. A naturalist's wanderings in the Eastern archipelago; a narrative of travel and exploration from 1878 to 1883. le is the foean or fire-place, and opposite to it on a trellis-work platform is placed the cranium of the father of the Headof the house. Indian corn and other comestibles and variousarticles are stored on little platforms stretching between therafters, and their scanty clothing and other articles are sus-pended from the roof by wooden contrivances often elaboratelydesigned and elegantly carved (see pp. 320, 324). After seeinghow elaborately covered almost everything they used was w
. A naturalist's wanderings in the Eastern archipelago; a narrative of travel and exploration from 1878 to 1883. le is the foean or fire-place, and opposite to it on a trellis-work platform is placed the cranium of the father of the Headof the house. Indian corn and other comestibles and variousarticles are stored on little platforms stretching between therafters, and their scanty clothing and other articles are sus-pended from the roof by wooden contrivances often elaboratelydesigned and elegantly carved (see pp. 320, 324). After seeinghow elaborately covered almost everything they used was withcarvings, executed with undoubted taste and surprising skill, IN TIMOR-LAUT. 319 we began to ask ourselves, first, Can suck artistically developedpeople be savages ?—and, next, the more difficult question,What is a savage? The Tenimberese are very independent in character; everyman his own master is their motto. Though they have anOrang Kay a or Chief, his voice has but little more influencethan any other full-aged mans. The old mens opinion hassome weight with the younger men, but every man speaks out. HOUSE IN TI5IOR-LAUT, WITH ROOF REMOVED TO SHOW THE INTERIOR. his mind boldly and fearlessly. When any serious deliberationis going on, the whole community crowds round the assemblyroom, the women even taking part, and expressing freely andwithout offence their opinions. The voice of the majority isthe law of their community. Their moral characteristics are such as might be expectedfrom a rude people subject to no restraint; they are sensual,though no immorality in their actions or in their carvingsever comes to the public gaze. They are essentially selfish and 520 A NATURALISTS WANDERINGS devoid of all feelings of gratitude or pity. To give anythingfor nothing would be a breach of all their hereditary one occasion, towards the end ofour stay, when our larder was emptyand our men were away in the northernisland of Molu, a bunch of fish, which A was sorely in ne
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectnaturalhistory, booky
