631 



Some of the natives actually like work. One sees a 

 woman sit day after day making clay pots. I saw perhaps 

 about a score of women in Mailu busily at work, without any 

 suggestion of compulsion, throughout hot, muggy days, when 

 everybody else was trying to take a siesta. Again, one often 

 sees men working strenuously, keenly, and continually at the 

 manufacture of arm-shells and of other shell ornaments, or 

 mending ropes or string. Some of them (both men and 

 women) will work alone, absorbed in what they are doing — 

 though, generally speaking, they like to work in groups. 

 Much heavy, systematic, and tedious work falls on the native 

 women. They have to bring in water, firewood, and vege- 

 tables, and to prepare the food, day after day, without respite 

 or holiday. Their work is undoubtedly more monotonous than 

 that of the men. Neither men nor women avoid actual hard- 

 ship in work, for they will sit up all night fishing, and at times 

 of need they do not mind working in the middle of the day, 

 though, as stated above, they like to have a siesta at that 

 time (see chap, iii.^ sec. 2). 



All this does not mean that the natives do not understand 

 ''the perfectly aristocratic art of doing absolutely nothing." 

 On the contrary, I formed the impression that they have a 

 great deal of artistic feeling for the beauty of the dolce far 

 niente. At times they will sit about for hours talking 

 languidly, looking with vacant eyes at the surrounding world, 

 when no doubt they are not harassed by the unpleasant feeling 

 that time rushes on steadily and inexorably. Whenever any- 

 thing is done by one man there are usually a dozen looking on, 

 though without keen interest. Whenever canoes return from 

 a journey the whole villege looks on and watches. Sometimes 

 several natives will leave the village, perhaps with fish spears 

 in their hand, perhaps on the way to their gardens, and they 

 will sit down on the beach for hours slumbering or talking, or 

 gazing in front of them. 



But it would be quite inadequate to call this ''laziness." 

 This term would be either a flat truism, if it mieant that in a 

 hot, enervating climate, with no incentive to spur him on, 

 and with all his needs easily satisfi^ed, man does not develop a 

 feverish activity and keen strenuousness ; or it would be 

 an obviously false statement if it meant anything more or less. 

 Lazy is an adjective having a meaning or value on a moral 

 background only, and as such ought to be strictly excluded 

 from scientific language. 



Communal Labour. — Besides these avowedly general re- 

 marks, there are a few other tangible facts as to native ways 

 of working that may be adduced. Working single handed, 

 without adequate tools, the native is often unable to perform 



