es in
many parts of the world at their mysteries; the weird sound which the
implement makes when swung is supposed by the ignorant and uninitiated
to be the voice of a spirit and serves to impress them with a sense of
awe and mystery. So it is with the Papuans about Finsch Harbour, with
whom we are at present concerned. At least one such bull-roarer is kept
in the _lum_ or bachelors' clubhouse of every village, and the women and
uninitiated boys are forbidden to see it under pain of death. The
instrument plays a great part in the initiation of young men, which
takes place at intervals of several years, when there are a number of
youths ready to be initiated, and enough pigs can be procured to furnish
forth the feasts which form an indispensable part of the ceremony. The
principal initiatory rite consists of circumcision, which is performed
on all youths before they are admitted to the rank of full-grown men.
The age of the candidates varies considerably, from four years up to
twenty. Many are married before they are initiated. The operation is
performed in the forest, and the procession of the youths to the place
appointed is attended by a number of men swinging bull-roarers. As the
procession sets out, the women look on from a distance, weeping and
howling, for they are taught to believe that the lads, their sons and
brothers, are about to be swallowed up by a monster called a _balum_ or
ghost, who will only release them from his belly on condition of
receiving a sufficient number of roast pigs. How, then, can the poor
women be sure that they will ever see their dear ones again? So amid the
noise of weeping and wailing the procession passes into the forest, and
the booming sound of the bull-roarers dies away in the distance.

[Sidenote: The rite of circumcision; the lads supposed to be swallowed
by a monster (_balum_). The sacred flutes.]

The place where the operation is performed on the lads is a long hut,
about a hundred feet in length, which diminishes in height towards the
rear. This represents the belly of the monster which is to swallow up
the candidates. To keep up the delusion a pair of great eyes are painted
over the entrance, and above them the projecting roots of a betel-palm
represent the monster's hair, while the trunk of the tree passes for his
backbone. As the awe-struck lads approach this imposing creature, he is
heard from time to time to utter a growl. The growl is in fact no other
than the humming