THE POLYNESIANS AND MICRONESIANS.
The islands of Oceanica are divided into fiat coral and high volcanic islands. A single coral-reef enclosing in its midst a shallow sea or lagoon often contains several small islands or develops into a complete ring (p. 15, Jig. 2), or even into a large flat island. The soil, however, is but slightly productive, and is almost destitute of water, and the variety of plants is very limited; pandanus, cocoa-palms, bananas, and bread-fruit trees—the latter somewhat scarce—are about the only nutritious products. There are scarcely any animals, and life is extremely monotonous and quiet. The elevated islands are also unfavorable, as they are generally unin habitable on account of their steep and high ascent, and possess neither a varied plant system nor animal life of any importance. The islands farthest to the west are the richest.
Physical Polynesians and the Micronesians, although they migrated separately, differ so little that we may class them together. They cast much light upon the Melanesians and their most developed tribe, the Feejeeans, because the Polynesians, while closely related to them, are more highly developed and better known. The inhabitants of the high and fertile islands are better developed physically than those of the flat islands. Their color is a light copper-brown which shades to dark olive-brown in the lower islands, and at times to the light ness of the European complexion. The Micronesians are, on the whole, somewhat darker, though among them also are found tribes of a light-yel lowish color. The hue varies in the same archipelago, and even on the same island, the lower being darker than the better-cared-for upper classes. Occasionally there are some perfectly dark individuals whose hair is almost woolly. The hair generally is found straight, although always with a tendency to curl, and often it is very curly (pl. 16, fig. 12; pl. r8,figs. 3, 8). Among the Micronesians straight hair predominates (hl. 14, figs.
1, 5; fi/. 15, fig. 5; 16, fig. 3). Hair on the body and face is generally scant, begins to grow later, and is for the most part pulled out; but the natives of some of the smaller islands form exceptions. On the high islands the figures and features of the inhabitants are often very fine; but the broad, full nose, which is frequently aquiline (pl. 15, fig. 5; pl. zo, fig. 8), and the thick lips, the upper one often projecting in triangular form (pl. 20, fig. 8), always remain. The skull is high and narrow and the back of the head often flat, the flatness being sometimes produced artificially. The lobes of the ears were universally bored; different kinds of ornaments were worn in them, often rolled palm leaves, which widened them enormously (hl. 16, fig. 3), so that they sometimes hung down on the shoulders, or could even be drawn over the head. A very simple form of circumcision prevailed everywhere in Polynesia.
Tattooing, which pertained principally to the men, was of the greatest importance. It was entirely a religious institution, and its original object was to imprint on the subject the form of his guardian spirit or the images and signs of his ancestors. For this very painful and lengthy operation they had peculiar instruments, sharp-toothed combs of various sizes, which, after being dipped in the coloring substances, were driven into the skin by suitable hammers t9,fig. 2). Often the entire body was decorated with such pictures, even the bare-shaved top of the head (pl. 6). The designs were different according to the islands (pl. 19, fig. 6; 751. 2o, fig. 9), the sex, and the rank; a few specimens, which are miniatures of the human form, are shown on Plate 19 (figs. 7, 9). In Micronesia the custom was less developed, and striped designs were preferred (pl. 15, fig. 5; pl. fig. 3). With the advance of civilization the practice decreased everywhere, and among the Tahitians, for example, there are now only relics of it (pl. 18, fig. 8).