The St. Louis Republic., 1901-11-03
PELIKE Foot of New Guinea Savage Pocas Him the Most Pmi
II tive Type of Man Extant, Says Scientist Haddon 5

ing a crocodiIe's mead combined with Q hu-
man face. and above 1t WIS an e6igy sf@a
sawfish. This ceremony extended for the
greater part Of a week. and believe Il waS
magical performance to insure . suceelD-
ful fishing season.
Dances were held to make the dugsus
come to be harpooned. and II was the busi-
ness of certain clans to provide in this way
for the needs of the community. Dances are
very prevalent at the season Of the year
when food II most abundant, and. like tho
harvest festivals of Europe. there was q
magical idea at the back Of these festtvi.
ties.
At various periods of life there were Inn.
portant ceremonies. and not the least ins.
portant were those associated with death.
Some tribes inculcated the doctrine Of iffs
after de: tn by means Of dances performe4
by masked men. who, by their gait an6
actions. mimicked recently deceased per-
sons. The women and children believed
that these mummers actually were the spir-
its of their beloved relatives, and they were
comforted thereby.
Before leaving the subject Of dances It
may be as well to add that no women ever
masks are employed. Some Of the dances
are too secret for them even to witness
them In some instances not only was ne
woman allowed to see the ceremonial mask.
but its name was too sacred to be commune-
Gated to noninitiates.
Among one group of Papuan tribes II n
considered highly indelicate for men ana
women to dance together; indeed the wom-
en- very rarely dance. and among these
tribes only the men belonging to & certain
clan are allowed to beat the drums Among
another group Of Papuans lads and lassfeo
dance together and all the male dancers
beat drums.
On the mainland Of British New Gufneg
the houses are almost invariably built ueon
piles. In the west there are immense houses
I'm which many families live. In the east
each family group lives in a separate house.
Some tribes build their villages in the sea.
Thus there are to-day in New Guinea
aquatic dwellings built on piles, a. thsre
were I'm the Swiss lakes of the polished OtQn>
and bronze ages of Europe. thousands oe
years ago. 1t is a unique experiencs 10
walk on the rickety platforms Of these
marine houses and to cross along unstlb3s
logs to a neighboring house. =
Most OF the Papuan villages are built on
land. and the women pride themselves Gu
keeping the open spaces clean and tidy. A
woman who neglects the ground or strUGt
in front of her house Is considered n dis
graced- Certain hill tribes not only build
their villages on the narrow ridges OF hieh
hills. but for further protection from enc
mics they erect houses in trees. These tfeo
houses also serve the purpose Of watch
towers.
tree house does not at irst sight appear
TO be very safe place of refuge. II seemS
so easy to cut down the tree and 80 destruH
the Inhabitants at one fell blow. but Il must
be remembered that until very recently these
people had only stone implements and II
takes time to cut down trees with stone
axes. Then the people in the house always
kept store Of stones and spears ready for
IL
New Guinea do not employ the bow and ar
row.
Finally. II has been stated that 1t 70 con.
trary to the etiquette Of war of these peo.
to cut down a tree house. so they really we're
houses of refuge. The Government Of British
New Guinea has so pacified the greater part
of the country Inhabited by the hill and
mountain tribes that the tree houses are no
longer necessary. and. indeed. there are hut
few of them to be found at present.