The races of man, and their geographical distribution . bably one exception),have been the natives of the Eeejee Islands. So far as my observation extends, the Papuan race differsfrom the rest of mankind in one remarkable physical pecu-liarity, the hardness or harshness of the skin. This pointlong since attracted the attention of those Tonga people,*from whom Mariner derived his accurate notices of the EeejeeIslands. It is proper to add, that I have not examined thequality of the skin in the Negrillo race. The hair of the Papuan is in great quantity, is naturallyfrizzled and bushy, and so coar
The races of man, and their geographical distribution . bably one exception),have been the natives of the Eeejee Islands. So far as my observation extends, the Papuan race differsfrom the rest of mankind in one remarkable physical pecu-liarity, the hardness or harshness of the skin. This pointlong since attracted the attention of those Tonga people,*from whom Mariner derived his accurate notices of the EeejeeIslands. It is proper to add, that I have not examined thequality of the skin in the Negrillo race. The hair of the Papuan is in great quantity, is naturallyfrizzled and bushy, and so coarse as to be rather wiry thanwoolly. When dressed according to the Eeejee fashion, itforms a resisting mass, and offers no slight protectionagainst the blow of a club. I have had occasion to remarkthat it actually incommoded the wearer when lying down;and to this circumstance, rather than to any foppery, I amdisposed to attribute the origin of the wooden beard does not appear to grow so long, or to cover so * See Mariners Tonga !PAi- KC . , NATIVT FEEJEE ISLAN THE PAPUAN RACE. 147 large a portion of the face as in the White race; but thePapuan exceeds the remaining races, in the quantity ofbeard. The complexion is of a deeper shade than in the Malay-race, but is much the same as in the Bengalee or features in many respects resemble those of the Negro,but the lips are not quite so thick, and the nose is somewhatmore prominent; while a very general elongation of theface imparts a different aspect. I did not meet with a reallyfine head among the Peejeeans, but the countenance wasoften grave and peculiarly impressive; and I had frequentoccasion to remark, that strangers did not readily forget thefeatures of Veindovi. In average stature, the Feejeeanswere found to exceed the White race ; but thev fell below themen of Tonga and Samoa. The profile in general appeared to be as vertical, if notmore so, than in the WTiite race ; but this, I find,
Size: 1423px × 1756px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1850, booksubjectethnology, bookyear18
