to begin to wear something
whenever the mother thinks fit, generally between the ages of four and
seven. From that moment every connection between brother and sister
ceases; they may not speak to each other, not meet on the road, in
some regions not even see each other, and to mention the sister's
name before the brother is, if not an actual insult, certainly very
tactless. Similar rules regulate the relations between parents-
and children-in-law.

The parents are very lenient to their children, and pass over every
impertinence; they get small thanks for their kindness, and the boys,
especially, often treat their mothers very badly. The natives' fondness
for children makes them very good nurses, and it is a source of the
greatest pride to a native boy to take care of a white child.

The father's death is of little importance to the children, and not
much to their mother, who, as a rule, goes over to her husband's oldest
brother. If the mother dies, the children are adopted by a maternal
aunt or some other woman of the clan. One reason why all this is of
no great importance is the far-reaching communism which is a feature
of native life, every one sleeping and eating wherever he pleases.

Mr. F. took me up north, where I wished to study the population. I must
not omit to mention that the population of Pentecoste is divided into
two distinct types: the people in the south are like those of Ambrym,
those in the north resemble the inhabitants of Aoba. This is evident
not only in the dress, but also quite distinctly in the exterior of
the people. Yet in spite of the close relations with Ambrym, the art
of sculpture, so highly developed in the other island, is entirely
lacking in the south of Pentecoste.

In the north we find a dress similar to that of Aoba: the men do
not wear the nambas, while the women have a small mat around the
waist. The art of braiding is brought to great perfection here, and
the mats from Pentecoste are surpassed only by those from Maevo. The
material is pandanus, whose leaves are split into narrow strips,
bleached and then braided. Some of the mats are dyed with the root of
a plant, by boiling in a dyeing vat of bark. Besides the small mats,
chiefly used for the women's dress, there are larger ones which serve
as money and represent a great amount. They are as much as 1 metre
wide and 4 long, and are always dyed. The manufacture of these mats is
very laborious, and only high-caste men with many w