786 . REPORT— 1894. 



by the name of the Roustem Code. Olearius, a well-known traveller at the 

 heginning of the seventeenth century, mentions his visit to Roustem, who was a kind 

 of elected judge or arbitrator, called an ' outzmi.' His subjects were Tartars of the 

 Kaitag, who liad no writing of their own. The treatise is written in Arabic. It 

 contains many very old customs and usages, and admits the vengeance of blood, 

 which extends from the first to the last relatives inward to all the members of the 

 tribe, called 'Touchoum.' Compositions are paid in rough linen called mab- 

 zaldick. Whoever wished to escape the obligations of mutual responsibility was 

 obliged to declare solemnly that all ties were broken between him and the members 

 of his tribe, and a nail was placed in the wall of the mosque in commemoration of 

 it. The treatise of Roustem inflicts a hiffh amercement on those who use it with- 

 out the permission of the ' outzmi.' ' Who keeps his mouth will not lose his 

 head,' is the common saying placed at the top of each sentence. It shows that the 

 mediators in Daghestan, just like the Brehons of Ireland, kept their knowledge for 

 themselves and their pupils. 



4. On the N'atives of the Hadramout. By J. Theodore Bent. 



After referring to the ancient inhabitants and the archaeology of this district, 

 the country from which the ancient world obtained its frankincense and myrrh, 

 Mr. Bent went on to describe the present inhabitants of the country and the 

 extreme difficulties in the way of pursuing anthropological research in it. He 

 divided the inhabitants as follows, into four divisions, and gave an account of each. 



Firstly, the Bedouins, an obviously aboriginal race, with a religion of their 

 own and mysticism at variance with the orthodox religion of the land. He con- 

 sidered them to be more like the Gallas in physique ; and when proper measure- 

 ments can be taken, in all probability an affinity will be established between these 

 two races on either side of the Indian Ocean. 



Secondly, the Arabs proper, who came from Yemen and conquered the country 

 three centuries ago. He gave a description of their women and their customs and 

 fanaticism, of the men who go to India in search of a livelihood, and of the Sultans 

 of the Al Kaiti family. 



Thirdly, the Sayyids, a sort of hierarchical nobility who fan the fanatical 

 tendencies of the race and rule everything, both in religion and law ; and to them 

 is due the fact that the Hadramout has continued so long to be shut off from 

 exploration and the rest of the world. 



Fourthly, the slave element, which in this country is considerable. Mr. Bent 

 described them as living a very happy life and subject to very few social dis- 

 abilities. 



5. On the Shells used in the Domestic Economy of the Indonesians. 

 By Dr. J. D. C. Schmeltz, of Leiden. 



The author submitted a systematic list of no fewer than 154 shells used by the 

 aborigines of Indonesia and Oceana in their domestic economy, and a table showing 

 the geographical distribution of their use for diiTerent purposes. The author gave 

 an account of the different modes of using shells. Some are much preferred to 

 others, for a great variety of purposes. Shells are also used in connection with 

 religious ceremonies. He concluded with some observations on the manner of 

 making implements, ornaments, &c., from shells. 



6. On the Pantheon of the Fijians. By Basil H. Thomson. 



The author described the Fijian Olympus, the mountain of Nakauvadra. The 

 tutelar deities of Fijians are the spirits of their dead ancestors. The growth of 

 this idea may be traced in the development of the complete tribe from a single 

 family, and the process may be tested by an examination of the bond of tauvu. 

 Tribes that are tmivu {i.e., sprung from the same root) worship the same gods. 



