ETHNOGRAPHY OF BRITISH NEW GUINEA. 241 



approaches a chief except in a crouching attitude ; the chief 

 is listened to and treated with respect. On the whole the 

 women have less influence and have much less to say than 

 is the case in many of the ruder tribes on the mainland. 

 This is apparently a consequence of the superior position 

 of the chief. They are a very hospitable people and pre- 

 sented Sir William Macgregor with quantities of cooked 

 food in laro-e wooden dishes ; " nothing like this occurs on 

 the mainland ". They are skilful wood-carvers and keen 

 traders. Their only weapons are spears, and short, double- 

 edged clubs (C. A., 1, 1892, p. 7; 1893, PP- Z-7, 28-30, 

 and J. A. I., xxi., 1892, p. 481 ; also Finsch, 1888, p. 

 205 ; Hamy ; and Haddon, "Wood-carving in the Trobri- 

 ands," Illust. Archaeologist, i., 1893, P- io 7)- 



Murua is by far the largest island of the small Woodlark 

 Group. The first accounts of this island were given by 

 Fathers Montrouzier {Ann. p. I. Propog. d. I. Foi, xxii., 

 1850, p. 88) and Thomassin (/. c, xxv., 1853, p. 390). I 

 have translated their most important observations in Folk- 

 lore, 1894. Salerio refers to the people ; he describes them 

 as short, powerful ; their skin colour is from pale yellow to 

 chestnut brown ; they are more friendly and less savage than 

 the natives of the Louisiades (Petermanris Mittheil., 1862, p. 

 343, with a good map on pi. xii.). Romilly (1886, p. 127) 

 describes a visit to the island ; he was struck with the eood 

 looks of the women ; some of the men were dwarfish, they 

 were of a light copper-colour. Macgregor (C. A., 1, 1892, 

 p. 4) formed a favourable opinion of the people — they are 

 active and enterprising. The stone adze has quite disap- 

 peared ; other details are also given. Sergi describes a 

 number of skulls from Murua. 



The natives of the Laughlan Islands, Nada, " are pre- 

 cisely the same (as those of the Woodlarks), and the same 

 as the Papuans of the east coast of New Guinea. . . . They 

 are extraordinarily friendly and never fight " (Romilly, 1886, 

 p. 1 30). For a valuable account of native customs and tra- 

 ditions by W. Tetzlaff, see C. A., 1, 1892, p. 104 (re- 

 printed in J. A. L, xxi., 1892, p. 483), cf. also Macgregor, 

 loc. at., p. 9, and Proc. Roy. Geogr. Soc, xiii., 1S91, p. 177. 



