26 



THE LIVING RACES OF MANKIND 



neighbours, the Malays. Nor 

 again can they be confused 

 either with Australians, or with 

 brown Polynesians, already de- 

 scribed. The average height 

 of a New Guinea native is 

 from 5 feet 6 inches to 5 feet 

 8 inches. Although strongly 

 built, his legs are thin. His 

 hands and feet are large. The 

 skin is dark, but never quite 

 black, like that of the Negro. 

 The skull is long, and the 

 lower jaw is decidedly pro- 

 minent, as are the brows. 

 The nose is large, with broad 

 nostrils, but deeply depressed 

 at the top. There is hair on 

 the chest and arms, but very 

 little on the chin. The lips 

 are full, but not so large as 

 those of a Negro, and the 

 face is somewhat oval. 



The physical differences 

 observable among the Papuans 

 of New Guinea may be 

 explained by a certain amount 

 of intermingling with other 

 races. Thus, Malays have 

 settled in some parts of the 

 island, Australians in others. 

 Brown Polynesians, too, have 

 put in an appearance in the 

 south-east. But for all that, we find the frizzly hair everywhere, reminding us of the 

 " Fuzzy- Wuzzy " of Mr. Eudyard Kipling's ballad. 



In character the Papuan is impulsive and demonstrative, iu this way presenting a 

 great contrast to the quiet Malay. Mr. Alfred Russel Wallace says: "It appears that, 

 whether we consider their physical conformation, their moral characteristics, or their 

 intellectual capacities, the Malay and Papuan races offer remarkable differences and 

 striking contrasts. The Malay is of short stature, brown-skinned, straight-haired, 

 beardless, and smooth-bodied. The Papuan is taller, is black-skinned, frizzly-haired, 

 bearded, hairy-bodied. The former is broad-faced, has a small nose and flat eyebrows; 

 the latter is long-faced, has a large and prominent nose (an important characteristic 

 feature) and projecting eyebrows. The Malay is bashful, cold, undemonstrative, and quiet; 

 the Papuan is bold, impetuous, excitable, and noisy. The former is grave and seldom 

 laughs; -the latter is joyous and laughter-loving; the one conceals his emotions, the other 

 displays them." 



The New Guinea Papuans used to go about naked, as many of them do still, but they 

 sometimes wear a breech-cloth made of bark, while the women wear a fringed girdle, or 

 perhaps a short petticoat of woven grass. The men take much pride in their hair, which 

 stands up like a big mop, or grows in tassels arranged round the head. But they have 

 many fashions in hair-dressing, though we cannot here describe them all. The bright 



From lft\ A. 11. Meyer's " Album von Pkilipinnen Typen," Dresden. 

 YOUNG MEN OF SIAR, EAST NEW GUINEA. 



