detached from the skeleton and kept in the house enclosed in the hollow
wooden figure of a bonito-fish. By means of these relics the survivors
think that they can secure the aid of the powerful ghost. Sometimes the
corpse and afterwards the skull and jawbone are preserved, not in the
house of the deceased, but in the _oha_ or public canoe-house, which so
far becomes a sort of shrine or temple of the dead.[569] At Santa Cruz
in the Solomon Islands the corpse is buried in a very deep grave in the
house. Inland they dig up the bones again to make arrow-heads; also they
detach the skull and keep it in a chest in the house, saying that it is
the man himself. They even set food before the skull, no doubt for the
use of the ghost. Yet they imagine that the ghosts of the dead go to the
great volcano Tamami, where they are burnt in the crater and thus being
renewed stay in the fiery region. Nevertheless the souls of the dead
also haunt the forests in Santa Cruz; on wet and dark nights the natives
see them twinkling in the gloom like fire-flies, and at the sight they
are sore afraid.[570] So little consistent with itself is the creed of
these islanders touching the state of the dead. At Bugotu in the island
of Ysabel (one of the Solomon Islands) a chief is buried with his head
near the surface and a fire is kept burning over the grave, in order
that the skull may be taken up and preserved in the house of his
successor. The spirit of the dead chief has now become a worshipful
ghost, and an expedition is sent out to cut off and bring back human
heads in his honour. Any person, not belonging to the place, whom the
head-hunters come across will be killed by them and his or her skull
added to the collection, which is neatly arranged on the shore. These
ghastly trophies are believed to add fresh spiritual power (_mana_) to
the ghost of the dead chief. Till they have been procured, the people of
the place take care not to move about. The grave of the chief is built
up with stones and sacrifices are offered upon it.[571]

[Sidenote: Beliefs and customs of the Eastern islanders concerning the
dead. Panoi, the subterranean abode of the dead.]

Thus far we have been considering the beliefs and practices concerning
the dead which prevail among the Western Melanesians of the Solomon
Islands and Santa Cruz. We now turn to those of the Eastern Melanesians,
who inhabit the Torres Islands, the Banks' Islands, and the New
Hebrides. A broad distinc