[Note: this transcription was produced by an automatic OCR engine]

THE VILLAGE AND VILLAGE LIFE 33
times, after the skeleton of the house is ï¬Ånished it is measured
with a rod. If it is then found to be an exact rectangle, it is
easy to calculate the amount of thatching that will be needed,
less magical adjustment will be necessary, and the rite of hiding
the lengths and giving the cry ot Nevinbumbaau may be omitted.
Both ceremonies, the pouring of the charmed potion and the
hiding of the thatching lengths, concern that region of unforeseen
error which is ever present in house construction. Among the
" Christian " natives they are especially performed if the builders
E'*%%mnn
i’§"§-.‘“'é?.-.5:-.’e:
lllnilge
FIG. 3. Diagrammatic Sketch of an amel.
,1 Z the "face of the post " (nmm -/mmm).
I2 = the " man post " (numbou moral).
0 I the door, the " mouth of the Yzmel " (nimbongan naamel).
dd = nzai Imhu.
s = the "woman post " (numlwu mihzmp).
g = naz/an tamâ€ù.
fear that there may be a miscalculation somewhere, but among
the heathen they are almost invariably celebrated. It is certain
that the natives really do believe that these rites make the
thatching strips increase in size and number, or else cause the
house to shrink a little in length. .
When the thatch has been thus prepared the strips are
fastened on to the roof in the usual Melanesian way, each one
overlapping that below it much in the manner of tiles.
The amel, or men’s house, is bui1t' in exactly the same way
' 1: