665 



of his main objects of life — one of those things that "keep 

 him going," that make life worth living for him. 



The description of the proceedings at, and the preparation 

 for, the feast given in this section, is not all of the same degree 

 of accuracy. Certain ceremonies and parts of the preparations 

 I have seen, but unfortunately I was not able to witness the 

 main feast in Mailu ; and this makes the v/hole difference in 

 the description of ceremonial proceedings, for even the 

 best native informants are essentially unable to give any 

 consecutive details, and the detailed information of the white- 

 man on such a subject is completely worthless as long as he has 

 not observed the facts for the purpose of study. This, I 

 venture to say, is only possible for a trained observer. I have 

 witnessed the most important preparatory feast in Kurere 

 (Mailu district), and I have seen the whole series of prepara- 

 tions in Mailu village and different stages of it in several 

 places on the mainland. I have also witnessed two big So'i 

 feasts in Isndau and Tsilotsflo, and one in Nadvvdpu in its 

 last stages of preparation. Though the So'i differs from the 

 Madtina on many essential points, I was able to trace both the 

 similarities and differences, having several Mailu boys with 

 me. In this way I received a much clearer and more concrete 

 impression of the Mailu feast than I would have been able to 

 obtain from mere narrations. In the course of my account I 

 shall carefully point out all the deficiencies in my information 

 and shall also indicate what I consider to be well established. 



The feast is usually called Madnna, which means distri- 

 bution, the allusion being to the distribution of food which 

 forms an essential feature of the proceedings. The word 

 Maiiru, or wealth, is also used at times to denote the big feast. 

 The smaller preparatory feasts are generally called Kandre or 

 Gat si, each having besides its own specific name. OVo is the 

 name of a mortuary feast, which will be described in the 

 next section. 



Connectio7i bet wren a Feast and the Dance verf armed at 

 this Feast. — The whole character of the feast, especially in its 

 magico-religious aspect, depends upon the dance, which is 

 performed at its main phase. The most sacred and appropriate 

 dance, and that invariably performed when an important 

 Madnna takes place, is the Govi. For this dance the great 

 ceremonial platform is created, on which it is performed, and 

 with this dance are connected the taboos and magical practices, 

 called Udini. Again, this dance, and this dance only, entails 

 a series of preparatory feasts. The decoration of the houses 

 also varies when the Govi is given. 



Much less ceremony and taboo are associated with the 

 dances Fana and Kobiai. These two imply certain taboos 



