CONTENTS

PART I

CHAPTER I THURSDAY ISLAND TO MURRAY ISLAND

Port Kennedy, Thursday Island—l’assage in the Freya to Murray Island—Darnley Island—Arrival at Murray Island—Reception by the natives Page 1-10

CHAPTER II THE MURRAY ISLANDS

Geographical features of the islands of Torres Straits—Geology of the Murray Islands—Climate—The Murray Islanders—Physical and other characteristics—Form of Government Page 11-21

CHAPTER III WORK AND PLAY IN MURRAY ISLAND

The Expedition Dispensary—Investigations in Experimental Psychology: visual acuity, colour vision, mirror writing, estimation of time, acuity of hearing, sense of smell and taste, sensitiveness to pain—The Miriam language—Methods of acquiring information—Rain-making—Native amusements—Lantern exhibition—String puzzles—Top-spinning—Feast—Copper Maori Page 22-41

CHAPTER IV THE MALU CEREMONIES

Initiation ceremonies—Secret societies—Visit to Las—Representation of the Malu ceremonies—Models of the old masks—The ceremonies as formerly carried out—“Devil belong Malu” Page 42-52

CHAPTER V. ZOGOS

The Murray Island oracle, Tomog Zogo—The village of Las—Tamar—The war-dance at Ziriam Zogo—Zabarker—Wind-raising—Teaching Geography at Dam—Tamar again—A Miriam “play”—How Pepker made a hill—Iriam Moris, the fat man—Zogo of the girl of the south-west—Photographing zogos—The coconut zogo—A turtle zogo—The big women who dance at night—The Waiad ceremony Page 53-70

CHAPTER VI VARIOUS INCIDENTS IN MURRAY ISLAND

Our “boys” in Murray Island—“Gi, he gammon”—Character of some of our native friends—Ulai—Rivalry between Debe Wali and Jimmy Rice—Our Royal Guests—The Papuan method of smoking—A domestic quarrel—Debe and Jimmy fall out—An earthquake—Cause of a hurricane—The world saved from a comet by three weeks of prayer—an unaccounted-for windstorm—New Guinea magic—“A woman of Samaria”—Jimmy Rice in prison—A yam zogo—Rain-makers—A death-dealing zogo—Mummies—Skull-divination—Purchasing skulls—A funeral Page 71-94

CHAPTER VII KIWAI AND MAWATTA

Leave Murray Island in the Nieue—Daru—Arrive at Saguane—Mission-work—Visit Iasa—Long clan houses—Totems and totemistic customs—Bull-roarers and human effigies as garden charms and during initiation ceremonies—Head-hunting—Stone implements—Origin of Man—Origin of Fire—Primitive dwellings at Old Mawatta—Shell hoe—Katau or Mawatta—Election of a chief—A love story—Dances—Bamboo beheading-knife Page 95-116

CHAPTER VIII MABUIAG

Mabuiag revisited—Character of the island—Comparison between the Murray Island and Mabuiag natives—Barter for skulls—Economic condition of Mabuiag—Present of food—Waria, a literary Papuan—Death of Waria’s baby—Method of collecting relationships and genealogies—Colour-blindness—The Mabuiag language—A May Meeting followed by a war-dance Page 117-131

CHAPTER IX TOTEMISM AND THE CULT OF KWOIAM

Totemism in Mabuiag—Significance of Totemism—Advantage of Totemism—Seclusion of girls—The Sacred Island of Pulu—The scenes of some of Kwoiam’s exploits—The Pulu Kwod—The stone that fell from the sky—The Kwoiam Augŭds—Death dances—Test for bravery—Bull-roarer—Pictographs—The Cave of Skulls—The destruction of relics—Outline of the Saga of Kwoiam—Kwoiam’s miraculous water-hole—The death of Kwoiam Page 132-147

CHAPTER X DUGONG AND TURTLE FISHING

A dugong hunt—What is a dugong?—The dugong platform—Dugong charms—Turtle-fishing—How the sucker-fish is employed to catch turtle—Beliefs respecting the gapu—The agu and bull-roarers—Cutting up a turtle Page 148-157

CHAPTER XI MARRIAGE CUSTOMS AND STAR MYTHS

Marriage Customs: How girls propose marriage among the western tribe—A proposal in Tut—Marital relations—A wedding in church—An unfortunate love affair—Various love-letters. Star Myths: The Tagai constellation—A stellar almanack, its legendary origin—The origin of the constellations of Dorgai Metakorab and Bu—The story of Kabi, and how he discovered who the Sun, Moon, and Night were Page 158-169

CHAPTER XII VISITS TO VARIOUS WESTERN ISLANDS

Our party breaks up. Saibai: Clan groupings—Vaccination marks turned to a new use—Triple-crowned coconut palm—A two-storied native house. Tut: Notes of a former visit—Brief description of the old initiation ceremonies—Relics of the past. Yam: A Totem shrine. Nagir: The decoration of Magau’s skull “old-time fashion”—Divinatory skulls—The sawfish magical dance—Pictographs in Kiriri. Muralug: Visit to Prince of Wales Island in 1888—A family party—War-dance Page 170-189

CHAPTER XIII CAPE YORK NATIVES

Visit to Somerset—Notes on the Yaraikanna tribe—Initiation ceremony—Bull-roarer—Knocking out a front tooth—The ari or “personal totem” Page 190-194

CHAPTER XIV A TRIP DOWN THE PAPUAN COAST

The Olive Branch—Passage across the Papuan Gulf—Delena—Tattooing—A Papuan amentum—A sorcerer’s kit—Borepada—Port Moresby—Gaile, a village built in the sea—Character of the country—Kăpăkăpă—Dubus—The Vatorata Mission Station—Dr. and Mrs. Lawes—Sir William Macgregor’s testimony to mission work—A dance Page 197-210

CHAPTER XV THE HOOD PENINSULA

Bulaa by moonlight—Hospitality of the South Sea teachers—Geographical character of the Hood Peninsula—Kalo—Annual fertility ceremony at Babaka—Canoe-making at Keapara—The fishing village of Alukune—The Keapara bullies—Picking a policeman’s pocket—Tattooing—A surgical remedy—Variations in the character of the Papuan hair—Pile-raising—Children’s toys and games—Dances—Second visit to Vatorata—Visit Mr. English at Rigo Page 211-234

CHAPTER XVI PORT MORESBY AND THE ASTROLABE RANGE

Port Moresby—Ride inland—Vegetation—View from the top of Warirata—The Taburi village of Atsiamakara—The Koiari—Tree houses—The Agi chief—Contrasts—A lantern show—The mountaineers—Tribal warfare—The pottery trade of Port Moresby—The Koitapu and the Motu—Gunboats Page 235-251

CHAPTER XVII THE MEKEO DISTRICT

Arrival at Yule Island—The Sacred Heart Mission—Death of a Brother—A service at Ziria—The meeting of the Papuan East and West in Yule Island—The Ibitoe—Making a drum—Marriage customs—Omens—Tattooing—The Roro fishers and traders—The Mekeo agriculturists—The Pokao hunters—Markets—Pinupaka—Mohu—Walk across the plain and through the forest—Inawi—War and Taboo chiefs—Taboo customs—Masks—A Mission festivity—Tops—Veifaa—Women’s dress—Children’s games—Return to coast Page 252-277

PART II

CHAPTER XVIII JOURNEY FROM KUCHING TO BARAM

Arrival in Sarawak—Description of Kuching—The Sarawak Museum—Visit to Sibu—Stay in Limbang—A Malay sago factory—Visit to Brunei—Method and aims of Rajah Brooke’s Government Page 279-294

CHAPTER XIX THE WAR-PATH OF THE KAYANS

Leave Limbang—A Kadayan house at Tulu—Rapids on the Limbang—Ascent of the Madalam—The Insurrection of Orang Kaya Tumonggong Lawai—Enter the Trikan—Durian—Met by Mr. Douglas—Old Jungle—Descend the Malinau and Tutau—Kayan tattooing—Berantu ceremony in the Batu Blah House—Arrival at Marudi (Claudetown)—Kenyah drinking customs Page 297-311

CHAPTER XX THE COUNTRY AND PEOPLE OF BORNEO

The Geographical and Geological Features of Borneo: Arrangement of mountains—The geology of the “Mountain-land,” Palæozoic—Mesozoic—the geology of the “Hill-land,” Cainozoic—The geology of the Plains, Quaternary—The geology of the Marshes, Alluvium—Recent volcanic action. A Sketch of the Ethnography of Sarawak: Punans—Various agricultural tribes of Indonesian and Proto-Malay stock—Land Dayaks—Kenyahs and Kayans—Iban (Sea Dayaks)—Malays—Sociological History of Sarawak—Chinese traders Page 312-329

CHAPTER XXI A TRIP INTO THE INTERIOR OF BORNEO

The Lelak house at Long Tru—Skull trophies—The settled Punans on the Bok—Sarcophagus in Taman Liri’s house—Divination by means of a pig’s liver in Aban Abit’s house—Purchase of some skulls—The Panyamun Panic in Sarawak in 1894-5—Commencement of a similar scare—Administrative duties at Long Semitan—Character of the Sĕbops—The fable of the monkey and the frog—A visit to Mount Dulit—The Scott-Keltie Falls—The Himalayan affinities of the fauna of Mount Dulit and of other high mountains in Borneo Page 330-351

CHAPTER XXII A TRIP INTO THE INTERIOR OF BORNEO—continued

Ceremony of moving skulls into a new house at Long Puah—Naming ceremony for Jangan’s boy—Peace-making—Conviviality—Malohs desire to marry some Sĕbop girls—Sĕbop dances—Scenery on the Tinjar—Burnt house at Long Dapoi—Panyamun Scare again—The Dapoi—Long Sulan—Tingan’s matrimonial mishap—News from the Madangs—A Punan medicine man—Panyamun Scare settled—Discovery of stone implements—A native selling a stone implement for a loin cloth to die in—A stone hook—A visit to Tama Bulan—The unfortunate Bulan—Fanny Rapid—A Kenyan love story Page 352-380

CHAPTER XXIII NOTES ON THE OMEN ANIMALS OF SARAWAK

Archdeacon Perham on the omens of the Iban (Sea Dayaks)—List of the omen animals of the Kayans, Kenyahs, Punans, and Iban—Reputed origin of “Birding” Page 381-393

CHAPTER XXIV THE CULT OF SKULLS IN SARAWAK

Reasons for collecting heads—Head required for going out of mourning for a chief—Kenyah legend of the origin of Head-hunting—How Kenyahs leave skulls behind when moving into a new house Page 394-400

CHAPTER XXV PEACE-MAKING AT BARAM

Padi competition—Obstacle race—Speech-making—The Lirong jawa—Fracas and reconciliation—Tuba-fishing in Logan Ansok—Great boat-race—Monster public meeting—Enthusiastic speeches, and Madangs formally received into the Baram Administrative District Page 401-415

Index Page 417-426