The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1907-09-04
PECULIAR PEOPLE.
The Strange Mixture of Races Found In
New Hebrides.

In Southwest Bay alone | have seen
writes Beatrice Gi'imschaw in the
Windsor Magazine, describing the peo.
pie of the New Hebrides, distinctly
Jewish types of face, types suggesting
the west African negro, types like an
extremely depraved monkey and types
like nothing else on earth but them
selves. There are in the bay three
distinct languages, no one of which
can be understood by the speakers of
another, and in the rest of the island
there are at least seven or eight other
languages.
The houses are of n very low and
degraded type, being merely roofs SET
on a bamboo stockade Il couple of feet
| high, but the hamals, or sacred houses
| of which each village owns one, are
| high, pointed, gabled buildings with
| tiers of windows in the gable and
lofty, narrow doors, apparently meant
| for the admission of very high proved
canoes, which the New Hebrideans do
not possess. There are certain Jewish
rites in use among them. They have
caste regulations suggestive of India.
and they make mummies not very in
ferior to those of Egypt; also, they are
cannbals, and they sing Gregorian
chant or its first cousin in their devil
| dances. They worship the man-of-war
hawk, which holds an extraordinarily
high place in their regilious beliefs.
| They set an almost sacred value on
pigs, and the real object of their idols
or images, which are hideous, no man
knows
The existence of mummies has, l be-
lieve, been questioned. This is small
wonder since they are always kept In
the hamals or temples of the heather
cannibal villages and strangers are not
| encouraged to NEEDLE. | had much
difficulty in seeing one myself, as the
temples are most strictly barred to
women 4 native woman would be
instantly killed If she so much as put
her head inside, and l do not think it
probable that white woman would
escape either If she were caught doing
It, | was, however, lucky enough in
another part of Malekula TO find a tenn
pie unguarded save by few old wom-
en- squatting outside, and, seizing the
opportunity, l entered.
1t was not very good specimen, be-
ing little better than a shed, and it was
very dark inside Further, | thought il
well not to stay very long. However,
saw n number of mummes mounted
on carved stretchers and painted red
and blue hanging up around the sup
porting parts of the roof; also a good
many skulls placed on rough shelves
their faces covered by mask of
fibrous stuff painted red, and some
curiously curved spears, adzes and kill
ing mallets hung around the walls. |
got away again without being seen
and left that afternoon by the monthly
steamer, it being the last day Of my
stay In Malekula. | heard afterward.
however, that Ill feeling had been
caused among the natives by my viO-
lation of their Bluebeard chamber.
On another occasion l succeeded In
seeing q place into which no white
person had ever ventured before, for
est cannibal fortress, six miles up In
the untraveled interior. My host told
me that If l went with him quite un-
armed and with only couple Of boys
to guide us and carry our dinners our
insignificance would probably bring us
J through all right Within the bamboo
stockade that surrounded the houses
dancing had begun.
| have not space to relate the tale of
that strange sight-of the wild. weird
dance, performed by band of howl
ing black demons, carrying cooked and
loaded rifles, around group of skull
faced drum idols In the center of the
square: of the deafening boom made
, by the hollow idols themselves as they
, were loudly beaten by the musicians
of the strange solo dance performed
by famous cannibal chief, wherein ht
enacted with unpleasant realism 9
hawk pouncing down on its prey; OF
the still stranger dance performed by
another, who capered lightly nbou
with a large sGuealing live pig oD his
shoulder; of the extraordinary charnc
tor of the dancing chant, as like Gre
!, gorian, pointing and ali, as small pet
I Is like Il big one.
, Are YOU in pain my little mapW the