. The history of mankind . and arrows from North-west New3. Arrow-heads from the Solomon Islands 234 THE HISTORY OF MANKIND distribution, the possession of the bow distinguishes the Melanesians from theirneighbours to north, cast, and south ; yet without entitling us to speak of thebow as a characteristic of the Papuan race. The forms are like those of Eastern Indonesia. They are long bows with strong, slightly bent, often fluted, stavesof bamboo or palm-wood ; the string of vegetable material, usually rattan, isfirmly looped to the ornamental end, and fastened in New Guinea with a pad ofratta
. The history of mankind . and arrows from North-west New3. Arrow-heads from the Solomon Islands 234 THE HISTORY OF MANKIND distribution, the possession of the bow distinguishes the Melanesians from theirneighbours to north, cast, and south ; yet without entitling us to speak of thebow as a characteristic of the Papuan race. The forms are like those of Eastern Indonesia. They are long bows with strong, slightly bent, often fluted, stavesof bamboo or palm-wood ; the string of vegetable material, usually rattan, isfirmly looped to the ornamental end, and fastened in New Guinea with a pad ofrattan, in the Solomon Islands with resin. In New Ireland and New Caledonia bowsand arrows are not in use ; but in New Britain, Port Sulphur, the southern islandsof the Solomon group, the New Hebrides, the Banks and Loyalty Islands, they are known, and in someparts are common. In theNew Hebrides especiallythey are highly arrows of the SolomonIslanders are the finestof any. They are made= of a reed, with a head of. Dagger of cassowary bone, from North-west New Guinea—one-fourth realsize. (Christy Collection.) hard wood, either simplysharpened to a pointor else artistically carvedinto barbs of wood, bone, or teeth, in imitation of the spear-heads. The shaft isdecorated with elegant hatched work, put on so as artfully to indicate the knots inthe reed. The place where head and shaft join is bound with bast, the point fre-quently covered with a yellow wrapping, it is said, to denote that it is is a curious instance of division of labour that all the beautifully wroughtarrows of the Solomons are carried from the little island of Nissan in the extremecoast of the group, together with pigs, to Buka, and thence traded off for boats,arrows, and earthenware. In Ugi and Biu near San Christoval arrows are usedhaving rings of palm-leaf at the butt-end of the shaft, and no notch to take thestring. In the Admiralty Islands small arrow-like javelins are hurled with athong
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectethnology, bookyear18
