tonga-tabú and
Easter Island.
The Mariannes form the most northern portion of Micronesia. The
direction will now be due east from the cluster of Goulou; about
mid-way between the Pelews and Yap.
OULUTHY GROUP.
_Synonym._--Egoy Islands.
LAMOURSEK AND SATAWAL GROUPS.
_Direction._--West to east.
_Extent._--From 140° to 15° E. L. from Paris. Under 5° N. L.
_ Particular islands._--Lamoursek, Satawal, Faroilep (the most
northern), Aurupig (the most southern).
PROPER CAROLINE GROUP.
_Direction._--From the Lamoursek and Satawal group fifteen
degrees westward.
_Particular islands._--Hogoleu, Lougounor, Pounipet, Ualan.
A distinction which will often be applied in Polynesian ethnology may
now be made. It is the difference between the geological structure of
the different islands. Whether they are what is called _high_ or _low_
is important. In the high islands, where the structure is primitive,
metamorphic, or volcanic, the conditions for social development are
more favourable than in the low islands, of a coralline structure. In
these last the food is less abundant, the sun more scorching, and,
generally, the complexion of the inhabitants _darker_.
Again, the inhabitants of the low islands are generally at peace
amongst themselves: those of the high islands at war.
In the ethnology of the Paumoto Archipelago, this distinction will be
repeated. So it will elsewhere.
LOUGOUNOR.
_Synonym._--Lougoullos. Mortlock island.
_Physical conformation._--Stature, above the average; colour,
_chestnut_, lips thick, beard long but thin, hair black,
long, thick, slightly curling (_un peu crépu_), sometimes
frizzy--Lütke, from Prichard.
_Language._--Allied to, but different from, the Ualan.
POUNIPET.
_Structure._--Volcanic.
_Population._--About two thousand.
_Physical Appearance._--Face broad and flat, nose flat, lips
thick, hair crisp. Colour, between chesnut and olive. Height,
average.--Lütke from Prichard.
UALAN.
The chief island of the Central Caroline group, or of the Caroline
Islands in the more general sense of the term.
_Structure._--Volcanic.
_Physical conformation of the natives._--Stature average,
hair black, beard scanty, only in some cases thick, forehead
narrow, _eyes oblique_, nose somewhat flattened, face broad,
complexion clear yellow (citron), lightest in the case of the
chiefs.--_Lesson._
As the succession of islands now becomes less regular, and as the
interval of sea between Ualan and the Archipelagoes east of it is
considerable, it is necessary to consider the lines of passage between
the proper Carolines and the Ralik and Radak chains to the north-west.
These are two.
1. From Pounipet to the Isles of Brown; with Providence Isles half-way
between.
2. From Ualan to the Radak chain, or Mulgrave's Islands.
ISLES OF BROWN.--RALIK CHAIN.
_Synonym._--Marshall's Islands.
RADACK CHAIN.
_Synonym._--Mulgrave's Islands.
The Radack and Ralik people are dark.
The direction is now south, and south-west, to an Archipelago lying
under the Equator.
KINGSMILL'S GROUP. GILBERT ISLANDS. SCARBOROUGH ISLANDS.
_General name._--The Tarawan group.
_Latitude._--North and south of the Equator.
_Longitude._--Nearly that of the Fiji islands.
_Population._--Perhaps sixty thousand. In Drummond's Island six
thousand.
_Physical appearance._--Complexion dark copper. More
Protonesian than Polynesian. Cheek-bones projecting, nose
slightly aquiline. Average height five feet eight inches.
In Pitt Island, the most northern of the group, the natives are
lighter in colour than the other islanders, taller, stronger, and
better-limbed; with smooth bodies, oval faces, and regular and delicate
features.
THE PROPER POLYNESIAN BRANCH OF THE POLYNESIAN STOCK.
_Area._--The Navigators, Society, Friendly, and other groups
of the Pacific. The Marquesas; the Dangerous Archipelago;
Easter Island; the Sandwich Isles; New Zealand, &c. With the
exception of the Sandwich Isles and New Zealand, south and
east of Micronesia. Nearer to Kelænonesia than to any part of
Protonesia.
_Physical conformation._--Maximum and, perhaps, average stature
higher than in Micronesia. Aquiline nose commoner. Varieties
both of hair and complexion. The former wavy and curled as well
as straight; sometimes chestnut-coloured. Skin, often fairest
in the parts nearest the Equator; becoming darker as the
distance increases. Oftener, also, darker in the coralline than
in the volcanic islands.
Face oval. Ears generally large.
Zygomatic development moderate. Occipito-frontal profiles
truncated behind, elevated at the vertex.
Nostrils generally spreading.
_Language._--Dialects mutually intelligible; probably
unintelligible to the Micronesians.
_Political relations._--Wholly independent, colonized, or
protected.
_Religion._--Paganism, Romanism, Protestantism, Imperfect
Christianity.
_European intermixture._--Chiefly English, American, and French.
_Habits._--The superstition of the _tabu_; the use of _kava_ as
a drink. See the notice of Micronesia. Cannibalism, tattooing,
circumcision, more or less, common.
With the view of saving repetition, a notice of the Polynesian
mythology will precede the enumeration of the islands; for each and
all of these the creed being, in its general principles, as truly
one and the same as is the language, the same divinities appearing
with the same functions and under similar, or but slightly-changed,
denominations. Hence, sometimes the difference between two Pantheons
is merely verbal. Generally, however, it is real. Even then, however,
we find no new element; but one of two things. Either the same story
appears in a varied form; or else some portion of the mythology which
is but slightly prominent in one group of islands, takes unusual
importance in another; the fundamental identity of character being
manifest throughout.
Of the common elements of the general Polynesian creed the following
are the most important; those which are most special, and least general
or abstract, being taken first in order.
_The supernatural spirits that interfere directly with human
concerns._--Mischievous beings, imps or goblins, that play so prominent
a part in the superstitions of all countries, play a prominent part in
those of Polynesia. These may appear under any out of a multiplicity
of forms. There may be the spirit protective to a certain family; the
spirit protective to a certain pursuit; the god of the sailor, the
fisherman, or the tiller of the soil. Good they may do and mischief
they may do--either in a material or an immaterial form, in their own
shape or in the shape of sharks, lizards, storks, snipes, or any other
dumb animal. From a belief of this kind to the superstition of omens
is but a single step, so that rats that squeak, and comets that show
their beards, and noses that sneeze, and birds that fly the wrong way,
all become the expositors from Powers beyond those of mortality. Then
the rock, and glen, and above all the volcano and earthquake, become
palpable objects to be connected with a presiding divinity.
To these and to the like of these all the islanders look. Some look
beyond them.
_Múoi_ (_Mawi_) is more man than God; the supporter, or rather the
support, of the earth. This lies on the gigantic extension of his
body; and earthquakes result from its movements. Where he is either
more or less than the comparatively passive substructure of all things
material, he is a wise wizard who foretells events; or else the maker
rather than foundation-stone of the world. Just as Tangaloa did in the
other parts of Polynesia, Mawi did in New Zealand. What this was will
be soon seen.
_The Cosmogony._--The Polynesian world--how much beyond it is
uncertain--was fished up from sea by Tangaloa; Tahiti was the first
part that appeared. Just as its rocks showed above water, the line
broke. However, the rock in which the hook stuck can still be seen in
the island of Hoonga; and the family of Tuitonga, until very lately,
were in possession of the hook. There was enough land, however, to be
worth filling with human beings and human food. And this was done by
Tangaloa.[64]
Such is the Tonga account. In New Zealand, as already stated, the
artificer is changed; and Mawi does the work of Tangaloa. In Tahiti,
and Samoa, the workman is the same, but the work different. The
Tahitian Tangaloa formed the ocean from the sweat of his brow--so hard
did he work in making the land. The Samoan sent down his daughter Tali,
in the shape of a snipe, to survey the world below. As she saw nothing
but sea, her father rolled down a stone which became one island, and
another which became a second, and so on. The first growth of such
islands were wild vines. These were pulled out of the ground, and
heaped up to rot, so that worms were produced. Out of these worms grew
men and women.
_The Happy Island._--In an island like their own, only more beautiful,
live the higher gods, and the souls of chiefs, kings, and councillors.
In Tonga this island is Bolotoo. It was once visited; but those who
visited it died, having breathed its air.
_The residents and visitors of the Happy Island._--First amongst these
are the gods themselves and their servants; not, however, Mawi--
The souls of the chiefs after death--
The souls of the councillors after death--
_Caste-system._--The list of the inhabitants of Bolotoo stops at a
certain line of nobility. The people are the servants of the chiefs,
and the servants of the chiefs have no share of enjoyment after death.
At this point, the mythology and the social constitution of the
Polynesians act and react upon each other. Those who have no political
rights in life, have no existence after death (or _vice versâ_); and
the result is a system half caste, and half feudalism.
Whether the king or priest be paramount, depends upon their respective
individual characters. There is room for the subtle brain as well
as for the strong hand. So it is, as between king and chief. The
vassalage is perfect or imperfect according to the strength of the
parties. Whatever, however, may be the relative position of the king,
the priest, or the chiefs, the people are sure of their thraldom; a
thraldom to their _immediate_ superior, the chief.
Add to these elements of social subordination and insubordination,
the existence of tribes and the influence of descent. A family may be
descended from some god that took an earthly island for his residence.
This will give it a precedence even over the kings.
From the feeling of pedigree, and from the belief that the nobler
families become spirits after death, we have the belief in ghosts,
and the reverence for the dead. Whoever studies the details of the
Polynesian creeds and traditions will find abundant instances of this;
and in such detail they should be studied. To exhibit them (as has
just been attempted) in a _general_ point of view, can only be done
by applying terms adapted to a different system, and, as such, only
partially appropriate. It can only be done at the sacrifice of those
special elements which give life and individuality to a description.
Such, however, as it is, the previous sketch is the only one that
could be admitted into a work like the present.
* * * * *
Beginning with the fourteenth degree S. L., the distribution of the
Polynesian islands runs off in three different directions.
1. From west to east; _i.e._ from the Navigators' Islands to Easter
Island.
2. North-east; to the Sandwich Islands in 20° N. L.
3. South-west; to New Zealand in 35° S. L.
NAVIGATORS' ISLANDS.
_Synonym._--Archipelago of Samoa.
_Islands._--Opoun, Leone, Sanfoue, Maouna, Oiolava, Pola.
_Complexion._--Dark bronze.
_Numbers._--According to Captain Wilkes, 56,000: of which
14,850 are Christians. Majority of the remainder attending the
missionary schools.
_Pantheon._--Tangaloa-lagi, Tamafaiga, Sinleo, Onafanna,
Mafuie, Salefu, Merua Fuana, Tinitini, Lamanau, Tuli, &c.
_Real or supposed peculiarities._--Use of the bow; which is
used also in De Peyster's island. Rare elsewhere.
THE TONGA GROUP.
_Synonym._--The Hapai Islands; the Friendly Islands.
ISLANDS. POPULATION.
Eooa 200
Hapai 4,000
Vavao 4,000
Keppell's Islan 1,000
Boscawen's Islan 1,300
Tonga-tabú 8,000
______
Total 18,500
______
Said to be on the increase. Number of Christians, about 4,500.
_Pantheon._--Múoi.--The Hotooas, Táli-y-tobú, Higooléo,
Tooboo-toti, Alaivaloo, Ali-ali, Tangaloa--Tangaloa's sons,
Toobó, and Váca-ácow-ooli, &c. Bolotoo=the Happy Island.
Term for the Tonga chiefs--_Egi_.
" " councillors--_Mataboulai_.
" " king--_How_.
" " lower classes--_Mooa_.
" " lowest--_Tooa_.
_Real or supposed peculiarities._--Infant sacrifices; the
cutting off of a finger on the death of relatives; domestic
architecture on a scale approaching that of Borneo. Remains of
stone architecture; probably the tombs of the chiefs.
HERVEY ISLES.
_Names._--Rarotonga, Atiu; Mangaia, Aitutaki, Mauke, Mitiaro,
Manuai.
_Population._--About fourteen thousand; of which one-half
belongs to Rarotonga.
AUSTRAL ISLANDS.
_Names._--Rimatara, Rurutu, Tupuai, Raivavai.
_Population._--About one thousand. Decreasing.
RAPA.
_Locality._--South of any island yet named, and isolated.
THE TAHITIAN GROUP.
_Synonym._--The Society Islands.
_Islands._--Ulietea, Otahá, Bolabola, Huaheine, Tabai, Maurua.
_Pantheon._--The Tii Maaraauta=the spirit reaching toward the
land. The Tii Maaraatai=the spirit reaching toward the sea.
Eatooa=gods in general. Tii Hina, Taaroa (= Tangaloa). Maui
Raiatea (the analogue of Bolotoo).
Terms for the Tahiti chiefs--Eree, or Tiara.
" " councillors--Manahounis.
" " lower classes--Toutous.
PAUMOTU.
_Meaning._--Cloud of islands.
_Synonym._--The Low Islands. Dangerous Archipelago.
_Structure._--Generally coralline.
Particular islands and groups--
AURA.
_Locality._--S. L. 15° 40´ W. L. 146° 30´ The most savage of
all the islands of the Archipelago, and the one that has most
rarely been visited with impunity.
CHAIN ISLAND.
_Locality._--S. L. 17° 30´ W. L. 45° 30´ Described as being
like Aura, to Captain Fitzroy, by Mr. Middleton, who had passed
some time on the island. Cannibals. Conquerors of the rest of
the Archipelago, except Aura. The first ship they had manned by
a black crew.
GAMBIER ISLANDS.
_Names._--Mangareva, Akena, Akamaru, Tarawari, &c.
_Structure._--Volcanic.
_Population._--About two thousand.
PITCAIRN ISLAND.
_Locality._--South of the Gambier group.
DUCIE'S ISLAND.
_Locality._--West of the Gambier group.
There is a great difference in physical conformation between the
inhabitants of different members of the Paumotu group. Some are
well-made, nearly on a level with the measurements of European, and
with a "fine Asiatic countenance, with beards and mustaches, but no
whiskers--men who might pass for Moors."[65] Others approach the
character of the Negroes.
We know now the doctrine that this difference will engender; and we
know the exception that it will call for. More than one writer have
seen in Paumotu islanders specimens of a second race. More than one
have seen only the same race under different conditions.
Now, Captain Beechey has found that this difference in the inhabitants
coincides with the difference of the islands. The well-grown tribes of
the Polynesian type are the tribes of the volcanic Islands, Pitcairn's
and the Gambier group. The blacker variety is found on the low islands.
EASTER ISLAND.
_Synonym._--Teape.
_Locality_.--The most eastern island of Polynesia. Solitary.
In Easter Island there stood in the year 1722, and there stand now,
statues of colossal proportions, sometimes on the level ground,
sometimes on platforms of hewn stone, representing (or misrepresenting)
the upper half of the human figure, with enormous ears, shapen out of
lavas, some soft, and some too hard for any tool known to the present
natives, objects of wonder to them, but not objects of worship.
That they are not objects of worship is inferred from the extent
to which they are neglected. When fallen, or broken they are not
repaired; neither are they connected with the burial-places.
These seem to have an existence in another form, in that of cylindrical
heaps of stone; the meaning of which a native explained to M. de Langle
by laying himself down on the ground, and then lifting his hands
towards the sky.
The mystery of these statues is increased by a remark of Captain
Beechey's. He had seen the like of them elsewhere; but he had seen them
on uninhabited islands.
The eastern extremity of the Paumotu Archipelago points towards Easter
Island; the northern line is the nearest point to--
THE MARQUESAS.
_Names._--Hivaoa, Tahuata, Fatuhiva, Easter=the south-eastern
group. Nukahiva, Uahuka, Uapou=the north-western.
_Population._--Perhaps two thousand.
The natives of the Marquesas are considered as the handsomest men of
Polynesia.
The natives of the Marquesas are most at war with one another of all
the Polynesians. Their chief island is intersected by a mountain-ridge;
and the mountain-ridge (like most mountain-ridges) supplies a fierce
body of quarrellers.
The natives of the Marquesas speak a greater variety of dialects (or
sub-dialects) than the natives of any other group. This has engendered
the doctrine that they were colonized from more quarters than one.
Distant though it be the Nukahiva group is the nearest point to--
THE SANDWICH ISLANDS.
_Names of islands according to the dialect or orthography
followed by Prichard._--Hawaii, Maui, Tahaurawe, Morokini,
Ranai, Morokai, Oahu, Tauai, Niihau, Taura.
_Names of the islands according to the dialect or orthography
followed by Simpson._--Hawaii, Mowee, Kakoolawe, Lanai,
Molokoi, Woahoo, Kanai, Niihau.
_Structure._--Volcanic.
_Physical appearance of the natives._--Height above the
average. Mouth square and heavy.
Extract from M. Chloris: "Les enfans, en venant au monde,
sont complêtement noirs; la jeune fille la plus jolie, et la
plus delicate, qui s'expose le moins à l'action de l'air et
du soleil, est noire; celles qui sont obligées de travailler
constamment à l'ardeur du soleil, sont presque de couleur
orangée." This orange tint is noticed by Mr. Simpson, who
describes the Hawaiians as intermediate to the black Negro and
the Red American--more, however, red than black.
The majority of the Polynesian islands present the phenomenon of an
imperfect and recent civilization engrafted upon a state of comparative
barbarism; and none more than the Hawaiian group. No area is, at once,
so European and so Polynesian. Neither in any area are the influences
more mixed. The population is mixed also. White and half-breeds
constitute a large and increasing proportion of the population; the
white being from England, from America, and from France.
This is the way in which the admixture of foreign blood takes place
within the island itself. But it is not the only way. The Sandwich
Islanders are themselves emigrants, and they are found upon the
opposite coast of America; thus giving admixture to the Californian and
Oregon Indians. They do the same in South America on the coast of Peru
and Ecuador.
It is this determination of the Sandwich Islands to America, that gives
us the phænomenon of the American and Oceanic admixture--a new and
imperfectly studied form of union.
This dispersion of the Sandwich Islanders tells a story on more matters
than one. It speaks to their enterprize, maritime capacity, and value
as industrial assistants. This is what they are at home, and this is
what they are abroad.
Since the discovery of the Sandwich Islands by Cook, the three great
influences that have been at work, are--
1. The wars, and policy of Kamehamehu.
2. Missionary influences.
3. Commercial and political influences.
1. At the accession of Kamehamehu, as now, the system of caste that
determines the social state of New Zealand, Tahiti, and other parts of
Polynesia, regulated that of the Sandwich group. The chiefs, however,
held but nominally under the sovereign. Each in his own island, was
practically an independent ruler. The wars of Kamehamehu coerced
the chiefs of the smaller islands, and left him the sovereign of a
consolidated empire. This he administered in the spirit of a Pagan, and
a conqueror. Of the god of the volcano and earthquake that had helped
him to his early victories, he lived and died the constant worshipper
and support.
By the further favour of the same, he hoped to reduce the Tahitian
group; an idea that raises his assemblage of canoes to the dignity of a
fleet. At any rate, the force for land, and the force for sea underwent
an incipient organization in the reign of Kamehamehu.
Then again, he was not only a great merchant, but the only great
merchant in his dominions. The chief export was the sandal-wood, which,
bearing a high price in the China market, and growing chiefly on the
more inaccessible mountains, could only be collected at the expense
of grinding labour, and fatal suffering as the portion of the helot
population. This decimated the islands as much, or even more, than his
wars.
At the death of Kamehamehu a weak tyranny succeeded a strong one.
The monopoly of the sandal-wood was divided between the chiefs; and
the multitude of masters increased the amount of suffering. I am
writing from what I find in Sir G. Simpson, and add that the extremes
of bloodshed and oppression brought with them their own remedy. The
coercion was too successful to leave an enemy to fight against; and the
sandal-wood became too nearly exhausted to command its previous price
of life and labour.
In 1819, the great father of his dynasty died; and his idols died with
him. Pagan as he was himself, his nation had outgrown Paganism; and
there was a _tabula rasa_ for any better creed.
2. With the reign of Liho-Liho began the influence of the
missionaries--American, English, and French; the American and English
with their respective forms of Protestantism, the French with Romanism.
I have no inclination to meddle with the distasteful details of these
mischievous contests. The ethnological result is the triple character
of the influence now in operation. In politics, Hawaii is independent;
independent and semi-constitutional; with its independence guaranteed
by England, America, and France. In religion it is Protestant--with
Romanism tolerated and something more; tolerated and making way amongst
the people.
3. The improvement of the agriculture of the Sandwich Islands is going
on steadily. Silk and sugar are beginning to be grown; and a healthier
trade is replacing the sandal-wood monopolies.
I have admitted the previous notice of the character of Hawaiian
civilization for the sake of comparing it with the present state and
actual prospects of the islands. Cook, when he visited them, put the
population at four hundred thousand--an exaggeration. Perhaps it came
to half as much. In 1832 and 1836, there were censuses; of which the
result was as follows:--
POPULATION.
NAME. AREA. 1832. 1836.
Hawaii 4,600 45,792 39,364
Mowee 620 35,062 24,199
Lanai 100 1,600 1,200
Molokoi 190 6,600 6,000
Kakoolawe 60 80 80
Woahoo 530 29,755 27,809
Kanai 500 10,977 8,934
Niihau 90 1,047 995
----- ------- -------
Whole group 6,090 130,313 108,579
------ ------- -------
This gives us a reduction; a reduction which has increased by 1840.
This, I suppose, is the one from which Prichard takes his numbers, for
two of the islands--
For Maui 18,000
--- Woahoo 20,000
Emigration will not account for this decrease. This we may see at
once, from the proportion in 1840--the figures and reasoning are Sir
G. Simpson's--in the single island of Kanai, between that part of the
population which was under, and that part which was above, eighteen
years of age.
1ST DISTRICT. 2ND. DO. 3RD DO. 4TH DO.
Under eighteen 706 309 372 685
Above eighteen 2,229 1,043 1,178 2,134
------ ------ ------ ------
Total 2,935 1,352 1,550 2,819
------ ------ ----- ------
"Here," Sir G. Simpson continues, "is an average of one person under
eighteen, to rather more than three persons above it--a state of
things which would carry depopulation written on its very face,
unless every creature, without exception, were to attain the good old
age of seventy-five." To this we add a remark upon the bearing of
the early period of marriages throughout Polynesia. Not _one_--but
_two_--generations are included in the population under eighteen
years; since before that time boys and girls have begun to have boys
and girls of their own.
This disproportion accounts for the decrease. But what accounts for the
disproportion?
In 1824, Mr. Stuart wrote that--"in those parts of the islands where
the influence of the mission had not extended, two-thirds of the
infants born perish by the hands of their own parents before attaining
the first or second year of their age."
In 1840, there were found in Kanai out of 5,541 adults, only
sixty-eight, and sixty-five women who had more than two children each,
and that with a bounty, in the shape of an exemption from certain
taxes, upon a number to that amount; whilst in Woahoo the births were
sixty-one, the deaths one hundred and thirty-two.
Distant though it be, the Tahitian group is the nearest point to--
NEW ZEALAND.
_Native name of northern island._--Ikana, Mawi.
_Native name of southern island._--Tavai, Punamu.
_Native name of the language._--Maori.
CHATHAM ISLAND.
_Locality._--Twelve degrees east of New Zealand.
_Appearance of the natives._--Colour dark; so much so as to be
called by the New Zealanders, _Blafello=Black-fellow_, a term
adopted from the English.
Such are the larger islands and archipelagoes of Polynesia. To these
must be added the following smaller groups.
UNION GROUP.
_Locality._--Five degrees due north of the Navigators' Islands.
_Names._--1. Bowditch Isle, or Fakaafo. 2. Duke of York's
Island, or Oatafu. 3. Duke of Clarence's Island, or Nukunono.
_Population._--About one thousand.
_Structure._--Coralline.
_Language._--Intelligible to the Samoans.
_Food._--Coco-nuts, pandanus-nuts, fish.
Although so near the Equator, the Fakaafo people are the fairest of the
Polynesians.
VAITUPU GROUP.
_Name._--1. De Peyster I., or Nukufetau.
2. Tracy's I., or Vaitupu.
3. Ellice's I., or Funafati.
_Language._--Intelligible to the Samoans.
_Real or supposed peculiarity._--The bow used in De Peyster's
Island. Except in the Navigators' Isles; rare elsewhere.
These islands have importance as connecting Northern Polynesia with
Southern Micronesia. The people are dark-coloured and bearded.
PENRHYNN ISLAND.
_Locality._--Midway between the Marquesas and Union Isles.
Inhabitants numerous as compared with the size of the island.
ROTUMA.
_Synonym._--Granville Island.
_Locality._--Lat. 12° 30´ N. Long. 177° 15´ E. Three hundred
miles from any other land.
COCO ISLAND.
TRAITOR'S ISLAND.
_Locality._--North of the Friendly Islands. Lat. 15° 50´ S.
Long. 174° W. _i.e._, between the Tonga and Samoan groups.
HORN ISLAND.
WALLIS ISLAND.
_Locality._--Between Rotuma and the Samoan Archipelago.
SAVAGE ISLAND.
_Locality._--Four degrees east of the Friendly group; _i.e._,
between the Tonga Isles and the Hervey and Austral groups.
TIKOPIA.
_Locality._---Lat. 12° 30´ S. Long. 169° E.
_Population._--About five hundred.
In Tikopia the locality is nearly Kelænonesian; whilst the physiognomy
and language are Amphinesian; and of the two Amphinesian branches, most
probably Polynesian.
On the other hand, they use the bow and arrow, and raise cicatrices by
burning--both of which habits are Kelænonesian.
FOTUNA.
_Synonym._--Erronan. A few miles east from Tanna, a
Kelænonesian Island.
IMMER.
_Synonym._--Muia. _Ditto._
The locality creates the interest for these two islets. They are not
only isolated from the other parts of Polynesia, but are portions of
another geographical area.
FREE-WILL ISLAND.
_Locality._--Fifty minutes north of line, to the west (or
north-west) of New Guinea.
_Natives._--Copper-coloured, with long black hair.--_Carteret
from Prichard._
The natives of Free-will Island require further description. It is
nearly certain that they are _Amphi_nesian--but whether Protonesian or
Micronesian is uncertain. Laying aside, for the present, Madagascar,
and the Fiji Islands, we shall find that the more important questions
connected with the ethnology of Polynesia are as follows--
1. The affinities with Protonesia.
2. The differences between Polynesia Proper and Micronesia.
3. The extent to which one of these last-named divisions is more
Protonesian than the other.
4. The details of the dispersion within the limits of a single
division; Micronesia or Polynesia, as the case may be.
5. The _general_ dispersion and distribution.
6. The inferences arising from the existence of the darker coloured,
and more Negrito-like population.
7. The date of the Polynesian dispersion.
1. _The affinities with Protonesia._--Much has to be done in this
department; especially in regard to the indication of similar habits
and customs; and in respect to the explanation of undoubted and
important points of difference. Indeed, at the present moment, the
proof of the Protonesian affinities with Polynesia is almost wholly
philological. Still, of its kind, it is satisfactory and scientific.
That isolated Malay words were to be found far beyond the proper
Malay area was known as early as the time of Reland. By Marsden,
Crawfurd, and others, the list was enlarged. The evidence, however,
that the grammatical structure of the South-Sea languages was equally
Protonesian with the vocabularies, forms the most valuable part of a
late publication--the posthumous dissertation of W. Von Humboldt on
the Kawi language of Java. In this the Tagala of the Philippines is
taken as the sample of a Protonesian grammar in its most elaborate and
complex form; a starting-point which explains the structure of the
Polynesian and Malagasi tongues in a manner far beyond any amount of
elucidation that could have been drawn from the comparatively simple
structure of the proper Malayan.
For all questions of this sort the great work just named is the
thesaurus and repository. It is also the thesaurus and repository
for all facts connected with the history of the Hindu influences on
Protonesia.
The other ethnological phænomena, _not_ philological, that naturally
belong to this part of the subject, will be noticed under the third
head.
2. _The differences between Polynesia and Micronesia._--Some of these
have been noticed. None, however, have been of equal importance with
the difference of language. The exact appreciation of their import is
difficult.
The fact of the bow and arrow being either not used at all, or used but
little (according to the American explorers in their _games_, but not
in their _wars_), must be taken as _relative_, rather than as a simple
_negative_, fact.
_a._ It is used in Kelænonesia.
_b._ The parts of Polynesia where it is used (Samoa, De Peyster's
Islands, and Tikopia) are the parts nearest to Kelænonesia.
The absence of the tabu in Micronesia is, probably, less of an
unqualified fact than it seems to be. In the Proper Polynesian form,
and with the Polynesian name, it has probably no existence. In more
than one Micronesian island, however, certain objects are held sacred,
certain objects are generally prohibited, and certain objects are
prohibited under certain conditions.
_The Polynesian custom of drinking kava not Micronesian._--What
applies to the tabu applies here. Kava, under the name of _kava_, and
prepared, as in Polynesia, from the fermentation of the _root_ of the
_piper methusticon_, is not drunk in Micronesia. _Shiaka_, however,
is a beverage at Ualan (and probably elsewhere); and _shiaka_ is a
fermentation of the leaves of the _piper methusticon_.
The _differentiæ_, then, between Polynesia Proper and Micronesia
are subject to criticism; so much so that instead of saying that a
Polynesian custom is wanting in Micronesia (or _vice versâ_), we should
rather say that the Polynesian habit takes a modified form. Above all,
the criticism applicable to all _negative_ statements is preeminently
applicable here.
Facts of the same sort with the _kava_, and _tabu_ observations, are to
be found in other matters, _e.g._ the Micronesian sails by the stars,
the Polynesian by the flight of birds. The Micronesian canoe is an
amphisbæna, _i.e._ it can be paddled either way, and it is generally
simple. The Polynesian, on the other hand, is often double, and almost
always an outrigger: so much so that the appearance of Cook's vessels,
on the discovery of Tahiti, was hailed by the natives as a fulfilment
of one of the prophecies of Mawi; which was to this effect:--That a
canoe such as never had been seen by any native before--a canoe without
out-riggers, should at some future time visit the island. Now so
impossible a thing was a canoe without out-riggers in the eyes of the
Tahitians, that the prophecy was laughed to scorn. So in order to gain
credence, Mawi launched his wooden dish upon the waters, which swam as
he said the strange canoe should swim. Afterwards, when Cook sailed
towards the islands, his ship was held to be the prophesied canoe; and
at the present moment English vessels have been called _Mawi's canoes_.
The sum, perhaps, of all the distinctions of the sort already
indicated, will give between Polynesia and Micronesia, the difference
between a Dutchman and an Englishman; certainly not less--probably
more. Probably more, because the very considerable difference in the
details of the two mythologies has yet to be added. A brief notice of
these may be found in Prichard's chapter on the Marianne Islanders;
and this reference is all that our space allows. That the difference,
however, of the superstitions is _not less_ (probably _greater_) than
the difference between the languages is a safe conclusion.
The differences in the general moral character of the two divisions lie
within a small compass. Coldness of manner in general, less tendency to
bloody warfare, less laxity amongst the female part of the population,
and less cannibalism, are points wherein the Micronesian character has
the advantage. The Micronesian domestic arts also, such as dyeing and
weaving, are in advance of the Polynesians.
3. _Distribution of Protonesian characteristics._--Which of the two
divisions has the most of these? This is partially answered by some of
the observations which have just preceded: two other facts answer it
more fully.
_a._ The opinions of MM. Durville and Lesson, as to the connexion
of the Micronesians with the Mongolians--without being evidence in
favour of the Micronesian branch being the more _Protonesian_, of
the two, this is, certainly, a fact in favour of its being the more
_continental_.
_b._ The opinion of Le Gobien, one of the early Missionaries, "that the
Caroline Islanders came from the Philippines."
4. _Details of the distribution within the limits of a single
division._--The question as to the particular part of Micronesia, or
the particular part of Polynesia, from which the rest of the respective
areas was peopled, is so much a part and parcel of the broader question
as to the origin of the population _en masse_, that it belongs, in its
entirety, to a latter stage of our inquiries. Still there are a few
facts which may be noticed at once; and these apply to Polynesia Proper.
Assuming as a postulate, that the direction of the line of population
is from east to west (or _vice versâ_), from north to south (or _vice
versâ_), &c., it is reasonable to suppose that each isle has been
peopled from the one nearest to it, and that _exclusively_. Hence
no second source of population is to be assumed _gratuitously_.
Upon reasonable grounds, however, it _may_ be assumed; _e.g._ in
the Marquesas, it is said, that the difference of dialects for the
different islands is scarcely consistent with a population from the
Paumoto group exclusively. So also, in the Sandwich Islands, although
Nukahiva is the _primâ facie_ source of the population, Tonga elements
occur in a degree beyond that in which they are found in Nukahiva
itself. Here, also, the inference of a second element is legitimate.
Missionaries and ethnologists, who have applied a sagacious criticism
to the problem of the _immediate_ population of Polynesia, have found
good reasons for believing that the _first archipelago of Polynesia
Proper_ that received a population from some other quarter, and which
transmitted it, in different streams elsewhere, was the _Samoan_ or
_Navigators'_ Islands. This opinion, the grounds of which may be found
in full in the ethnological portion of the United States Exploring
Expedition, is, probably, the right one; at any rate it is the proper
inference, from the facts known to the investigators.
The last three questions will be better considered after the notice of
the _Oceanic Negritos of the Kelænonesian area_.
_THE MALEGASI BRANCH_(?).
The consideration of the Malegasi Amphinesians is deferred
until we treat upon the ethnology of Africa.
II.
_THE KELÆNONESIAN STOCK_.[66]
_Physical conformation._--Modified Amphinesian Negrito. Skin
rough and harsh, black rather than brown or olive. Hair crisp,
curly, frizzy, and woolly(?) rather than straight; black.
Stature from five feet, or under, to six(?).
_Languages._--Not generally admitted to contain a certain
proportion of Malay words--but really containing it.
_Distribution._--Wholly insular; islands often large.
_Area._--New Guinea, New Ireland, Solomon's Isles, Louisiade,
New Hebrides, New Caledonia, Australia, Tasmania.
_Aliment._--Mammalian fauna considerable. In parts, deficient
in ruminants and pachydermata.
_Religion._--Paganism.
_Social and physical development._--Maritime habits rare and
partial. Industrial arts limited. Foreign influences of all
sorts inconsiderable.
_Divisions._--1. The Papua Branch. 2. The Australian Branch. 3.
The Tasmanian Branch(?).
The first question which may present itself to the reader is one as to
the difference between the tribes that are now about to be described as
Kelænonesian, and those which have already been described as _Blacks
of the Malay area_. Both are really Negrito; and it has already been
stated that both may be called so. The answer is--that _Negrito_ is an
ethnological, _Kelænonesian_, a geographical term. The first denotes
black, or Black-like oceanic tribes _wherever found_; the latter
black or Black-like tribes when found in definite areas, wherein they
form the bulk of the population. Thus, in Amphinesia the Negrito is
exceptional, in Kelænonesia normal, and _vice versâ_.
THE PAPUA BRANCH OF THE KELÆNONESIAN STOCK.
_Latitude._--Southern tropic.
_Area._--The islands off the north-west corner of New
Guinea(?), New Guinea, New Britannia, New Ireland, Admiralty
Isles, Louisiade, Solomon's Isles, Vanikoro(?), New Hebrides,
New Caledonia, The Fiji Archipelago(?).
_Direction._--South-east from New Guinea.
_Physical conformation._--Kelænonesians with crisp, curly,
frizzy, and woolly(?) rather than straight hair.
_Probable origin._--North-eastern Protonesia.
Whether we take the Protonesian islands in the line from Timor to
Moa, Sermatty, Timorlaut, the Keys, and the Arrus, or begin with the
Northern Moluccas, Gilolo, and Morty, we equally reach the great island
of New Guinea; and in each case the ethnological change coincides with
the geographical one.
THE ARRU ISLES.
_Extract from Mr. Earle._--"I do not here" (_i.e._, in the
Timor group), "include the Arru isles, for _there_ I have no
doubt a considerable mixture of Papuan will be found."
The probable source, however, of the Papuan population must be sought
for in the parts about Gilolo. Here the distinction between those
islands which constitute the more eastern and northern portions of
the Moluccas, and those which are considered to belong to New Guinea,
is difficult to be drawn. In Guebé, for instance, the natives are
described by M. Freycinet as having flat noses and projecting lips. To
this it may be added, that their colour is dark. On the other hand,
however, the facial angle is from ten to twelve degrees higher than
that of the Negrito of New Guinea. Mr. Crawford, who rarely either
overlooks or undervalues physical distinctions, adopts Freycinet's
notice as descriptive of a second variety of the true Malay type, and
suggests the likelihood of there being an intermediate race between the
lank and the woolly-haired families.
More immediately, however, in the neighbourhood of New Guinea, we have
the islands of Waigiú and Rawak. These are so thoroughly considered
by the French geographers as belonging to the Negrito area, that
they are called the _Isles des Papous_. With these, then, the proper
Kelænonesian or Negrito area begins.
WAIGIÚ AND RAWAK.
_Physical appearance._--According to M. Pellion, in
Freycinet--Forehead flat, facial angle 75°, mouth large, nose
flattened, beard scanty, lower extremities slender. Hair
frizzed and spread out.
According to MM. Quoi and Gaimard--Face broad, frontal and
occipital profile flat, vertex elevated, cheek-bones prominent,
temporal bones convex, the coronal suture farming a ridge.
Nasal bones broad and flat, and _alæ nasi_ spreading. Frontal
and maxillary sinuses largely developed. _Molar portion of the
alveolar arch thick._ Transverse diameter of the palate large;
anterior palatine foramen large.--_Voyage sur L'Uranie et La
Physicienne: Zoologie, par Quoy et Gaimard_.
Such are the details. An opinion, however, often gives a better notion
than a description; and it is the opinion of the French naturalists
that the islanders in question are a hybrid breed between the Papua and
Protonesian. This speaks to the intermediate character of the physical
appearance.
On the other hand, Mr. Earle, admitting both the difference and the
likeness, denies that intermixture is the cause of it; the _real and
undoubted_ hybrids (which he has seen and describes) being different
from the Papuas of the islands.
Under either case, however, we have the phænomenon of a transition in
form.
NEW GUINEA.
_Physical appearance of the natives of the north-west
extremity, i.e., from Waigiú to Dorey._--1st
Variety--Undersized, slender, with oval features, and skin more
brown than black, hair elaborately frizzed.
[Illustration: Fig. 6.]
[Illustration: Fig. 7.]
2nd Variety.--Form squat, faces square and angular, cheek-bones
prominent, lips thick, skin rough and black, hair simply tied
up.
_South-western coast._--Portions of the south-western coast of New
Guinea were visited by H.M.S. Fly, in 1842-1846, under Captain
Blackwood. The notices of Mr. Jukes upon the natives thus seen are
short, and chiefly limited to the points wherein they differed or
agreed with the islanders of Torres Straits--a portion of the human
species that has been described fully for the first time by that
writer. Tall and muscular, with the hair tied back behind, sometimes
with the head shaved, the skin dark brown or copper-coloured, with
ornaments like the people of Erroob, and without out-riggers to their
canoes, or with out-riggers on one side only, they spoke a language
different from that of the Torres Straits islanders.
In appearance, however, they agreed. Their huts were raised on piles,
of moderate dimension, and with small plots of imperfectly-cleared
ground around them. The coast was low, and intersected by numerous
freshwater channels; and the name given to the country by the
Erroobians was Dowdee.
In Darnley Island, a female from the Dowdee coast was seen and
described by Mr. Jukes, she was lighter coloured than the Erroobians,
being of a yellowish-brown; had the septum narium pierced, and was
tattooed, which the females of the island are not.
_Masseed._--The natives were "a well-made, fine-looking people, of a
different type from the Australians, with muscular limbs and frizzled
hair. They had the oval epaulet-like mark on the shoulders, but no
other scars. Their hair was dressed into long, narrow, pipe-like curls,
smeared with red ochre and grease, and they wore a band round the
forehead."--Vol. 1. p. 159.
_Murray Island._--Native name _maær_--Volcanic. Covered with
cocoa-nuts, and having a language almost identical with the Erroob.
_Darnley Island._--Native name, Erroob--Volcanic. The natives here
"were fine, active, well-made fellows, rather above the middle height,
of a dark brown or chocolate colour. They had frequently almost
handsome faces, aquiline noses, rather broad about the nostril,
well-shaped heads, and many had a singularly Jewish cast of features.
The hair was frizzled, and dressed into long, pipe-like ringlets,
smeared sometimes with red ochre, sometimes left of its natural black
colour; others had wigs not to be distinguished from the natural
hair, till closely examined. The septum narium was bored, but there
was seldom anything worn in it. Most of their ears were pierced all
round with small holes, in which pieces of grass were stuck, and in
many the lobe was torn and hanging down to the shoulder. Their only
scars were the faint oval marks on the shoulder. The hair of their
bodies and limbs grew in small tufts, giving the skin a slightly woolly
appearance. They were entirely naked, but frequently wore ornaments
made of mother-of-pearl shells, either circular or crescent-shaped,
hanging round their necks. Occasionally, also, we saw a part of a large
shell, apparently a cassis, cut into a projecting shield-shape, worn
in front of the groin. The women wore a petticoat round the waist,
reaching nearly to the knees, formed of strips of leaves sown on to
a girdle. These formed a very efficient covering, as one or two were
worn over each other. The grown-up woman's petticoat, or nessoor, was
formed, we afterwards found, of the inside part of the large leaves of
a bulbous-rooted plant, called by them teggaer, of which, each strip
was an inch broad. The girl's nessoor was made of much narrower strips
from the inside of the leaf of the plantain, which they call cabbow.
"The younger women were often gracefully formed, with pleasing
expressions of countenance, though not what we should consider handsome
features. The girls had their hair rather long, but the women had
almost all their hair cut short, with a bushy ridge over the top, to
which they, singularly enough, give the same name as to pieces of
tortoise-shell, namely, kaisu. Many of the elder women had their
heads shaved quite smoothly, and we never saw a woman wearing a wig,
or with the long ringlets of the men. At our first landing, all the
younger women and girls kept in the back-ground, or hid themselves in
the bush. On strolling to the back of the huts, we found a small native
path, along which we went a short distance till we came to a rude fence
in front of a plantain-ground, where the men objected to our going
further, and we heard the voices of the women among the trees beyond.
"There were four huts at this spot, all bee-hive shaped, sixteen feet
in diameter, and as much in height. They stood in small court-yards,
partially surrounded by fences formed of poles of bamboo, stuck upright
in the ground, close together, and connected by horizontal rails, to
which they were tied by withies. Inside the huts were small platforms
covered with mats, apparently bed-places; and over head were hung up
bows and arrows, clubs, calabashes, rolls of matting, and bundles
apparently containing bones, which they did not like our examining.
Outside the huts were one or two small open sheds, consisting merely of
a raised flat roof, to sit under in the shade, and a grove of very fine
cocoa-nut trees surrounded the houses."
The arms of the natives were the bow and arrow, and in holding the
former, especial care was taken that the part of the wood which was
uppermost as the tree grew, should be uppermost when used as a weapon.
Rough imitations of the human figure were common; but whether they
served as idols or not was uncertain. The use of tobacco was general.
The language was different from that of the Australians, and the
willingness of the people to communicate, greater, also. On the part
of the females, the reserve and decorum of manner formed a striking
contrast with the very different habits of the Polynesians.
_Turtle-backed Island._--Primitive--Cocoa-nut trees; no gum trees--"We
came one day on the first symptoms of cultivation of the ground we had
ever seen among the aborigines of this part of the world. This was a
little circular plot of ground, not more than four or five yards in
diameter; but it had evidently been dug, though in a rude manner, and
in it were set several young plantain-trees, one or two other plants,
and two trailing plants, somewhat like French beans in appearance,
which we afterwards found were a kind of yam. The huts on this island
had the appearance of a first attempt at a house, having side walls
about two feet high, and a gable-shaped roof rising four feet from
the ground. They were about ten feet long and six feet wide, made
principally of bamboo and thatched with grass and leaves."
_Mount Ernest._--Primitive--Cocoa-nuts--Captain Blackwood "landed
upon Mount Ernest (807 feet high), and found a group of huts much
superior to any we ever saw in Australia, a small grove of cocoa-nuts
and another of large bamboos. The natives did not show themselves till
after he left the island; and though he spent a night on it he did not
suspect their presence at the time. In the huts were found parcels of
human bones, ornamented with red ochre, a mask or hideous face made
of wood and ornamented with the feathers of some struthious bird, and
one or two bundles of small wooden tubes, eight inches long and half
an inch in diameter, the use of which we never could discover. The
feathers so abundantly used as ornaments on their canoes and other
articles by all these islanders, were at first taken by us for emu
feathers, as a matter of course, and supposed to be procured from the
mainland of Australia. I was afterwards, however, induced to doubt the
correctness of that supposition; and on comparing them (in company with
my friend Mr. George Bennett, of Sydney,) with the feathers of the emu,
in the Sydney Museum of Natural History, we found them to be totally
distinct from any emu feathers. They are probably, therefore, feathers
of the cassowary or some similar bird, and are derived from New Guinea
instead of Australia."
Of all the islands of Torres Straits, this is the one nearest to
Australia, whereof the population is apparently derived from New Guinea.
_Dalrymple Island._--Native name, Damood--"The huts were by far the
neatest and best erections of the kind we had yet seen. Each one
occupied a quadrangular space, six to eight feet wide, and from ten
to fifteen feet long. They had gable-shaped roofs, eight feet high in
the centre, and sloping on each side nearly to the ground. The frame
of the house was made of bamboo, and thickly covered or thatched with
grass and palm-leaves; the front and back walls were also made of small
bamboo sticks, upright and fastened close together, the front wall
having a small triangular opening for a door, over which hung loose
strips of palm leaf. The door looked into a little court-yard, of about
ten feet square, in front of the house, strongly fenced with stout
posts and stakes, interlaced with palm leaves and young bamboos, and
accessible only by a very narrow opening between two of the strongest
posts. In this court-yard was the cooking fire. The different huts and
fences were rather irregularly disposed, but placed closely together,
so as to leave only narrow winding passages between them. They occupied
a space fifty or sixty yards long by ten or fifteen broad. Behind them
was the open place of meeting, on the other side of which, against an
old tree was a semicircular pile or wall of dugongs' skulls about three
feet high, many of which were quite fresh, but others rotting with
age; in the middle of this was a conical heap of turtles' skulls in a
similar state. There must, altogether have been some hundreds of skulls
of each kind of animal.
"When they had conducted us into this open space, several of them
seated themselves on small well-made mats, like those used by the Malay
nations; and two or three went and brought a large roll of matting,
at least twelve feet by six, which they spread for us to sit down
on. These really well-made fabrics greatly surprised us after being
accustomed to the non-manufacturing Australians. They then brought us
young cocoa-nuts, tortoise-shell, and ornaments, and a great barter
commenced. They gave us cocoa-nut water without waiting to receive
anything for it, but for the other things they would only accept
tobacco and iron implements, paying no regard to our beads and gaudy
handkerchiefs. They brought us two small bananas or plaintains, but
we could not see the trees on which they grew. They suffered Captain
Blackwood and myself to stroll about the huts unattended, while they
bartered with the boat's crew. We found in the court-yard of one hut,
a ship's cabin-door, painted green, and not very old; in another a
quaker gun, set upright in the ground, and the men said they saw pieces
of 'Queen's line' among them. They had used pieces of iron hoops, and
a long iron spike, to open the cocoa-nuts, but these they might have
procured from passing vessels. The door and the wooden gun, however,
must have come from a wreck.
"At the south end of the huts we came to a building much superior
to, and differing from, any of the rest. It was like a Malay house
unfinished, or one of their own smaller huts raised on posts to a
height of six or seven feet. The point of the gable was at least
fifteen feet from the ground, the roof being supported at each end
by two stout posts about a yard apart, having their tops ornamented
by carved grotesque faces, painted red, white, and black, with much
carving and painting below. The lower part, or ground-floor, of
this building was open all round except at one end, where a broad,
rudely-constructed staircase led to a platform, from which went the
entrance to the upper story; this was floored with stout sticks, and
at this end covered with mats; this part was also partitioned off from
the other by a bamboo screen. Under the roof hung old cocoa-nuts, green
boughs, and other similar things, but nothing to give a decided clue to
the object of the building. Whether this was their temple, their place
for depositing the dead, or a chief's house, we could not make out.
We, however, saw no appearance of any chief, or of one man exercising
authority among them, neither could we discover any traces of religious
belief or observance.[67]
"We now struck off for a walk across the island, one of the natives
coming with us as a guide. Many narrow paths crossed in all directions,
among shrubs and bushes, some of which resembled laurels and myrtles,
in their leaves and modes of growth. Groves of lofty forest trees
occurred here and there, with matted creepers and thick jungle.
Several trailing briars, with thorns like the European bramble, were
observed; and in short, the whole vegetation had a totally different
aspect from that of Australia, and a much greater resemblance to that
of Europe or Asia."
These minutiæ, in the way of description of particular localities,
have a value for two reasons. In the first place they are the only
(or nearly the only) notices of the parts in question. In the next,
the parts themselves are important as belonging to the quarters where
Australia and New Guinea are nearest each other.
In the north of New Guinea, the fact that has most struck inquirers has
been the apparently peculiar style of the buildings. These are of vast
size, capable of containing whole families, and often raised on piles.
Hence, as long as the existence of similar erections in Borneo[68]
was unknown, this form of domestic architecture passed for one of
the characteristics of the Negritos in opposition to the Malays. At
present, its diagnostic value is considerably lowered.
Another industrial art exercised by the Kelænonesians, and (according
to most writers), not exercised by the _unmixed_ Amphinesians, is the
art of pottery. How far, however, it is general on the one side, or
non-existent on the other, remains for further investigations to prove.
The qualification denoted by the word _unmixed_, will be explained when
we come to the ethnology of the Fiji Islands.
NEW BRITAIN.
NEW IRELAND.
NEW HANOVER.
SANDWICH ISLE.
ADMIRALTY ISLANDS.
HERMIT ISLANDS.
These islands have been mentioned in detail for the sake of indicating
the probable line of population--first towards the east, and next
(backwards) to the north-west. Where any of the natives of these
islands differ from one another, or from the New Guinea people, it is
in having stronger limbs, lighter-coloured skins, hair more or less
woolly, and faces more or less angular. All the differences, however,
lie within a small compass. All the tribes, too, seem to agree in
chewing the betel-nut, going naked (or nearly naked), and painting
their bodies.
BOUKA.
BOUGAINVILLE ISLAND.
_Natives._--Heads large, faces flat, chin prominent, mouth
large, lips thin. Muscles well-marked.--_Labillardière._[69]
SOLOMON'S ISLANDS.
_Vocabulary._--From Port Praslin.--_Voyage de l'Astrolabe._
NITENDI, INDENDI, INDENNI.
_Name._--Native.
_Synonyms._--Santa Cruz, Egmont's Island.
_Direction._--Nearly due east (not south) of Christoval, the
most southern of the Solomon Isles.
VANIKORO.(?)[70]
_Description from Durville._--"We have already said that the
inhabitants of Vanikoro belong to the black race of the Great Ocean.
They may be considered as a variety of that race of blacker colour
than others, and of a conformation approaching more nearly to that of
proper Negroes. They are generally small and rather meagre. What is
most remarkable in their shape is an appearance of lateral compression
of the temples, produced by a very arched forward protuberance of the
middle part of the forehead. The hair does not advance low on the
forehead, and the care taken to throw it back renders all these parts
very visible. The cheek-bones being salient give the face a greater
developement than that of the cranium. Another character not less
remarkable is the small projection of the nasal bones, which gives
the nose an appearance of being flattened at its root, and to the
countenance a singular resemblance to that of the orang utang. Owing to
this the orbital arch, itself prominent, appears still more projecting.
The nostrils are wide, and are rendered still more so by the custom of
wearing a stick fixed transversely through the septum narium. The lower
jaw is not remarkable. The form of the forehead causes the facial angle
to be not particularly acute. The lobes of the ears are perforated by
a hole large enough to pass the hand through it. The eyes are large,
oval, and deeply set; the balls salient, round, and resembling in form
and colour those of the Negro. The lips are large, the chin small. The
lower extremities are in some instances very lean, but tolerably fleshy
in others. The calf is rather high, and the heel is in many individuals
remarkably projecting, a character not existing in the Polynesian
race to the same extent. This is another approximation to the Negro.
The hair is crisp, but although not cut, it never becomes bushed and
matted. They are nearly naked. The use of the betel-nut destroys their
teeth, and gives them a red tinge round the mouth. The women are
horribly ugly; the old men are bald."
The position of Nitendi and Vanikoro gives them interest.
_a._ Although not lying due south-east of the Solomon Isles, and due
north-east of the next Archipelago, they form the insular continuity
between the two groups.
_b._ Vanikoro is the Kelænonesian Island, which, by its vicinity,
gives to[71] Tikopia, which is Polynesian, its peculiarity of
distribution.
Lastly, although the fact be not ethnological, the Vanikoro cluster is
the locality where La Perouse perished.
THE NEW HEBRIDES.
Particular islands--
ISLE OF LEPERS.
_Synonym._--Australia del Espiritu Santo.
MALLICOLLO.
For each of these islands we have special evidence--that of
Bougainville and Cook--to the general Negrito character of the natives.
In the voyages of the latter the ill-favoured monkey-like appearance of
the Mallicollese is prominently mentioned.
API.
_Direction._--Continuation from Mallicollo to--
SANDWICH ISLE.
_Direction._--Continuation from Api to--
ERROMANGO.
_Erromango Native as described by Hales._--"He was about five feet
high, slender and long limbed. He had close woolly hair, and retreating
arched forehead, short and scanty eyebrows, and small snub-nose, thick
lips (especially the upper), a retreating chin, and that projection of
the jaws and lower part of the face, which is one of the distinctive
characteristics of the Negro race. His limbs and body were covered with
fine short hairs, made conspicuous by their light colour. On his left
side were many small round cicatrices burnt into the skin, which he
said was a mode of marking common amongst his people. Placed in a crowd
of African blacks, there was nothing about him by which he could have
been distinguished from the rest."--Vol. 6. p. 44.
TANNA.
A grammar of the Tanna language, the only one of the Papua division
that has ever been sufficiently known to Europeans, was seen by Dr.
Prichard--
"I have seen a grammar of the language of Tanna in manuscript, written
by the Rev. T. Heath, a missionary, who resided in that island. It is
much to be regretted that this work has not been published. From this
grammar it appears that the language of Tanna is entirely distinct in
character from the Polynesian. It abounds with inflections and has four
numbers, viz. singular, dual, trinal, there being a particular form in
the verb when three persons are spoken of, which is distinct from the
plural."
ANNATOM.
The direction of the Kelænonesian Islands now changes from south-east
to south-west.
THE LOYALTY ISLES.
NEW CALEDONIA.
With a general character like that of the islanders already mentioned,
Cook states that they are better-looking than the Tanna people, and
that they bury their dead like the Australians. La Billardière adds,
that they are like the Van Diemen's Land natives.
The whole of the Papua area will not have been exhausted until we
return to the parts described by Mr. Jukes, on the south-eastern side
of New Guinea. These lead, in the way of geographical continuity, to--
LOUISIADE.
Of this Island I have seen no definite account. Such notices, however,
as I have met with, make the population what we should expect it to
be--Papua-Kelænonesian.
THE FIJI (FEEJEE) ISLANDS.(?)
_Situation._--Eastward of the New Hebrides, the most eastern
part of Kelænonesia. Westward of the Tonga Isles, the most
western part of Polynesia.
The physical conformation of the Fiji natives is Negrito as well as
Polynesian.
The language of the Fiji natives is more Polynesian than Negrito.
The social institutions, manners, and customs of the Fiji natives are
partly Polynesian, partly Negrito, and partly neither one nor the other.
These statements, combined with their geographical position, give
importance and prominence to the Fiji group of islands. Fortunately our
information concerning them is not altogether disproportionate to the
difficulties that they introduce. The language has been investigated by
Mr. Norriss, whose trust-worthy opinion, adopted in the present work,
may be found, _in extenso_, in the 5th volume of Prichard.
The moral and physical features are exhibited in the following extract
from the American Exploring Expedition:--
"The Feejeeans are a people of the medium stature, with nearly as great
variety of figure as is found in nations of the _Caucasian_ race. The
chiefs are usually tall and well formed, owing probably to the care
taken of their nurture, and to the influence of blood. The common
people are somewhat inferior, yet there are fewer small and ungainly
figures among them than among the lower orders of Europeans. On the
other hand, the _Feejeeans_ contrast very unfavourably with their
neighbours of the _Polynesian_ stock. They lack the full rounded limbs
and swelling muscles which give such elegance to the forms of the
Friendly and Navigators Islanders. They are generally large-jointed,
and the calf is small in proportion to the thigh. The neck is also
too short for due proportion, and the whole figure wants elegance and
softness of outline. Their movements and attitudes are, consequently,
less easy and graceful than those of the _Polynesians_. They are,
nevertheless, a strong race; their war-clubs are ponderous, and are
wielded with great power, and they can carry very heavy burdens.