THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY 



examples of pottery and basketry; their musical attain- 

 ments by gongs, clappers and xylophones; their skill in 

 metal work by lime and betel-nut boxes, vases and jars 

 and by their weapons. 



Adjoining the Moro collection are two cases showing the 

 knives and blow-guns of the peoples inhabiting the Islands 

 of Sumatra, Celebes and Java. 



The western side of the hall is occupied entirely by a 

 most elaborate collection from the Bagobo of southern 

 Mindanao. This tribe, numbering a few thousands, forms 

 one of the group of pagan Malay tribes living in villages 

 back from the west coast of the Gulf of Davao. They are 

 a people of singular beauty with clear, golden brown skin, 

 earnest wide-open eyes and mobile faces changing from 

 deep seriousness in repose to sparkling vivacity in conver- 

 sation. 



In dress both the men and the women display unusually 

 good taste. The men wear short trousers and open jackets 

 and carry richly beaded bags on their backs. The women 

 are generally clad in scant-bodied, scarlet-sleeved waists 

 and straight skirts, woven in pictured patterns. They gen- 

 erally adorn their heads with bright colored handkerchiefs, 

 wear ivory and inlaid plugs in their ears and around their 

 necks hang pendants of finely carved seeds, braided bead- 

 work and strung flower petals. Attached to their carrying 

 bags and dresses is generally a number of small bells. Both 

 men and women chew the betel nut, and specimens of their 

 lime and betel-nut boxes may be seen in the collection. 



129 



