

RACIAL GROUPS — HOUGH. G51 



The Polynesian language, it has been affirmed by William 

 Churchill, is of primitive type as though in the process of forma- 

 tion. The subsistence of the Polynesians was also primitive in char- 

 acter, derived from the sea and from tree and uncultivated plant 

 products. They were thus in the preagricultural stage. From what- 

 ever focus the Polynesians departed, in this original place there ex- 

 isted no rice or other grain, no domestic animals, no metal, and no 

 weapons except clubs and spears. We infer also that there the houses 

 were not erected on posts and that weaving was unknown. The 

 Polynesians are not only one of the most interesting races, but" they 

 present some of the most difficult problems. 



DWELLING GROUP OF THE SAMOANS. 



Sainoan Islands, South Pacific. 



The Samoan houses are elaborately constructed frameworks tied 

 together with coir cord set on platforms of bowlders. They are 

 thatched with palm leaf and are provided with palm leaf screens 

 and partitions. The Samoans have no woven textiles but make a 

 light strong fabric from beaten bark which answers for clothing and 

 bedding. They also make fine mats, canoes, bowls, pillows, etc., 

 which are carved from the hard, red-brown Samoan chestnut wood. 

 (See pi. 76.) 



FAMILY GROUP OF THE SAMOAN ISLANDERS. 



The Samoans are of the brown Polynesian race which at some 

 early period spread over the Pacific to numerous widely separated 

 islands and reached to within 1,800 miles of the South American 

 continent. The Samoan Islands were visited by the Dutch navigator 

 Roggoveen in 1722, and named by Bougainville in 1768. Like the 

 Hawaiians, the Samoans live in villages which are scattered along 

 the coasts of their tropical islands. They were formerly ruled by 

 hereditary chiefs, but as the islands now belong to the United States 

 and to Australia their governments are accordingly administered 

 by these countries. 



Breadfruit, bananas, taro, potatoes, and coconuts furnish the prin- 

 cipal food supply, and fish are eaten. The only domesticated animal 

 is the pig. The Samoans are robust and active, their warlike exer- 

 cises with club and spear, and their constant practice with the canoe 

 paddle developing a fine phj^sique. They are cleanly, and delight in 

 flowers and perfumes. The men excel in woodworking, in building 

 elaborate houses, in making large canoes, and in carving out bowls, 

 dishes, clubs, and spears from native woods. The women weave mats 

 of the finest texture, and beat out bark cloth of strong fiber with cor- 

 rugated clubs, decorating the fabric with native designs in color. 



The central figure of the group is a maiden preparing kava, a cere- 

 monial drink, by straining out from the liquid the pulp of the 



