The Mafulu - Mountain People of British New Guinea by Robert Wood Williamson
page 61 of 414 (14%)
page 61 of 414 (14%)
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so the similarity in the ornaments is to be expected; but it is only
within a quite recent time that the pearl crescents have found their way to Mafulu. I do not propose to describe at length the various forms of shell ornament, as they are very similar to, and indeed I think practically the same as, those of Mekeo. Some of the necklaces are figured in Plates 31, 32 and 33, and they are worn by many of the people figured in other plates, especially the frontispiece and Plate 17. Straight pendant ornaments are seen in the frontispiece and in Plates 6, 17, 26 and others. The crescent-shaped pearl ornaments are seen in the frontispiece and in Plates 6, 7, 16, 28 and others, a very large one being worn by the little girl in Plate 71. There is, however, one shell necklace which is peculiar to the mountains, and, I think, to Mafulu (I do not know whether the Kuni people also wear it), where it is worn as an emblem of mourning by persons who are relatives of the deceased, but who are not sufficiently closely related to him to stain themselves with black during the period of mourning. This necklace is made of white cowrie shells varying in size from half an inch to an inch long, each of which has its convex side ground away, so as to show on one side the untouched mouth of the shell and on the other an open cavity. The shells are strung, sometimes closely and sometimes loosely, on to a double band of thin cord. Specimens of this type of necklace measured by me varied in length from 36 inches (with 97 shells) to 20 inches (with 38 shells). It is worn until the period of mourning is formally terminated. The middle necklace in Plate 33 is a mourning shell necklace, and it is seen on the neck of the woman to the right in Plate 29. Pigs' tail ornaments similar to those already described are also worn |
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