HABITATIONS AND FURNITURE. 145 



and SCHMELTZ [1S93, 85, N°. 427, PL XVIII, fig. 7], seems doubtful. At least, of 

 the rutn serams, the sleeping houses of the marriageable young men, no head supports 

 are reported and I myself found the rum sëram at Mios Korwâr also without any furniture 

 whatsoever. In the club-houses of German New Guinea one often meets, according to HAGEN 

 [1899, 202], with a long, thick bamboo, which serves as a head support for a number of sleepers 

 at the same time ; thus it was noticed at Jamna that the men use only an ordinary pièce of 

 wood (De CLERCQ and SCHMELTZ [1893, 85]) and the use of a regular head support appears 

 neither to be always allowed to the women. As vvell at Ingrâs as at Angâdi I savv a woman 

 using a pièce of fire wood and the oblong, ornamented, wooden object, obtained by De CLERCQ 

 in Humboldt Bay as upper part of a head support, without legs, for the use of women 

 ([1. c. 89, N°. 442, PI. XXI, fig. 1]) is, as I found out, a „weaving wood", (see N° 3 . 649 — 652, 

 PI. XXI, figs. 1, 5, 6, 7, 8). From the Kabadi district, British N. G., it is mentioned, that 

 whilst the men sleep in hammocks, the women must sleep on the fioor (CHALMERS [1885, 162]). 

 When on visits elsewhere the head support, provided with a sling, is often carried along. In 

 the forest-bivouacs I saw how the Papuan carriers of the expédition manufactured for them- 

 selves an arrangement, to which on the road the kettle is suspended over the fire, viz. two 

 forked twigs stuck vertically into the ground and a third twig laid crosswise in the small 

 forks; on such a rack they slept the enviable sleep of the Papuan. The head itself and not 

 the neck then rests on the cross pièce, for which reason De CLERCQ and SCHMELTZ [1893, 84] 

 and VON LUSCHAN [1897, 66] rightly reject the name "Nackenschemel" or "Nackenstùtzen", 

 still maintained by BlRO [1901, 64]. 



According to the shape two kinds of head supports are to be distinguished, as well in 

 Netherl. New Guinea as in K. W. Land (FiNSCH [1888 — 93, PL 10]): i° the monoxyle 

 type, eut out of one pièce of wood and 2° that with removable legs. The second 

 kind is used in the central part of the north coast, embracing as well Netherl. as German 

 territory, (from Tanah Merah to Astrolabe Bay), whilst to the west of this, Geelvink Bay, as 

 well as to the east, Finsch Harbour, centra are found where the monoxyle type is exclusively 

 met with. VON LUSCHAN ([1897, 67], KRIEGER [1899, 474]), deriving the ornament from East 

 Asia, found the most évident monoxyle types in the district of Finsch Harbour. The composite 

 ones, of which VON LUSCHAN [1897, PL XLVI], as well as SCHMIDT [1903, figs. 5, 20 and 

 21], gives fine illustrations, would mean a degeneration, but the human figure occurring on 

 thèse is said to be derived from the Telamones of the monoxyle type. A combination of 

 bird and snake, to be met with on the head supports of Finsch Harbour, is also ascribed to 

 pure Indian influence. In connection with this it is not unimportant to point out that on 

 Lake Sentâni, a bird motive (hornbill) has been met with on the hère universal composite 

 head support with rattan legs, (N°. 542, PL XVIII, figs. 2a, 2b) ; a snake motive is however 

 wanting hère. I am willing to apply to the other animal figures, the supposition of VON 

 LUSCHAN (KRIEGER [1899, 473]), that the Telamones are connected with an ancient, mytho- 

 logical idea. A fish motive, as reported by SCHMIDT [1903, figs. 21a and 21b] and supposed 

 by him to be derived from H. B., has not been hère met with by me. The motive which is 

 generally attributed by SCHMIDT to the lizard, I look upon as a crocodile ; in N os . 543 — 545 

 (PL XVIII, fig. i), of Sâgeisârâ, the opening of the mouth is plainly visible, and at the tail- 

 end there is a toothed ridge, by which the comb of the crocodile's tail is indicated. With 



Nova Guinea. III. Ethnography. 19 



