St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1895-04-20
COVNGTON ST. TAMMANY PARISH SATURDAY, APRIL TO- 1885,
THE LOOChOO ISLANDS.
Where the Women Are In the Majority
and DO the Hardest Work.

THE LooCHoo ISLANDS.
Where the Women Are In the Majority
and do the Hardest Work.
These islands are situated in south
west direction from the province of
Satsun,a at a distance of about five
hundred miles; the group consists Of
several large .islands and many outly-
ing small islands. The largest Of all
is popularity known as Hondo. its cir
cumferance being about two hundred
miles. The natives are roughly num-
bered at ten thousand, and the num-
Der of Japanese residing there is only
three hundred.
Der the men, the sexes being present in
the ratio of about five to four. As the
potato is their common food, men and
women spend much of their time in its
cultivation, this and sugarmaking be-
ing their chief pursuits. The average
annual production of sugar is estimat-
ed at forty million casks, each contain
ing about one hundred pounds.
Weaving. lacquer working and dis
tilling q liquor called ''awamori"
must also be named rs in
dustries. The materials for making
lacquer wires, however, come from
Japan; the warm temperature OF the
islands has much to do with producing
= specially bright color. As 4 rule
with uncivilized communities, the
women do the hardest work. and they
are seen carrying large baskets full
OF fish on their heads. and barefOoted.
Itomen, W hich is the only fishery in
the islands, produces all the fish need
ed; the men engage in fishing, and the
women hawk the catches about the
streets or dispose Of them at fish mar
kets- Carrying the baskets on their
heads, their faces and necks are soon
painted red with fish blood. They
carelessly wipe it away from their
eyes and noses with their sleeves. and
they quickly become indescribably
dirty and intOlerably repugnant. But
the dirtier they become with fSh blood
the prounder and happier they look.
The women are said to be usually
stronger and larger than the men.
When at work they are not at all like
ly to be passed by unnoticed.
The natives are very dull and stub
born; but they are very polite external
ly. The males and females alike have
dressed their hair up into round queues
which they ornament with hair pins
made of metal. Formerly distinctions
something like Indian castles were
significd by pins, mobiles wearing only
gold ones, the next caste silver ones,
and SO on with other inferior metals.
But since the islands were put under
the japanese government the caste
system has been abolished, although
the custom fingers on among them. In
Shuri, the capital, and in Naha, the
second city, morality is not kept on a
high level. One very curious custom
condemns a newly-married man to
leave his bride for some days and to
spend his time in q house of ill repute.
There is no written language, and SO
there are no authentic records of their
history. It is supposed that Shunten-
wo or King Shunten, son of Minamoto
Tametomo, a famous archer Of Japan,
who fiourished in the reign of the En-
peror Toba about one thousand years
ago, was banished to these islands,
married a native woman there, sub
dued the natives and was made their
king. The natives, it is thought. emf
grated from Japan, but their language
is quite different from japanese. Some
authorities think they came from
China, and numbers of them are said
to have gone back secretly to China
They have really no religion beyond
= kind of ancestral worship. They have
q very strange custom of worshipping
the dead bones every three years. and
they spend a great deal of money in
keeping their tombs clean and magnifi-
cent all the time; it is said that they
spend most of their incomes on the
tombs. Buddhism and Christianity
have been introduced, the former about
thirty years ago and the latter later.
Both have gained few converts. But
natives are peculiarly averse to educa-
tion, and, though there are great
many government schools, very few
have over attended them. Special in
ducements, even money awards, have
been offered to get them to school, but
still they will not enter. Some fifty
thousand yen are expended annually
at present in educational experiments
in the islands-Hyogo News.