According to their most popular myth, a crocodile named Nugu was responsible for the frequent disappearance of children until the tribe made an agreement to supply him with pig’s fat instead. Here we have the beginning of the theory of sacrifice.
A FAMILY OF ANTHROPOID APES. FROM A DRAWING BY DAN BEARD. (COURTESY OF THE MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY, NEW YORK)
FAMILY OF POLAR BEARS (COURTESY OF MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY. NEW YORK CITY)
“In their treatment of children they are often violent and cruel,” says Alfred Russell Wallace,[29] and an example of their idea of kindness may be gathered from the following description of the “ornamentation” of a young Papuan:
“The faces of both men and women are frequently ornamented all over with cicatrices either circular or chevron-shaped. The operation is a painful and costly one, as the professional tattooer has to be highly paid for his trouble, and not every child’s friends can afford the fee demanded. The instrument used is the claw of the flying-fox. The unfortunate patient is not allowed to sleep for two or three nights before the operation is performed, and then, when he is ready to drop from weariness, the tattooer begins his work, and completes it at one sitting. I never saw the actual process, but a child was brought for my inspection whose face had just been finished off. It was in a painful state of nervous irritation, and the face swelled to an enormous size.”[30]
Of the condition of these people no one is better able to speak than Lieutenant Governor J. H. P. Murray,[31] who describes tribes where the savages have only weapons of wood, know nothing of the bow and arrow, and are noted for their immorality.
“It is very often the case that the best of the young girls are sold by their parents as courtesans, the native name being Jelibo. I came across men married, and possessing, in addition, these women. Young fellows, not having reached puberty, had clubbed together in parties of three and four, and bought young girls from the parents to make courtesans. At feasts, these girls are used for the purpose of enriching themselves and their owners.”[32]
As to the attitude of the children, we gain some idea of the aboriginal point of view by this statement: