[148] Marsden’s History of Sumatra, p. 172.
[149] Pliny, H. N. XXXIII. 4, 21 aurum arrugia quaesitum non coquitur sed statim suum est; inueniuntur ita massae; necnon in puteis denas excedentes libras; palacras Hispani, alii palacranas, iidem quod minutum est balucem uocant.
May the French paille (in the phrase pailles d’or), Ital. paluola, Span. palazuola, all used technically of gold, be derived from pala, the old technical term, rather than from palea, chaff?
[150] Herod. IV. 11.
[151] How trade was carried on in early days may be well illustrated from Torres Straits of to-day. (Haddon, “The Western Tribe of Torres Straits,” Journal of Anthrop. Inst. XIX. p. 347.)
Dance masks made of turtle shell (340) occasionally used as money.
If a Muralug man wanted a canoe he would communicate with a friend at Moa, who would speak to a friend of his at Badu; possibly the Muralug man might himself go to Badu, or treat with a friend there. The Badu man would cross to Mabuiag to make arrangements, and a Mabuiag man would proceed to Saibai.
If there was no canoe available at the latter place word would be sent on, along the coast, that a canoe was to be cut out and sent down.
The canoe would then retrace the course of the verbal order and ultimately find its way to Muralug. The annual payment for a canoe was say three dibi dibi or goods of about equal value. There were three annual instalments.
There is no money in the Straits; but certain articles have acquired a generally recognized exchange value, a value which is intrinsic, and not irrespective of the rarity of the material or the workmanship put into it. These objects cannot be regarded as money; they are the round shell ornaments (dibi dibi, shell armlet, wai wai, dugong, harpoon, wap, and canoe). A good wai wai is the most valuable possession; the exchange of a wai wai was a canoe, or harpoon. Ten or twelve dibi dibi was considered of equal value to any of the above. A wife was the highest unit of exchange, being valued at a canoe, or a wap or wai wai. “The intermediaries (in the purchase of a canoe) are paid for their services ‘by charging on,’ the amount depending on individual cupidity, or they may be recompensed for their trouble by presents from the purchaser” (p. 841).