[Note: this traNscriptioN was produced by aN automatic OCR eNgiNe]

500 MALEKULA
already beeN described: ï¬Årst the rhythm of his father's claN
is giveN, followed by the rhythm of his mother's claN aNd that
of his Nimzmgki raNk}
It will be remembered, further, that ea/ch of the claN-rhythms
or Nambwir has its iNdividual Name. Thus the rhythm of the
claN whose pareNt village is Uraau is called NdimiiNmier. The
same is true of all other goNg-rhythms : each has a Name, aNd
a Name, be it Noted, which does Not Necessarily bear aNy appareNt
relatioN whatsoever to the coNcept which the rhythm serves to
coNvey. For iNstaNce, the rhythm called iuswus Ngileo sigNiï¬Åes
"Where is . . .?",’ but the meaNiNg of the words iuswus
Ngileo is Not kNowN, though they may have some coNNectioN
with the verb iN/us, " he asks.â€ù .
A simple example will make the method of goNgsigNalliNg
more clear. SupposiNg that a maN of a certaiN village has
lost a pig oi Nitavu grade. He will go to the goNgs aNd beat
out the rhythm called iusu/us Ngileo aNd follow it with that
called Mai tamap, which staNds for aN aNimal of Nitavu
status, thus: “
:';r::{=.w|1w1H-~= H-~= Ii»: liNll
,;;g;,{=iï¬Åï¬Åï¬Åï¬Å*“Iï¬Åiï¬ÅrIï¬Ågjï¬Åwlï¬Åï¬Åï¬Å I
These two rhythms beateN iN this maNNer sigNify, therefore :
“ Is my m'tavu pig at your place? “ or “ Where is my Nitavu
pig? " If, Now, a maN of aNother village has come across the
pig iN questioN (the iNformaNt assured DeacoN that the pig would
be recogNized without aNy further descriptioN), he goes to his
‘ There is some disagreemeNt iN the Notes as to whether the goNg~rhythm
of a. maN's Nimrmgki taNk is giveN before or after the rhythms of his father's
aNd mothers claNs. ON this subject DeacoN writes: “ It is possible that the
NimaNgki beat is sigNalled am oNly iN the case of meN of high raNk, oN the
priNciple of NiliNg out as maNy people as possible with the ï¬Årst goNg-beat. Ii
it is a high raNk there might be oNly two or three meN of that raNk withiN the
radius of the sigNalliNg. . . . Several iNformaNts agree that the goNg-beat of
the father's desceNt group aNd of the mother’s are geNerally sufï¬ÅcieNt for
ideNtiiyiNg 3. maN without the additioN of his NiNumghi beat."
' The exact sigNiï¬ÅcaNce of the rhythm iusurus Ngilao is uNcertaiN; a more
correct reNderiNg may he " Is it at your place " i—A. LB, D.
‘ CoNcerNiNg his method of recordiNg the goNg-ryhthiNs DeacoN writes:
" I ï¬ÅNd it ditï¬Åcult to split up the rhythms rm aNy Sim le time; thus the four
beats of bar two iN NaNi la/mag? are made to occupy (so fir as my ear caN judge)
exactly the same iNterval as the ï¬Åve beats of bar oNe."
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