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stone, a bone, or a stick from the body of the sufferer. At
last he gives out that he has ascertained the cause of the
sickness; the sick man has done or has omitted to do some-
thing which has excited the anger of the spirit. 1

From all this it would seem that the souls of the dead
are more feared than loved and reverenced by the Papuans
of Windessi. Naturally the ghosts of enemies who have
perished at their hands are particularly dreaded by them.
That dread explains some of the ceremonies which are
observed in the village at the return of a successful party of
head-hunters. As they draw near the village, they announce
their approach and success by blowing on triton shells.
Their canoes also arc decked with branches. The faces of
the men who have taken a head are blackened with charcoal;
and if several have joined in killing one man, his skull is
divided between them. They always time their arrival
so as to reach home in the early morning. They come
paddling to the village with a great noise, and the women
stand ready to dance in the verandahs of the houses. The
canoes row past the roem sram or clubhouse where the
young men live; and as they pass, the grimy-faced slayers
fling as many pointed sticks or bamboos at the house as
they have killed enemies. The rest of the day is spent
very quietly. But now and then they drum or blow on
the conch, and at other times they beat on the walls of
the houses with sticks, shouting loudly at the same time, to
drive away the ghosts of their victims. 2

Ghosts
of slain
enemies
dreaded.

That concludes what I have to say as to the fear and
worship of the dead in Dutch New Guinea.

____________________
1 J. L. D. van der Roest, op. cit.
pp. 164, 166.
2 J. L. D. van der Roest, op. cit.
pp. 157sq.

-323-

Questia, a part of Gale, Cengage Learning. www.questia.com

Publication Information: Book Title: The Belief in Immortality and the Worship of the Dead. Volume: 1. Contributors: J. G. Frazer - author. Publisher: Macmillan. Place of Publication: London. Publication Year: 1913. Page Number: 323.
    
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