That they may look more imposing in battle, the chiefs wear a cap made of the skin of the diodon, or porcupine fish, which, when inflated, is covered with sharp spikes projecting in every direction, and upon this cap is fixed a bunch of feathers. Both sexes fight in battle, and both are killed indiscriminately, women and children being slaughtered as well as the warriors.
The chiefs, of whom mention has just been made, are the principal persons in the islands. With one exception, there is no chief who is looked upon as a king, ruling over subordinate chiefs, each being independent of the other. Government is carried on by a council of chiefs, the eldest taking the first place, and the others being reckoned by seniority. To this council are referred crimes of great importance, while those of lesser moment are left to be punished by the offended person and the relatives. The solitary exception to the independence of the chiefs is in the three islands Apamama, Nanouki, and Koria, which are governed by the chief of Apamama.
Each chief has a mark peculiar to himself, and when a stranger arrives, and can place himself under the protection of a chief, he receives the mark of his protector. The symbol is a very simple one, and consists of a patch on the forehead, made of some colored paint, and a stripe drawn down the middle of the face as far as the chin. Next in rank to the chiefs come the land-holders, and the slaves form the third and last division of the people.
In order to accommodate the council of chiefs and the people in their public assemblies, there is in every village a central town-house, called the Mariapa. It is built very much after the fashion of the Samoan houses, having an enormous arched roof, and the walls being composed of posts and matting. It might be thought from their warlike and ferocious character that the Kingsmill Islanders are cannibals. Such, however, is not the case. It is very true that in some instances portions of a human body have been eaten. For example, if a celebrated warrior is killed, the victors sometimes cook the body, and each eats a small portion of it. This however is done, not from any predilection for human flesh, but from a feeling of revenge, and probably from some underlying notion that those who partake of such food also add to themselves a portion of the courage which once animated the body. Animated by the same spirit, they preserve the skulls of such warriors, and use them as drinking vessels.
The skulls of the dead are always preserved by their friends, provided that they have died natural deaths, or their bodies been recovered in battle. The body is first laid out on mats for eight days, being every day washed, oiled, and laid out in the sunshine at noon, while the friends mourn, dance, and sing praises of the dead. The body is then buried for a time, and lastly, the skull is removed, cleaned, oiled, and stowed away. Each family preserve the skulls of their ancestors, and, occasionally, bring them out, oil them afresh, wreathe them with flowers, and set food before them. When a family change their residence, they take the skulls with them.
(1.) SHARK’S JAW.
(See [page 1040].)
SHARKS TEETH