Note on the Kuni People
Father Egedi, who has studied the Kuni people, and has written a
series of articles about them in numbers of _Anthropos_, told me
that he regarded them as being a cross between the Papuan-speaking
Mafulu and the Melanesian-speaking Papuo-Melanesians of Mekeo and the
adjoining coast. Whether or not this is absolutely and strictly correct
is a question upon which I will not venture to express an opinion.
In general physique and appearance the Kuni are distinctly and strongly
of the type of the Mafulu, whilst their language is Melanesian; and,
as regards other matters, they in some respects resemble and in other
respects differ from the Mafulu.
As regards physique, Father Egedi distinguishes the Kuni from the
natives of the adjoining coast by their slighter development, slender
limbs and darker colour of skin, in which respects they resemble the
Mafulu; but he regards them as being lower-statured than the tribes
of the interior, which term includes the Mafulu, [118]with greater
regularity of features, and of lighter colour, all of which tallies,
I think, with my own observation of them. But the fact that they are
shorter in stature than the Mafulu, who are themselves shorter than
the coast natives, is perhaps a matter for surprise, if they are
a cross between the two. I have not measured any Kuni heads; but I
should be disposed from general observation to say that they are very
similar to those of the Mafulu, being predominantly mesaticephalic,
with tendencies to brachycephalism. [119]
Many of the Lapeka people, who are Kuni, but are on the borders of
the Upper Mekeo district, seemed to me to have distinctly flattish
faces, with remarkably delicately cut features--some of the women
in particular being exceedingly pretty in profile--and very bright
sparkling eyes. Where these local characteristics came from I cannot
say, as it could hardly be the result of an intermixture of Mekeo
blood. [120]
The oblique eye, which is occasionally found on the coast, [121] but
which I never saw in Mafulu, is, according to Father Egedi, present,
though only rare, among the Kuni. His large amount of opportunity
for observation, and his known care and ability in this respect,
compel me to assume his accuracy; but I can say that I saw a good
many of these eyes among them, and indeed once, having about twenty
of these Kuni people squatting in front of me, I observed that about
half of them had distinctly oblique eyes.
Father Egedi speaks of their hair as being "generally black, rarely
bright, and more rarely chestnut"; and as to this, I would refer to
the fact that the predominating colour of hair among the Mafulu is
dark or darkish brown, so that in this respect the Kuni apparently
tend more to the black-haired coast type of native than do the Mafulu.
Concerning matters other than physique and language, as I only passed
through the Kuni district, and did not attempt serious ethnological
investigation there, I can say but little beyond what I learn from
Father Egedi's articles and a few other sources; and the material
thus available only deals with a few questions.
It would appear from Father Egedi's observations that the relationship
between villages arising from the splitting up into two or more of
an original family village is not so permanent as I believe it to be
among the Mafulu. Dr. Seligmann says [122] that among the Kuni Father
Egedi "could find no trace of intermarrying groups, or groups of clans
claiming common descent," which statement applies to my investigations
among the Mafulu. He further says [123] that "The Dilava folk"
(Dilava is a Kuni village) "marry into all the surrounding villages;
and when a death occurs it is the head of the family of the deceased
who says when mourning shall cease"--statements of which the former,
and I believe the latter, could hardly be correctly made concerning
the Mafulu. He also refers [124] to Kuni war chiefs, an office which
does not exist among the Mafulu, and apparently understands that the
office of these war chiefs is non-hereditary, a statement which could
not be made of any Mafulu chief; and he refers [125] to a funeral
ceremony which is quite unknown in Mafulu. But his statement [126]
that the _kufu_ (club-house) system seems less developed than in
Mekeo would apply very strongly to the Mafulu.
The Kuni superstitious remedies for illnesses, as described by Father
Egedi, are quite different from those of Mafulu, and their food
restrictions, as enumerated by him, are in some respects substantially
distinct from those of the Mafulu, though some of them are more or
less similar.
According to him Kuni women, though they may not enter the village
_kufu_ or club-house, are allowed upon its platform, which is not
the case with the Mafulu _emone_; and eldest sons of Kuni influential
people may not enter into the _kufu_ until their parents have given a
specific feast, which custom is apparently not identical with that of
the Mafulu above described by me, and which applies to all sons of all
members of the village, and not merely to those of influential people.
The Kuni houses differ from those of the Mafulu, being more or
less round or oval in apparent shape, even though the floor is
rectangular. Also according to Father Egedi, Kuni _kufu_ are of
several various sorts, and some of them are constructed in specific
ways, and have specific carved and painted decorations, some of which
are imitative of animals and objects held in veneration; and these
different types of club-house, which include one used only by elderly
bachelors and widowers, have specific names--all of which is quite
different from what is found in Mafulu. Among these club-houses Father
Egedi includes one built at feast times higher up the ridge, outside
the village, for guests' accommodation, which, though apparently
somewhat similar in purpose to the guests' houses at a Mafulu feast,
differs from them in form. Indeed, as regards building construction,
the only point of strong similarity between the Kuni and the Mafulu
which I can trace is the long fireplace extending from front to back
of the building, which with the Kuni is apparently very like that of
the Mafulu.
Father Egedi's statement as to Kuni cannibalism, that speaking
generally it appears to be confined to the bodies of people killed in
war or in private vendetta, and that, though other cases are recorded,
they are regarded as a violation of a custom and are detested, might be
equally well said of the Mafulu; though I did not actually hear of any
known record there of the other cases mentioned. Again his statement
that the actual killer must not share in the feast holds good with
the Mafulu; but I believe that this idea exists elsewhere also.
Concerning the Kuni implements I can only refer to Dr. Seligmann's
statement, [127] that they do not appear to use bows and
shields--which, if correct, is a point of difference between them and
the Mafulu--and to a few other things referred to by Father Egedi in
his articles. From his descriptions I should imagine that the Kuni
pig-bone implements and their bamboo cutting knives are similar, and
that their wooden vegetable dishes are somewhat similar to those of
the Mafulu. But the Kuni have cooking pots (which they get from the
coast), and use forks and spoons and various other implements and
utensils which are not found in Mafulu, and their mode of producing
fire is quite different from the Mafulu mode.
I recognise that the above comparative notes on Kuni culture are only
of a very fragmentary character; but Father Egedi expresses the general
opinion that, though the language of the Kuni people is Melanesian,
their habits and customs "may be considered as making one with those
of the Mafulu people."
On the whole question of Kuni relationship it can, I think, hardly
be doubted that the Kuni have some characteristics which are clearly
those of the Mafulu and other central mountain tribes, and others which
are obviously those of the Papuo-Melanesians of the adjacent plains
and the coast beyond; and the only question seems to be the nature
and origin of the Kuni relationship to these two types of people. It
may be, as suggested by Father Egedi, that they are actually a cross
between these two mixed types; or, if the suggestion in my concluding
chapter as to the possible presence in these Mafulu and other mountain
people of Negrito blood be correct, it may be that the Kuni people
are merely another result of the general Negrito-Papuo-Melanesian
intercrossing, in which the Papuan and Melanesian elements have been
more predominant than they have been with the Mafulu.