Music and Singing, Dancing and Toys and Games
Music and Singing.
The Mafulu people are naturally musical and have good musical
ears--much more so than is the case in Mekeo and on the coast,
thus conforming to what I believe to be a general rule that music is
usually more indigenous in hill country than it is in the plains. Their
instruments are the drum, the jew's-harp and a small flute; but the
flute is not a true Mafulu instrument, and has probably been acquired
from Mekeo.
The drum (Plate 75, Fig. 3) is like the Mekeo drum, but smaller,
and its open end is cut in deep indentations. The wooden body of the
drum is made from various trees. A pine tree is the favourite one;
but others are used, including a tree the native name of which is
_arive_, which word is also the native word for a drum. The membrane
is made of the skin of a reptile, probably the "iguana." The maker
of a drum must climb up the tree from the wood of which he is about
to make it, and there, until the drum is finished, he must remain
sitting among the branches, or, if these are inconvenient for the
purpose, he may erect a scaffold around the trunk of the tree, with
a platform on the top of it, and work upon that. Whilst working,
he must always keep the upper or tympanic end of his drum facing
the wind, the idea of this being that the wind gets into the drum,
and makes it musical. His food is brought to him, whilst in his tree,
by some woman, probably his mother if he is a bachelor, or his wife
if he is married, and he lets down a string by which he hauls it up;
but he is under no special restriction as to the food he may eat. There
is no superstition, such as is found among the Roro and Mekeo people,
compelling him, in the event of his seeing a woman during the making
of the drum, to throw it away and begin a new one.
The jew's-harp (Plate 20, Fig. 2), though seen in Mekeo, is, I was
told, as regards its manufacture, an instrument of the mountains. It
is made out of bamboo or palm, or some other tree having a hollow
or soft interior, from which is cut a piece about 8 or 10 inches
long. A portion of this piece is cut away longitudinally, leaving
for the making of the instrument only two-thirds or half, or even
one-third, of the convex outside stem circumference on one side and
the flat surface of the cut-away part on the other, and the latter
is then hollowed out, leaving, however, a solid head an inch or two
long at one end. The hollow piece thus produced is cut into three
longitudinal sections or strips, of which the two outside ones are
longer than the central one. The two outside strips are left at their
full width from the head downwards to a distance of 2 or 3 inches
from the other end, from which point they are cut away, very much
as one would cut away the divided nib of a quill pen, so that the
actual tips of these two strips are quite slender, being no broader
than their thickness. These two ends are tied together with fine
vegetable fibre. The centre strip, which is generally narrower than
the other two at its commencement by the head, is further reduced in
width by a more immediate and gradual process of paring down, and so
becomes a very slender vibrating tongue or reed, the tip of which goes
almost up to, but does not quite reach, the point at which the tips of
the two outer strips are bound together. A hole is bored through the
solid head; and through this hole is passed a thick string of native
make from 5 to 10 or 12 inches long, secured at one end by a knot
on the flat side of the head, to keep the string from slipping out,
and having at the other end a large, rough, ornamental tassel. The
tassel is generally in part composed of the untwisted fibres of the
string itself; but to these is added something else, such as a bunch
of feathers, or two smaller bunches of feathers; and among these may
be seen such miscellaneous articles as a fragment of dried-up fruit,
or a part of the backbone of a fish. For playing the instrument,
they place its tail end, with the hollow side inwards, to the mouth,
holding the extreme tip of that end in the fingers of the left hand,
and keep the tongue of the instrument in a constant state of vibration,
by smart, rapid, jerky pullings of the tasselled string.
The flute is merely a small simple instrument made out of a small
bamboo stem, with one or two holes bored in it.
All these instruments are played by both men and women; but the
jew's-harp and flute are regarded only as toys.
I believe the Mafulu people occasionally sing at dances to the beating
of the drums; but this is quite unusual; and they never sing to the
music of the jew's-harp or flute. Both men and women sing, generally
several or many together, not so often alone. Their songs are all
very simple, and are chiefly sung in unison or octaves. I was told
that they sometimes accomplish simple harmonies, the notes of which
may simultaneously rise or fall either with the same or different
intervals, or may rise and fall in contrary motion; or the harmony
may be produced by one man or part of the group sustaining a note,
whilst another changes it; and I myself heard an example of the latter
of these, and also heard singing in which, while a group of men were
singing the same simple air, some of them were occasionally singing
one part of it, whilst the others seemed to be singing another part,
thus producing a very simple catch or canon. I am not, however, quite
certain as to this. Their songs are both cheerful and plaintive;
but the latter predominate, and are mainly in the minor key. The
subjects of their songs are generally sentimental love, and include
ditties by young men about their sweethearts; and I believe that some
of their songs are indecent, though I am not sure of this. They also
have warlike songs; and, when a special event occurs, songs are often
composed with reference to it. For example, not long ago a chief was
taken by the authorities to Port Moresby, and died there; and songs
about this were sung all through his district. Anyone will compose a
topical song; in fact, a man will begin singing one in the _emone,_
making it up as he goes on, and the others will join. The men have a
very pretty custom of singing together very softly when at the end
of the day they have retired to their _emone,_ and have lain down
to sleep, the singing being very gentle, and producing what I can
only describe as a sort of crooning sound, like a lullaby or cradle
song. I once heard one of these songs sung by my carriers the last
thing at night as they lay beneath the floor of the building in which
I was sleeping; and the effect was absolutely charming.
As an example of Mafulu music I give the following, which, though not,
I fear, quite accurate, is I think a substantially correct version of
the music of a war song sung by the Mambule and Sivu communities in
connection with joint hostilities by them against another community,
and I have so far as possible added the song itself.
1st Verse: E! e! e! Si-vu Mambule juju la em u jeka le
2nd Verse: E! e! e! Noul e nul em u ieka la bulu iuju le
It will be observed that the first line is whistling only. I was
informed that it is a common practice to whistle the air before singing
the first verse; though I did not gather that it was always done. It
will also be noticed that simple harmonies occur in the fourth and
fifth bars. I cannot say whether the two parts in the music are
sustained or taken up by the voices upon any defined scheme, and,
if so, what that scheme is. Nor can I say whether the voices which
take the lower notes in the music are silent after the word _la,_ or
repeat that word in the sixth bar, with or without the upper voices,
in order to bring the tune to a full close. I have only given two
verses; and, as regards the song in question, I doubt if there were
any more. Unfortunately I am unable to translate the words, and can
only give the meanings of the following:--
_E! e! e!_ are merely meaningless exclamatory sounds, such as we have
in civilised songs. _Sivu_ is the name of a Fuyuge community close
to the Mission Station, being, in fact, the one referred to by me in
my chapter on communities. _Mambule_ is the name of another of these
communities, further away from the station, being, as stated in my
introductory chapter, the name of the community from which the name
Mafulu arises. I cannot give verbal explanations of any of the other
words; but I may say that a rough translation of the second verse is
"My village, your village is alike (or equal.)"
Dancing.
The Mafulu people, like other New Guinea natives, are fond of dancing,
and indulge in it extensively, especially in connection with feasts
and ceremonies.
Their dancing is of an exceedingly active and lively character. The
movements of the feet are lively and jumping, often half a hop and half
a run; and, whilst dancing, their heads are actively moving backwards
and forwards and to both sides. The general progressive movement of
a dancing party is slow, but not a crawl; and the progress along the
village enclosure is usually accomplished by a series of diagonal
advances, by which they zig-zag backwards and forwards across the
enclosure, and in this way gradually travel along it. Very often the
dancers divide themselves into two parties, which in their zig-zag
progress alternately approach and recede from each other. The dancers
are always facing in the direction in which at that moment they are
moving. Men and women never dance together, except at the big feast,
where they do so in the way already described.
This method of dancing is in striking contrast to that of the Mekeo
people, whose movements are generally very gentle and slow, those
of the feet, which are accompanied by a corresponding genuflexion,
downwards and outwards, being a slow slight step, usually barely
more than a shuffle, the feet being hardly lifted off the ground,
and those of the head being confined to a slow and sedate backwards
and forwards nodding. Also the progress of a party of Mekeo dancers
is generally very slow,--a crawl,--so much so as often to be barely
perceptible, perhaps two or three inches being accomplished at each
step, and the line of progress of a dancing party is usually a straight
line down the village enclosure; and more commonly, though not always,
the position of each dancer is sideways to the then actual direction
of progression. And in Mekeo women and men often dance together in
one group.
Another difference between Mafulu and Mekeo dancing is that among the
Mafulu, though the drum-beating and dancing go on simultaneously, the
singing, in which all the dancers and non-dancers of both sexes join,
does not usually take place during the actual dancing, but only during
periodic pauses, in which the drum-beating and dancing cease; whereas
in Mekeo the drum-beating, dancing and singing all go on continuously
and simultaneously. As regards these Mafulu pauses in the dancing, I
should explain that these are quite distinct from the resting pauses
(in which there is neither drum-beating, dancing, nor singing) which
are customary both among the Mafulu and the Mekeo people.
A further difference arises as regards the dancing decorations. Both
Mafulu and Mekeo natives have elaborate high framework head feather
decorations, which are worn by some, but not necessarily all, of the
dancers; and they are much ornamented about their bodies. But the
Mafulu people generally wear their finest and most beautiful feathers
on their backs, whereas among the Mekeo natives the head ornament is
the chief feature of the decoration; and in Mekeo any man who has not
a framework head decoration generally has sticking in his hair a tall,
upright feather, which sways slowly backwards and forwards in response
to the slow nodding movements of his head.
The special dancing ornaments worn by the Mafulu are the aprons worn
by women, the ribbons worn by men and women, the forehead ornaments
worn by men, the long shell nose ornaments worn by both, and the huge
head feather erections. But for dances the people generally wear
all the decorative finery they possess or are able to borrow; and
they usually with special care paint their faces in various colours,
and their bodies red.
The comparison above given between the dancing of the Mafulu people
and that of the people of Mekeo brings me to a suggestion, made to me
by Father Clauser, that the Mafulu mode of dancing had its origin in an
imitation of that of the red bird of paradise, and the Mekeo mode in an
imitation of that of the goura pigeon. In support of this suggestion
he gave me the following information concerning the dancing of these
birds, which may be compared with the description given above of the
dancing of the Mafulu and Mekeo natives respectively:--
The movements of the red birds of paradise, when dancing, are
remarkably lively, the birds hopping and jumping about the tree
branches and from branch to branch, and bobbing their heads backwards
and forwards and from side to side, almost as though they had gone
mad. The progression along the branches is fairly rapid; but there
is not apparently any continuous line of progression in any given
direction, and the birds seem to have a curious way of approaching
and receding from each other as they do so. The birds always face
in the direction in which they are at the time moving, and do not
dance sideways. Moreover, the dance is an alternation of wild dancing
and intermittent pauses; and during the dancing both the males and
females are silent, but during the pauses they are uttering their
songs or cries.
The dancing movements of the goura pigeons are a gentle slow shuffle,
and are accompanied by a slow bowing or nodding of the head. The
progressive movement is exceedingly slow, and is always a continuous
one in the same direction, and it is usually a sideways movement. The
dancing and accompanying cooing of the pigeons go on continuously
and simultaneously, and the rhythm of the latter is curiously like
the more usual rhythm of the Mekeo drums.
I have unfortunately never had opportunities of observing the dancing
of either of these birds, and so cannot personally vouch for the
correctness of the above descriptions of them. But Father Clauser
has often watched them, and he is undoubtedly a careful observer,
upon whose testimony we may rely; and I may add that my efforts since
my return to England to obtain evidence, confirmatory or otherwise,
of these descriptions have produced confirmation of some of the facts
stated, and have not produced any contradictions.
Then again attention must be drawn to the fact that the magnificent
feather decoration of the bird of paradise is mainly upon or springing
from its back or body, whilst the goura pigeon's sole projecting
decoration, and perhaps its chief beauty, is the crest upon its head,
to which the Mekeo single upright head feather may be likened.
My efforts to obtain light from native sources upon this question of
imitation in Mafulu were fruitless, as the natives questioned knew
nothing of it; and on my return from Mafulu to the coast I did not
again pass through the Mekeo villages. But on reaching the coast I
made further enquiries upon the subject from the Fathers there of the
Mission, and obtained three interesting pieces of information. First,
I was told that the Mekeo clan Inawae of the Mekeo village Oriropetana,
whose clan badge is the goura pigeon, and who are not allowed to
kill and eat it, and whose bird totem it appears to be, say that they
are descended from the goura pigeon, and that an ancestor of theirs,
though himself a man, had all the powers and faculties of movement
of those birds, and that he used to dance with them, and so learnt
the dance and taught it to his people. Unfortunately no enquiry had
been made as to the question of any imitative character in their
present dancing, and the information only emanated from a particular
clan with a particular association with the bird. I therefore do not
attach undue general importance to this case. [93]
Secondly, I was told that the Pokau people, whose dance is practically
the same as that of the Mekeo people, themselves say that their dancing
is an imitation of that of the goura pigeon. This certainly tends
to support Father Clauser's suggestion as regards Mekeo. Thirdly,
some natives of Kuni, who are undoubtedly very similar and closely
related to the Mafulu, and whose dancing is very similar to that of
the latter, were questioned on the subject in my presence, and under
my direction. The question put was, "When Kuni people are dancing,
are they in their dance imitating anything, and if so what?" (no
mention or suggestion being made of a bird or of anything else). The
answer was that they were imitating the dance of the _goloala_, which
I was told was not the red bird of paradise, but was another small
species of that bird with a yellowish-white body, yellow head and
yellowish-white wings. The leading question was then put to them,
whether they were sure the bird was the yellow one described by
them, and not the red one; which question was answered definitely
in the affirmative. And subsequently, when, in order to test their
definiteness and certainty in what they had told me, I showed them a
few postcard pictures of birds of paradise, which included the red
one and others, but not one such as is above described, and almost
invited them to recognise one of these as being the bird they meant,
they were firm in their insistence that the bird to which they referred
was not shown in any of the pictures. This, I think, helps to support
Father Clauser's suggestion as regards the Mafulu, subject of course
to the question of the variety of bird of paradise which is imitated.
Dealing with this question of imitation as a whole, and taking into
consideration the apparently marked similarities between the dancing
of the two tribes of natives and the two genera of birds, and the
further element, perhaps not so strong, as to the similarities
in distribution upon the bodies of their decorations, and bearing
in mind the evidence obtained from native sources, which, though
obviously only fragmentary and insufficient in character, is so far
as it goes distinctly confirmatory, I am impelled to suggest that
Father Clauser's theory is not without foundation, and indeed amounts,
subject to the question of the species of bird of paradise, to a very
substantial possibility. And it is undoubtedly an interesting one. [94]
Toys and Games.
The Mafulu children have neither dolls nor other toys, and do not
make cat's-cradles. The young boys amuse themselves with small bows
and arrows and spears, which they make themselves. One common sport
is for the boys, armed with their spears, to stand in a row and for
another boy to roll in front of them a ball, made out of the root of a
banana tree, with its many rootlets intertwined, and for the boys to
try to hit it with their spears as it passes them. A similar game is
played in Mekeo and on the coast; but there the ball is often made
out of the outer fibre of a cocoanut. Small boys and girls amuse
themselves with glissading down the steep grassy slopes. There is
also a sort of fighting game for boys, in which young men sometimes
join. A number of them divide themselves into two opposing groups,
all armed with little darts, made of reeds on which a few leaves
are left at the head ends; and these two groups mutually attack
each other, advancing and retreating, according to the fortunes of
the fight. Boys, and men also, play at tug-of-war, using long canes
for ropes; and boys and girls have swings, constructed either by
looping two flexible rope-like tree stems together at the bottom,
or with a single rope, with a loop at the bottom, in which to place
their feet. But there are no racing or jumping or gymnastic games,
and no group or singing children's games.