84 
NEW GUINEA. 
goods. Indeed, a slave is the standard of value througli- 
out tlie westera parts of New Gtiineaj as is the case with 
a musket at Timor aud the neighbouring islands^ so that 
when the priee of any article is said to be so many slaves, 
it is intended to mean the value of a slave in blue and 
red cahco or other articles of trade, all of which bear 
a fixed proportionate value. It ia therefore, like the 
" pound sterling/^ an imaginary standard of value. 
The natives of Dory, like all savages, are exceedingly 
superstitious, and invariably carry about with them 
amulets consisting of cai^ved pieces of w^ood, bits of bone, 
quartz, or some other trifle, to which an imaginarv^ value 
is attached. Those who have fallen Under the influence 
of ^lohamtnedauism substitute verses of the Koran, 
written on slips of paper, with which they are furnished 
by the Ceram and Tidore priests. The Papuans of Dory 
are for the most part pagans, and worship, or rather 
consult, an idol called Karwar,'* a figure mdely carved 
in wood and holding a shield, with which every bouse is 
provided. The idol, which -is usually about eighteen 
inches high, is exceedingly disproportioned, the head 
being unusually large, the nose long and sharp at the 
point, and the mouth wide and well provided with teeth. 
The body is generally clad in a piece of calico, and the 
bead covered with a handkerchief. Parties consulting it 
squat before it, c!a.sp the hands over the forehead, and 
bow repeatedly, at the same time stating their intentions. 
If they are seized with any nervous feeling during this 
process it is considered as a bad sign^ and the project is 
abandoned for a time; if otherwise— that is to say, if 
ttipy really w^isb to carry out the proposed object^ — ^the 
