THE DOBUAXS OF S.E. PAPUA. 483 



water, cutting the head, with a shell, constant nagging, are the means 

 used by mothers to persuade unwilling daughters. When a child is 

 born after such a compulsory^ marriage the mother of the child will 

 kill her ofispring in secret and try to divorce her husband, unless her 

 husband has been veiy good to her, and has overcome her hatred. 



5. Sometimes when the mother's milk dries up, and no one in 

 the tribe can or will act as wetnurse. 



6. When the husband turns out to be a rake. 



7. When the husband upon pregnancy deserts his wife for the 

 time and mames a second wife. 



Abortion is practised by jumping from a height, massage, lifting 

 very heavy weights, playing games boisterously so as to fall heavily, 

 and in other ways. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 



Sorcery is very prevalent. A true sorcerer has twelve different 

 ways of causing death by occult powers; no one dies a natural death; 

 life can only be saved by enchantments; evil hap warded off h^ 

 charming. When any person dies there is always some good reason 

 given why the enchantments have failed. 



The dead of high rank were not buried, but the body would be 

 carefully fastened on the top of a tree with a well-thatched roof over 

 it. When the bones dropped they Avould be buried at the foot of the 

 tree. The person of low rank would be buried in the death-chair in a 

 cii'cular grave, and be put out of the way as soon as possible — even 

 before the breath was out of the body. Those of middle rank were 

 buried in the death-chair, but with much ceremony, and not until 

 death had really taken place. 



The cemeteries were always in the centre of the villages. 



The spirits of the dead went to Mount Bwebweso on Duau Island. 

 The shadow of the body had a separate existence, and remained in the 

 village. 



The time of the yeople seemed to he fully occupied. They had 

 great harvest festivals ; they kept their gardens of yam, bananas, 

 sugar-cane, and taro, in good order; trade expeditions were frequent; 

 they made their own fishing-nets and kites; built houses and cut out 

 canoes; taught their children legends, songs, and games; they scorned 

 a Tolelewa — lazy man (according to their ideas of laziness) ; despised 

 the Abisida — beggar-woman. 



Their legends are veiy varied and account for the origin of fire, 

 cannibalism, polygamy, earthquakes, the division of the land into 

 islands. The legend about their birds is a lesson in natural history. 



Let this paper, which is already too long, be concluded by one of 

 the best of their legends. 



The Story of the Flute. — The flute at first had no voice, but was 

 simply of the vegetable kind. It spoke not. But there was a man 

 in a band of singers whose voice excelled the voices of his companions 

 in richness, and sweetness. As his companions sang first, no one cared 

 for their voices, but when he of the rich voice sang eveiyone was 

 pleased. So his friends became jealous, and speared him. He ran, 

 but fell amongst the flute i-eeds dying. His voice passed with his 

 breath into the reeds, and so the voice of the flute surpasses in sweet- 

 ness any human voice. If his friends had only loved him the sweet- 

 ness of his voice would not have been lost to man. 



