594 



NA TURE 



[November 4, 1922 



which the natives of Tanganyika have for the magic 

 powers of their chiefs and witch-doctors must cause 

 misgiving, ft indicates a decay of custom which 

 may effect the most vital elements in native culture 

 and social organisation. 



A part of the Empire far distant from Central Africa 

 affords a striking example of a decay of custom similar 

 to that now taking place in Tanganyika. Over the 

 greater part of the South Seas the sacrosanct character 

 of the chief is, or was, the basis of the whole social 

 order. The sacred power of the chief was the sanction 

 of the law, and in virtue of it he punished offenders. 

 Contact with civilisation has proved fatal. The white 

 man does not recognise the sanctity of the chief, nor 

 does he discriminate in this respect between the chief 

 and the ordinary members of the tribe. When he 

 commits, without fatal consequences, acts which the 

 native regards as tabu, the sacred character of the chief 

 is impaired and his authority undermined. As the 

 laws of morality, of the sanctity of married life, and of 

 property rest on the principle of tabu, of which the 

 chief is the supreme manifestation, not only is the 

 authority of the chief to punish offenders questioned, 

 but the whole social order is also disintegrated. The 

 results can be studied in Melanesia, and particularly 

 in the New Hebrides, where contact with the white 

 man has led to the discrediting in this way of the 

 authority of the chief and of the elders of the com- 

 munity. 



The social disintegration which has followed this re- 

 sult need not be considered here in detail. It has been 

 detrimental to the native, and, by depleting the supply 

 of labour, will ultimately have a serious effect on the 

 development of the resources of the islands. Those 

 who would pursue the subject further will find it well 

 and impartially discussed in " Essays on the Depopula- 

 tion of Melanesia," 1 which has recently been published 

 on behalf of the Melanesian Mission. In this instruct- 

 ive, and indeed valuable little book, a number of 

 essays by missionaries, an anthropologist, and adminis- 

 trative officials such as Sir William Macgregor and 

 Mr. C. M. Woodford, deal with various aspects of the 

 question. All concur in attributing much importance 

 to the decay of custom as a cause of the depopulation 

 which is undoubtedly taking place in this area. 



The adjustment of custom when civilised and primi- 

 tive meet must inevitably give rise to difficulty. It 

 should be the aim of the ruling power to secure this 

 adjustment with as little harm as possible to the social 

 organisation of the subject population. It is unneces- 

 sary to urge that certain practices cannot be tolerated 

 under the rule of a civilised power. Human sacrifice, 



1 " Essays on the Depopulation of Melanesia." Edited by Dr. W. H. 

 R. Rivers. Pp. xx + n6. (Cambridge: At the University Press, ro22.) 

 6s. net. 



NO. 2766, VOL. I IO] 



for example, is a case in point. It has been usual to 

 forbid such practices entirely, as was done in the case 

 of suttee in India. Frequently, however, total suppres- 

 sion entails consequences entirely unforeseen. As our 

 knowledge of primitive peoples grows, it becomes in- 

 creasingly apparent that it is difficult to interfere with 

 one element in custom without affecting the whole. 

 In Melanesia, head-hunting and intertribal wars have 

 been suppressed. The results have been serious. It 

 is not merely that these forms of activity have dis- 

 appeared, but with them has gone a whole group of 

 dependent social activities which filled the life of the 

 Melanesian. A head-hunting expedition entailed the 

 performance of a prolonged ritual of preparation, extend- 

 ing over many months, which began with the building 

 of canoes, and included at different stages many feasts 

 and the preparations for them. A whole group of 

 interests, many of practical utility apart from their 

 main object, has thus been eliminated from the lives 

 of the natives. 



The late Dr. W. H. R. Rivers, in an interesting 

 essay which he contributed to the work mentioned 

 above, gave it as his opinion that the most important 

 factor contributory to the depopulation of Melanesia 

 was psychological, and, in fact, that it was due to the 

 lack of interest in life which followed as a consequence 

 of the suppression of certain customs. It is interesting 

 and significant to note, as an indication of the import- 

 ance of this side of the subject, that it has led even a 

 missionary to regret the suppression of intertribal war. 

 It might well be worth while in such cases to endeavour, 

 by substituting some harmless element, such as, for 

 example, an animal instead of a human victim, to 

 avoid total suppression of a custom embodying some 

 objectionable features. This suggestion was put 

 forward by Dr. Rivers ; but something of the same 

 nature is already in operation in districts in New Guinea, 

 where the head-taking propensities of the native have 

 been turned to account among animals which plaved 

 havoc with the women's plantations. 



The whole question is one of extreme difficulty and 

 complexity. To those who realise our responsibilities 

 to subject populations and the importance of the part 

 the native should play in the development of tropical 

 and subtropical lands, any suggestion of change in 

 custom, such as that reported from Tanganyika, is 

 big with possibilities of disaster. As a result of past 

 experience, it is clear that each case must be dealt with 

 on its merits and as it arises ; but the general principle 

 is equally clear that it is only by close and sympathetic 

 study of native custom that it will be possible to avoid 

 action which may undermine authority and destroy a 

 social fabric upon which depends the continued exist- 

 ence of a primitive people. 



