The Mafulu | Page 5

the conclusion that
the Melanesians of British New Guinea should be broken up into two
elements: one consisting of the Motu and allied Melanesians, and the
other of the inhabitants of the Massim district--an area extending
slightly beyond that of Mr. Ray's Melano-Papuans ("The Decorative
Art of British New Guinea," Cunningham Memoirs, X., Roy. Irish
Acad., 1894, pp. 253-269). I reinforced my position six years later
("Studies in the Anthropo-geography of British New Guinea," Journ.
Roy. Geog. Soc., 1900, pp. 265, 414). Dr. Seligmann, in his valuable
paper "A Classification of the Natives of British New Guinea" (Journ.
Roy. Anth. Inst., XXXIX., 1909, pp. 246, 315) corroborated these views
and designated the two groups of "Melanesians" as the Eastern and
Western Papuo-Melanesians. The following year he published the great
book to which Mr. Williamson so frequently refers, and in which this
classification is maintained, and these two groups together with the
Papuans, are termed Papuasians.

The Motu stock of the Western Papuo-Melanesians have extended their
dispersal as far as the Mekeo district, where they came into contact
with other peoples. It has been shown that the true Papuans are a
narrow-headed people, but there are some puzzling exceptions, the
explanation of which is not yet ascertained. The Papuo-Melanesians
contain a somewhat broad-headed element, and there is a slightly
broad-headed population in the central range of the south-east
peninsula, the extent of which has not yet been determined. The
questions naturally arise: (1) Is the true Papuan a variable stock
including both long- broad-headed elements? or (2) Does the
broad-headed element belong to an immigrant people? or, again (3) Is
there an hitherto unidentified indigenous broad-headed race? I doubt if
the time is ripe for a definite answer to any of these questions.
Furthermore, we have yet to assign to their original sources the
differences in culture which characterise various groups of people in
New Guinea. Something has been done in this direction, but much
more has yet to be learnt.
So far I have not referred to a Negrito element in the Ethnology of New
Guinea. From time to time we have heard rumours of pygmy people,
and German travellers have recorded very short individuals in Kaiser
Wilhelm's Land; but it was not till the expedition to Netherlands New
Guinea of the British Ornithological Union of 1910-11 that a definite
pygmy race was demonstrated. I think this can be no longer denied, and
the observations made by German ethnologists show that the race in a
more or less modified state is widely spread. Now Mr. Williamson,
whose work in New Guinea was contemporaneous with that of the
Netherlands New Guinea expedition, adduces evidence that this is also
the case in British territory. It is worth recalling that de Quatrefages and
Hamy (Crania Ethnica, 1882, pp. 207-210, 253-256) distinguish a
"Negrito-Papuan" and a "Papuan" element in the Torres Straits. This
problem will be discussed in Vol. I. of the Reports of the Cambridge
Expedition to Torres Straits. I feel little doubt that Mr. Williamson has
shown strong evidence that the Mafulu and probably other adjacent
mountain tribes are essentially a pygmy--that is to say a
Negrito--people who have been modified to some extent by Papuan and
possibly Papuo-Melanesian influence, both physical and cultural. He

has marshalled his data with great skill, and has dissected out, as it
were, the physical and cultural elements of the Negrito substratum. It
only remains for other observers to study Negritos in other parts of
New Guinea to see how far these claims can be substantiated. It is
evident therefore that, apart from the valuable detailed information
which Mr. Williamson has given us concerning a hitherto unknown
tribe, he has opened up a problem of considerable interest and
magnitude.
A.C. Haddon.

THE MAFULU MOUNTAIN PEOPLE OF BRITISH NEW GUINEA
CHAPTER I
Introductory
The map appended to this volume is (with the exception of the red lines
and red lettering upon it) a reproduction of a portion of the map relating
to the explorations and surveys of Dr. Strong, Mr. Monckton and
Captain Barton, which was published in the Geographical Journal for
September, 1908, and the use of which has been kindly permitted me
by the Royal Geographical Society. I have eliminated the red route
lines which appear in the original map, so as to avoid confusion with
the red lines which I have added. The unbroken red lines and the red
lettering upon my map are copied from a map, also kindly placed at my
disposal, which has been recently prepared by Father Fillodean of the
Mission of the Sacred Heart, and these lines mark roughly what the
Fathers of the Mission believe to be the boundaries of the several
linguistic areas within the district covered by their map. It will be
observed that some of these