314 



J NATUBAJJST'H WANDEIilNQS 



after arraugiiig their hair, the men remove from tlie palm- 

 trees, invariably to the chanting of a song of invocation, the 

 hamlxjos with the inah collected in them over night, and trim 

 the stem for runiiiug during the day to supply tlieir evening 

 libations. Than when jiacending the trees the Tenimher athlete, 

 his foutless form against the sky, and his brown skin anti 

 golden liuir in contrast with the grey stem of the tree, never 

 shows to greater advantage. 



The chief meal of the day lasts from abonteigbt o'clock till 

 nearly noon, and eonsists of boOed Imlian coin meal, mixed 

 with mashed^ maniix; and peas, along with tisli — hunted for along 

 the shore with bow and arrow, or by scuttering on the water 

 ricegteeiied in an infusion of a j toisonoiis vine— and a very great 

 deal of 2>alm wine, fresh drawn as well as distilled. The meal 

 is partaken of in considerable e^jmpanies t<>gether in large sheds 

 open at the gnldos in or near the village, generally in the 

 buildings where their hmk is being distilled, which are nsed also 

 for common assembly rooms. Very few of the older men leave 

 the meal sober, or become " capable during the rest of ih<' day, 

 a condition in which they are l:>oisterously talkative, querulous 

 and piignaeious. The women eat in private, or snatch a bite 

 of food when they can. 



AH day long two cesxseless sounds are bciird, the click -chick 

 of their hioms and the dull thud of the stamping of Indian corn 

 and peas in large tridacna shells. If the women are not thus 

 employed they are away by prahu, accompanied by some of the 

 younger men, to fetch the necessary stor("!S from their gardens. 

 In these plantations, made in the forest on the poor soil whieh 

 covers the underlying coral rocks, t bey cultivate sweet potatoes, 

 manioc, sugar cane, and their staple food, Indian corn, with 

 a little rice (which grows very badly), some cotton, and a good 

 deal of tobficco, whose leaves they chew but do not smoke. 



In time of war the common safety is watched all night by 

 the villagers, eight or ten at a time in rotation, who danoe the 

 Tjikelcle round a figure of their ih 'ity, or Duadilahj cuch man 

 beating with his hand on a cylindrical drnm, singing to its 

 accompaniujeut a song or invocation with a wild and shrieking 

 chorus, which at tiie time of full miMju is kept np tor many 

 niil>roken days and nights. 



Their arms are a shield, <dten elaborately carved and 



