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which also plays a very important role in native cookery. The 

 bathing in the sea or creeks seems to be generally due to the 

 desire to get cool rather than to a craving for cleanliness. But 

 undoubtedly they often bathe in order to cleanse themselves, 

 as, for instance, when they remove the mourning or ceremonial 

 dirt. Besides these occasions there is no ceremonial bathing, 

 or no presumption of cleanliness on ceremonial grounds, but 

 the natives generally rinse their hands and mouths with sweet, 

 or salt, w^ater after every meal. As a rule, the natives are 

 fairly clean, and they hardly ever shock the eye or the olfactory 

 sense, except when they are obliged to keep dirty, as in the 

 cases just mentioned. 



They have, of course, a characteristic smell, but this is 

 by no means strong or unpleasant. In the way of artificial 

 scents they use several kinds of aromatic herbs, which thsy put 

 in their armlets. The most popular of these has, to the 

 European nose, a strong and decidedly offensive smell. Some 

 of these herbs are cultivated by the natives in their gardens, 

 and they are used indiscriminately bv both sexes. The testes 

 of the cuscus are also used as perfume, and are placed in 

 armlets or necklets. 



As mentioned above, they use the coconut to anoint them- 

 selves, and this gives to the natives one of the predominant, 

 but by no means unpleasant, smells. They never use pigs' fat 

 for anointing themselves, and indeed they seem to have a 

 certain horror of getting greasy with this fat. 



The care of the hair is one of the most important toilet 

 activities with the natives, and squeezed coconut, which is 

 smeared all over the body, is especially used as a shampoo. 



In mourning the men shave their hair. Otherwise they 

 let it grow until it forms the large, mop-like chevehire which 

 is so characteristic of the Papuo-Melanesian. This mop is left 

 with its natural contour, except when they dress up for 

 dancing, on which occasions it is bound and decorated in 

 various ways. Individuals with wavy hair are exceptional, 

 and I never saw in the Mailu district any person with the 

 woolly, close-cropped hair characteristic of the Papuans. Nor 

 is their hair ever plaited with mud or grease, as is done in 

 some parts of the Territory. 



To keep the hair in order they employ a comb, which they 

 normally carry in their hair (except when in mourning), thus 

 using it as a decoration. The comb (Pe'e) consists of a piece 

 of wood (from 15 in. to 30 in. long). It is split at one end 

 into several teeth, which are kept apart by a string passed 

 between them. Another piece of string tied round their base 

 keeps them together. The other end of the comb serves as a 



