498 



In his book, Prof. Seligman has given the results of his; 

 researches among five different tribes, or groups of tribes.. 

 These may be considered representative of the different cultural, 

 types found in the Papuo-Melanesian area. The Roro- 

 speaking people and the Meleo are typical of the most westerly 

 of the Western Papuo-Melanesians. Their culture shows signs 

 of some modification, due to the influence of pure Papuan 

 tribes in their neighbourhood. The Koita, described in the 

 first part of Prof. Seligman's work, represent a perfect type of 

 the pure Western Papuo-Melanesian culture, as it exists 

 amongst the bulk of tribes inhabiting the (administrative) 

 Central Division of the Territory, The two last parts of the 

 treatise deal with the two subdivisions of the Massim, the 

 Northern Massim, who inhabit the Trobriand Islands and 

 Woodlark Island, and the Southern Massim, who live in the 

 extreme eastern end of the mainland and on the islands which 

 run south-eastwards from it — the d'Entrecasteaux Group, the 

 Louisiades, and the minor groups lying around and between. 

 Thus we owe to Prof. Seligman a complete picture of the 

 ethnographical area covered by the term Papuo-Melanesian.. 



Prof. Seligman says, however, in the introduction to his 

 book : — "Very little is known concerning the population of the 

 country between Aromd and Mullins Harbour, in the neigh- 

 bourhood of which the territory of the Massim begins ; in fact, 

 this is one of the least-known portions of British New 

 Guinea." (^) It is with this area that the present study is 

 concerned. 



"A people, who may be called the Mailu, inhabit the 

 country around Port Glasgow and Milport Harbour . . ." ('^^ 

 The name Mailu, by which Prof. Seligman calls these natives, 

 has also been adopted in this paper. Mailu is the name of the 

 most important village of the tribe, which is situated on a small 

 island (called Toulon, or Mailu Island), some four to five miles 

 off the mainland, opposite Amazon Bay. The Mailu islanders 

 have played quite a special and prominent part in the trade 

 of the southern coast, and they also possessed certain industries 

 (pottery, canoe-building, etc.) unknown, or hardly known, to 

 the other natives of the district. Physically, they are un- 

 doubtedly much more robust and healthier than the average 

 mainland native. They seem also to enjoy a certain amount 

 of aristocratic presiige among the neighbouring villagers. Thus 

 the term Mailu, applied to the natives of the whole district, 

 is a fair use of the ^«r.s pro into figure. I have also reason to 

 believe that the whole district was known by that name to the 



(3) Op. c'lt., pp. 22 and 23. 

 (4) /bid., p. 24. 



