[Note: this transcription was produced by an automatic OCR engine]
i ll ll ll iii ll ll l ll ii ll‘ ll ,l ii I: ll ll il ll ll‘ ll ll iii ll . l ll‘ ii ‘i i . i ii li ll ll ll |l§l ii: 440 MALEKULA ' correspond to the checks and diamonds produced in the <:onstruc~ tion of the matting (see Fig. 27). The sanctity of these naai nlih is very great indeed; their manufacture, decoration, and signiï¬Åcance are perhaps the principal secrets of the Nimangki Tlel. It is a terrible accident to allow one of them to fall to the ground. Especially is this so in the case of the “ hats " of the Nimangki Misi. When a man is to wear one, he kneels down and it is then put on and supported by two men, who walk one on either side of him. The “ hat " is worn so as to rest on the shoulders, thus covering the face entirely. Since there are no holes for the eyes, the man on whose head it is is unable to see where he is going. For this reason another man walks in front of him trailing a branch of croton and the wearer looks down on the ground just in front of his feet, and follows the guidance of these leaves. In this way he is able to perform his dance. Fonnerly a man who allowed a naai nbh to fall to the ground was put to death, and it was said that in the event of such a mishap, the mlai nl)'h which had fallen became " black " with men ï¬Åghting and beating one another and the proceedings broke up in tumult and hostilities. If a man even stepped across part of a nflai nlï¬Åh by accident, the other initiated men llscd to kill him. They would cry out : " Ibughu/1' nimbongan nggtit I " (" he has stepped across our mouth (or mouths) I â€ù), shoot him to death, and afterwards eat him. The man who gave this information about the Nimangki Tlel said that he had himself been present once when a. man who had committed this offence was killed in the loghor. The unfortunate was eaten as a gesture oi disgust and contempt ; a. treatment worthy of the enormity of his offence. In the same way a dog, pig, or other animal which has inadvertently touched a. mzai Mk is killed.‘ Besides possessing these screens and masks, the Nimangki Tlzl embodies a cult of a large number of natural objects or species which are also called naai ntih. These are principally trees, but they also include some birds and aquatic animals. 1 ~ Thfl ‘stepping across’ tubu applies to sacred objects used in other ceremonies, nnd In one of those I unwittingly Cflmmifteï¬Å the Oï¬Åomze referred (20 mbovc. at Once everything was ooniusion, the ceremony was abazldunerl and I found myself the centre of a tense and rather unnerving situation. I got out of it BC the em of n compensation-pig lent me by one Of the principal men on the spot, but! learned afterwards that e considerable section of the members, the older men especially, wanted to shoot. It was almget-her nn uniortunate incident. and my own fault. largely."—A. B, D. U1l_H_ _ _ * _m_ _ _ _
