The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1910-08-19

1AAA N1S CsbAASs LII tuG ObA16k7 u0uus II
you submit to extortion rather than
take any unworthy advantage over
an ignorant savage. you will be in
vited to come again.
The furnishings of Samoan house
| are simple in the extreme, and during
| the day consist only OF rough mats
spread upon the coral floor. When a
Samoan wishes to build house he
utilities the services Of all his "aigas."
or relatives, and everything is manu-
featured from the crude material
/ gathered from the hillsides. The floor
plan of the house is of an oval shape.
| This space Is leveled on and covered
with broken bits of coral which are
gathered in abundance on the beach,
by the women. Surrounding this
/ floor space set Of poles are secured
in an upright position. reaching to a
height of about six feet. In the CEN
] ter two or three large upright poles.
usually about one foot IN diameter by
fifteen to twenty feet in length. are
secured. and from these to the tops
Of the outer supports the framework
| Of the roof. is built.
| AS the Samoans have no nails they
have devised a method of making a
very serviceable kind Of fiber cord.l
The old men collect quantity of co..
coanut fiber. which they roll between
hand and knee-to the thickness of
ordinary cotton string, after which
they braid and splice 1t together into
great rolls. These rolls are cut from
| as needed. This, then, is the means
! Of binding and flashing the roof to-
! gether and securing it to the uprights.
| Then sugar-cane leaves. are gath
cred, doubled. laced, braided and I'm
| ished into little mats, about three
feet long by fifteen inches wide.
When sufficient number of these
are ready the roof is matched with
them after the method Of Singing g.
house, allowing the caves to extend
i over distance Of two feet. This
forms a most efficient protection be.
(, tween the Samoan and his country's
prodigious rainfall.
A Samoan house has the advantage
over an American home, inasmuch as
it can be opened on all sides or on
any one side at the discretion of the
family. The posts surrounding the
| floor space are set at a distance OF
| about ~ feet apart and curtain
| is formed for each Individual space
thus created by using small mats,
similar to the matching mats except
that these are made of cocoanut
leaves instead of sugar cane These
little mats are arranged over the
openings In. such a manner that they
| overlap and will readily fold up shut.
| terwise. In this manner any of the
/ spaces between these many posts can
be opened % or closed against the
weather by merely pushing up the
curtain and securing it or by unloos.
ing 1t with light pull at bow knot
and letting it drop.
Mats are then spread over the coral
floor and the house is complete. It
Is generally the custom to celebrate
the completion with "fia-fia," or
/ feast.
Aside from chests, boxes, etc., for
the storage of personal property, the
furnishings consist only of. the pre-
| requisites of peaceful slumber, stai
namus," sleeping mats. and bamboo
pillows.
A ''tainamu" is mosquito protec-
ton, box shaped and about 65s feet
in length by four feet in width by
six feet in height. To this small loops
are fastened along the tops of the
two sides and through these loops
two cords are stretched. allowing sew.
eral feet extra at each end of the
"tainamu" to extend and tie to the
sides of the house. at level with the
tops of the uprights. thereby suspend
ing the "tainamu" directly over the
sleeping mats. During the day the
sleeping mats are rolled up and set
aside and the bottom OF the ''taina-
mu' is twisted and thrown over the
taut top. The sleeping mats diner
from those used during the day, in
asmuch as they are softer, finer
woven and much larger
The bamboo pillow strongly re-
minds me Of the days of the Spanish
inquisition. but custom and natural
inclination have taught the Samoan
to ''lay me down and sleep in any
old place and at any old time. To
make these pillows, piece of
straight bamboo about two feet by
three inches in diameter is obtained.
into which are driven two small
pegs at each end In the manner Of
an inverted 'sV." The pillow is then
complete and when used in sleeping
throws the neck into an angle of
about forty-fiye degrees from the
body. This may be comfortable to a
Samoan, but / think an American.
used to bodily comforts when he does
rest would prefer some scrap iron.