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

‘ 1
282 MALEKULA
whole body decorated. In the ceremonies of the degrees above
Naai M bzmbamp there is a special dance performed by a man
of high rank who isvcoloured and ornamented with designs for
the occasion. It seems that sometimes these are the designs
belonging to the grade whose rites are being CELEBRATED, but, as
will be seen from the accounts given below, this is not always
the case.
It has already been mentioned that members of all grades
from Naamb Tiles up to and including N aai M bimbamp, as well
as those of the higher rank M balmbal, have the body coloured
black all over with charcoal, and for this reason these grades
are classed together as " Black Nimungki “. For the next
grade Nahmmdnl, the face and body are painted red, a curvi~
linear design being executed in black on the upper arms and the
thighs (vide Fig. 14a). At entrance to N aamel the body and face
are coloured red only, but in Neten Mwelip, N aulas, and Mbat
Ru the black shoulder and thigh designs of Nahzwnzial are again
worn, and two spirals in the same colour are added on the abdomen
[m'11etu). The two curvilinear marks on the chest of the mmbammp‘
ï¬Ågured on Plate XX, No 7, represent these -spirals, and
indicate that the deceased was a. member of this gtade. The
two subsequent degrees, N eliwis and Nimew, again share a single
design. The body and face are painted red ; a black streak runs
in a curve from over each eyebrow down on to the cheek, and
a black line is drawn over the chest, arms, and shoulders as
shown in Fig. 14b and c. The lines over the eyesare to be
seen on the aforementioned rambammp ; they are called meten
term “ the eye of the terew pigeon â€ù, a black bird with white
eyes.‘ In the account of the rites of Nimew, the dancers‘ face-
painting is described rather differently (vide Fig. r4f); but
whether the latter is indeed a. distinctive form belonging to the
grade is not certain. For N imweil also the body and face are
coloured red, but the black linear designs are different. None
are traced upon the face ; a black line encircles the neck, curved
at the back and V-shaped in the front, the point reaching low
down on the chest between the nipples. The painting of Nevelvel
is more elaborate. The right side of the trunk and the left leg
l In the list of Nimamgki designs there is no mention oi any line over the
chest and back, but it is described elsewhere as being worn in conjunction with
the black nuten Isvzw, and it is probable, therefore, that it is one of the marks
of these two grades.~—C. H. W.