[209] Vide p. 303.
[210] The reason for these proceedings given to Captain Gardner by the natives in 1851 was, "because they do thus in England," for so several captains had told them!
[211] "Amongst the Arafuras (Aru Islands) the treatment of their dead betrays in the greatest degree their uncivilised condition, and the uncertainty which exists among them as to their future state. When a man dies all his relations assemble and destroy all the goods he may have collected during his life, even the gongs are broken to pieces and thrown away. In their villages I met with several heaps of porcelain plates and basins, the property of deceased individuals, the survivors entertaining an idea that they have no right to make use of them."—Kolff's Voyage of the Dourga, p. 166.
[212] In the matter of names, a Kar Nicobarese tries to please everyone with whom he is acquainted. There is often his own native appellation, an English one, another by which he is known to the Indian traders, and a fourth under which he does business with the Burmese!
[213] G. Hamilton, Asiatic Researches, vol. ii.
[214] This monoply is due to their geographical position. The Kar Nicobarese find it as much as they dare venture to do, to go so far as Chaura for their large canoes and pots. As it is, many lives are lost at sea. (In 1899 at least 29 were drowned in returning from this island, and more recently 12 or 13 were similarly lost.) Chaura is situated midway between Kar Nicobar and Nankauri Harbour and Kamorta, where the principal purchases are made by the Chaura people.
[215] "I was present on a certain occasion at Mūs ... having brought Tanamara with me from Nankauri. In strolling through the village we caught sight of a fine large canoe, which he recognised as having been sold by him to a certain native of Chaura. Offandi proved to be the owner, and he, on being questioned, said that he had bought it from the same man. On further enquiry it was found, that while the Chaura middleman had promised to give 25 rupees in kind to Tanamara (only part of which had yet been paid), he would not let Offandi have it till he had delivered to him a long list of articles (e.g. cloth, spoons, tobacco, etc.), which, on being totalled up, were found to amount to about 105 rupees in value."—E. H. Man.
[216] E. H. Man.
[217] "In the morning dances commenced in the open air. Two immense circles of men and women were formed, linked hand in hand, one circle within the other. The dance continued for hours, accompanied by a monotonous chant. Sometimes the two circles moved in opposite directions, or expanded to their utmost stretch and contracted again by advancing towards the centre. In posturing they kept time with the singing, all turning to right and then to left, raising their arms or letting them fall together. The inner circle knelt on the left knee, placing their heads to the ground, but still holding each other, while the outer circle, also hand-in-hand, stepped over them and became the inner one. This was frequently repeated, and in this and other movements the dance consisted. The circles consisted of about 200 people each."—"A Visit to Car Nicobar, 1851," by Captain Gardner, Singapore Review, vol. ii.
[218] Diary of Catechist V. Solomon.