190 PEIMITIVE AGEICULTUKAL EACES 



Islands i and the island of Flores.^ Similar evidence comes 

 from all parts of New Guinea .^ It is specially mentioned for the 

 Gulf of Geelink,* among the Baru tribe,^ near Dorej,« among 

 the Mafulu people,'' among the Koitu and the Motu,^ and the 

 Southern Massim.^ It is also practised in Nias,io Central Celebes," 

 among the Bontoc Igorot.i^ and in the Mitchell group.^^ 



32. Infanticide was very prevalent in New Zealand — far more 

 so than abortion. ' Infanticide is frequent among the New 

 Zealanders ' ; ^* according to another observer ' it was formerly 

 very common ' ; ^^ or again, ' it was formerly very prevalent '.^^ 

 We hear of the ' wholesale destruction of human life through 

 infanticide '.^^ There is evidence that girls were more often 

 killed than boys.^^ Infanticide occurred in the Western Islands 

 of the Torres Straits ; ^^ among the Eastern Islanders ' after 

 a certain number had been born, all succeeding children were 

 destroyed '.^o In the Gilbert Islands it is very prevalent ; ^i in 

 Samoa and Tonga,^^ on the other hand, it is either absent ^3 or 

 very rare. 2* It appears to have been fairly common in Savage 

 Island,25 in Tikopia (Barwell Islands),^^ and in Nissau.^' ' In- 

 fanticide was committed on a large scale ' in Earotonga ^s and 

 in Funafuti,29 j^^^ ^f^ probably reached its greatest extent in 

 Tahiti. The famous secret society known as the Areoi is said to 

 have enjoined the killing of all children upon its members. In 

 any case it was very prevalent in the island, and not confined to 

 the Areoi.^^ ' The first missionaries have published it as their 

 opinion that not less than two-thirds of the children were murdered 

 by their own parents.' ^^ Infanticide was not known in the 



1 Ribbe, loc. cit., p. 194. ^ Riedel, Rev. Col. Inter., vol. ii, p. 71. 



' Krieger, loc. cit., p. 165 (German New Guinea), p. 292 (British New Guinea), 

 and p. 390 (Dutch New Guinea). * Ibid., p. 392. » Murray, Papua, 



p. 194. * Rosenberg, Malayische Archipd, p. 454. ' Williamson, 



Mafulu People, p. 176. ' Seligman, Melanesians, p. 135. ' Ibid., 



p. 568. >» Modigliani, loc. cit., p. 554. " Kreutz, loc. cit., p. 201. 



" Jenks, loc. cit., p. 60. " Turner, Sa7noa, p. 280. " Angas, Australia 



and New Zealand., vol. i, p. 312. '* Taylor, Te Ika a Maui, p. 338. 



»' Tuke, loc. cit., p. 221. " Polack, Manners and Customs, vol. ii, p. 92. 



See also Meade, Ride, p. 163, and Dieffenbach, loc. cit., vol. ii, p. 16. " Brown, 

 New Zealand, p. 41 ; Earle, Narrative, p. 243. " Haddon, J. A. I., vol. xix, 



p. 359 ; Cambridge Anthropological Expedition, vol. vi, p. 107. ^^ Cambridge 



Anthropological Expedition, vol. vi, p. 107. ^* Tuituila, Journ. Pol. Soc, 



vol. i, p. 267. " West, Ten Years, p. 270. ^' Turner, Samoa, p. 79 ; 



Brown, Melanesians, p. 47. " Kramer, loc. cit., vol. ii, p. 53. ^' Thom- 



son, Fijians, p. 141. " Rivers, Melanesian Society, vol. i, p. 313. 



" Thurmwald, Zeit. filr Eth., vol. xlii, p. 111. ^a qju^ Coral Islands, vol. ii, 



p. 13. " Edgeworth David, Funafuti, p. 195. '» Lutteroth, Insel 



Tahiti, p. 12. " Ellis, Polynesian Researches, vol i, pp. 249 ff. ; same author. 



Tour through Hawaii, p. 325. 



