802 REPORT — 1891. 



12. Bamboos pegged to a tall tree stem as a ladder are used in Assam and by 

 the Dyaks of Borneo. 



13. The ' jew's-harp ' of New Britain, seen also in the Philippines, is very 

 common in the hills of Assam. 



14. The periniBal bandage of New Guinea is also common amongst the Eastern 

 Nogas. 



15. Nose-plugs, as in New Guinea, are seen among the Noga women. 



16. Flat wooden discs on the posts of houses, to keep out rats and niice, abso- 

 lutely identical with those seen in NewBritain, are also frequently met with in Assam. 



17. The hide cuirasses seen in the island of Nias, west of Sumatra, and cut 

 from a single skin, are an almost exact counterpart of those occasionally seen 

 among Nogas, and are both spear and arrow proof. 



18. Panjis or bamboo spikes, planted for defence in pathways, are as common 

 in Assam as among the inhabitants of New Guinea, and form another link in the long 

 chain of evidence which tends to prove that the Papuan and Mongoloid are 

 descended from a common stock. 



19. Hot stone cooking again is common in Assam as among the Papuans and 

 other races. 



20. The custom of obtaining fire by means of a long piece of cane passed under 

 a dry log and pulled alternately by the right and left hand, so as to ignite some 

 tinder placed in a hollow underneath, is absolutely identical amongst Nogas, 

 Papuans, and the Dyaks of Borneo. 



21. The huge canoe war drums appear to be the same as the ' Lali ' or canoe 

 drums of the Fiji Islands, and both are placed in semi-sacred houses, the Noga 

 drums being m the ' Morongs.' The notable feature in these last being that they 

 are veritable canoes, 20 to SO feet long by 2i or 3 feet beam, hollowed out of a 

 tree stem, and in use by races who never enter, and in most cases have not seen a 

 canoe for ages. 



22. Cane bridges identical with those seen in New Guinea are found everywhere 

 round Assam. 



23. The system of Jum cultivation is pursued in and round Assam by most of 

 the non-Aryan races in much the same way as amongst the wilder races of the 

 Indo-Pacific region. 



24. The way in which Nogas and other hillmen notch footholds to ascend a 

 tall tree is absolutely identical with the custom of certain tribes in Australia, who 

 use stone axes. 



5. Burial Customs of New Britain. By the Rev. B. Danks. 



The grave is usually dug in the house the deceased inhabited while alive, or a 

 light structure is erected over the grave to protect it from the rain. It is gene- 

 rally not more than eighteen inches or two feet deep, and it is the custom for the 

 women of the family, and sometimes the men, to sleep upon it for a considerable 

 time after the burial. A fire is also very often lighted upon or by the side of it, 

 which is kept burning day and night for some time. Sppietimes the grave is dug 

 out in the open and fenced round with bamboos, the enclosure being kept in good 

 order by the friends, who plant beautiful shrubs about it. They have also a 

 method of calling to mind the circumstances and mode of death suffered by the 

 departed by means of rude images cut out of the banana stem. Some have a piece 

 of wood suspended from the neck; others have pieces of bamboo thrust into 

 various parts of the body ; another may have a rudely fashioned tomahawk driven 

 deeply into it. The first shows that the individual represented has been clubbed, 

 the second speared, the third tomahawked. The old men then instruct the young 

 people in these matters, and this does much to promote blood-feuds. 



Death is always the result of witchcraft, and details are given in the paper of 

 the manner in which the person who has caused the death is discovered. 



Sometimes a body is buried in a canoe set on poles, and the author gives a full 

 description of a burial of this kind which took place on Duke of York Island, and 

 was witnessed by the narrator. 



