Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
beauty or grace they may for a short time possess. Their toilet is very simple, but also, I am
sorry to say, very coarse, and disgusting. It consists solely of a mat of plaited strips of palm
leaves, worn tight round the body, and reaching from the hips to the knees. It seems not to
be changed till worn out, is seldom washed, and is generally very dirty. This is the universal
dress, except in a few cases where Malay 'sarongs' have come into use. Their frizzly hair is
tied in a bunch at the back of the head. They delight in combing, or rather forking it, using
for that purpose a large wooden fork with four diverging prongs, which answers the purpose
of separating and arranging the long tangled, frizzly mass of cranial vegetation much better
than any comb could do. The only ornaments of the women are earrings and necklaces,
which they arrange in various tasteful ways. The ends of a necklace are often attached to the
earrings, and then looped on to the hair-knot behind. This has really an elegant appearance,
the beads hanging gracefully on each side of the head, and by establishing a connexion with
the earrings give an appearance of utility to those barbarous ornaments. We recommend this
style to the consideration of those of the fair sex who still bore holes in their ears and hang
rings thereto. Another style of necklace among these Papuan belles is to wear two, each
hanging on one side of the neck and under the opposite arm, so as to cross each other. This
has a very pretty appearance, in part due to the contrast of the white beads or kangaroo teeth
of which they are composed with the dark glossy skin. The earrings themselves are formed
of a bar of copper or silver, twisted so that the ends cross. The men, as usual among savages,
adorn themselves more than the women. They wear necklaces, earrings, and finger rings,
and delight in a band of plaited grass tight round the arm just below the shoulder, to which
they attach a bunch of hair or bright coloured feathers by way of ornament. The teeth of
small animals, either alone, or alternately with black or white beads, form their necklaces,
and sometimes bracelets also. For these latter, however, they prefer brass wire, or the black,
horny, wing-spines of the cassowary, which they consider a charm. Anklets of brass or shell,
and tight plaited garters below the knee, complete their ordinary decorations.
Some natives of Kobror from further south, and who are reckoned the worst and least civ-
ilized of the Aru tribes, came one day to visit us. They have a rather more than usually sav-
age appearance, owing to the greater amount of ornaments they use—the most conspicuous
being a large horseshoe-shaped comb which they wear over the forehead, the ends resting
on the temples. The back of the comb is fastened into a piece of wood, which is plated with
tin in front, and above is attached a plume of feathers from a cock's tail. In other respects
they scarcely differed from the people I was living with. They brought me a couple of birds,
some shells and insects, showing that the report of the white man and his doings had
