The Savage South Seas

by E. Way Elkington

THE SAVAGE SOUTH SEAS
by Ernest Way Elkington

AGENTS

America	The Macmillan Company
	64 & 66 Fifth Avenue, New York
Canada	The Macmillan Company of Canada, Ltd.
	27 Richmond Street West, Toronto
India	Macmillan & Company, Ltd.
	Macmillan Building, Bombay
	309 Bow Bazaar Street, Calcutta

OFF TO THE DUBU DANCE, BRITISH NEW GUINEA

NOTE

There are various ways of spelling some of the place-names of the South Sea Islands, e.g. Samari, Tupusuli, and Elevera are so spelt in this book, but the forms Samarai, Tupuselei, and Ela-Vara are commonly met with. Ambryn, however, is a misprint for Ambrym.

• CONTENTS
  • PART I • BRITISH NEW GUINEA
    • I • Chiefly historical—Concerning certain discoverers, their aims and ambitions—The story of New Guinea, the Solomons and New Hebrides, and some things that might be altered • [3]
    • II • New Guinea natives—Port Moresby and its two native villages—Huts on poles and trees—Native superstition and its result on two tribes • [13]
    • III • Natives who grow crops of hair—A word or two about the women—Duties of married women—How they carry their babes, and the philosophy of childhood • [25]
    • IV • Concerning love and grief—How love is made in New Guinea, and some of the charms used to ensure love and constancy—The grief of a New Guinea widow • [37]
    • V • Some native dances and queer costumes—Novel blackmailing methods—Woman’s vanity and a censured dance • [48]
    • VI • Outrigger Canoes, their appearance and construction—The famous Lakatois—How the natives catch their fish; and a few words about fish that climb trees—A trip down the coast, and an unpleasant experience • [57]
  • PART II • THE SOLOMON ISLANDS
    • VII • South Sea traders good and bad; their ups and downs—Nicolas the Greek—The Mambare river massacre—Some queer creatures with queerer ways—“A fitting end to a wasted life” • [71]
    • VIII • Natives who have had no chance; their villages without streets and their curious huts—The tambu and canoe houses—An unlucky trader • [84]
    • IX • Solomon Islands—Ingova’s head-hunters—How whole tribes were wiped out—Savage invasions and clever tactics • [94]
    • X • Clothes and the men—Love of adornment—Natives who are not keen on eating—Methods of cooking their food—Betel-nut chewing • [104]
    • XI • Some clever ways of catching fish—How the bonito is landed—Native nets—Pig-hunting—The sly opossum and the crocodile • [113]
    • XII • A curious religion—Burying the dead, and some graveyards—Dances and music—Native artists and how fire is made • [124]
    • XIII • What “hope” is to the Solomon islander—The use of the evil eye • [134]
  • PART III • THE NEW HEBRIDES
    • XIV • Islands that are advancing rapidly—Native houses with modern improvements—A horrible method of getting rid of the old men, and other burial ceremonies • [143]
    • XV • Ancestor worship the religion of the New Hebrides—Temples and strange figures, and some sacred dances • [153]
    • XVI • Concerning witchcraft—More about burials—The gentle art of making love—The rain-makers • [163]
    • XVII • Native clothing and ornaments—Their arts and industries, their canoes and weapons, and their way of fishing • [172]
    • XVIII • The cultivation of copra—The labour traffic when slavery really existed, and the traffic in natives of to-day • [183]
    • XIX • A short sketch of the missionary work in the South Seas—Concerning John Williams, James Chalmers, and others • [193]
  • SKETCH MAP OF THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDS • [204]
  • INDEX • [205]

• LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
  • [1]. Off to the Dubu Dance—British New Guinea • Frontispiece
  • [2]. By Reef and Palm • 6
  • [3]. Off to Market, British New Guinea • 14
  • [4]. Motu Village from the Sea • 18
  • [5]. The Island of Elevera from the Mission Station, Port Moresby, British New Guinea • 20
  • [6]. Tree House in British New Guinea • 22
  • [7]. Motu Village, Port Moresby, British New Guinea • 24
  • [8]. In the Pile Dwellings at Hanuabada, Port Moresby, British New Guinea • 26
  • [9]. Native of British New Guinea, showing the manner of wearing the hair • 30
  • [10]. A New Guinea Dandy • 32
  • [11]. Woman with Baby in bag. Fairfax Island, British New Guinea • 34
  • [12]. Dinner Time at Kwato, British New Guinea • 36
  • [13]. A Kaivakuku, Roro Tribe, Central Division, British New Guinea • 48
  • [14]. Harvest Dance, New Guinea • 50
  • [15]. Ready for the Dubu Dance • 52
  • [16]. The Dubu at Rigo, British New Guinea • 54
  • [17]. Tattooing, British New Guinea. • 56
  • [18]. Large Trading Canoes, British New Guinea • 58
  • [19]. Old Women making Pottery, British New Guinea • 60
  • [20]. Spearing Fish, British New Guinea • 62
  • [21]. Marine Village, Tupusuli, British New Guinea • 64
  • [22]. Natives of the New Hebrides having a drink • 66
  • [23]. Gold Miners leaving a trading ship, British New Guinea • 72
  • [24]. Johnnie Pratt with his Ivory Nuts at Simbo, Solomon Islands • 74
  • [25]. Solomon Island Boy climbing after green cocoa-nuts, near Gavutu, New Florida • 80
  • [26]. Solomon Island Village, near Marau Sound, New Florida • 84
  • [27]. Early Morning, Gavutu, Solomon Islands • 86
  • [28]. Old Ingova’s War Canoe House, Rubiana Lagoon, New Georgia, Solomon Islands • 90
  • [29]. On the Fringe of a primæval Forest, Solomon Islands • 92
  • [30]. Portrait of a Solomon Island Cannibal • 94
  • [31]. Sacred Skull Shrines, British Solomon Islands • 96
  • [32]. Ingova’s Head-hunters, British Solomon Islands • 98
  • [33]. A Canoe showing the “Totoishu,” New Georgia, Solomon Islands • 100
  • [34]. A Lagoon in New Florida, Solomon Islands • 102
  • [35]. Native of New Georgia wearing Sunshade; a sort of crownless hat made of grasses: it can be worn at any angle • 104
  • [36]. A Rubiana Native, Solomon Islands • 106
  • [37]. A Stormy Day in Rubiana Lagoon, Solomon Islands • 108
  • [38]. Cooking the Meal, British New Guinea • 110
  • [39]. The Reef near Simbo, Solomon Islands • 114
  • [40]. Native Archer shooting Fish, British Solomon Islands • 116
  • [41]. Searching for small Octopi on the Reef at low tide, Samari, British New Guinea • 118
  • [42]. The Home of the Crocodile, British Solomon Islands • 122
  • [43]. A Shrine or Tomb of a Chief at Simbo, Solomon Islands • 126
  • [44]. Solomon Islander playing the “Ivivu” or Flute • 130
  • [45]. A Tapu Virgin, British Solomon Islands • 136
  • [46]. Beneath a Banyan Tree, Malekula Island, New Hebrides • 142
  • [47]. The Rapids, Williams River, Island of Eromanga, New Hebrides • 144
  • [48]. Mount Marion, the active Volcano, Island of Ambryn, New Hebrides • 146
  • [49]. A Village in Santo, New Hebrides • 148
  • [50]. Chief’s House, Ambryn, New Hebrides • 150
  • [51]. The “M’aki” Ground and the Jaws of the sacred Pigs, New Hebrides • 154
  • [52]. A Memorial Effigy, Malekula, New Hebrides • 156
  • [53]. Drum Grove at Mele, New Hebrides • 158
  • [54]. Leaving Santo, a View of the Mountains, New Hebrides • 162
  • [55]. A Sacred Man, Aoba, New Hebrides • 164
  • [56]. The Stone “Demits,” or the Souls, with their attendant wooden figures, Malekula Island, New Hebrides • 168
  • [57]. Old Cannibal Chief whom the Artist met on the Island of Aoba, New Hebrides • 172
  • [58]. Type of Man from the Island of Tanna, New Hebrides • 174
  • [59]. Finishing off a Canoe, British New Guinea • 176
  • [60]. Old War Canoes, near Malekula, New Hebrides • 178
  • [61]. Havannah Harbour, Rathmoy, New Hebrides • 180
  • [62]. Passing the Reef, Aoba, New Hebrides • 182
  • [63]. The Island of Samari, British New Guinea • 184
  • [64]. A Trader receiving Cocoa-nuts, Aoba, New Hebrides • 186
  • [65]. Copra Boys off to the Shore, New Hebrides • 188
  • [66]. The “Blackbirders” in the Solomon Islands • 190
  • [67]. A Yam Shed on the Island of Tierra Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides • 192
  • [68]. The Artist’s Guide on Malekula, New Hebrides • 196