CLOTHING AND ORNAMENT. IOI 



were almost covered with it. Hère it was explained, how the weather-beaten, sandy coast made 

 it difficult to collect the shells and the Trochus rings were therefore obtained from the west. 

 Spécimens with engraved figures along the outer surface, such as are known of K. W. Land 

 and elsewhere, were not noticed hère; as a rule this surface is not even stripped of the lime; 

 the spécimen from Wàri on the other hand, which was worn by a man, is almost entirely 

 stripped of the outer layer and provided with radiating carvings. 



I did not discover that in H. B. the number of Trochus rings to be worn must 

 always be odd, as De CLERCQ (De CLERCQ and SCHMELTZ [1893, 30]) says, nor does the 

 photo of a girl of Tobâdi by KONING [1903, PI. 4] confirai this rule. Their number is hère 

 an indication of the prosperity of the wearer. The collection contains a number of Tarfia 

 armlets, products of Tarfia's monopoly, ail manufactured after the manner of the instrument 

 N°. 716 (PL XXV, fig. 1) and ornamented with Nassa and black seed rings, the same as 

 in the above ornamental belts. They are heavy, solid, and highly intricate pièces of work- 

 manship, exclusively intended for the upper arm, which I not only found at Tobâdi (N°. 483), 

 but which, perhaps through the intermediary of Tobâdi or Engrâs, also find their way to 

 Waba, which is not situated on the sea coast. Similar armlets, which De CLERCQ obtained in 

 Tanah Merah (De CLERCQ and SCHMELTZ [1893, 43, PI. X, fig. 1, 3, 4 and 5]) must also 

 originally hâve corne from Tarfia. 



The collection contains only one spécimen of the abnormally bent boar's tusk used 

 as an armlet, thus far only found in K. W. Land (BlRO [1899, 25, N°. 119 and 120, PL I, 

 fig. 14])- Such tusks are amongst the most precious breast ornaments for men, so precious, that 

 imitations are often made from Tridacna. The curvature is said to be obtained by pulling out 

 the upper tusks of boars, and thus enabling the lower tusks to grow freely in a circular form. 

 This may also occur in the natural state, il' the mutual position of the upper and lower 

 tusks allows it. In the case of the spécimen from Ajâpo (N°. 491, PL XVI, fig. 21) it is 

 évident that contact with the upper tusk lias worn down the lower one, the former having 

 been there some time already. Thèse armlets however are certainly very rare hère; FlNSCH 

 [1888, 346, 1888a, pi. XXI, fig. 2] even thought, that they did not exist in Netherl. territory. 

 N°. 492 is a wooden armlet rounded off on the inside and with a more or less sharp 

 ridge on the outside. This peculiar shape, also found by De CLERCQ (De CLERCQ and 

 SCHMELTZ [1893, 36, N°. 174, PL VI, fig. 17]) on Waigéu, reminds one greatiy of the shape 

 of the glass armlets, described by R.UMPHIUS [1740, 241, PL LU, fig. A] and also met with 

 now in Humboldt Bay as a very precious object, and therefore referred to under Chapter VIL 

 Meanwhile other shapes of wooden armlets also occur in North West New Guinea (see DE 

 CLERCQ and SCHMELTZ [1893, PL VI and IX]; N°. 176, p. 36, PL IX, fig. 19 of Usba, taken 

 for akar bahar (Plexaura), has since been proved also to consist of wood). 



Finally the collection contains some four armlets which I hâve never read of before, 

 as for instance the open armlets from Asé N°. 493, (PL XVI, fig. 20) of Pandanus fibres with 

 rows of Coix seeds between them. Further a 5 cm. broad armlet of cocoa-nut shell (N D . 494, 

 PL XVI, fig. 20) also from Asé. Only once before did I meet with an ornamental object made of 

 this material: in the Berlin Muséum I came across an oval forehead ornament of the upper Ramu. 



The outside of the armlet is shining black, such as may be caused, according to some, 

 by metallurgised colouring matters, according to others, by long wear, the grease of the skin 



