698 



rows of pyramids — being also one of the typical elements in 

 the carvings on the Duhu of the Central District. 



The tattoo on women is practically the same as that found 

 among the Southern Massim of the southern coast. The same 

 holds good with reference to the decorations on the pottery. 

 Now, the designs used in tattooing and on the pots have names 

 among the Southern Massim of which the meaning can be 

 usually explained ; moreover, they are used in the various other 

 artistic productions of these natives, such as the ornamentation 

 on lime spatulas, wooden swords, paintings on houses, etc. 

 The designs have, therefore, evidently been imported to Mailu 

 from this district, and not in the reverse direction. This view 

 is confirmed by the fact that the Mailu natives, when asked 

 as to the meaning of a pattern, frankly admit that it is "a 

 Bonahona pattern," and beyond this they know nothing 

 about it. 



Again, all the wood carvings done in Mailu, such as the 

 lime spatulas, sago spoons, and wooden dishes, are evidently 

 copies, in much inferior v/orkmanship, of the fine carvings 

 imported from the east, consequently the decorative art of the 

 Mailu should be studied in connection with that of the Massim, 

 but as this cannot be done here I shall limit myself to the above 

 remarks, (i^^) 



Dances and Songs. — -In these arts the Mailu seem equally 

 unproductive and unoriginal. All their dances and songs 

 come either from the east — from the Southern Massim and 

 the tribes inland ; or from the west — from the tribes around 

 Hood Bay, and chiefly from the village of Kerepvnn, a great 

 centre of choreutic art. One or two of the dances have been 

 borrowed from the inland tribes of the Mailu district. A short 

 surve}^ of the dances and songs performed at present in Mailu 

 must here be sufficient, as an adequate description could only 

 be given after studying them in their own respective homes. 

 Many of the dances and songs are simply taken over without 

 taking any trouble as to their meaning, and it would be 

 interesting to study the process of such borrowing. This would 

 involve an investigation of the original version, as performed 

 and interpreted by the people who originated the dance, and 

 of the copy, as performed by the borrowers. 



(105) In order to describe and analyze the decorative art of 

 Eastern New Guinea, it would be necessary to study it in its two 

 main foci — that is, in the Trobriand Islands and in the Louisiades. 

 As I have as yet been unable to study either of these areas, it is 

 impossible at present to undertake the survey indicated. There 

 is, however, no doubt that both areas mentioned have had para- 

 mount influence on the art of the whole extreme east of New 

 Guinea. 



