518 Art. YII.— A. Matbiimura : 



The petticoats worn by the women of Yap are different from 

 those found in Palau ; since the former consist of one piece broad 

 enough to wholly cover the waist, whereas the latter are made of 

 two different pieces. Tlie petticoats in Yap usually reach to the 

 calves of the wearer. They consist of young leaves of coconut 

 palm torn to pieces, with the inner bark of the hibiscus dyed red 

 or yellow added on the outer surface. The petticoats render the 

 waist to appear swollen ; but they are certainly convenient to a 

 child at the wearer's breast, for it can rest its feet on their upper 

 ends. It is easy to distinguish girls from boys in Yap, since the 

 former also wear petticoats (PI. XXI). 



The. custom of wearing petticoats prevails also in the East 

 Caroline group and the Marshall Islands, but it is generally limited 

 to men, as already mentioned in Part I. In Melanesia, however, 

 the custom is found almost exclusively among women. The petti- 

 coats of two pieces just described are used in British New Guinea 

 and elsewhere. Those worn by the women in the Admiralty 

 Islands closely resemble the j:>etticoats in Palau. According to H. 

 N. Moseley, " the women (in the Admiralty Islands) wear two 

 bunches of a grass, or perhaps prepared from pandanus leaves, 

 which are fastened by a'' belt round the waist, and hang one in 

 front, the other behind, the hinder being the longest." ^ In Tanna, 

 one of the New Hebrides, girls wear petticoats consisting of two 

 pieces ; but as they grow up they use large petticoats such as 

 those worn by their elders.^ This is the difference according to 

 the age of tlie wearer, but among some tribes there are also other 

 differences in the form of the petticoats, from various considerations, 



1 H. N. Moseloy, " On the Inhabitants of the Admiralty Isl.iml," Joar, Anthr. Inst., VI, 

 1877, p. 399. 



- Wm. Gray, "Some notes on the Tann?se," Intern. Archiv f. Ethnog., VIII, 1831. p. 

 229. 



