
BARTLETT—HEAVY WOODEN SHIELD OF MISIMA 609 
the noise was ecatsed by more than one bearer. Going in front of the spearmen, 
his task was to ward off spears and stones flung by the enemy. In combat the 
shield-bearer was very active, making many Joaps into the air to deflvet flying 
missiles, In so doing he drew up his legs, so that af no time was any part of his 
body visible to the enemy, 
On Misima the name given to the heavy fighting shield is ‘‘ivan,’’ Panaeati 
folk call it ‘“‘ligovan.’’ Both these names were said to describe the shield as 
“upright,’? Other Misima words for ‘shield’? are ‘'ebwein’’ and ‘‘libweiu,’? but 
it was not possible to learn whether or not these names applied formerly to some 
other type of shield. 
A carved design appears along one lateral margin of each shield, The 
designs of all figure birds and snakes, No totemie significance was claimed 
for the designs, which were in éach case described as ‘‘lo siba wana nuata,’’ that is, 
“skilled man his thoughts.’? Tt is possible that the designs are actually of 
totemie origin, although their significance may have been forgotten by a generation 
that has lost a great deal of the old culture. 
The principal and strongest. totemic group on Misima was known as Tawaraian., 
They claimed as their bird the frigate (lawat), and as their reptile, the iguana 
(eumakara), Other totemie gronps each laid claim to a bird and to a fish, but 
knew nothing of any reptile totem, although there was a hazy recollection of some 
kind of a plant fotem, 
A shield very similar to these Misima ones is in the National Museum, 
Melbourne, from Ware (Teste Island), about 100 miles to the west of Misima. 
Tn shape and design it is similar to Misima ones, but it is mach smaller. Tt may 
be of significance that the language of Ware has a closer relationship with that 
of Misima than any other Louisiade Archipelago dialect, 
Maegillivray (Voyage of ‘‘TI.M.S. Rattlesnake,’’ 1852, Vol. I, p. 272) 
describes a war dance carried out by a niai at Brumer Island: ‘'In one hand he 
held a large wooden shield, nearly three feet im length and rather more than one 
in width, and in the other a formidable-looking weapon two feet in length—a por- 
tion of the snout of a saw fish with long sbarp teeth projecting on each side. 
Placing himself in a crouching attitude, and holding his weapon in a position to 
strike, he advanced rapidly in a succession of short bounds, striking the inner side 
of the shield with his left knee at each jerk, causing the large cowries hung round 
his waist and ankles to rattle violently.’’ Macgillivray does not mention rattles 
attached to the shield. 
Ratzel (Hislary of Mankind, Butler’s Translation. Vol. I, p. 285, 1896) 
figures from Teste Island a shicld which shows elaborate shell decorations, He 
states that in ‘‘eastern New Guinea and the island to the east, specimens occur 
of great size, weighing up to twenty-two pounds and beautifully decorated,’’ 
