Ethnography of Micronesia. 37 



(PI. II ; PI. IV, fig. 2). The cloth is not of any definite lengtli, 

 but it usually reaches to the abdomen. Sometimes the piece is 

 long en(3ugh to hang down the legs. It seems that this long piece 

 is used by those who wdsh to be thought stylish. Besides this, 

 the men wear a loin-cloth, as they do in Japan, while the women 

 cover the waist with cloth of their own weaving or cotton fabric 

 (PI. IV, fig. 2 ; PI. VI, fig. 2). Excepting these kinds of clothing 

 they wear nothing, which may be regarded as covering for the 

 body. 



In the island of Truk, the fabric woven of fibres of the banana 

 or hibiscus tree furnishes material for clothing. In using this fabric 

 for the clothes described above two narrow pieces are sewed to- 

 gether. But the use of such material has greatly decreased in recent 

 years. Now most of the islanders w^ear imported cotton cloth, the 

 colour of which is red, blue, or dark green. There are not a few 

 who wx'ar ready-made clothes bought from Japanese traders. 



The women wear a band on their waist- cloth as a sort of 

 decoration. In making this band, hundreds or even thousands of 

 small shell disks or pieces of bark with holes bored through are 

 strung on a string. Several of such strings are, then, laid together 

 and made into a band. This, of course, requires a great deal of 

 labour, and it is one of the most high-prized articles of clotliing, 

 so thîit not every islander can afford to wear these bands for de- 

 coration (PI. XXXII ; PI. XXXIV, figs. 8 and 9). The men also 

 use broad bands strung with coconut rings. Since tliese bands are 

 worn on tlie naked body, they are used simply for ornamental 

 purposes, though the bands for women serve the double purpose 

 of ornament and practical use. 



We learn from F. J. Moss^ tliat customs similar to tliose 



1 F. .J. Moss, " Thrtjugh Atolls and Islands in the great Soath Sea," Flate facing page 186. 



