[Note: this transcription was produced by an automatic OCR engine]
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at $4 4 THE NIMANGKI SOCIETY 339 An effigy set up by the candidate to Tamap is interesting, both for its unusual form and because it seems to resemble, perhaps even to be identical with, one which is connected with the secret society called Nimbdei, about which unfortunately practically nothing is lmown. It is made of tree-fern wood, and is placed as though it were squatting over an oven which has been made inside the amel. Inside the oven a large pudding wrapped in leaves is cooking and on top of this is a smaller pudding wrapped up with a small yam. The temes itself is painted on the chest with different coloured spots similar to the decoration worn by men of Numbou Timbarap; on its head is a hawk’s feather and a spider’s web head-dress held in place by the sacred netel muhawn brought from Lambumbu, and it seems that the bandolier nimban vflrvep is placed on it in the same manner as it is worn by men. This temes is called temes sumpsump. It would seem that Layard is wrong in regarding s1m145smn¢ as a derivative of supwe " a root . . . which can be traced through- out the New Hebrides and Banks Islands in connection with a large variety of venerated objects ",1 but that it is related rather to the word sump meaning “ squat " or " sit ". The essential rites of entrance to T am./zp appear to follow the same order as in Amel Ewan and Nevelvel. The candidate is decorated in the same style as the temes, with hawk’s feather, head-dress, ï¬Ållet, and bandolier complete. When the ceremonies are all ï¬Ånished the temes sum¢>sump is removed from the amel and put in the nembrmbrkan.’ 1 Layard, 1923, P1-L 172, 171. This is the only Nimanghi grade for which s tsnxe: suvwpsump is set 1p.—A. B. D4 V , _ ' A few more details concerning the entrance rites to these and other high Nimamglzi grades have heen recorded by Layard, but as he points out they are only very fragmentary and must not he taken as wholly reliable, since he had not, during his brief stay at South-West Bay, any opportunity for checking them. It seems clear, however, that it is characteristic 01 these high grades that a monolith, carved or plain, is set up instead of the wooden times which is used in the entrance rites of the lower ranks. For further details the reader ii referred to Layard’s arï¬Åcle to which frequent reference has already been made.—C. H. W. 7'1 , it "* v
