NOTES ON THE TANNESE 647 



a sailor serves a rope, l)egiiinino- at the root of the lock of 

 hair. As the hair g-rovvs, the serving is extended. In a g-ood 

 liead of liair, which makes a Tanna man remind one of 

 Assyrian figures, there are 700 or 800 such locks. This 

 practice does not extend beyond Aniwa, Futuna, and 

 Anietynm. Young girls wear a little dou])le apron, made of 

 grass and other material. As the girl grows this apron is 

 enlarged till it becomes the complete skirt of the matron. 

 Certain occupations are the work of females, others of males. 

 The range of ai-ticles of food is considerable, but the natives 

 are chiefly non -flesh-eaters. It is mostly on high occasions 

 that they indulge in flesh as an article of diet, fish excepted, 

 which they eat when j)rocurable. 



Two dialects of the language spoken on Tanna have been 

 reduced to writing. The Kwamera dialect is spoken on the 

 south end of Tanna by at least 2000 people. It is expected 

 that an edition of the ]\evv Testament, through the long 

 laboiu's of Mr. and Mrs. Watt, will be issued in this dialect 

 by the Bible Society of Scotland, about the end of this year, 

 1891. Other portions of scripture, with hymn book and 

 catechism in that dialect, have been printed by Mr. Watt 

 himself on a small ])ress given to him by the Glasgow 

 Foundry Boys' Religious Society. The Weasisi dialect is 

 spoken by quite as many people on the east coast cf Tanna to 

 the north of the volcano. The difference between these two 

 dialect is so oreat that one native does not understand the 

 other unless they know both dialects. A primer with 

 catechism and hymns, and a portion of John's Gospel, have 

 been printed in the Weasisi dialect. Other portions of 

 scripture are preparing for the press, and a grammar and 

 vocabulary will shortly be in the hands of Melbourne printers. 

 These are to form part of a larger philological work by the 

 Rev. D. Macdonald, of Havannah Harbour. On the north 

 end of Tanna there exists another dialect, but not differing 

 Avidely from that of Weasisi. On the west coast of Tanna, 

 opposite the Weasisi district, another extensive dialect is met 

 with, that might be described as a cross between the 

 Kwamera and Weasisi dialects, yet having characteristics of 

 it's own. Between this w^est dialect and the Kwamera 

 dialect there are known to be at least four dialectic variations. 

 The language of Tanna is now. taking up many foreign 

 words, chiefly English, which are invariably mispronounced. 

 Strange English words are often used as names, but so 

 corrupted are these one does not readily recognise them, 



