Supplement to ''Nature" Ap7-il 24, 1902. 



before us to satisfy us of the importance of these dis- 

 coveries. They point to the economic value of toteniism, 

 in which Dr Frazer has suggested its origin is to be found. 

 The dugong-clan on Mabuiag seem to have performed 

 rites to secure plenty of dugongs, the turtle-men to secure 

 plenty of turtles. The office of rain-maker is said to be 

 hereditary in a certain family, though to what clan it be- 

 longed and what position it occupied in the clan we are 

 not yet told. The localisation of the totemic ceremonies, 

 the use of the same word {aiii^ud) to mean the totem 

 itself, the sacred objects used in the ceremonies, and a 

 human ancestral (though probably mythical) hero sug- 

 gest that totemism was passing into the worship of 

 ancestors, or at least into hero-worship, "and a hero 

 worship that is suspiciously like the origin of a god." 

 Not less important than the meaning and development of 

 totemism is the delimitation of its area. Here, too, good 

 work has been done. Although toteniism was tlourishinj; 

 in the western islands of the Straits and bore evidence 

 that it had been brought with the immigration from New 

 ("luinea, the travellers failed to trace it in some of the 

 powerful slocks of British New Guinea ; they ascertained 

 that there was no true totemism in the eastern islands, 

 and their researches in Borneo seem definitely to nega 

 tive any connection between the animal-cult of the tribes 

 in Sarawak and totemism. 



Where the totem-clan does not exist, a point of great 

 interest is the organisation of society and the conception 

 of relationships. On this we are told nothing directly. 

 We learn, however, that Dr. Rivers made minute in- 

 quiries into the genealogy of the Murray Islanders and 

 some other peoples. It is to be hoped that when these 

 are published we shall have some data for inferences, not 

 merely as to hereditary qualities, but also as to social 

 relations. 



Interesting as the chapters relating to Torres Straits 

 and New Guinea are, those which narrate the author's 

 experiences in Borneo and discuss some of the supersti- 

 tions practised there are in no way inferior. ' Balan's 

 love-story is delightful, and the chapter on the peace- 

 making at Baram forms an artistic conclusion to the 

 mission. On the omen-animals Dr. Haddon is able to 

 contribute some additional facts to our knowledge, as 

 well as to describe the ceremonies he witnessed. The 

 chapter on the cult of skulls, and the scenes in which he 

 was an actor as the purchaser of skulls, are perhaps even 

 more suggestive. We learn that the practice of taking 

 skulls is not an ancient one among the Kayans and 

 Kenyahs, two of the larger and more influential tribes. 

 We are told that "some tribes believe that the persons 

 whose heads they take will become their slaves in the 

 next world," and that the vendetta is a common reason 

 for the hunt of heads. But Dr. Haddon expresses no 

 opinion on the origin and real meaning of the custom. 

 Mr. Kruyt, a Dutch savant, has recently published an 

 account of it as practised by the Toradja of Central 

 ("elebes. In that neighbouring island it would seem that 

 the tribe referred to recognise a three-fold soul in every 

 living being. There is, first, the breath ; secondly, the per- 

 sonal soul ; and lastly, a part of the universal soul or vital 

 ether. It is the last which is attached to the skull and 

 the scalp of man and other animals. To procure the 

 skull, therefore, is to render oneself the possessor of the 

 NO. 1695, VOL. 65] 



victim's share of the vital ether. By depositing it in the 

 shrine of the ancestral gods, this share is offered to them. 

 As the gods appear to be the manes of ancestors.'the 

 possession of this share of the vital ether fortifies the vital 

 ether of the family or the clan ; in other words, their 

 portion of the universal soul is augmented. Mr. Kruyt, 

 after examining the beliefs and customs of the Dayaks 

 and Battaks, comes to the conclusion that their head- 

 hunting is based upon substantially the same belief. We 

 sh.ill be glad to know whether Dr. Haddon has observed 

 any facts which corroborate this theory. 



The volume is adorned with numerous reproductions 

 of photographs by the author and his colleagues, as well 

 as by many sketches. The photographs are for the most 

 part good, some excellent. In many cases, however, the 

 reproduction is on too small a scale for proper exhibition 

 of the details. 



Full of interest for the general public, the volume is 

 admirably calculated to awaken scientific curiosity and 

 bespeak attention for the detailed results of the expedition, 

 now in course of publication by the University Press. 

 E. SinNF.v H.ARTI.ANn. 



THE SEACOAST OF ENGLAND. 



The Sea-coast : (l) nestnictipti, (2) Littoral Drift, (3) 

 Protection. By W. H. Wheeler, M.Inst.C.E. Pp. 

 xii + 361. (London: Longmans, Green and Co., 

 igo2.) Price lo.f. dd. net. 



THE sea-coast is always a fascinating object to the 

 hydraulic engineer, for besides the varieties of its 

 conditions, it is the place where the most vehement 

 attacks of the forces of nature have to be encountered 

 and provided against. The sea is an ever-present foe, the 

 power of which when lashed into waves by gales is almost 

 incalculable, always quick to pierce any weak point in 

 the defences and to push forward its advantage by en- 

 larging the breach, and sometimes producing wide- 

 spread ruin before the initial damage can be repaired. 

 Moreover, in some cases, the protection of one part of 

 the coast leads to the weakening of an adjacent portion, 

 and the sea, foiled in a direct attack, overcomes opposition 

 by a sort of flank movement on an unprotected place. 

 On some coasts the gradual advance of the sea can only 

 be checked for a time ; and the erosion of the cliffs during 

 storms is promoted by the disintegrating action of rain 

 and frost, the debris being scattered over the be.ich and 

 eventually carried away by littor.il drift The rate of 

 encroachment of the sea depends mainly on the ex- 

 posure of the coast, the slope of the beach and fore- 

 shore, and the nature of the cliffs or shore ; for on a very 

 open sea-coast exposed to strong winds, with deep water 

 near the shore, the erosive action of the large waves 

 rolling in is very great, especially when breaking against 

 cliffs composed of clay or other readily disintegrated 

 materials. Irresistible secular changes appear to be 

 taking place along some coasts, for a slow but steady 

 advance of the sea may be noted in some places, and 

 a distinct retrogression observed in other parts. The 

 protec tion of land against the rav.iges of the sea 

 must depend upon the value of the land and its position. 

 Where villages and towns have been built alongside the 

 sea-coast, large sums may be ,-idvantageously expended 



