232 PROBLEMS OF ABORIGINAL ART IN AUSTRALIA. 



Van der Tuuk. In the Lampong cbaracter the inscription 

 reads " Daibaitah," the name of a deity of the Battas of Sumatra 

 (•'Dewattah" with the Baijus of Borneo) represented by a Trinity 

 corresponding to Vishnu, Bi^ahma, and Siva : the root of Dai- 

 baitah and its variants being the Sanskrit Deva (comp. Divus). 

 The circlets on the right hand of the robed figure are found in 

 connection with Hindu representations of Devi, who is also shown 

 holding a skull in her hand, seated on a serpent, and with a halo 

 round the head, — features observable in the sack-like figure 

 already referred to. The tassel-ornaments, and large spiked 

 earring, are also found in Sumatra : while the figure of a crocodile 

 is found under the roof-tree of Sumatran temples, — to which the 

 strange monster shown in my paper, with two human figures, may 

 correspond. The whole pamphlet of Mr. Mathews is of great 

 interest ; it is publisbed in part 1, vol. xxiii, of the Journal of the 

 Anthropological Institute, which may be purchased at the ofiices of 

 that Institute. 



FURTHEE COMMUNICATION RECEIVED. 



The Rev. C. J. Woou, B.A., D.D., oP York, Penna, U.S.A., 

 wi'ites in 1898 : — 



The data afforded by Bishop Thornton are interesting and of 

 extreme value to the anthi'opologist. The figures described in the 

 paper appear to be of diiferent dates and motifs. It is quite pos- 

 sible that figures I to 5 may be due to Hindu influence — not 

 necessarily Buddhist, The nimbuses which appear in figures I, 2, 

 and 4 might be pre-Buddhistic. The following figures up to 

 9 cxpi-ess a more primitive thought. With regard to the absence 

 of a mouth in several figures, this is significant. A review of the 

 ceremonial masks, the masks of the sacred dance, as observed by 

 primitive peoples the world over shows an intentional omission of 

 the mouth in instances. The nose is seldora omitted ; the eyes, I 

 should say, never. This omission of the mouth in the sacred 

 mask (which, by the way, always represented some divine power) 

 had a distinct significance. It remains to be shown that that 

 significance or symbolism is silence. More likely it means sexual 

 purity, or else fi-eedom from the necessity of eating. The same 

 mouthless masks and figures will be found alike in North America 

 and Melanesia. The nimbus, it may be added in conclusion, will 

 be found in the picture writings of the Western Hemisphere. 



