= Three special trees (to be afterwards knocked down).
= Courses followed by the two special guest women in stage 4.
= Course followed by host women in second part of stage 4.
N.B.—The decorated posts are scattered about the village enclosure.
Fifth: Such of the guest men as are not going to join in the real ultimate dance (see heading 9) enter the village at the entrance end, they also being fully ornamented, but not wearing their special dancing ornaments. They carry their spears, and perhaps in their other hands their clubs or adzes. Any chiefs who may be among them wear their black cassowary feather ornaments, like those of the host chiefs. They all advance along the enclosure, jumping and dancing and brandishing their spears, but not singing; and in front of them go all the host women, dancing as before, also in silence. This double body of people, host women in front, and guest men behind, advance en masse along the village enclosure. When, in doing this, the guest men reach the three last-erected special trees in the middle of the enclosure, they attack the trees with their spears, never letting the spears leave their hands, and with kicks, and thus try to knock the trees down. If they succeed in doing so, then this part of the performance is at an end, and these guest men disperse and spread about at both sides and ends of the village; but the host and guest women return from wherever they are to the entrance end. If the guest men’s first attack on the trees is not successful, they pass them, and continue their advance, as before, to the far end of the enclosure and return back again in the other direction, the host women still dancing in front of them; and on this return journey they repeat their attack on the trees. If again unsuccessful, they go on to their starting point, and go a second time through the same performance as before, going up the enclosure, and, if necessary, down again; and, if still unsuccessful, they will probably try a third time, the host women always dancing in front of them as before. The whole of this is one continuous movement, going on till the trees are down. If after the third double attempt the guest men have still been unsuccessful, they relinquish their efforts; and in that case the pig-killer of the hosts’ village (as to whom see below) steps forward, and cuts down the trees with his adze. When the trees are down, the performance is at an end, the guest men retire, and the host and guest women return to the entrance end, as above stated.
Sixth: Such of the chiefs of the guests as do not intend to join in the real ultimate dance (heading 9) then step forward into the enclosure at the entrance end. Their number may be two or three or more. They wear their full dancing ornaments, including their black cassowary feather ornaments and the enormous feather erections on their heads, which for chiefs are even larger and heavier than for other people. They carry their drums, but not spears or clubs or adzes. The two special guest women who have already been mentioned and two other guest women, all with their full dancing ornaments, also come forward. A line is formed with the chiefs in the middle and the four women at the two ends. In front of this line are all the host women, still decorated as before, but without special dancing ornaments. Then the whole group, host women in front and the guest chiefs and their four attendant guest women in a line behind, dance forward along the enclosure. In doing this, they face the direction in which they are progressing, and their progress is slow. This is done to the accompaniment of the beating by the dancing chiefs of their drums, but there is no singing. When the dancing party reach the far end of the enclosure, they go back again in the same way; and so on again until the chiefs (with the great weights they are carrying) are tired; then they stop. But the men hosts thereupon politely press them to go on again, giving them in fact a sort of complimentary encore, and this they will probably do. After about half-an-hour from the commencement of the dancing they finally stop. Then the chief of the clan in one of whose villages the dance is held comes forward and removes the heavy head-pieces from the dancing chiefs.
Seventh: An important ceremony now occurs. The chief of the clan cuts away the supports of the burial platform already mentioned, whereupon the platform falls to the ground, and the skulls and bones upon it roll on the ground. These are picked up, and the skulls and big arm and leg bones are put on one side. There is no singing or ceremony in connection with this. The platform is not rebuilt; and what is afterwards done with the skulls and bones will be seen hereafter.