[Note: this transcription was produced by an automatic OCR engine]
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M ALEKULA
other villages. As each party came in sight, the gongs were manned
and the pig-presentation rhythm beaten. Out of courtesy as
visitors we were asked to take our places at the gongs and beat
them for the arrival oi the next village. Then this village, in its
turn, was asked to beat the gongs for the coming of the next village
to arrive, and thus it went on, each group of people being announced
by those who came immediately before them. Sometimes before
a party appeared in sight, the sound of conches in the distance
would be heard, heralding their approach. This was a sign that
the visitors were bringin a valuable pig, the extent of its tusk-
curvature being indicated by the length of the blast.
“The visitors who had already arrived, assisted the ‘ home-
village ', with much laughing and joking, to scrape and squeeze
the coco-nuts for making cream to pour over the puddings which
had been prepared beforehand. One or two parties of guests were
rather late in arriving, for it was the day on which they had to
make offerings of puddings to the dead members of their clan.‘
They came straight on from this ceremony and later returned to
their own village to decorate themselves, coming back again after
the dance had begun.
" When all the visitors had presented their pigs, the gongs were
manned by some men of the ‘ hume~village ‘ and Maltasi, holding
a branch oi dracaena in‘ his right hand, and surrounded by other
men oi his community, took up his p05ltiOn to one side of the
gongs. The guests were ranged around the dancing ground, the
men on the side nearest to the amzl, the women on the other.
Then all the pigs which had been given to Maltasi, together with
a number of his ovm to make up the necessary quota, were dragged
up to him. He now called out the name of one of the visitors,
' X- ~ of Y— village,‘ telling him to come forward as the recipient
of a pig. The man in question stepped out from the ring of guests,
took the tether from his host and hauled the animal oï¬Å to a. tree,
where he tied it up to keep it out of the way. Then another men
was called forward, and so it went on until all the guests had
received e. pig in return for the one which each brought. During
this ceremony Maltasi also paid the man who had carved the gong
and the artist who was responsible for the lace and the fowl.
These objects are among those which are sacred, nisit tlel, and
are purchased in a Nimangki, and must be paid for accordingly.“
‘ The sun was now sinking in the west. When the distribution
of pigs was ended the women of the ‘home-village‘ again swept
the ground and the men at the gongs struck up the opening rhythm
for the dance. The male visitors, after tethering the pigs which
they had been given, had gone off behind the houses and trees to
decorate themselves where they would not be seen. Their bark
belts they oiled with coco-nut to a deep glossy black ; over these
belts they wound the fringed, ï¬Ånely plaited girdle mum, and in
the back of it they stuck bunches of nimumwmgk leaves. On
their arms they fastened the black, white, and blue shell-armlets,
I See Chapter XIX.
I Unloï¬Åunately we do we know how anv pigs were given 10: aach.—
C. H. W.
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