641 



Mailu also made other shell ornaments. (3) Baskets. — These, 

 some of which were acquired from the Southern Massim, were 

 traded to a limited extent ; they were very important in native 

 life as being the only means of carrying foodstuffs, firewood, 

 and objects in daily use, when on a journey. (4) Stone 

 implements were to a great extent imported into Mailu, though 

 some were locally manufactured, and a few are still made and 

 used in Mailu. (5) Carvings were never a speciality of the 

 Mailu, and only very rough and inferior work is produced. 



The technological side of the industries here described is 

 very unsatisfactory, as throughout my work I was concerned 

 with the social life of the natives rather than with technology. 

 The following account is meant chiefly to be a survey of those 

 main economic activities which are directed towards the pro- 

 duction of objects of use and trade. 



Pottery. — This art was the exclusive monopoly of the 

 inhabitants oi Mailu Island, but I am not able to say whether 

 this was owing to the fact that there was no clay available 

 anywhere else in the district, or whether this is an example 

 of the extreme inertia of the natives towards the alteration of 

 a tribal status sanctioned by tradition. The natives of the 

 district always state that suitable pottery clay is only available 

 on Mailu, but this means merely that they do not know of any 

 other place. 



On Mailu Island the clay is obtained in many localities 

 from deep holes dug in the alluvial flat, behind the village. 

 It is fairly clean, does not contain many small stones, and is 

 used without any previous treatment. It is brought into the 

 village in baskets, plaited of coconut leaves, and it is wrapped 

 in leaves to keep it moist. It is usually brought in the morn- 

 ing and used the same day. 



The accessories of pottery consist of a ring of banana 

 leaves, half a coconut shell, a shell of a species of Y enus^ and 

 usually a large melon shell (Melo diadema ), or, in place of the 

 latter, another coconut shell, which is used as a receptacle for 

 water. 



The method of pottery making may be described as a 

 "method of coiling," an expression used by Prof. Seligman 

 with reference to the technique of the Southern Massim. C^D 



The clay, as it is brought from the pit, is fashioned inta 

 long cylindrical ''fingers" or 'sausages," by rolling between 

 the two palms (comp. pi. xl., fig. 1, the woman on the right- 

 hand side). The worker (always a woman) takes a large 

 handful of clay, kneads it a little, and rolls it into the 

 desired shape. The "sausages" are about the thickness of 



(71) Op. cit., p. 25, footnote. 

 V 



