February 19, 1920] 



NATURE 



663 



UNEXPLORED PAPUA.^ 



T N an interesting book on his experiences as a 



•*■ magistrate in the western division of Papua, 



Mr. Wilfred Beaver has given a vivid description 



of life in a practically unknown portion of that 



little-known land. 



The western division is the largest in the terri- 

 tory, and has only partly been brought under 

 Government control. It comprises the basins of 

 the Fly River and the rivers east and west, 

 from the Dutch boundary to the north-western 

 portion of the Gulf of Papua. The people on the 

 coast about Kiwai Island appear as a black, 

 frizzy-haired race of medium height, narrow- 

 headed, with the arched and prominent nose 

 called Semitic. Inland skins are lighter, and 

 noses shorter and straighter, while towards the 

 east there are still other variations, but nowhere 

 in this division is there any trace of the 

 mixed people whom Seligman has de- 

 scribed as Papuo-Melanesians. 



After short sketches of Papua in 

 general and of the western division and 

 its history in particular, the author takes 

 each river system or its hinterland in 

 turn, as forming the most convenient 

 means of describing the natives and the 

 districts themselves. 



In Kiwai the native houses are com- 

 munal, varying from 250 ft. to 450 ft. in 

 length. The whole roof is supported on 

 the side posts, and, being carried forward 

 over the end of the flooring, forms a 

 verandah. The interior is divided into 

 family compartments, each with its own 

 fireplace. These compartments are open 

 in the Fly River houses, and closed in 

 those further east. All are now giving, 

 place to smaller houses, where married 

 men sleep with their families. 



Inland from the Fly River and at the 

 western end of the division the bush 

 people differ from those on the coast. 

 The excessive use of gamada [Piper 

 mefhysticum), the kava of Polynesia, has had 

 to be prohibited by a Government regulation. 

 In all this region the population is decadent, in the 

 bush through pulmonary disease, on the coast 

 through raids of tribes from the west. 



The eastern part of the division on the coast 

 and inland from the Papuan Gulf has scarcely yet 

 [)een brought under control. Mr. Beaver gives 

 in account of a pacificatory visit and the genesis 

 f a Government station at Goaribari, where the 

 lev. James Chalmers and his party were killed 

 n 1901. Cannibalism in this district was 

 lommon, the stronger tribes gradually eating up 

 lie weaker. Yet these people are among the 

 )est physically in the possession, and, being 



1 " Unexplored New Guinea ; A Record of rhe Travels, Adventures, and 

 Sxperiencfs of a VesiHcnt Magi^t at« amongst the Head-hnn'ing ^avajjes 

 no Cann'b^Is of the Unexplored Interior of New Guinea." By Wilfred N. 

 leaver. With an Introduction by Dr. A. C Haddon. Pp 320. (London : 

 eeley. Service, and Co., Ltd., 1920.) Price 25J. net. 



NO. 2625, VOL. 104] 



quick, intelligent, and imitative, are now becom- 

 ing employed in increasing numbers by white 

 planters. The whole country being a region of 

 swamps and morasses, the natives are naturally 

 expert canoe-makers, and sago, both here and 

 in the Fly basin, is the staple vegetable food, 

 with bananas and yams when the soil is 

 suitable. 



Both at Kiwai and Mawata the natives are 

 becoming "civilised," civilisation consisting in the 

 wearing of European clothes, the use of European 

 tools, and the laying out of the village in two 

 streets of pile houses, each occupied by two 

 families. "There is a flagstaff and a small court- 

 house, a wooden church, and a trader's store." 

 Amusing instances are given of the mingling of 

 old and new ideas. Women make proposals, and 

 brothers and sisters are exchanged in marriage, 

 while the court for native affairs deals with affilia- 



FlG. T. — Hamu Kiver archer in full fighting dress. The gauntlet is worn on the left arm 

 to protect it from the bowstring. The bamboo beheading knife is carried slung 

 around the neck. The head-carrier is carried over the left shouldtr. From 

 " Unexplored New Guinea." 



tion orders and fines of thirty shillings for "philan- 

 dering" with other men's wives. 



It is impossible to give an adequate view of 

 these interesting chapters within the limits of a 

 short notice. Mingled with descriptions of scenery 

 and personal sketches of prominent natives are 

 interesting accounts of native arts, fishing by 

 means ef the sucker fish, and the spearing of 

 dugong from platforms on the reef. Dress or the 

 lack of it, pigs and cassowaries, swamps and 

 gardens, sorcerers' magic and charms, births, 

 marriages, and deaths, are all dealt with in a most 

 unconventional way. A chapter on property and 

 inheritance and Dr. Landtman's account of the 

 leligious beliefs of the Kiwai people conclude the 

 book. 



The spirit in which Mr. Beaver wrote this most 

 picturesque book is shown when he says : " There 

 is a mystery about Papua that seems to enhance its 



