The Bourbon news. [volume] (Paris, Ky.) 1895-19??, 1922-01-10
Strange Rites Over Shark Which
Natives Bury Annually in
Their "Sing-Sing."
CHIEFS HONORED IN EFFIGY
Make Crude Statue Of Clay and Fibre
and Hold Festivities Around Ii
Number of Skirts Indicates
Woman's Rank.


brides to sell to Australia their con-
cessions in the islands which form a
large i'm the South Pacific, north of
New Zealand and west of Fiji, recalls
the strange rites over the shark, which
the native men Of RannO island bury
annually in their 'Sing-Sing' or cere-
mony grounds" says bulletin of the
National Geographic Society from its
Washington Cd. c. headquarters.
"The inhabitants of this interest.
ing archipelago, composed Of II large
and 100 smaller islands, believe in
wftchcraft and all sorts Of signs and
omens, particularly in the spirits of
their departed ancestors and in gods
which are thought to be incorporated
i'm certain stones or animals. Every
village has its dancing ground. Here
the natives meet on moonlight nights
and perform wild and fantastic antics
to the booming of their deep drums.
some of which, six feet or more in
height and carved from the trunks Of
trees, are capable Of making terrible
noises.
Honor Chiefs In Effigy..
Zone fantastic rite among them is
the memOrializing Of their chiefs In
effigy. A crude statue of clay and
FIBRE representing the flesh and hair Of
the chief as he looked in real life, is
made, his actual skull being used for
the framework Of the head, and around
this the festivities take place.
For years the natives Of the is
ands were the prey of the Black
birders,' or labor pirates, because they
are generally considered more in
dustriOus and sturdicr Of build than
the average kanaka. They are reputed
to have cannibalistic tendencies, to be
treacherous and Of uncertain temper,
facts probably due In some measure to
the treatment to which they were
subjected by these traders. They are
of Melanesian stock, below the medium
in stature, and accentuate the ugli-
ness in their broad, black faces and
receding fOreheads by sticking COCO
nut fiber i'm their hair and adjoining
their ears and fiat noses with rings.
They pride themselves upon their
weapons-spears, clubs, bows, and
poisoned arrows-some Of which are
beautiful in design and elaborate in
pattern.
1.-The women hold degraded posi-.
ton among them, the wives of the
more important members OF the race
increasing the number of skirts
which they wear at one time as an
indication of their rank, the pooh
bah's' wife wearing as many as 40
of them. The better half Of man
is sometimes buried alive with her
husband upon his death.
"QuirOs. the Portuguese navigator,
in 1905, was the first white man to
see the rugged outline Of the coast
of the islands. which rise abruptly out
of the deep sea in the hurricane zone
Of the tropics. Believing he had dis
covered the great southern continent
which was at that time the dream
Of navigatOrs, Quiros may he compared
to Columbus, who thought he had
found a route to India when he sighted
the palm fringed shores of the West
Indies.
del Espiritu SantO, which has been
shortened by traders to Santo and is
applied to the largest island Of the
group.
Isle of Monster Fruits.
Countless streams cut Santo, which
is GA miles long and 80 miles wide
into broad, fertile valleys. From its
shores and those of the neighborine
islands tons Of copra are sent to Sgd
ney, Australia, and shipped from there
to SOAP makers the world over. Coffee
cocoa and vanilla, as well as tropica
fruits. grow In abundance. Orange:
are said to grow so large that botf
a mans hands can scarcely span one
of them, land the pineapples of the
islands sometimes weigh 20 pounds
So rich is the soil and .luXuriant thu
vegetation, that in many places 5,OOt
sheep can be kept on two thousant
acres of land.
"Vila harbor. which is set between
mountain peaks and gemmed with is
lands, is the most important CONNER
cially among the many cOmmodiOu'
and strategic harbors, which the is
lands afford. The scattered little VII
lage, which dozes under the shelter O
its palm trees, has built no pier to en-
courage its shipping. The cargOes mus
be loaded by the natives in small boats
Though the progress Of conquering ma
tons has left its mark In the Catholic
and Presbyterian churches and TIT
large wireless station, the town is es
sentially native in character with it
thatch-roofed houses set amid the color
full hibiscus blossoms, and sometime
fortified with stone walls"
Kills Duck With Revolver.
Harrisburg Pa Policeman ROmiI