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PREFACE. 



The ethnological information presented in this memoir 

 was collected during a stay of six months in Papua, from 

 the beginning of September, 1914, till the end of February, 

 1915. The expedition was suggested by my friend and 

 teacher, Prof. C. G. Seligman, and its organization and 

 scientific direction has also been in his hands. I owe him a 

 further debt of gratitude in that he has made himself respon- 

 sible for the financing of the expedition, the funds for which 

 were to a great extent supplied by Mr. Robert Mond, 

 F.R.S.E., the well-known scientist and benefactor of science. 

 In every way I am under the greatest obligation to Prof. 

 Seligman, and I hope my work will prove not altogether 

 unworthy of the great trouble and kind care he has taken 

 to make it possible. 



I would not have been able to conduct my investigations 

 with any hope of success without the kind and very efifective 

 assistance given me by the Federal Department of External 

 Affairs, and by the Papuan Government. Both Mr. Atlee 

 Hunt, C.M.G., Secretary to the Commonwealth Department 

 of External Affairs in Melbourne, and His Excellency Judge 

 J. H. P. Murray, Lieutenant-Governor of British New Guinea, 

 have taken a friendly interest in my work and have given 

 me the best opportunities for carrying it out. To both these 

 gentlemen my sincere thanks are due. 



For much help in my investigations I have to thank 

 the Hon. H. W. Champion, Secretary to the Papuan Govern- 

 ment, and Dr. W. M. Strong, of Port Moresby. 



I also owe much to the kindness of the Resident Magis- 

 trates of the Divisions which I visited — Mr. L. P. B. Armit, 

 of Abau; Mr. C. B. Higginson, of Samarai; and Mr. A. H. 

 Symons, of Woodlark Island. 



In actual field work I have been greatly helped by the 

 Rev. W. J. V. Saville, of the London Missionary Society, 

 missionary in Mailu, and by Mr. Alfred Greenaway, a resi- 

 dent of long standing in that district. I had also the good 

 fortune to meet Dr. A. C. Haddon, F.R.S., in the field 

 during his short visit to Mailu. 



Prof. E. C. Stirling, C.M.G., F.R.S., of Adelaide, has 

 read and corrected my manuscript and given me his invaluable 

 advice on many points. He has also undertaken to edit this 

 memoir. I owe him personally and scientifically more than 

 mere words of acknowledgment can express. 



Prof. W. Baldwin Spencer, C.M.G., F.R.S., of Mel- 

 bourne, whose investigations have marked an epoch in ethno- 

 logy, gave me the benefit of his unique experience in field 

 work. The personal interest he has been good enough to show 



