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

THE VILLAGE _AND VILLAGE LIFE 41
Inside the dwelling~houses the sleeping arrangements are
clearly determined. In one corner the man has his mat ;
diagonally opposite this, in another corner, is the mat of his
wife, which she usually shares with a young daughter, until the
latter is considered old enough to have a mat of her own. A little
boy will also sleep with his mother for a time, but he is promoted
to his own mat earlier than is his sister, and sometimes he will
take it across to the other side of the room and settle down
near his father. This, however, is not usual. For sexual inter-
course the parents will wait until the children are asleep, and then
the woman will cross over to her husband's mat. Unlike boys,
who leave the house and go to sleep in the amel when they are
about twelve years old, girls remain living and sleeping at home
until they are married and go to their husbands. -
Festivals
There is reason to suppose that before the destructive influence
of the white man came to disturb the culture of the people of
this island, their life was one of varied interest, for the everyday
routine of to0d—producing was livened by many festivals and
ceremonies. Of these the most important were perhaps those
connected with the two graded societies, the Nimzmgki and the
Nalawan, which (with the exception of Mewun) are found in all
the coastal districts; the big annual ceremony connected with
the revitalizing of mankind which is celebrated in the south-
west districts, in Mewun, in Lambumbu, and very possibly in
other parts of Malekula as well ; and the rites for increasing the
food supply of the area, which may be spoken of as totemic
fertility rites. In addition to these, there were also those
ceremonies, recurring at unspeciï¬Åed intervals, which marked the
progress of the individual from birth to death, passing through
initiation and MARRIAGE. These will all be described in later
chapters.
~ Mum and Singing L
Apart from such formal ceremonies, however, there are or
Were, a1l'l10$'¢ certainly. Other times for dancing and singing and
the playing of secular musical instruments. The musical bow,
the pan-pipes, a flute and a variety of bamboo trumpet are found