The abandoned condition of the houses near which we landed was caused by a death which took place in one of them a short time previously. This was followed by immediate desertion, which, however, is only temporary. Everything going on seemed to have suddenly stopped; dáos were lying on the floor, clothes hung from pegs in the walls, food, half-cooked, still stood in the pots. The animals wandered about uncared-for, cats and dogs in a very famished condition.
Inside this house was quite a small museum: there were large figures, daubed with red and black paint, of men and women with eyes of pearl shell, Polynesian fashion, and drapings of palm leaf and cotton; smaller images and various grotesque heads, sharks, birds, and crocodiles, all carefully carved, and painted in red and blue; painted turtle skulls by the dozen. Spears, cross-bows, and water-vessels hung from the walls, with boards on which were human figures, pigs, fish, fowls, and palm trees, all very well drawn, and not conventionalised in design. On a shelf above the fireplace were piles of wooden plates, dishes, and food-baskets, and below them the big Chaura pots were standing on blocks of stone above the ashes.[37]
We only obtained one megapode on Trinkat, and it was found in a trap. They are probably numerous, for we saw several, and heard frequent calls. The undergrowth is very thick, and the ground covered with tall grass, and although to move about is easy, it is not easy to see these birds until one is almost upon them, when they disappear before one can get a shot. A few rats (Mus burrus, sp. nov.) were caught in the traps, and we shot a few additional specimens, and this is the only island we visited in the Nicobars where they seemed other than extremely scarce.
“Scare-devil,” or device for exorcising evil spirits.
CHAPTER VIII
NANKAURI
The Harbour Shores—A Village—Kanaia—Canoe—Feeding the Animals—Collecting-ground—Mangrove Creeks—Preparations for a Festival—Burial Customs—Malacca Village—Houses—Visit Tanamara—Furniture—Talismans and "Scare-devils"—Beliefs—Festivities—A Dance—An Educated Native—Tanamara and his Relations—Cigarettes—Refreshments—The Collections—Geology—Flora—Population—Piracy.