x 
1886.] A nthropology, 4 909 
(xiv, 3-13) seeks to trace out'when and by what means this in- 
tercourse took place. Miss Buckland discards the theory of 
similar forms arising naturally out of similar grades of culture, 
and holds that like complex forms of any kind show intercourse 
carried on by means little known and understood, but which is 
indicated alike by language, by manners and customs, by varia- 
tions of race type, by traditions, and lastly by relics widely dis- 
tributed, yet evidently the work of the same people. 
Tae Fijian Nanca Custom was practiced by certain tribes of 
Naviti Lovu in the ceremony of initiation. The Nanga is an ob- 
long, rectangular enclosure, fenced with stones set edgewise in the 
ones Two partition walls divide ‘the space into thrée parts: 
he Sacred Nanga, in which the kava bowl stands; the Great 
Nanga, and Little Nanga. _Low places in the partition walls, 
easily stepped over, afforded access from one part to another. A 
= bell-roofed house or temple stands just outside of the Nanga 
d tambu tambu, or Sacred Nanga. These compartments of the 
A Nanga were fòr the elders, those who have attended two cere- 
monies, and the probationers, respectively.. Whenever the elders 
Judged that there was a sufficient number of youths ready for ad- 
_. Mission, a Nanga was held. While, as a general rule, the young 
men were eligible for admission at about the age of puberty, some 
Passed their majority before initiation. Vast quantities of food © 
and clothing were accumulated for the occasion, and every part 
of the Nanga swept and garnished. The heads of the novices 
Were shaved with a shark’s tooth or shell, assisted by a fire-stick. 
ng rolls of tapa were wound around their bodies. Four : 
were Spent alternately in offerings by the novices and in feasting. 
On-the fifth day the novices were taken to the sacred enclosure, 
and after mysteries were performed, were declared members of 
the Nanga. On the sixth morning the women enter the Nanga 
and great license prevails. The ceremony of initiation closes with 
a bath. No painful treatment of the novices seems to have taken 
Place further than attempts to terrify them. In the Nangas took ~ 
_ Place also the rites of sacrifice, thank offering and circumcision, 
latter being accompanied by the most horrible license and the 
_ Suspension of proprietary rights.— Rev. Lorimer Fison, J. Anthrop. 
Anst, xiv, rg- -30. 
“ 
- brides, Banks‘and Torres islands, Fiji, Santa Cruz and the Reef _ 
; islands, and Solomon islands. The drift of Mr. Codrington’s 3 
Ocea languages belong: Malayan, Polynesian, the languages of a 
the islands that connect Melanesia with the Indian archipelago, — 
og R 3 : | 
ing the Anthropological Institute of London upon the languages — < 
of Melanesia, including New Caledonia and Loyalty, New ae z 
