A widow remains in the family of her deceased husband.
The Papuans, when placed in circumstances favourable for the development of their powers, are physically superior to the races of South Eastern Asia. Some of the New Guinea tribes would bear a comparison, in point of stature and proportions, with the races of Europe, were it not for a deficiency about the lower extremities. Even the more diminutive mountain tribes are remarkable for energy and agility, — qualities which have led to their being in great demand as slaves among their more civilised neighbours. With regard to mental capacity, also, they are certainly not iuferior to the brown races ; but their impatience of control while in an independ ent state, utterly precludes that organization which would enable them to stand their ground against encroachment, and they invariably fall under the influence of the Malayans whenever the two races are brought into contact Intellectually, Mr. Wallace places them above the Malays, though the Malays have acquired more actual civilisation by contact with superior races. The Papuans have a taste for personal embellishment, but it takes such eccentric forms as the attaching of two boar's tusks joined to gether to the nose, with the tips turned upwards. They eat many kinds of large insects. They are totallyignorant of metals, and the coast dwellers arc even unable to procure fire for themselves. When they accidentally let their fires go out, they have to ask a spark of the bill tribesmen, who produce it by friction. Yet they divide the year into lunar months, have names for the constellations, and one of the tribes, the Ilema, counts up to a million.
Certain of the Papuan customs distinguish them from the Malaya-Polynesians, and certainly are of Papuan, or at least of Negro origin. One of these is the custom of raising the skin in cicatrices over various parts of the body, especially on the shoulders, brtast, buttocks, and thighs. This must not be confounded with the tatooing or puncturing the skin which is practised by many of the Malaya-Polynesiim tun! which is never suet with among the repining, as the scarifications about to be described are un known to the others. The skin is cut through with some sharp instrument in longitudinal stripes, and, if on the shoulder or breast, white clay or some other substance is rubbed into the wound, which causes the flesh below to rise ; and these scarifications, when allowed to heal, assume the form of raised cicatrices, often as large as the finger. It appears that those on the arms and breast, which are the largest and most prominent, are made in order to qualify them for admission to the privileges of manhood, by showing their capa bility of bearing pain. Boring the septum of the nose is universally practised among the Papuans. In the first instance they wear a roll of plantain leaf in the orifice, which by its elasticity enlarges it to a sufficient size to admit the thigh-bone of a large bird, or some other ornament, which is then worn extending across the face on all great occa sions. British sailors have a very quaint name
for this practice, which often comes under their observation among the Papuan islands of the Pacific ; they call it sprit-sail yarding,' after a cruel method they have of treating sharks and dog-fish, which are frequently let go after having been hooked, a piece of wood being previously thrust through their nostrils, which, projecting on either side, prevents them from getting their heads under water, and they die a lingering and painful death.
Filing or grinding down the front teeth until they become pointed, is practised by some of the tribes of New Guinea and of the adjacent islands of the Pacific. This custom, however, is not con fined exclusively to the Papuans, as it is practised also at the Pagi Islands, on the west coast of Sumatra, the natives of which appear to be Malaya-Polynesians. This custom must not be confounded with one which is common among many of the Malayan and Bugis tribes, that of grinding down the front teeth until they become almost level with the gum. Another singular cus tom, which is only met with among the Papuans, or the tribes closely bordering on them, is that of dyeing the hair (which is naturally black) a reddish or flaxen colour, by using applications of burnt coral and sea-water in some instances, and pre parations of wood-ashes in others. This process seems to expel all the dark colour from the hair, leaving it of a flaxen tinge, which appears to bear a close resemblance to the celebrated ca.pillus flavus ' so much admired among the Roman ladies, and which seems to have been produced by a similar process. The only Malaya - Polynesians whom Mr. Earl had known to practise this custom are some of the natives of Timor Laut, Sermatten, and Baba Islands lying to the westward of New Guinea, and not very remote. He was therefore induced to consider it as a Papuan, or rather, perhaps, as a Negro custom, for it is equally pre valent in many parts of Africa, especially among the Somali and other tribes in their neighbour hood. All travellers who have had opportunities of visiting Aden will have observed this custom among the African Somali employed in coaling the steamers, who sometimes appear with the plaster of coral still attached to their heads.—Earl's Papuans; Logan in J. Ind. Arch., 1850 ; A. 1?. Wallace, East. Arch. ii. pp. 62, 180, 200 ; Do. in Journ. R. Geog. Soc. xxx. p. 172 ; Crawfurd's Dictionary ; Craw furd's list. Arch. 1. Y1. 7 R • 13iIrninro 9114. 9.19 • .31‘ Gillivray's in the Rattlesnake, i. p. 262 ; Lubbock, Origin of Civilisation, pp. 44, 122, 335 ; Horsburgh, Journ. Ind. Arch.; Newbold in Royal As. Soc. Journ., 1845 ; Quarterly Review; Marsden, Sumatra ; Asiatic Researches ; Cook's Voyages; Syme's Embassy to Ara ; Wilkes' Exploring Ex pedition; Mailed, Les Philippines; Wallace ;