Killing.

Individual killing in personal quarrel, as distinguished from slaying in warfare, is exceedingly rare, except in cases of revenge upon adulterers. In these cases, however, it is regarded as the appropriate punishment; and even the family of the adulterer would hardly retaliate, if satisfied as to his guilt. There is no system of head-hunting, or of killing victims in connection with any ceremonies, or of burying alive,1 or of killing old and sick people, though the ceremonial blow on the head of a reputed dying man must sometimes be premature.

Abortion and infanticide, however, are exceedingly common, the more usual practice being that of procuring abortion. Although sexual immorality so largely exists, and young unmarried women and girls are known to indulge in it so freely, and it is not seriously reprobated, it is regarded as a disgrace for one to give birth to a child; and if she gets into trouble she will procure abortion or kill the child. The same thing is also common among married women, on the ground that they do not wish to have more children. There is another cause for this among married women, which is peculiar. A woman must not give birth to a child until she has given a pig to a village feast; and if she does so it will be a matter of reproach to her. If, therefore, she finds herself about to have a child, and there is no festal opportunity for her to give a pig, or if, though there be a feast, she cannot afford to give a pig, she will probably procure abortion or kill the child when born. I was told by Father Chabot, the Father Superior of the Mission, that among the neighbouring Kuni people a woman would kill her child for extraordinary reasons; and he furnished an example of this in a woman who killed her child so that she might use her milk for suckling a young pig, which was regarded as being more important. Whether such a thing would occur in Mafulu appears to be doubtful; but it is quite possible, more especially as the Mafulu women do, in fact, suckle pigs.

Abortion is induced by taking the heavy stone mallet used for bark cloth beating, and striking the woman on the front of the body over the womb. It is also assisted by the wearing of the tight cane belt already mentioned. I could not hear of any system of using drugs or herbs to procure abortion; but herbs are used to produce general sterility, which they are believed to be effective in doing.

Married women also often kill their children as the result of a sort of superstitious ceremony. The child being born, the mother, in accordance with the custom of the country, goes down to the river, and throws the placenta into it. She then, however, often takes a little water from the river, and gives it to the babe. If the latter seems by the movements of its lips and tongue to accept and take the water into its mouth, it is a sign that it is to live, and it is allowed to do so. If not, it is a sign that it is to die, and she throws it into the river. This custom, which is quite common, has presumably had a superstitious origin, and it seems to be practised with superstitious intent now. There appears, however, to be no doubt that it is also followed for the purpose of keeping or killing the child, according to the wish of the mother. There is further, confirming the last statement, a well-known practice, when the mother goes down to the river with her baby, for some other woman, who is childless and desires a child, to accompany the mother, and take from her and adopt the baby; and as to this, there is no doubt that, before doing so, the woman ascertains from the mother whether or not she intends to keep her child, and only goes with her to the river if she does not intend to keep it. This is done quite openly, with the full knowledge of the second woman’s husband and friends; and everyone knows that the child is not really hers, and how she acquired it.2

Cannibalism.

There is no doubt that the Mafulu people have always been cannibals, and are so still, subject now to the fear in which they hold the controlling authority of the white man, and which impels such of them as are in close touch with the latter to indulge in their practice only in secrecy. Their cannibalism has been, and is, however, of a restricted character. They do not kill for the purpose of eating; and they only eat bodies of people who have been intentionally killed, not the bodies of those who have been killed by accident, or died a natural death. Also the victim eaten is always a member of another community. The killing which is followed by eating is always a hostile killing in fight; but this fight may be either a personal and individual one, or it may be a community battle. The idea of eating the body appears to be a continued act of hostility, rather than one of gastronomic enjoyment; and I could learn nothing of any belief as to acquiring the valour and power of the deceased by eating him. I was informed that the man who has killed the victim will never himself share in the eating of him, this being the case both as regards people killed in private personal fighting and those killed in war.3 I tried to find out if there were any ceremonies connected with the eating of human flesh; but could learn nothing upon the subject, the natives being naturally not readily communicative with white men on the matter.

Warfare.

Warfare generally occurs between one community or section of a community (probably a clan) and another community or section of one; it very rarely occurs within a community. Sometimes two communities join together in opposition to a third one; but alliances of this sort are usually only of a temporary character. War among these people is now, of course, forbidden by the British authorities, and indulgence in it is a serious punishable offence; but it cannot be said to be abolished.

The usual ground for an attack is either that some member of the attacked community or section of a community has by personal violence or by spirit-supported sorcery killed a member of the attacking community or section, or it is of the matrimonial character above explained. The underlying idea of the war is a life for a life; and in the matrimonial matter one life is the sum of vengeance required. Hence the primary object of an attack has usually been accomplished when the attacking party has killed one of their opponents. If there are two or more persons whose deaths have to be avenged, a corresponding number of lives is required in the battle. Then the attacking party may suffer loss during the fight, in which case this has to be added to the account; and loss by the attacked is introduced into the other side of it to their credit. The number killed in a battle is not, however, often great.

When the required vengeance has been accomplished, the attacking party usually cease fighting and return home, if the enemy allow them to do so. They may retire before their vengeance has been accomplished; but in that case they are probably doing so as a defeated party, with the intention of renewing the attack on a subsequent occasion. If the attacking party cease fighting and try to return, the enemy may continue their counter attack, especially if they have themselves suffered loss in the fighting; but I was told that the enemy would not as a rule follow the attacking party far into the bush. It may be that what is regarded by the attackers as a correct balance of lives struck, on which they may retire, is not so regarded by the enemy, in which case the latter may try to prolong the fight; and, if the attackers get away, there will probably be a retaliatory expedition, in which the position of attackers and attacked is reversed. The primary idea of a life for a life is, however, generally understood and acknowledged; and if the enemy recognise the truth of the alleged reason for the attack, and have not lost more life than was required to balance the account, they usually rest satisfied with the result.

No ceremony or taboo appears to be adopted in anticipation of proposed hostilities for the purpose of securing success; but individual fighters often wear charms, upon whose efficacy they rely. Nor do there appear to be any omens in connection with them other than certain general ones to be referred to hereafter. The preparations for a fight and its conduct can hardly be regarded as subjects of much organisation, as the chiefs are not war chiefs, and there are no recognised permanent leaders or commanders of the forces, and no recognised war councils or systematic organisation, either of the fighting party or of the conduct of the fight. All adult males of the community engaged are expected to take part, and the leadership will generally fall upon someone who at the moment is regarded as a strong and wise fighter.

The men start off on their expedition as an armed, but unorganised, body, their arms being spears, bows and arrows,4 clubs, adzes and shields, and none of their weapons being poisoned. During their progress to the enemy’s community they are generally singing, and their song relates to the grievance the avenging of which is the object of the expedition. The warriors do not, I was told, as a rule carry a full supply of provisions, as they rely largely upon what they can find in the bush, and what they hope to raid from their enemy’s plantations. On reaching the scene of battle they adopt methods of spying and scouting and sentry duty, though only on simple and unscientific lines. They have apparently no generally recognised systems of signs of truce or truce envoys or hostages. There are certain recognised cries, which respectively signify the killing of a man and the taking of a prisoner, by which, when such an event occurs, the fighters on both sides are aware of it. An enemy wounded on the battlefield may be killed at once or may be taken prisoner. All prisoners, wounded or otherwise, are taken home by the party that secures them, and are then killed, apparently without any prior torture, and generally eaten. A prisoner thus carried off would be regarded as a man killed, which in fact he shortly will be. The women of a community follow their fighting men in the expedition, their duty being to encourage the fighters on the way out, and during the fight, by their singing; but they remain in the rear during the battle, and do not actually fight. These women, of course, also run the risk of being killed or wounded or taken prisoners.

Fighting between two communities may go on intermittently for years. Then perhaps the communities may get mutually weary of it, and decide to make peace. This act is ratified by an exchange between the two communities of ceremonial visits, with feasts and pig-killing, but no dancing, the pigs and vegetables and fruit distributed by the hosts among the visitors on the return visit being exactly similar in character and quantity to what the latter have given the former on the prior visit.

The Mafulu war spears are made out of a very hard-wooded palm tree and another hard red-wooded tree, the name of which I do not know. They are round in section, tapering at both ends, and are generally from 10 to 12 feet long, and about three-quarters of an inch in diameter at the widest part. There are three forms of point. The first (Plate 73, Fig. 1) is simply a tapering off in round section. The second (Plate 73, Fig. 2) is made square in section for a distance of 2 to 2½ feet from the tip. The third (Plate 73, Fig. 3) is in section a triangle, of which two sides are equal and the other side is a little larger, this triangular form being carried for a foot or less from the tip, and the larger surface being barbed bilaterally. This last-mentioned form is also generally decorated with a little tuft of bright-coloured feathers, just above the point where the barbing begins.

The bows (Plate 74, Fig. 1) are made of split bamboo, the convex side of the bow being the inner section of the split bamboo. These bows are quite short, generally about 4 feet long when straightened out, and have triangular-shaped knobs at the ends for holding the bowstrings. The bowstrings are made of what appears to be strong split canes (not sugar-canes). The arrows (Plate 73, Fig. 4) are from 6 to 8 feet long, which is extraordinary in comparison with the length of the bows, and are made in two parts, the shaft being made of a strong reed, and the point, which is inserted into the reed shaft and is generally a foot or more long, being single and round-sectioned, and made of the same materials as are used for spears. There are no feathers or equivalents of feathers, and the shaft end of the arrow is cut square and not notched.

The clubs (Plate 75, Figs, 1 and 2) are stone-headed, the heads being of the pineapple and disc types; but these heads are the same as those used on the plains and coast, whose people, in fact, get them from the mountains, and as these are so well-known, it is not necessary for me to describe them.

The adzes (Plate 75, Fig. 4) are of the usual type, the stone blade being lashed directly on to the handle. There are two common forms. In one, which is also used for ordinary adze work, the haft is cut from a natural branch, with the angle of the head part set obliquely. In the other, which is also used for cutting timber, the haft is cut from a branch with the angle of the head part set at right angles, or nearly so. I do not know to what extent this second form is common in New Guinea. It is not found in Mekeo.

The shields (Plate 74, Figs. 2 and 3) are thick, heavy, cumbrous weapons, made out of the wood used for making wooden dishes. The outer surfaces are convex, and the inner ones concave, the natural convexity of the circular trunk of the tree from which they are made being retained. These shields are 4½ to 5 feet long, and usually about 15 or 16 inches wide in the broadest central part, getting somewhat narrower towards the two ends, where they are rounded off. Each shield has two strong cane handles in the centre of its internal concave side, each of which handles is fixed by means of two pairs of holes bored through the shield, and of thongs which are passed through these holes and attached to the ends of the handles. The shields are carried by passing the left arm through the upper handle downwards, the left hand holding the lower handle.