The Mafulu

The Mafulu

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Title: The Mafulu Mountain People of British New Guinea
Author: Robert W. Williamson
Release Date: March 4, 2006 [EBook #17910]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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The Mafulu Mountain People of British New Guinea
Robert W. Williamson
With an Introduction

by
A. C. Haddon, Sc.D., F.R.S.
With Illustrations and Map
Macmillan and Co., Limited St. Martin's Street, London 1912

PREFACE
This book is the outcome of an expedition to British New Guinea in
1910, in which, after a short stay among the people of some of the
western Solomon Islands, including those of that old centre of the head
hunters, the Rubiana lagoon, and a preparatory and instructive journey
in New Guinea among the large villages of the Mekeo district, I struck
across country by a little known route, via Lapeka, to Ido-Ido and on to
Dilava, and thus passed by way of further preparation through the Kuni
country, and ultimately reached the district of the Mafulu villages, of
whose people very little was known, and which was therefore the
mecca of my pilgrimage.
I endeavoured to carry out the enquiries of which the book is a record
as carefully and accurately as possible; but it must be remembered that
the Mafulu people had seen very few white men, except some of the
Fathers of the Catholic Mission of the Sacred Heart, the visits of
Government officials and once or twice of a scientific traveller having
been but few and far between, and only short; that the mission station
in Mafulu (the remotest station of the mission) had only been
established five years previously; that the people were utterly
unaccustomed to the type of questioning which systematic ethnological
enquiry involves, and that necessarily there was often the usual
hesitation in giving the required information.
I cannot doubt, therefore, that future enquiries and investigations made
in the same district will bring to light errors and misunderstandings,
which even with the greatest care can hardly be avoided in the case of a
first attempt on new ground, where everything has to be investigated

and worked up from the beginning. I hope, however, that the bulk of
my notes will be found to have been correct in substance so far as they
go.
I regret that my ignorance of tropical flora and fauna has made it
impossible for me to give the names of many of the plants and animals
to which I refer.
There are many people, more than I can mention here, to whom I owe
my grateful thanks. Prior to my departure for the South Seas Dr.
Haddon took great trouble in helping and advising me, and, indeed, I
doubt whether I should have ventured upon my solitary expedition if I
had not had his stimulating encouragement.
In New Guinea I had the never-failing hospitality and kindness of my
good friend Monseigneur de Boismenu (the Bishop of the Mission of
the Sacred Heart) and the Fathers and Brothers of the Mission. Among
the latter I would specially mention Father Egedi and Father Clauser.
Father Egedi (whose name is already familiar to students of New
Guinea Ethnology) was my friend and travelling companion during a
portion of my journeyings through the Mekeo and Kuni districts, and
his Mekeo explanations proved invaluable to me when I reached my
Mafulu destination. And dear good Father Clauser was a pillar of help
in Mafulu. He placed at my disposal all his existing knowledge
concerning the people, and was my intermediary and interpreter
throughout all my enquiries. And finally, when having at some risk
prolonged my stay at Mafulu until those enquiries were completed, I
was at last compelled by the serious state of my health to beat a retreat,
and be carried down to the coast, he undertook to do the whole of my
photographing and physical measurements, and the care and skill with
which he did so are evidenced by the results as disclosed in this book.
[1] I must also add that the frontispiece and plates 17, 67, 68, 69 and 70
are taken from previous photographs which Father Clauser kindly
placed at my disposal. My remembrance of His Lordship the Bishop,
and of the Reverend Fathers and the Brothers of the Mission will ever
be one of affectionate personal regard, and of admiration of the spirit of
heroic self-sacrifice which