US Army Guide to New Caledonia - The George C. Marshall ...

Among the Javanese and Tonhinese you will find a d
sorts of religious customs . festivals . and observances . Th e
important hang is never to laugh or Interfere . Learning
about these things is a Dart of your new life. As a student
of New Caledonia, tou will o : course approach the lan d
and its people with respect, as your comrades alread y
there have done ,
There is no problem of haggling or 'bargaining wit h
the nati=ves to he considered . For one thing, the island ha s
not been frequented by tourists and there .are almost n o
nattve son'.enirs `ot sale. For another, the whole economi c
system of the island is now stabilized by price-liking ,
which is even more rigid than in your own country .
In normal times the French in New Caledonia live a
great deal as we do at home . These are not normal times .
The stores In Noumea and the other cities are running o n
the ragged edge because of a lack or im ports . Such products
as they have are needed be the native population .
It isn't honest poker for an American soldier to compet e
with their when n_os, of his needs can be supplied at th e
army canteen .
Liquors of all kinds arc extremely scarce . As In peace -
times. the native population was accustomed to the traditional
French wines, the scarcity Is a greater hardship o n
them than on the American soldier. A little beer Is im -
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ported from Australia ; It is not especially good beer . Suc h
wine as is to be round is now Imported from California .
Of soft drinks, there are a tew : citron, an orange syru p
cut with v=, ater, lemon pop -arid banana pop . Ice is hard to
get, there being on'hv two small plants on the I sland, with
a plentiful demand r or their product .
Nearly all the native New Caedonians 'ice in v°illages,
. called mribu {tree-boat . They are generally foun d
in the river valleys, but some are deep in the mountains ,
The - old-style native I'.ut-now rare-Is a cone-shape d
thatch-rooted affair looking something like a tall beehive .
The more common dwelling today°, encouraged by th e
gov=ernment for reasons of public health . is a rectangula r
cottage with tan, bark, or thatch roof . The walls are mad e
of wattle and mud, usually painted in bright colors, Wove n
mats are used as bedding, and the cooking Ere Is an ope n
hearth on the earth floor . Generally, the villages are tid y
and surrounded by flowers . In the hills You will still se e
the native costume-noy, also partly Europeanizedwhich
consists, for men, of a shirt and a cotton waist -
cloth, often brightly° colored, called a manou (man-oo) .
The women wear mostly the "Mother Hubbard, ' introduced
into the South Seas by the missionaries . It is a
• loose cotton dress tailing below the knee with elbo w
length sleeves, The people are fond or bright decoration s
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