542 



The National Geographic Magazine 



THE VERY RARE PROECHIDNA, OR EGG-LAYING ANT-EATER 



PROBABLY FOR THE FIRST TIME 



PHOTOGRAPHED ALIVE 



cles which the deceased prized. In some 

 cases they are placed in little houses set 

 above the ground on short posts. These 

 do not last long, on account of the inroads 

 of hogs. 



In some cases dead children are re- 

 duced to skeletons and these are placed 

 in hollow bamboos. 



In the Geelvink Bay region the skull 

 is frequently removed and placed within 

 a large wooden head which is carved 

 from a block of wood. This is consid- 

 ered very sacred, and it is almost always 

 impossible to persuade the people to part 

 with one. 



In British and German Papua the cus- 

 tom of wearing part of the skeleton as 

 an amulet is reported. This is unknown 

 in the regions called Papua Talandjang 

 (The Land of Naked Papuans) by the 

 Malays. It may be said that this region 

 embraces Humboldt Bay and the neigh- 

 boring country toward Cape D'Urville. 

 We find, however, in Jendee, on Roon 

 Island, in Geelvink Bay, this custom 

 cropping up again. Here the mother 

 often wears some of the bones of her 

 dead child as a necklace. 



The government of the people is simple 

 in the extreme. There is often a chief,, 

 but in general affairs are decided upon 

 by the men met in assembly. At Tobadi 

 the assembly house is seen next to the 

 great "temple." In some localities these 

 houses serve some sacred purpose, and 

 the characteristic crocodile is part of the 

 scheme of decorative carving. In Geel- 

 vink Bay, on the other hand, no houses 

 exist for this special purpose. The men 

 meet regularly on the front piazzas of 

 the great communal houses and discuss 

 matters there. 



Agriculture, of course, has made but 

 slight headway. Sago is here, as in 

 many of the Moluccas, the great main 

 stay of the people. Sago palms grow in 

 great numbers along all the low-lying 

 coastal plains. 



Sago is prepared in the usual manner. 

 The tree is cut down and the trunk 

 opened. Then the pith is beaten to 

 loosen it and to render the subsequent 

 washing more effective. This beating is 

 done in the Geelvink Bay region with a 

 heavy wooden club. About Humboldt 

 Bay, however, a curious hammer-like tool 



