TRADE AND COMMUNICATIONS. 221 



why travellers, if they noticed them at ail, probably paid very little attention to them; at 

 least the literature about New Guinea contains very little about the beads. 



Le Maire [1622, 63], on the 23 rd of July of the year 1616, when Papuans from Wiak in their 

 little boats approached his ship, writes about: "geele Indiaansche Coralen, als van Amber, die een 

 vrouwe hadde, die de Président verhandelde van haar om een risken coralen" — (yellow Indian beads, 

 looking like amber, in the possession of a woman and purchased by the "Président" for a string of beads). 

 The title "Indian" beads, proves that Le Maire found them very uncommon, not customary in Europe, 

 though he presumed that they had been imported by Spanish ships, like some other foreign articles, found 

 in the same place. The beads Le Maire bought, were not very expensive; this, together with the amber 

 colour, leads me to suppose, that they were dainjânsi or chrïs, surely more abundant and still cheaper 

 at that time than at présent. 



In Humboldt Bay itself, the valuable beads were first discovered by Finsch [1888 — 93, 180]; 

 however, he does not give a description or an explanation of their significance. Finsch also saw some of 

 thèse beads at Attack Harbour, which may surely hâve been spécimens of the real simbôni, for I got the 

 évidence, that the Humboldt Bay people, in bartering with their eastern neighbours, make use of the currency 

 beads. Beads used as nose ornament, like Finsch saw in the Huon Gulf, in his opinion came from 

 Maclay. Regarding the Tami River (Sechstroh-Fluss) Finsch writes: "Fragments of big, very fine, mosaic 

 enamel, beads of glass of old Venetian origin, and undoubtedly dating from the times of the first Spanish 

 and Portuguese navigators". Other "fragments of very fine beads" Finsch places in the category of the 

 Kalebûkubs of the Palau money, but thèse are totally différent from the real simbôni. 



The first report mentioning the high value of beads in H. B., has been given by Bink [1897, 175]: 

 "the dowry consists of two stone hatches and a six feet long string of beads, flat, blue slices, which are 

 highly valued hère"; — he probably means simbôni, the dark blue ïsjar are too long and cylindrical to be 

 called flat. Bink does not seem to hâve collected them, at least the Utrecht collection does not contain any. 

 Koning, also delivers a report [1903, 264]: "species of old beads, among which the so-called 

 semuni (simbôni?), having a yellow colour, can hardly be got now"; — hère Koning is wrong; the yellow 

 c/iris, are the most numerous. 



Biro [1901, 56, fig. 23, ï] describes: "two old, glass beads, no longer in circulation", on a men's 

 bag from Bongu. Dr. Semayer (Royal Hungarian Muséum, Ethn. Dep. mt ), has been so kmd as to inform 

 me that one of thèse beads is red, untransparent, diameter 1 cm., and furrowed ail round; the other one, 

 yellow, translucent, flat, and with a diameter of 7 cm. In the same collection another small breast bag is 

 found, from the isle of Thiar (Astrolabe Bay), which is also adorned with glass beads: a small, blue one and 

 a double, white one, both untransparent, and with flat surfaces; a similar, but single, white bead is fastened 

 on another men's bag from Thiar. As to the red bead, I must call to minci, that Finsch [1888 — 93, 180] 

 found in a bag at Dallmann Harbour, 8 red beads, carefully wrapped up in leaves, so probably very 

 precious. Beads like the above mentioned, and red beads in gênerai, I nowhere found in Netherlands N. G. 

 Interrogating the Papuans themselves about the origin of the simbôni, they answer (Moolenburgh 

 [1904, 169]), that ail their beads come from the interior, and are made by the mountaineers. The central 

 mountains of Netherlands N. G., however, are entirely terra incognita; moreover, this possibility of origin 

 need not be discussed. 



In my opinion, a European origin must also be excluded; not only does the Murano collection 

 contain no beads manufactured after the above mentioned System of the New Guinea beads, but even Le 

 Maire was struck by the uncommon "Indian" appearance of the beads, bartering them for European ones. 

 A comparison might be made with the mutu labatta of the Timor Archipelago (Rumphius 

 [1740, 245]). Of course not with the most ancient sort, met with in old graves by Langen in Savu, and 

 no longer in use with the natives, neither appreciated, when they happen to be found. Thèse consist of 



