. The history of mankind . of reeds. It is in Micronesia that the assembly or club-houses are most conspicuous. In Yap, Pelew, and Mancape in the Gilberts, two kinds of houses are universally distinguished — the family houses, blais, and the great houses or bais. The building of the great houses is a political matter, and as such entrusted to consecrated artificers. They are rectangular buildings, standing alone : in the Carolines on a stone foundation ; in Pelew on a platform of beams, upon which the polished floor immediately rests. Here the principle of pile-building is employed on dry land
. The history of mankind . of reeds. It is in Micronesia that the assembly or club-houses are most conspicuous. In Yap, Pelew, and Mancape in the Gilberts, two kinds of houses are universally distinguished — the family houses, blais, and the great houses or bais. The building of the great houses is a political matter, and as such entrusted to consecrated artificers. They are rectangular buildings, standing alone : in the Carolines on a stone foundation ; in Pelew on a platform of beams, upon which the polished floor immediately rests. Here the principle of pile-building is employed on dry land. In contrast to the care with which foundation, floor, and walls are treated, the high steep roof seems neglected, no doubt because violent storms frequently take it off. The common hall has generally six similar openings the entire height of the wall, from a yard to a yard and a half in width. These, like the doors and windows, can be closed with lieht screens of reed or bamboo. Verandahs contribute to the comfortable. New Caledonian head-stools. (Vienna Museum.) LABOUR, DWELLINGS, AND FOOD IN OCEANIA 265 character of the houses. In the case of the club-houses of New Guinea they areoften covered with hangings of leaf fibre. The low door has often a porch ofits own. In the interior of the Polynesian huts apartments are arranged by means ofwoven work and matting stretched from wall to wall ; in the smaller houses atleast a sleeping place is divided off. The carving on timbers and pillars, thereed panelling or mattapestry on the walls,the cords of variouscolours with whichthe rafters are bound,hanging down fromthe roof, lend a cheer-ful and pleasant char-acter to the interior of the better houses. The floor is carpeted with mats ; near the central pillar is ahollow where the domestic fire burns. This central pillar is the place of honourwhere the master of the house and his head wives sleep, and where weapons
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectethnology, bookyear18
