120 A NATURALIST IN CANNIBAL LAND 



more self-respecting position than that of a chattel 

 to be bought and sold at pleasure, and she will learn 

 to understand the freedom that has come to her, and 

 be careful not to abuse its privileges. It may be 

 contended that this emancipation of the native 

 woman will tend to promote lax morality amongst 

 the women, but to my mind the danger of this is not 

 great, for with the influence and teachings of our 

 Christian Missions any tendency in this respect is 

 likely to be overcome." 



It is interesting to hear of this dawn of progressive 

 ideas among the Papuan women. But the balance 

 of opinion among those who know the South Sea 

 Islands best is that the native customs, such as they 

 are, represent the standard of morality naturally 

 attainable in that particular district, and undue in- 

 terference with them usually leads to retrogression 

 rather than betterment. Marriage by purchase offends 

 European sentiment : but it seems to work satis- 

 factorily enough in practice in the South Seas. One 

 has more sympathy with the efforts of the Government 

 to better the conditions of the widows. There has 

 never been in Papua the custom of immolating a 

 woman on the death of her husband. But the 

 bereaved widow has an uncomfortable time by native 

 custom. To give an instance from one of the visiting 

 magistrate's reports : 



" At Ifu village I heard that a widow in mourning 

 had been shut up in her house for over one year, and 



