ORNAMENTAL PATTERNS 245 



z My friend, Mr G. A. Shaw, who was connected for several 

 years with the Betsildo Mission, made a number of " rubbings " 

 of this peculiar ornamentation. On exhibiting many of these 

 at the Folk-lore Society, when I read a paper on this subject, 

 one of the members expressed a strong opinion that these 

 patterns must have had originally some religious signification ; 

 and another member remarked that the patterns closely re- 

 sembled those on articles from the Nicobar Islands. 



8 The word " Tanala," which simply means " forest dwellers " 

 (Ata=forest), is a name loosely given to a number of tribes of 

 the south-east, who inhabit the wooded regions and the adjacent 

 country. All, however, have their proper tribal names and 

 divisions. 



