120 



COLLECTIONS FROM THE PACIFIC ISLANDS 



Southwest Pavilion 

 COLLECTIONS FROM THE PACIFIC ISLANDS 



Australia. 



( >n entering the Sovihtvest 

 Pavilion beyond I he Hall of 

 Minerals the visitor faces 

 groups representing the 



natives of the Pacific 

 Island-. Directly in the 

 center is a Tahitian priesl 

 taking part in the fire-walk- 

 ing ceremony, in which 

 the participants walk over 

 heated boulders of lava. 

 On each side is a group 

 showing natives engaged in 

 w* typical activities, .mating 



coconut, preparing kava, 

 or weaving mats. 



Attached to a pillar near 

 the entrance there is a fine 

 Hawaiian feather cape, such 

 as was formerly worn l>y 

 the highest ranks of 

 Hawaiian society. Red and 

 yellow honey sucker feathers 

 completely hide the netted 

 twine foundation. The 

 value of these garments was 

 proportionate to the enor- 

 mous labor expended on 

 their manufacture. 



The hall is roughly di- 

 vided into two main sec- 

 tions. In the eastern half 

 are exhibited the collections 

 from Polynesia and Micro- 

 nesia, while the western 

 half is devoted to New 

 Guinea, Melanesia and 

 However, it proved impossible to separate Melanesian Fiji 



TAHITIAN FIRE-WALKER 



