28 



THE LIVING RACES OF MANKIND 



PhoLo by Jtei: W. If. La 



, New Guinea. 



TWO NEW GUIXEA HOYS. 



flowers of the 

 hibiscus are often 

 placed in the hair; 

 plumes of the bird- 

 of-paradise are also 

 used in the same 

 way. A small bar 

 of shell, bone, or 

 wood is thrust 

 through the septum 

 of the nose. Xor 

 must \ve omit the 

 comb, which is a 

 long piece of split 

 bamboo sticking 

 out for a length of 

 two feet, or even 

 m o r e, a n d o r n a- 

 m e n t e d with 

 feathers, or disks of 

 pith. Necklaces are 



usually made of small shells, teeth, or bone. For bracelets and armlets, shells are cut and 

 ground into circular shape, but some are made merely of grass or fibre. The people paint 

 their bodies red, yellow, white, or black. 



The dwellers on the coast build their houses on piles over the sea. Inland the houses 

 are also raised above the ground. Safety from snakes and human enemies is doubtless the 

 main object, but this mode of building is also advantageous from a sanitary point of view. 

 The illustration on page 29 shows one of these pile-dwellings. Another illustration shows a 

 very peculiar house built up in a tall tree; these houses are called dobos (see page 27). 

 If any enemy comes to attack the inmates, he receives a shower of stones, for they keep a 

 supply ready on the floor. There are also very large communal houses, as in Borneo, 

 containing many families, and often over 500 feet long. As in Sumatra and other parts, 

 the people have club-houses, where strangers are welcome, and feasts or festive gatherings 

 take place. 



In the eastern part of New Guinea agriculture is largely followed; the fields are fenced 

 in, to protect them from the ravages of wild pigs, and the people grow sweet potatoes, 

 bananas, yams, and sugar-cane. In the Dutch portion of New Guinea, to the west, the 

 ground is not much cultivated; fish and sago are the principal diet in that large district. 

 Intoxicating drinks are fortunately unknown in most parts of the island. The people are 

 very fond of pork, and, as in New Zealand, the women make great pets of little pigs. 

 You may see a girl holding a young pig in her arms, caressing it and talking to it, just 

 as an English young lady might treat a cat or a small dog. Captain Cayley Webster 

 says he has seen a mother suckling a young pig and an infant at the same time. Like 

 the Australian Aborigines, they do not object to eating many large kinds of insects; lizards, 

 fish, and molluscs are also regular articles of food. The Papuan weapons of New Guinea 

 are spears, knives, axes of jade, with the edges ground, clubs, and the bow and arrow. 

 Spears are tipped with bone or hard bamboo. The blow-pipes, which emit a cloud of dust 

 and smoke, appear to have been used of old in imitation of firearms; but that trick is 

 no longer of any_ujse, so they have been given up. The religion is chiefly a belief in 

 spirits, most of whom are inclined to evil deeds. When any one dies, his relations make 

 a wooden image in which his departed spirit may dwell, so that it shall not wander 

 aimlessly about and perhaps cause all manner of sickness and disease. These images are 



