WHENCE CAME THEY?

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1232, 14 September 1911, Page 3

WHENCE CAME THEY?

THE ORIGIN OF THE POLYNESIAN. INTERESTING THEORIES. VIEWS OF PROFESSOR MACMILLAN BROWN.

Among the passengers to arrive from Sydney yesterday by the Manuka was Professor J. Ma'cJlillnn Brown, who has, been combining, holiday with scientific research in the distant Solomon groun-thr.t necklet of islands which almost connects Now Britain with the Santa Cruz Group away to the west of Southern New Guinea. Professor Jlac-Milian Brown usually has some definite object at the back of his head when he "takes his walks abroad," and in this case it is the old haunting doubt as to the origin of the Polynesianwho is he, and whence came he? The most popular theory, and most noted in song and story, is that fe Polynesians generally come over the sea of Kiwa from the far north-east Hawaiki or even North America, while others have held that lie has drifted south-east from India through the great Pacific Archipelago, which con-' nects Asia with Australia. Professor Brown does not agree with either of these theories. He had for some time been impiessed with the opinion that Polynesia was at one time either a great country or a number of much larger islands than now exist. The presence of thousands of coral-based atolls are to him good and sufficient proof that for some thousands of years the bed ot me 'Southern Pacific has been sinking, and that the-sinking process has caused the Polynesian to migrate northward and westward. The professor is gratified to be in the position to state that his visit to tho Solomon Group has not only strengthened his idea, but has put it beyond, the pale of theory. In support of his contention that the Polynesian has not drifted down from Asia, but rather that tho Polynesians have spread as their territory diminished. Professor Brown goes into the science of auturopology—goes into the stature, facial.features, and cranium characteristics to show that the Polynesians were a distinct people, whose language .13 between the different islands only differed as much as the dialects of Somerset and Yorkshire, whereas in Malaysia ani Melanesia tho lnnguage, customs, and characteristics wero entirely different even on islands in fairly cjoso proximity to one another. In Polynesia features and heads mere closely resembled tho Caucasian type, whilst further north and .west through the Archipelagos, the negroid type predominated. As one went north through Melanesia the kinky or scrub-brush hair, tho spread nostrils, and the thick lips, appeared in place of tho straight hair and aquiline features of the Polynesian. Here and there could bo picked out people or even small groups of natives in the Solomons who bore the Polynesian characteristics— that was evidence of the blood- which had spread westward. When at the Solomons he found as many as thirty natives from tho island of Malaita, with fair wavy hair and regular features, in whose blood thero was a strain of the Polynesian. . ' Polynesians, thVNavigators. Further, Professor Brown noted one tiling which in his opinion is strong evidence against tho theory that tho peoples of the South Pacific drifted down from Asia, through tho centuries was the stylo and workmanship of the ranees made by tho Solom'n Islanders, who, to all intents and purposes, is tho primitive man. They built their canoes from rcughly-hewn boards, not more than half an inch in thickness, and after serine them together, pasted up tho cracks with some form of vegetable cemeut. Such craft could never hopo to face the dangers of a storm at sea—the cement would bo battered out by. tho waves in no time, and tho canoes would become water-logged. These, too, were the canoes which (if the Asia drift theory were correct) would during ei;.'ht months of tho year have had to face strong adverse trade winds from the cast. On the other haiul, what was the case? Tho Polynesians were known ■to be fine navigators, and when they built themselves a ship it was a solid dug-out that would stand and weather through almost any storm. But t?io strongest proof of all, in Professor Bro.ni' opinion, is one of custom. Polynesians have a history— they preserve their genealogical trees, and property descends from father to ?on, even as it does with Europeans. Though this is tho case in Polynesia, it is interesting to note that tho patriarchate system does not obtain in Melanesia, where the matri"rchato holds sway, with the result that there is no family history, and fev. , can trace their ancestry back more.than two or three generations. Under the matriarchate, the mother is the king-pin of the family. She allowed no one to acquire power by the accumulation of wealth, and distributed it at will amongst the relatives. Th? matri.nvchate was the old aboriginal idea of managing affairs, based on ignorance. Under its sway there wero no chiefs, and a man only becamo great by sorcfry. Supposing he could persuade others by personal magnetism and a fine flow of speech that he could with a shell control the winds and the waves, and had a bit of luck to start with, ho would soon become power- ' fill and perhaps wealthy. If the latter, his sons did not count for any consideration—the wealth would more probably lie left to the man's uncles and nephews. The Fierce Malaitans. "They aro still a wild people on Malaita—a loose, head-hunting lot, among whom human life is certainly not safe. It is only about a month ago that they killed a missionary on Malaita. One of the big natives wonted a white head as revenge for one of his men, who had been killed by Europeans. ITo offered 370 fathoms in shell money (about ,£75) for such a head, and two young natives crept off through the busTi to the mission house, and shot the missionary as he was conducting service. The motive for headhunting is a habit th?y have of decorating their tribal meeting-houses with skulls—the more skulls there were the more awe-inspiring and powerful was the tribe, and so head-hunting flourished up till quite recently, when a British gunboat smashed up a village or two to frighten them off such a recreation. So fierce were.tho affrays that.many of the islnnds of the group were entirely depopulated. The one Messrs. Lever Bros, own now was in that condition, owing solely to this craze for heads. Copra and Rubber, "There is a great commercial future beforo these islands, beyond a dmibr." raid Professor Brown. "The islands are splendidly suited for the cultivation of copra on the coast lands, where the soil is black and loamy, and rubber on the lower slopes of the very high ranges of mountains. Copra used to pay handsomely at ,£l2 10s., now it fetches £!% and there is a limitless demand for it. It used to be used extensively for soaprnakinsr, but it hns grown too costly for that—it is now tho main constituent in the manufacture of margarino. The best labour for tho copra plantations is recruited from Malaita. They are mountain folk, and work well, while the coast-born natives are lazy, and easily make enough by the sale of coconuts (for copra) to keep them in oomfort. /The old fellows on Malaita seem to recognise that it is not a bad lining to send their sons to work on tho plantations, for as soon as ho comes back at the end of three years his money is divided up among his relatives in "a charming communistic fashion. Professor Brown gees south this evening. ____„____