Volume 14 Australasia - dana ward's homepage

TOPOGRAPHY OF NEW GUINEA. 809The Papuans of Dorei are known by the name of JMafur or Nofur, a termsupposed by some to have the same origin as the word Alfuru, which in Portuguesewould have the meaning of "outsiders," or "savages." But Van Hasseltinterprets it in the sense of " discoverers of fire," and these natives are justlyproud of the sublime invention attributed by other peoples to the gods. Theneighbouring highlands are occujiied by the Arfak people, much dreaded headhunters,who have nevertheless given a friendly welcome to those travellers « hoventured to visit them.West of Dorei on the north coast lies the station Amberhahen {Amherbaki) , thatis, " Amber Land," which is inhabited by Papuans of the same stock as theMafurs, and like them peaceful and friendly and even more skilful agriculturists.Their villages consist of very high cabins perched on the interlaced stems of thebamboo. The territory west of them is occupied by the Karons, one of the fewNew Guinea peoples who have not been unjustly accused. of cannibalism. Theyeat the bodies of their enemies slain in battle ; but they are probabU' not ofPapuan race. Although averaging about 5 feet 4 inches in height, they wouldappear to belong to the same stock as the Negritoes of the Philippine Islands ; andaccording to the naturalist Raffray are characterised by robust, thick-set framesand limbs, large round head, very prominent superciliary arches, thick lips, broadflat features.They dress their frizzly hair in long tresses, which hang loosely overthe temples and forehead, and practise a kind of tattooing with large raised welts.According to the Malays who have visited them, the Karons do not eat sagolike the coastlanders, but feed on the sprouts of another palm that grows in adry soil, and also devour all kinds of reptiles and insects. Thej^ are accused,though not on direct evidence, of eating their own offspring when all the slavesand captives have been consumed, leaving only two children to each family.Further south and more inland dwell the Gebars, who, like the peoples living onthe shores of MacCluer Inlet, are also reputed cannibals.South of Dorei one of the most important coast villages is Wdirur, lying notfar from the narrowest part of the isthmus, across which a portage might easily beestablished between the Geelvink and MacCluer Gulfs. This place is visited byMalay traders, who purchase the nutmegs here growing wild. Other stationsfollow round Geelvink Bay, such as Wandammen on the south and ArojjenWaropen) on the east side. Then(beyond the Amberno delta occur a few portsof call occasionally visited by Dutch skippers. But here the population is veryscattered, and foreign trade has fallen off since the middle of the century. Thedealers, following the usual plan of making advances to the natives in order tosecure their produce beforehand at nominal prices, run the risk of being murderedby their debtors, and in some places do not venture even to land, but wait off thecoast the arrival of the native craft laden with local produce.Humboldt Bay (Telokh Liutju), the easternmost inlet within Dutch territory,is inhabited by some of the rudest coast tribes in New Guinea. Such is theirignorance that they are even unable to extract the oil from the cocoanut.s thatfringe all the western parts of the bay.