94 SCIENCE PROGRESS. 



nesian are equally common to the whole of Melanesia. 

 Melanesian words which are non- Polynesian are also found 

 in Motu and the allied languages of New Guinea." 



I had long- been puzzled by certain differences be- 

 tween the Motu and allied tribes on the coast of British 

 New Guinea and the natives round Milne Bay and of the 

 neighbouring groups of islands, all of whom I speak of col- 

 lectively as the Massim. 



There is a difference in their physiognomy. The Motu 

 and allied tribes are remarkably destitute of a religion and 

 are (or were) at the mercy of the sorcerers of the indigenous 

 hill tribes, and, what is more remarkable, there is no trace of 

 the cult of the sacred frigate bird or of that of any other 

 animal. They make their pottery by beating a lump of 

 clay into a pot, whereas, according to the only descriptions 

 we have, the Massim women build up their pots with bands 

 of clay laid on spirals. A study of my memoir on the deco- 

 rative art of British New Guinea will clearly bring out the 

 enormous difference between the Motu and the Massim in 

 artistic feeling and execution. 



My knowledge of Melanesia was too slight to enable me 

 to proceed further with this problem, but in a recently pub- 

 lished paper Mr. Ray says (1894, p. 32): "With regard 

 to the place of origin of the Melanesian population of New 

 Guinea it does not seem possible to ascertain the exact 

 quarter from which it has come. There is at first sight 

 much dissimilarity between the languages west and east, 

 between the Motu and Kerepunu on the one side and the 

 Suau of South Cape on the other. Though this dissimi- 

 larity disappears on closer examination, it may be stated that 

 the language of Suau appears very similar to those of San 

 Cristoval in the Solomon Islands, which lies almost due east 

 of South Cape. The Motu and Kerepunu agree more with 

 the languages of the Efate district in the Central New 

 Hebrides." 



Further evidence must be collected before Mr. Ray's 

 suggestion can be definitely accepted. The decorative 

 employment of the frigate bird in the Massims and Solo- 

 mon Islands supports his first proposition ; but, on the 



