681 



So also the importance of the food is manifest in the 

 ornamental display of bananas and sago, and in the fact that 

 all the ceremonial and magical activities connected with the 

 feast are directed towards the increase of food at the Mad ana. 



Perhaps almost equally fascinating in the eyes of the 

 natives are the dances. A native dance, with full ceremonial 

 decoration and, what is still more important, with full cere- 

 monial setting, is something to be seen and remembered. I 

 shall never forget the impression I received from a Rami 

 dance, performed by some inland people at the feast in 

 Tsilotsilo, and not the least striking accessory was the great 

 excitement, mixed with feeling of real fear and awe, on the 

 part of all those present. The artistic needs of the native are 

 satisfied by the non-ceremonial dances. 



Besides the ceremonial ornamentation of the dancers and 

 of the master of the feast and his assistants, there is at each 

 a general display of finery. Even on its approach, in Mailu, 

 all the native ornaments were displayed, and in this way there 

 were revealed also more than ordinarily fine lime spatulas, 

 elegant decorated combs, armlets, belts, ear-shells, etc. In 

 this respect the >S'd^' feasts I saw were real "Vanity Fairs," the 

 native dandies swaggering about with ebony swords and sticks 

 (useful in the case of scrimmage), wearing fine necklaces, and 

 with their faces and bodies painted red, black, and white, in 

 a more or less fanciful manner. 



Another general feature of the feast w^as the fighting, 

 which seems to have been very frequent, though perhaps not 

 usually resulting in much bloodshed. Fights were almost on 

 the point of taking place at the feasts I witnessed, though the 

 district was quiet and fairly civilized, and my presence 

 undoubtedly acted rather as a deterrent. I was told by Mr. 

 Oreenaway, who has been present at many Madinias, that 

 fighting was a regular feature of the feast, and the Rev. 

 W. J. V. Saville informed me that at a feast in one of the 

 Mailu villages of Orangerie Bay (eastern part of the Mailu 

 district), at which he was present, a serious fight very nearly 

 took place between the men of two usually hostile villages, 

 who faced each other ready for the fray. It was only the 

 presence of two w^hite men, and their conciliatory efforts, that 

 prevented an actual outbreak of hostilities. The cause was a 

 quarrel over a woman, who left her husband and went to her 

 own community to live with another man. 



In a quarrel I witnessed among the Massim, it arose in 

 one case out of a heated discussion over a pig, two parties 

 laying hold of the unfortunate animal and nearly tearing it 

 to pieces in their struggle while each asserted his right to 

 the squealing victim. As I had to act as an arbiter in this 



