Linton — The Marquesas Islands 293 



ing at the upper right corner. Bring it down over the crosspiece diagonally to the left, around 

 the rafter left to right, and diagonally up, right to left. Pass it down behind rafter diagonally, 

 emerging lower right corner, and wrap it twice around the crosspiece. Carry end across lash- 

 ing below crosspiece to the left, up the left side behind the crosspiece, and across the lashing 

 to the right, in front of rafter. This completes the black part of the lashing. 



Take the brown cord, which has been carried around the rafter from right to left above 

 the crosspiece, and carry it down over the crosspiece diagonally from left to right. Pass it 

 around the rafter right to left, and diagonally up over the crosspiece left to right. Bring it 

 down behind the rafter diagonally right to left, across the lashing below the crosspiece to the 

 extreme right edge of the figure, and wrap twice around the crosspiece. Make one complete 

 turn around the rafter below the crosspiece from right to left, carry up the right side of the 

 lashing, across to the left, down left side and carry on to next figure on right. 



The complete lashing should consist of two vertical bands each of six strands, the two 

 outer strands in each band being brown and the four inner black. Between these there should 

 be an X whose arms are six strands in width, the two strands along the edges of either arm 

 being brown and the four central strands black. 



OTHER FORMS OF DECORATION 



No indication of the use of paint in the decoration of house timbers was 

 found, and no reference was made to it by informants. Du Petit-Thouars (48, p. 

 347), however, speaks of seeing in the island of Tahu Ata, a small house, with 

 posts painted red and yellow, which sheltered a corpse. This form of ornamenta- 

 tion was probably never used for dwellings. 



Informants in Pua Ma'u, Hiva Oa, stated that men's houses belonging to 

 chiefs were often ornamented with the lower jaws of wild pigs, several of them 

 being attached to the inner side of the front stringer at regular intervals. The 

 jaws were placed angle up, with the tusks projecting below the stringer. These 

 tusks were useful as well as ornamental, serving as hooks on which to hang 

 small objects. 



The early accounts of the Marquesas contain several references to pre- 

 pared skulls which were used to decorate the houses of victorious warriors, but 

 no details of the arrangement are given and as such trophies were also worn as 

 ornaments it seems probable that they were simply hung up in the house and not 

 incorporated in the structure. 



HOUSE FURNISHINGS 



Although furniture, in the European sense, was lacking, miscellaneous ob- 

 jects were to be found in any inhabited INIarquesan dwelling. The bed space 

 was covered with mats; wooden bowls and boxes lay about; calabashes and 

 baskets hung from the walls or ridge pole; and tools and weapons were hung up 

 or were thrust into the thatch. Porter (49, p. 113) says that there were "stands, 

 calculated to hang different objects on, so contrived that the rats could not get 

 them" and "cradles for their children, hollowed out of a log and made with great 

 neatness." No other reference to these cradles has been found. From the ridge- 

 pole hung a number of bundles containing new tapa, or the gala dresses and 



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