xix NEGRITOS OF THE PHILIPPINES 301 



years by M. de Quatrefages, in some cases with the assistance 

 of his colleague, M. Hamy, that the facts I am about to put 

 before you have been prominently brought to light, and their 

 significance demonstrated. 



It is well known that the greater part of the large island 

 of New Guinea, and of the chain of islands extending east- 

 wards and southwards from it, including the Solomon Islands, 

 the New Hebrides, and New Caledonia, and also the Fijis, 

 are still inhabited mainly by people of dark colour, frizzly 

 hair, and many characteristics allying them to the negroes 

 of Africa. These constitute the race to which the terms 

 Melanesian, negroes, or Oceanic, are commonly applied in this 

 country. They are the " Papouas " of Quatrefages. Their 

 area at one time was more extensive than it is now, and has 

 been greatly encroached upon by the brown, straight-haired 

 Polynesian race with Malay affinities, now inhabiting many 

 of the more important islands of the Pacific, and the mingling 

 of which with the more aboriginal Melanesians in various 

 proportions has been a cause, among others, of the diverse 

 aspect of the population on many of the islands in this 

 extensive region. These Papouas, or Melanesians, however, 

 differ greatly from the Andamanese in many easily-defined 

 characters, which are, especially, their larger stature, their 

 long, narrow, and high skulls, and their coarser and more negro- 

 like features. Although undoubtedly allied, we cannot look 

 to them as the nearest relations of our little Andamanese. 



When the Spaniards commenced the colonisation of the 

 Philippines, they met with, in the mountainous region in the 

 interior of the Island of Luzon, besides the prevailing native 

 population, consisting of Tagals of Malay origin, very small 

 people, of black complexion, with the frizzly hair of the 

 African negroes. So struck were they with the resemblance 

 that they called them " Negritos del Monte " (little negroes 

 of the mountain). Their local name was Aigtas, or Inagtas, 

 said to signify " black," and from which the word Aeta, 

 generally now applied to them, is derived. These people 

 have lately been studied by two French travellers, M. Marche 

 and Dr. Montano ; the result of their measurements gives 

 4 feet 8f inches as the average height of the men, and 4 feet 



