e rate of the tribute being one novice one pig. In the act of
disgorging the lad the dragon bites him, and the bite is visible to all
in the cut called circumcision. The voice of the monster is heard in the
hum of the bull-roarers, which are swung at the ceremony in such numbers
and with such force that in still weather the booming sound may be heard
across the sea for many miles. To impress women and children with an
idea of the superhuman strength of the dragon deep grooves are cut in
the trunks of trees and afterwards exhibited to the uninitiated as the
marks made by the monster in tugging at the ropes which bound him to the
trees. However, the whole thing is an open secret to the married women,
though they keep their knowledge to themselves, fearing to incur the
penalty of death which is denounced upon all who betray the mystery.

[Sidenote: The rite of circumcision. Seclusion and return of the newly
circumcised lads.]

The initiatory rites are now celebrated only at intervals of many years.
When the time is come for the ceremony, women are banished from the
village and special quarters prepared for them elsewhere; for they are
strictly forbidden to set foot in the village while the monster or
spirit who swallows the lads has his abode in it. A special hut is then
built for the accommodation of the novices during the many months which
they spend in seclusion before and after the operation of circumcision.
The hut represents the monster; it consists of a framework of thin poles
covered with palm-leaf mats and tapering down at one end. Looked at from
a distance it resembles a whale. The backbone is composed of a betel-nut
palm, which has been grubbed up with its roots. The root with its fibres
represents the monster's head and hair, and under it are painted a pair
of eyes and a great mouth in red, white, and black. The passage of the
novices into the monster's belly is represented by causing them to
defile past a row of men who hold bull-roarers aloft over the heads of
the candidates. Before this march past takes place, each of the
candidates is struck by the chief with a bull-roarer on his chin and
brow. The operation of circumcising the lads is afterwards performed
behind a screen set up near the monster-shaped house. It is followed by
a great feast on swine's flesh. After their wounds are healed the
circumcised lads have still to remain in seclusion for three or four
months. Finally, they are brought back to the vi