THE BUSINESS OF LIFE 119 



mothers in the serious business of hfe, while the boys 

 are still leading a gay life with no responsibilities. 

 Both boys and girls very early become proficient in the 

 management of canoes, and a child of tender years 

 will confidently steer a canoe through rough water 

 which would end in certain shipwreck for one of us. _ 



The chief business in the lives of the Papuans is 

 that of all animals, human and others, namely, the 

 search for food. But while the civilised races have 

 learnt to foresee wants of the future, and have 

 established a system of agriculture which provides 

 food for everybody and leaves a part of the population 

 free to pursue other occupations, the Papuans take 

 no thought for the morrow, and the search for food 

 becomes literally a hand to mouth business, which 

 occupies the attentions of every member of the com- 

 munity. — 



They have no cultivation in the Mimika villages, 

 and even at those places such as Obota (see p. 88) 

 where there is some cultivation, the crops that they 

 raise are not nearly sufficient for the whole population, 

 so it can easily be imagined that an improvident people 

 living in a country constantly liable to sudden floods, 

 which swamp the land for weeks at a time, is frequently 

 faced with a prospect of complete starvation. At 

 first you are inclined to think that the whole of the 

 business of collecting food falls on the shoulders of 

 the women, while the men sit at home and do nothing. 

 This is certainly true of a great many days in the year, 

 but certain tasks can only be performed by the men, 

 such as hunting for game in the jungle, and fehing 



