PACIFIC ISLAND RECORDS FISH HOOKS PACIFIC ISLAND RECORDS FISH HOOKS PACIFIC ISLAND RECORDS FISH HOOKS BY HARRY G. BEASLEY FELLOW OF THE ROYAL ANTHROPOLOGICAL INSTITUTE OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND AND MEMBER OF THE POLYNESIAN SOCIETY WITH 207 ILLUSTRATIONS AND 49 FIGURES IN THE TEXT AND AN INTRODUCTION BY THOMAS A. JOYCE, M.A. DEPUTY KEEPER OF ETHNOLOGY, BRITISH MUSEUM, LONDON LONDON SEELEY, SERVICE & CO., LTD. 1928 This Edition is limited to 250 copies of which this is No. ............ TO I. M. B. WHOSE FERTILE MIND, EVER KEEN, HAS LIGHTENED MY TASK PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN BY BILLING AND SONS, LTD., GUILDFORD AND ESHER VMe21653 INTRODUCTION Ix the history of mechanical appliances the fish hook is very ancient. Whether it radiated from one centre, or was the result of independent invention, it is impossible to state in the light of our present limited knowledge. Fish hooks of flaked stone have been found dating from neolithic times—wonderful examples of stone technique. But here we must discriminate between different types of hook. There is the hook which is so devised as to penetrate the mouth or throat of the fish, disguised by a bait which conceals the point. That is the hook proper. There is another class of penetrative hook, which carries no bait, but is composed of bright materials, which, revolving in the water, simulate a small fish, and therefore combine the properties of hook and bait, just like an artificial spinner or “ spoon.” These are technically known as “lures.” Besides these, there 1s a third class, where the hook-form is so devised as to hold the bait within its curve in such- wise that the fish cannot suck it off but must swallow it whole. This class of hook does not secure the fish by penetration, but because the quarry cannot eject what it has swallowed, and this type is known as a *“ gorge.” All these varieties of hook are found in the Pacific, where they had been developed to a very high degree of perfection owing to local circumstances. The pig may have existed in Melanesia before the time of the early European voyagers, but it is almost certain that the Polynesian Islands, apart from birds, knew no flesh-bearing animal other than the rat. Hence the enormous importance of fishing as a fundamental source of animal food; and a corresponding development of technical appliances devised to supply economic needs. Mr. Beasley confines his treatise to hook-forms as applied to the capture of fish within the Pacific area. I think he is wise in this. In the first place, he has selected a region of the globe which, at the time of Captain Cook, presented a form of culture exactly comparable with the comparatively remote neolithic age in Europe. If I wished to eriticize him, it would be on the grounds that he has only emphasized the technological side of the subject. The Pacific Islanders were ignorant of any form of metal. The construction of a hook was there- fore a difficult matter. I leave aside the solid types, cut by patient rubbing from the inner nacreous surface of the pearl-shell. But consider the composite varieties. For instance, the lures of New Zealand; hooks with a wooden shank, inlaid with neatly cut haliotis-shell, and furnished with a carved, and barbed, bone point, secured to the shank by means of flax cord. For the production of this you are allowed only tools of stone and the teeth of sharks, while the production of the cord involves a further process, the preparation of fibre from local vegetation. Every hook is the product of a stone-age environment, and a triumph of stone- age technology. The amount of time expended on such complicated objects, and, again, on the minute pearl-shell hooks of the Solomon Islands, must have been enormous. Time, we know, has little value to stone-age folk; but the hook meant food, and the loss of a hook must have been a minor tragedy. Every modern fisherman knows that there are few more exasperating events than the loss of a hook together with the fish of a lifetime. Yet hooks viii INTRODUCTION can be bought at any tackle shop for pence. But the fisherman of primitive Oceania under similar circumstances lost not only the fish of a meal-time, but a valuable piece of property which had occupied many weeks in the making. Mr. Beasley's treatise will make a definite appeal to all fishermen, because, as every true angler admits, a great part of the delight in fishing consists in the study of tackle-makers’ catalogues, the purchase of gear, and the selection of the appropriate hook. From this point of view his book is not only a hook- catalogue, but a treasure-house of suggestions. It is far more than that. It is a serious and very important contribution to anthropological science. At the present moment the study of anthropology is, in my opinion, becoming obscured by the spinning of far-reaching and contradictory theories based on insufficient data. It is difficult not to produce a neat theory, because the human mind resents a cul-de-sac, and there is a natural impulse to arrive at ‘‘ conclusions.” I have alluded to Mr. Beasley's restraint, and I think that it is best exhibited in his careful avoidance of elaborate theories. The temptation must have been strong, because then we know that the Pacific Islands were peopled by successive waves of immigrants, and we know also that small technological details, owing to the conservative tendencies innate in human psychology, provide useful indications of migration and culture- contact. Mr. Beasley has realized the importance of a plain record, a statement of fact which is not employed to bolster a preconceived theory, and in confining himself to the study of one technical appliance, in a restricted area, he has laid a sound foundation, based on fact, which the builders of theories cannot neglect. From this point of view I regard his work as a “classic.” The intensive study of technological appliances has been somewhat neglected of recent years, in spite of the lead given by General Pitt-Rivers, so ably seconded by Mr. Henry Balfour at Oxford. At the moment we want more recording and less theorizing in anthro- pology, and Mr. Beasley gives us a record. He is a specialist, while I cannot claim to be more than a sort of ““ maid-of-all-work ” in anthropology, but I am glad to respond to his invitation to contribute an introduction to his monograph, because the Museum Curator in particular is always grateful to the specialist who will produce facts unencumbered by theories. T. A. JOYCE. Britis Museuy, October 20, 1927. PREFACE Tue study of the fish hooks of the peoples of the Southern Pacific Ocean has, up to the present, hardly received the attention it deserves; and whilst nearly all other branches of their arts and manufactures have attracted the interest of scientists in all parts of the world, for some reason or other this branch has remained neglected, with the result that, though numerous specimens are encountered both in Public and Private Collections, their places of origin and relative uses are more often than not, either entirely omitted or, when given, are more misleading than instructive. The importance of correct localization and detailed description has of late years been recognized by many authorities, to whom much praise is due, with the result that, in lieu of merely displaying a heterogeneous collection, the public exhibits in many Institutions now offer an attractive object-lesson to the public. In putting together these notes, I fully realize that at best the ground has only been broken, and I hope that by bringing this most interesting line of ethnological study into more prominence greater attention may be paid to the subject, with the result that our rather scanty knowledge will be increased. It is hardly necessary to add that among the native inhabitants the old forms are fast dying out, and the time must soon come, if it is not already past, when it will be useless to look for information to the places from which they were originally brought. It is deplorable, though true, that another half-century will see the complete extinction of some of the most interesting races of the Pacific area, there- fore it behoves us to collect all the facts available whilst there is yet time. For descriptive purposes, I have taken the generally accepted racial divisions of the inhabitants of the Pacific Islands—namely, Polynesia, Melanesia, and Micronesia—and have further divided these sections into the groups comprising these areas. In addition, I have endeavoured, in Part IV., to show how a fish hook, for various reasons, has developed into an ornament or become an attribute of some deity. To my mind, this section is the most interesting of all, and had I received still greater assistance, I might have been able to develop the meta- morphosis even more fully. To bring together the very large number of photographs which are used as illustrations here, it has been necessary to invoke the aid of many Curators of Museums and personal friends all over the world. The response has been extremely gratifying, the more so because the request has in many cases emanated from a complete stranger, and I feel that in this alone I am more than repaid for my labours, because these efforts have been the means of establishing many new and altogether delightful friendships. I have endeavoured, in the list below, to render my obligation to those who have so readily contributed to the success of this work. It is to these friends that my hearty thanks are due, for without their cordial assistance my efforts would have been useless. Scattered over the whole world are many Museums and Collections, wherein are to be found articles of bygone native ingenuity, such as are now wholly unknown in the places of their manufacture. A decade or so in the lives of these natives has wrought immense changes, b X PREFACE and soon those who survive will have lost all knowledge of the arts of their forefathers. I would, therefore, enter here an earnest appeal to the owners and curators of these Institu- tions for a more sympathetic preservation of their treasures, for many contain specimens which are totally unprocurable at the present day, and unless they receive the proper care and attention, which is their due, they will assuredly be lost to future science. In producing a work of this description wherein the field is so large, many questions naturally arise dealing with the larger aspects of ethnology, such as origin, migration, evolution, and sociology. I have purposely refrained, as far as possible, from touching on these varied, and in some cases controversial, points, for I felt that in covering the ground from a purely technical point of view enough has been said to establish many divergent types found in their areas. One point has, I think, been definitely settled in the Island migration—that is, the preval- ence of recurring types of hooks in different groups, thereby indicating a common origin; and as the simple hook is obviously the older, the fact that the composite spinner type is so widely spread all over this area would strengthen the generally admitted contention that the peopling of the Polynesian Islands has taken place in comparatively recent years. Hook culture has, I think, a highly important bearing on the status of many of these Islands, and much could be written on these extraneous questions which would hardly come within the technical limits of these notes. If the result of my labours, which have taken over twelve years to accomplish, is the means of definitely forwarding the work of Museums and Public Institutions all over the world, T shall be well satisfied. I have in most cases used the orthography of the native localities as established by Dr Brigham’s excellent publication, being Vol. I., No. 1, of the Bishop Museum Memoirs, in preference to the more bulky and less accessible Admiralty Sailing Directory. My indebtedness for much kindly interest and valuable assistance from the following sources is gratefully acknowledged: To Captain Thomas A. Joyce, Deputy Keeper British Museum, for kindly contributing the Introduction; to the Council of the Royal Anthropological Institute, London, for per- mission to use various blocks in the illustrations, also to Sir Everard-im-Thurn, K.C.M.G., K.B.E, C.B.; Sir William MacGregor, G.C.M.G.; and the following Curators and Private Collectors, ete.: Henry Balfour (Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford); Dr H. S. Harrison (Horniman Museum, London); H. J. Braunholtz (British Museum); Lawrence W. Jenkins (Peabody Museum, Salem, U.S.A.); the Late Dr William T. Brigham (Bishop Museum, Honolulu); the late Dr. A. Hamilton, Dominion Museum, N.Z.; H. S. Toms (Brighton Museum); J. Allan Thompson (Dominion Museurs Wellington, N.Z.); H. Newell Wardle (Philadelphia, U.8.A.); M. Théodore Delachaux, Musée de 1'Université, Neuchatel, Switzerland); Dr R. W. Reid, Marishal College, Aberdeen); H. D. Skinner (Otago Museum, Dunedin, N.Z.); The Smithsonian Institute, Washington, U.S.A.; The Authorities of the Macleay Museum, Sydney, N.S. W.; The Rev. H. M. Daucey, Delena, Hall Sound, Papua; Walter A. Fuller; James Edge Partington; Sidney H. Ray; Charles Heape; Elsdon Best; Edwin J. Banfield; Edmund Bourne; G. C. Wheeler; W. Oldman; F. W. Christian; William Churchill; E. L. Gruning. H. G. BEASLEY. ROYAL ANTHROPOLOGICAL INSTITUTE, 52, Upper BEDFORD PLACE, Loxpox, March, 1927, xi FINDING LIST AND BARB CHARTS Tue following tables will perhaps materially assist in the localization of any desired specimen. All hooks fall primarily into two classes, irrespective of material—firstly, those cut from a single piece, which, for purposes of identification, are termed * simple hooks”; and secondly, a much larger group built up of two or more pieces, not necessarily of the same material, which I have termed * composite’ hooks. Marine shells easily head the list, as might have been expected from an Island race of people who look to the ocean to supply the greater part of their needs. The most varied materials emanate from New Zealand, chiefly as a result, no doubt, of the larger land area which offers a wider selection, and also because both the turtle and the several varieties of pearl shell are entirely absent from these shores. : Reference to the Barb Chart will materially assist in the correct location of individual specimens of that numerous class of composite spinner hooks used all over the Pacific for the capture of the bonito. This class offers a large series, remarkable for following more or less closely one established type, yet differing materially in minor details, which in most cases offers the clue to their actual locality. It is unnecessary here to detail these small differences, since they are already set out in the description of the plates, but it would be well to remind readers that this variation, apart from barb contours, chiefly lies in the number of holes borne by the barbs, their position, and also their relation to notches or lugs provided in place of holes. Material employed, such as turtle shell, pearl shell, or human bone, is also of importance, but this will be found more easily on consulting the Finding List. SIMPLE HOOKS Peary SeELL—New Zealand, Hawaii, Tahiti, Paumotu, Rapa Iti, Cook, Ellice, Union. Marquesas, Solomon, Matty, Carolines (Central), Marshall. SeELL—New Zealand, Solomon, New Britain. Pinna Suenn.—Tahiti, Solomon. Woop.—New Zealand, Niiie, Cook, Rennell, New Guinea. Human Bone.—Hawaii, Rapa Nui. TurTLE Bone.—Ellice. Bone.—New Zealand, Chatham, Tahiti, Union. TurrLeE SHELL. —Hawaii, Tahiti, Ellice, Loyalty, Solomon, New Guinea, Torres Straits Matty, New Britain, Caroline (East and West), Gilbert. Troous SmeLL.—New Ireland, Matty, Hermit. WaaLE BoNe.—New Zealand, Chatham, Hawaii, Marquesas, Union. WaaLE Ivorvy.—New Zealand, Chatham, Hawaii. Cocoanut SuELL.—Ellice, Union. ’ FINDING LIST AND BARB CHARTS Xm GREENSTONE.—New Zealand. Stone.—Rapa Nui. TrorNS.—New (Guinea. Iron.—New Zealand, Hawaii, Ellice, New Britain, Gilbert. : COMPOSITE HOOKS SHANKS OF: or PearL SELL. —New Zealand, Hawaii, Tahiti, Paumotu, Monihiki, Penhryn, Marquesas, > Tonga, Samoa, Ellice, Union, Solomon, Carolines (East and West), Mortlock 2 = Marshall, Gilbert. = Havromis SaELL.—New Zealand. TripacNa Suern.—Tonga, Ellice, Solomon, New Guinea, Admiralty, Carolines (West), Bone. Black Pearl Shell. Human Bone. Huma~ Bone.—Hawaii, Tahiti, Rapa Nui, Carolines (West). TurtLr Boxe.—Carolines (West). Moa Bone.—New Zealand. WaarLe BoNe.—New Zealand, Tonga, Carolines (West). WaALE Ivory.—New Zealand. Woobp.—New Zealand, Hawaii, Tahiti, Paumotu, Rapa Iti, Tonga, Niiie, Ellice, Union. Fiji, New Guinea, Mortlock, Marshall, Gilbert. Stone.—New Zealand, Carolines (West). Boar's Tusg.—New Zealand. Tahiti. COMPOSITE HOOKS Barss oF: Peary SeELL.—New Zealand, Hawaii, Tahiti, Paumotu, Rapa Iti, Samoa, Ellice, Caro- Black Pear] Shell. Bone. Turtle Shell : lines (East), Mortlock, Marshall, Gilbert. Danger Island, Psumotus. Havromis SeELL.—New Zealand. TurtLE SmELL.—Samoa, Tonga, Union, Paumotu, Solomon, New Guinea, Admiralty, Carolines (West). Humax BoneE.—New Zealand, Hawaii, Marquesas, Rapa Nui. Boxg.—Tahiti, Ellice, Union, New Guinea, Gilbert. GrREENSTONE.—New Zealand. Woop.—Tahiti, Paumotu, Tonga, Niiie, Ellice, Fiji, Union, New Guinea, Mortlock, Marshall, Gilbert. Doe’s Jaw.—New Zealand. © @ = Sa - ws 4 Human Bone. Pearl Shell. Human Bone. Pearl Shell. xiv Polynesia. J 4 ¢ arbs of Human Bone : Marquesas. Ny Pearl Shell : Manihiki. Bone : Hawaiian. Bone : Penrhyn. gM Barbs of Pearl Shell: Ellice Group. WN Pearl Shell. Human Bone. Ellice Group. SHYLY 1, 2, 8, 5, Barbs of Turtle Shell; 4, Pearl Shell / Ol 0 Oo |= : tl Barbs of Turtle Shell. XV Samoan Group. i Q i fl 1] iH xvii Micronesia. New Guinea. Barbs of Turtle Shell, occasionally of Bone. I., Turtle Shell, Western Carolines ; II., Turtle Shell, Tobi, Western Carolines. ‘SUOWO[Og [Biju PUB BULIGNY n 3595S Solomon Group. ‘SUOWO[OF [BIjuU9) pu wuUBILY wo a. IS 8 yay — "8pHold CONTENTS POLYNESIA INTRODUCTION PREFACE FINDING LIST AND BARB CHARTS CONTENTS LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS CHATHAM ISLANDS NEW ZEALAND TONGAN GROUP SAMOAN GROUP ELLICE GROUP. UNION GROUP . PUKAPUKA NIUE COOK AND HERVEY GROUPS SOCIETY GROUP PAUMOTU GROUP MARQUESAN GROUP . HAWAIIAN GROUP EASTER ISLAND J og of 7@ / WYHLVED : : / 7 N A A 7’ t BION i S1WH4S SWNWG © ’ aNvIvaz / MIN J! NW a / ’ . sl % [ivoway] sr IY¥isny «> ¥ - C) VIVONVW » ‘LevYisug o ~ [avo Aznwaul PI q ViNodsIvD . : . 7 ¥ ‘sl W . . ’ N 3! YPIRWYD s sl M00) » 5 ny oy 5, MIN x ‘ye - \ - J ANOWSF +3 PARRLELLY] £ 3 2 "a HOBY MoT ‘woNOL ‘© \/ / +] ) ovAws) a avAA ord > ‘

——— a— Prare XXI. Bishop Museum, Honolulu. { Plate XX. overleaf, GR ERA Part I. New Zealand. POLYNESIA 13 " Pl. XXIII.—I must admit that I am rather doubtful as to the correct localization of : this very unusual specimen, which is one of two in the British Museum, where they have been for a great number of years, and are considered to have originated in New Zealand. The square hole through which the snood lashings pass is typical of Maori work. It is certainly of most graceful form and proportions, being cut from what is obviously a natural bend, supplied from some close-grained heavy dark wood. Two external barbs are provided, which may have been for a bait string, since they are of little practicable use. The looped snood is unusual, but not unique. The measurements are—length over all, 14 in. (85-4 cm.) ; greatest width, 63 in. (17-5 em.). Pl. XXIV.—This hook must surely be almost unexampled, in that the barb is formed from the jaw-bone of a dog; the ramus forms the point, while a molar tooth ground to a point serves as a secondary barb. I have met with no other similar example, excepting, perhaps, that in fig. 2, where portions of a human jaw-bone are used. Such must be purely hap- hazard, and due to some peculiar sentiment of the workman. In other respects the usual methods of manufacture are followed, both as regards snood and shank. The former, it will be noticed, is whipped the whole length, and ends in a loop. The measurement from the end of the shank to the base is 5} in. (14 em.). Another good example of these com- posite hooks occurs in pl. XXIV.a, and is noteworthy as having been purchased by the author for ninepence. Its peculiar feature is the pierced work at the base of the shank, evolved, no doubt, in the first instance, by the necessity of a hole for the bait string; it is, I think, unique in this respect. The barb is of human bone, and so good is the workmanship that, in spite of great age, it is now almost as secure as the day it was made. Greatest width, 5% in. (18 em.). om — , a —————— EE PraTe XXIV. Prate XXIVa. Joyce Collection. Author's Collection Hooks or Woop AND BONE, ORNAMENTED WITH MASKS. Occasionally one comes across rather important-looking hooks, having a more or less well-carved face on the back of their shanks, and in one instance (pl. XXYV.) I have met with an almost complete figure. These hooks were evidently quite common at one time, since they are nearly always illustrated in the accounts of the early voyages. Nowadays it is a rare occurrence for a hook of this type to turn up, and although I have paid more than ordinary attention to these, I have been unable to illustrate any number. The origin of 1 such unnecessary ornamentation can, I think, be explained by the presence of the projecting lug cut out of the solid shank, which in some hooks is the means whereby the snood is attached. The transition of a plain lug into a well-carved mask is easy, since even the first form is suggestive of a face, and as an additional cut accidentally made in it at once indicates the early outlines, the final development follows in natural sequence. “ The larger specimen in pl. XV. gives an idea of the lug when scored with one or more grooves, but to find a good example one must go further afield, and it is among the Papuan ! l hooks that the best illustrations of this transformation will be found (cf. pls. CXXVI. and : | CXXVII). i In fig. 3 we find the first of this series, which is also of interest on account of the barb. i i} To begin with, it is considerably longer than the shank, and the material has been supplied ! from one side of the lower jaw of a human being, the teeth sockets being responsible for the ‘ Cf. Parkinson's Journal, 1773, pl. XXVI, i Pate XXV. Prare XXVI. Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford. British Museum. } & ! ¥ ac A 14 FISH HOOKS irregularities on the inner side. The use of such a jaw-bone is narrated in the well- known story of Maui, the demigod. The utilization of a portion of some renowned ancestor, as in this instance, would have a powerful influence, particularly when used with the proper charms (karakia). It was Maui's grandparent, the famous Muri-Rangi-Whenua, whose jaw-bone was used when New Zealand was drawn up from the bed of the ocean, and which has since borne the name of “ The Fish of Maui’ (Te-Ika-a-Maus). Turning to the carved lug it may be assumed that a Maori did not take the additional trouble of carving this for nothing. It is possible that since all the old carvings were, in a sense, portraits, the mask represents the one-time owner of the jaw which sup- plied the barb. What is more likely, is that these masks represent Tangaroa, the Sea King or Polynesian Neptune,’ who would certainly be the proper deity to invoke, and whose power would bring success to the owner of such a hook. These lugs offer an excel- lent means of attaching the snood, not altogether an easy matter to a people whose tools were still in a primitive state. The portion of snood which remains is evidently a well-plaited length of the usual Phormium tenax, and the lashings of the barb are quite after the old Maori style, though perhaps somewhat better attached as becomes such a valuable hook. It isa matter of regret that I have no particulars of the dimensions of this specimen. Mr. Oldman has kindly supplied the photograph, but the original has long since passed out of his hands, and its present whereabouts are unknown to me. Pl. XXV. shows a very ancient hook, which exhibits a whole figure carved upon the shank, this being the only one with which I am personally acquainted. The treatment of the arms will be noticed immediately, since they are replaced by spiral curves. Can it be that herein lies the much-sought explanation of the origin of Maori scroll patterns? I, for one, would hesitate before making such an assertion, but think rather that it is more likely a matter of circumstance arising from the prescribed space available. The eyes are inlaid with haliotis shell. It is also curious that in this instance the figure becomes purely orna- mental, since it no longer serves as a lug for the snood, which is attached independently; further, this figure is placed in an inverted position. The shank is cut from a slightly rough piece of dark brown wood, irregularly notched, and forming, I think, a natural bend. The bone barb is a beautiful piece of work, being perhaps the finest I have ever seen, the outlines are wonderfully worked, and the base, projecting considerably beyond the shank, is finished off with a button, which supplies an excellent hold for the leshing. The indented work along the interior edge is extremely regular, and can only serve as an ornament. The absence of part of the barb lashing shows the method of fixing the barb, and it will be noticed that two separate turns of the line are made. This highly interesting specimen measures 6% in. (17-2 em.) in length. ! Hamilton, Bulletin No. 2, Dominion Museum, Wellington, 1908. Frc. 3. Oldman Collection. T_T." pn a —————_— Bowel areas wm aL aus Part I. New Zealand. Prare XXVIII. British Museum. Prare XXVIII Author's Collection. POLYNESIA 15 Pl. XXVI, is another example of a very ancient form, fortunately in excellent pre- servation. The carved mask is but roughly indicated, the whole shank being cut from a natural bend. The elaborately pointed barb is remarkable, the fissures in the bone (which is human) being well shown. It is continued to some length below the lashing, suggesting that the primary idea of a gorge still survived; one can easily see how this bone barb, with its sharp end, would become fixed across the gullet of a fish. The snood is of coarsely plaited flax, extensively whipped with fine cord, secured by a half-hitch knot. A long cut has been made in the back of the mask, and holes made on either side of the mouth through which the snood passes. The measurements are 6§ in. (16-8 cm.) over all. The barb is 4 in, (10-2 em.). PL. XXVIL in another very old, if somewhat rough specimen. This hook and the one shown in the previous plate being the only hooks of this kind in our National Collection. It offers the usual example of the mask, being utilized as a lug for snood attachment. This mask is a curious piece of work, of very primitive design, the mouth being hollowed out, and the eyes represented by bosses, while the carving round the upper lip recalls the work found further to the eastward. The material of the shank is similar to that in the preceding plate. The base expands considerably, and is deeply grooved to receive the edge of the barb (which is of human bone), carefully notched on either side. No peg is used, but a rather large hole has been drilled near the base through which the lashings pass. The snood is neatly whipped its entire length and is rather delicate for the size of the hook. It measures 6% in. (16-5 em.) in length. Yet another variation of these masked hooks is shown in pl. XXVIII., which, while perhaps not a very fine specimen, is yet the only one that I have been able to secure. It is undoubtedly an old specimen, and certainly appears more practicable than the previous ones. It came from the Collection formed by Commander Erskine, about 1850, a time when the demand for Maori objects had not exceeded the supply, as is the case in these days. The mask in this instance follows the lines of the gable ornaments (tekoteko) found on Maori houses; it appears to be purely conventional, the open mouth and protruding tongue forming a good half of the head. The barb, which is of bone, as well as the snood and lashings, are all of the regular pattern. The length is 7} in. (19-1 cm.). ComposiTE SPINNING HOOKS. Of all the known hooks in existence at the present day, these are the most common. Large numbers must have been in constant use, and unhappily even larger numbers have been produced at the behest of the curio-hunting tourist. Many of these last being but sad travesties of the older forms, however, they do not concern us at present, since I have only to deal with the native article, produced for native use. These hooks represent a type common throughout the Polynesian Islands, and met, to some extent, in the west, among the Melanesians. As a hook, it finds its prototype in the European’s metal spinner of a hundred shapes, and doubtless represents one of the earliest contrivances ever evolved by the savage mind to replace nature. As a substitute for a live bait—undoubtedly the most deadly method of taking fish—it is a signal success, for despite the apparent clumsy form, once in the water behind a fast driven canoe, these hooks leap and spin through the waves in a manner wonderfully similar to that of the small fry they are intended to personify. The re re tis AT 16 FISH HOOKS secret of this success is the inner lining of the wooden back with a carefully chosen strip of haliotis (paua) shell! The foundation of the hook is a piece of wood, generally totara (Podocarpus totara), rounded on the outside, and having a strip of the above-men- tioned shell carefully let in on the inner. Since the shell is naturally bent concavely, and often with an additional kink to one side, it requires considerable skill in adapting the wood shank to it. The work is nearly always good, and it is seldom that the joint is filled in with black gum. The barb is always of bone, usually human, and its lack of substance makes it appear out of proportion to the broad shank. The lashings and snood, which generally tapers and ends in a knot, are of the usual Phormium tenax. twisted into a three-ply cord. The snood is always attached by a couple of notches directly to the top of the shank, and with these particular hooks is never continued down the inner side to the barb, as is customary with other Polynesian specimens. A bunch of kiwi feathers forms an excellent hackle, which in some localities had the addition of a few of the bright blue feathers of the lesser penguin (korora) or the kingfisher (kotaretare).® Owing to adverse conditions in the south, these hooks were rarely, if ever, used except by the Maoris of the North Island. It would seem that they are almost solely used for catching kahawai (Arripis salar), a fish which frequents the mouths of rivers in great numbers at certain seasons. The first reference to these hooks by the early voyagers is that of Labillardier, who, in March, 1793, trafficked with the natives in the neighbourhood of North Cape. He notices particularly the feather hackles, and remarks on the great length of some of the lines. Pl. XXIX. illustrates a number of these hooks, and it will be noticed that they vary much in the smaller details. The largest measures 6} in. (15-3 em.) in length, and incidentally I would remark that while some are even larger than this, yet I do not think that this is an indication of great age, it is the smaller ones which seem to have been in regular use in the earlier periods. The remainder vary in length from 3% to 21 in. (8:9 to 6-5 em.). A variation of this type consists in the replacement of the wooden shank by one cut from a piece of whalebone, such as is shown in pl. XXX. I am at a loss to account for this change, excepting perhaps that the bone was ready to hand, although this material is more difficult to work. All that I have seen have been well made, of considerable age, and obviously not made for trade purposes. In other respects they do not differ from those previously described. They measure approximately 4} in. (11-5 em.). In pl. XXXI. we have a type of hook composed of two pieces of haliotis shell, constructed, no doubt, to serve as a spinning bait, and therefore showing a slight difference from the two preceding illustrations. Such hooks as these are decidedly scarce, and these three came to me with others from a very old collection. The shanks are cut from the flange of the shell, for which purpose it is well adapted. Considerable labour must have been expended in grind- ing down the barbs, which are attached in the usual clumsy method; inserted in the lashing are several feathers of the kiwi, which make an efficient hackle. The snoods, fortunately, have been preserved, and are of the common twisted flax. No. 1 of this series has evidently had a few feathers worked into the snood lashing in addition to the hackle, but No. 2 is the 1 Dr Hamilton states that very occasionally the large mussel, Mytilus latus, is used. 2 The occurrence of a similar barb in greenstone will be found noted in Part IV., pl. CLXIX. fig. 2. 4 Hamilton, Bulletin No. 2, Dominion Museum, Wellington, 1908. * Labillardier, Voyage in Search of La Perouse, 4to, London, 1800, p. 328. Part I. Prate XXIX. Author's Collection. I, Oldman Collection ; Prate XXXI. Author's Collection. Prate XXX 11, Author's Collection ; 111, Fuller Collection. New Zealand. a arta wa soa Somme a POLYNESIA most interesting specimen, since all the three edges of the shank are nicely notched, not an uncommon occurrence on many old specimens of Maori work, particularly small articles. It has been suggested that these serrations are a form of whakapapa, or genealogical record; and possibly, where a valued object of purely ornamental use is concerned, this is correct. Such, however, hardly applies to what must have been a simple fish hook, and I think that in this instance it is solely ornamental. These hooks have evidently been deemed worthy of the faker’s art, as will be seen in Part IV., pl. CXCII., where not content to copy only, this artist has seen fit to add barbs. The length of these hooks is approximately 21 in. (6-5 cm.). In Mr. Fuller's Collection I find a similar specimen, having a pair of secondary barbs placed one on either side of the main point, which, when viewed from the front, resembles an arrow-head. It is the only treble example that has come to my notice. A variation of this form is in the Portsmouth Museum Collection. The shanks are of shell, but the barbs of human bone, having an additional barb on the outer edge near the point. It would seem that this barb is formed of two pieces, since the portion of the stem below the point is carefully bound for nearly the whole length (see fig. 3a). Another, also kindly reported by Mr Fuller, carries an iron barb, a peculiarity of which being that it has been ground out of the solid and follows closely the shape of the one in fig. 8a which I Fia. 4. Fuller Col- lection. have just mentioned. The barb lashings are also heavily coated with black gum. In the early colonial days, when metal became fairly Frc. 7 Portsmouth . . x Museum. common in the hands of the Maoris, they were quick to seize the advantage offered by adapting their hooks to receive metal barbs. All sorts of metal were used, and barbs of both copper and brass are as common as those of iron, and in later days a length of galvanized fencing wire was not despised (cf. fig. 5). It is apparent that the shaping of the wooden shanks for the kahawai hooks was an affair of some difficulty, since as soon as a suitable length of metal was available the wooden backing became obsolete, and instead the metal was bent round the slip of haliotis shell. Fig. 4 shows a small hook of this type which, judged by the excellent finish, must be an early example. The barb is of copper, and the shell slip is remark- able for its beautiful iridescence. It is recorded that considerable attention was given to securing picked pieces of shell, and Dr Hamilton! goes so far as to say that special hooks bearing certain kinds of the haliotis shell were used at various times of the day, in the same way that a trout fisher uses different flies. At any rate, the owner of this particular specimen valued it highly, since the hook having been broken near the top he has taken the trouble to drill four small ! Hamilton, Bulletin No. 2, Dominion Museum, Wellington, 1908. a sn 18 FISH HOOKS holes and lash it together with fine cord, and incidentally has made a very neat restoration. The length is 2} in. (6-4 cm.). A still more decadent type is shown in fig. 5 which, although of a very crude workmanship, dates back to 1850. The wooden back has disappeared altogether, and the foundation of the hook consists of a badly bent piece of galvanized wire, obtained doubtless from some farmer’s boundary fence. A very rough piece of paua shell is attached to the wire at either end, the lashings being secured by rough notches in the shell, a frayed-out end of the bottom lashing serving as a hackle. The snoods are the best part of what may be described as a very badly executed work, being quite in the old style. The measurements are approxi- mately 41 in. (11-4 ecm.). No doubt they were intended for catching kahawai. This marks the introduction of European influence, which affected the entire native life of the Maori. As a rule he is not given to excessive exertion, except in moments of excitement, a trait which he shares with his kinsmen in the island groups more to the east- ward. He is naturally shrewd, and anything tending towards a more easily earned livelihood would be seized upon with avidity, hence the early demand for the pakeha’s iron hooks. Large quantities of European hooks—many hundreds, in fact—formed part of the payments made during the early land transactions, and owing ¢o their compactness they became in a sense the small change of currency between the early settlers and the natives. It is interesting to find in Stachan’s Life of the Rev. Samuel Leigh, a missionary in New Zealand, a list of articles expended by him during a single canoe journey, from which one would gather that at that date (1822) fish hooks were a recognized form of exchange. Three hundred hooks were disposed of either as gifts or in payment for provisions, besides the hundred and fifty which each of the crew of four men received. Other items include six bottles of porter and two of brandy, which, doubtless, being too good for the heathen, may be regarded in the light of comforts for the reverend gentleman’s private use. Another adaptation of the iron barb to the old form is shown in fig. 6, which, with those examples in pl. XXX., came from an old collection. In a sense, this hook is, to my knowledge, unique, since the shank is made from a boar’s tusk. These tusks are frequently rubbed down to varying degrees of fineness, not an easy task considering the rough tools available, and with a hole drilled at the butt were used as mat pins (aurei); and it py 6. Author's Collection. seems that such a pin, perhaps because it had lost its point, has been utilized to form the shank of this hook. Considerable trouble must have been taken to bend the barb, which is of iron wire, gauge 13, and whose outward sweep is Fig. 5. Author’s Collection. a Fer mn momen fowls asa pecs Gia moss New Zealand. POLYNESIA 19 evidently intended to follow the same lines as some of the older bone barbs. Both lashings and snood are of twisted flax, the former tapering in the usual manner. The length of this specimen is 33 in. (9-5 em.). Lastly, before the old native forms had quite disappeared in the struggle against the imported metal hooks, we find a series of very serviceable imitations of the earlier types, formed from almost any suitable metal that was procurable, and wrought by the natives themselves with considerable success. The most favourable material was afforded by the “ spike” nails, at one time obtainable from the ships which visited New Zealand. Many of the early narratives speak of these nails and the eagerness of the natives to procure them, and it will be readily understood that they formed a very handy medium of exchange. Large numbers of hooks of this kind were evidently in use, and examples are common in museums. Pl. XXXII. illustrates three such hooks, all made from large iron nails; the old forms have been faithfully copied, and they would prove good hooks in practice. No. 2 possesses a really well-made barb (nuwhi), which, however, loses in effectiveness by the too bold curve of the point. Of the remaining two, No. 1 is a simple hook of fine proportions, while the secondary barb of No. 8 is poor. The snoods are of the common native 1 flax, carefully plaited after the old manner, and are whipped with finer line as a protection. 1 In two instances the snood becomes a loop, an occurrence not common with Maori hooks. 5 No. 1 measures exactly 6 in. (15 em.) in length, and 3% in. (8-1 em.) across the jaws. No. 2 is even larger, namely, 7} in. (18-1 em.) in length, and 3% in. (9-8 cm.) at its widest extremity. No. 3 is much the smallest, being only 4} in. (10-4 cm.) by 28 in. (6-1 em.) in width. Such as these, and the hooks in the following plate, would require to be baited; a bait string (pakaikat) would be probably attached to the base. In one instance Dr Hamilton! shows an iron hook notched for such a string after the style of the early specimens. When one of the much prized spike nails was not available, a copper bolt made an efficient substitute, : and two writers have placed on record that a cast horseshoe has been converted into a rough 5 but serviceable hook. Dr Hamilton says that, “ In recent years I have seen the natives 3 fishing for hapuka (cod) with a large horseshoe, sharpened at one extremity and the line 3 fastened to the other.” Moser, the author of Mahoe Leaves, speaks of seeing an old Maori sitting under a verandah engaged in manufacturing a fish hook out of a horseshoe, and ** judging from the state of his file, I should say he had been thus engaged for some years.” In pl. XXXIII. we find a pair of somewhat similar hooks, made, however, from copper bolts, and provided with very massive snoods such as would be used for shark or groper in deep water. Both specimens are barbed, No. 1 being particularly formidable. No. 2 shows a very rounded form, and is even more interesting, in that the original bait string has been preserved. The former measures 5} in. (18-5 em.) by 3% in. (92 em.); the latter, 4 in. (10-3 em.) by 3% in. (9-2 cm.). ollection. ‘tion : 111, Oldman C PraTe XXXII I. 11, Anthor's Collec A A BAA SIN GORGES. Prate XXXII Fuller Collection, I have refrained so far from dealing with this very primitive method of fishing, primarily because it offers little comparison with the more highly developed forms illustrated in these pages. That gorges preceded hooks in the evolution of inventions must be taken for granted, but I doubt if the ancestors of the race which we know as Polynesian ever brought such a contrivance with them from their original home in the west. It is more likely, I think, that they were conversant with metals and used hooks of bronze or iron, which, ! Hamilton, Bulletin No. 2, Dominion Museum, Wellington, 1908. 20 FISH HOOKS however, had long passed out of use by the time they reached the South Pacific. Still, I do not think it will be out of place to show the curious, and to me unique, contrivance illustrated by pl. XXXIV. This was formerly in Mr Oldman’s possession, though it has | now long passed out of his hands. It comes unquestionably under the section of gorges, a and its place of origin is probably New Zealand, which contention is heightened by the square cut holes formed at either extremity—a typical Maori peculiarity. The great age of this specimen is indisputable, although I must confess that the plaited line of some fibrous material is not altogether in keeping with the materials usually employed by Maoris. It should be pointed out that the single white cord passing through the two holes does not belong to the original, being merely attached to prevent breakage. The measurements are approximately 15 in. (38-1 ecm.) from point to point. Other examples of gorges are illustrated in pls. XXXVII., XCVIII., C., and CII. TONGAN GROUP HOOK NAMES, ETC. Marau? -e ol o ie .. Hook, Bal .. ee oe pin or .. Bonito hook. Tara? —e vie oo " .. Snood. Since the Tongans had arrived at a state of society considerably in advance of their less fortunately situated brethren in other Polynesian Groups, with the sole exception perhaps of the Samoans, it is not surprising that the hooks in use by them should excel in work- manship and ingenuity anything found in the Pacific. As early as 1793 Labillardier® saw in the hands of the natives “ An iron hook which they had had skill enough to form like those which they fabricate of bone, tortoiseshell, mother- of-pearl, and other animal substances.” Of hooks cut from the solid I have no record. In Cook’s Third Voyage is a somewhat ambiguous description which may bear on such, but refers rather, I think, to the smaller composite variety. It is possible that amongst the many labelled specimens in our Museums there may be some, but their origins are unknown, and, curiously enough, none to my knowledge are illustrated in the early voyages. The same applies to large hooks of wood, commonly found in the Pacific. One such, however, is given in Labillardier’s Voyage* and reproduced in pl. XXXV. Its chief peculiarity is that the barb is lashed on with the interlaced binding so often found on Tongan work. Unfortunately, the compiler of the book omits all details as to the kind of wood used, as well as the measurements. LarceE ComprosiTE Hooks. Pl. XXXVI—This type of hook, whilst following the general form, yet differs materially in many important details. The shank is almost invariably composed of a piece of close-grained whalebone, having a strip of dark-coloured pearl shell recessed into 1 Contributed by F. W. Christian. 2 Churchill, Easter Island, Carnegie Institute, Washington, 1912, 3 Labillardier, Voyage in Search of La Perouse, p. 373, London, 1800. 4 Ibid., pl. XXXIL New Zealand. Tonga. PraTe XXXIV. From a photo by W. Oldman. Prate XXXV. trdier’'s Vo Pate XXXVI I, LI, LIT, Author's Collection : IV, Oldman Collection, Ades earn ; POLYNESIA 21 the back. The majority of Polynesian hooks have the brightest side inwards; an exception, however, occurs from Tobi in the Caroline Group, where a flat iridescent piece is used, the best side facing outwards. No. 1 differs from the general rule, and is probably unique, since the shank is composed of hard red wood without the accompanying strip of pearl shell. In other respects it is similar to the rest. It measures 8} in. (21-6 cm.), and is of considerable age. The barbs of all are cut from stout pieces of turtle shell, lashed on with two bands of twisted fibre. The snoods are invariably well plaited, and are of a good length, the material being olan4 fibre (Touchardia latifolia). Hackles also are always provided, presumably from the same material. The use of this fibre is very general through- out the Islands, and provides an excellent material for making lines of all sorts. It is extensively used in the Society and Hawaiian Groups, and when new closely resembles the cotton cordage of commerce, being white in colour and of soft texture. No. 2 measures 7% in. long (18-1 em.), which is above the average. Nos. 8 and 4 are respectively 53 in. (14-3 cm.) and 4% in. (12:8 em.) in length. The Rev. Thomas of the Wesleyan Mission, writing in the Mission Journal for March, 1889, states that the large hooks, called Ba,” were highly valued. This is borne out by the lists of contributions received from the natives in that year published in the same Journal, wherein these hooks are frequently mentioned. A small variety of these composite hooks is also occasionally met, but in place of the shank of whalebone and pearl shell, one cut from the latter alone is used. Such small hooks, therefore, conform almost exactly to the general type of bonito hooks common to the Polynesians. Comparing fig. 7 with the previous plate, it will be seen that this example is not furnished with the additional inner 2 | barb, and it confirms the remarkable accuracy of Captain Cook’s observa- ib tions, since he also remarks’ on this peculiarity. The shank of this specimen ; He has been beautifully ground out of a piece of dark pearl shell, the edges 0) of which are nicely bevelled. The barb is attached by two lashings in the 3 usual way, the snood being fastened on to the top of the shank by a fine 4 lashing passing through two holes drilled in the shell, which method is 3 2S identical with that followed in the large hooks, and definitely fixes the locality. There is no trace of any hackle, but it is probable that one was used. The length of this specimen is 28 in. (6 cm.). These small hooks have the interest of being the subject of the first reference by the early voyagers, in this instance, the Duteh navigator Le : Tasman who, on January 21, 1643, found himself off the Islands of Fun Suthers Amsterdam (Tongatabu) and Middleburgh (Eua), where he was met by three men in a small prow (canoe), who in exchange for some trifles handed up the ship’s side a ‘‘ small fish hook made of mother-of-pearl and shaped like a small anchovy.’’ It certainly requires some little imagination to see in the little shell shank the likeness of an anchovy, but the statement was a shrewd one, since all this variety of hooks must be considered as artificial baits. ! Cook’s Third Voyage. * Tasman’s Journal, Miiller and Co., Amsterdam, 1898. I am indebted to Sir Everard-im-Thurn for this reference. FISH HOOKS SAMOAN GROUP HOOK NAMES, ETC. Mairavu?! Hook. Pa, U2 Bonito hook. Paaru! Large hook. Paaral Small hook. TuTrIaLo! To fish for bonito. OE } A maker of bonito hooks. Fanval The lashings of a bonito hook. Favusaear uv! The end lashings of a bonito hook. Favusacaroro! Middle lashings of a bonito hook. TuaLv’vLu’ vl A spinning hook differing from the Pa. Aro! . A line. Ta'al.. A small cord line, or lashing. Org! .. a ‘ A rod. Sau, Sasau, MATAvucal To angle. Facoral To fish. TaumaTAU! . To fish with a hook. Taraal To trail a hook, to spin. Toro’v! To struggle on a hook. Fort! To hook a fish. Faamarav?! .. . To be hooked. Toroei, GALIMAUNU,! To nibble a bait. LEPAMATIE! .. To fish for shark. TAumMAUNU! .. Bait. Magal . o Pearl shell shank. TAUTAIL, SALEETAI! A fisherman. NAMES OF FISH. Aru! .. ove a as ' .. Bonito. Marg! i oF .. Shark. The Samoan, as judged by his hooks, must have been both a poor fisherman and an indifferent maker of hooks. It is a fact that as the Samoans reached probably a higher point of culture than any other Polynesians in the Pacific, yet his artistic handiwork deteriorated in comparison with the ruder and more warlike people by whom he was surrounded. The paucity of Samoan hook forms is remarkable; but one type, the composite pearl and turtle shell hook, has come to my notice. It would be expected, and the list of native words already given would indicate, that the shark at least among large fish is caught, yet with the sole exception of the Dresden Museum, which claims to possess a large hook of wood, not a single other institution can present a similar specimen. That such were in use is almost certain, and many examples may still exist under erroneous labels, but it would require an investigation among the natives themselves to throw light on this point. The same applies to hooks cut from the solid, such as are so often found in the Society Group; 1 Churchill, Easter Island, Carnegie Institute, Washington, 1912. 2 Contributed by F. W. Christian. 3 Stair, Old Samoa, London, 1897. sense Prate XXXVIIL. British Museum. Prate XXXVIII. Oldman Collection. PraTr XXXIX, Author's Collection. Samoa. POLYNESIA 23 of these, to my knowledge, not even one example is claimed by any Museum. The type probably died out many years ago, and only a search on the old village sites would reveal the forms previously used. That the use of wooden hooks for large fish may also have become extinct is possible, for as long ago as in 1865 Brenchley! found an American black- smith settled at Tutuila engaged in making harpoons and fish hooks for barter with the Samoans in exchange for coconut oil. It is possible that the use of big hooks was not general, and that the larger kinds of fish may have been caught with gorges similar to that shown in pl. XXXVII. which is preserved in the British Museum. This contrivance consists of a bulky hank of twisted fibre line (pandanus ?), to which is attached a sinker of water- worn coral (tufa) about 2 in. (5-1 em.) across. From this are two lines of fibre, each ending with sharply pointed wooden gorges 22 in. (7 em.) in length, cut out of some pale wood, with very long bait strings attached. Such a contrivance is mentioned by the veteran missionary Williams, and his remarks are perhaps worth quoting. He says: ““ The most ingenious method of fishing which I saw at the Samoas was the following—a number of hollow floats about 8 inches in diameter and of the same height were attached to a strong cord at a short distance from each other. To each of these a line was fastened about 10 inches long, at the end of which was a piece of fish bone, made very sharp at both ends and suspended by the middle, so that when the fish seized the bait the bone pierced it in contrary direction. The floats answered two purposes—to attract the fish by their whiteness and to show when it was caught.” Smarr ComposiTE SpinNiNG Hooks. Dealing with the small hooks which occur fairly plentifully even today, I am tempted to reproduce George Turner's’ remarks written in 1884. He says: “ The pearl shell fish hooks is another article, long in use, and in the manufacture of which the Samoans show some ingenuity. They cut a strip off the shell, from two to three inches long, and rub it smooth on a stone, so as to resemble a small fish. On the under side, or what may be called the belly of this little mock fish, they fasten a hook made of tortoise (turtle) shell, or it may be nowadays an English steel one (cf. fig. 9) along the length of the hook, concealing its point, and in imitation of the fin of a little fish they fasten two small white feathers, without any bait; this pear] shell contrivance is cast adrift at the stern of a canoe, with a line of twenty feet, and from its striking resemblance to a little fish it is soon caught at. No European fish hook has yet superseded this purely native invention. They bait and use the steel fish hooks, however, and in some cases use it on their pearl shells.” That these hooks are used in taking bonito is apparent from the following remarks by Stair:* * Bonito (atu) were caught by the mode ole along@ atu, which was a favourite mode of fishing. For this a va’ a alo, or three barred canoe, was preferred, with a crew of at most four persons. They were provided with a single rod of bamboo, a strong line, and hook of mother-of-pearl shell, ingeniously made to represent a small flying fish, and being furnished with feathers further increased the deception.” As in Tonga, the manufacture of these hooks required considerable skill, therefore the trade was recognized and esteemed in the same manner as the making of canoes and the thatching of houses. Bougainville? one of the earliest ! Brenchley, Cruise of H.M.8. Curagoa,” p. 45, London, 3:3. * Williams, Missionary Enterprises, p. 498, London, 1837. * Turner, Samoa 100 Years Ago, 1884. ¢ Stair, Old Samoa, p. 203, London, 1897. ® Bougainville, Voyage, p. 280, London, 1772. bh Ea H 24 FISH HOOKS voyagers to remark on Samoan hooks (unlike Captain Cook, whose observations are invariably | . sound), dismisses the subject with the bald and erroneous statement that the natives used I: “ bad fish hooks, made of the bones of fish.” This statement is obviously incorrect, nor can it be said that the hooks are badly made; the workmanship is certainly inferior to that found in many of the Pacific Groups, but still these hooks are very fair samples of native ingenuity and skill. The turtle shell used for the barbs must have been a somewhat scarce commodity—at any rate it is nearly always inferior to the Tongan; and a peculiarity of Samoan hooks is that in many cases the barbs still retain traces of the drill holes made when the central portion was removed, so close to the edge are these holes that to have obliterated them completely would have seriously interfered with the strength of the barb. The hook on the extreme left in the following plate shows these half-deleted drill holes. This No. 88 gives a series of these composite hooks, all with pearl shell shanks and turtle shell barbs. : 4 8 i Fie, 8. Author’s Collection. Fic. 9. Bishop Museum, Honolulu. The largest having the fibre hackle measures 8% in. (9-1 em.), while the smallest on the p extreme right is 2} in. (5-7 em.) in length. It is a peculiarity of Samoan bonito hooks that 1 in many cases the hooks themselves usually have the lines still attached, and these lines are always a work of art. The light brown colour of the fibre is in itself pleasing, but what ; | is so remarkable is the wonderful evenness of the plait. Stair’ says that their lines are made 1 I from the bark of the hibiscus (fau), a tree which provides material for lines and cordage, ; both in Samoa and many other Groups. I am inclined to think that only the fine white lines p which join the hook to the hank of brown cord are of this material, and that the line itself is sennit. George Brown,? the veteran missionary, confirms this, and says that the finer : lines were made of hibiscus (faupata) (Cypholophus maccicephalus), being scraped with i a shell and twisted on the thigh. Even smaller hooks than these are in use, such as are 1 Stair, Old Samoa, London, 1897. 2 Brown, Melanesians and Polynesians, London, 1915. sien _— RE I a th A Part 1. Ellice Group. Prarte XL. British Museum. PraTeE XLa. Collection of 8ir Everard-im-Thurn, C.B., K.C.M.G. y i : E 5 1 1 POLYNESIA 25 illustrated in pl. XXXIX. They are provided with the above-mentioned hanks of plaited line, and one, that on the left, has a number of small white feathers attached. Both Turner! and Stair” remark on this. The smallest measures 1} in. (3-1 em.), the largest 2 in. (5 em.) in length. A very unusual hook is given in fig. 8, which is made of two pieces of pearl shell. It is with some hesitation that I have at last decided on its origin as being Samoan. It is not by any means a modern piece of work, and is, moreover, very skilfully made. The construction, however, is somewhat weak. The angle of the barb is cut very much on the square, which tends naturally to weaken its power. The lashings and snood are of thin twisted fibre, and as usual in Polynesian hooks the snood tapers away to a point. Length 4} in. (10-5 em.). Fig. 9 gives what may be considered the last word in decadence, and aptly illustrates to what length the encroachment of European methods have affected the natives of the more accessible Groups of the Pacific. The barb of a hook was the part that called for the greatest amount of ingenuity, so naturally it has been the first to give way before the introduction of the European metal hooks; besides the superiority of such are so obvious that apart from affording a saving of labour—no mean consideration for a native— their use would ensure a more certain food supply. In addition to the substitution of a metal barb, the pearl shell shanks have undergone a change of shape, and the resemblance to the old forms is but slight; indeed, were it not that the fish for which they are used necessitates some sort of artificial bait, it is certain that these native hooks would long ago have fallen into disuse. ELLICE GROUP HOOK NAMES, MaTaud .. ve ‘a ‘a ve .. Hook. Bawonga? “s oy “ va .. A composite hook for bonito. Kou Boru? .“t ‘a = s .. A wood palu hook. Marau Trrad 8 . . -» The old form of pearl shell hook in one piece. Tira? os or i oa 'e .. Ancient ring hook of turtle bone or coral. FaBa® .. va ‘ “ " .. A small comma-shaped hook. Bas “a “l “e “i ip .. A pearl shell shank. SiNga® .. “a ve ot ‘ .. A hackle. From this Group comes what must surely be one of the earliest types of primitive hooks to be found anywhere in the Pacific. Others, it is true, show cruder forms or less skilful workmanship, but none, I venture to think, offer less practicable outlines combined with unsuitability of material. It is recorded that in very early times hooks were ground out of coral,* but to my knowledge no specimen of such a hook exists at the present day. Their outline followed, I believe, those shown in pl. XL., which are cut from the bone of the turtle. The use of these is now long obsolete, and they are highly valued by the natives, though more as heirlooms than as being imbued with magical powers. Had they been used as charms, they would, I think, have had a hole bored for suspension. Of the very few specimens in existence the greater number show considerable surface decay, due no doubt ! Turner, Samoa 100 Years Ago, 1884. ? Stair, Old Samoa, London, 1897. * Headley, The Atoll of Funafuti, Bulletin No. 3, Sydney Museum, 1896. 4 Ibid. 26 FISH HOOKS to their having come from burial-places. No. 1 is the largest of which I know, being shown here at its actual size. The bone is very soft, and shows many fissures on the surface, while notches along the outer edge are of considerable depth. No. 2 is another example kindly lent me by Sir Everard-im-Thurn. It is not of such great age as the foregoing, and differs in the method of making the notches, which in the specimen at the British Museum have been ground out with a round rasp, whereas in this instance a V-shaped implement has been used; nevertheless, it is a most interesting old hook. The cord is modern, and does not represent the method of attaching the snood. The measurements are: length 2% in. (7 em.), width 2} in. (6-4 cm.), and thickness at the base § in. (1-6 em.). Fig. 10 shows yet another variation of this ancient type of hook, and in comparison this shows an even more primitive form than the former. The shape is more simple, less evenly balanced, and is quite devoid of the graceful outlines of No. 1 in the plate. An unusual feature is the notched work across the top of the shank, and the presence of only two of these notches on the back. The measurements are: length 21 in. (5-4 em.), width 13} in. (4-6 cm.), the thickness at the base being } in. (+65 cm.). Fic. 10. Fuller Collection. Hooks oF Peart SmerLL IN ONE PIECE. The use of this class of hook would, judged by its scarcity, appear to have been very restricted, even in the early days, and excepting the metal hooks made after the old forms, to have long passed out of use. Mr Hedley, when he visited Funafuti in 1896, failed to secure a single specimen, although one was seen in native hands, of which fig. 114 is a copy. Fic. 11. Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford. Fic. 115. After Headley. He gives the name as ““ matau-tifa.” Excepting this solitary example, I have only found three others, fortunately of undoubted authenticity, and I am indebted to Mr Balfour, of the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford, for permission to include them here. The close resemblance of these to that figured by Mr Headley is obvious, the sole difference being the position of 1 Hedley, The Atoll of Funafuti, Bulletin, No. 3, Sydney Museum, 1897, Part IV. it! £4 ¥ ag i Ellice Group. POLYNESIA 7 the outer barb, which may be a draughtsman’s error, or more probably due to the taste of the maker. Fig. 11 shows a very good illustration of these hooks. Their excessive thickness is remarkable, the broken specimen in the centre showing this to advantage. The snoods are of unnecessary thickness, being composed of twisted hibiscus fibre (fo-tangata); these do not end in the customary loop, but by a knot, whilst the attachment of the snoods to the shanks is clumsy, being further whipped with brown fibre. That on the left still retains portions of the original feather hackle, an occurrence I have failed to find connected ne this class of hook from other Groups. The measurements are 2 1% in. (3:7 em.) in length, whilst that on the right is 12 in. (4-5 cm.) i Another type of simple hook will be found in fig. 12, which is, from the point of view of development, far in advance of those shown in pl. XI. The material is coconut shell, and the use of such in the Ellice Group is most unusual, although of common occurrence in the Union Group. Mr Hedley! illustrates the type derived from a model made for him at Funafuti. He says that, like the ring hooks of turtle shell, it is an extinct form. The native name is faba; his specimen is, however, cut from a piece of turtle shell. It will be noticed that this hook follows the general outline of those in fig. 11, particularly in the bend at the base and in the position of the barb and point. The unnecessary thickness is also a feature of resemblance to those in fig. 11. As to the material from which the snood is made, I would hesitate to make any definite decision, but I should say that the fibres are twisted, and the attachment to the shank is roughly whipped with what appears to be coir thread. The length is 2 in. (5 em.), the width 1} in. (3-8 em.). Fic. 12. Fuller Collection. Composite Hooks ror Bonito (“ Bawonaa ”). The bonito (Thynnus pelamys)—native name, atu—is responsible for a special kind of hook which is in use in nearly all the Polynesian Islands. The nature of this fish is closely akin to that of mackerel, being a surface feeder, and greedily taking anything in the form of a spinning bait. That the hooks in pl. XLI. are eminently suited for this fish is obvious, and I can but think that such a specialized form must be of very ancient origin. Nowadays these have become greatly degenerated, and all sorts of European odds and ends are thought good enough to form the complete article; but in spite of an iron nail, or an end of wire displacing the well-worked pearl shell or human bone barb, or the trader’s calico ousting the fibre hackle, the shank must still be laboriously cut out of a piece of pearl shell, for nothing has been found so eminently suitable for this purpose. The method of manufacture was not an easy task, and when the poor tools, mostly rasps of hard Montipora coral, called lapa, are considered, the result is extraordinary. Several of our Museums now contain a series illustrating the various steps of manipulation, but Mr Hedley! has so well described the process that I cannot do better than quote from his account. Pls. XLII. and XLIIL show the four portions of the hook, which arealso copied from the same source. It may be remarked that this method is followed not only by the natives of this Group, but also ! Hedley The Atoll of Funafuti, Bulletin No. 3, Australian Museum, Sydney, 1897, Part IV. Prate XLI Below : Bishop Museum, Honolulu, Above : Oldman and Author's Collection, 28 FISH HOOKS wherever these composite hooks are used. In the old days they were highly valued, for besides their utility they were prized as conveying a maximum of wealth in a small compass. They were also used as offerings to the gods, and were buried with the bodies of their owners. The Rev. Wyatt Gill' speaks of their value in the eyes of the natives, and says that formerly they were sent from one island to another by being tied to the leg of a tame frigate bird. Yet another reason for the high value set upon them was the scarcity of suitable shell (Avicula cumingii), hardly any of which is found at Funafuti, the supply being principally obtained from the lagoon at Nukulailai, or Mitchell Island. The shank “Ba” (fig. 2) is cut from an avicular shell in such a manner that a slice of the thinner part embodies a portion of the thick ridge formed by the hinge of the shell, and on comparing a number of these hooks from different Groups it will be noticed that in most cases the Ellice type shows a greater thickness and also extends further down the shank than any other examples. The thickness of the shank affords a good medium for attaching the snood by means of a hole, running from side to side. Formerly a pump drill was used, but no such implement is now to be found on Funafuti, having been ousted by European tools. Tradition tells us that these native drills were pointed with shell, either Mitra episcopalis or Tereba maculata, which is a long, narrow, and sharply pointed shell exceptionally suited for such a purpose. Fig. 1 shows the natural shell from which such a strip has been cut, the original being obtained on Nukulailai by Mr Headley. } The shank (fig. 2) has already been prepared for mounting, the barb end being finished with two horns for securing the barb lashings, though usually the butt is finished off in a square. Mr Headley encountered but a single specimen, the shank of which was built up of two pieces of shell lashed together, and I am fortunate in being able to illustrate yet another through the courtesy of Sir Everard- im-Thurn, fig. 13 showing how the two pieces have been spliced. The upper end only has been drilled, and the barb lashing secured by notches on either side keeps the lower ends fast. The length is 4} in. (10-7 em.). The original shell from which the outer slip was cut must have been very thin, it is also of a bad colour, hence the addition of the inner strip, which, while adding to the strength, is also of superior lustre, a point of no mean value to the fisherman. The barb is simple, being made of bone and abuts on the inner lining. It differs considerably from the usually accepted Ellice type, which is due probably to the limited scope afforded by the material. The remains of a pandanus fibre hackle are evident. The string at the top is modern; Mrs David? tells us that the natives prefer buying European fishing lines when they can afford Fic. 13. Im-Th vy ‘ ‘ : 2 Collection. it. The hibiscus (fo-tangata), which is most plentiful on the islands lying to the northward, yields a tough pliable bark obtained from the young shoots of from three to six feet in length. Having made their selection, the bark is peeled off with the tee h, flattened out, and rolled into 1 Wyatt Gill, Jottings from the Pacific, p. 17, London, 1885. 2 David, Funafuti, p. 267, 1899. Rl. i ——— -————— - ea Atoll of Funafuti. Prate XLIII The After Headley : Prate XLII POLYNESIA 29 balls having the inner side within. A day or so afterwards the soft material is scraped off, leaving the long tough fibres intact, which, when seasoned, are rolled into strands on the bare thigh, and finally plaited into cords. Returning to the ordinary bonito hooks, fig. 3, pl. XLII., shows us a barb (wonga) similar to those commonly found on these hooks. The material is either bone, probably Delphinus or Sus (cf. pl. XLI., No. 6), or, as is more usual, pearl shell (Avicula). Mr Headley also enumerates the uses of turtle shell (Chelone), but I cannot recall having met with any examples in my investigations. The barb here illustrated (fig. 8) is cut from pearl shell, and was obtained by Mr Headley on Funafuti; this kind is almost invariably drilled with two holes for fastening the lashings, and a peculiarity of these Ellice hooks, which is shared only with similar hooks from Danger Island (¢f. pl. XLIX.a), is the presence of two wedges formed from coconut frond pinnule' forced up between the lashings and the shank. Added to the base of the shank is a hackle (singa) of white feathers, which in old specimens were taken from the breast of the black-napped tern (Sterna melanauchen), but which nowadays are replaced by chicken feathers. Considerable variation is found both in the number and position of these feathers, although they are generally used in pairs, sometimes two and sometimes four. Mr Headley shows an example (p. 270, fig. 88), where in addition to the hackle a pair are attached to the snood above the hook. Louis Becke,? who was a close observer of native ways and customs and incidentally a keen angler, says that the hackle was formed of red parakeet’s feathers. I do not, however, recall having come across any such, and I think that the high value of red feathers in the eyes of the Polynesians, with whom this colour is considered sacred or at least an attribute of the gods, precludes any use in connection with fishing. Snoods and lashings are usually well finished, being neatly twisted from hibiscus fibre (Broussonetia papyracea, called by the natives Fo-tangata). The finished cord is of a white colour, very hard of texture, and of great strength. Reverting to pl. XLI. there will be found a con- siderable series of these composite hooks illustrating the majority of the varieties. In every instance, except No. 4, the backs are of pearl shell, while the barbs are mostly derived from the same material, No. 6 alone being cut from bone—a rare occurrence. In these degenerate days an iron or copper nail usually displaces the hardly wrought pearl shell barb. A glance at these barbs will show that they are worked to definite form and actually constitute a type found nowhere else. For attachment to the shank two holes are the regulation, and the presence of small wedges has already been noticed. Mrs David® says of these hooks that ““ the bonito hooks take a man three weeks to shape out of a shell. I was not told how many hours a man would feel disposed to grind a shell, but a Funafuti man could easily take a year at the rate I saw him working.” No. 4 in this plate is quite an exception, since the shank is formed from clam shell, and the hackle is of pandanus fibre instead of the usual white tern’s feathers; in other respects it conforms to the regulation pattern. In considering these hooks as a type, it will be noticed that in all cases the snood line is continued down the concave side of the shank and is attached directly tc the barb, and such will be found with hooks of this description from nearly all the Polynesian Groups. It seems to me a curious survival among a race of comparatively high culture, that this method should have remained in a partially developed state, derived from an ordinary hook with a pearl shell lure attached, 1 Finsch, Ethnological Atlas, p. 331, states that wedges of bone or fish bone were used. * Becke, Wild Life in Southern Seas, 1897. 3 David, Funafuti, p. 248, 1899, —————— —— r— ERE LEE aR ESS = 30 FISH HOOKS and it must be noted that, excepting the Maoris of New Zealand, it remained for Melanesian peoples to arrive at the complete evolution (cf. Part II., pls. CV. to CVIL). No.2 is interesting in that it bears an old label dated 1872. The smallest, No. 6, measures exactly 3 in. (7-6 em.), while No. 8 is the largest I have met, measuring 5} in. (13-3 em.) in length. No. 4, which has the tridacna shell shank, measures 4} in. (10-7 cm.). In some of the late examples the hackle of hibiscus fibre or white feathers is replaced by one formed from strips of trade cotton stuff, and the number of holes in the barb is increased, due, doubtless, to the greater facility afforded by European tools. The second portion of this plate is from a photo kindly sent me by my friend, Dr Brigham of Honolulu. The print is of such excellence, and the detail of the hooks so good, that I am happy to be able to include it with the larger series. That on the left has the usual pearl shell barb, whilst that on the right has one of the rare bone barbs. Woopex Hooks ror Paru (RUVETUS PRETIOSUS). PL. XLIII.—Large wooden hooks of this sort hail from several widely separated Groups, and one usually comes to regard them as being used for taking shark. The type from this Group is probably the best known. It was, I believe, the late Mr Louis Becke who first dis- closed the real use of these curious hooks, and incidentally described many of the habits of this little-known fish. Mrs David, who resided for some months on Funafuti,! almost to the end of her stay strongly doubted the existence of such a fish, nor during the whole of the visit did she see one caught. Mr Headley, from whose account I have already so largely drawn for my information, has given us an exhaustive account of these hooks, and thereby left hut little for me to add. Speaking of the distribution of this fish, he instances, on the authority of Louis Becke, its presence at the Tokelau, Ellice, and Kingsmill Groups, and also round the isolated islands of Pukapuka (Danger Island), Suwarrow (New Hebrides), Manahiki, and Niiie (Savage Island). Hooks of this type are reported by several writers, and if the contention that they are only used for this particular fish is correct, it tends to show that palu are also found there. The distribution is as follows: Nanomea and Nuku- fetau (Ellice Group), Nukuor in the Carolines, Tarawa (Gilbert Group), reported by Finsch,? Nukulailai (Ellice), Niiie (Savage), Tamana (Gilberts), and Union Group, illustrated in Mr Edge Partington’s Albums. Wilkes® gives a drawing of a similar hook from Penrhyn Island. A hook of unusual size from the Mortlocks is not uncommon in collections, and lastly Lister* notes the occurrence of similar hooks from Fakaafo (Bowditch). I am well aware that this list does not exhaust the localities wherein large wooden hooks are found, but I have purposely omitted all reference to their existence elsewhere on the ground that they are used more probably for shark, and unfortunately our knowledge of these localities is still too meagre to decide definitely on this point. The final shape which the palu hook takes depends greatly on the growth of the natural fork from which it is derived, with the result that, although the general form is the same throughout the Ellice Group, yet con- siderable variation of the minor details is noticeable. The rough fork illustrated in pls. XLII and XLIII. was obtained by Mr Headley on Nukulailai, being cut from a tree called by the natives valavala (Premna taitensis), though Dr Finsch states that mangrove wood 1 David, Funafuti, p. 248, 1899. ? Finsch, Ann. K. K. Naturhist Hofmus, VIII., 1893. 3 Wilkes, U.S. Exploring Expedition, IV., 1845. 4 Lister, Journal Ry. Anthro Inst., August, 1891. ror ar— i —— i — -— a T— » SNES NNG, ad Ra, ~~ Prare XLIITAL! From Nukulailai, Mitchell Island : Author's Collection. t ¢r. footnote, p, 31. PraTe XLIV. British Museum. Ellice Group. POLYNESIA 31 is usually employed. In the finished example the shank is flattened at the base and rounded on both limbs. This specimen was one secured by Mr Headley at Funafuti; it measures 9; in. (23-5 em.), greatest length. The extreme width between the forks is 1% in. (4-4 cm.), whilst the barb measures 2 in. (5-1 em.). This latter is carved from a separate piece and is roughly L-shaped, one limb being bevelled to form a scarf joint with the shank, to which it is attached by flat sennit binding. The most striking peculiarity of these hooks is the extent to which the barb encroaches on the opening of the hook, for, as the length of the barb is proportionate to the size of the hook, the width of the aperture is decided not by the length of the barb, but rather by the divergence of the limbs of the fork. The specimen illustrated is more than usually closed by the barb, and a } in. only separates it from the shank. Considerable diversity exists in the method of attaching the barb; at Funafuti it is placed on the inner face of the hook, whilst in specimens from Nukulailai, Niiie, and Fakaafo it is attached on the outer face. The snoods and lashings are of plaited coconut fibre, somewhat roughly constructed, and the former usually ends in a knot. The bait for these hooks consists of a whole fish, generally a flying fish, split lengthways, laid scale to scale along either side of the barb, thus stretching across the hook and not along its length. In swallowing this the palu, whose jaws are very thin and pliable, gets the barb behind the angle of the jaw. Sometimes when the fish is hooked the natives will jerk the line so as to hit its head with the stone sinker, which certainly sounds rather impossible, but if true would suggest that a form of paternoster is in use, such as is illustrated in the Niiie Section. An unusually small specimen of this hook is given in fig. 14, and in view of its similarity to the larger hooks already described, I do not doubt but that it is used for a like purpose. It is cut from a very hard, close-grained wood, and measures 4§ in. (11-8 em.). The snood consists of a loop of rather stout plaited sennit, of the ordinary three-ply type. In other respects it resembles those mentioned above. The pair of somewhat similar hooks exhibited in pl. XLIILa, although showing less artistic development than the former figure, are interesting in that we can place their locality—namely, Nukulailai, or Mitchell Island—the most easterly of the Group. They are of some age, but lack the fine finish usually found; the construction and materials Fie. 14. used are similar to those already described; the snoods, however, end Authens Col. in a plain knot without the loop, as shown in fig. 14. The pearl shell example : figured below is the only specimen that has come to my notice. In outline it resembles a miniature palu hook, cut from the solid. Since it came in company with the two wooden ones from an old collection, one may suppose that they all have a common origin. The work and finish are excellent, and I do not doubt that it was made for native use. It measures 1§ in. (4-5 cm.),’ the wooden ones approximately 4} in. (11-5 cm.). RE. SP 1 Further consideration has caused an alteration of opinion, based on the projections of the snood end of the shank which conforms more nearly to certain types from Tahiti. Cf. pl. LVL Sr —— a — -— - ———— a BER FISH HOOKS MoperN IroN Hooxs. It is the fate of nearly all articles of native manufacture to give place sooner or later to those of European origin, and unfortunately it is a fact that the imported steel hook has long driven out the native-made article from this Group. Mr Headley! in 1896 found this to be so, although the native lines were still preferred. In pl. XLIV., Nos. 1 and 2, are shown an excellent series of these hooks from the British Museum Collection. With the exception of A, all are evidently formed from odd seraps of metal obtained from passing vessels, and follow to some extent the old forms, though two are interesting, since they still retain the original white feather hackles, indicating that they were used as artificial baits to be towed along near the surface of the water. The bottom specimen affords an excellent example of the kind of native line which is still favoured. The hook marked A is an exception, being formed from turtle shell. I must confess to being somewhat in doubt if it is correctly located, although it would seem to have been collected at the same time as the others. The size of the largest metal hook is 2% in. (6-3 em.), the smallest is § in. (2:2 em.) in length. UNION GROUP On the reliable authority of Lister,? I include in this Group the pair of hooks in pl. XLV. They are obviously of great age, and have formed part of the British Museum Collection for many years. No. 1 is cut from bone, whilst its companion is of pearl shell. Their crude form and workmanship mark them as belonging to a very early date, and they are quite distinet from the graceful forms of later days, as shown in the following plates. The snoods and lashings are in keeping with the hooks, being out of all proportion to the requirements, and it is worthy of note that the lashings of the left-hand specimen have been luted with some kind of black gum. They are shown approximately at their actual size. Lister illustrates a single hook almost identical in form, obtained on Fakaafo in 1889. The use of pearl shell hooks would appear to have been much restricted, and I have only been able to find the one example shown in fig. 15. It measures By 1s. 1 in. (4-4 cm.) in length, and has a well-defined lug to facilitate the attachment Collection. 0f the snood; the tapering part above is slightly notched, whilst the barb is a singularly ineffective one. The close resemblance of this hook to some from the Caroline Group is noticeable, and were the authority for my doing so not a good one I should hesitate to include it here. Hooks or CocoNuT SHELL. Since we have already seen that a great many of Nature's products have been called upon to furnish material for fish hooks, it is not surprising that the much-utilized coconut has also been found to produce a most serviceable hook at the cost of very little labour, and for this reason it is indeed remarkable that the Union Group alone affords examples made 1 Headley, The Atoll of Funafuti, Australian Museum, Sydney, 1896. ® Lister, Journal Ry. Anthro. Inst., August, 1891. ERE Union Group. i } Prate XLV. ) } { British Museum : Fakaafo, Bowditch Island. Prarte XLVI Edge Partington Collection : Tokelau Union Group. Prarr XLVII. Prate XLVIIIL British Museum : Fakaafo, Bowniteh Island. Prate XLVIIa. British Museum : Tokelau, Prare XLIX. Author’s Collection. Oldman Collection : Tokelau, Er POLYNESIA 33 from this substance. Mr Edge Partington has kindly supplied the fine series of these hooks in the following (pl. XLVL.), and it would be a difficult matter nowadays to duplicate such a series. The second from the end (No. 4.) is probably unique, since a piece of bone has been used instead of the coconut shell. It is certainly not whalebone, nor do I think it is human bone, and I should hesitate to state definitely the animal which provided it. The point of the barb of this specimen is rather more accentuated than the others, and all, I think, are influenced by the barbs of the palu hooks. The principal features of all the hooks of this class are alike; a strong lug projecting from the back affords a firm hold for the snood, which may either be plain or looped. The material is sennit, somewhat roughly twisted. The smallest measures 1% in. (4-8 cm.), the largest 28 in. (6-7 cm.), while the bone hook (No. 4) 1s 2;% in. (5:6 ecm.) in length. A further series of these hooks is shown in pl. XLVIL, Nos. 1 and 2, taken from the British Museum Collection. The top pair differs somewhat from the others in having greater width of material, while the method of attaching the snood is well shown. Since these were obtained on Fakaafo, it may be that the broad type is peculiar to that island; further, the white tappa laid on under the snood lashing is, as far as I know, not general to the majority of these hooks, nor are the snoods themselves of sennit, but of a soft white substance, possibly hibiscus, such as is in regular use in the Ellice Group. These specimens are shown but slightly reduced in size. The third illus- tration (pl. XLVIL., No. 2) is of the type seen in the preceding plate, and shows the single line snood of sennit. Hooks ror Boxiro. Although I myself am not cognizant of any spinning hooks, yet Lister! describes the type to some length, and, failing other information, I cannot do better than quote his remarks: ““ The smaller hooks are more delicately fashioned and are of a widely spread pattern. The shank is made of a piece of pearl shell, and in other cases of a piece of gastropod shell, and the barb of turtle shell or bone is fastened to it; white feathers are attached to the two ends of the shank, and in some cases they are so fixed that the two front ones resemble the two lateral fins, and the end one the forked tail of the fish.” Coppinger,? in the relation of the Alert’s voyage in 1878-1882, speaks of securing such a hook on Oatafu (Atafu), and shows a woodcut which, however, is hardly suitable for reproduction, but, generally speaking, the form resembles the Ellice. This author noticed during his short visit that the local article was preferred to the European hook, which the natives affirm is not taken by the fish. WoopeEx Hooks ror Pavru. Pl. XLVIIL.—The Union Group is one of those where, to judge by the number of hooks found, the capture of this fish is very general. The design and principal outlines are the same as those from other localities, and the sole distinction whereby one may determine its origin is that it is customary to attach the barb by a scarf joint on the outside of the shank. The workmanship is rougher than that of the Ellice, particularly in regard to the line and lashings, which are covered with small projecting fibres. The snood tapers, and from what we know of other hooks of this type it may be presumed that it was mounted on a paternoster. 1 Lister, Journal Ry. Anthro. Inst., August, 1891. 2 Coppinger, Cruise of H.M.S. *“ Alert,” pp. 157-8, 1899, 4th edition. a a - Cn —— i ee — ——— - i —— i —— 34 FISH HOOKS The greatest length is 912 in. (23-4 cm.), and I am indebted to Mr Oldman for permission to show this specimen. PL. XLIX. shows a somewhat remarkable variation of the ordinary form as seen in the preceding plate. Apart from the size of these hooks, which is only 43 in. (12 em.), the most noteworthy point is the barbs, which are of coconut shell. For this reason I include them here, although, it must be admitted, with some doubt. The use of the coconut shell seems restricted to this locality, and it is hardly likely that these represent an original invention emanating from any of the other Groups under review. Another feature worthy of attention is the depression on the top of the barbs, and fortunately the left-hand specimen illustrates its use, which is to afford a hold for an additional lashing of sennit. The hooks themselves are less artificially shaped than is usual, but very little work beyond the primary shaping has been expended on them; both are obviously cut from natural forks selected from a close- grained wood. Snoods and lashings are of twisted sennit, and the former are secured to the shanks by bold projections cut from the original thickness. PUKAPUKA DANGER ISLAND PL. XLIX.a.—The specimens in this plate were collected by the well-known missionary, Wyatt Gill, whose letter, dated 1877, has fortunately been preserved, and it is from this source that the following particulars are drawn. They are used for catching albacore, and the fibre from which the lines are made bears the name * Urtica argentea,” being a plant indigenous to the Island. No. 1 is merely a variation of the well-known spinner, and in type it more closely resembles the Samoan-Tongan model than the Tahitian. The shank is of well-finished pearl shell, and the barb of turtle shell is attached by lashings passing through two holes. The snood is continued down the inner side of the shank, and passes through the upper barb hole. The hackle is peculiar, consisting as it does of nine or more short lengths of twisted fibre, each ending in a knot. Another distinction is that between the shank and the barb lashings small pieces of midrib of the palm are inserted as tighteners, as is customary in the Ellice Group. The length of this hook is 8} in. (8:8 em.). Nos. 2 and 8 show examples widely divergent in form, and it is a matter of surprise that two such different types should occur in such a confined area, particularly as the total population only numbers 875.) Both are cut from the solid pearl shell. The workmanship and finish are excellent, and the skill required to fashion the elaborate inner barbs would be consider- able. The method of whipping the snood to the shank is very similar to that employed in the Hawaiian and Tahitian Groups; the snoods, however, are not looped. No. 2 measures 22 in. (6-1 em.); No. 8, 1} in. (8-8 em.) in length. A fine series of these is shown in the following pl. XLIX.b, which is of interest in accentuating the peculiarity of their width, which is decidedly more than their length. The material is that of the golden lip pearl shell, and the substance varies considerably, some being of unusual thinness. No. 4, fortunately, has the bait string preserved. They are approximately 2 in. (5-1 em.) square. ! Brigham, Index to the Islands of the Pacific, p. 133. Pukapuka, Danger Island. Paumotu Group. PraTe XLIXA. Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford. 1 oy FRA Prate XLIXE. Corporation Museum, Brighton. seme Ame rrr am -———— ee — ———— i ———— a —— — Tei Part 1. Niiie, Savage Island. Prares L., LI. I, I'l, Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford ; 111, IV, Author's Collection ; V, British Museum. SERRE ESSE ES 44 biz {ig 1 4 dat £4 yg 115 4 PR re Sofi fake AE PRAT ule ey rane = POLYNESIA 35 NIUE SAVAGE ISLAND HOOK NAMES. Marav?! .. ‘ on . a .+ Hook. Pa? ‘ i .s " . .. Bonito hook. Aro! oe “ os ve oe .. A line. Paar? “ie “e .e ve a «+ Bait. Kum, Karr, Kagr-Kaxkr! “e ol .. Fishing rod. Avro-TAxrUA! vie .u he ‘a .. To spin for bonito. Hr! ” e ve “ . .. To catch fish. For! . Neo o. . .. To draw up a hooked fish. Fou? du .- Te .e .e .. Yellow hibiscus of which lines are made. WoopeNn Hooks ror Paru. It has never been my good fortune to meet with any small hooks from this Island; that such may have existed in the past is probable, and doubtless an enquiry on the spot would throw much light on this point. Hooks of wood somewhat above the medium size are fairly common, and judged by their very new appearance are, I fear, little else but articles of trade. However, since these show a very specialized type, it may be accepted that, if not actually in use, they are faithful copies of the old hooks. From their size and shape one may correctly surmise that they were used for palu, and whilst their form seldom varies, yet these Niiiean hooks retain several distinguishing points not observed else- where. The theory already quoted that they act more as gorges than actual hooks is borne out by the strongly pointed ends of the shanks. Fig. 16 shows the probable method of mounting. Pls. L. and LI give examples of these hooks attached to their booms, and it will be noticed at once that the type is identical with that in use in the Ellice Group. The wood is pale in colour, and the hooks were evidently fashioned from natural forks. The barb encroaches to such an extent that its use as a gorge is the only possible explanation. The snoods and lashings are of twisted fibre, which resembles somewhat hibiscus; generally, however, they are badly attached. The Rev. James Cullen, L.M.S., the resident missionary, informed me that these hooks are now only made as curiosities, having long given place to the imported metal ones. No. 5, 1 Churchill, Easter Island, Carnegie Institute, Washington, 1912. Smith, Journal Polynesian Society, vol. xi., No. 42. Fic. 16. Emer SE m= - - — - - a cn A i a i 36 FISH HOOKS which is in the National Collection, is but slightly reduced in size from the original. No. 2 measures 8} in. (8 cm.), having a boom of 9 in. (22-8 em.); No. 8 measures 8% in. (8:9 om.), whilst the rod is 8 in. (20-8 cm.) in length. The same plate gives a pair of hooks, which must be almost unique. No. 2 evidently belongs to the Palu class, though it is larger than any I have met with, being 8} in. (21 em.) in length, while the boom measures 213 in. (546 ecm.). This boom, if such is its use, has been carefully bound round with soft bast, secured by cross lashings; that this is intended as a guard against the fishes’ teeth is obvious, and I think that in this instance its use as the boom on a paternoster tackle was probably discarded. The elongated point at the base of the hook has probably been cut off at some time, since as it now stands it would hardly act as a gorge, which may possibly show that it was constructed for another sort of fishing, perhaps shark. This supposition is strengthened by the presence of a loop at the end of the boom, and an old label attached states that the cords and lashings are made from the bark of the Thesperia populina. No. 1 is the sole example I have met from this Island of a hook cut from the solid ; it 1s made from a natural bend, and is from the same species as the others. It is devoid of any barb; the snood is of the same twisted fibre, whipped to the shank with fine line, the length being 4} in. (10-8 ecm.). Both the above are in the Oxford Museum. COOK AND HERVEY GROUPS HOOK NAMES. Maravu! oe . — # .. A hook. Tavra ExaZ.. - i oe or .. Fishing line. Considering how well this group has been known to Europeans for a great many years, it is surprising that so few examples of their hooks have been preserved. Of the large wooden hooks I am able to illustrate a trio of fine specimens, but of the smaller hooks formerly used scarcely any exist today either in Museums or private hands. The Group has so long been a centre of missionary influence that one would have expected that reference would have been made in some of the numerous missionary publications, but such is not the case, except in the single instance quoted here, which speaks of small hooks formed of the thorns of the screw pine (Pandanus odoratissimus), called by the natives Ara, and used to catch shrimps. One naturally looks for some form of the familiar bonito hook, but if such existed their identity has become confused with the great number of others of a somewhat similar shape which is so commonly found in Collections. Wyatt Gill speaks of a native making a serviceable hook, by the aid of a fragment of sharp red quartz, out of the Ariri shell (Turbo petholatus) taken from the reef. Probably this was a simple hook and not a spinner for bonito. Again, he tells us* that about 1810 hooks were made from coconut shell, laboriously rubbed down with coral files. If such was correct, I must with- draw my previous statement—that the use of this material was confined to the Union Group. Pl. LIL gives a good idea of one of the larger wooden hooks used for a shark, or perhaps 1 F. W. Christian. * Contributed by E. L. Gruning. * Wyatt Gill, Jottings from the Pacific, p. 184, London, 1885. * Wyatt Gill, Savage Life in Polynesia, p- 212, Wellington, N.Z., 1880. BARRE Part I. % ARE Prare LII. From a photo by W. Oldman. Cook Group. i — — EAE a , — a a. a ——— oi - en Cook Group. Prate LITI British Museum. a — TLE wwe mes a oe — | | | | | - PrarTe LIA. Edge Partington Collection SERVICE i Raratonga, Cook Group. POLYNESIA 37 palu. This is obviously an old specimen having seen much use, and shows well how the teeth of the fish have scored its surface. It measures about 12 in. (80-5 em.), and it is probable that a small piece is missing from the point of the barb. Of the nature of the wood I am unable to say, but it is dark brown in colour. The line is attached to the hook direct, without the intervening snood, and is of sufficient thickness to stand a great strain; it has, moreover, been whipped the whole length with fine twisted cord, and opportunity has been taken to produce some of the characteristic and beautiful over-and-under binding at the junction of the line and the shank, similar to the work found on the heads of the ceremonial adzes. This fine cord is made from the prepared bark of oranga (Urtica argentea).! The British Museum possesses an even finer, if somewhat smaller, example illustrated in the next plate (LIIL). It resembles in every way that already described, and in addition has the interest of possessing the original sinker of close-grained, grey calcareous stone, some $ in. (7:6 em.) in diameter, being attached to the line by a loop which passes round the projecting lug. The length of the hook is 9 in. (228 em.). Bligh? on calling at Aitutaki in the Hervey Group, noted “ some fish hooks made of turtle shell.” PL. LIIL.a reproduces four i excellent examples of hooks cut from solid pearl shell. Two types are shown: Nos. 1-4 of E very thick material, No. 1 having a well-defined barb. They measure approximately 1% in. + (3-8 em.) long, and 1} in. (32 em.) wide. Nos. 2 and 8 are cut from a somewhat different coloured shell of much thinner substance; the shape is materially different. The snoods are all exactly alike, being made of well-twisted pandanus fibre, and only one shows any tendency to taper. They are attached to the shanks by means of well-defined lugs cut from the back. In every case the attachment is further bound over with fine twisted fibre of b i neat workmanship. The approximate lengths of Nos. 2 and 8 are 1% in. (4-8 cm.) long, and to 1 in. (3-5 em.) wide. Since the foregoing was written I have secured the following information from Mr E. L. Gruning, who resided during several years at Manu in the Hervey Group. He tells me that, although formerly numerous, fish had become scarce, and their = capture did not greatly occupy the attention of the natives, and that the most common FE method was torch fishing by night with a spear. Shark, it appears, are scarce, only some 3 four or five being taken at this island in a year. Palu, it would seem, are unknown, but E bonito are fished for with a pearl shell spinner resembling that of the Ellice Group. His i experience with these hooks was that, although a killing bait, they required very delicate 6 handling, otherwise the pearl shell barbs broke. In his day no large wooden hooks were used, and he only secured a single specimen, which is illustrated in the following plate 3 (LIILb). It had been thrown out of a house in the village of Tupapa on Raratonga with a lot of rubbish, and was discovered by his tame monkey. It is obviously an old piece, somewhat roughly made from hard wood, and measures 61 in. (16 cm.) in length. Mr Gruning es a a —— Te Ta Re TRA CR - Ec also said that practically nothing is made today, even fappa having died out in his | recollection, and that the making of fishing lines had faded away in face of the imported E twisted cotton lines from Tahiti; formerly, it appears that all line was plaited. The same also applies to the manufacture of fish hooks which nowadays are entirely of foreign manu- y facture. His experience as a collector brings home strongly the difficulties of correctly locating any specimens that are obtainable today in almost any part of the Eastern Pacific. i ! Wyatt Gill, Savage Life in Polynesia, p. 9, Wellington, N.Z., 1880. Prave LITT. i * Ida Lee, Captain Bligh’s Second Voyage, p. 134, London, 1920. Author's Collection. 38 FISH HOOKS From the captain of a visiting schooner he obtained a pair of Marquesan ear ornaments, whilst from the Queen of the Island, as a special mark of favour, a stone axe from South-East New Guinea; this last is accounted for by the fact that a number of natives in the last century, converts to Christianity, went to New Guinea and also other Groups as missionaries. The Queen, however, was quite satisfied that the axe was a local product. Mr Gruning’s } collection also included a Fiji necklace, a Solomon spinner hook, as well as several from the Ellice Group; also shell axes from the Western Pacific. The Cook Group has, of course, not only supplied native missionaries to many parts, but is also a port of call for many vessels, so that the mixture of material is hardly to be wondered at. It brings home, however, somewhat vividly the changes that have taken place, and strengthens my appeal in the Preface that every scrap of knowledge we have should be preserved. SOCIETY GROUP TAHITI HOOK NAMES. MaTual .e .e “e . ia .+ Hook. Ano! .. .a ue ““ .e .e .« Line. He .. " oe .e . . .. To angle. This Group offers an almost bewildering number of hook forms, and is also remarkable for the variety of materials employed to produce them. Old and authentic specimens are fortunately fairly common in our Museums, although but rarely encountered elsewhere. Tahiti was one of the earliest and best-known places of refreshment for the early voyagers, and in consequence a better account of native conditions has been preserved of this than of any other Group in the Pacific. Most of the voyagers remark on the hooks used by the natives, and nearly all testify to their excellence. Bougainville? says: “It is amazing with how much art their fishing iackle is contrived. Their hooks are made of mother-of-pearl as neatly wrought as if they were made by the help of our tools.” Captain Wilson, of the Duff, who had considerable intercourse with the natives, also speaks highly of their appliances, and says: *“ The ingenuity of all their work, considering the tools they possess, is marvellous. Their fishing implements display great skill. It is astonishing how they can, with such ease and quickness, drill holes in a pearl shell with a shark’s tooth, and so fine as not to admit the point of a common pin.” In spite, however, of the excellency of the native-made articles, European hooks of metal were much in demand, for in the account of Boenechea’s visit to Tahiti in December, 1772, he mentions this demand, and tells how one Chief, even at this early date, had obtained from some unknown source a large iron nail, with which he had fashioned an unbarbed hook. He was overjoyed, the narrative says, to receive four large nails as a gift, upon which he set a great value, Captain Wilson also found that metal hooks were greatly valued, but mentions that the 1 F. W. Christian. ? Churchill, Easter Island, Carnegie Institute, Washington, 1912. * Bougainville, Voyage, p. 258, London, 1772. * Voyage of the *“ Duff,” p. 340, London, 1799. ® Corney, Tahiti, Hakluyt Society, London, 1912. ata Ty I uBsRac, SERVICE EE a we ww —— a —— - cg ss - Prare LIV. Peabody Museum, Salem, Mass, Prate LVI. ‘tion. Fuller Collec Prate LV. British Museum. Tahiti. Prate LVIa. Fuller Collection POLYNESIA 39 native-made article was more effective for bonito—a statement which still holds good to this day. The lines produced in the early days also attracted the notice of contemporary writers. Wilson also remarks that * lines are formed from the bark of a shrub called réeva (romaha), which seldom grows larger than hemp, and which closely resembles it. They twist the filaments on their thigh with their hands and wind the thread into balls, some of two, some of three threads, but they seldom make their lines of more than two even for dolphin (bonito), the three threads being liable to kink and get foul when of considerable length, and as they always play this fish, are more apt to snap.” Cook, in his first voyage, notices the lines and says they were made from the bark of a kind of nettle called erowa.! Taking the simplest form of hook first, we find in pl. LIV. a pair of obviously ancient type from the Collection in the Peabody Museum, Salem, Mass., U.S.A., where they have lain since 1821, in which year they were presented to that Institute. Both are cut from the dark outer part of meleagris, the black pearl oyster shell. The method of attaching the snood is peculiar, and is essentially Tahitian; the largely protruding lug on No. 2 is also a feature not usually found elsewhere, and occurs sometimes on the wooden hooks (cf. pl. LXIV.). No. 1 measures 2} in. (6-3 cm.) in length; No. 2, 8} in. (8-3 em.). PL LV. shows another of these shell hooks of great age and unusual size—viz., 4 in. (10-2 em.), which is the largest I have met. It is among the many fine hooks brought home by Vancouver, and must therefore have been obtained about 1790. It is now with numerous other rare things from the same source housed in the National Collection. It has obtained a high polish from constant use, and fortunately enough of the snood remains to show how it was attached, and also the method of utilizing the curiously formed lug. Speaking of the remarkable polish on this specimen, I am put in mind of the remarks of an observant Frenchman:2 * Hamecons de nacre, poli a la peau de chien de mer par les naturels; ils s’en serve en le fixant au bout d'une corde.” I am tempted to include yet another (pl. LVI.) of these hooks, taken this time from Mr Fuller's fine series, since two illustrate a feature lacking in the other. This refers to the elongated and pointed end of the shank, a relic, I think, of the days when simple gorges, consisting of a double-pointed stick were in use; at any rate, it would greatly add to the hook’s utility in the event of its being completely swallowed by the fish. The short length of line attached to the left-hand specimen is probably not original. The largest of these hooks measures 3% in. (7-8 em.) by 1% in. (4-1 cm.), the smallest 2% in. (5:7 em.) by 1} in. (3-8 em.). The close resemblance of these specimens in general outline to certain of those from the Carolines is worthy of note; the use of the black pearl shell, apart from one locality in the Carolines, is peculiar to the Tahitian Group, nor do I think it is found in other localities—at least, not in the manufacture of hooks. This shell is also common in the Mediterranean, and was much prized by the ancients. It belongs to the genus Lamellibranchiate, and is one of the pearl shells of commerce, though easily distinguished from other pearl-bearing shells by its metallic ring? The ordinary white pearl shell is more extensively used, and supplies material for a great variety of hook forms. The workmanship is nearly always good, and occasionally hooks exceeding 5 inches in length are met with. Banks’ Journal* of Cook’s First Voyage, 1769-1771 gives a description of the method of their manufacture which may be worthy ! Cook’s First Voyage, 1770, vol. ii. ? Caillot, Les Polynésiens Orientaux, p. 12, Paris, 1909. 3 Chambers’s Encyclopedia. 4 Hooker, Journal of Sir Joseph Banks, p- 156, London, 1896. NEE ETE TH RE Se Se CR — 40 FISH HOOKS of notice: “ The shell is first cut by the edge of another shell into square pieces: these are shaped with files of coral. A hole is then bored in the middle by a drill (which is simply any stone that may chance to have a sharp corner in it), tied to the handle of a cane. This is turned in the hand like a chocolate mill, until the hole is made; the file then comes into the hole and completes the hook. The manner of making them is very simple, and every fisherman makes them for himself.” The centre hook in pl. LVLa is the most ancient that I have seen, and belongs with its two companions to the Fuller Collection. It is also of historical interest, since it belonged to the veteran missionary Williams. It measures 4% in. (12-85 em.) in length, and is one of the finest in existence, being unusually massive. There are two lugs at the back of the shank for fixing the snood. The other pair are typical of this class; their measurements are 3% in. (9-5 em.) by 2} in. (56 em.). A delicately wrought hook of very unusual form is given in fig. 17. It is cut from a white pearl shell of exceptional brilliance, and the workmanship is remarkably fine. The continuation of the lug into a spike is unique. In a sense it forms a complete hook in itself, though I would not like to say that as such it was separately baited. It is interesting to note that this specimen has been in the Peabody Museum, Salem, Mass., since 1802. The length is 2 in. (5-1 cm.). Pl. LVIL gives what is probably one of the largest of these pearl shell hooks in existence. It is now in the British Museum, and was, I believe, formerly in the Collection of the London Missionary Society. The hook itself measures 5% by 4} in. (13-6 by 10-3 c¢m.), whilst the hank of finely plaited sennit line stands 18 in. (46-6 cm.) high, and must be many yards in length. PL. LVIIL offers several varieties of these same hooks, all cut from a single piece of shell. No. 1 is the largest that has come to my notice, measuring 6 by 33 in. (152 by 8-5 cm.). For its length it is a decidedly narrow specimen. The snood is of plaited sennit loosely and roughly fashioned. No. 2 shows a very rounded Ty form, cut from thick shell, and is well made. The snood is looped BL ein] y (an uncommon occurrence with these hooks), 2} by 1% in. (6-3 by 4-4 cm.). Nos. 3and 4 belong to the same class as that deseribed in pl. LX. A curious form of hook is illustrated in the next plate (LIX). The body is of pearl shell, the lashings are continued down almost the entire length of the shank, and in the case of A strips of pandanus fibre have been laid on the shank under the binding. Mr Fuller possesses a somewhat similar specimen, wherein the fibre is replaced by two thin strips of wood; possibly this serves to strengthen the shank, which is weakened by the several deep notches cut in the back. The snood, it will be noticed, is looped, and is made of finely plaited sennit. The length over all is 19} in. (49-7 em.), of which the snood is 8 in. (20-3 em.). I am indebted to Mr Charles Heape for this photograph. B is a much rougher specimen, and is in the British Museum Collection. The attachment of the snood by numerous broad notches is very noticeable, whilst the padding of pandanus fibre is absent. The snood is unevenly constructed, and as a specimen of hook Prare LVI. Prate LVI Pirate LIX. Tahiti. Author's Collection, Heap Collection, Sit British Museum. EER ERE EER ER Re We Re —— ——— a —————— i — a r= em — — —— ——— TEE MR WWM Wm CR Wow CW TE EEE ELE. Prare LX. 2 D 3 = © < PraTe LXI. Heape Collection. POLYNESIA manufacture compares badly with its companions. It is, however, of considerable age. The length is 8% in. (9-10 em.). Fig. 18 is a curious contrivance, the hook being of pearl shell cut from the solid. It was brought from Tahiti by Vancouver, who visited these Islands in 1792. The majority of the objects brought back by him are now in the British Museum, and judging by the large number of hooks contained in the Collection, Vancouver must have been more than ordinarily interested in them. The hook in this instance is cut from black pearl shell, and embodies the peculiarities common to those from Tahiti. The distance between the hook and the shell (which may possibly be that of a crab) is short, about 2} in. (6:3 em.), and from the complete appearance that it has I do not think it was ever other- wise than shown in the figure. I am of opinion that the hollow shell served as a spinning bait, and that the fish on seizing it became caught by the hook below. It may, on the other hand, have served as a means of taking squid, which, attracted by the shell, would enclose it with its tentacles and so become entangled; the difference between this shell and the usual tiger cowries is certainly great. Parkinson,! however, illustrates a squid bait of the ordinary type, having what appears to be a bonito hook hanging below, which I am inclined to think is an error. The lashings of the specimen in the figure are of twisted fibre, and the whole is shown at half its natural size. There is a reference to this contrivance by the Earl of Pembroke? which throws some light on its purpose, and shows that it was used for reef fishing. He says: “They saw off the convex side of a large spotted cowry, fasten a hook to one end and a line to the other. They then fill the shell with a large lump of roasted bread fruit and bait with a smaller lamp” (fig. 19). I am somewhat in doubt as to the correct localization of this small hook. Mr 4 Fuller, to whom it belongs, and whose opinion I value, tells me that he has good reasons for assign- 4 i ing it to this Group, since both outline and snood have a strong Tahitian resemblance. The material is turtle shell; nor have I previously met with its use before in these Islands for making hooks. The snood is carefully plaited, and it may well come from this locality. The length is 1} in. (3-8 em.), width 1} in. (3-2 cm.). ds We now come to an object of great interest and rarity (pl. LX.) Fie. 19. Fuller That it is not a chance invention of some intelligent individual is Colleetion. shown by the somewhat similar specimen in the following plate, now in the possession of Mr Charles Heape, which would seem to show that these stores were possessed ! Parkinson’s Journal, London, 1773, pl. LXXV. Fic. 18. British Museum. ? South Sea Bubbles, p. 130, 1872. 41 TEE we eR — - Ec a —— i ———— ———— i —_——_— ————— me u SERVICE Tahiti. 42 FISH HOOKS by many fishermen. The one shown in pl. LX. contains thirty-nine hooks of various sizes, all of which are in perfect order and provided with snoods several feet long. Such a store would be necessary to the professional, and would no doubt be carried Ia in the canoe. In no other instance do I know of a similar pad being in use, although UE in the Caroline and Gilbert Groups small plaited satchels are commonly made for | the same purpose. The pad itself is fashioned of several layers of pandanus fibre, folded and sewn in parallel rows with the same material as the snood lines. The points of the hooks are passed under the stitches, which are left somewhat loose for the purpose. The dimensions are—length, 72 in. (19-7 cm.); width, 8% in. (9-2 cm.); thickness, § in. (-9 em.). |& The hooks are all cut from a single piece of pearl shell, either of the black or white variety, and, unlike the general run of Tahitian hooks, the majority are round in section instead of flat. In most cases the bait strings are intact, and it will be noticed that whilst some are i placed just below the barb points, others are near the base. The snoods are of twisted : fibre several feet long and without loops, and in every instance the fastening of the snood is whipped with fine thread. The example in Mr Charles Heape’s Collection (pl. LXL), owing to the removal of the majority of the hooks, gives an excellent view of the pad, and shows how the cross stitches are placed, whilst the hooks are illustrated below. The measurements of the pad are 7 by 8} in. (17-8 by 8:9 cm.). Composite hooks only supply three types, of which the two following plates (LXIIL. and LXIII.) afford, I think, the oldest examples. The British Museum contains perhaps a score, of which some were brought home by Vancouver, and in every case the record of the place of origin is lost. I had previously assigned them to the Tahitian Group, and I was doubly pleased to receive from Mr L. W. Jenkins, Curator of the Peabody Museum, Salem, Mass., U.S.A., the photograph reproduced in pl. LXIII., of two similar hooks, of which the locality has been preserved; their acquisition dates back to 1821 and 1867 respectively. The shanks of all these hooks are round lengths of hard red wood, of which the longest measures 11} in. (28-5 em.), while the shortest in pl. LXII. is only 42 in. (12 em.). The barbs are of bone, probably from some fish, and are neatly attached to the base of the shanks with fine lashings, which have been covered with black gum. The snoods are of twisted fibre, having looped ends, whilst the whipping at the junction of the shank is carried at least half the length of the snood. The pair in pl. LXIII. seems to be of rougher construction, while the smaller of the two is devoid of any secondary barb. It measures 2.% in. (5-6 cm.), and the larger is 5 in. (12:6 cm.) in length. PLATE LXV, British Museum. NEARER EE HE Se Ree wae Prare LXIII ly Museum, Salem, Mass, Peabod) ————— f———— i —— ee WoopeN Hooks. Hooks of this material attain considerable size, and the fish caught must have been very large indeed if these are any real indication. That they were used for shark is probable, but I hold to the belief that they were designed more for the capture of that mysterious fish, the palu (Ruvetus pretiosus), of whose characteristics so little is known. It was, until lately, the custom to label all hooks of large size ““ shark hooks,” and this is correct in the case of New Zealand, where it is known that the Maoris caught and dried large quantities for food; such, however, is not the case in the Islands nearer the Equator, and it has been positively shown by several writers' that it was not the shark but the palu for whose capture certain of the well-known wooden hooks were made. Whatever their 1 Mrs David, Funafuti ; Louis Becke, Wild Life ; Headley, Atoll of Funafuti. Pratre LXITI. British Museum. SERVICE Tahiti. POLYNESIA 43 particular utility, the Tahitians produced many beautiful examples. Some remarks by Ellis,* written about 1825, describe how such hooks are made, and are doubtless derived from observations on the spot. ‘ The hooks made of wood were curious; some were exceedingly small, not more than two or three inches in length, but remarkably strong; others were large. The wooden hooks were never barbed but simply pointed, usually curved in at the point, but sometimes standing out very wide, occasionally armed at the point with a piece of bone. The best were hooks ingeniously made with the small roots of the aito tree (casuarina or iron wood). In selecting a root for this purpose they chose one partially exposed and growing by the side of a bank, preferring such as were free from knots and other excrescences. The root was twisted into the shape they wished the future hook to assume and allowed to grow till it had reached a size large enough to allow the outside or soft parts being removed, and a sufficiency remaining to make the hook. Some hooks thus prepared are not much thicker than a quill, and perhaps three or four inches in length. Those used in taking sharks are formidable-looking weapons. I have seen some a foot or fifteen inches long, exclusive of the curvatures, and not less than an inch in diameter. They are such frightful things that no fish less voracious than a shark would approach i them.” In some the marks of the sharks’ teeth are numerous and deep, and indicate the 1 effect with which they have been used. Pl. LXIV. offers an excellent illustration of one of * these hooks of fine workmanship and graceful form. It is mainly remarkable for the shortness of the snood. The lashings are of evenly plaited sennit. The square-cut lug below the snood is typical of Tahitian hooks, although in this particular instance it is of unusual size. Its length measures 17 in. (43-4 em.) over all. PL LXV. gives another example, less pleasing in form, and lacking the finish of the previous one. The wood is light brown in colour, and the body is obviously formed from a natural bend, whilst the barb is spliced to the side and is therefore in the same plane as the shank. The snood is looped and carried on a short length of many strands of sennit, each whipped with plaited strips of the same material, so that the result is quite stiff. The length over all is 261 in. (67-4 cm.), the length of hook 15 in. (88-2 em.), and the greatest width 9} in. (24-1 em.). rn id Hd i i a al Lu i§ AEE EE A ew — Hooks ror Boxiro. a —— i ne : Captain Cook’s reputation as a keen observer is amply illustrated in his description of | these hooks, the type of which persists in practically all the Island Groups influenced by the Polynesian migrations. He says:® *“ Of fish hooks they have two sorts, admirably adapted in their construction, as well as the purpose they are to answer, as to the materials of which they are made. One of these which they call witeewitee is used for towing. The shank is made of mother-of-pearl, the most glossy that can be got; the inside, which is naturally the brightest, is put behind. To these hooks a tuft of white dog's or hog’s hair is fixed as somewhat to resemble the tail of a fish. These implements therefore are both hook and bait, and are used with a rod of bamboo.” Ellis, in 1819, remarks that the natives preferred these to the imported variety. PL LXVI. shows a series of the smaller class of these hooks, embodying various minor varieties. The shanks in all cases are of the same heavy form, having an unusual thickness below the snood hole, whilst the substance is invariably white pearl shell. Ordinarily the barbs are of bone, drilled with a hole, and having a lug and notch 1 Ellis, Polynesian Researches. 2 Cook’s First Voyage, 1773. Prate LXIV. Peabody Museum, Salem, Mass. 44 FISH HOOKS for attaching the lower lashing. Two examples show a secondary barb on the inner side, but in these cases the material is pearl shell, though occasionally the barb is fashioned from that of the turtle. In more modern times the native barb gives way to a length of copper or iron wire, and instead of a hackle of flax or hair a frayed out piece of linen is used. The shape of the barb is important in determining the source of these hooks from that of the many varieties emanating from the other Groups. The Tahitian type is distinguished by the shape of the outer edge of the barb, being in most instances more perpendicular than that of hooks from other sources. The cords and lashings used are well-twisted flax (romaha), although more modern examples are of Kuropean cord. The length of the snood is considerable, and is continued down the inner side of the shank and attached direct to the barb. The largest measures 43 in. (11-7 em.), while the smallest hook is only 2% in. (7-8 em.). PL. LXVIL. illustrates somewhat similar hooks, but of much larger size. They are also used for bonito (pirara) and possibly albacore. Although following the old forms, they are of comparatively modern make, No. 2 having a machine-made cotton line; in both cases the hackle is of horsehair, and the tops of the shanks are decidedly pointed, doubtless an improvement on old models, since this alteration allows the shank to act as a gorge. The barbs are of bone, and are well made. No. 1 measures 5% in. (148 em.); No. 2 is 5% in. (13 cm.). PAUMOTU GROUP (LOW ARCHIPELAGO) ISLAND OF MANGAREVA HOOK NAMES. Marav! .. - i ‘“ we be .+ A hook. TAKARA? vir oo rt ‘ .. Bait string. Hr or Hrreo? .. ot ve .“ .“ .. To angle. Amo? .. “ “e aes rk .. Fishing line. RAVEIKA® “ “es ae rr “it .. Fisherman. Kave: ., “ “a vo oo ‘or .. A very small hook. The natives of this much-scattered and little-known Group, if judged by their hooks, would be more akin to the people further to the eastward than the Tahitians whom they otherwise resemble, although their workmanship is much more primitive. The population of the Group, owing to the barrenness of the Islands, was always small, which possibly accounts for the limited number of hooks that I have been able to trace. Captain Beechey, of H.M.S. Blossom, speaks of hooks of pearl shell in use at Hau, or Bow Island, and Lady Brassey,? visiting the same Islands in 1876, writes: *“ Fish hooks nearly three inches long, made of mother-of-pearl, the natural curve of the shell from which they are cut being well preserved. A piece of bone was securely fastened by the means of some pigs’ (possibly human) hair. It would seem, therefore, that these were used for bonito.” 1 F. W. Christian. 2 Churchill, Easter Island, Carnegie Institute, 1912. 3 Brassey, A Voyage in the * Sunbeam,” p. 216, 1878. HE FRET eee Te aig SERVICE Part 1. PraTe LXVI. Fuller Collection Tahiti. Pra Author's LXVII. Collection, ECE TERETE Ww ee — ———————— TT ee SERVICE Part I. Opara, Rapa Iti. Eastern Pacific. POLYNESIA 45 Saark Hooks. Tt is not recorded that palu are caught in this Group, so, lacking further evidence, and on the strength of the attached label in pl. LXVIIL (now under review), I propose dealing with these large specimens on the supposition that they were used for shark. This hook (pl. LXVIIL) bears a strong resemblance to those from the Gilbert Group, though the method of construction is neater, and the whole more highly finished. Unfortunately, I have no information as to the nature of the snood and lashings. Pl LXIX. shows a much Pravs better finished example, obviously made from a natural bend. The snood differs from the LXXI. preceding plate in that it is looped. Fakahina and Napuka are both outlying Islands in the western portion of the Group. A further series, showing considerable variation, is shown in the next plate (LXX.), which was collected by Captain Beechey, of H.M.S. Blossom, in 1826, from Vairatea, or Egmont Island. They are all cut from natural forks, which may possibly be roots and not branches—a practice common in Tahiti—the wood itself being of a pale colour. In all three cases the excellence of the lashings is remarkable, both in the even quality of the plaiting and the method of attachment. No. 1 differs from the others in having the barb of the same wood as the shank. Those of Nos. 2 and 3 are of pearl shell; in each case the snoods and lashings appear to be of sennit, the ends being finished with loops. No. 1 measures 10 in. (25-9 cm.); Nos. 2 and 3, 6 in. (15-3 em.) and 6} in. (16-5 cm.) respectively. Hooks oF SHELL. . tenn Authentic specimens cut from pearl or other shell would appear to be almost non- existent in our Museums, but fortunately the British Museum contains several diminutive examples, the locality of which is reasonably certain. Two are in the Cummings Collection, and one in that of Vancouver, of whom it is recorded that he discovered the Island of Opara on December 22, 1791, and although prevented from landing, he had intercourse with the natives, and it is mentioned that he obtained fishing tackle from them in exchange for iron. He also remarked that they closely resembled the Tahitians. All these hooks, as will be seen by pls. LXXI. and LXXIL, are attached to wooden spreaders, and it is worth noticing that the Frenchman, Lesson' (whose observations are not always correct), pictures a somewhat similar contrivance as being used in conjunction with pearl shell hooks, but gives the locality as Tahiti. The former plate, unfortunately, illustrates only one hook, which is a composite one, very well made of dark shell attached to a rather heavy shank; in form it rightly belongs to the class used for spinning, and therefore may possibly have been attached to the trimmer casually. The next plate (LXXIL) is, fortunately, more complete, and the shell hooks are no doubt original. Here is the Vancouver specimen already referred to: the actual hooks are almost microscopic, and the length of the wooden trimmer is 12 in. (30-6 em.), the carved banister work on the rods being reminiscent of Tahitian fly-whisk handles and certain combs from New Hebrides. The lines, however, are of split cane, which is not generally in use in the Pacific. The short snoods in both cases are of twisted fibre. The use of spreaders is almost unknown in these parts, which is remarkable considering the highly specialized hooks generally produced, the only other instances with which I have met being from New Zealand—one of twisted cord in the Canterbury Museum; the other, which s from Waitaro and has a wooden bar attached, is in the Wanganui Museum.? 1 Lesson, Voyage de la *“ Coguille,” p. 388, Paris, 1838. 2 Edge Partington’s Album, p. 195, Series 3. ERE RE wwe ewe ———————— a —————— "a a ——— British Museum. { l § Prare LXXIL i PHOTO SERVICE [astern Pacific. 46 FISH HOOKS Pl. LXXIII. illustrates four hooks of unique construction from the Island of Opara or Rapa. This remote spot will probably one day yield many interesting relics of the past, since it is reported that stone terraces exist and crude monuments are still standing. The hooks in question are of wood, and as far as can be ascertained are cut in one piece. The barb points are either of bone or shell, those on the right being the former, while those on the left are of the latter material. In size the largest measures 8} by 2% in. (8:5 by 6 em.), the smallest is 2:2 by 12 in. (5-5 by 4-4 cm.), the most noteworthy point being that the entire body of the hook is closely bound with strips of string-like bark laid on flat, and Dr Brigham?! remarks that the natives know how to manufacture tappa, which these lashings strongly resemble in a crude state. The use of tappa strips for lashing is also found at Easter Island, and Churchill? records a legend that the original Colonists of this region came from Rapa. The barbs of these hooks are further secured by strips of thin wood running up each side, wherein they resemble in some degree the Tahitian specimens to which I 1 referred in the description of pl. LIX. The snoods are coarsely made of some brown t vegetable fibre, and it is probable that these highly specialized hooks were evolved for the capture of a particular fish, and that the bindings act as a guard against the fishes’ teeth, the labour of replacing these being less than is required to produce a new hook. PraTE LXX. Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford : Vairaatea, Egmoni Island, Paumotu Group. | MARQUESAN GROUP This Group, for a long time, was totally unrepresented in my collection of notes, in spite of diligent search in all the available Museums, and it is only through the courtesy of Mr L. W. Jennings, of the Salem Museum, Mass., U.S.A., that I am able to reproduce three representative plates. In spite of the Group being a well-known centre for whalers of all nations in early days, and having received the attention of a fair number of writers, yet any remarks on the subject in question are few and far between, the best account being by 1 Brigham, Index to the Islands of the Pacific, p. 135. 2 Churchill, Easter Island, p. 2. 3 Christian. 4 Churchill, Easter Island, Carnegie Institute, Washington, 1912. 5 Sidney H. Ray i | : t | {| HOOK NAMES, ETC. gi MgeTAU? MATAU? va ia .. Hook. 0 : PoxAE, ArP0ood.. oe a ‘o .. A stone sinker. i 4 Bvt oe a a 0 .. To bite at a hook. 1 BAY ou a Cas ae seid ee Nyiinellive, § 45 Hi, Ixamm®t .. . er -r .. To angle. i EL Aval, AvAIKa? ny A “e .. A fisherman. ; t h AvEr® .. . ‘a .e - .. The end of the line to which the hook is attached. i Kaver .. . .e “ oe .. A lashing. hi ; Taroal .. “ oie " or .. To bait for fish. i 2 ; | 5 = FISH NAMES. 3 I] / Iza .. . . a .. A fish. 5 § PaHUAS. . vie ar oe oie .. A black fish. A 4 2 MAO-OTEMAOG® . . .’e - “ .. A flying fish. = B Plates LXXI, LXXII, overleaf, Part 1. Prate LXXIV, Peabody Museum, Salem, Mass. . Prate LXXV Marquesas Group. Peabody Museum, Salem, Mass POLYNESIA 47 Vincendon-Dumoulin,! whom I quote. It will be noted that this traveller remarks on the scarcity of all hooks and the preference for other methods of taking fish: “ Les instruments de péche se composent de lignes de péche en tresses de cocos, garnis d'un hamegon en nacre de perle. Cet hamecon est ovale, sa pointe est trés grossiére et elle varie de grosseur selon le poisson auquel il est destiné; on en voit de grands comme la main pour les requins, et de tout petit; quelquefois la substance de ces instruments imparfaits est retirée d'un os humains, ils sont alors plus pointus, leur forme n’est plus ovale, elle est anguleuse, mais ces derniers sont rares et en général ils paraissent peu usites, les naturels préférent I'emploir d'un moyen de péche plus sir.” Von Langsdorff? also states that *“ much more pains is bestowed upon fishing nets than upon hooks for angling; the latter are simple and made out of the shell of the mother-of-pearl mussel.” Again, Krusenstern® says of the Marquesas: ““ A hook made very neatly of mother- of-pearl. The fishing line as well as all the string they use, either in the fitting out of their canoes or for other purposes, is made of the bark of the fau (hibiscus) tree, but they made another kind of string, very smooth and strong, of the fibres of the coconut. Fishing is, however, an occupation despised by those who possess a piece of land of any extent, and only the poor class of people, who maintain themselves in this manner, give themselves up to it.” These quotations will show that the use of nets was more common than that of hooks and lines, and further, that these last, when used, were of a very simple kind. What has happened to the hooks “ the size of a man’s hand ”’ I am unable to say; it is evident that they have almost disappeared, for I am only able to describe a single example. Of the smaller variety of simple hooks a good series is given in pl. LXXIV., wherein two variations of type will be noticed, one cut from white pearl shell, bearing a distinct resemblance to the Tahitian, but lacking its graceful curves and ill fitted for retaining the fish when caught, the Nos. 4, 8, and 9 having a square-cut shank closely approaching that of the composite hooks, and is possibly a reversion of type, since although the hook appears to be cut from the solid, yet in spite of this, small lashings are provided at the base of the barb. The absence of any remnants of bait strings, and the fact that with No. 9 the outer dark crust of shell has been cut away to show its iridescence, would lead one to imagine that they were not baited. The snoods and lashings are all twisted, and vary according to the size of the hook; the method of attachment is inferior, and it would seem that the art of angling was neglected. The early date at which the majority of these specimens came to the Salem Museum is interesting, and precludes all theories of foreign influence, Nos. 1, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 having been acquired in 1802, while the remainder date from 1821. No. 1 (the smallest) measures 1 in. (2:6 em.); the largest (No. 7) is 1}§ in. (5 em.) in length. Vincendon-Dumoulin’s previous remarks concerning hooks ‘ as large as a hand” may possibly have referred to that illustrated in pl. LXXV., which is nearly 4} in. (11-5 ecm.) long. This photograph was also kindly supplied by Mr L. W. Jennings of the Salem Museum. The hook is cut from bone, probably derived from the whale, since nothing else exists in the Group capable of producing a bone of sufficient width. The type must be unique in the Pacific, and to me savours more of Caroline influence than Polynesian. Like the preceding plate, it has been at Salem over 100 years, having been presented in 1824 by Captain Benjamin Vanderford, who was afterwards pilot and interpreter to the Wilkes Expedition (¢f. vol. ii, p. 417). 1 Les Isles Marquises, p. 285, Paris, 1843. 2 Voyages and Travels, p. 172, London, 1813. 3 Krusenstern, Voyage, 2 vols., 4to. ECE a a EN ei I ———_ —— i — ee 48 FISH HOOKS Hooks ror Bonito. Pl. LXXVL illustrates a series of the familiar bonito hooks, examples of which, with slight variations, are found all over the Pacific. The type would seem to be purely Poly- nesian, and where found in a non-Polynesian area may be attributed to foreign influence introduced by stray canoes blown off their own shores. It is remarkable how closely specimens from various distant parts of the Pacific follow the same form, particularly in regard to the snood, which is invariably carried down the inner side of the shank and attached directly to the barb. This, I think, points to the time when the shank was formerly a lure, and, owing to the innate conservativeness of the native mind, that idea, but slightly modified, has persisted to the present time. The Marquesan type is more akin to the Tahitian, but differs in having two holes in the barb instead of one with a notch below; further, the hole at the top of the shank is placed at the extreme end instead of a short distance down the concave side. The material of the barbs in each case is bone, probably human, since the Marquesans used this extensively for many articles. The hackles are of pig’s bristles.) The snoods and lashings are all of twisted fibre, probably from the hibiscus, since Lisiansky® noted that they were made from the bark of the fow (fau) and resemble those from Tahiti. The smallest (No. 1) measures 8 in. (7-6 cm.); the largest (No. 4) is 87% in. (8-7 em.). Like other examples of Marquesan hooks now in Salem Museum, the dates of their acquisition have been preserved, and thus fix the true native type unaffected by outside influence. Nos. 1, 3, and 4 date back to 1817; No. 2, 1802. HAWAIIAN GROUP HOOK NAMES. Kaa3 ui ou a .e . . A snood, also a lashing.® Amo® .. no .. i ae hed .. A line. Maxavu Ea® .. oe va a .e .. A turtle shell hook. Makau Pavraoad i oh a .. A whale’s tooth hook. Magau Paprava® .s oe oe “a .. A shell hook. Pa-Hi-Axvud .. aa ve i .e .. A bonito hook. Makau Mano.? Manit ‘e i “ .. A shark hook. PavLu? . .e os .e oa .. A bait. KmoLo? ve ie .e .s ‘eo .. A large wooden shark hook. Maxgav-Iwi® .. ‘x . is ol .. A large bone hook for shark. LuoLu® .. .e -t .o on a .. A small bone hook for shark. Kab .e a . —e .s .. To make a fish hook. Kixo-Kiko® .. a .e oe ‘is .. To nibble at a bait. Lawar® ‘eo vs oi . vs .. To angle. MaTar® ‘. . os .e i .. To bait a hook. Hooks from this Group are extremely varied in form and material, and are particularly noteworthy in view of the excellence of their finish. The old-time Hawaiian workman was 1 Dewar, Voyage of the Nyanza, p. 171, 1892, also records the use of these bristles. 2 Voyage in 1803-6, p. 92, London, 1814. 3 Dr Brigham, Bishop Museum, Honolulu. ¢ Mana also means a branch or limb of a tree, a hook would be obtained from such. Cf. Maori Manga, a branch or fork. Also same is found in Samoan, Marquesan, Mangarevan, and Sulu (Malay), Tregar, Journal Polynesian Society, June, 1902. 5 Churchill, Easter Island, Carnegie Institute, Washington, 1912. PHOTO SERVICE Part 1. Prarte LXXVI. Peabody Musevin, Salem, Mass, Marquesas Group. a a - i Ne EOIERTAE Se Ry PHOTO SERVICE POLYNESIA 49 decidedly skilful, considering the tools at his disposal, and the household utensils that have come to us remain as a memorial of his cleverness and patience. Captain Cook, on his last voyage,' noted the ingenuity and skill displayed, and further says that on trial they proved more effective than the European hooks carried by him. Hawaiian hooks, fortunately, are well represented in our various Museums, particularly in those of long standing, which is no doubt due to the fact that the Group was one of the principal ports of call for European whalers in the early days. Fish was one of the chief foods, and as practically all the inhabitants used to live along the coast, every man was engaged in this occupation, even the Royal family, the Kamehamehas, being noted for their skill. I am indebted to my friend, the late Dr Brigham, for many of the following plates, and cannot do better than quote his remarks on the subject of Hawaiian hooks, which cover the whole ground:* The Hawaiians lived largely on fish, and were very skilful. At present the Japanese have taken the place of the natives in all important fisheries. Hooks were made from tortoise shell, ivory, shell, and bone before the introduction of metal. With the nails obtained from early visitors the Hawaiians made hooks similar in shape to their earlier hooks, many of which were also without barbs. The hooks were filed with bits of lava, and the finish is often of the most perfect kind. To each hook, when ready, is attached a cord called kaa, bound permanently to the shank, and usually whipped with a thread of olani. This, which may be from a few inches to a yard in length, is tied to the aho or long line when used. The space between the point and the shank determines the kind of fish to which the hook is presented, and in many hooks this space is so limited that it is apt to surprise a stranger | that the fish should squeeze their lips into it. It is true that the old fishermen caught more 1 with these peculiar hooks than they could with the more dangerous-looking hooks of the § | foreigner. Of the makauea or tortoise shell hooks in this collection, the number is so : considerable that they seem the most popular. They varied in size, as they were used for ’ } different fish, and they sometimes had a barb inside, sometimes outside, or in both positions. ! | The makau paloa, made from the teeth of the cachalot, was of similar shape of circular i ' section, and remarkably well finished. The makau papaua were filed from shell, and were i’ h nearly finished before they were detached from the shell which served as a convenient handle. 4 % These were sometimes very small. Another form of shell or shell and bone or tortoise shell ‘ i i is the pa-hi-aku or hook for the fish aku. There is a shank of pearl shell to which is attached, 1 | by fibres passing through drilled holes, a barb or point of bone, often human. The bone / hooks were either of one piece (often of large size) or of two pieces ingeniously spliced with sinews or perhaps olana fibre. It was considered lucky to fish with-a hook of human bone, and the bones of enemies were often used. Shark hooks (makau mano) were often made of wood and pointed with bone, and were always baited with human flesh.” i “ Of the fibres used for snoods and lashings, the olana was most popular. The shrub | i which yields it grows from 4 to 8 feet high, it is highly prized by the natives, and fishing nets { : i made from it are preferred to those of any foreign manufacture.® The following are the | principal shrubs yielding fibres in the Hawaiian Group:* 1 Cook's Third Voyage, pp. 96, 150, 4to, London, 1784. 2 Brigham, Handbook, p. 99, Bishop Museum, Honolulu, 1903. 3 Papers, p. 51, vol. ii., No. 1, Bishop Museum, Honolulu. 4 Brigham, Letter dated 6.2.1914. 50 FISH HOOKS “ Olana (Touchardia latifolia) is used for lines, nets, ete. “ Waoke (Broussonetia papyrifera) is not used when other fibres are obtainable, since it becomes soft in water. “ Hau oa (Paritieum tiliaceum) is a soft brown fibre very generally used for lashings. “ Mathison,! who visited the Group in 1828, found that both bone and pearl shell hooks were in general use and highly valued. Governor Boki, who is frequently referred to by the early writers, valued them at a dollar each; it is probable, however, that the then partly civilized natives rated foreign currency considerably above its face value.” Hooks oF BoNE. Bone, both human and whale, was much in request, and the former was particularly valued because of the supposed mana or influence derived from the spirit of the deceased. This would be more specially beneficial if he had been a famous fisherman during his lifetime. The legend of Maui using his grandparent’s jaw-bone exemplifies this, and it is a story which is found wherever Polynesian influence prevails. The remarkable hook in pl. LXXVIIL was brought home during the third voyage of Captain Cook;* doubtless he had it by him when he wrote his log, for he particularly remarks on its elegant shape and finish. This specimen is made from a single piece of whalebone. The workmanship and polish are remarkable, and it must have represented a very high value amongst the natives. The barbs are boldly contrived, and it is one which most nearly approaches the European model. It measures the unusual length of 8} in. (21-6 ¢m.), and is 4} in. (10-7 cm.) at its widest point. The snood is of olan, finely whipped with twisted line of the same material. This hook was probably used for shark, and, as was customary, would be baited with human flesh. Shark fishing was formerly a favourite sport with the Chiefs, a special tray of wood being carried in the canoes to contain the human bait. No. 1 in pl. LXXVIIL is an excellent example of the smaller variety. That this type has attracted the forger of native antiquities will perhaps show how scarce they now are; several very passable copies will be found in the section devoted to the work of these gentry. It is curious that these hooks find a parallel in those from Easter Island and from nowhere else. They are made from two pieces of close-grained human bone, and the method of joining them together is ingenious: the lower side of both pieces are rubbed to an even surface, a deep notch is cut on the outer sides, and a strong lashing binds them securely together. The length is 23 in. (7 ecm.). No. 2 is of a size that would be conveniently cut from a leg bone, and in consequence is slightly arched in section; it is a very ancient specimen, and has become brown with age. The double inner barb is noteworthy, and as a type it is extremely rare. One other example is in the Bishop Museum, Honolulu, and has yet another barb projecting from the shank, somewhat after the style of the composite hook in the following figure. Mr Fuller is the fortunate owner of these interesting examples. The length is only 2 in. (5 em.), width £ in. (1-9 em.). Fig. 20is included by reason of the fact that it carries an additional barb on the inner side of the shank, which is most unusual, but finds a companion in that in the Honolulu Museum mentioned above. This hook is in the British Museum, and is taken from Mr Edge Partington’s Album.® It measures 4} in. 1 Mathison Narrative, p. 423, 8vo, London, 1825. 2 Cook's Third Voyage, p. 239, 4to, London, 1794. 3 Album of the Pacific, Series 2, pl. XXXVT., No. 5. BE Mei PHOTO SERVICE Part 1. Prate LXXVIILL Fuller Collection. Hawaiian Group. PiaTe LXXVIL British Museum —— —— A ——— BE = a i wa us - mans gees. wm w L > [a w n Was sg wmnasn YsuLg XXXT @1vid NINNXT 9Lvig .e Hawaiian Group. Part I. BE a re =. t——__ RE —" a a RE A - mwas gees 6 Y PHOTO SERVICE c ES oC I rm / se 8 3 s « an best Bishop Museum. Honolulu, B. P. BISHOP MUSEUM. . SERVICE Hawaiian Group. ada B. P.BISHOP MUSEUM. oo... I | \ | i fl : { i | i i y ‘ ¢ d i ! 4 # Prare LXXXIL Bishop Museum, Honolulu ene” SERVICE Hawaiian Group. POLYNESIA 51 (10-8 em.). A further series of these hooks showing various details appears in pl. LXXIX.; all are of great age, and differ not only in the length and shape of the shank, but most par- ticularly in the variety and form of the additional barbs. This illustration is also useful in indicating the use of wooden wedges driven between the lower bindings; this is not invariably the case in regard to Hawaiian hooks, although it is the exception with those from — Faster Island. The British Museum contains several examples wa) cag} of the extremely rare form in pl. LXXX. One or more, — Lz including the smallest one, are in the Vancouver Collection, - u = § and were therefore obtained about 1792. As previously shown, 5 5: this type is usually found in bone, but in this instance the m-— ~ i shank is of wood and the barb of pearl shell. The general — E = = method of manufacture is the same as that in the foregoing rT =~ 2 plate. The wooden wedges used as tighteners for the barb a = lashings are particularly well shown, and the general workman- - ship is excellent. The length in each case is about 2} in. — 8. (5-7 em.). a) In pl. LXXXI. we have a fine series of bone examples in one as. piece from the Honolulu Museum. Dr Brigham, who sent me the i 1 plate, says that all the hooks are of whalebone, and that they is 1 i + : formed part of the outfit belonging to the Kamehameha family Fw. 20. British Muserm 1 il i (who were noted fishermen). Most of them vary in some small detail; the difference in sizes b | and shapes, and particularly the space between the barb and the shank, determined the kind of fish which each was designed to catch. These hooks are all cut from the solid and are finely : finished, the tools used in grinding them being merely convenient pieces of lava of different { degrees of fineness. The majority are provided with snoods (kaa), which are rather roughly : whipped with fine cord of twisted olana fibre. Bait strings are conspicuous by their absence, and it would seem that the Hawaiians preferred a lug as a means of attaching the snood in lieu of drilling a hole, for I do not recall a single instance of one occurring in a Hawaiian i = a hook. The Fuller Collection possesses a specimen of this type cut from a well-chosen piece 4 = Lo : of white pearl shell, but such is by no means common. Another material for hooks, which ' = a 2 was extensively used by the early Hawaiians, was turtle shell, of which some remarkably fine ’ 2 i Lu : examples are given in the next plate (LXXXII.). They are invariably beautifully finished, — 5 Si and, unlike those from some Groups where the natives have discovered that the shell can be r = N Is #2 shaped by being heated, are cut from the solid. I am again indebted to Dr Brigham for c.S 1p % E the accompanying plate. These illustrated are known as makau ea (ea=turtle shell). Hooks | 3 ‘QS & e 5 of this description are but seldom encountered in this country, although our older Museums ~ z — tn =z £ have a representative series. In the Hawaiian Group they must have been plentiful, since 0 am z today they are the commonest that ean be found, although, of course, they have long been [x ata superseded by metal hooks, of which various forms are shown in pls. LXXXIII. and da LXXXIYV., which are made from scraps of iron or copper, obtained from passing ships, and Lea as far as was possible followed the old forms. By PHOTO SERVICE Hawaiian Group. FISH HOOKS SARK Hooks (“ Makau Mawo”). Shark fishing, beside being an important source of food supply, was looked upon as a sport by the native nobility, and even the Kamehamehas frequently indulged in this favourite pastime. On these festive occasions human flesh was invariably used as bait, whilst highly decomposed portions served as ground bait, special wooden trays being used, from which the liquid matter was allowed to drop in the sea. Hooks made for the use of ; the Chiefs are remarkable for their fine workmanship and high polish. The Hawaiians, at l the time of their first intercourse with Europeans, had reached a high standard of living, far more so, in fact, than most Polynesian people, and this state of society was amply reflected amongst the nobles by their use of elaborately wrought articles of domestic utility. The fine hook in pl. LXXXYV. exemplifies the state of perfection reached by the native craftsmen, for it would be difficult to match the graceful form and neatness of finish anywhere in the Pacific, which is especially brought out by comparison with those shown in the next plate. This particular specimen was brought back by Vancouver, and is deposited in the British Museum. From the light and dark yellow veins in the wood, it would seem to be made from the kou tree (Cordia subcordata) so frequently used for making the early umelke poi. The barb is of whale tooth ivory, cleverly mortised into the shank, while a small lug has been contrived at the base of the barb to afford additional hold for the lashings. The ho snood is also a fine piece of work of closely plaited olana fibre reminiscent of the neck cords sometimes found on Maori tiki: in lieu of the usual whipping of thin line, a minute mesh- work covers the end of the shank and effectually hides the attachment of the snood. It 4 would seem, too, that such was customary in the case of these large hooks, since the four 4 big hooks in the following plate are similarly treated. The snood ends in the usual loop, whilst the lashings of the barb are overlaid with black resin; the length is 102 in. (27-8 em.). Pl. LXXXVIL. shows several variations of the previous hook, a particularly notable point being that in comparison they are much rougher in finish, and probably for this reason belonged to less exalted owners; the wooden one on the right has a human bone barb tip, thereby conferring mana (i.e., the prestige of the deceased) to the hook itself. That on the left, from its angular shape, would prove that these hooks are derived from natural root bends, possibly trained to the desired shape by artificial means. The remaining two are of whalebone and are well made, although showing great inferiority to the Cook example described and illustrated in pl. LXXVIL It will be noticed that they have similar snoods to the wooden variety, but differ greatly from this fine bone example in method of attachment. ea Eee Prare LXXXYV British Museum See WR Honolulu, crn B P BISHOP MUSEUM Hooks ror Bonito. (Pa-mi-agu.) Mu Prare LXXXVIL Pl. LXXXVIL—Like most Polynesians, the Hawaiian interested himself in the capture of the bonito (aku), and a specialized type of hook was in vogue, differing in but few details from that in general use. Writers on the origin and migration of the Polynesian Race have drawn conclusions from various data, but none that I have met noticed the similarity of bonito spinning hooks. Under various forms they occur also in Micronesia, whilst an improved pattern is common in the Solomons. If the generally accepted theory that the Polynesians entered the Pacific by the North-West holds good, the presence of these hooks is explained, and a further strengthening of this theory established, whilst their use in the i Bishi a. eh — w—— C—O ——— ————— - . “ ee ee Ga Hawaiian Group. LXXXVIIL Philadelphia ; oth Prats University Museum Peabody Museum, Salem, Mass LL IL PHOTO SERVICE AEE Seas Rasy SERVICE POLYNESIA 53 Solomons might be attributed to chance canoes blown out of their course, such as must have occurred in the peopling of Ontong Java and Rennell Island. Reviewing the Hawaiian form, it would seem that the shank is always of pearl shell, while the peculiarity of the barb lies in the long incurving point; the material is almost always human bone, very blunt at the end. One hole only serves for the lashings, and no wedges are used, as in the Ellice Group. A few pig bristles are bound in at right angles (which in more modern hooks are replaced by horsehair). The line (ako) is twisted oland fibre, fastened direct to the hook without the intermediate snood, which, when new, is quite white and resembles the cotton tackle of European make; the line, as is usual with this class of hook, passes down the inner side of the pearl shank and through the hole in the barb. No. 8,711 is peculiar in having a shell barb, being the only one with which I am acquainted. No. 1 was acquired by the Peabody Museum, Salem, Mass., U.S.A., in 1800, and measures 213 in. (7-2 em.). Nos. 2 and 8 are reproduced at almost their actual size. EASTER ISLAND (RAPA NUD HOOK NAMES. Marav, Rou! .. on he ie ++ Hook. Pal . a .e i .e .. Bonito hook. MvuGar-Km? .. oe .e .e .. Hook of stone. Kaxar! oie 3 To a .. A hook that is good for certain fish. Tal .e ie oe ve .e .. To make a hook. Trro, ARARAU! .e oe .. To bite at a hook. Hi, Ravaal, RAVAIRA! os .t .. To angle. Ixamr Ta-Ial.. er .e he .. To fish with a line. Kavz! .. ‘a “i .e .e .. Snood. Erno, Gomav! “ .n he ++ Line, Maar! .r .t .e ie .. Bait string, also a fine lashing. TaroA?! “ “is “ ‘r .. To prepare a bait. Mvugar-Irr® .. ae “ .e .. Bone hook. This singular Island, which has produced so many objects entirely unlike anything from any other part of the world, has, as will be shown, created at least one type of hook peculiar to itself, namely that of the stone hooks in one piece, for no parallel exists excepting among the Maoris, who have produced certain stone examples (hei-matau), used exclusively for ornaments, but which are probably a survival from an earlier date, when their use as objects of utility was well understood, and I still think it likely that where suitable material was at hand researches may yet bring to light specimens cut from stone in quite a number of the Pacific Islands. It is only of recent date that stone objects of unusual form, particularly what appear to be pounders, have been dug up on the Yodda Gold Fields in British New Guinea, showing that some previous culture existed here entirely different from that of the tribes now living in the district. A similar state of affairs may, therefore, be presumed to have existed in some, at least, of the Pacific Groups, whilst it is a recognized fact that when 1 Churchill, Easter Island, Carnegie Institute, Washington, 1912. ? Sidney H. Ray. 3 Thompson, Te-Pito-T'e-Henua, Smithsonian Institute, Washington, 1891. EE a aa TERE aaa A TL TI UMP — To — — ———_—— 54 FISH HOOKS the first Maori invaders landed in New Zealand about 1350 they found a dark-skinned, negroid people, having coarse wavy hair, the type of which has persisted to the present day. Examples of any kind of Easter Island hooks are naturally of considerable rarity, and during a period of not less than twenty years I have not met with a single specimen for sale. Mr Young of Auckland has, as far as I know, the only representative series of these hooks, and I am indebted to him for permission to reproduce pl. LXXXVIIL, illustrating a unique collection of these large stone examples. The upper row are reminiscent of certain Tahitian hooks cut from shell, whilst among the lower referred to in Part IV. are several which closely conform to some of the Maori neck ornaments. My information on these hooks is unfortu- nately meagre, but I understand that they were obtained from the Easter Islanders who were brought down to Tahiti by Messrs Brander for plantation work about 1860. A smaller, though not less interesting, series is in Mr Fuller's Collection, and includes one unique specimen, which, being of doubtful utility, is included among the ceremonial objects at the end of this volume. Pl LXXXIX., although in no instance affording a complete example, yet illustrates a series of excelient specimens of the hook maker's art. No. 1 is the snood end of the shank of what must have been a large hook, the material being a closely grained brown stone of soft texture; the lug for attaching the snood is boldly carved and well finished; length 1} in. (3-2 em.). Nos. 2 and 3.—These two fragments together go far to show what the original hook was like; the work in both cases is very fine and the material is basalt. No.2 is 13 in. (4-1 em.) in length, No. 3 being 1% in. (4-4 cm.). No. 4 represents a bone barb from the composite hooks described on a later page; it is interesting in showing the shape of the joint, which otherwise would be covered with binding. Length 1% in. (44 em.). Pl. XC.—The subjects in this illustration, apart from its great rarity, is of par- ticular interest in that it offers a series illustrating the method of construction formerly in vogue in a small locality, famous for its unique working in stone, so unlike anything else in the Pacific. One’s interest naturally centres on the top left-hand specimen. The unusual finish arouses in one’s mind the question as to if it was ever intended for a practical hook, and rather if it is not related to the Hei Matau of the old-time Maori (¢f. pls. CLXIL, CLXIIIL., CLXIV., CLXV., and CLXVL.). It appears curious, had this piece been intended for a practical hook, that so much work has been expended on the outside edge. Whether it represents a practical or a symbolical object, we have here an example of a wonderful piece of stone workmanship. The remaining five pieces show fragments of either finished hooks, or those in process of roughing out. The top right-hand specimen has broken across after drilling, but had it survived the working it would have been a fine example of unusual size. The drilling of the hole (a work of no small magnitude) must have been done with a drill bit having a diameter of at least three centimetres, a size which is remarkable in the Pacific, and only equalled by the stone-working people of the South American Continent. The lower left-hand piece is interesting, not so much for the example of drilling, but rather that it demonstrates that the material occurs naturally in strata of a convenient thickness, so that the labour of reducing an unwieldy mass to a workable size is obviated. It would seem, therefore, that the worker choosing a piece of convenient substance, close-grained and free from flaws, first reduced the rough slab to a reasonable size, following which the drill was used to produce the hole, after which the barb was rubbed out, resulting in the wonderful specimen shown in the following plate (XCIL.). That on the left is perhaps the highest i i 1 : LIBRARY PHOTO SERVICE Part 1. Prate LXXXIX. Fuller Collection. Prate XC. Fuller Collection, Prate LXXXVIII. Young Collection. Rapa Nui Easter Island. Easter Island. i | | it r Hi 0 bh] LE BE HE i EY id POLYNESIA 55 pinnacle of the stone worker’s art to be found in any part of the world; it is of the most perfect symmetry and finish, and must represent many weeks of patient work. The barb is as perfect as the day it was made, whilst the recess for the snood, topped by a slightly projecting ridge, is perhaps a survival of the earliest form of gorge, still found on certain hooks of pinna shell from Tahiti. The centre example is all that remains of a once large hook; it is nicely worked, but lacks the fine bold outline of the preceding. The large specimen on the right, whilst following the fine curve of the older types, is interesting in that it was produced to order and fabricated by the aid of a steel file. The lack of finish is obvious, particularly in regard to the shank and the recess for the snood attachment. It is remarkable, however, to find that even today the old form survives among a few natives, and although their use is long out of date, there still lingers a natural inborn aptitude for stone-working craft. PL. XCII. offers an unusually good series of one-piece hooks worked from human bone. They were found together in a burial cave, and all bear witness of considerable age. The occurrence of this small type is decidedly unusual from this locality, whilst several show a stronger affinity to Tahitian forms than elsewhere. The smallest one in the top row has been made in the same method as the stone ones—viz., by first drilling a hole in a flat piece of bone, and then shaping the outer edge to the required form; the nicely rounded edges show much care, and the result has been the production of a delightful little specimen that stands out far above its companions, which have been simply rubbed out with a rasp, whereby they have lost much of their fine outline. The only remaining snood is, of course, a late addition, although it appears to have been attached in a workmanlike way. Pl. XCIII. shows three of the better-known composite hooks belonging to the same find as those in pl. LXXXILa. When found they were in pieces, and they have been reconstructed by the natives, who in these days spend much time in searching for remains of their forefathers in order to meet the strong demand for these relics. The hackles borne by two of them are of horsehair, and in one example this has been put on upside down—on the principle that anything is good enough for the whites. The snoods are very fairly made, and are no doubt based on old patterns. The larger specimen on the right differs somewhat from the usual method of joining the base of the barb to the shank. The last example, with the long snood, is the survival of some sailing vessel, since it is made from a copper bolt; much care has been expended upon it, and it faithfully follows the lines of the old-time stone hooks. The snood is decidedly old, and has seen much wear; I doubt, however, if it is of native make. A comparison of this with the large metal hooks from New Zealand (pl. XXXII.) is interesting in showing the adaptability of the native mind. PL XCIV. is taken from Paymaster Thompson's account of the Island,’ which, until the narrative of the Routledge Expedition appeared, remained not only the most complete, but the most accessible to students. The writer gives the name of the large stone hooks (No. 8) as mugai-kihi, which is not found in Churchill's vocabulary.? Kiki, however, is given as meaning a pebble or stone, so it may be taken as partially correct. Thompson says further that these stone hooks were rare, being made of the hardest rock obtainable, and worn into shape by patient grinding. Linton Palmer,® who visited the Island in 1868 in 1 Thompson, Te-Pito-Te-Henua, Smithsonian Institute, 1891. 2 Churchill, Easter Island, Carnegie Institute, Washington, 1912. 3 Palmer, Journal Royal Geo. Soc., vol. xl., 1870. A ——— EA A ST LIBRARY PHOTO SERVICE Whi Rapa Nui, Easter Island. 56 FISH HOOKS H.M.S. Topaz and published several accounts, also mentions stone hooks, and obtained the correct name, rau. They were not then in actual use, and were difficult to obtain; those ] he secured measured three inches across the “ head.” The example No. 8 is, as far as my knowledge serves, the finest in existence today, for, on account of the labour necessary to fashion this type of hook, it could never have been in general use. The form is excellent, bi and in practice must have been a most serviceable instrument. No. 1 is a good example, cut from bone (in this case human) in one piece; unfortunately I have no measurements, but of necessity it cannot be large. Thompson gives the native name for both single and composite hooks as mugai-iri, and adds that, at the time of his visit in 1886, they were preferred to those of European make. The stone hooks and the single example of No. 1, cut from the solid, find a parallel in certain Tahitian forms, whereas in the case of No. 2 XCIlV. PLATE By permission of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, U.S.A TT Fie. 21. British Museum. Musée National, St Germain, France. ER ——_ the similarity with a well-recognized Hawaiian type may be noted. The material, as is customary with all these hooks, is human bone, being in accordance with ancient superstition, and it was generally the late owner's thigh-bone that yielded the most prized medium. This particular example is of superior workmanship, and differs greatly from the ancient specimen f in the British Museum (fig. 214). In this case, although the material is similar, the shank has been roughly squared; unfortunately, the groove for fixing the snood (knave) is broken off. The lashings represent practically the sole example of the old-time native cloth made I on Rapa. It was recorded that such was manufactured, but none other has survived, although Mr Fuller, on whose Collection I have already so extensively drawn, possesses a pair of sheets made by an old woman some twenty years ago. Finally, in pl. XCV., I am fortunate in being able to show a complete hook and line of this type, and although collected XV. Hi 5 Collectic PLATE Author LUBRARY PHOTO SERVICE 57 POLYNESIA many years ago by Rear-Admiral Lowther, it must be a much later specimen than either of the two already described; the material is human bone, and the execution far in advance of that of the example already mentioned as being in the British Museum. The snood is of evenly twisted fibre from the hibiscus, a plant which grows freely on the slopes of the volcanoes,! reaching a height of 2} metres, and called by the natives borahue.” Of the nature of the lashings at the base of the hook I am unable to definitely say; they would appear to be strips of the outer bark of some plant, being almost like cane in texture, and of a deep brown colour. The greatest length is 2% in. (6-2 cm.), the width 1}# in. (46 cm.). Since the above was written, I am fortunate in being able to show yet another of this same type, the photograph of which was kindly sent me by M. Hubert of the Musée St Germain, Seine et Oise, which now houses the old Musée de la Marine, formerly on view at the Louvre. Unhappily, I lack the measurements, but it represents the best all-round specimen that I have met so far, and although not so ancient as that in the British Museum, yet antedates that in pl. XCV. 1 Linton Palmer, Journal Royal Geo. Soc., vol. xl., 1870. 2 Journal Franklin Institute, September, 1906. A. T———~ —— LIBRARY PHOTO SERVICE PART II PAPUA AND MELANESIA Part II. Uvea, Loyalty Group. LOYALTY GROUP HOOK NAMES. IsLAND oF Liru. GE! a ‘e .e .s ve ie .. Hook. Eu? oe “ “i ve oh ri .. Line. Hiego-Drawa! .. ie .y s “ih .. To bait for a fish. EoTE! -e oi . ve oe oe .. A shark. TeLE-TELE! ‘ ih a “ .* .. A young shark, Maja? .. .e veo ve ‘ie a .. Bait. IsLaxD oF UvEa. Waar, WHAGE? .. . . “i oe ++ Hook. ISLAND OF MARE. WANACHACHA! .. ‘e “ ua oe .. Hook. Hooks from this Group are rare, and when found offer but little interest. Turtle and 3 pearl shell would seem to have been the material commonly used, particularly the former, | i 1 and their chief peculiarity is the almost flat base line connecting barb and shank. So many if xOvE 3 of the native population have emigrated, and, as they willingly engage on ships, it is probable ly a on, 3 that the old methods have almost died out. The (é Tucopia. : largest specimen in pl. XCVI. represents a type now ‘ iH New Hebrides. obsolete; the smaller ones accompanying it are of i a 1 later construction, and generally show poor workman- | ( 3 ship. The difference in size adapts them for taking : | ii 3 various kinds of fish, and, with the exception of that in jt fh E the lower right-hand corner, are all cut from the solid; ( i n i this example alone has been shaped by heating and {i { i N bending. The snoods are made of well-twisted sennit, which appears to have been smoked, possibly from hanging in the houses. In addition to being knotted to the shanks, they are further bound round with fine twisted line of the same material. These hooks vary from 1§ in. (4-2 em.) wide and 1} in. (3-8 em.) Be 1 long to 1% in. (2 cm.) each way. I am indebted to Fie. 22. British Museum. Mr Edge Partington for this plate. Fig. 22 is from the British Museum Collection; I include it, since it establishes the slot at the end of the shank as being an integral part of the hook, so contrived as to give additional hold to the snood lashings. Locality: Uvea, or Wallis Island. It is reproduced actual size. Mrs Hadfield, a resident for over thirty years, in her recently published account 1 Contributed by Sidney H. Ray. * Hadfield, Natives of the Loyalty Group, London, 1920, i h ] 5 oe a ] PraTe XCVII University Museum. Dunedin, N.Z. 62 FISH HOOKS of the Group,’ gives a plate of thirteen hooks collected by herself, which closely resemble the foregoing. The forked end of the shank is shown, whilst of the thirteen two are cut from white pearl shell. The authoress says that their manufacture entailed a vast amount of labour, so it is not surprising that they have long been superseded by the European variety, and, excepting those in her collection, it is doubtful if any others exist on the Island. A further series of four specimens is given by Sarasin in his work.? This writer, visiting the Group in 1912, also noted that they are nowadays almost ousted by the imported metal variety. It is interesting to find that this author describes the pearl shell as that of a male placostylus. NEW CALEDONIA HOOK NAMES. SovrrERN END? .. 7 i a .. Povava .. Hook. N.E. Coast, YENGEN* “i “ .. MAYEPWE * N. CextraL Coast, KANALA* .. .e oe Sh ” WarLu4 ee “e uh — ve JB » (Cf. Lifu Ge==Hook.) Although I know of no authentic specimens from this locality, it is probable that they resemble those already dealt with from the Loyalty Group, the native art being almost similar. NEW HEBRIDES HOOK NAMES. ANtwa® .. oo” ‘is a .. MaTavU .. .. Hook. (The natives are Polynesians). ANErryum® a on . .. Gavaicm ” AoA, LEPER ISsLAND® .. “ .. Gav AraG, PENTECOST? te . .. Mara ” (Cf. Pol. MaTaAUu=Hook). EraTi® .. i eo .. TANGGAU % EromMaNGa® ve i ue .. KILEgmL » Marwo, AUORAS .. “ ir .. Mara Ah ™ (Cf. Pol. MaTAv=Hook). MArLERULA® “is ‘e sis .. NmxaTaprar .. ” (Nmxa=Fish). Neuxa, MoNTAGUE® Pe a .. TaNaeavU SESARKES .. ie “ie .- .. TENGGAU - - .- i oe Ls .+» Poa To catch fish with a hook. in oe ai a wo INIBA .. Line. VANIEKORO® er .. NamaTav .+ Hook. From the above list one would have anticipated a goodly number of examples of peculiar interest in view of the strong admixture of Polynesian blood in this Group. Such, unfor- tunately, is not the case, for, in spite of diligent research, I have not been able to discover ! Hadfield, Among the Natives of the Loyalty Group, p. 84, London, 1920. 2 Sarasin, La Nouvelle Calédonie, p. 249, Paris, n.d. 3 Labillardier, Voyage in Search of La Perouse, London, 1800. ¢ Contributed by Sidney H. Ray. 5 Ibid. ¢ Contributed by F. W. Christian. PAPUA AND MELANESIA 63 any authentic examples; in fact, one recent writer! goes so far as to say that ‘‘ neither lines nor hooks are used in the New Hebrides for fishing. They scorn this method in spite of the demonstrations by the whites.” The Rev. F. J. Paton, of the New Hebrides Mission, writing to me in 1913, said: *“ There were shell fish hooks in the South New Hebrides, but I have seen none for years.” This meagre information is the sole reward for my efforts, and, to the best of my knowledge, genuine examples are entirely absent from any collection in this country. One would have expected the long-standing French influence in this Group to have produced specimens in their Museums, but enquiries here again have proved fruitless. Mr Skinner, of the University Museum, Dunedin, N.Z., writes to me that he also has questioned resident missionaries, but has been informed that hooks were not in use, the Fic. 23. Glasgow Art Museum, Futuna. natives relying on nets, spears, and arrows. The gorge, however, seems to have been known, since the University Museum already mentioned possesses an example, about 2 inches in length, collected some forty years ago by Captain Braithwait of the Dayspring. Fig. 23 illustrates an example of extreme simplicity, cut from a solid piece of grey pearl shell. No attempt has been made to round off the edges, and the workmanship is both crude and unpleasing. Since the people of this Island bear a strong mixture of Polynesian blood, derived, it is said, from Tonga, one would have expected to find hook types of both better form and finish; the end of the shank is slightly recessed, whilst the snood is of brown twisted fibre of little strength, and in all probability not the original. 1 Norman Hardy, The Savage South Seas, p. 180, London, 1897. a TE ec FISH HOOKS SANTA CRUZ AND BANKS GROUPS HOOK NAMES. Mora, Banks Group! ais . vo Cap i «+ Hook. Gava, St Maria! .. a + Glo 5 Torres IsLanD! Tia “i i or Tea ’ Vanva Levu .. ve a .. Nzer ’ Tucorra2 wi als 3 ie «+ Mamav . oe » (Natives are Polynesians.) wv 2 “i i -e ++ Pay - .. A light line. ow 2 “i i ois io vo Maras Kawa .. A heavy line. Tucor1a. & Aro .. ie - we - i .. Line or cord. 1 Aro Pa “ “et i - “ .. A fishing line. i Pa oo see hee se ee Roditothodke i Fagoro .. - or it - .. To fish with a hook and line. 4 Fort .. ie ve i oh i .. To draw up a fishing line. Korg, Sis .. - “i -e .+» A bamboo rod. Examples of hook forms from this locality are practically non-existent, and, with the exception of the following plate, I know of no others. Dr Rivers® has fortunately recorded the use of bonito hooks which, from his description, resemble those in general use by the Polynesian people. He remarks that the bonito (atu) is a valued food, and are caught by | I ] means of a turtle shell hook baited with white feathers, in conjunction with a rod. I am § "oe able, in pl. XCVIL, to illustrate these examples through the courtesy of Mr Skinner of the i i University Museum, Dunedin, N.Z. It will be noticed at once that they resemble very 1 if closely the Tongan-Samoan form, although of much rougher construction; this is accounted h I for by the fact that the people of Tucopia are to all intents and purposes Polynesians; they ! Hi ’ may have lost some of their skill as makers of hooks, but the forms have persisted, so it i Ji would seem that their arrival at Tucopia does not date back very far. Shark are also i a caught with hooks, and lines of plaited sennit are in use. Pl XCVIIL introduces a highly ! specialized contrivance, used solely for taking flying fish, which would appear to be in very : I general use here, and is also found in the Solomons, the Banks and Gilbert Groups, and f again at Tahiti, all of which will be discussed later. The three specimens illustrated ‘ measure about 123 in. (31-1 em.), and have a diameter of 1} in. (3-8 cm.). The top portion hl. is made of a soft, straight-grained white wood, which is very buoyant; the lower half is cut ! from a rather heavier wood and usually coloured dark-brown. Lugs are provided to give a hold to the cord which attaches the stone sinker, a basalt pebble, either water-worn or roughly rubbed down by hand, and attached by lashings of fibre or twisted cord. The line which, it will be noticed, is wound round the upper part is of very finely twisted cord, to which is attached the turtle shell gorge, occasionally replaced by the spines from a palm tree. In use one arm of the gorge is attached longitudinally to the line by a false hitch and embedded in the bait, the gorge being released by the tugging of the fish. The flying fish, for whose li capture alone this float is used, is naturally of a very shy disposition, and the method employed is to set down a number of these floats and await the result at a distance. Similar ! Contributed by Sidney H. Ray. * Journal Polynesian Society, p. 86, No. 1, 1913. Rivers, Melanesian Society, p. 331, vol. i., Cambridge, 1914. 4 Codrington, The Melanesians, p. 316, 1891. TTT ee aon0RI0) sony ‘If { wopaL[o) urwWprO ‘11 ‘q “AOPUO’] : WNOSHJY Ww AOPUOT : WNISUK URMIWLO TITADOX d91vig 0) ELV [F] Fe Ck s 0 ET Rg Q Z. Plate XCIX. overleaf Part II. Santa Cruz. New Hebrides. PAPUA AND MELANESIA 65 methods are in use among the natives of the Banks Group, where the float is called wo-uto.' | il oy In the Solomons a somewhat different form is used, and generally has a carved and inlaid hi > i frigate bird perched on the end (see pl. CI.). In this case the gorge of turtle shell is replaced | | | | | | | a by a minute pearl shell hook, which presumably is unbaited, since it usually takes the E form of a small fish. In Celebes also a similar contrivance is in use.? Two very inter- L esting, if obscure, points occur in connection with these Santa Cruz floats. Firstly, on many of them will be found a small bunch of fibrous material attached to the lowest circle of cord. By many this might pass unnoticed, but I have it on the authority of Dr Cod- rington that this little bunch plays an important part in the capture of the fish, since it acts as a charm, and so secures success to the fisherman. Unfortunately, I have no information as to the origin or meaning of this usage. It may, however, be explained when we recollect that in many primitive beliefs the mere act of making an offering, irrespective of its actual value, becomes an act of propitiation, as, for instance, the hanging up of portions of clothing at a shrine, common enough in the East, and even met with at home in the neighbourhood of wishing wells. Might not, therefore, this little piece of fibre be some such offering to a iindalo or spirit ? The second point of interest is the so-called “ Ownership ” marks, usually found cut on the soft upper part of the floats. These have already been noticed by ethnologists, and I think that if a series were formed close study might throw some light on their meaning. That they seem to denote ownership is, however, doubtful. The Rev. Hubert Nind, of the Melanesian Mission College, Norfolk Island, in a letter dated June 29, 1913, states that a Santa Cruz Mission boy explained that the marks : upon them are not ownership marks, but serve to indicate the order in which they are to be placed in the sea, for they do not throw them in anyhow, but place them in proper sequence. The one with the human figure upon it, he supposed, would be the first, and probably represents the spirit who has charge of the flying fish. In their ghost houses they have a carved and ornamented piece of wood set up to represent this spirit, and in the event of a bad catch they make offerings of food to it. He gave fou as being the name for the complete float, and falave for the gorge. All the marks that I have examined appear to have been cut with a rather blunt instrument, and the cuts then rubbed over with some black fluid, which shows up well on the white wood. Usually these marks consist of one or more straight lines, which join each other at different angles. A glance at pl. XCIX. will clearly show the marks on the floats. No. 1 is simply crossed lines, and calls for little comment. No. 2 might be a variation of No. 1, but in No. 3 we have a most interesting example and one which may give us the key. It obviously stands for a figure, and, as compared with the others, is larger than usual [2§ in. (6-2 cm.) long]. Considerable care has been taken in making this; the cuts are deeper and broader, and have been filled in with lime, a little of which remains. As a pictograph it ranks high, and the proportions are good. Nos. 4, 5, and 6 are probably all derived from No. 3, and were it possible to bring together a series, the various phases of degeneration of design would be easily picked out. Nos. 7 : and 8 are simple grooves gouged out of the soft wood and blackened in. These last may be o . simple marks without any association with the more elaborate designs. PL C. resembles those in the foregoing illustration, and is inserted in order to illustrate the strip of bark g used as a charm, which shows up well against the black background. Whilst on the IX VIII GELUBLE Lr EEE Pe ra a I Ay A VI V — <= VII XI ER a i * Codrington, The Melanesians, p. 316, 1891. 2 Hickson, A Naturalist in the Celebes, p. 200. i 5 Prare XCIX. FERRY SaTESTEES = nS in = 66 FISH HOOKS subjects of these floats, it may be well to quote Captain Wilson,! one of our early navigators, who speaks of a somewhat similar method in use in Tahiti. “ Numbers of flying fish (marara) are caught by the following means: A number of small white sticks, six or eight feet long, are prepared and weighted with a stone to keep them erect in the water; to each of these they fix a short line and a hook of bone, baited with coconut kernel. These they cast out into the sea as they are standing off at a distance from each other, and, taking them up on their return, generally find a fish at each hook.” Doubtless this quotation is descriptive of a similar contrivance to that under discussion; unfortunately, I do not know of the existence of any of these Tahitian examples. It has already been remarked that an elaborate form is in use in the Solomons, the most noteworthy features being the realistic carving of frigate birds that surmount the floats; these, as will be seen, are carefully inlaid with shell, and all are stained black. At one time examples were common, but nowadays they are rarely met with. The fine one in the centre of pl. CI. is particularly perfect, and has the stone weight enclosed in a cane network. Whether these wooden birds serve in some way to keep the fish on the move (since a shoal of flying fish naturally attracts large numbers of birds), or whether they represent the bird in its tindalo or spirit form, I should hesitate to say. Since writing on the subject of these floats, I have secured yet another instance (shown in pl. CIL.), in this case from the Gilbert Group. It forms part of a repre- sentative collection lately secured by the British Museum. The donor, unfortunately, had omitted the native names, but stated that the custom was to leave them overnight in about five fathoms of water, and take them up in the morning. The length of the line is about seventeen feet, and it is noticeable that, since it tapers towards the gorge in order to ensure greater security, a twisted strand of human hair has been worked in with it for a distance of about four feet. The use of human hair as a material for cords is common with these people, and doubtless it proves a very strong and easily obtained material. In comparison with other examples, the substitution of a half-grown coconut shell is most noteworthy and undoubtedly it acts as a very convenient substitute; the contents are withdrawn through one of the eyes, and the outer shell is neatly rubbed down. The method of securing the line is as ingenious as it is simple: a short cross-bar of wood is attached to the end of the line and inserted through the open eye, after which the hole is plugged up with a tightly folded leaf. The gorge may be cut from coconut shell, or in these days a bent piece of wire is used, if obtainable; unlike the Solomon pear] shell hooks, it would be necessary to bait this gorge, in which case it is probable that a half-hitch is made with the line and the whole embedded in the bait. The Rev. Hubert S. Nind, of the Melanesian Mission, writing from Pamua, San Christoval, speaking of the Solomon floats, says that they are in general use there for the taking of both flying fish as well as gar fish, the native name being wwo. The hooks, called mudi, are merely V-shaped gorges formed from the bases of sago palm fronds. The line attaching them to the floats is from three to five fathoms long, and the floats are placed in rows in the sea about thirty feet apart, any number from five to twenty being used. The bait may be either lobster, prawn, or crab, and the month of October is considered the best time of the year. As to the bird-like figure on the float, this does not represent the frigate bird simply, but any bird that feeds on these fish, the idea apparently being that the form of any one of these birds is requisite. Perhaps the shadow cast by them may have been found of use in keeping the fish active. ! Wilson, Voyage of the *“ Duff,” p. 384, London, 1799. Prare CL. Oldman Collection. Prare CIII Im-Thurn Collection Solomon Group. Plate CIL overleaf. Gilbert Group. Part 11. aa imma ——— RRA Prate CII. British Museom, PAPUA AND MELANESIA SOLOMON GROUP 67 i HOOK NAMES. i YASBEL! .. ‘i nh . “i .» Tago Hook. il w: 1 .s . .e oe .. GarsO Fishing line. »n 1 GATHOTHO To make or twist a fishing line. 9: 2, i ve vin ve .. Tacaro .. To catch fish. > 2 os .e ae oa .. Taac1-FEI To hawl up a fish. wo Bou, "e An .y ya .. Gaca Line. Savo? ve oh ‘i ve ve .. TaxNaeAU Hook. SAN CHRISTOVAL, BAURO! . ve .. Hixo Hook. ”» ’» 1 ’ .e .e “e «+ ARO Fishing line. ss ULAWA! .e a ‘le oe .. Hixou Hook. » oo |B vr vi :s ve .. WzisI To fish. » " 32 ve . .“ i «+ ‘Mum Hook for flying fish. » "w 2 v or ve ve .. Tomro Small pearl shell hook. > oF oh ’4 ’io oe .. Lou or Tar To fish for bonito. a Mara. Saal! . . . .e .. Hivou Hook. i New GEORGIA, MAROVO! .. “ a .. Knamx Hook. a » » w L.. EN . .» VIRIVIRI.. Fishing line. a ” " ww Ha vr er’ we PAROLO . Fishing float. i ” » Ruviana! ve J .. VINETUGU Hook. i ; ood Tey Fishing line. ly: » » vw 1} - vs .. Muzik: Bait. 1 : CHOISEUL! .. “e .- ou .s .. PEPEKO . Hook. 13 VELLALA LAVELLA! . ve .e «+ BrEOI v | f SHORTLANDS. MoNo*® - it ais .. A ” i "” Aru® ve kee ae TLARULA To catch fish. i i ’ 8 is i “4 .» Iawa-Ax .. To catch fish with a hook. ! it 4 » » 9 “ . .e .. Jawa Fish. ; { i ’ vw 8 ig “n is .. Jana Fauna To catch fish with hand net. / . * Mono* .e “e ‘e ++ Lot Fishing line. 3 SiMBo. EDDYSTONE® i. ue Tr .. WEerU Hook. q | ” ” 8 . = ve .. Noam Hook of pearl and turtle shell. i ” ” 6 Karu Base of hook. a ’ ’ 6 PAILARA .. Shank. | . a: ” " 6 MONDOKO Turtle shell barb. ! 3 . 5 6 WOWO0SHO Barb lashings. Ws o ” ” s NusHO Snood. i ] ” ” 6 TIANA Concave side of the shank. Si » > 6 WUROWURO Bead hackle. ” 5 6 a oi “a .. Kavara .. Convex side of shank. OxTONG JAVA? .. re os ve .. Magav Hook. Cf. Polynesian matau. To deal adequately with all the hook forms which originate from this Group would be an almost impossible task. It is rare to meet with an example that is properly localized, and it is only by accumulating considerable numbers that one may arrive at even a rough deduction. In this Group the composite varieties are much in evidence, and vary from the crude shank of tridacna shell, down to the minutely carved form of some insect, attached ! Contributed by Sidney H. Ray. 2 Contributed by Rev. Edmond Bourne. 3 Tvens, Journal Polynesian Society, March, 1913. * Rev. H. Nind, letter dated 14. 2. 22. 5 Ivens, Journal Anthropological Inst., vol. xliv. 6 Contributed by G. C. Wheeler. 7 Man, 89, 1906. Se ERTRTR SER TRGSNGSESEE EE TER - RY Te ep Rt A ER Er, 68 FISH HOOKS to the turtle shell barb, which, in order to render the contrivance more effective, has changed into a complete hook. PL CIIL shows this change, No. 1 being an example of the barb lashed to a shank. No. 4 shows that the barb has become a complete hook, and what was formerly the shell shank is now represented by the body of a prawn, to which is added four fibre antenne. Nos. 2 and 3 are simple turtle shell hooks used with ordinary baits. All are from San Christoval, Nos. 1, 2, and 3 having been collected by Sir Everard-im-Thurn, whilst No. 4 is illustrated by Mr Woodford;* No. 1 measures 1% in. (8-8 em.) in length. Examples of simple hooks—i.e., cut from the solid material in one piece and usually con- sidered the earlier type—are rare, the small Island of Ulawa seemingly being the locality whence they come. The materials are nearly always some variety of pearl shell, but the workmanship varies considerably. No. 5 in pl. CIV. is the finest specimen of which I know, as well as the largest, being reproduced at its actual size. In this instance the purpose of the projecting spike at the base (common to all this series) is obvious, and is carved from the solid into a well-defined fish. The natural skill of these people in carving is probably responsible for this, since I hardly think it could have served as a lure, seeing that these hooks would require to be baited. Hooks FOR SPINNING. The various types of this variety are legion, and offer so many difficulties that I have rarely ventured to localize definitely any particular form. The workmanship throughout is always good, excepting only in those of very modern manufacture. In most cases a bead hackle is provided, and when the old native shell beads are used it is usually an indication that the hook is also an old example. The shanks are always pearl shell, generally quite plain and spoon-shaped, though occasionally, as in fig. 24, they are more elaborate and offer an excellent imitation of a fish. No. 1 is a particularly old specimen, having a hackle of native red beads. The place of its source is probably Florida, to judge from the shape of the turtle shell barb. Its length is 4} in. (10-5 em.). In the British Museum are a series of remarkable hooks, illustrated at the top of pl. CIV. They were collected by Dr Codrington in Ulawa, and, whilst conforming to the general type of composite spinner hooks, yet in outline and the use of a particular shell for the shank they are unique. These are cut from Trochus tesselatus and preserve the delicate colours of this shell. The barbs are of turtle shell attached by two lashings, whose ends form hackles on which, in two cases, a few trade beads are threaded. The illustrations are life- size, and incidentally are among the most attractive hooks from this Group. In the Barb Chart at the end of the Introduction I have endeavoured to get together a series of turtle shell barb forms for comparison. The matter is a difficult one, since no two are identical. All belong to the type of hook shown on pls. CV. and CVI, which is common in the Central Solomons. The production of these barbs shows considerable skill and ingenuity, and for this reason alone must in time give way to the imported variety. The top row differs considerably from what we may call Rubiana type, and the shell shanks to which they are fixed are of heavier make, and usually have a solid lug for the snood attachment in place of the two projecting spurs. I think it probable that most, if not all, of the barbs have been bent by heating in hot sand, and are not cut from the solid. If this is so, it is surprising that these Melanesians, who are usually considered inferior to the 1 Man, 73, 1918. Part Il. Ulawa. Solomon Group. PraTe CIV. Top Row, British Museum : I, I, Author's Collection ; 111, IV, Bishop Museum, Honolulu ; V, British Museum. Part II. Central Solomons. 5 i i i — | A £ it i i i is | § i i He Ho } 1 a ol a 13 aE Prate CV. Bourne Collection : Bugoto. ws sa aan fl i ES is. San whi - Pate CVI Bourne Collection : Savo, Part II. Solomon Group. PAPUA AND MELANESIA 69 Polynesian Race, should have gone further in this particular branch of craftsmanship, for I do not recall any instance amongst the latter of bending their barbs by artificial means. Yet another point wherein the Solomon people have out- distanced the Polynesians is in the elimination of the line usually connecting the barb itself to the snood. This is still another instance of the conservative nature of the native mind, uninfluenced even today by European ideas, and it is remarkable how a naturally adaptive people should persist in retaining this useless detail, while another race possessing far lower mental qualities should have abandoned it. Several writers speak of the native eagerness to acquire European hooks, notably Brenchley,! in 1865, and Guppy,? too, sheds some light on the means whereby the various types have become so hopelessly involved, for at Simbo (Eddystone) he readily exchanged small pieces of tobacco for their hooks, and at Treasury Island, eighty miles away, found that they were eagerly sought by the natives, who were not in the habit of making this particular type. Hooks from the Solomons are more commonly found than any others, and fall into two types, differing more particularly in the shape of the barb and its method of attachment to the shank. Two of these forms are well shown in pls. CV. and CVI. In the former the lugs for the snood are solid projections undercut round the edges, : i whereas the latter are divided into two spur-like Bec 2¢. : Ty Jntaors Collection: projections. All of these hooks were obtained at T= - iii : 834 i= & 4 Bugotu, a district of Yasbel, by a member of the Melanesian Mission. I have it also on wr Prare CVII. Fuller Collection, | ah [* : saci another authority® that hooks similar to that in pl. CVI. are obtained from Savo, also in the : Central regions, whilst Ribbe* illustrates the same form as coming from Rubiana. It would, / IN | therefore, seem that to attempt to attach a particular locality to this type would be unwise, 8 ax : 1 unless such were actually known to have been manufactured in a particular district. Whilst —&, Wg i the shanks of these hooks are almost always made from white pearl shell, it is perhaps worth D 632 1 while to record a single instance in my own collection where the pearl shell is replaced by a 1 nicely worked piece of tridacna shell. PL CVIL. illustrates a series in the Fuller Collection, the top row of which offers good examples of the two foregoing types. The three in the lower half of the plate represent yet another coming from Malaita, which is more to the southward of the Group than Yasbel or Rubiana. These represent the inverse ratio of the hooks already described. The turtle shell barb in the former is still a complete hook, and the pearl shell shank is represented by a narrow slip bound on. I should hesitate to assert that this form marks the earlier type; local conditions in one Island differ from another, and the supply of material may easily affect the finished article; also scarcity of either turtle or 1 Voyage of the *“ Curagoa,” p. 268, 1873. ? Guppy, The Solomon Islands, p. 156, 1887. 3 Edge Partington, Album of the Pacific. 4 Riboe, Zwie Jahre . . . des Salomo Inseln, p. 269, 1903. Prate CVIII. Oldman and Author’s Collection. 70 FISH HOOKS pear] shell would readily account for the restricted use of one or the other. It may be noticed that this class of hook is even better made than the former, the shell backs in many instances being realistically carved to represent small fish (fig. 25). The specimen on the Fie. 25. Backs of Turtle Shell Hooks. Fuller and Author’s Collections. extreme left is noticeably different from the others, a full view of it is given in fig. 26. The turtle shell shank is round in section, whereas the others are flat; the pearl shell consists of a cylindrical lump without shape, and the whole shows signs of much use, and, although the bead hackle is a later addition, this specimen, I think, antedates the others by a con- siderable period. These hooks measure from 1} to 8 in. (3-8 to 7-6 ecm.) in length. The pearl shell hooks illustrated in the next plate (CVIIL) have attracted the attention of several writers. Guppy' relates that the natives of Makira Harbour, San Christoval, catch a fish resembling a smelt by wiffing from a canoe. Miss Coombe” says that the pearl shell is carved into the minute similarity of a fish. Codrington® notes that these hooks are “‘ among the prettiest and most skilful products of native handiwork.” This last remark will, at no distant date, be hardly applicable, for it would seem that, like so many other branches of industry, the lure of the trade tobacco has resulted in large numbers being produced, all of which Frc. 26. Author’s Collection. (I., ITI., Mala.) entirely lack the delicate finish of the older examples, and among which one may search IIL. Saw CRRA TAR LLL Ll in vain for the more elaborate bird and fish forms. The home of these hooks is at the south end of the Group. They would appear to be extensively made on Ulawa. The pair in the lower part of the plate were obtained in 1911-1912 by Mr Holmes at Makira Harbour, who stated that they were used for taking a small fish called bormer. The spots are small depressions blackened in, and occur on both sides. The top left-hand specimen is a good representation of a fish, whilst the bird-shaped one also attracts attention. Guppy, Solomon Islands, p. 156, 1887. 1 * Coombe, Islands of Enchantment, p. 257, 1911. * Codrington, The Melanesians, p. 316, 1891. PAPUA AND MELANESIA 71 These, from their superior workmanship, are probably from Ulawa. The middle specimen on the left is uncommon, and consists of a European hook, having a pearl shell representation of a beetle or spider, attached to which is a hackle of minute red feathers. The locality is Savo. The occurrence of large wooden hooks, so common to most of the Pacific Groups, appears to be absent from the Solomons, and it would seem that the capture of large fish in deep water is not a strong point with the Melanesians; in fact, it is only when we explore Fa. 27. After Parkinson. some of the outlying Islands, where the native stock is strongly influenced by Polynesian elements, that these hooks are found. From Ontong Java comes the contrivance (fig. 27) which might very well be Ellice. It is a complete paternoster, and, as far as the hook embodies thé principle of the * straight pull,” one may fairly reasonably suppose that it 18 a palu hook, particularly since the natives of this small Group are almost pure Polynesians who would be well up in the method of taking this peculiar fish. The drawing is after a ——— Sm is i 72 FISH HOOKS Parkinson. Another example (fig. 28) is from a photo taken by Mr Holmes in 1911 at Rennell Island, and shows a gigantic hook hanging from the roof of a canoe-house. If the size be an indication of the weight of the fish, this little-known Island should attract some of our angling enthusiasts. Mr Holmes told me that there was no doubt as to its utility, and that the natives were totally uninfluenced by outside contact; they bore evidence of a strong Polynesian strain, and their weapons were a noticeable cross between the Solomon and the Tongan forms. The curious appliance in the following plate (CIX.), although not strictly a hook, falls, I think, into the same category, particularly as a bait is needed to make ET hi dh | | 10, i O26 25 Wh Fic. 28. Rennell Island. it effective. This interesting example is in Mr Edge Partington’s Collection, to whom I am indebted for permission to reproduce it here. One might well suppose that it was a local invention, but I find that Kubary? illustrates an exact facsimile from the Pelews. PL CX.— This shows the method of fixing on the bait, also the cross-bar, which is not represented in the Yasbel specimen. The fish for which this contrivance is intended is not unlike our crayfish, and the victim itself is made to supply the instrument of its death, for the male is armed with a pair of claws which furnish the tip of the apparatus on which others are ! Parkinson, Drie Yare in de Sudsee, Stuttgart, 1907. ? Kubary, Des Kurolinen Archipels, pl. XXI., No 9 Part II. Prate CX. After Kubary : Pelew, Caroline Group, PraTe CIX. Edge Partington Collection : Yasbel, Solomon Group. Prat CXL: Lysiosquilla maculata. Yasbel, Solomon Group. Prate CXII. rings in a Wild Coun Prate CXIII, try : New Britain. tnd After Powell, IJ Admiralty Group. ‘ollection © Author's ( PAPUA AND MELANESIA 73 impaled. The fish (pl. CX1.), according to Edge Partington,’ is Lysiosquilla maculata; its habit is to bury itself in the soft wet sand and leave a hole into which the claw is inserted by the fisherman, who either whistles or sings to attract it—a not uncommon practice, par- ticularly in the Western Pacific, where the belief is common that many fish are attracted by certain sounds. NEW BRITAIN HOOK NAMES. In... ++ Hook, New BRITAIN? ‘ ve ‘e .n ie wu .e Duke or York IsLaND? .ie . ve BTL Nvucuria, FEaDp IsLAND? MaTau .. ’ Actual specimens of any hooks from this and the contingent Islands are, as far as I am aware, almost non-existent. Fortunately, an observant explorer’ has illustrated a series. Pl CXII. probably covers the rather restricted number of types formerly in use. It is interesting to note among them the presence of the spinner (No. 1), in shape not unlike certain Solomon examples, but more closely resembling that from the Admiralty Group (¢f. fig. 81). The shank is of pearl shell, having a turtle shell barb, obviously shaped by heating into a pronounced curve; the other simple forms, with one exception, also show this curve. No. 2 is from an iron nail; Nos. 3-4 are turtle shell, whilst No. 5 is cut from what the author describes as * clam *’ shell, which is probably tridacna. It is remarkable how the shank ends are bent over to afford a good snood attachment, even the shell example (No. 5) following the same shape, but with a small hole provided. The late Dr Brown* remarks that the hooks were formerly made of turtle shell, but they have been superseded to a great extent by the imported variety. Fig. 29 is taken from Hunter's Voyage, and was obtained in 1791 from the Duke of York Islands, Bismarck Group. The material is obviously turtle shell, and whilst greatly differing from the foregoing, is reminiscent of those from Murray Island in Torres Straits. Powell® speaks of seeing these turtle shell hooks used in conjunction with a rod. Man, 84, 1915. ? Contributed by Sidney H. Ray. 1 8 Powell, Wanderings in a Wild Country, pp. 75-178, London, 1884. 4 Brown, Melanesians and Polynesians, p. 323, London, 1910. 5 Hunter's Voyage to N. 8. Wales, 4to, London, 1793. ¢ Powell, Wanderings in a Wild Couniry, pp. 75-178, London, 1884. (Polynesian.) FISH HOOKS NEW IRELAND HOOK NAME. Ip? .. oe a ie .ie ie “ie ++ Hook, Fig. 80.—These two hooks of greyish-white shell are the sole examples from this locality; the workmanship is poor, and one might gather that these people are not adept at fishing Fra. 30. British Museum. Tia the hook. There is a close resemblance to the Matty or Hermit Island forms, though these latter differ from the New Ireland specimens in that they are always pierced at the end. The New Ireland anglers seem to have been content with a simple notch. ADMIRALTY GROUP HOOK NAMES. Mog: .. BCoase .. awn, Ev? Hoos ”» I am fortunate in being able to offer a fuller account of the hooks from this Group than of those from the two preceding. A comparison between the three will show a Ea similarity, and, speaking generally, it may be said that one description covers all Groups. The type of simple, unbarbed shell hooks was recorded by Moseley,* who writes of hooks used made of trocus shell all in one piece. They are of a simple booked form without barb. The natives did not seem to care for steel fish hooks, and apparently did not at first understand their use.” Spry,” who made the same voyage, confirms this, and illustrates a pair similar in every respect to those shown in fiz. 80. Lo itl . 80. rd Ce bell,® same hooks, states that no baits are used. 2 Sol wider oo teens ! Contributed by Sidney H. Ray 20 : . aley Web: s * Ray, Journal Royal Anthropological Inst., August, 1891. oh Tho New Guiner, 98, 4 Moseley, Notes by a Naturalist, H.M.S. ** Challenger,” » A , H.M.S. wer,” p. 403, London, 1892. : Spry, Voyage of the *“ Challenger,” p.222, 12th ed., 1895. A Lord Campbell, Log Letters of the Challenger,” p. 313, London, 3rd ed., 1877. PAPUA AND MELANESIA The large and curious hooks illustrated in pl. CXIII are occasionally found, and most of the German writers illustrate them. The shanks are of wood roughly finished, and the barb is formed from the thick outer edge of a large trocus shell. The end of the barb fits closely into a hole in the shank, and the joint is cemented round with black gum (parinarium). 1 am inclined to think that this type may be common to the neighbouring Groups of New Britain and New Ireland, since some specimens are coloured red. It is interesting to note that, in the case of the larger [A hook, No. 2, a boar’s tusk has been substituted for the shell barb. The Es size of these hooks varies considerably, but they are usually large. No. 1 N measures 9} in. (24-2 ecm.), No. 2 being exceptional—viz., 14} in. (37 em.). Fig. 81 represents a somewhat rare type, although something very similar is shown in pl. OXII., No. 1. Readers will recall that neatly / made shell armlets are common from this Group, of which many are ee& carved; this same work also occurs on the back of the shank of this Fie: i thor's hook, which makes it a desirable specimen and fixes the locality. The ! barb is of turtle shell artificially shaped, and the lashings are of very fine twisted fibre. The total length is 23 in. (5-9 em.), of which the shell shank measures 1} in. (3-8 em.). THE ISLANDS OF TORRES STRAITS HOOK NAMES. EASTERN. Kex or MEE! .. oie on . oe .. Hook. Arai¢c or MERER-GEM' .. ‘es n ne .. Fishing line. MEeKER-PA! .. “a 7% a rr - .. Stone sinker. Mexkeg-KEK!.. ie ve “a .“e a .. Hook and line. WESTERN. Tor or Tupi! er a .“ .e ia .. Hook. Arial .e . ‘ie we ve ie .. Fishing line. Erus (DARNLEY ISLAND). MEKIRA® i ‘o a e “ ve .+ - Hook, Thanks to the exhaustive account of this numerous Group collected by the Cambridge University Expedition in 1898, I am able to illustrate a rather more extensive series of these hooks than has been possible in dealing with some other Groups far more accessible to my researches. Turtle shell is, in every case, the material employed in their manufacture, and while some examples are of the crudest workmanship, others display no little ingenuity in their production, and by using some methods of heating they have been delicately bent to the required shape. In dealing with the people of these Islands, it must be remembered 1 Haddon, Cambridge University Expedition, vol. iv., 1912. 2 Stone, New Guinea, London, 1886. 76 FISH HOOKS that not only has there been constant intercourse between them and the mainland on both sides of the Straits, but that also in later years Furopean influence has been strong; the result is that one cannot now look for any definite type, whilst the introduction of the metal hook has put a stop to the older native article. The numerous and highly interesting hook ornaments (sabagorar) peculiar to this Group will be found in the section devoted to ornaments (pls. CLXXXIIL-CLXXXVL.). MER, OR MURRAY ISLAND PL. CXIV. illustrates four representative examples, called mekek. All are of turtle shell, and have been artificially bent by heat. No. 1 is a more massive specimen than those usually found, and bears a few ornamental lines on the shank, probably influenced by the elaborate decoration on the ornaments (pl. CLXXXIV.), though for all that it is, I think, a working hook; length 21 in. (6-4 em.). No. 2 is also obviously intended for use, and is very nicely shaped, its peculiarity lying in the fact that the snood is of soft twisted fibre. Materials for snoods would appear to vary very considerably in the different Islands. Haddon' states that those of coconut fibre are usually used, whereas Macgillivray® speaks of the fibres of the rattan being twisted and made up into three strands; unfortunately, neither of these materials are made use of in this case. The hook measures 3% in. (8:9 em.). Both the above are in the N ational Collection, and are among the articles collected by the Expedition in 1898. No. 8 is cut from a solid piece of turtle shell, somewhat flat in section and apparently bent by artificial means. It is in Mr Edge Partington’s Collection, and, in spite of being labelled Marriage Ornament,” I am inclined to think that it was primarily intended for use. The hole for fastening the snood is cleanly drilled, and a slight groove is formed on the inner side to take the lashings; length 23 in. (6 cm.), width 13 in. (44 em.). No. 4 differs somewhat from the others, having the end of the shank notched for attachment. It is in the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford, and was obtained by the Cambridge Expedition. It measures 5; mm. (13-4 em.). PL CXV. shows another example somewhat influenced by the ornamental type. It is still, I think, a working hook, although, of course, a hook being an article of value might easily be attached to the bride's dowry, and used by the husband should occasion arise. The fish-tail end is certainly an unnecessary elaboration; at the same time these projections afford a very secure lashing for the snood. Dr Harrison of the Horniman Museum has kindly furnished this specimen, and I believe it to have been among those obtained by the Expedition. The twisted snood seems to be out of all pro- portion to the size of the hook, and is possibly a later addition; the material may be the split rattan already mentioned, but it appears to be the fibrous rootlet of some tree. According to the account of the Expedition,* the bait was attached by a string, the hooks themselves being tied together on a line of coconut fibre. They are now obsolete, European hooks being in general use, and should such not be available the natives make neat barbless hooks out of wire or other suitable material. This specimen measures 87 in. (9-8 cm.). PL. CXVL is interesting, not only as a specimen of native art, but for the very faithfu] rendering of the hook and line in the fisherman's hands. I am indebted to Mr Edwin ' Haddon, Cambridge University Expedition, vol. iv., 1912. * Macgillivray, Voyage of the ** Rattlesnake,” p. 20, vol. ii., 1852. * Haddon, Cambridge University Expedition, p. 155, vol. iv., 1912. 4 Ibid. Part II. Sdge Partington Collection, British Museum. Prate CXIN Mer, Murray Island. Torres Straits, New Guinea. i A Part II. Mer, Murray Island. Torres Straits, New Guinea. i if | PraTE CXV. ’ Prate CXVL Horniman Museum, London. After Haddon. 1 il i Il i ji + || ¥ 1 i i i ! : crm —————— Am Prare CXVIIL. Banfield Collection. owe Part 11. New Guinea. Prate CXVIII. Suibhus } British Museum : Torres Straits. PraTe CXIX. Author’s Collection : Delena, Hall Sound. PAPUA AND MELANESIA 77 Bamfield for kindly lending me pl. CXVIL. He has given us several delightful works on what he terms modern * beachcombing,” but which in reality are highly scientific discussions on many subjects intimately connected with the Flora and Fauna of the Great Barrier Reef. Fven such small matters as fish hooks have not escaped him, since they form part of an article which appeared in the Journal of the Queensland Geographical Society for 1909. The material is, of course, turtle shell, and their locality, Erub or Darnley Island. The work- manship is obviously very crude, and it is remarkable that neither holes nor notches are provided, and it would seem a difficult matter to securely fix the snood. Mr Banfield tells me that they are in common use, and are sufficiently strong to hold a large king fish or a fair-sized shark. During the process of cutting and paring them into shape, the shell is frequently immersed in boiling water, which has the effect of softening the material. It is curious that the native mind did not progress a step further, and instead of cutting the hook out have bent it into the required shape from a long and pointed strip. Plate (XVIII.—I include this plate in the Torres Islands Series, since it appears as such in the Edge Partington Album,’ and is undoubtedly from this part of the world. The difference in form is curious, though the snoods are of the same material, whilst that on the left may very well belong to Murray Island itself. All three show signs of having been bent by heat. That in the centre has a slender rod of black wood projecting both above and below the shank to the upper end, of which is attached a rough piece of bone, described in the Album as the penis bone of a dog. It is interesting to notice the little sinker, formed from a cowrie shell, attached to the left-hand specimen, which is only another instance of an to utilize all the resources that nature has provided. The the quickness of primitive m length of this hook is 2} in. (6-3 cm.). PAPUA MAINLAND AND ISLANDS ADJACENT (P= Papuan; M= Melanesian.) HOOK NAMES. Locality. Awaiama, East CAPE® Trt . .. Hook (M). BurLa-AZ .. oe . Kao os ae ww AM) Bancu, MorsHEAD RIVER® Taava-Tora ve LP) BixaxpeLE, N.E. Coast? Gor1 ve ‘en ow CP) BonNGU, ASTROLOBE Bay® GOBEN .. ie o AP) BerLIN HAFEN?2 .o Kxum .s “a os AB) Dumara, CLoupy Bay® .. Kavu oe i | AP) DUNGERWAB, WasI RIVER® Acurir-TubpI “a oP) Dau, Wasi RIveEr® .e .a oe “i .. Pupi-Tupi ap wn KP Dou, I’ENTRECASTEAUX GROUP® ‘e 3% .. Baws in ‘a os KM). ”" ”" ww = ve .-e .» JaviaNr .. .. Fishing line (M). DeLENA, Haru Sounp? .e ia .. Naku ie .« Hook. ” ” . 3 Wi ae a e .. KAPENA .. .. Shank. 1 Edge Partington and Heape, Album of the Pacific, vol. i. 2 Contributed by Sidney H. Ray. 3 Contributed by Rev. H. M. Dauncey. iii Locality. DrrLENA, Harn Sounp! 1 1 1 ”» ”» ” ” ” » » 2” ” - ILEmMA, CAPE POSSESSION? Jas, Finsca Haven? 4 1 9” Korona3 KorTapru? Koiarr* Korma? KEAPARA, AROMA? ” *» § KEARALO? KaBap1® Kowmusst RIverS .e Kiwai, Fy River DELTA? Motu, PorT MORESBY? ’” ” ”” 2 .e Maru Israxp, CLoupy Bay? Matvat . - al MEkEo, St. JOSEPHS RIVER? MoarTa, KATU RIVER? MAFUR? oa ie Murua, WOODLARK ISLAND? Misima, Lovulsiapes? Napa, LAvGHLANS? ” ” 2 Namavu, Purarr Dernra? .. Nava (Nagra ?)2 OROKOLO? PANAIETA® .. ro on SArIBA, HAYTER ISLAND ” ” ”” 2 2 2 0 “ ” ”» ” SiNnaveoLo? Sovre CAPES .. Secaa1r Bay, N.W. Coast? Torri, CAPE POSSESSION? TaLvGa2 Uarrpr? . ie WEepaN, N.E. Coast® ”” ” 2 Walaiu, N.W. Coast® 8 ” ” YELA® Youre IsLanD4 FISH HOOKS HOOK NAMES— (Continued). MARANA .. Paaviana AvAvUNa Koma Faravu Iran AsiNo Kimar Kmvana .. Kimax KemE Nav GaHD Kavu Karona KEBA Irsina-Tup1 Kiva IcAra Kav Kavu, Naku Naxv Tubp1 SYur Ban Ban Baxa Lav Kivax Kimve Kivarx Pawan Yama-YAoNT Yama Yama-MaINa KARAPURI. . AUR? IraN-ONISSIN Faravu RALAUI Kew Kamo Baw SAREDINNE Farrirs .. ou Kwesa, KUEMBA, Boiawa.. Naku Point. Top of shank. Barb of a European hook. Bait. Hook (P). » (P) Fishing line (P). Hook (M). vw: (P) ww {P). (P). (M). (P). ws (AM). Barb (M). Hook (P). Hook (M). Hook. » (P " ’” (M . (M). » (M). Fishing line (M). Hook (P). ”” (M). » (P) ” (M). ”” (M). A fish (M). Fishing line (M). Hook (M). ”» ”» (P). (P). (M). (P). ”” (M). Bait (M). Hook. Fishing line. Hook ( )- ” 1 Contributed by Rev. B. M. Dauncey. * Contributed by Sidney H. Ray. ? Williamson, The Mafulu Mountain People of B. N. Guinea, London, 1912. 4 Stone, New Guinea, London, 1880. ¢ Contributed by H. S. Rohu. ¢ Labillardier, Voyage, London, 1800. 5 Contributed by F. W. Christian. 7 D’Albertis, New Guinea, London, 1880. ? Cf. Polynesian Auri=1Iron; Peruvian Yauri= Copper. PAPUA AND MELANESIA 79 Such a vast extent of coast-line inhabited by many small tribes composed of two distinet races, constantly at war with one another, and grouped in small communities for self-protection, must naturally produce many types of hooks differing greatly from each other, and constructed from materials almost as varied as the natives themselves. Shell of numerous kinds enters largely into their manufacture, but turtle shell is nearly always present, either alone or in conjunction with some other substance. Large hooks are composed only of wood. The natives as a whole are not usually expert hook and line fishermen; nets would seem to be their chief medium, and doubtless the many shallow inlets do not facilitate the use of hooks. The natives of New Guinea are skilled in the making of nets, which afford a ready means of capturing large quantities of edible fish, and as the net is the property of a family, the whole benefit by the reward of their united labours. References made by the large number of writers on New Guinea to the fishing appliances generally, and to hooks in particular, are both scanty and of doubtful authenticity. The difficulty of language and the ever-present fear of sudden attacks by the natives in the majority of cases do not tend to exhaustive enquiries. D’Albertis,! whose method of making friends with the natives appears somewhat ludicrous to our eyes, notes that at Moattu, in the Fly River Delta, he was asked by the natives for the claws of a hawk he had shot, as they wanted to make them into fish hooks, although European hooks were common in the village. Chalmers,” speaking of the Orokolo District, Papuan Gulf, says that “ fish hooks are preferred to anything except tomahawks. They are the great medium of exchange here and along the coast, and nearly everyone, when he can muster courage, asks for one.” From Hall Sound come the two types of hooks reproduced in PL CXIX., kindly furnished by the Rev. H. M. Dauncey, who, in sending them to me, writes that ** foreign hooks have been in use so long round Hall Sound that few of the younger men know anything about the hooks their fathers used. Naku is the name for a fish hook; they were of two sizes: the larger were cut from turtle shell, the smaller were made from the thorns of the pandanus (cf. those in the middle of the plate), which were obtained at Redscar Bay, where they grew to a large size.” The ones illustrated were cut from leaves which grew at Delena, and the illustrations are only half the actual size of the hooks. Mr Dauncey says that they were made by an old native, who used such hooks in his young days; they are only suitable for quite small fish, which were not secured unless the bait were swallowed whole. Anything used for bait is called kuma. These hooks measure about 1} in. (3-8 em.); the three larger examples are made from rounded strips of turtle shell bent by heat and having the shank (kapena) expanded to allow the line (paaviana) to be firmly fixed. The points (makana) are very blunt, and although no native hooks had inner barbs, yet the word auauna is applied to those of European origin. No snood is used, the hook being made fast directly to the line. The natives neither use these hooks for currency nor ornaments. Two of the hooks shown here have short pieces of line attached, which would seem to be either hibiscus or pandanus fibre. Williamson,® speaking of the Mekoe people north-west of Port Morsby, states that hooks are in use, but he unfortunately omits all details. As may be expected, the art of the hook and line fisherman flourishes more abundantly in the numerous Groups situated away from the mainland, where doubtless life was more secure and consequently domestic arts more 1 I’ Albertis, New Guinea, p. 171, London, 1880. 2 Chalmers, Pioneering in New Guinea p. 47, 1887. # Williamson, The Mafulu Mountain People, London, 1912, 80 FISH HOOKS fully developed. Romilly,' writing of the Louisiade people, says that they were great fishermen, not caring for European hooks, but infinitely preferring those of their own make. “ These have the advantage of not requiring any bait, as they are made of pearl shell with a strong wooden barb; the glitter of the pearl shell in the water is far more attractive to the fish than any bait could be. After a very short sojourn in the Pacific, I gave up European and took to native fish hooks, and always found the latter more deadly.” The reader will note that this passage refers to wooden barbs attached to pearl shell shanks; since no specimens are available, it would perhaps be unwise to criticize, but to me this combination seems somewhat unlikely, and the doubt arises whether the author did not mean turtle shell in place of wooden barbs, since this substance was found to be in use for the purpose in Rossel Island as far back as 1794.2 The only authentic example from this Group with which I have met is illustrated in pl. CXX. It is intended for shark or other large fish, since it measures 7% in. (19-4 em.) long and 8 in. (7-6 cm.) wide. The material is light-coloured wood, obviously cut from a portion of a tree, having a barb of turtle shell. The base is I m = 1B | 4 PE - WA SES act \ un Fic. 32. Collingwood Bay, N.E. Coast, N. Guinea. (I, Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford; II.,"British Museum.) curiously elongated, as is customary with New Guinea hooks; several notches are cut in it, for which I am unable to account, and in addition there is an extra lug below the hook. These projections probably serve to hold the fish, on the principle of a gorge, so commonly found among primitive people, and doubtless with this hook we have an illustration of a partially evolved implement still retaining some of the original traits of the gorge. Several of the illustrations show hooks having more or less well-defined notches at their base. The twisted fibre snood is attached by two deeply cut notches, and a tassel of the same fibre is also present. As a hackle, this is of little use, and I am inclined to think that it is merely ornamental. The barb, it will be noticed, is very securely lashed on the shank with twisted fibre of the same material. From Collingwood Bay on the north-east coast comes a very different type, the manufacture of which, besides being ingenious, is probably highly efficient. Pl CXXI. shows an unusually large example made of two pieces of hard black wood secured with brown vegetable fibre attached in the rough state, being neither plaited nor twisted. The snood is of similar material, and is curious in that it is both plaited and 1 Romilly, The Western Pacific, p. 133, 1886. 2 Lee, Life of Sir John Hayes, p. 59, London, 1912. Part 11. New Guinea. PLATE CXX. British Museum. Pate CXXI. : N.-E. Coast. Macleay Museum, University of Sydney, N.S.W. Part II. Joyce Collection, New Guinea. Kwaiawata, Trobirand Group. Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford, Edge Partington Collection. PraTe CXXII Part II. Trobirand, S.-E. New Guinea. Prate CXXIII Prate CXXIV. Kir William McGregor Collection, Aberdeen University. Edge Partington’'s Album Series I11. PAPUA AND MELANESIA 81 twisted, the free end diminishing considerably. I have to thank Mr Shewan, Curator of the Maclay Museum, Sydney University, for kindly sending me this photograph. He informs me that the lashings and snood appear to be of banana fibre. The hook measures no less than 7 in. (17-8 em.) in length. Fig. 32 shows a further series of these hooks of a size more usually encountered; the methods of construction, however, are identical. No. 1 is from the Oxford Museum, and it is stated that it is made from palm wood. The British Museum specimen (No. 2) is said to be fashioned from a thorn of the orange tree. The lashings and snood are similar to those in pl. CXXI. The hooks measure approximately 2 in. (5-1 cm.) in length. TROBIRAND GROUP Malinowski,! speaking of the people of Kiriwina (Boyowa), which is the largest Island in the Group, and may therefore be taken as serving for the whole, says that they are ““ great fishermen; besides the use of nets, hooks of turtle shell were used for small fish (now entirely superseded by the imported metal variety). Sharks form an important item in the diet of the Islanders, and are caught in deep water outside the lagoon. The large wooden hooks formerly used are now giving place to those made of stout wire, a rattle made of pieces of coconut shell fastened to a bent stick being employed to attract the fish. It is customary for the priest to recite incantations over the implements employed at the com- mencement of the fishing season in October and November.” Thanks to this writer, we have a fairly detailed account of the methods in use, and it will be once more noted that another instance is recorded where the native hook is being superseded by the metal ones of the trader. Various sources have happily supplied examples of the above-mentioned turtle shell hooks, which are invariably delicately formed and of superior workmanship. They are all cut from a flat sheet of shell, and show no trace of having been shaped by heat. Indented ornamental work is usual at the base of the hook, possibly derived from the notches cut for the bait string. The four examples shown in pl. CXXII. were all obtained by the Cook-Daniels Expedition in 1904-1906, and agree very favourably in most of their details. No. 2 has the additional notched ridge on the shank. No. 8 offers some slight variations of form, whilst the notched work is but slight. The snoods are all very short, being made from coarsely twisted sennit. The length of the smallest is 2} in. (6-3 cm.), while the largest measures 43 in. (8:6 cm.). As I have previously remarked, shark flesh is esteemed by the natives, and some very efficient hooks of wood have been designed for its capture. PL CXXIII. illustrates such an example, drawn from the Album of the Pacific. Unfor- tunately, I am somewhat lacking in information concerning it; its length, however, is immense, measuring not less than 22 in. (54 em.), and it appears to have been cut from a natural bend. The snood loop, which is one of its characteristic features, is composed of numerous strips of rattan cane (a common practice in New Guinea), bound together with the same material and strengthened with wooden wedges, a peculiarity with which I have not previously met in conjunction with these large hooks. Another is the shoulder” cut below the barb, a survival of a time when the barbs were separately attached by a lashing, the binding of which would form such a ridge. A similar occurrence will be noticed in 1 Man, 53, 1918. 2 Edge Partington and Heape, Album, Series 3, pl. LXXVIIL 6 i Trobirand, S.-E. New Guinea. HE Part II. i 82 FISH HOOKS connection with No. 1, in pl. CXXYV., where it is shown on the shank. The origin is doubtless the same, but in this instance has become purely ornamental. I =—— . . . : pe EEE Ter EET RS 0 ~— a Pl. CXXIV., taken from an excellent specimen in the MacGregor Collection, Aberdeen oo CZ Bn Ey a = } | University, shows an example almost identical with the foregoing. I am inclined to 6. £ —=0 | I include it, since the details of the split cane work are so well shown, and the size is 4 | | | approximately the same. A somewhat doubtful point has been raised by Mr Hedley, ; Hl writing in The Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales' on the subject of J barbs, found on these large hooks. He suggests that they are merely stops to facilitate Ll the attachment of a separate barb following the usage in the Ellice and Gilbert Groups. If ; : this were so, it is curious that no example exists. Neither do I think Ih! "it is probable that the extra thickness below the barb would be so universal were it intended to add an extra barb with its necessary lashings, as illustrated in the adjoining sketch (fig. 88), which embodies the writer's ideas. A further series of these hooks is shown in pl. CXXYV., drawn from originals in the Brisbane Museum. Nos. 1 and 2 are certainly freak types, although the former illustrates the peculiarity of the shoulder cut on the shank instead of just below the barb point. The barb itself is lacking, and the doubt arises in my mind whether its use is not rather as a clothes or food hook than an implement for fishing; however, it is included, since the scope of this work must of necessity embrace a few types of doubtful utility. No. 2 also differs from any known type, and may be solely the Fie. 33. adaptation of a convenient natural bend to the maker's wants. Its length is 16 in. (406 em.). No. 8 brings us to more solid ground, since it represents an alternative pattern of large shark hook to that already | described. In this case the barb is distinet from the hook, and is attached thereto by a clumsy lashing overlaid with a thick coating of black gum. As I am, unfortunately, lacking in details of all these three examples, it would be unwise perhaps to speculate on the material of this barb; the others shown in the next plate are all of wood, and this probably resembles them, though at the same time the sketch rather suggests a pearl shell barb, since it is of more delicate construction. The somewhat elaborate projection at the base of the shank is noteworthy, and is doubtless a replica of those found on the turtle shell hooks ml already referred to. Its total length is 11 in. (28 cm.). ‘i i Among the fine collection of hooks from all parts of the world in the Pitt Rivers Museum : at Oxford, I am enabled to draw the excellent example shown in pl. CXXVI., which was collected by the Cook-Daniels Expedition from Gawa in this Group. The inward curve of the barb is more pronounced than that previously described, but otherwise it conforms in the main to this type. The lower outer edge shows some slight notching, whilst the lug for the snood is finished to represent the human face, the chin of which is deeply undercut to HW {Al afford a good hold. The length is the same as that of No. 8 in the previous plate. i || 8 Pl. CXXVII depicts a further pair of these large hooks, of which that on the right is unusual in that it is cut from one piece, and this obviates the unwieldy joint below the barb. Although they are obviously from the same locality (since they agree in many essential Pare CXXV. Edge artington’s Album, Series HL RT ——— i, in a — —-— { ! ! Part IL, July 1897, and pl. XIV, Trobirand, S.-E. New Guinea. ‘BMRY) © PIOJX( ‘WISN SAY Nd "TAXXD qwvid WIUMRIUMY NOS [SIRE TIAN XD Avid ‘mnasn i SIE TITAN XO 4L¥1d A I RCTS I Part II, or New Guinea. Goodenough Islands. D’Entrecasteaux Group. PAPUA AND MELANESIA 83 details), yet the bold outward sweep of the barb is so pronounced that one can only suppose that chance placed this highly suitable piece of hook material in the maker's hands, and he was tempted to depart from what must be an established form, to produce what is really a vastly more serviceable implement at a considerable saving of labour. The hook on the left is almost uniform with those previously mentioned, being 11} in. (29-3 em.), while that on the right measures 12} in. (34-2 em.) in length. The hook shown in pl. CXXVIIL., as well as in the one preceding, are all from the Cook-Daniels Expedition. This hook is interesting in that it represents a block of wood roughed out for shaping into the finished article. Tt would appear that a slab carrying a small branch is split from the side of a large tree, of which the plate shows the outer side (having the bark removed), the inner being still very rough. A study of the original in the British Museum reveals the reason why, in the majority of large wooden hooks, the barb is not in the same plane as the shank, since it follows that if the shank is made from the branch it projects, whereas if the barb and the base are cut from the slab itself the outline follows the shape of the tree. In length this unfinished example measures 22 in. (54-8 em.), whilst its weight is approximately 6 Ibs. The very primitive hook shown in fig. 84 is also a relic of the Cook-Daniels Expedition, and was obtained from the Island of Tubutubu. As the native population of this Island did not exceed three hundred in 1891, it may be inferred that there can never have been any great number of these hooks in existence. The material is a pale-coloured turtle shell, which must have been bent by heat; possibly when it was first made it may have had a less impossible shape than it shows at present. The edges are nicely bevelled, and the snood end has a rather large and rough hole, which has been drilled from both sides. The greatest length is 8 in. (7-2 em.). From the D’Entrecasteaux Group comes the remarkable contrivance figured in pl. CXXIX., which has already Fie. 34. British Museum. been illustrated and described by my friend, Mr Balfour, in Man? 1 cannot do better than reproduce his remarks: °° Amongst the specimens collected by Mr D. Jenness during his recent expedition to the Islands of the i Massim district of South-East New Guinea, under the auspices of the Oxford University, are : some native fish hooks of a type which I have not seen described before, and I send the i following brief account of them in the hope that it may prove of interest to others. These fish hooks are used by the natives in the hill villages of northern Goodenough Island for line fishing in the fresh water streams. Their interest lies in the fact that they are derived from Nature, which supplies them ready made. They merely require to be fastened to a tapered snood of twisted vegetable fibre, and are then ready for use. Three examples are shown in the photograph with their snoods attached. Each hook consists of the thick Siac i RR { Li k i | | TT — Tc. RP ! Thompson, B. N. Guinea, London, 1892. 2 Man, 9, 1915 Dorsal. Ventral. Prat CXXIX. Man, 9, 1915, i 1 2 84 FISH HOOKS upper joint of the hind leg of an Orthopteran insect (Eurycantha latro), one of the Phasmids. They are supplied by the male only, since these alone are furnished with the long, stout, re. curve spur, which renders the leg-joints so suitable for adaptation as fish hooks. The females have only small spurs, which would be useless for the purpose. The photographs of the dorsal (a) ventral (b) surfaces of one of the males of this species about 5} in. long show clearly the position of the spines upon the upper leg joints. These leg joints, and therefore the fish hooks made from them, are about 1§ in, or 4 cm. in length. I am not sure whether the hooks are baited when in use.” The print for pl. CXXX. was kindly sent me by the Authorities of the Musée N ational, St Germain, France; unfortunately but little information accompanied it, except that they came from the Bast Coast district. At first sight they are reminiscent of the Murray Island forms. They are also not unlike those illustrated in the next plate (CXXXI.), from examples in the Bishop Museum, Honolulu ; these last are from the little-known Low Islands, midway between New Britain and the Papuan mainland. Although of crude workmanship, their outlines are good, and they are artificially bent by heat. It is possible that all four had shell sinkers attached to their shanks, as shown in the left-hand specimen, which resembles some New Britain hooks, so that it is probable that they derived their culture there, rather than from the mainland. It is well-nigh impossible to localize accurately any particular type of hooks. All the people in these Island-studded seas are mainly maritime, possessing good sea-going canoes, and further are distinctly warlike, so that in a land where almost every village is at variance with its neighbour, it is often a case of extermination or absorption by a more powerful enemy. Of late years many of the inhabitants of these small Islands have been deported to supply labour for the plantations; instancing only two cases of depopulation, a recent writer! says of the Anchorite Group that only about sixty now remain, whilst only forty are left in the Hermit Group, whereas in 1881 the population was between three and four hundred. From Finschhafen in the former German Territory come the very distinctive examples displayed in pls. CXXXIIL and CXXXIIL As specimens of hook craft they stand alone, and are highly creditable to their originators. They are called ifan in the local language, whilst asino stands for a fishing line.2 The shanks in every case resemble a lead pencil, and are invariably made from tridacna shell, a shallow groove being worked round the top for attaching the snood. The barbs in the former plate are all of carefully worked turtle shell, whilst in the latter two are cut from some close-grained bone. These were kindly sent me by my friend, Dr Brigham of the Bishop Museum, Honolulu. The turtle shell barbs differ somewhat from the others in having numerous serrations along the outer edge, whilst the small unoccupied holes are probably for the bait string. The outer edge of these barbs are ground down very thinly, and in some instances (Nos. 1 and 4) have become a distinet feature, and appear as a ledge. Each is attached by two lashings, which are carried in shallow grooves round the shank, the extreme end of which is rubbed down to form a flat surface. It is a matter of conjecture as to how these slender rods of tridacna shell are produced, but one may suppose that, as the natives are probably conversant with the manufacture of shell money, they are made by similar means—that 18, by rolling between two flat slabs of stone; in any case, they must represent a great expenditure of labour. Nos. 1, 8, and 4 are ! Pullen-Bury, In a German Colony, p. 75, 1908. * Contributed by Sidney H. Ray. Part 11. Prate CXXX. Museé de St. Germaine, France. B. P. BISHOP MUSEUM. Low Ids,N. Guinea. 1633 BERNICE PAUAHI BISHOP MUSEUM. = # 4 ’ ... E - PraTe CXXXI Siassi, Low Islands, East Coast. New Guinea. SECTION Part II. Jabin, Finschaven, New Guinea. PraTe CXXXIIL 1, III, IV, Author's Collection ; II, Fuller Collection. Prate CXXXIII Bishop Museum, Honolulu. " Sn - Sin 5 : oiiing sebonmn a a il ft i Prat CXXXIV. Author's Collection. PraTte CXXXV. Author’s Collection. Matty Island, Exchequer Group. PAPUA AND MELANESIA 85 in my own collection, and measure a little over 5 in. (13 em.). No. 2 is in Mr Fuller's Collection, being smaller, 8} in. (7-9 em.). It is interesting to record of this last that the locality is given as Tami Island, one of the Crétin Group which lies just off the mainland at Huon Gulf. Nore.—Since the above was written, an example similar to No. 2, pl. CXXXIIL, has reached me, wherein the barb is formed from a curved beak of some large bird. The point is extremely sharp, and whilst it affords a very practicable and easily secured sub- stitute for the turtle shell barb, it also goes a long way to show the state of intelligence of these people. Examples of the use of birds’ beaks are, so far as I am aware, unique. As I have mentioned on p. 79, D’Albertis! speaks of the Bushmen of the Fly River Delta asking for the claws of a hawk that he had shot for a similar purpose, but beyond this there is no indication of precedent. From the Anchorite Group are some very primitive examples shown in fig. 35, being cut from either Trocus maximus or Turbo marmorata. Considerable ingenuity has been shown in selecting suitable pieces of shell in which the barb is at a different angle to the shank. As the snood end tapers away, a small hole is drilled to afford a hold, and this is so well done, and differs so greatly from the usual clumsy method, that one would like to know with what implement it was made. In some cases a notch is placed above the hole for further security. The largest measures 2% in. (5-9 em.), the smallest is 1} in. (8-7 em.) in length. PL. CXXXIV. — Almost the same form occurs on Matty Island Fic. 35. Author's Collection. in the Exchequer Group. The small holes, however, are not present, and the line, which is of very evenly twisted material resembling the pandanus fibre, is attached direct to the shank and held by a notch only. Sometimes these snoods are mounted with an ingenious guard of wood (pl. CXXXV.), which, after being split down the centre, is hollowed out and refixed by binding. To anyone acquainted with the very distinct types of weapons and implements from this Group, which have no duplicate elsewhere in the Pacific, it is not surprising that their hooks also retain singular characteristics. Whilst in Niié and the Mortlock Group wooden rods are attached to the snoods, it is only from this region that the snood itself passes through the hollow rod. All these older hooks appear to have been smeared over with some brown deposit, the largest specimen in the plate being caked with it. It occurs to me that, as these hooks may have been discarded for the metal variety, that they have been laid aside in the houses, and this deposit may be simply the accumulation of soot and dirt. Some remarkably well- 1 D’Albertis, New Guinea, vol. ii., p. 171, London, 1880. 86 FISH HOOKS made hooks, also from the Anchorite Group, are shown in the next plate (CXXXVI.), the top row consisting of a series of variously sized examples all cut from white pearl shell. The labour of grinding them out must have been great, and the barb points are remarkably sharp; in each case a small projecting lug affords a hold for the line, the large centre one being of the heavy type previously described. The lower row are all cut from very thin turtle shell, but in other respects they resemble those in the top row; size about two-thirds reduced. FIJI HOOK NAMES. Stwal .. i ve wr a oie -+ Wooden hook. (Also the verb to fish.)? Ar-MaTer! .. - 2h vie we .. A thorn used as a hook. BavaBoyvara! Al oo - .. Turtle shell hook. Nav? .. A oe oa os vo .. To fish with a hook. Navra? oe - oa - as .. To fish with a thorn (M’Bav dialect). Wa-N1-Stwa?. . - vi “ ve .. Fishing line. Neaaro .. ve "eA ie rr " .. Shark. The question of authentic examples from this important Group has proved to be of considerable difficulty. Hooks described as such are to be found in a number of Museums, but they have, on investigation, invariably turned out to be from the adjacent Islands. From the list of hook names one would have been led to believe that they were extensively used. It seems, however, that such is not the case, at any rate in more modern days, since the taking of fish for household purposes rests largely with the women, who use nets. The main source of supply are the fences or weirs (mba or mba-ni-ika), which were renewed annually, not necessarily in the same spot, and were made of stakes and sennit. Missionary Williams notes that hooks were used prior to 1860.2 Since then they appear to have been discarded, for Sir Basil Thompson, writing to me, says that, “ When I first arrived in Fiji in 1883 the native fish hooks had already gone out of use; only the European type were used, but I did once see a wooden hook with a lump of coral attached, which was alleged to have been used for sharks (mnggio). I was told by old natives that in Kandabu and probably in other parts there were wooden fish hooks, made, as far as I can remember, out of mangrove or iron wood. These hooks were not baited, but were used exclusively for trolling for large fish, such as the saga. A piece of vau bark, which looks very white in the water, was tied on to attract the fish. The lines were also made of twisted vau (Malvacee).* Dr Glanville Corney, whose knowledge of the Fijis goes back a great many years, says that he rarely saw a Fijian using a hook and line; those that did so being usually Gilbert Islanders, or other imported labourers. He recalls that formerly large wooden hooks were used for shark, and that on one occasion he presented a Fijian with a large iron hook for this purpose. Pl. CXXXVII. offers a good illustration of one of these large shark hooks, which was the gift of Sir Everard-im-Thurn, late High Commissioner for the Western Pacific, to the Horniman Museum. The stone sinker will be readily noticed as being a peculiarity of these ! Transactions Fijian Society, Ogilvie 3, 1909. ? Contributed by Sidney H. Ray. * Williams, Fiji and the Fijians, vol. i., p- 90, 1860. * Seeman, Viti, Cambridge, 1862. Matty Island. Exchequer Group. Prate CXXXVL Author's Collection. RE I EE RR < Fas, Ee ERR Sep Eseries Ee PrLaTE CXXXY]I fHorniman Museum, London, Part II. PAPUA AND MELANESIA 87 hooks. I am indebted to Dr Harrison for permission to include this example, the measure- ments of which are—length 9 in. (22-8 cm.), greatest width 6 in. (16-5 em.). A pair of somewhat similar hooks are shown in the next plate (CXXXVIIL), taken from a photograph kindly contributed by the Authorities of the Maclay Museum, Sydney University. These are, I think, among the few authentic examples from this Group, being of considerable age and almost black in colour. The length of the largest is 7 in. (17-8 em.). That on the right is more than usually complete, having the stone sinker attached quite near the top of the shank, as in the Horniman specimen. The hank of twisted sennit line is particularly noticeable, and also agrees with the former plate in being attached to the under side of the sinker. Several authorities have kindly drawn my attention to examples of the composite spinner type in use in this Group. These are explained by the presence of a large Tongan population in the western part of these Islands, which naturally introduced its own methods, and in many ways greatly influenced the original stock. As these hooks are not strictly a Fijian invention, they hardly come under review in the present article. Sir Basil Thompson showed me a pair, actually obtained in Fiji, which resemble in every detail the Tongan type shown in pl. XXXVI. That they were made in the Fijis is probable, but they do not represent purely Fijian characteristics. It is noteworthy that these Tongan hooks have undergone a slight variation, due probably to the lack of suitable material, for in a case under my notice a wooden shank, devoid of the pearl shell inlay, takes the place of the whalebone, an example which is figured in pl. XXXVI., No. 1. i Te a — - ———— Prat CXXXVIIL University Museum, Sydney, N.S. W. i i i i | d 8 i Ee i | Eo PART III MICRONESIA Part III. Gilbert Group. Prate CXL. PLATE CXXXIX. Oldman Collection. British Museum. GILBERT GROUP HOOK NAMES. Marau? oe vi .e “ ot ve . .. A hook. Axgawal oe ‘eo “e . oe . i .. To fish. TINGIA2 wn a fe 'a oe . ve .. A large wooden hook. Te-WaAgA-N1-Ba® .. Je ve ve “ ‘ .. A spinner hook. FISH NAMES. Bakoa® “ . ve ‘ . “ .e .. Shark. Baku? oe a vi oe oa . or .. Large sting ray. BuaTara® .. oN “es .r “ ‘. “ .. A small sting ray. Nagvavmar® .. “ .e “ ve oe . .. Leather jacket. This interesting Group, which by culture more properly belongs to the Polynesian Section, since its people seem to have been influenced by immigrants from the Ellice Group, offers a variety of hook forms extending from the large wooden hooks to the small composite spinner type used for bonito. The former, particularly, show a great difference of form, which may be accounted for by the presence of palu (Ruvettus pretiosus) as well as shark, necessitating a hook of somewhat different form. The shark in old days must have occupied a place of prominent consideration in the native mind, for, apart from the use of its flesh as food, its jaws supplied vast quantities of teeth for arming their weapons, which are peculiar to this Group alone. As their long spears contained some hundreds of these teeth, each separately drilled and bound on, it follows that the taking of sharks was an occupation of some importance. Louis Becke,* whose descriptions of native manners are unusually correct, mentions ‘ huge wooden hooks, cunningly trained from a young tree root into proper shape and forty fathoms of strong coconut fibre rope, baited with a whole flying fish tied along the curve’ Whilst Dana,’ speaking of the people of Tapiteuea, or Drummond Island, says that they subsist almost entirely on fish, the larger kinds being caught in deep water with wooden hooks. Mr A. Grimble, a resident in the Group in 1912-1920, who presented to the British Museum a very complete ethnological collection, has furnished some interesting data, among which he establishes the use of some of these large hooks for taking palu. The pair illustrated in pl. CXXXIX. were actually obtained by him, and are now in our National Collection, the smaller one having the uncommon name of Ten-Tara-Wasena==Sir Hook- at-Foot. The barb is a ferocious affair spliced to the outer side of the shank, the wood hard, and light brown in colour. The lashings are of coconut fibre, size 63 by 5} in. (17-2 by 14 em.). The larger one is the more ancient, and has seen much service, the shank being serrated by the fishes’ teeth. In this case the barb is attached by a splice to the inner side of the shank, and the separate lashings give a good idea of the method of joining barb to shank; in length 1 Contributed by F. W. Christian. ® Finsch, Ann. K.K. Naturhist Hofmus, vii., 1893. 3 Man, 49, 1921. 4 Becke, Wild Life in Southern Seas, p. 76, 1897. 8 Dana, Corals and Coral Islands, p. 287, London, 1872. 92 FISH HOOKS it measures 12} in. (31 em.), the width being 61 in. (16-5 cm.). Pl CXL. illustrates another pair of these large hooks, differing in some details from the former. Both are formed from a natural bend, probably a root, and the smaller one has the shank somewhat roughly squared. The attachment of the snood, which is of twisted sennit, whipped to half its length with fine cord of the same material, is provided with two deep notches at the end of the shank in the usual method. It is worthy of comment that these large hooks are all made with a twist towards the barb and out of the general plane of the shank, a form which is much favoured by anglers at home. The smaller specimen measures 6§ in. (17-3 em.) by 4} in. (10-8 em.), the larger being 11 in. (27-7 em.) by 6} in. (16-3 cm.). I am indebted to Mr Oldman for the use of this photograph. Pl. CXLI. shows yet another of these hooks, being the largest with which I am acquainted. It is distinctive in that the lug for the snood projects somewhat, whilst the snood itself is completely overlaid with binding for the whole of its length. Such a hook would be eminently suitable for the rough work required of it, whether it be palu or shark; it is of considerable age, and has seen much service. The shank is obviously made from a natural bend. The length is 9} in. (23-9 em.), the width 7 in. (17-5 em.). Like the two former, it is in the Oldman Collection. Mr Grimble has drawn attention to the different barb and snood lashings found on these large hooks. Since the palu is a soft-mouthed fish, no particular care is taken with the lashings; it is otherwise, however, with the shark, whose razor-like teeth are apt to cut them loose, and to obviate this each turn of the loop is knotted so that, even though one or two are bitten through, the rest will stand firm. SMALL Hooks For SPINNING, ETC. In this plate (CXLII.) is shown a small series peculiar to Ocean Island, Bonapé, famous for its export of phosphate rock. The material from which the shanks are made is stalagmite, a calcareous mineral formed by water deposit in the cracks and hollows of the coral of which these Islands are formed. It is usually found in sheets or layers, and easily fractures along the line of the veins; it takes a fair polish, and the different veins of yellow found in it are due to impurities. In some parts it is entirely free from these, and is then almost white in colour. What first led to the use of this material would be difficult to say; nevertheless, these shanks are finely ground down, and offer some of the best examples of this class of work to be found in the Pacific. Their shape is invariably the same, the inner side being bevelled off to a ridge. Those here illustrated measure from 4% in. (12 em.) to 8 in. (7-6 em.) in length, the former being the largest that I have seen. The barbs appear to have been always of human bone, and are delicately formed. These are attached by lashings of finely twisted brown fibre, somewhat resembling the Maori flax lines, and further it is noteworthy that these stone shanks bear a striking resemblance to certain charm stones, manea, often found in New Zealand middens, and illustrated by the late Dr Hamilton.! The hackles consist of frayed-out pandanus fibre, and are more than usually long for the size of the hook. All these have a small hole drilled through the end of the shank as a means of attaching the snood; they are remarkably well worked and quite unlike the usual native style, and it would be interesting to know by what method they are made. No. 1 attracts additional interest ! Hamilton, Bulletin No. 2, Fig. 9, Dominion Museum , Wellington, 1908. Part IIL Prare CXLIIL I. IV. Fuller Collection ; 11, 111, Author's Collection : Bonapé, Ocean Island, Gilbert Group. Prare CXLI Oldman Collection Part III. PrLate CXLIV. Author's Collection. Prate CXLIIL Gilbert Group. British Museum. ion nS hy? a 1 foi! iE MICRONESIA 93 in that it has been twice drilled, which is well shown in the illustration, and the hole appears to have been plugged with some fibrous material. This hook fortunately also retains the original line, a coil of some length, formed of a close and evenly twisted brown fibre. It is rare to find a complete specimen, probably because a piece of line is always of use on board ship, and to the uninitiated one piece of twine is much like another. The other specimens in this photograph are all of similar make, and the description of one serves for the whole. SpiNNER Hooks. Pl. CXLIIL—Until 1920 had set in I was unaware that hooks of this type were in use here. A short time previously our National Collection was enriched by the gift of an extensive series of native articles presented by Mr A. Grimble, a resident in these Islands from 1912 to 1920. A glance at the plate will at once demonstrate the mixed variety of types, and, in spite of their actually having been obtained in these Islands, a word of warning should be said against their complete acceptance as true local forms. It should be remembered that these people willingly volunteer for plantation work, and that considerable colonies of them are to be found both in Samoa and Fiji, and it is more than likely that, on their return home, they would produce a type influenced more or less by what they had seen in use elsewhere. This would explain the strange admixture of features embodied in Nos. 1, 2, and 8 in the plate, all of which are reminiscent of a Solomon-Ellice type. No. 2, however, is a very different case, and represents, I consider, the true form. The shank is of tridacna shell of considerable age, the barb of rusty iron wire is later, and strongly resembles those from Florida in the Solomons. Reverting to Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, the variety of materials employed aptly illustrates the decay of old traditions. No. 1 has a pearl shell barb, closely akin to the Ellice pattern; No. 8 is fitted with a brass barb; the hackle is put on in the Tahitian fashion, although the snood hole is bored from back to front. No. 4 has a barb of coconut shell, whilst No. 5 is an old shank of pearl shell, showing the correct method of boring the snood hole. The hackles generally are of larger size than is usual elsewhere, and are all made of human hair, a commodity in considerable favour here for making lines. In the case of No. 1, the line is of twisted fibre (Ficus obliqua). The largest hook in the plate, No. 1, measures 4} in. (10-5 cm.), the smallest, No. 2, is 2} in. (6-3 em.) long. PL. CXLIV.—It may be of interest to include this plate of small iron hooks from the same locality, following the fashion of other Groups; these have been made after the old patterns, and the pronounced incurve of the barb has, in most instances, been retained. All are made of iron of different thicknesses, doubtless obtained from passing vessels. The snoods are somewhat rough, being of twisted sennit. They are attached to the inner side of the shank, which, in the one instance that I examined, had been notched to afford a firmer hold, and further strength had been added by a whipping of finely plaited human hair, a typical Gilbert custom. These hooks are also interesting in that they were collected by Admiral Davis of H.M.S. Royalist, 1890-1893. The largest, in the centre, is 5 in. (12-7 em.) in length. Ebon, Marshall Group. Part 111. FISH HOOKS MARSHALL GROUP HOOK NAME. & il Kant Ea Ja oa “i “a vie .. Hock. Specimens from this region are fortunately fairly plentiful, and I think that I am able to show nearly all the types formerly in use by the inhabitants of this Group. Of book references there are / none of recent date in the English fied language, though one or two German aN writers have exhaustively dealt with this vo Group, whose culture closely resembles 4 that of the Eastern Carolines.2 Although this and the previous Group may be said to be adjacent, and the people of both to have been great seafarers, yet their civilization appears to have been very different, so much so, in fact, that the writer just quoted states that he considers the Gilbert Group folk to have been mainly influenced by the Western Carolines, At any rate, their hook forms vary consider- ably, and one may search in vain for any striking similarity between the two Groups. From Ebon, the most southerly Island and the nearest to the Gilberts, comes the large and finely-worked example in pl. CXLV. The general outline is not unlike the Gilbert hooks, particularly in the large lug for attaching the snood, but the whole shows far superior workmanship, which places it on a level with the large Fro, 35. Bishop Museum, Honolulu, Tahitian hooks. I am indebted to the Authorities of the Bishop Museum, Hono- lulu, for sending me this plate. The measurements are approximately 113 in. (29-8 cm.). / Ili SPINNER HooOKs. For some unaccounted reason, hooks of this pattern are among the commonest met today. They are usually attributed to Mille Island which, if correct, would necessitate a fairly constant employment for the people of this small chain of atolls. It js probable, ! Contributed by Sidney H. Ray. * Kramer, Hawaii, etc., Stuttgart, 1906. Prate CXLV Bishop Museum, Honolulu, Part III. Marshall Group. MICRONESIA 95 however, that this type is representative of the whole Group. [Those shown in pl. CXLVL are illustrative of what native ingenuity can produce from a piece of rough pearl shell, since both barb and shank are of this material, and though as hooks they display but little artistic merit, yet their coarseness is at the same time an accession of strength. Moreover, I am of Fic. 37. Bishop Museum, Honolulu. the opinion that, were these rough excrescences reduced to a flat surface, the nacre would be destroyed, and the hook as a spinner become less efficient. It is recognized by anglers that the more lively the behaviour of an artificial bait in the water, the more deadly it becomes, and the presence of these irregularities of surface would greatly facilitate such movement. I have picked out this plate, which has been kindly forwarded by the Authorities at Philadelphia, U.S.A., more particularly owing to its excellence as a photograph and the wealth of detail shown therein. Both specimens are typical and aptly illustrate the coarse, rough state in which the material is used. This shell is noticeable for its whiteness and lustre, but the unusual length of the barb would seem to be a source of weakness. These hooks vary considerably in size, although none are very small. Snoods apparently were not used, since none are Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, U.S.A. ever attached; the line, therefore, is fastened directly to the shank, and any fold in the thickness of the shell is usually drilled with a single hole. plainly butted on to the lower end of the shank (which is serrated), and rather neatly attached by lashings of fine twisted sennit, the some- what bushy hackle being of frayed-out pandanus. When these hooks come into collector's hands the barbs are always loose, owing to the dryness of the lashings, but if one is placed in water the bindings take up and the barb becomes a fixture. These hooks are shown at their usual size, and it is of interest to know that they have been in the Academy of Sciences since the early days of the last century. In fig. 36 is shown a similar example to the foregoing, except that the barb is furnished with an additional outer barb, thus greatly increasing its efficiency. In this respect it appears to be unique, and probably represents an improvement peculiar to some particular locality. In other respects it conforms to those previously described. My friends at the Bishop Museum, Honolulu, have kindly sent me the example in fig. 37, cut from a single piece of iridescent pearl shell. It was formerly in the Emerson Collection, which dates back many years, so there is little doubt of its authenticity. It is my opinion that it is another of these specially localized types which are now extinct, and owes its origin to some outside influence, since the workmanship and finish are far in advance of The barbs are Fig. 38. After Finsch. anything else from this Group. Another curiosity is shown in fig. 88, after Finsch, who is a reliable writer. It is cut from the tooth of a whale, and, as the illustration is only repro- duced in the scale of 8 inches to 1 inch, the original must be of considerable size. The form seems to belong more to Eastern Polynesia, but as I have not seen the original I hesitate to | 4 nn ps REET as A BZ 96 FISH HOOKS express an opinion. Had the writer been less famous as an ethnologist, I should have been tempted to pass it by, and at the same time it should also be remembered that he wrote his notes more than thirty years ago, a time when conditions in the Islands were very different from what they are today, and when forgeries had hardly become regular articles of commerce. CAROLINE GROUP HOOK NAMES. Eas. Kusaig! oe . .. «+ RX Rou .. «+ Hook. Ponaril ve i a .. Kacn, Kas "» » 2 . a “a ve PAT... “ .. Pearl shell shank. vw 1 oi ue oe .. Lawrr i .. To fish. LADRONES? ve . il .. JaGUET .. .. Hook (Chamorro dialect). CENTRAL. GREENWICH IsLaND? .. .e .. Marav . .. Hook (Polynesian). "» wv 3 ie .. Marav Hokorr .. Large hook. Yap? . i ve vs vo Lam ii .. Hook of wood. o's i. “io i n ‘Yam ve .. Shank for a bonito hook. vw 2 ue oe a . +s Trea e .. To fish. Rox .. e = ve .. Maxovu or .. Hook (cf. Matau). WESTERN. PrrrTon? ‘ .- .o .e ‘e .. The shell shank of a bonito hook. PARIBUIRIY .“e os id ae ie .. Bonito hook (cf. Pa, Ba, Polynesian). Gay! .s eh “ - os ig .. Turtle shell hook. Quev® .. a ve .e . oe .. Hook. PeLEW Group. Movat .. .. “r ia a ue .. Bonito hook. IcLwar? .. . ve Turtle shell hook. MRENEL* Line of hibiscus fibre. Havv4 va . ‘ia i va .. An iron hook. Hams .. ‘a vs . Se a .. A pearl shell shank. Crave .. “i Oa vi . a .. A small line. Yar. Lam® .. ve . pl - a .. Wooden hook. Examples of hook craft from this extensive Group afford many varied and interesting demonstrations of primitive ingenuity and skill. In comparison with the majority of the Pacific Islands, our knowledge of this particular locality is decidedly meagre. One or two ! Contributed by F. W. Christian. ? Contributed by Sidney H. Ray. ? Furness, The Island of Stone Money, 1910. * Kubary, Kenninis des Karolinen Archipels, Leiden, 1892. © Arago, Voyage autour du Monde, 1839 ¢ Wilson, An Account of the Pelew Islands, p- 311, 3rd ed., London, 1789. Sol Part III. ; Ponapé, Eastern Caroline Group, MICRONESIA 97 German writers have written to some length on the ethnology, but contributions in the English language are scanty. Now that the Japanese have secured a hold on the Group, it is not unlikely that the natives will eventually lose all trace of their old-time customs and usages. Hooks appear to have been in favour, and their production reached a high standard of excellence. Both their form and the material from which they were wrought are varied; turtle shell as well as pearl shell cut from the solid appears to have been the most often used, whilst the composite variety of hooks is seldom found, although an exception must be made in the case of those rescued from the ruins of Nan-Matal and illustrated in the following plate. One can only roughly surmise the age of these, but, taking into consideration the decay of material in a tropical climate, I doubt if they exceed a couple of hundred years. The large wooden hooks hardly occur at all except in isolated instances, due probably to outside influence. The shanks and barbs shown in pl. CXLVIL. are part of a number found by Mr F. W. Christian in 1895 during the exploration of the famous ruins of Nan-Matal. These, together with numerous other ancient shell objects, were brought to light whilst excavating one of the tombs or chambers found in the inner sanctuary, which native tradition calls the Tomb of the Kings. That these hooks are more or less contemporary with the builders of these wonderful ruins is possible; on the other hand, the interment may have taken place long after the ruins had ceased to be inhabited whilst still retaining their character of sanctity. I have stated above that I do not consider their age to be more than two hundred years. All those that I have examined at the British Museum are much corroded, but it must be remembered that decay takes place very quickly in tropical climates, and pearl shell, after all, is not a substance of great resistance. A cursory glance will show that their makers were not highly skilled in the Arts, and that the present inhabitants have made considerable strides. The plate shows a pair of shanks and three barbs; all are of white pearl shell, although their finder mentions that some of the latter were of bone. The barbs show considerably more shaping than the 3 shanks, and doubtless represent the most difficult phase of the making of the complete 4 hook; one has a hole drilled through its base, whilst the others must have relied solely on the hold afforded by the expanded bases. Their resemblance to these hooks from the 3 Marshall Group (pl. CXLVL) is worthy of note, and all doubtless owe their origin to a g common type. In these Ponapé examples the shank hole is omitted, and its place taken by an ungainly projection left on the inner side. All the specimens in this plate are shown actual size. From the same locality come the subjects of the next plate (CXLVIIL), illustrative of the type in vogue up to the advent of the European trader with his metal hooks and other civilized trade goods. The material in each case is turtle shell, both massive in substance and heavy in design. Nos. 1 and 2 are merely small editions of No. 8, which last is an unusually fine example, and its authenticity is proved by its having formed part of the Peabody Collection since 1835. All the snoods are of twisted fibre, probably that of the hibiscus, which supplies the major part of the cordage of these Islands, a somewhat clumsy hole is drilled in the shank, and the snood is further secured by strips of fibrous material overlaid with binding up to the end, which is in all cases knotted. Threaded on this are a dozen light brown seeds, which appear to be banana. Their presence here is problematical: they may be purely ornamental, since they sometimes occur on the small satchels or bags we { a a a AE i i Prate CXLVIL British Museum. A de RR Ad i 4 2 BE itty pes PraTeE CXLVIIL. Peabody Museum, Salem, Mass, Part 111. Tobi, Lord North Island, Caroline Group, W. 98 FISH HOOKS that the natives usually carry about with them; on the other hand, they may have been added to give buoyancy to the hook, or even represent the idea of a rattle, though in this instance they would be only a survival. Rattles are in use particularly | for taking shark in one or two localities, the idea being that the fish is thereby attracted. el In the Trobirands, for instance, the rattle is distinct from the hook: and remains in the hands of the fisherman. Malinowski' says that these rattles, which are made of segments of coconut shell threaded on a bent stick, are sounded under the water and give a very good | imitation of a shoal of fish splashing about. The idea is ingenious, : \\ and possibly effective, since sound travels a long way under water. : 4 BY This large piece measures 8 in. (7-6 em.), whilst the smaller ones Fic. 39. Pomaps, O° 1} in. (88 om.) and 2} in. (5-8 em.) respectively. Fig. 89, also : after Finsch. of turtle shell, is taken from Finsch;®> the former resembles more 4 that from Nukuor in the central portion of the Group; however, - as this writer is quite reliable, it may not be out of place to include it here. The combination of gorge and hook is remarkable, and shows how the idea of the former contrivance still persists. The attachment of the snood with the line carried down the shank is unusual, and was doubtless very serviceable. It is shown in the photograph at its actual size. CAROLINE GROUP (WEST) From the small Island of Tobi, or Lord North, comes the remarkable series of hooks reproduced in the next two plates. The first (CXLIX.) was kindly sent me by the Authorities of the Peabody Museum, Salem, Mass., and will at once be noted for its wealth of detail. All these hooks are of the composite type, and in use were of course unbaited. This series was collected in quite early days, and deposited in the Museum in 1887. Variations occur both in material and design, a similarity, however, may be observed in the thickness of the barb base as compared with the delicate point, whilst the double secondary barbs are particularly serviceable. Practically nothing appears to be known of this small Island. It has been recorded, however, although I am unable to trace the authority, that stone platforms and images resembling those on Easter Island are present, which would add peculiar interest to this locality. No. 1 has a shank of bone, probably turtle, and is of unusual size, being 6} in. (16-5 em.) long. The remarkable three-pointed barb is cut from a solid piece of turtle shell, and a useful hackle of white feathers is also provided. No. 2 represents perhaps a more ancient type, at least as far as concerns the shank, which is of some slaty stone. It is 8,% in. (8-7 em.) long, cylindrical in section, and probably antedates the turtle shell barb by many years. This type of shank is essentially primitive, and occurs in localities widely separated. In New Zealand they are frequently found in middens, and have become, through their connection with the earliest inhabitants, to be considered as charms and ornaments. The same applies to the Esquimaux people of the North-West Coast of America, where they are frequently found. Mr H. D. Skinner, of the Otago Museum, Dunedin, N.Z., has dealt very fully with the New Zealand examples, and I shall have occasion to refer to his monograph later. No. 8 seems to be a more or less regular type, the distinguishing feature being the curved shank, which is cut from tridacna shell, the barb ' Man, 53, 1918. 2 Finsch, Ann. K.K. Naturhist Hofmus., VIL., 1893. Museum, Salem, Mass Prate CXLIX. Peabody Part III. Tobi, Lord North Island, Caroline Group, W. PrLaTE CL. I, Author's Cellection ; II, Fuller Collection ; III, British Museum. Prate CLI. Yap, Pelew, Caroline Group. W. (Actual size.) Author's Collection. MICRONESIA 99 being of turtle shell, which, in comparison with the others, is but poorly pointed; length, 81 in. (8:9 em.). No. 4 presents yet a further variety: the shank is cut from pearl shell, having a barb of turtle shell; length, 134 in. (5 em.). No. 5 in outline resembles No. 3; the shank, however, is of conus shell, the barb being worked into two needle-like points in a similar fashion to No. 1. A formidable hackle of brilliant red feathers is attached, which in clear water must have been a most deadly bait; its length is 31 in. (8-9 em.). All the barbs are joined to their shanks by finely twisted lashings passing through one or more holes bored in the barbs; the attachment of the snoods is curious, being placed some way down each shank and not at the end—usually the sides are notched, and a simple turn taken round them. In No. 8 a lug has been formed and a neat hole bored. The hackles are of soft feathers, and Mr L. W. Jenkins, the Curator, informs me that they appear to be from the domestic fowl. All the snoods are of twisted fibre, and are continued down the inner side of the shank and pass through the upper hole of the barb, a method generally in use among Polynesians. In the following plate (CL.) is a further small series of these spinner hooks. No. 1 calls for but little comment, since it resembles those in the previous plate No. 2 is a later development, the shank being nicely cut from a piece of closely grained turtle bone; the barb is of turtle shell, and the general method of construction is similar to those already described. The hackle is of white feathers, probably from the wing of a fowl; length, 4} in. (10-8 em.). No. 3 is remarkable for its massive proportions, and, although its locality has been lost, its method of construction and the shape of ] the barb betrays its origin. It represents Feo. a0. Authors Collention. Tob oud a more early form than the preceding, North's Island. and by its having the remains of a fibre hackle, it would seem that the introduction of feathers for this purpose is of later date. It may be noticed that, with the exception of a single drilled hole on No. 3 in the previous plate, all the lashings are secured by notches. This is well brought out in the present case, which is reproduced actual size. Where the snoods have survived they are always tapered towards the free end, yet another Polynesian peculiarity (fig. 40). The people of this Island also produced very serviceable turtle shell hooks of simple form, cut from the solid and delicately finished. All are elaborately barbed, and in this respect equal any steel hook on the market today. The end of the shank is also forked, thereby providing a more practical method of attaching the snood than is in use in any other locality. The largest measures 1}} in. (4-9 em.), whilst the smallest is only § in. (22 em.). The examples in pl. CLL are more representative of the Caroline Group than any of the foregoing, and appear to be in pretty general use both round Yap as well as the Pelews. In dealing with this last Group, one turns naturally to Wilson’s! account. He remarks that ‘their fishing hooks were of tortoise shell. Their twines, their cords, and all their fishing nets were well manufactured and made from the husks of the coconut.” He illustrates a hook which 1 Wilson, An Account of the Pelew Islands, p. 311, 3rd ed., London, 1789. 100 FISH HOOKS is, unfortunately, hardly suited for reproduction, but it readily coincides with those in this plate. All these are cut from the solid turtle shell, that in the middle being of considerable thickness. The workmanship is good, and the proportions of the two larger are well balanced. It is curious to notice the very degenerate secondary barb; one wonders at its || survival, considering the amount of extra work entailed. The snood attachment is also | good, both hole and notch being provided. In size the largest measures about 2 square inches (5 cm.). Since the introduction of European metal hooks, these have gone out of use, and, as relics of the past, have acquired some esteem in the eyes of the natives, and Fic. 41. Author’s Collection. where found today have been made up as neck ornaments, examples of which are described under pl. CLXXXVIL. Pl. CLIL shows more of these hooks, differing somewhat in form, but in other respects identical. The next illustration, pl. CLIIL., offers a variety of types, and, like the former, is taken um from Kubary’s' excellent account. This author says that Nos. 1 and 8 can hardly be called original forms, since the Islanders have had communion with Europeans for so many MN years, and have not only been influenced thereby by the European hook, but have also learnt | to appreciate and prefer metal to their native turtle shell. Nos. 1 and 8 are metal, probably iron. The old native-made hooks, where preserved, are only used as ornaments and charms. No. 2 is a hook of turtle shell, used for catching kersuak (Coryphena, or dolphin) and is called mova kersuak. It has a line of hibiscus fibre called mrenel. No. 4, a somewhat similar hook to No. 2, though lacking the additional outer barb, is fashioned in turtle shell; also it is used for fishing in deep water and is called alwal. No. 5.—This illustrates a type of hook essentially Polynesian. The shell back is usually much rougher and smaller, and 1 Kubary, Kenntnis des Karolinen Archipels, Leiden, 1892, Caroline Group, W hi i E i i: bl fbi i Hh i Prat CLIL Prate CLIIL After Kubary : Yap. IL, IV, VI, Pelews, \fter Kubary : 1, 111, V, Western Carolines Part III 1] ii | Prate CLIV. Author's Collection. MICRONESIA 101 the turtle shell barb has three holes; it is also cut at a different angle from the general type. Kubary' says that it is an early form uninfluenced by contact with visitors, and its name, paribwiri, corresponds to the Polynesian pa or ba, by which these composite hooks are everywhere known; further, its use is the same—namely, bonito catching on Sansoral in the Pelews. The back (peirtoh) is made from tridacna shell with a barb of turtle shell, this particular type being very stout and much curved, wherein it approaches the Yap form. At Marravidi, in the Pelews, Kubary found a similar hook, which was known locally under the Polynesian name of ba, and was used in fishing for karanap. No. 6, gorge for flying fish (gok), made of turtle shell. The line is called sult. From Uleai, in the Mackenzie Group north of Yap, come the hooks in fig. 41. All are of small size, and in shape of the barb they are reminiscent of some of those from Tobi, pre- viously described. The shanks, however, differ considerably, both in outline and material, being cut from black shell, the outer side of which has a high polish, whilst the inner is streaked with white or brown. The barbs are of turtle shell cut from the solid, and have an additional outer barb at the base. The lines are of well-twisted brown fibre; the lashings are similar, and, like the Tobi examples, are attached to the shank by small notches in the sides of the shell. In most cases a small hackle of black fibre is attached. These are very short, and are cut squarely at the ends. As in their present state they are useless, it is possible that they have been trimmed up at some later date. The length is about 2 in. (5 em.). The example in pl. CLIV. represents one of the most primitive forms in existence. So little is known of this out-of- the-way atoll, called Greenwich Island on the charts, that specimens of the native hooks must be of no little interest apart from the subject of this work. I am indebted to an article in Man? by Mr Sidney H. Ray, for nearly the whole of the scanty details of the people mentioned here. The population a few years ago only numbered 150; this writer shows that their arts and crafts are negligible. Matau, their name for a hook, indicates their affinity to the great Polynesian Race, and the single specimen illustrated here corresponds in general technique with the large wooden examples common to many parts of the Pacific. For crudeness of outline and inferior workmanship, it would be hard to surpass, and it strongly bears out Mr Ray's statement that these people produce practically nothing gp. 40 After Finsch. beyond what is furnished by Nature. Doubtless, such a hook was used Satoan. for shark (fokourt). It has been cut from a root, possibly that of the pandanus, and still carries the thin bark. Some skill was necessary to fashion the barb point, which has been cut from the solid and rasped down to its present shape, leaving a rough and irregular surface. The junction with the shank is neatly made, and bound with a few turns of thick two-ply sennit, which also supplies the material for the small remaining fragment of the snood. Two somewhat deep notches are provided at the end of the shank, whereby the snood is attached. An old label upon it states that it is a shark hook and was collected by 1 Kubary, Kenninis des Karolinen Archipels, Leiden, 1892. * Man, 130, 1917. Brigham, Index to the Islands of the Pacific, Honolulu, 1900. 102 FISH HOOKS Commander Erskine, who made several voyages in the Pacific about 1850. The length of this hook is 7§ in. (18-7 cm.), width 5} in. (18-3 em.). CENTRAL CAROLINES MorTLOCK GROUP. That mysterious fish, the palu (Ruvettus pretiosus), again occurs in the waters around this Group, and it is doubtless an important contribution to the food supplies of the Islanders. They have produced a very serviceable implement for its capture; a type of hook combining the fine proportions here shown would only be the outcome of much experi- ence. In all points its construction corresponds with the smaller Ellice Group type, except, perhaps, in the setting of the barb. Here the scarf joint is cut in the plane of the hook— that is, at right angles to the joint of those from the Ellice Group (¢f. pl. XLIIL). The snood is a length of about two feet of plaited coconut rope round in section, called ouka- JSaka-napoua, the loop of which passes over a small lug on the shank, whilst the snood is secured to the inner side by sennit cord threaded between the two knobs cut out of the end of the shank. In the accompanying plate (CLV.) the knobs are represented by grooves, and the snood is attached to the outer edge of the shank. This snood terminates in a loop, which is reproduced in the Gilbert form. The hook itself is made from a natural bend or root, and is large, measuring 13} in. (32-9 em.), and with the bar 82 in. (80-5 em.). This last is formed of a sharply pointed piece of very hard wood, secured by lashings of twisted coir. The snood consists of six separate and roughly made lines of three-ply plaited coir, to which the bar is attached in three places by a half hitch knot. The rod measures 20 in., and a comparison with fig. 16 will show its position and use. According to Finsch,! the Mortlock Islanders use a spinner hook, which is a replica of those in general use among the Polynesians. Fig. 42.—The general form here rather follows the Tongan than any other, excepting that, in this case, the top of the shank is cut square, whereas the true Tongan should be pointed. The shank is of pearl shell, which appears to be carefully wrought, the barb being of turtle shell and rather weak in construction. One gathers from this writer, who is always well informed and reliable, that the lashings and snoods are produced from the hibiscus fibre. The hook in question is reproduced actual size. From the small Island of Nukuor to the south of the Mortlocks comes the example on pl. CLVIL. Brigham states® that the population before 1900 was only 150, and, as these hooks are somewhat common, it is possible that this peculiar shape is also in use in the Mortlocks; in any case, it seems curious that so many examples should be the work of such a small community. All these hooks are cut from the solid pearl shell, and are of unusual thickness. In a sense, the barb forms the major portion of the hook, giving it a peculiar and heavy appearance; the snoods are of evenly twisted fibre of the same thickness through- out, and the plate well illustrates the method of attachment. The actual hook measures 1} in. (8-8 cm.) across the widest part. Finsch, previously quoted, gives a plate of the various forms of these hooks. It would seem that the heavy bar along which the snood is ! Finsch, Annalen des K.K. Natur H ofmuseums, pi. I11., No. 2, Vienna, 1893. ? Brigham, Index to the Islands of the Pacific, Honolulu, 1900. Part 111 PraTte CLV Palu Hook, Lukunor, Central Caroline Group. Part 111 i — al PN BS TE By oT PraTe CLVII Horniman Museum London. Nukuor, Central Caroline Group. cree m; mm, Part III. \usai Kusaie, Strongs Island, Caroline Group, E. MICRONESIA 103 fixed is common to all, as it is also peculiar to this small Island, and gince the natives are almost pure Polynesians it is somewhat surprising that such a distinctive type has been evolved. Plate CLVIIL shows these varieties of form; also a rather interesting sketch of their method of construction. It would seem that a piece of stout pearl shell is trimmed up and the proposed hooks sketched out; a hole is then made in the centre of each and enlarged by coral rasps until the desired shape has been attained. It is purely a question of patience and very little skill, so the production of a hook of this description should not be a lengthy matter. Wilson,! in the account of the Duff's voyage, 1796-1798, mentions that at Satawal, or Tucker Island, the natives exchanged pearl shell hooks for anything that was presented to them. CAROLINE GROUP (EAST) Examples of hooks from this part of the Group are decidedly rare. A somewhat specialized form appears to have been evolved on Kusaie. No. 2, pl. CLIX., now in our National Collection, agrees perfectly with one figured by Finch, previously quoted. Turtle shell is again the material used, and although the result is crude and lacking in proportion, the maker has produced what in use is doubtless a very practical implement. The actual specimen reproduced shows unmistakable age, and is shown with no diminution in size. In the Bishop Museum, Honolulu, is a totally different example, also cut from a flat piece of turtle shell. The form is said to be an ancient one, but to me is more reminiscent of the western end of the Group. The natives of both this and the adjacent Islands have in the past had much intercourse with the West Carolines, in addition to which Kusaie was a favourite port of call for the South Sea whalers, whilst in later times colonies of Gilbert Islanders have been settled there by white traders. All these influences would tend to affect the form of the Kusaian hook proper, and even if this specimen werd actually obtained here, there is no certainty that it is a purely local type. Of the hook itself, the pronounced barb, which is a feature of many Caroline examples, will be noticed at once. In length it measures 2% in. (5-1 em.). Fig. 48 introduces a hook of distinctly Caroline appearance, although the actual locality is lost. The material is pearl shell. The pointed end of the shank and strong square lug for the snood attachment, as well Collection. as the secondary outer barb, are all strong features of this Group. This combination of distinguishing features, which is peculiar to soveral districts, makes it difficult, therefore, to attribute it to any particular locality. It is reproduced at a scale of about one-half its size. British Museum. Prate CLIX. era i 1 il i: tid BE ie i i J i i 4 {4 i 1 | | | I | ' Ie — A Bishop Museum, Honolulu, 1 Wilson, Missionary Voyage, p. 298, 4to, London, 1799. PART IV MISCELLANEOUS HOOKS: ORNAMENTAL AND SYMBOLICAL ETC. MISCELLANEOUS INTRODUCTION In dealing with a subject of this nature, it will be readily understood that, owing to differences of locality and a mixture of races, customs and usages have grown up whereby | the hook, as an object of utility, has lost its original purpose, and for varying reasons has become either symbolical, ornamental, or ceremonial. The first and the last of these diversions merge together, and, owing to the scanty details that are available, it is practically impossible today to state definitely for what actual purpose most of these elaborate examples were intended. In New Zealand, Maui's hook was much in vogue, as instanced by the fairly considerable number that have survived, and its use as an ornament in a highly conventionalized form must have been popular, hooks in themselves being articles of value, particularly when some portion is only produced by much skill and labour, as, for instance, the bone barbs of the composite type which naturally tend to be utilized as ornamental pendants. The fact that some are relics of deceased relations, or, as frequently happens— particularly amongst the Maori people—that the barb is worked from a bone of some prominent individual, thereby conferring mana (or prestige) on the owner, influences its ornamental use. The tendency of the hook form to become double is curious, and, although rare, occurs in several widely scattered areas, especially Easter Island and the Murray Islands in Torres Straits. In the former its use is probably purely ceremonial, whereas in the latter it illustrates a highly developed form of personal ornament. A further illustration of the transition from practical to ornamental comes from the Caroline Group. There, in the Pelews, the old-time hook of turtle shell, laboriously cut out of the solid, has so long been superseded by the imported variety, that such old ones as remain have become valued relics, which, when mounted on nicely decorated cords, are used as ornaments, and also confer distinction on the owner. Hooks of obviously impossible size, either elaborately carved or showing great weakness of construction, are a cause of some embarrassment, and as no authentic explanation is forthcoming, I have classed them under one or other of the above headings. That some ceremony was in vogue to propitiate fish gods or other super- natural powers is more than likely, and therefore a hook of undue proportions would probably be their emblems. Considering the excellence of several of those here illustrated, it would be improbable that such a vast amount of fine work would have been expended on any article not intended for the use of the gods. HOOKS a, — — TR, BR A i so a —— i — NEW ZEALAND In view of the numerous hook forms used for practical purposes by the Maori, it is not Bu surprising to find also a number of others adapted for ceremonial or ornamental purposes. | The most remarkable of these is the famous example in the British Museum, figured in 108 FISH HOOKS pl. CLX., the history of which is perhaps worth recording. In 1833 H.M.S. Buffalo was at the Bay of Islands loading Kauri spars for the use of the Navy. Captain Sadler received from Titore, a well-known Ngapuhi Chief of the Bay of Islands, a letter for William IV., together with a greenstone mere and two mats as a present, for which service Captain Sadler received this ornament. It is interesting to note that King William duly replied to Titore’s letter, addressing him as “ His Highness,” and sending him as a gift a suit of mail, which latter became famous in the native wars. Apart from the unique form, the quality of the green- stone of the ornament which the Chief presented to Captain Sadler at once attracts attention, since the material is the rare and much-prized inanga, or whitebait jade, in which the Maori saw a resemblance to the agitated water caused by the rapid movements of a shoal of tiny fish. The ornament is shown actual size, and well illustrates the fine workmanship and finish bestowed on it. One-half of the toggle cord is now missing, the small end of which was probably passed through the right-hand hole and provided with a loop for passing over the toggle. That this specimen illustrates a type midway between the tiki and the hes matau is obvious, and it would seem that this peculiar shape was intentional on the part of the maker. The formation of the eye sockets is noteworthy and quite unlike any found on the true tiki, recalling vividly the style used by the tribes of the North-West Coast of America. This ornament has been frequently described, particularly by the late Dr Hamilton,® who remarks on the crested shape of the right-hand head, reminiscent of the Hawaiian manihole, but as this represents the inner barb common to most hei-matau, it would be unwise to claim any connection between them. It will be noticed that a previous attempt to drill a hole was unsuccessful, and resulted in a fracture necessitating a larger and badly placed one situated over the left eye, and, as this would destroy the balance, a small neat hole was contrived over the right eye and the two ends of the cord secured through each. Although hardly noticeable in the plate, a wide groove connects the left-hand hole to the former broken-out one. These channels are a not uncommon occurrence on stone work, and are also frequently found on bone fish hooks, which possibly have some con- nection with the notches that are present on the sides of kotiake and wahaika, two well- known forms of the Maori mere. HEer-Marav. The famous myth of Maui pulling up the land out of the ocean with a fish hook, the barb of which was made from the jaw-bone of his ancestor, Muri Rangawhenua, is familiar to all students of Maori folklore. The same story occurs, with slight variations, right across the Pacific, and, like that of the Rat and the Cuttlefish with which I have dealt else- where,” is corroborative evidence, if such were needed, of a common origin in some far distant Group, whence sprang the forefathers of the Polynesian Race as we know it today. The reason for Maui's hook becoming a widely used personal ornament among the Maoris is difficult to say, but its connection with him may be only of secondary association from the fact that his was a famous hook known to all, and that its primary inception arose from the habit of wearing any valued hook on the person, firstly from motives of security, and afterwards because hooks, being made from the bones either of ancestors or those of re- nowned prowess in fishing, conferred mana on their owner ; that is the reason that the old- ! Hamilton, Maori Art, p. 342, fig. 2, Wellington, New Zealand, 1896, * Journal Royal Anthro. Institute, vol. li., 1921. New Zealand. Prate CLX. British Museum, Prare CLXI Dominion Museum, Wellington, N.Z, Part IV. New Zealand. MISCELLANEOUS HOOKS 109 time hooks, being portable articles of value, obtained a secondary object as ornaments, and in due time the utility gave place more and more to the conventional, particularly when the material of their manufacture was the highly prized greenstone, and it is worthy of remark in considering these jade hei-matau that in many cases the quality of the stone is unusually fine. PL CLXI. gives a good idea of what one of the finest of these may resemble. It is illustrated by Hamilton in the Dominion Museum Bulletin, Part II., but the author omits all reference to it in the text beyond saying that the notched edge may have served as a genealogical record (whakapapa). The amount of labour that its pro- duction necessitated must have been enormous, and it is probable that slaves or war prisoners were employed on this sort of work until wanted for the umu or native oven. Pl. CLXII. offers alternative types of hei-matau. No. 1 measures 23 in. (6-9 em.) by 2 in. (5 em.) in width. The stone is of the finest dark green jade without flaws, and is beautifully worked. No. 2 is rather a large piece, measuring 3} by 3% in. (8-8 by 8-2 em.) across its greatest width. In some respects it is remarkable both for its obvious age and fine workmanship, whilst the material is the rare and highly prized inanga, or whitebait jade, the white streaks of which show up well in the photograph, and, as I have mentioned on p. 108, were likened by the ancient Maoris to a shoal of small fry’ flashing about in shallow water. Whilst on the subject of Maori greenstone, it may not be out of place to quote Major-General Robley’s Pounamou,® wherein will be found the following list of varieties recognized by the natives: Kahotea.—Dark vivid green, distinguished by spots of black and brown. Kawakawa.—Pure rich green, unmarked by spots or veins. Auhunga.—Slightly paler than the above. Inanga.—Paler still than auhunga; parts approach grey or creamy white. Aotea.—Cloudy white. Prate CLXII I. Oldman Collection ; II, Author's Collection ; IMI, Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford. i The above five grades are all semi-opaque. Of a different quality, but most valuable of Pounamou, is kahurangi, a translucent stone of pale green. Of this there are two kinds, one entirely devoid of markings, and the other recognized by the whitish streaks of the colour of imanga, which run through it. Tangawai (tear water), or kokotangawai, is a transparent greenstone resembling bottle glass, but soft and brittle, with characteristic markings having the appearance of drops of water enclosed within it. These are the principal varieties, but the natives, with a keen eye for subtleties of colour and quality, have invented names such as tongarewa, totoeka, korito, kutukutu, tuapaka, and others for the different shades that are found. Kohuwai is the name of a moss-Jike water plant, and is a term that is applied to nephrite, on which similar markings appear. Before passing on to the next figure, it is interesting to note the heavy barb end of this example (No. 2), with its inner and outer projections greatly magnified. This hook ornament in its present state has, therefore, reached the stage where utility has long given way to pure ornament, but has not yet arrived at that condition when its form has degen- erated into something totally unlike the original. In this instance the growth of the barb is particularly noticeable, being due to the desire to add symmetry to the finished article. 2 Robley, Pounamou, p. 16, London, 1915. iid vil d | : 1 : i {3 i I i | —— i — — co — a — ee a — sm i 1 (Galaxias attenuatus. PraTe CLXIIL Bristol Museum. Rn a 110 FISH HOOKS This has resulted in an additional barb at the expense of very considerable trouble, and had the evolution continued, we might have found these barbs becoming the dominant factor, and the hook finally developing into an ornament composed solely of a pair of barbs joined back to back, and by going still further, we should then have arrived at a form of double hook, when the process would have commenced all over again. No. 8 in the same plate is a graceful specimen carefully worked from a clear piece of grey-coloured jade; it follows the original hook form more closely than many others. The hole for suspending the hook has been somewhat roughly bored, but well illustrates the method of drilling from both sides. Although not very apparent in the plate, nearly all the outer edge has been delicately notched, further proof, were it needed, of the antiquity of this specimen. Its length is 2% in. (6-8 em.), whilst its extreme width is 21 in. (5:7 em.). PL. CLXIII. offers another series more highly conventionalized than the foregoing, all, I believe, emanating from the White Collection, famous for its stone objects. The three matau here shown are by kind permission of the Authorities of the Bristol Museum. No. 1 is cut from greenstone of rather poor quality. It will bo noticed that in this and the following example both barb and shank are similar, thereby showing much degeneration of form. The locality of No. 1 is Murdering Beach, between Otago Heads and Purakanui Bay. It is probable that the suspension hole was placed on the outer edge of that portion of the shank now broken away. Length, 33 in. (9-2 cm.); width, 2} in. (6-9 cm.). No. 2 is an attractive and well- balanced example of highly conventionalized form, cut from a good quality jade. The cord hole is a neat piece of work and must have been the cause of some anxiety to the operator, since it is placed so near the edge. This was found at Kaiapoi, a few miles north of Christchurch. It measures 23 in. (6-9 em.) long by 2% in. (6:5 em.) wide. Of No. 8 I regret I have no details; it appears to be a nice piece of an archaic form, whilst the cord hole, as it is at present, is apparently a second effort. Formerly the shank was longer, but was broken in the drilling. PL CLXIV. shows a further pair in our National Collection. No. 1 is an old rough specimen, much degenerated, but interesting in showing that the centre bore was started by a roughly drilled cireular hole; in the present case this has now been enlarged, being left fresh from the drill with the addition of a V-shaped slot to the outer edge. The material is a poor kind of nephrite of the Inanga quality. This photograph is actual size. No. 2 is a piece of work far superior to the foregoing. The proportions are well-balanced, and the quality of the stone is good. The two grooves worked across the base detract somewhat from its appearance, and probably represent later additions ; at any rate, this is the sole occurrence of surface decoration known to me. It is reproduced full size. It is worthy of note that this hook ornament is not shown in any of the illustrations given by early writers, which rather points to its restricted use, for had such not been the case, it is highly probable that some sketches would have appeared in one or other of the numerous publications. In PL. CLXV., No. 2, we have a very remarkable and unique example cut from a fine quality greenstone. As a hook it approaches more to the practicable than the ornamental form, being in shape an almost exact replica of some of the larger wooden shark hooks illustrated in pl. XX. That its purpose was purely ornamental is shown by the well- contrived suspension hole placed on the upper edge. The most remarkable feature is the Prate CLXIV. British Museum. Prate CLXYV. - c 7 + Bulletin No, Dominion Museum, Wellington, N.Z. : Bulletin 11 New Zealand. ————————————— EE nM SS Part TV. er CRN Fa —ON NR 0 7 L) GY 0% 0 1 / +7 5 b, ASA { f 5) 2 WE 14; E> “ 4 RTRSY ECPI NT an awe RE RR —= = New Zealand. Prare CLXVI. IV, Webster, Ethnographical Catalogue, 1901. Vol, 111. ; i the Maori, story « VII, White, Ancient Hi Partington’s Albums: LIL IIL V, VI, Edge MISCELLANEOUS HOOKS 111 boss, which is really a much overgrown lug for attaching a snood; the opportunity has been taken to work this with grooves in the manner of the end (reke) of an onewa. It was dug up many years ago near Kaiapoi, South Island, and the late Dr Hamilton was of the opinion that it was the most finely worked greenstone ornament in New Zealand. No. 1 is of inferior greenstone, and was found on the sand hills near Dunedin. This also conforms somewhat more closely to the practical type of hook than some, and is remarkable for its notched edge, usually indicative of great age, and also for the elongated shank end, which is grooved. The fact that the hole makes a good representation of an eye may have led the maker to finish the shank end in the form of some animal, the most likely resemblance being that of the sea-horse (hippocampus), two varieties of which are common to New Zealand waters. No. 8 was also found in the sand hills near Dunedin; unlike the others it has been cut from the more easily worked whalebone, and is a very shapely object, closely following the style of No. 2. The highly pronounced lug is noteworthy, and finds a parallel in that of the centre specimen, whilst the edge is also notched. It measures approximately 133 in. (4-5 cm.) each way. While on the subject of bone and ivory hei-matau, it would be well to strike a note of warning that they are favourite objects of forgery by some individual in New Zealand, and a plate of these will be found amongst other forgeries at the end of the volume. PL CLXVI. reproduces a miscellaneous collection drawn from various sources, and mostly illustrated by Edge Partington. The forms, it will be noticed, vary greatly and mainly offer original designs. No. 1 is a highly conventionalized example in greenstone, of interest in showing to what extent the form may degenerate without altogether losing its principal features. It may be worth remarking that the suspension hole has moved from the outer edge to the middle, whilst the groove representing the division between barb and shank forms a convenient channel for the cord to rest in. The two outer barbs persist at what must have been considerable additional labour to the operator. The cords are, 1 believe, original, whilst the four shells strung thereon are those of dentalia. This ornament is shown actual size, and is in the collection of Mr W. §. Mitchell, of Southland, New Zealand. No. 2 is a somewhat crude example cut from bone, being yet another step further on the road of degeneration of form. In this case the cord hole has survived, and to accom- modate it the shank has been carried further up and past what was the barb point. This specimen is in the Chapman Collection. No. 3 is a nicely worked piece of fair quality greenstone following closely the original hook motive. The hole is absent, and one natur- ally wonders by what means it was hung at the neck. At present it forms part of the Wanganui Museum Collection. No. 4.—This unusually bold example is figured in Webster's Ethnographical Catalogue. The material is greenstone, and incidentally it affords an ex- ceptionally good specimen of this class of ornament. The uncommon development of the barb is remarkable, and upon the outer edge will be noticed two pairs of notches. The groove leading up to the hole is well defined, whilst the notch at the top of the shank shows that the first hole was broken out. In length it measures 4 in. (10-2 em.), in width 4} in. (11-5 em.). Nos. 5 and 6 are cut from bone and ivory respectively, the material being such as to raise doubts in one’s mind as to their authenticity. The former, however, was found on an old midden site at Keri-Keri, Bay of Islands, and is now in the Canterbury Museum: the latter is in the Auckland Museum. They are shown actual size. Although neither Eo b t # { { i i i 112 FISH HOOKS strictly belongs to this jade series, and appertain more to the utility class of serviceable hooks, yet I think their object was purely ornamental. The well-defined birds’ heads strengthen this supposition, and it is interesting to note that, whilst that of No. 5 is conventional, that of No. 6 is a very good likeness of a sea bird; moreover, in considering the amount of skill required, it is hardly probable that two specimens of such obvious value would ever have been put to practical uses. No. 7 is from White's Ancient Hustory of the Maori. This writer, unfortunately, omits any details which, in view of the wide range of information contained in his excellent work, is regrettable. The spear-like projection above the cord hole is remarkable, nor can I account for it if correctly drawn. The plate, however, from which the drawing is made, is a wood-cut, and it is well known that the artists made many errors in this class of work. Having shown how the complete hook may become purely ornamental in character, it will be of interest to record that a simple barb, under certain circumstances, may also undergo a similar change. The barb is the one part that offers the most difficulties in the making, and is therefore the most prized part of the completed hook; also, when made from the bone of some famous ancestor, it would be of additional value, and would confer mana or prestige, on the owner. Its transference from a form of practical utility to that of ornament would naturally follow, particularly when the original motive having been lost the material used is the precious greenstone. Mr H. D. Skinner has very ably shown the metamorphosis of these barbs, and kindly allows me to reproduce his remarks thereon. I feel that I cannot do better than quote his article! in full. Pl. CLXVIL—* Perhaps the most beautiful of the several types of greenstone pendant made by the neolithic Maori is that called tau-tau. Of this type fig. 8, a specimen in the collection of the Otago University Museum, is a fine example, though the straight arm is longer than is usually the case. From this simple form a new variety has apparently been developed by the addition of a curve at the proximal end, as in fig. 4. A flattening of the original distal curve and a further development of the new proximal curve appears to have created the variety known as the ‘ eel-fisher's charm,” exemplified by fig. 5. The name, ‘eel fisher's charm,’ though it has gained general currency, does not depend on Maori authority, but appears to have arisen from the fancied resemblance of the pendant to an eel. The skill shown in working such difficult material and the beauty of the finished object would make this class of pendant interesting in itself. A further interest, however, is added by the fact that the type has, at various times, been advanced as proof of American and Asiatic relationships. In Maori Art, Hamilton, the greatest authority on that subject, states that the form is as yet unexplained.? This paper is intended to indicate that the tau-tau may, with much greater probability, be classed as an indigenous form not genetically related to objects of similar shape found in other parts of the world. In the South Island of New Zealand, where alone greenstone is found, and where most of the types of green- stone pendants appear to have arisen, one of the commonest kinds of fish hook consisted of a bone barb, sometimes beautifully carved, fitted into a hole which passed through the lower end of a straight wooden shank. The barb was fixed in the hole either by small wedges or by a peg passing through a hole in the barb. No. 1 is an example of this kind of hook, with a notched bone barb. A feature absent from this barb, but usually present, 1 Man, I1., 1915. * Hamilton, Maori Art, p. 342, Wellington, New Zealand, 1904. Part IV. New Zealand. Prate CLXVIIL 1015, Man, 11. After Skinner: co em ore EXPLANATION OF PLATE CLXVII Fic. 1. Hook with bone barb, wood shank, and original line wound in the ancient fashion. Secured by Captain Cook. Length 4} in. Skinner Collection. Tig. 2. Three bone barbs, middle one broken; locality, Dunedin. Skinner Collection. Fic. 3. Tau-tau, opaque dark greenstone. Length 5} in. Otago University Museum. Fic. 4. Pendant, transparent dark greenstone (fangiwai); locality, Puraka-nui. Length 5} in. Skinner Collection. Fic. 5. Pendant, called “ eel-fisher’s charm.” After Hamilton, M aori Art. Fic. 6. Four greenstone barb pendants; locality, Otago. Length of longest, 2§ in. Three curved ones, Fels Collection. Straight one, Otago University Museum. Fie. 7. Splendid barb pendant. Length of curve, 4} in.; locality, Kaikoura. Goulter Collection. Fic. 8. Pendant, opaque light greenstone. Length 5 in.; locality, New Plymouth. Skinner Collection. Fic. 9. Typical fau-tau form, opaque greenstone; locality, Murdering Beach. Length 1} in. Smith Collection. To face Plate CLXV1I. | | | New Zealand. I FRONT Dominion Museum, Wellington, N.Z, III SIDE VIEW Prare CLXVIIIL supplied by J. Allen Thompson, Esq., Director of the From a photo kindly MISCELLANEOUS HOOKS 113 is a small knob called the ‘ bait-knob.” Its function is to act as an attachment for the strings which secure the bait. No. 2 shows three bone barbs, unattached to shanks. In the right-hand barb the bait knob is fully functional; in the middle one it has degenerated into mere ornament, while in the left-hand one it has degenerated further into a scarcely distinguishable projection or lump. The middle barb, which has lost its point, exhibits the characteristic notching along its lower edge. When not in actual use, well-finished specimens, like the left-hand one, were doubtless worn as ornaments, hanging from the ear or round the neck. Thus becoming purely ornamental, they were copied in greenstone. No. 6 shows several of these ornamental greenstone barbs. The lower specimen is note- worthy for the prominence of the bait knob. Though somewhat conventionalized in form, it is interesting to compare it with such a bone barb as the right-hand one in No. 2. No. 7 is an excellent example of this type of ornament, cut with great skill from a close-grained black stone. No. 8 belongs to a somewhat similar class of pendant, beautifully designed, and executed in opaque, light greenstone. The original bone model is no longer closely copied, and the shape is much conventionalized, the maker's object being no doubt to secure graceful curves rather than to make an accurate reproduction. The bait knob has become vertical, retaining its old position, but degenerating into a mere projecting lump. That this projection is no accident is proved by the perfect finish of the whole pendant, and by the fact that the presence of the knob must, by breaking the curves, have nearly doubled the labour of cutting the whole pendant. The transition from this stage to the next is represented by the typical tau-tau. No. 9 was probably hastened by the much greater ease with which the continuous curves could be cut as compared with the broken curves of No. 8. With the final disappearance of the bait knob, the form appears to have taken a new lease of life. Its ancestry is forgotten by the artist, who, no longer constrained * to represent, even conventionally, a well-known industrial form, makes beauty of curve his sole guide.” Thus, by the addition of a new proximal curve and the flattening of the old distal one, those rare and occasional forms exhibited by figs. 4 and 5 appear to have risen. It should be noted that fish hook barbs in greenstone, like those figured above, are common in collections. The typical fau-fau is also common. The variety which forms a link between the fish hook barb and the fau-fau, and which is represented by fig. 8, is extremely rare, the one figured being the sole representative known to the writer. Examples of the highly variable class to which the name eel fisher's charms’ has wrongly been given are rare, and appear to be confined to the district known as Otago. In fig. 10 a series of objects reduced to one size is shown, which illustrate the probable evolution of the tau-tau. It is not asserted that any one of them is an actual link in the chain of descent, but they are advanced as evidence of the course which that descent has followed.” A unique and interesting object is illustrated in pl. CLXVIIL, representing an ancient worked stone piece of sufficient hook form to warrant its inclusion in this work. The purpose for which it was made is still shrouded in mystery, since it resembles no known object, either from New Zealand or any part of the Pacific. One cannot but be struck with the resemblance between this and the turtle shell bridal ornaments from Murray Island in Torres Straits (¢f. pls. CLXXXIIL-V.); and were the enclosing frame of the projecting maskoids placed on the outer edges of the barbs continued outwards, somewhat similar spurs would be evolved to those which are commonly found on these ornaments. This specimen 8 pi —————— i ————— A ——— LL ‘8 } 114 FISH HOOKS has been already so well described, both in Man' and also in the Transactions of the New Zealand Institute, vol. xxxv., that I cannot do better than quote a few brief notes from both sources. The late Dr Hamilton, writing in the former, says that this object was found near Orepuki in Foveaux Straits, the extreme south of New Zealand. The material from which it is carved is a dark-coloured phyllite; it is, unfortunately, somewhat damaged. The extreme length is a little more than 8} in. (9-25 cm.) and 1-6 in. (4 em.) wide. Apart from the shape, which is remarkable, the carving is even more so, and the design which, in the original state, covered almost the whole surface stands boldly out in low-relief. Roughly, the design represents four human figures, one on either side of the * handle,” one being a male, the other a female. Two highly conventionalized figures also appear on the barbs, of which the projecting faces mentioned above are the most prominent features. Mr Allen Thompson, who has kindly furnished me with these most excellent photographs, writing on January 24, 1914, says: “I do not think that it has ever been used as a pendant. The pierced hole has been bored with the primitive cord drill in the usual ‘ double crater’ mode, and the line of intersection of the two borings is thin and sharp, showing no sign of wear from a suspension cord; again, if used as a pendant, it would have been suspended from the neck, being too heavy for an ear pendant, and in such case the Maori would scarcely have gone to the trouble of ornamenting both sides with carved designs.” In many old-established collections of Maori articles are to be found certain composite hooks, the wooden shanks of which, owing to their elaborate carving and faultiness of construc- tion, are obviously not intended for practical use. It seems fairly certain that various ceremonies were gone through at the commencement of the fishing seasons in order to secure success in this important enterprise, and although practically nothing is actually known about them, one writer at least has remarked on them. Taylor? writing before the year 1870, says that the religious ceremonies connected with fishing were very singular. The day before they went to sea they arranged all their hooks around some excrement and used an invocation (karakia), which will not bear repeating.” It is also a fact that quite o number of these elaborate hooks have been painted red, always a sign of sacredness, since red, in all the Pacific Islands, was the colour of the gods. Another point that should not be overlooked is that in more than one case, notably No. 2 in pl. CLXIX., the barb is of greenstone of remarkable workmanship and finish, representing a vast amount of time and skill in its production, and therefore an object of considerable value to the natives. That barbs of this valued material were sometimes actually used for fishing is borne out by the story of Tapakakahu who, when fishing for kahawai with a composite hook of haliotis shell to which was fixed a jade barb, hooked a huge fish that carried him and his canoe down the coast. The fish was eventually secured by a woman at Motu River, and the owner redeemed his prized hook at the expense of a dog skin cloak, an article of great value.® Another instance? of the occurrence of greenstone barbs concerns one of the Chiefs in the canoe Tainwi (c. 1850), who, tradition relates, settled at Wai-iti. He comes down to us as Tara-pounamou, or Jade Barb. If this name belonged to him when the canoe left Hawaiki, it would show that this substance was known and used in this manner. Such, however, is hardly probable, since greenstone does not occur in the Central Pacific nearer than New 1 Man, No. 128, 1902, Hamilton. 2 Taylor, T'e-Ika-A-Maui, p. 197, 2nd ed., London, 1870. 3 Journal Polynesian Society, December, 1901. 4 Journal Polynesian Society, March, 1908. Part IV. New Zealand. British Museum. Dominion Museum, Wellington, NZ. PraTe CLXIX. Part 1V. Prate CLXX. Oldman Collection. Prare CLXXI. Free Library, Auckland, N.Z. : Sir Geo. Grey Collection. New Zealand. MISCELLANEOUS HOOKS 115 Caledonia, and it is most probable that Tara adopted this name after his arrival in New Zealand, a common occurrence among Polynesians generally to commemorate any im- portant event. Reverting to the hook in question, in addition to the greenstone barb, the three projecting heads are also noteworthy. The weakness of the snood attachment also tends to disprove the theory of its practical use, for it is patent that it would be of little service in actual fishing, whilst the snood itself, though of excellent workmanship, is on all fours with the lack of strength in its mode of attachment. The wood of the shank is of light colour, and from its unevenness of surface would seem to have been scraped down with stone or shell tools. Formerly, all the eyes in the three heads were inlaid with haliotis shell, one of which still remains. This singular specimen is in the National Collection, and measures 5% in. (14 em.). Fig. 1 in the same plate illustrates a somewhat similar specimen, formerly in the Hamilton, and now in the Dominion Museum, Wellington, N.Z. It is, reproduced in the Museum’s Bulletin, from which I quote the following remarks: “ Hook for catching ‘ albatross,” most delicately carved and with a wonderfully worked bone barb, with five projections like pins’ heads. The line is not properly fastened to the shank, and there is no bait string to this one, but in all the others that I have seen the bait string is very long. I have been unable to get any information from the natives as to how they were used. This specimen comes from the neighbourhood of East Cape, and all the other specimens seem to have come from that district. There were several similar hooks in the Museum.” The statement that this class of hook was used for capturing ‘ albatross,” if this were intended, opens a very novel use for hooks. I have not been able to justify this statement, nor is such a practice suggested by any previous writer on the Maori; nor, in fact, does it seem to have been a practice among any of the natives of the Pacific regions, though albatross feathers were valued as ornaments, and their leg bones served various useful purposes, so that the capture of this bird may have been of some consideration. The use of an ordinary hook and line is, of course, an old poachers’ dodge for taking water fowl, and most sea anglers have had some experience with the way gulls follow a floating bait. I venture to differ, however, from the late Dr Hamilton on this point, and am rather of the opinion that this particular class of hooks with fancy shanks and barbs were, if not actually representative of Maui's famous hook, yet were in some way connected with a form of ritual, the memory of which has not survived until present times. In pls. CLXX. and CLXXI. we have yet another class of ‘impossible hooks,” both obviously of native manufacture. The former I have minutely examined, and, whilst following closely the old native style of workmanship, is obviously not intended for practical use, yet I hardly think that it was just made to sell to tourists. The actual wooden shank is made from some root, probably artificially trained; the carved head, although worked with metal tools, shows much skill, and generally a considerable amount of careful craftship has been ex- pended on it. The whalebone barb is obviously not practical, and its method of attach- ment is quite inadequate. The snood and lashings are of nicely constructed flax line, the former being overlaid with fine cord at its juncture with the shank. The following plate (CLXXI.) is even more impracticable, and is the sole example of the double-barbed hook with which I am acquainted. It forms part of the Sir George Grey Collection now in the Auckland Museum. Governor Grey's well-known sympathies with the Maori Race, and the great regard in which he was held during his long and successful term of office, was the PA AoE 116 FISH HOOKS means of his receiving many valuable gifts from the various tribes. The present article however, although truly a curiosity, can hardly be considered as a serious and genuine culture of these people. Fic. 44. Staples. Brown Collection. example of a Maori fishing implement. kindly permitted me to include it in the notes, was also much in doubt as to its authenticity, and I can but agree with his judgment. It does, however, strengthen my contention that amongst the Maori there was some ceremonial or symbolical significance attached to these freak forms, and that for this reason they held a genuine place in the The late Dr Hamilton, who Fig. 44 is another unusual piece, having a strongly pronounced hook form. The material is tangawai greenstone, and, by reason of the stone having a natural bend, it was readily converted into a crude form of hook pendant. Little artificial work has been expended on it, but it bears indications of considerable wear, and the suspension hole has been formed in quite the old style. Such an example may be purely incidental; on the other hands with an inherent hook culture among the Maori, it is reasonable to suppose that any hook-shaped object may have become imbued with some sort of mana. TONGAN GROUP In pls. CLXXII. and CLXXIIL we have under consideration a type of necklet ornamented with double hook pendants, the two being objects of great rarity. Both are in the National Collection, and are of undoubted antiquity; unfortunately, there are no details accompanying them, nor do I know of references to such by any of the early voyagers. The Tongan people at the advent of the European had probably attained a higher degree of industrial art than any other Island race in the Pacific. Their hooks, as has been shown, are models of ingenuity and workmanship, and are equal to any made with civilized tools. In the present instance the technique is somewhat crude, and heat has been used to form the double barbs. The right- hand specimen is mounted as a necklet, having several strings of small yellow helix shells. Fig. 45 shows a rather better finished example without the necklet. It is interesting in showing the neatly drilled hole and the leading-in groove from the end of the shank, a survival from that period when it was an object of utility. The length is 8 in. (76 em.) PL CLXXII offers another object-lesson in the decay of ornament, for in Fic. 45. British Museum. place of a single dignified pendant we find a series of five pairs of crudely made hooks, roughly ornamented with irregular notches, and, in lieu of the handsome Part TV. af [}| & | Tonga. Prat CLXXII. Prare CLXXIII. British Museum, British Museum. Mangaia, Hervey Group. PraTe CLXXYV, British Museum. Part IV. a — — - “ ” - — ss A. 2 br er r—— 5 nn ————ies . pt =» - = me a ie: Sr re — ei a Rotuma. MISCELLANEOUS HOOKS 117 strings of yellow helix shells which show so well on a brown skin, four spreaders, also of the shell, are provided, each of which has a slot running the whole length, whilst the outsides are roughly notched to correspond with the hooks. It is more than likely that in making the necklet the owner had in mind a model similar to that in pl. CLXXIIIL. and that these double bars of notched turtle shell are simply crude attempts to reproduce the original double cord of helix shells. That all three specimens were formerly in the Christy Collection is proof that none are of modern construction. In the Ellice Group hooks were also objects of value, for Headley' records that *“ offerings were made to the temple of fine mats or pearl shell hooks.” i From the little-known Island of Rotuma comes the curious object in pl. CLXXIV., | which was obtained there by Mr Allardice, a Government official, and which has for many | | | 1°63 3naNviv IN MM WVINNLIOY NI ais, 179) NOLONIL¥YY -30Q 3 years formed part of the Edge Partington Collection. Considering the form of this piece, it will be seen that it closely resembles a simple hook, wherein the lug for attaching the snood has become much enlarged and through which the hole has been pierced instead of at the end of the shank. At some time the point of the barb was probably longer, the break, however, must have been an early one, since the edges have become rubbed down to the same surface as the rest of the object. It has been cut from a thin piece of close- | grained red wood, similar to vesi, a wood used throughout the Fijis for making clubs, and through much use has received a high polish. It has every appearance of great age, and in proof of its consideration as an article of value, grooves have been formed on either side | Prare CLXXIV. of the shank in which small white shell rings have been fixed with black gum. One ring Rilye Buttington Cullecsion, R only remains of what was formerly a continuous row. These shell rings or native beads Cook Gronn: are more probably a Melanesian product, and we know that the Rotuma people are of ’ ; Polynesian stock. Dr Codrington, however, has shown that their language still retains traces of their Melanesian ancestry. In Fiji the use of these shell beads is occasionally found for small ornamental details, and we must remember that Rotuma is within a canoe voyage of the Fijis. COOK GROUP Acquaintance with the art workmanship of the Cook Group as a whole would lead one to expect something out of the ordinary from the hands of these clever workers. In pl. CLXXYV. it will be agreed that we have one of the finest hooks in existence; it is only | possible to speculate on its probable use, although one would like to connect it with some ceremonial usages before the gods. The wood itself is heavy, of a dark red colour, totally unlike the material used for the elaborately carved paddles and ceremonial adzes common in collections. At one time no doubt the hook was fitted with a finely plaited snood resembling that in pl. LII. The carving, which covers almost the whole of the exposed surface, is of most minute character, and affords an excellent example of the pattern called tiki-tiki-tagatara, which has been investigated and described by Haddon,® Stolpe,® and others. The hook measures 11} in. (28:7 em.) in length and 6} in. (16-5 ecm.) in width. It was formerly in the London Missionary Society's Collection, now transferred to the British Museum. From Raratonga in the same Group comes the example in pl. CLXXVL., kindly sent me by Mr Fuller, and formerly the property of the Rev. Wyatt Gill, a pioneer ! Headley, The Atoll of Funafuti, p. 47, Sydney, 1896. ? Haddon, Evolution in Art, 1895 # Stolpe, Ornamentik der Naturvolker, Wien, 1892. Prate CLXXVI. Fuller Collection. Plate CLXXV, overleaf. i 118 FISH HOOKS missionary in the Cook Group, ¢. 1840. It would seem that this hook is cut from a natural bend of giant size, for in its present state it measures 22} in. long (57-3 cm.), whilst the greatest width is 18} in. (34-1 em.). The wood is of a pale colour, although of considerable density. The barb is nicely attached by two ties of fine twisted fibre, the snood being of similar material and tapering slightly, whilst both snood and barb attachments are covered with a wrapper of shark skin, over which the ties are made. The former is somewhat indifferently fastened to the shank, and, taking into consideration the size of the hook as being indicative of the weight of the fish to be caught, it is obviously totally inadequate for any really useful purpose. The hook, generally, is a good piece of native workmanship. The four somewhat prominent raised knobs joined by serrated ridges are strong features, and provide a form of decoration rarely met with among the Polynesian Race. The angular projections are probably conventional barb motifs which have become purely ornamental, a single instance being plainly indicated below the shank attachment and on the base of the principal barb respectively. MARQUESAN GROUP That there was some form of hook culture in the Marquesan Group is highly probable, for, according to Christian! the hook was the emblem of Tu-Ha, god of fishes and fisheries. The same writer speaks of seeing a gigantic fish hook carved on a large basalt block built into the platform of a house at Hana-Ia’ Pa on Hiva-o4 in the South Marquesas, and it may easily be anticipated that many other symbols of a like nature could be found were a systematic search made among the numerous ruined sites scattered up and down the valleys of these now almost deserted Islands. This Group, as a whole, is one of the few remaining *“ closed books ” of the Pacific. Some few globe-trotting writers have produced a certain amount of literature depicting the present-day state of decay and incidentally accentuating the old myth of the beauty of the women, so harped on by the early nineteenth-century writers, but to this date practically no serious effort has been made to study the old life and industries of the people.” European contact has wrought more havoc in these Islands than in probably any other community, and the tradition of a once powerful people is now represented by a few diseased and disconsolate individuals rapidly passing away through sheer ennui, and lacking the determination to throw off the terrible degeneration of their race. The Polynesians are in great part more than likely doomed to extinction in the next half century; the Hawaiians are gone, and the leisure-loving Tahitians are fast following, while it can only be a matter of years for the Marquesans to become entirely extinct. The Island tribes further westward, situated under different conditions and enjoying a better regulated state of society, will no doubt survive, whilst the Maori people, probably the finest of all, under the happy conditions they enjoy, should emerge triumphant from their struggle with the whites, and find a worthy place among the advancing races of the world. The elaborate hook shown in pl. CLXXVIIL. indicates the high standard of workman- ship attained by the Marquesans, as shown in all their handiwork; it is perhaps worthy of consideration that a people so constantly engaged in war should have developed their arts 1 Christian, Eastern Pacific Lands, p. 106, London, 1910. 2 Since the above was written the first volume of Professor von den Steinen’s remarkable work on Marquesan Art has appeared. Its excellence is such that no further record can be necessary. Part IV, ZS li i=l flle== A> OD \ PN Détail grossi de la cordelelle, Prate CLXXVIIIL U.S.A. : Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, After Edge Partington. Marquesas. Section. Prate CLXXVII. Neuchatel, Switzerland. Musée de I'Université, Part IV. Prate CLXXIX. Young Collection : Tahiti. Prate CLXXXI Fuller Collection, Prate CLXXX. After Routledge. Rapa Nui, Easter Island. MISCELLANEOUS HOOKS 119 so highly. This hook is probably one of the finest examples in existence, the bold sweep and well-balanced proportions engage one’s attention, and the elaborate binding is indi- cative of a highly prized object. The presence of a loop at the snood end, and the remains of human hair tassels on either side, all point to the fact that its use was of an ornamental character. The material is of hard wood, and the hook is reproduced at its actual size. I am indebted to Monsieur Théodore Delachaux of the University Museum, Neuchatel, Switzerland, for kindly sending me this excellent drawing. Attention has already been drawn to the fine plaited work on the shank, and it is perhaps not out of place to remark that the Marquesans were particularly skilful in this process. In practice, the application of this pattern, given the proper material, is simple, whilst the result is most pleasing, but unless the method is known, it is most deceptive in appearance. Equally elaborate work is, of course, common on ceremonial adze hafts from the Austral Group, and is also found on club handles from New Caledonia, whilst similar binding occurs on tiller handles and other yacht fittings in this country. PL CLXXVIIL serves to establish the type introduced above, being drawn from the Edge Partington Album, Series 3. The letterpress accom- panying it states: *“ Matau reana, sacrificial hook, said to be 200 years old, of turtle shell. Locality Vaitahu.” Length 5} in. (14 cm.). This locality is a bay on Santa Christina, South Marquesas. Two of the statements—namely, that it represents a sacrificial hook and is 200 years old—are certainly open to doubt. The binding is degenerate as compared with that in pl. CLXXVIL., and the omission of a loop or other means of suspension shows that its use was rather more symbolical than ornamental. The hair quillets, six in number, agree with the former example. The use of turtle shell is somewhat unusual in such a large piece, since this material is only sparingly used and was probably difficult to obtain, the rocky shores of this Group not affording good conditions for turtle breeding. EASTER ISLAND Rapa Nui is another point on the map that provides instances of hook forms which have passed from utility to ceremony. One would have expected something of the kind from the * Mystery Isle of the Pacific,” and the fairly numerous stone examples which occur, both of double as well as single form, are all worthy of attention. The skill of these Islanders in stone work is well known, particularly in connection with statues and other large works. The small objects are, however, not so familiar, and an examination of them will clearly show that the degree of skill required to produce them is no less amazing than that required for the larger pieces. These stone hooks were evidently highly valued, and nearly all have been found in caves in connection with burials. Pl CLXXIX.—It is a matter of regret that I possess no details of this particular example, which is one of several in the Young Collection. The excellence of the workmanship is obvious, whilst the strongly pronounced barb, together with the double lug for the snood attachment, is re- motely reminiscent of the Tahitian Group, where it will be recalled that working in stone reached a high standard. This double form is merely a duplication of the type with which I have previously dealt on pl. XCL., and its simplicity of form and close resemblance to the practical hook rather shows that its evolution is comparatively recent and that the original idea of utility was still present in the maker's mind. I think, therefore, that it must be classed as ceremonial and not ornamental, for had the last been the case, the tendency to i—— 120 FISH HOOKS superficial detail would have been apparent. That hooks had some symbolical meaning to these people is fairly certain, for they appear to have been tattooed on men’s chests in the old days, and I reproduce a drawing from Mrs Routledge’s book, showing the position they occupied on the body. To a somewhat different category of impracticable hooks belongs the subject of pl. CLXXXI. As a workable proposition it is obviously impossible, particularly when the material from which it is cut—a soft volcanic lava—is considered. As will be seen in the plate, the entire surface is much pitted. This hook was dug up in 1907, together with those shown in pl. XCI. It measures 5} in. (14 cm.). MELANESIA The cult of hook ornaments occurs only in a few isolated localities in this area, that of the people inhabiting the Islands of Torres Straits being the most conspicuous. The larger Group of the Solomons has yielded but few examples, due no doubt to the universal use of well-made practical hooks, which were produced in such numbers that they never obtained in the native mind any other esteem than that of an everyday object of common use. In fig. 46 is shown a pair of pearl shell pendants from the Solomons. At first sight they might be taken for ordinary shanks from which the barbs have disappeared; such, however, is not the case, and it is worthy of remark that in method of construction and, particularly the position of the suspension hole, they resemble no type in actual use today, being, in fact, much nearer akin to the Polynesian. No hooks from this Group have holes bored through the hinge piece of the shell, but in preference » lugs are ground out of the extra thickness pro- vided by the hinge. It is possible that they may have formed the backs of hooks at some earlier date, but their present use as ornaments is certain. In No. 1 the projections for the barb strings are absent, and, as No. 2 shows signs of wear, it may have been copied from it. Both measure approximately 4} in. (11-5 em.), and are in Mr Oldman’s Collection. From at least three localities in the New Hebrides come curious, Fic. 46. Oldman Collection. and in some instances elaborate, pendants of cut pearl shell which are derived from shanks. It is remarkable that the use of hooks has died out, and it would seem that there remains now only a much distorted survival, as represented by these pendants. There is much mixed blood in some of the Islands, and of the three localities Tucopia, Futuna, and Santo which have yielded examples, the two former are strongly Polynesian. In Tucopia the fishing lines of a deceased person were cut up and worn by the relatives,’ so there is evidence of their general use at no distant period. In Felix Speiser’s excellent book? appears the portrait (facing p. 287) of a Tucopian wearing one of those shanks as a neck ornament; 105 {129 1) n 05 = JZ a x= ! Rivers, Melanesian Society, p. 349, Cambridge, 1914. * Speiser, Two Years with the Natives of the Western Pacific, London, n.d. Part IV. New Hebrides. 3 Ami Author's Collection, University Museum, Aberdeen: From Santo, Prate CLXXXIL MISCELLANEOUS HOOKS 121 it is, however, a very simple one, and shows only a single projection on each side. PL. CLXXXII. offers a series of five of these pendants; the three on the left are highly elaborate and conventional, and ably show how the practical may degenerate into pure ornament; the workmanship, however, is much rougher, as might be expected. These were collected on Santo, the largest Island in the centre of the Group. There is also an excellent series in the Edinburgh Museum from the Island of Futuna in the extreme south of the Group; the two remaining examples in this plate are, unfortunately, without locality, and represent a simpler form than the preceding. All the drawings are shown actual size. The numerous small Islands in Torres Straits between New Guinea and the Australian Continent furnish a highly developed example of utility hooks which have now become purely ornamental. The Cambridge University Expedition to Torres Straits, 1898, paid considerable attention to these ornaments and it is due to the expedition that our Home Museums have such representative series. Dr Haddon,! however, states that “of late years well-made examples have been very rare, and the few specimens we were able to obtain were of very rude workmanship, and many were undecorated.” The use of these hook ornaments is as follows: In most of the Islands in Torres Straits, and particularly on Mer, or Murray Island, it was the custom to decorate the brides with the greater part of their dowry, amongst which custom ordained that a number of turtle shell fish hooks should be included, the native name for which in the eastern part of the Group is sabagorar, whilst in the west they are called gagi. These were used in pairs, each being fastened to the end of a thin string, and as they are slender they admit of very little elaboration. The desire for decoration, combined with the traditional wearing of fish hooks, led to the adoption of a purely ornamental hook. Once this step was gained, the further development into a large and handsome ornament was readily accomplished. The duplication of the hook to form the anchor-like variety is also a perfectly natural sequence. Two fish hooks lying back to back, as they often would do when hanging down a girl's back, would suggest apposition of the ornament. It is only a short stage to make one ornament instead of two fastened together. ‘ The great majority of the specimens are hook-like objects, decorated or quite plain, and frequently with single or double spurs; some are narrow and may be quite flat or slightly rounded; others again broad, sometimes extremely so. The hook may be a simple bend of the shank, or it may form a large recurved hook. The workman- ship may be of fine quality, or the object may be coarsely fashioned, of uncouth form, and without ornamentation. The variations are so great and individual that nothing can be gained by a more detailed description. In use the number and variety depends on the wealth of the girl's parents. They were worn for one or two months before the wedding feast. The older married women also wore many of these objects on special occasions, but never during widowhood.” It will be noticed that, in many of the less conventionalized examples, double spurs occur on the outer edges. Their occurrence is somewhat singular, since Dr Haddon states that they do not appear on the ordinary hooks, and this is certainly borne out by an examination of the fine series in the British Museum. I think, however, that these projections served some purpose other than that of pure ornament, for it is not usual for the native mind to create additions of this sort without some sentimental or occult reason. In fig. 47 will be found a pair of Solomon spinner hooks of turtle shell having the 1 Haddon, Cambridge University Expedition to Torres Straits, p. 48, vol. iv., 1912. 122 FISH HOOKS imitation fish attached and cut from a slip of brilliant mother-of-pearl. No. 1 shows the whole fish form with the tail prominently forked, whilst No. 2 gives a more degenerate form wherein the tail survives at the expense of the fins. This, I think, is the clue of the spur- like projections on these sabagorar, and they represent a survival of the time when in these Islands the people used a composite hook resembling to some extent those shown in fig. 47. Moreover, if this be so, it follows that the bands of carving which in many cases lead up from these spurs towards the interior of the hooks are nothing more than the last remains Fra. 47. of the little pearl shell fish. Pl. CLXXXIII. gives us in No. 1 an unusually good example of a complete sabagorar as formerly worn. Conspicuous in the centre is a fine specimen of this ornament showing much surface carving and many cup marks; the length is 3 in. (7-6 cm.), the width 4 in. (10-2 em.). In addition there is also a rough example cut from a poor piece of shell and undecorated. The remaining objects consist of four white shell plaques, cut from the outer whorl of the wauri shell, called by the natives o-wauri-o or o-kaukau (hanging or suspended). These are worn only by married women. Finally, there are two turtle shell bodkins (fer), used for making the women’s petticoats. The Part TV. Prare CLXXXIII. British Museum, PraTe CLXXXIV. British Museum. Mer, Murray Island. Torres Straits. - pa pr ETRY | { i § 1 | Part TV. Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford. Prate CLXXXYV. Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford. Prate CLXXXVI. Torres Straits. AN NN Horniman Museum, London. MISCELLANEOUS HOOKS 123 cords upon which these different articles hang are a mixture of native fibre and, in most cases, highly coloured strips of trade cloth. Glass beads of poor quality are worked in, in short lengths, and form the terminals of several of the loose ends; the whole measures approximately 24 in. (60-9 cm.) in length.’ No. 2 in the plate offers a more conventionalized form, the barb portion of the hook being much simpler than the preceding. The base has the fish-tail lug, and the flat of the shank is nicely orna- mented with V-shaped lines; the pendant cord is of well-plaited brown fibre, and is an interesting feature of this ornament. In pl. CLXXXIV. we have a fine series of these pendants, showing examples of both the double as well as the single types. All were obtained by the Cambridge Expedition, and it would be impossible to find such a series on Murray Island today, those that remain being of quite late manufacture and poor finish. There appear to be two or more distinct types—those having pronounced rounded barbs, and those with a more simple form and less barb curvature All however, have a tendency to the thickening of the shank base so prevalent among New Guinea hooks. The fish-tail spurs occur in nearly all, whilst many are decorated on the surface, with a simple design of lines and zigzags. The largest, No 1, measures 6} in. (16-5 em.) long, and 5§ in. (14-8 em.) wide. No. 1 in pl. CLXXXYV. shows a highly elaborated form, probably of later work than the foregoing. The doubling of the hooks is remarkable and aptly illustrates to what extent design may be adapted when once the original motive has broken down. No. 2 calls for little comment, and differs but little from those described in the previous plate; both are shown actual size. The next plate (CLXXXVIL.) offers in No. 1 a transitionary example, serving equally well as an ornament or a working hook. The double spur at the base, however, indicates that it was made for ornament. It is of considerable age, but of somewhat indifferent finish, and, like the majority of those illustrated, was collected by the Cambridge University Expedition. The length is 88 in. (8-9 cm.). No. 2 in the same plate is a very crude specimen, cut from a piece of semi-osseous turtle shell, with the result that the surface is rough and much pitted. In colour it is a dirty brown, whilst the turtle shell proper only occurs in a few isolated patches. The spurs, it will be noticed, occupy a prominent part in its construction, while the hole for the cord has at some time been broken out and a second bored lower down; length 8} in. (9 em.). Fig. 48 introduces a somewhat unusual form from Tubu-Tubu in the Engineer Group, an out-of-the-way Island, the ethnology of which | appears to be little known. It was obtained by the Cook- Fic. 25. British Pegi Daniels Expedition in 1906, and is now in the National Engineer Group. Collection. The material is white pearl shell, the workmanship being crude and irregular. That there is a common origin between this and the sabagorar of Murray Island is possible, although the great distance between the two localities must preclude any actual influence. In the meantime this double hook from Engineer Group remains, so far as I know, the sole example of this form of ornament from the New Guinea 1 Haddon, Cambridge University Expedition to Torres Straits, p. 47, vol. iv, 1912. Pi of Part TV. Caroline Group, W. 124 FISH HOOKS area. There may, however, be some affinity between this and the double boars’ tusk ornaments so common to South-East New Guinea, although the connection is not clear, and if such is the case it only serves to show how careful one must be in not attributing all hook-shaped objects as being derived from actual fishing hooks. MICRONESIA Several examples of hook ornaments occur from the Caroline Group. The localities are sufficiently scattered to show that any form of recognized hook culture is absent, and the notes on various examples prove that their occurrence is due to local conditions. That on pl. CLXXXVIIL from Yap affords a concise and obvious illustration of the previously discussed transition of an ordinary hook to one purely ornamental. This type of hook is already figured in pl. CLI., and I cannot do better than quote Kubary:! “ These hooks are now no longer in use, having been superseded by those of European make; the old ones that are left are worn as pendants, and through their connection with the past are looked upon as charms.” ; am n The elaborate fourfold cord would support this y Jif theory, for it is just the right length to hang round 7A the neck. The material is twisted hibiscus fibre finely / wrapped round with narrow strips of pandanus leaf, whilst the hole through which the lines pass is carefully 4 plugged with a short piece of soft wood. The hook is ? 91 in. (54 em.) in width. From Mérir, an island AY south-west of the Pelews, comes the highly conven- b tionalized form in the mest plate (CLXXXVIIL), gs cut from a solid piece of turtle shell. The small notch Fie. 49. British Museum. in the top is all that remains of the hook. The metamorphosis is complete, and the next stage would have carried the form beyond recognition. This and the former plate together offer an unusually good example of the transition of practical forms into pure ornament. It will be noticed that the cord is lapped over with fibre, as is that in the preceding plate, and that the hole is duplicated. This object is also drawn from Kubary,” but unfortunately the dimensions are omitted. From the Pelews comes the somewhat unusual figure in pl. CLXXXIX., also extracted from Kubary. The author describes it as a charm, shaped as a hook and cut from turtle shell (native name tahurdkl). It seems that, instead of being worn on the person, they are attached to the satchels of plaited pandanus leaves, which serve to contain the owner's small belongings, which are always carried about by the natives, and serve as a universal pocket. The people of Kusaie, or Strong's Island, at the eastern end of the Group, also retain the custom of wearing hook ornaments. Quoting Lesson,® who says: “Ils emploient encore les hamecons de nacre, mais trés rarement et plusieurs urosses (chefs) emportaient quelques : 1 Kubary, Kenninis des Karolinen Archipels, Leiden, 1892. 2 Ibid. vi 3 Lesson, Voyage de la ** Coquille,” p. 505, vol. ii., 1839. Prate CLXXXVIIL Edge Partington’s Collection. After Kubary. Prare CLXXXVIII. ES PrLaTE CLXXXIX. After Kubary pki | | Part IV. Forgeries. yo MISCELLANEOUS HOOKS 125 uns suspendus au cou, auquels ils tenaient beaucoup et que rien ne put les engager a ceder. 11 ne faisaient aucun cas de nos hamecgons en metal; s'il les acceptaient, ¢’était pour les placer dans leurs oreilles.” Matsumura,! visiting Kusaie in 1915, says: “ We were told that stems (shanks) of hooks had formerly been in use as a medium of exchange, and that they came to be called Kusaie money. These hooks acquired the value of money, probably on account of the scarcity of pearl shells which form the material for hooks.” A modified form of ornament also appears to have occurred in the Gilbert Group, at least the example in fig. 49 would seem to substantiate such a theory. It must, however, be remembered that the population is nowadays so mixed that the acceptance of any unusual types from this locality should be reserved. This hook is cut from a solid piece of turtle shell of somewhat poor and irregular workmanship; the principal interest lies in the suspension cord, which is ornamented with alternate dises of black and white native currency, and I think fixes the locality correctly. The shape of the hook, however, differs considerably from any known example, and so may represent a form purely ornamental. Finsch,” about the best writer on the Group, also omits any reference to the use of hooks as ornaments, $0 it may be inferred that they were not of common occurrence. i i | ! : i PraTr (CXC. New Zealand, One would have thought at least the subject of Fish Hooks would have escaped the attention of the manufacturer of spurious ethnographical specimens, but such is not the a or case, and in the three following plates will be found various examples of the faker’s art. Those on pl. CXC. are most creditable productions, and had the producer been content to restrain his efforts to reasonable limits, they are good enough to have remained undetected. Their increasing numbers aroused suspicion, and a simple chemical test showed that they | had been artificially stained. All are more or less copies of existing greenstone hei-matau, and are well-known objects in Museums today, being shown in pls. CLXIL to CLXVL In each case the material is either whalebone or whale ivory, and they have been made by one who was thoroughly conversant with the peculiarities of old Maori work. PL CXCIL | brings us to a less worthy class of forgery, for in this case the operator was not well versed in the intricacies of native art, nor was the material particularly adapted for the purpose; the marvel, however, is not so much the excellence of the work achieved, but rather the ingenuity expended in making bricks with a modicum of something that certainly was not straw. In other fields the efforts would have been praiseworthy, but no amount of contriving can produce Pacific hooks from deal wood, garden bast, European string, and two pieces of broken Solomon shell armlet. Most of the types are recognizable. The Marshall Group representative in the lower left-hand corner affords perhaps the most amusement, for here the hackle has left the barb and is affixed to the snood end, let us hope out of feelings of delicacy. The next, pl. CXCIL, offers another series of somewhat better workmanship. New Zealand is particularly favoured, numbering four out of the six FORGERIES No BC A w an I Matsumura, Journal College of Science, p. 78, vol. xl., Tokio. ® Finsch, Annaler Natur Historischen Museum, Wien, 1893. Prat CXCL PratTe CXCIL. 1, 3, New Zealand ; 2, Hawaii. 126 FISH HOOKS articles, the other two representing the rare Hawaiian type cut from human bone, replaced in this instance by the ever familiar mutton bone; the snoods in all instances are of the The top specimen is perhaps the best and would pass muster for the real bottom three are formed from the outer edge of the however, but poorly attached, whilst the snoods are same material. thing even in better company. The haliotis shell; the barb lashings are, beneath contempt. INDEX A Aberdeen University Museum, 82 Admiral Davis, 93 Admiralty Group, 73, 75 ArTUTAKI, 37 Allardice, 117 AmsTERDAM, cf. TONGATABU. ANCHORITE GROUP, 84-6 Arnold Museum, 10 ASTROLABE Bay, N.Z., 9 Auckland Museum, N.Z., 111, 115 Aurei, 18 AusTRAL Group, ¢f. Cook GROUP. B Bait strings, 3, 8, 10, 12, 13, 19, 34, 42, 47, 51, 76, 81, 84, 113 Balfour, H., 83 Banfield, E. J., 77 Banana seeds, 97 Banks Group, 64-66 Banks, Joseph, 39 Barracouta, 7 Bay oF Isvaxps, N.Z., 108, 111 Beechey, Captain, 44-45 Bird beaks as barbs, 86 Bishop Museum, 50, 51, 84, 94, 95, 103 BisMARCE GROUP, 73 Black gum, use of, 10, 16, 17, 42, 52, 75, 82, 117 Bligh, Captain, 37 Boenechea, 38 BoxNarg, 6, 92 Bonito, 27, 29, 33, 36, 41, 43, 44, 48, 64, 91, 101 Bougainville, 23, 38 Bow IsLaxp, cf. Hav. BownprrcH ISLAND, cf. FARAAFO. Boyowa, 81 Brenchley, Captain, 23, 69 Brisbane Museum, 82 Bristol Museum, 110 British Museum, 3, 7, 8, 13, 15, 23, 26, 32, 33, 36, 37, 39.42, 45, 50-52, 56, 57, 61, 66, 68, 76, 81, 83, 91, 93, 97, 103, 107, 110, 115-117, 121, 123 Buaeoru, 69 C Cambridge University Expedition, 75, 76, 121, 123 Canterbury Museum, N.Z., 12, 45, 111 Captain Braithwait, 63 Cook, 20, 21, 24, 39, 43, 49, 50 Mair, 12 ,, Sadler, 108 CAROLINE GROUP, 21, 32, 39, 42, 47, 96-103, 107, 124 East, 94, 96, 103 West, 94, 96, 98-102 Central, 96-98 2” ”» ” »” ” ” CELEBES, 65 Chapman Collection, 111 CHATHAM ISLANDS, 3, 8 CuLIAN Coast, HOOKS FROM, 3 Christchurch Museum, N.Z., 9 Christian, F. W., 97, 118 Christy Collection, 117 | Churchill, W., 46, 55 Clam shell, 7, 29 Coconut fibre, 34, 61, 76, 81, 87, 91-93,95, 99, 101, 102 , shell, use of, 32, 34, 36, 66, 93 | Cook Group, 36-38, 117, 119 Cook-Daniels Expedition, 81-3, 123 Colenso Collection, 7 CorLiNgwoop Bay, 80 Copper bolts, 19, 55 Coppinger, R. W., 33 Coquillle, cf. Lesson. Coral, 23, 25, 27 CrETIN GrOUP, 85 Cummings Collection, 45 D’Albertis, 79, 85 Dana, J. D., 91 DANGER ISLAND, ¢f. PUKAPUEKA. DARNLEY ISLAND, ¢f. ERUB. Delachaux, Théodore, 119 DELENA, 79 Dentalia shells, 111 D’ENTRECASTEAUX GROUP, 83 Dominion Museum, N.Z., 6, 115 Dr. Brigham, 12, 30, 46, 51, 84, 102 129 SN 130 INDEX Dr. Brown, 73 G ,» Codrington, 65, 68, 70, 117 Gawa, 82 ,» Corney, 86 Genealogical Records, 17, 108 ,, Haddon, 76, 117, 121 111, 112, 114, 116 ,, Harrison, 76, 87 ,» Rivers, 64 Dresden Museum, 22 DRUMMOND ISLAND, ¢f. TAPITEUEA. Duke oF YORK ISLANDS, 73 Dumont D’Urville, 9 DuxeDpIN, N.Z., 6, 111 Museum, 63, 64, 98, 112 ” E East Care, N.Z., 115 EASTER ISLAND, 46, 50, 53, 54, 98, 107, 119, 120 EBoxN, 94 Edge Partington Album, 6, 30, 50, 77, 81, 111, 119 ’ ” Collection, 33, 61, 72, 73. 76, 117 EppYSTONE ISLAND, cf. SIMBO. Edinburgh Museum, 121 Eel Fisher's Charm, 112, 113 EGMONT ISLAND, ¢f. VAIRATEA. Errice Group, 10, 25-35, 37, 53, 7 1, 82, 91, 93, 102, 117 Elsdon Best, 6 Emerson Collection, 95 ExcINEER GROUP, cf. TuBU-TUBU. Erskine Collection, 15, 102 ErusB, 77 Esquimaux, 98 Eva IsLaxp, 21 European hooks, 18, 23, 25, 31, 37, 38, 62, 69, 71, 74, 76, 79-81 86, 100, 124 ExCHEQUER GROUP, ¢f. MATTY. Faxaaro, 30, 31, 33 FARAHINA, 45 Fu, 86, 87 Finsch, Dr. O. 30, 98, 102, 103, 125 FixscH HAFEN, 84 FLORIDA, 68, 93 Fry River DELTA, 79, 85 Foveaux Strarrs, N.Z., 114 Hamilton, 5, 6, 7, 9, 12, 16, 17, 19, 92, 108, 109, | { | | Gibb, Mr., 5 GLBERT GROUP, 6, 42, 45, 64, 66, 82, 91-94, 102, 103, 125 GoopENOUGH ISLAND, 83 Gorges, 15, 19, 23, 35, 39, 44, 63-65, 80, 98, 101 Greenstone, names of, 109 GREENWICH IsLaND, 101 Great Barrier Reef, 77 Grimble, A., 91-93 | Gruning, E. L., 37 . Guppy, H. B., 69, 70 Hematite, 6 Harr SouxDp, 79 \ Haliotis, ¢f. Paua shell. Hav, 44 Hawanax Grour, 12, 21, 34, 48-53, 108, 125 Hawaixi, 6, 114 Hawkes Bay, N.Z., 5 Hawk's Claws, 79 Heape, Charles, 40-42 . Hedley, C., 26, 217, 29-32, 117 Hei-Matau, 54, 108-112, 125 Helix shells, «16, 117 Hervir GroOUP, 74, 84 Hervey Group, cf. COOK. Hibiscus, 24, 27-30, 33, 35, 47, 48, 57, 79, 97, 100, 102, 124 Hippocampus, 111 H.M.S. Buffalo, 108 Holmes, 70, 72 Honolulu Museum, cf. Bishop Museum. Hooks, as currency, 18, 21, 125 ,, earliest reference, 21 Horniman Museum, 76, 86 Horse shoes, 19 \ Human bone, 16, 17, 48-50, 52, 53, 55-57, 92 flesh, as bait, 49, 50, 52 hair, 44, 66, 93, 119 ” ” | Hunter's Voyage, 73 | Huox GULF, 85 I | Iron hooks, 8, 12, 18-20, 32, 93 Fuller Collection, 10, 17, 39, 41, 50, 51, 54, 56, 69, 85, 117 FuxaruTi, 28, 31 Furuna, 120, 121 ,, nails, 19, 38, 49 J Jade stone, ¢f. Greenstone. | Jenkins, L. W., 42, 46, 47, 99 Jenress, D., 83 Kahawai, fish, 16-18 Kararor, N.Z., 110-111 Ker1-KEerr1, N.Z., 111 Kingfisher feathers, 16 KingsmiLr Group, 30 KIiriwina, 81 Kiwr feathers, 16 Kokowas, 7, 114 Kotiake, 108 Krusenstern, Captain, 47 Kubary. J. S., 72, 100, 101, 124 Kusalg, 103, 124, 125 Labillardier, 20 Lady Brassey, 44 Langsdorff, Von, 47 Lesson, P., 45, 124 Linton Palmer, 55 Lisiansky, Urey, 48 Lister, 30-33 London Missionary Society, 40, 117 Loxce Beach, N.Z., 6 Lord Campbell, 74 Lorp NorTH IsLaND, cf. ToBI. Louvre, Paris, 57 Louis Becke, 29, 30, 91 LouisiApes, 80 Low ARCHIPELAGO, ¢f. PAUMOTU GROUP. Low IsLaNDS, 84 Lowther, Rear-Admiral, 57 Lovarry Group, 61, 62 M Macgillivray, 76 MacgENzZIE GROUP, ¢f. ULEAL Maclay Museum, 81, 87 “ Mahoe Leaves,” 19 Maxgira HarBOUR, 70 MALAITA, 69 Malinowski, Dr., 81, 98 Mana, 48, 50, 52, 107, 108, 112, 116 MaNaHIKI, 30 MANGAREVA, ¢f. PAUMOTU GROUP. Manihole, 108 MANUAE, 37 “ Maori Art,” 112 Maori drills, 5, 6 MARQUESAN GROUP, 46, 118, 119 Marravipr, 101 MarsuaLL Group, 94, 97, 125 INDEX 131 Massim Distrior, 83 Mat Pins, cf. Aurei. Mathison, G. F., 50 Matsumura, Akira, 125 Marty ISLAND, 74, 85 Maui, 14, 50, 107, 108, 115 McGregor, Sir W., 82 MEKoOE, 79 MER, 73, 76, 77, 84, 107, 113, 121, 123 Mere, 108 MEeRriIr, 124 MIpDLEBURGH, cf. EUA. Mire ISLAND, 94 Miss Coombe, 70 Missionaries, cf. Revs. MrrcezLL ISLAND, ¢f. NUKULAILAL Mitchell, W. S., 111 Moa Bone, 5,7 MoarTU, 79 Moko, 12 Mons. Hubert, 57 MorTLOCK GroOUP, 30, 85, 102 Moseley, H. N., 74 Moser, 19 Motu RIVER, 114 Mrs. David, 28-30 Mrs. Hadfield, 61 MurpERING BEACH, N.Z., 110 | Muri Rangawhenua, 108 MURRAY ISLAND, cf. MER. Musée de St. Germain, 57 Mussel shell, 9, 16 Mytilus latus, 9, 16 N NaxN-Marar, Ruins or, 97 NaNoOMEA, 30 NAPUEKA, 45 | National Collection, ¢f. British Museum. Neuchétel, University Museum, 119 | NEw Briralx, 73, 75, 84 ,» CALEDONIA, 62, 115, 119 ,» GUINEA, cf. PAPUA. ,, HEBRIDES, 30, 45, 62, 63 ,» IRELAND, 74, 75 ,, ZEALAND, 4-20, 45, 98, 107, 125 Ngapuhi Tribe, 108 Nive, 10, 30, 35, 85 NortH CAPE, N.Z., 16 , Cave, NZ,8 » Israxp, N.Z., 6, 11, 16 NUKUFETAU, 3 a 132 NUKULAILAIL 28, 31 NUKUOR, 30, 98, 102 N.W. Coast, AMERICA, 108 0 QATAFU, 33 OCEAN ISLAND, ¢f. BONAPE. Oldman Collection, 11, 20, 34, 92, 120 Oland fibre, 21, 49-53 ONTONG JAVA, 53, 71 OPARA, 45, 46 OrePUKI, N.Z., 114 OrogoLo DistrICT, 79 Otago Museum, ¢f. Dunedin. Oraco, N.Z., 5, 6, 9, 113 Oxford Museum, cf. Pitt Rivers Museum. P Palu, 30, 33, 35-37, 42, 45, 71, 91, 92, 102 Pandanus, 23, 28, 29, 37, 40, 42, 79, 85, 92, 95, 124 Paraxvui, N.Z., 9 Papua, 13, 77-86, 123 Parkinson, Sydney, 41, 72 Paua shell, 8, 14, 16, 115, 126 Paymaster Thompson, 55, 56 Pauvmoru GrOUP, 44-46 Peabody Museum, 39, 40, 42, 46-48, 53, 97, 98 PeLEW GroUP, 72, 96, 99, 101, 107, 124 Pembroke, Earl of, 41 Penguin feathers, 16 PENRHYN ISLAND, 30 Philadelphia Museum, 95 Pitt Rivers Museum, 3, 26, 36, 76, 81, 82 Polynesian Society, 5 PoxNarg, 97 Port MORESBY, 79 Portsmouth Museum, 17 Poverty Bay, N.Z., 5 Powell, Wilfred, 73 PURAPUKA, 29, 30, 34 PuragaNvI Bay, N.Z, 6, 110 R RAPA, cf. OPARA. Rapa Nui, ¢f. EASTER ISLAND. RARATONGA, 3, 7, 117 Rat and Cuttlefish, story of, 108 Rattles, 81, 98 Ray, Sidney H., 101 Red feathers, 29, 71, 99 INDEX Red paint, ¢f. Kokowa. REDSCAR Bay, 79 RENNELL ISLAND, 53, 72 Rev. Brown, G., 24 ,» Chalmers, J., 79 ,, Cullen, J., 35 ,» Dauncey, H. M., 79 ,, Ellis, W., 43 ,,» Leigh, S., 18 ,, Nind, H., 65, 66 ,,» Paton, F.J., "3 ,» Stair, J. B., 24, 25 ,» Thomas, 21 ,» Turner, G., 23, 25 ,, Williams, J., 23, 40, 86 ,, Wyatt Gill, W., 28, 34, 36, 117 Ribbe, Carl von, 69 Robley, Major-General H. G., 109 Romilly, Hugh, 80 RosseL IsLAND, 80 Roroma, 117 Routledge Expedition, 55, 120 RuBIANA, 68, 69 S Salem Museum, cf. Peabody. Samoan Group, 22-25 SAN CHRISTOVAL, 68, 70 Sansorar, 101 Santa CHRISTINA, 119 ,, Cruz, 64-66 SATAWAL, 102 Santo, 120, 121 Sarasin, Fritz, 62 SAVAGE ISLAND, ¢f. NIUE. Savo, 69, 71 Sennit, ¢f. Coconut Fibre. Shark hooks, 10-12, 19, 30, 36, 37, 42, 43, 45, 49, 50, 52, 64, 77, 80-82, 86, 91, 92, 98, 101 Shark skin, use of, 118 Shewan, Mr., 81 SmaBo, 69 Sir Everard-im-Thurn, 26, 28, 68, 86 Sir George Grey Collection, 115 Skinner, H. D., 63, 64, 98, 112 Sociery GROUP, ¢f. TAHITL SorLoMoX GROUP, 52, 53, 64-66, 73, 120, 121 Sours IsLaxp, N.Z., 5, 6, 9, 112 SouTHLAND, N.Z., 5, 111 Speiser, Felix, 120 Spry, W.J., 74 St. Germain, Musée de, 84 INDEX 138 Stalagmite, use of, 92 Stolpe, Hjalmar, 117 STRONG'S ISLAND, cf. KUSAIR. SuwARRO ISLAND, 30 Sydney University Museum, 81 T TamrTI, 3, 5, 21, 22, 31, 34, 38-44, 55, 56, 64, 66, 93, 94, 119 Tainui, canoe, 114 TAmMANA, 30 Tami, ¢f. CRETIN GROUP. Tangaroa, 14 TAarPARARABY, 114 TAPITEUEA, 91 Tappa, 46, 56 Tara-Pounamou, 114, 115 Tarawa, 30 Tasman, 21 TasMAN Bay, N.Z., 9 Taylor, R., 114 Tekoteko, 15 Thompson, Allen, 114 ” ¢f. Paymaster Thompson. ’ Sir Basil, 86, 87 Tindalo, 66 Titore, N.Z., Chief, 108 Tos1 IsLanp, 21, 98, 101 ToxkeLav Group, 30 ToxgAN Group, 7, 20, 21, 23, 63, 87, 102, 116 ToNGATABU, 21 TORRES STRAITS, 73, 75-77, 107, 113, 120, 121 Touchardia latifolia, cf. Oland. TrEASURY ISLAND, 69 Tridacna shell, 67, 69, 84, 93, 101 TrROBIRAND GROUP, 81, 98 TuBUTUBU, 83, 123 TUCKER ISLAND, cf. SATAWAL. Tucoria, 64, 120 Tu-ha, Fish God, 118 TurarA VILLAGE, 37 Turnbull Collection, 7 U Urawa, 68, 70, 71 ULgaz, 101 Union Group, 10, 30, 32-34, 36 Uvea, 61 Vv Varranvu, 119 Vanderford, Captain B., 47 VAIRATEA, 45 Vancouver, 39, 41, 42, 45, 51, 52 Vincendon-Dumoulin, 47 Ww Wahaika, 108 War Iti, N.Z., 114 Wai Rapa Lake, N.Z., 12 WarLis IsLaND, cf. UVEAa. Wwaneaxvul, N.Z., 11, 12 Wanganui Museum, 45, 111 WARRINGTON, N.Z., 6 Webster's Ethnological Catalogue, 111 Wellcome Medical Museum, 3 White Collection, 7, 9, 110 White's Ancient History of the Maori, 112 Wilkes, Commodore, 30, 47 William IV., 108 Williamson, R., 79 Wilson, Captain, 38, 39, 66, 99, 103 Woodford, Commissioner, 68 Y Yap, 99, 101, 124 YASBEL, 69, 72 Yoppa Gorp FieLps, 53 Young Collection, 54, 119 wn Wa = oO Z 3 =z Lc i SE a i mr = ES CSR a ses ——y Ap 4. G5 go SI ais @ Ly b= © Z