IQ 2 G. A. J. VAN DER SANDE. 



and the smoke of the dwellings. The engraved ornament, which may be interpreted by more 

 capable ethnographers, is filled up with lime, whilst along the margins small holes occur, which 

 possibly serve for the purpose of fastening this very wide armlet, which is worn by women 

 as well as by men. 



The bone armlet from Mios Korwâr (N°. 495, PI. XVI, fig. 14), apparently made out 

 of the breast bone of a sea turtle, may also for the présent be called an „unicum". Whale 

 bone armlets, (see N°. 496, PI. XVI, fig. 18 from Kwatisoré) hâve also never been mentioned 

 hitherto. The Leyden Muséum contains two spécimens, Série 53, N°. 21, from the north coast 

 near Doré and Ser. 929, N°. 165 (De Clercq and Schmeltz [1893, 36, N°. 165, PL IX, fig. 13]) 

 from Salawàti and taken for akar bahar (Plexaura). The Utrecht collection contains under 

 N°. 204 an armlet from Geelvink Bay, also described in the catalogue as akar bahar, but really 

 made out of whalebone. 



When his attention was called to it, Mr. W. L. Jens, conservator of the collection, 

 remembered having heard from the Papuans, during his long résidence in Geelvink Bay, that 

 whalebone armlets were imported from Salawàti, where the material was sold by foreign 

 whalers, who called there. 



As far as is known, only the toothed whale (Odoutoceti) and especially the sperm 

 whale or Cachelot [Phy seter macr oc'ephalus) was hunted in those waters. The Papuans 

 themselves do not hunt Cetaceae, nor do the Malays. Only the inhabitants of the village of 

 Lamakera on Solor and those of Lamararop on the neighbouring island of Lomblen, people of 

 Indo-Malay origin, go whale hunting, as lias only recently become known (Max Weber 

 [1902, 89] ). Therefore, unless foreign (English but especially American) whalers hâve hunted 

 Cetaceae, which may very well hâve been the case during the last period of this occupation, 

 now ended because of the scarcity of the Cachelot, it must be assumed that the whalebone 

 of the armlets is obtained from Balaenoptera, which has stranded now and then on the coast, 

 especially in the bays. It appears from FlNSCH [1888 — 93, 190 and 219], that this occurs on 

 the north coast of New Guinea also ; and besides, Kwatisoré Bay is in this respect very 

 favourably situated and has a low sandy beach. Neither was it stated that spécimen N°. 496 

 was obtained from elsewhere, but only that the name given, haro berè, was the naine of „an 

 animal, which lives in the sea and furnishes the material". As the other whalebone armlets 

 are without ornament, I can make no further comparisons; the reversed coil ornament of 

 N°. 496 is entirely in the style of Geelvink Bay and need not originate from Salawàti. The 

 Leyden Muséum contains another armlet (Ser. 602, N°. 21), obtained from the German Nether- 

 lands frontier territory, represented as being made of tortoise shell, which proved to be of 

 whalebone. If the statement as to its origin is correct, the object is unique; for it is in thèse 

 parts that our expédition has done much work and never has anything similar been met with. 

 The stranding of Balaenoptera on the low sandy beach of a great part of Humboldt Bay 

 must however be regarded as highly probable. 



The wrist is often ornamented, perhaps, lest it should interfère too much with the 

 freedom and usefulness of the hand, in a much smaller degree than the upper parts of the 

 arm. Wrist bands are (see pag. 100) sometimes used in Geelvink Bay as signs of mourning, 

 also (N°. 453 457) as bow-guards. In the eastern coast parts of North New Guinea the signi- 

 fication thereof as mourning wear was not clear to me. N°. 497 (PL XVII, fig. 8) of Kwatisoré 



