Chapter XXIV: Appendix: A (2)

The bow-string of the North Andaman is made from Anadendron fibre in much the same way as described in connection with the South Andaman bow, but in the North there is a loop or eye at both ends of the string. As soon as the first few centimetres of the cord have been made (by the method previously described) it is bent over into a loop, and this loop is served with Anadendron thread, just as in the case of the South Andaman string. The making of the string then proceeds in the usual way until a sufficient length has been made, this depending, of course, on the length of the bow for which it is intended. The end is then bent over into a loop, and this loop is served over with thread. The loose end of fibre is not in this case (as it is in the South Andaman string) twisted round the standing part of the cord, but is laid beside it, and the thread that has been used for serving is wound spirally round them both for a distance of about 10 cm. from the neck of the loop, so that the end is stopped.

When the bow is to be strung the first made loop is slipped over the top end of the bow so that it rests on the thread serving already mentioned, the neck of the loop being on the inside of the bow. The bow is then laid on the ground, inside downwards, a foot is placed on the middle, and the lower end of the bow is bent upwards (and therefore outwards) far enough to allow the other loop of the cord to be slipped over the end. The bow is now in what may be called the half-strung position, and in order to understand the mechanical principles of this type of bow it is necessary to make quite clear what this position is. It is shown in Fig. 13, A. The string passes from the top to the bottom on the outside of the bow, so that the bow is, so to speak, reversed, and is subjected to a strain that causes it to curve outwards. In most bows, when they are first made, there is an outward curve in the lower portion, owing to the bow having been cut from a curved piece of wood. When the bow is half strung this outward curvature is increased. If a bow be made from a straight piece of wood, an outward curve is produced by the operation of stringing it, as described above.

As soon as a bow is completed it is strung in the reversed position described, and is then placed over a fire, in such a position that the lower (curved) blade is immediately above the fire. The smoke and heat of the fire season the wood of this portion of the bow. Any specimen of a bow of this type, unless it has been newly made and not seasoned, is blackened on the inner surface of its lower part. The bow is left to season in this way for some time. A man places his bow over the fire of his own hut, which is kept constantly burning day and night. It must be remembered that all the time it is being seasoned the bow is subjected to a slight strain curving it outwards.

After the bow has been sufficiently seasoned it is brought into use. When a bow that is half strung or strung in a reversed way is to be used, it is taken by the handle in the left hand, with the string away from the body, the bow being upside down. The lower part of the bow (i.e. what is really the top of the bow when it is in its normal position) is rested against the thigh. The string is taken in the right hand and pulled over towards the body, so that the bow reverses itself and appears in the fully strung position shown in Fig. 13, B. It is then ready for immediate use.

A bow of this type is hardly ever entirely unstrung. When a man has finished with his bow for the time being, he puts it once more in the half-strung position, by an action the reverse of that described above, and then hangs the bow over the fire. Thus while the bow is in active use it is in the fully strung position, and at all other times it is kept in the half-strung position.

It is clear that the North Andaman bow depends on a principle that is not made use of in the South Andaman bow, which we may state by saying that if a piece of wood be subjected to the influence of heat and smoke while it is bent in one position it will acquire greater strength and elasticity to react against a strain that bends it in the opposite direction. When the bow is fully strung it is S-shaped. When it is drawn the greater part of the strain falls on the lower portion where it is curved outwards. It is this portion of the bow that is strengthened by seasoning.

The North Andaman bow is very much lighter than the South Andaman bow and is much more elastic. I always found it very difficult to shoot with a South Andaman bow, but on the other hand I found the North Andaman bow very easy to use. In drawing it only a slight pull is required in order to send an arrow with considerable velocity. The disadvantage of the northern bow is that, owing to its slighter build, it does not last very long, and is liable to be broken. However, it only takes a man a few days to make a new bow, string included, and the very definite superiority of the North Andaman bow over that of the South Andaman amply compensates for its shorter life.

Bows of exactly the same shape but of smaller dimensions are made in the North Andaman for boys, the length varying from about 90 cm. to about 120 cm. For very small boys toy bows of a different pattern are made. The bow is formed of a piece of wood about 90 cm. long and from 2 to 2·5 cm. broad in the middle. The section in the middle is convexo-convex, with a high degree of convexity on the outside and a much slighter convexity on the inside. The bow tapers to a point at each end, but it tapers more gradually at the top than at the bottom. The bow-string is a simple piece of string (two-ply) made of Anadendron fibre. It is tied to the lower end of the bow at a distance of 1·5 to 3 cm. from the end, and at the top it is tied at from 4 to 7 cm. from the end. The shape of a toy bow of this kind as seen from the side is shown in Fig. 14. It is not S-shaped, like the toy bow of the South Andaman previously described, but the curvature is asymmetrical.

I obtained a specimen of a toy bow made of bamboo. Unfortunately there was no string, but it was probably intended to be strung in the fashion of the North Andaman toy bow just described. The outer surface of the bamboo was the outside of the bow, with the result that in section the inner side of the bow was more convex than the outer side. This is the only bow in the whole of the Andamans in which I ever saw this feature. In all other bows of whatever type the outer side is markedly convex and the inner side is either concave, flat or only slightly convex.

It is now possible to compare one with another the different forms of bow in use in the Andamans. It would seem almost certain that the North Andaman bow can only have been derived from the form in use in the South Andaman or from one very similar to it. It is only after they were in the habit of making bows with an outward curve in the lower portion that the natives could have devised the method of seasoning this portion of the bow and keeping it in the reversed or half-strung position. It is unnecessary to argue the matter in detail, and we may conclude that the North Andaman type is derived from the South Andaman type.

It is less certain, but still highly probable, that the South Andaman form was derived from a bow similar to that still in use in the Little Andaman. The South Andaman toy bow shows a stage intermediate between the Little Andaman bow and the usual South Andaman form. The section of this toy bow is very similar to that of the Little Andaman bow. It has no blades, and therefore no waist for the handle. The shape, however, is asymmetrical. Owing to the different method of stringing it, the shoulder at the end of the bow is unnecessary, and the bow is strengthened (prevented from splitting so easily) by tapering the end to a point instead. The difference between the toy bow and the general South Andaman bow is the presence in the latter of the two blades and the waist. The broadening of the bow into the blades is necessary in order to prevent it from accidentally reversing itself.

We have still to consider the modified form of the Jarawa bow. The origin of this is easy to discover by the examination of a few typical specimens. Since the Jarawa have been in the South Andaman they have been in hostile contact with the tribes of the South Andaman Division. They have had opportunities of handling bows of the kind made by these tribes, and they have apparently discovered that these bows are more efficient than their own, but they have had no opportunity, such as only friendly intercourse would give, of discovering the principles on which the South Andaman bow is made. They have attempted to imitate it to the best of their ability, and this they have done (1) by making their bows longer and broader, (2) by making them concavo-convex in section instead of convexo-convex, (3) by cutting them occasionally from wood that gives them an outward curve in the lower portion, (4) by imitating the shape of the handle without, however, giving the bow a waist, (5) by serving over the bow-string with thread at the point where the arrow touches it, (6) by ornamenting their bows with incised and painted patterns. These are the only differences between the modified Jarawa type and the Little Andaman type, and all these may be explained as attempts to imitate the bows of the South Andaman Division. In not a single one of the modified Jarawa bows that I have seen is the fundamental principle of the South Andaman bow successfully applied.

We may conclude that the ancestors of the Andamanese at one time used a bow resembling that in use in the Little Andaman at the present day, and that the S-shaped bow of the Great Andaman has been invented since the separation of the two main divisions of the race.

It is not possible, owing to lack of sufficient information, to determine exactly the types of bow used by the Semang. The following notes are based on only six specimens, two of which are in the Museum of Ethnology at Cambridge [249], while the others are in the British Museum. Four of the specimens are sufficiently similar to one another to be regarded as belonging to one type, which seems to be the usual type of Semang bow. In length they are 165, 174·5, 182 and 197·5 cm., and at the middle they vary in breadth between 2·5 and 3 cm. Three are of palm-wood, and the other is of a light-coloured but tough kind of wood. The shape of the section in the middle of the bow varies considerably in the different specimens, as shown in Fig. 15. There is some uncertainty as to which is the inside, and which is the outside of the bow. At each end there is a shoulder, the point or tip at one end being in every instance considerably longer than the other. The string in each case is a three-ply rope, having a spliced eye at one end and being fastened to the bow with a knot at the other end.

The other two specimens do not conform to this type. One is of wood, 134 cm. long, and 3·5 cm. broad in the middle. One end is provided with a notch on each side for the string, while the other end has three pairs of notches. The string is a three-ply cord with a loop or eye at each end. The other specimen is made of bamboo, and is 147 cm. long and 2·25 cm. broad in the middle. One end has one pair of notches and the other has two pairs. The string is two-ply with a loop at each end.

What we may perhaps regard as the usual type of Semang bow thus differs from the bow of the Little Andaman in three important respects, (1) in having a longer point at one end than at the other [250], (2) in having a string of three-ply rope instead of a strand of twisted fibre, and (3) in the variations in the section at the middle. From the four specimens available it is not possible to determine around what norm or norms the section of different specimens varies.

Turning to the Negritos of the Philippine Islands, although a number of bows have been described by Meyer [251], the available information is not sufficient to enable us to determine what are the different types, and what is their relation one to another. Amongst the different varieties of bow used by the Negritos there is one which is very similar to the bow of the Little Andaman. It has a rounded or convex outer side, and a flattened inner side. The string loops on to a point at each end, and the string itself is formed of twisted fibre.

From a study of the available material it seems that we are justified in concluding that the primitive Negrito bow was made of wood, with a shoulder at each end, probably with a section rounded on one side and flattened or keeled on the other, and that it had a string of twisted fibre with a loop or eye at one end, the other end being attached with a knot.

The Andaman Islanders use two different kinds of arrows, one for shooting fish and the other for shooting pigs.

The common fish-arrow, as at present used in all parts of the Great Andaman Division, consists of three parts—a shaft, a fore-shaft, and a point. The shaft is a length of bamboo straightened by means of heat, and may vary in length from 70 to 110 cm. At one end the bamboo is cut off about 3 cm. beyond one of the nodes, and a nock is made (Fig. 16). At this end the shaft is roughened with a Cyrena shell so as to give a firm grip for the fingers. At the other end the shaft is tapered for about a centimetre. At this end the bamboo is roughened with a shell to give a hold to the thread with which it is bound. The fore-shaft is a length of wood from 15 to 40 cm. long. One end is slightly tapered so that it fits tightly into the end of the bamboo shaft. The other end is tapered to a point, which is flattened on one side. The fore-shaft is inserted into the end of the shaft and the joint is bound over for a distance of about 2·5 cm. with thread. The point consists of a piece of iron wire, sharply pointed at both ends. This is laid against the flattened side of the fore-shaft and is bound to it with thread in such a way that one point projects at the back to form a barb (Fig. 16). When the binding is completed it is covered entirely over with a composition made by melting together bees’-wax, resin and red ochre. The composition is melted over a fire, is applied with a short piece of wood and is then smoothed over with a hot Cyrena shell. Only the binding attaching the point to the fore-shaft is covered with composition, and not that at the joining of the fore-shaft and the shaft.

Arrows of this kind are used for shooting fish, but they also serve to shoot snakes or rats and on rare occasions birds.

Similar fish-arrows are made in the Little Andaman, but they are larger (i.e. both longer and thicker) than those of the Great Andaman Division. The two ends of the bamboo shaft are not roughened, and the binding attaching the point to the fore-shaft is not covered with composition (which seems to be unknown in the Little Andaman) but with bees’-wax only.

This seems to be the traditional form of fish-arrow of the Andamans. Before iron was plentiful the point consisted either of the serrated bone from the tail of the sting-ray or of a piece of the tibia of a pig ground down to the requisite dimensions on a piece of stone, and sharpened at each end.

In the Little Andaman fish-arrows are sometimes used with two or four prongs attached to a bamboo shaft. In the British Museum there is an arrow from the North Sentinel Island with four prongs tied on to a wooden shaft, each prong being barbed by a detached piece of wood at the end.

A simple form of arrow is made in both the Great Andaman and the Little Andaman consisting of a bamboo shaft with a pointed wooden head, the point being hardened in the fire. Such arrows are now very rarely used, save for shooting at a mark, but it is probable that before iron was plentiful they were used as a substitute for the fish-arrow described above, being easier to make although less serviceable.

The pig-arrow in use in the Great Andaman consists of a shaft, and a fore-shaft to which is attached a head. The shaft is a piece of the wood of the Tetranthera lancæfolia, cut from the tree and straightened by means of heat. At the narrower end a nock about 1 cm. deep is cut, and the arrow is served with thread of Anadendron fibre for about 1·6 cm. above the nock, in order to prevent splitting. At the other end the shaft is hollowed out to a depth of about a centimetre. This hollowing is done with the point of a fish-arrow or other similar piece of pointed iron. For a distance of about 1·5 cm. the end of the shaft is served over with thread of Anadendron fibre, so as to prevent it from splitting.

The fore-shaft consists of a piece of tough wood one end of which is cut to such a size that it will fit fairly tightly into the hollow at the end of the shaft. At the other end it is split so as to admit the head.

The head consists of a piece of iron broken into shape with the aid of a stone hammer and then ground down and sharpened on a whet-stone or with a file if one be obtainable. The usual shape is shown in Fig. 17. The head is inserted into the split end of the fore-shaft and the end of the latter is then served over with thread. A few centimetres below the head either one or two sharp-pointed pieces of iron wire are placed against the fore-shaft in the same plane as the head and are bound firmly to it with the thread, so as to provide a barb or barbs.

A cord is made and one end of it is attached to the shaft and the other end to the fore-shaft. This cord is made as follows. A number of strands of Anadendron fibre are taken and waxed with bees’-wax. These are made into a cord by the same method as that described in connection with the Great Andaman bow-string, one strand being wrapped round the others. About 40 cm. of single cord is made in this way and the two ends are tied together. A piece of elastic wood is bent into the form of an arc and the loop of cord is placed over this so that it is stretched tight. A length of thread (of Anadendron fibre) is made and wound on to a fine netting needle or on to a thin slip of wood, and the two cords as they are stretched side by side are bound together with this thread by the process known as “nippering” (Fig. 19). In this way a firm and strong flattened cord is produced. One end of this is fastened to the fore-shaft immediately above the end that fits into the shaft. The other end is fastened to the shaft a few centimetres from the end, leaving a short length of the shaft around which the cord may be spirally wound when the arrow is in use. (Fig. 18.)

Finally, the thread on the fore-shaft, i.e. that which holds the head and barbs in place, and also that which serves to attach the end of the cord, are covered with the composition already described as used on fish-arrows.

Arrows of this kind are used in pig-hunting. The fore-shaft is inserted into the end of the shaft, the cord attaching the two being wound spirally round the end of the shaft. When a pig is struck the barbs prevent the head from coming out of the wound. As the pig attempts to run away the shaft catches against the undergrowth of the jungle and comes loose from the fore-shaft. Sooner or later the shaft becomes entangled in the undergrowth and holds the wounded pig fast till the hunters can come up with it and despatch it. It is obvious that the cord of the arrow needs to be so strong that the pig cannot break it.

The natives of the Great Andaman tribes say that before they had plenty of iron they made similar pig-arrows with heads of shell and barbs of pig’s bone.

The natives of the Little Andaman make a pig-arrow very similar to that of the Great Andaman tribes, but on the average somewhat longer. The cord attaching the fore-shaft to the shaft consists of a length of double two-ply rope of Hibiscus fibre. The binding of the arrow is done with thread of the Gnetum fibre instead of Anadendron, and is not coated with composition but is smeared with bees’-wax. The barb (there being usually only one) is not fixed in the same plane as the head, but in the plane at right angles to it. (Fig. 20.)

Amongst the Jarawa the head of the pig-arrow is attached to the fore-shaft by a different method, holes being made in the iron through which the thread that holds it is passed. (Fig. 21.)

Another kind of pig-arrow is sometimes made in the Great Andaman that has not a detachable head. The shaft is a length of bamboo into one end of which is fitted a fore-shaft of wood. The end of this fore-shaft is split and a head of iron is inserted into it and bound there. Such an arrow may be without barbs or may have one or two barbs of iron. It is used only rarely and then chiefly for despatching a pig that has already been struck by an arrow of the usual kind. The natives say that in former times arrows of this kind were used in fighting in preference to ordinary pig-arrows, which, however, were also used.

In former times the natives of the Great Andaman, according to their own statements, made an arrow consisting of a bamboo shaft at the end of which was inserted a head made of Areca wood. An arrow of this kind, made for me by a native, is shown in Fig. 22.

None of the arrows made in any part of the Andamans is feathered.

In a comparison of the arrows of the Andamanese with those of the Semang and the Philippine Negritos the most interesting point is that all three branches of the Negrito race use arrows with detachable heads. Arrows of this kind from the Philippines are described by Meyer [252].

An important point of difference would seem to be that while the Andamanese do not feather their arrows the Semang and the Negritos of the Philippines do so. It would seem, however, from the account of Semang arrows given by Skeat [253] that the feathering is such that it is of no actual service in directing the flight of the weapon, and that it is doubtful whether the Semang really understand the principle of feathering, or whether they do not employ it as the mutilated survival of more intelligent methods or perhaps make use of it for solely magical purposes.

Another important point of difference is that the Semang poison their arrows, while the Andamanese do not. In this connection it must be remembered that the former people have for long been neighbours of people who use blow-pipes with poisoned darts.

After the bow and arrow the most important hunting weapon of the Great Andaman is the harpoon which is used in capturing dugong, turtle, porpoise, and large fish. The harpoon consists of a head, a shaft and a line. The line is a length of rope of Hibiscus fibre of as much as twenty fathoms or more in length. The shaft is a bamboo of about 18 feet in length. One end is cut off fairly near a node and is then served over with thread, and slightly hollowed. The head consists of a long piece of iron, such as a stout nail, brought to a sharp point at one end. The other end is served over with thread in such a way as to make it fit fairly tightly into the end of the bamboo shaft. Some distance from the point of the head two barbs of iron are attached by thread, and between this point and the lower end the line is attached. (See Fig. 23.)

A man using the harpoon stands on the forward platform of the canoe, holding the bamboo shaft in his hand. The head is inserted in the upper end of this, and the line passes over his shoulder and is coiled in the bottom of the canoe, the other end being attached to the forward out-rigger boom or to the thwart that takes its place in a large canoe. He poles the canoe along the reef with the harpoon shaft. When about to make a throw he raises the shaft till he can hold the butt end in his right hand, with the point directed towards the fish or turtle, and he then leaps forward so that if he succeeds in his aim the weapon strikes with all the force of his weight behind it. When the turtle or fish is struck the bamboo shaft floats loose and this is secured by the man in the water, who returns to the canoe. It may be necessary to strike the prey with a second harpoon, but if the first was well thrown the animal is firmly held by the line.

Harpoons are not used in the Little Andaman. The natives of the Great Andaman say that they themselves have only used them since they were able to obtain iron and that before that time they could only capture turtle and dugong in nets. It would seem therefore that the harpoon has been invented or adopted by the tribes of the Great Andaman Division in comparatively recent times, and was not an element of the primitive Andamanese culture.

The turtle net is no longer used, as the natives prefer the harpoon and have all the iron they need. Such nets were formerly made of rope of Hibiscus fibre. A net was about 150 cm. in width and of variable length. One specimen that was made for me had an open mesh of about 25 cm. square, while another had a smaller mesh. The knot used in a net from the South Andaman is the ordinary fisherman’s knot shown in Fig. 24 b. In a net from the North Andaman the knot used is a slip-knot, one strand being tied with an overhand knot over another which it crosses at right angles as shown in Fig. 25.

Each end of the turtle net is attached to a stake pointed at the lower end. The lower edge of the net is weighted with stones attached as shown in Fig. 24, while to the upper edge are attached a number of floats, each consisting of a long thin stick of Hibiscus wood to the upper end of which is attached a tassel of fibre.

The net was placed in shallow water so that the stones rested on the bottom while the tassels at the upper ends of the floats appeared above the surface. As soon as a turtle was entangled in the net the agitation could be observed by those watching who would proceed to the spot to secure their capture.

So far as is known it would seem that nets of this description are not used in the Little Andaman.

The Andamanese make practically no use of spears. At the present time the natives of the Great Andaman Division sometimes make pig-spears of a length of stout cane or rattan with a head of iron attached. The natives themselves say that such spears have only been made since the occupation of the islands, and it is probable that they were first made in imitation of spears used by Burmese convicts for pig-hunting. They are hardly ever used, the pig-arrow being preferred.

The true fish-spear is unknown in the Andamans though use is sometimes made of a harpoon similar to the turtle harpoon, but of smaller dimensions and with a finer line, for harpooning fish.

In the North Andaman a sort of fish-gig was formerly in use made of about twelve pieces of Areca wood of about 105 to 110 cm. long and 1 cm. or less broad and with tapered and sharp-pointed ends. These were fastened side by side by means of a strip of wood near one end, as shown in Fig. 26. This weapon was used for spearing small fish in pools on the reef.

CUTTING IMPLEMENTS.

At the present time the Andamanese make use of iron for their cutting implements. It is uncertain when they first learnt the use of iron, but it was certainly before the end of the eighteenth century. What iron they had was obtained from wrecks, of which there have always been a number on the Andamans. The metal has only become plentiful since the European settlement of 1858.

It is highly probable that the Andamanese, though they may have learnt the use of iron from implements used by visitors to their shores, have not learnt from any other people the method of working the metal. Even at the present day they do not make any use of heat in the manufacture of their iron implements, the metal being worked cold. It seems highly probable that they have simply adopted in connection with iron the methods they formerly used in dealing with other materials, particularly shells.

The materials used by the Andamanese, apart from iron, are wood, bone, shell and stone. We may begin by considering their use of stone.

In former times quartz flakes were used by the Andamanese for the two purposes of shaving and scarifying the skin, and for hardly any other purpose. (Among minor uses of stone flakes may be mentioned those of cutting the finger-nails, and sharpening boars’ tusks.) A quartz pebble is held in the left hand and is struck with a hard rounded pebble of any suitable kind. A flake is thus knocked off and falls into the palm of the left hand. The flake is examined, and if it be suitable it is at once used. If it be unsuitable it is thrown away and another made. For shaving, flakes with a sharp blade-like edge are required; for scarifying, flakes with a fine point are preferred. A flake is used till its fine edge is lost and is then thrown away and another made. Thus a woman who is shaving some one’s head may use as many as twenty flakes one after another, and to obtain twenty suitable flakes she probably makes as many as forty or even more. The kitchen-middens or heaps of refuse that are found on the sites of old encampments contain thousands of quartz pebbles that have been used as cores, and thousands of flakes.

Besides quartz there is a flinty kind of stone that is used in much the same way for making flakes. Suitable pieces of the stone are obtained and are placed in the fire for a few hours. They are taken out, and when they are cold are used in exactly the same way as a quartz pebble.

At the present time quartz is hardly ever used in this way, for the natives greatly prefer glass, and they obtain sufficient old bottles from Port Blair to satisfy their requirements. The bottom of a bottle is treated in every way as though it was a quartz pebble, a flake being knocked off and used, and then another and so on till the operation in hand (whether shaving or scarifying) is completed. The flake is held between the thumb and first finger when it is being used. In no case is a flake of quartz or glass ever kept. It is only made when required and after having been used is thrown away.

The natives themselves say that they formerly never made any use of stone for cutting purposes save in the case of stone flakes as described above. As against this there are three statements that must be considered. Colebrooke, who visited the islands in 1789, says of the Andamanese that “their canoes are hollowed out of the trunks of trees by means of fire and instruments of stone, having no iron in use amongst them, except such utensils as they have procured from the Europeans and sailors who have lately visited these islands; or from the wrecks of vessels formerly stranded on their coasts.” The accuracy of Colebrooke’s statement is made doubtful by the fact that at the present time (since 1858) the natives do not use fire in making their canoes, and it seems improbable that if they had this custom in 1789 they should have discontinued it and have entirely forgotten that it ever existed. Further if they used implements of stone in 1789 it is certainly strange that by 1858 they should have entirely forgotten that they ever did so. When Mr Man was making his enquiries the oldest men all agreed in stating that they never used stone for their adzes. We may conclude that Colebrooke’s statement is untrustworthy.

Stoliczka records the finding in the South Andaman of a stone celt and a stone arrow-head in the kitchen-middens of the South Andaman. The chief reason for doubting the value of this find is that Stoliczka states that these implements were made of tertiary sandstone, which it is very hard to believe would be of any use whatever. We may therefore adopt the opinion of M. Lapicque [254] that Stoliczka had found fragments of a whet-stone of sandstone and had been mislead into thinking that he had found an axe and an arrow-head.

A third statement that needs to be considered is one by Mr Portman, who presented to the British Museum an arrow with a head of stone made specially for him by a native of the North Andaman who stated that in former times such arrow-heads were used by the Andamanese. At the present time the arrow-head is broken and it would seem to be so fragile as to be entirely worthless for the purpose to which it was supposed to be put. The natives of the North Andaman whom I questioned stated that they did not use stone for their arrow-heads, but shell. We may therefore hold that the evidence given by Mr Portman is not at all satisfactory.

In the Akar-Bale tribe I heard a legend that at a certain spot there is a kind of stone which was used by the ancestors for making adzes. I visited the spot and the stone was pointed out to me. Unfortunately the specimen that I took was lost and I am therefore unable to state what the stone was, but it was such that it would have been utterly impossible to make any sort of adze out of it. It was of a crystalline nature and was easily fractured by a blow against even a soft substance such as wood. It was clear that the native statements about it were merely a legend having no historical value.

We may justifiably conclude that it is probable that the statement of the natives to the effect that before they possessed iron in any quantity they made their adzes and arrow-heads out of shell and not out of stone, is correct. Their use of stone for cutting was therefore confined to the flakes which have been described.

The most important material to the Andamanese seems to have been shell. Mollusc shells were used in the natural form or after having been manufactured. The chief shell used in its natural form is the Cyrena which serves at the present time as a knife, a scraper and a spoon. Even when they have knives of iron and steel they still use the Cyrena shell in preference for some purposes. It is used as a scraper in preparing fibres for rope and thread, in making arrows, as a knife for cutting thatching leaves and cane and even thread and rope, and for making incised patterns on bows and arrows. The shells are always to be found lying about their encampments, and a few are always carried with them when they migrate to a fresh camp. Those living inland obtain their supply of shells from their friends on the coast.

When in use the shell is clasped between the thumb and first finger, the thumb passing over the convex side and the finger round the hinged edge. The remaining fingers are used to clasp the object that is being scraped or cut. In cutting, the motion is away from the body, being produced by a twist of the wrist. In scraping the motion is away from the body, or from left to right. A knife of iron or steel is held in this way by the natives whenever it is used for any purpose for which they formerly would have used a shell. The blade is clasped near the handle between the thumb and first finger, the back of the blade pressing against the root of the thumb, and the handle away from the body.

Another shell that is used in its natural form is a small whelk shell that is used as a scraper for scraping off the outer skin of mangrove seeds in preparing them for food.

A shell that is used in very nearly its natural form is a kind of pearl shell that grows along creeks through the mangrove swamps. The shell is only very slightly curved and it is for this reason that it is selected as suitable. The weak edge or lip of the valve is broken away, and the edge is then slightly ground on a stone. This implement is used by women for slicing yams and certain other vegetables such as some kinds of seeds when they are being prepared for food.

The natives say that before iron was plentiful they used shells for the heads of their pig-arrows. Several different species of shell seem to have been used, the chief concern being to obtain a piece of sufficient size that was as nearly flat as possible. Such shells are those belonging to the larger bivalves. The natives state that their method of working the shell was to break it roughly into shape with stones and then grind it down on a whet-stone until it was given a sufficiently sharp point and edge. Some arrow-heads of shell were made for me by this method at my request by one of the old men of the North Andaman.

The natives state that before they had iron they made their adzes of shell. Two different men of the North Andaman made two shell adzes for me, one of Pinna shell, and the other of a shell that I omitted to identify. The Pinna shell adze seemed to me only suitable for light work such as finishing off a bow or a canoe, as it seemed likely to break under a strong blow. The other adze was much stronger and therefore capable of heavy work, and although the edge seemed to me to make it a poor implement with which to cut down a tree yet it certainly did not seem less suitable than the stone adzes used by many primitive peoples. If I were given a choice of implements with which to fell a tree, between the shell adze of the Andamanese and a stone axe of South-western Australia I should certainly choose the former.

According to the natives they formerly used bone for the points of their fish-arrows and for the barbs of their pig-arrows. For both of these purposes they now use iron. The bone was broken into a piece of suitable length and then ground down with a whet-stone. Apparently the bone most frequently used was the tibia of the pig. For their fish-arrows they also made use of the bone of the tail of the sting-ray,—its “sting.” When the fish was caught the bone was knocked off and reserved for use. It required no treatment whatever, being simply bound on to the point of the fore-shaft in the same way that an iron point is now attached.

Colebrooke, in 1789, described their arrows as “headed with fish-bones or the tusks of wild hogs, sometimes merely with a sharp bit of wood hardened in the fire.” By fish-bone he probably means the bone of the sting-ray. Where he writes the tusks of wild hogs we should probably read “the bones.” A boar’s tusk is curved, and it seems impossible to imagine how it could possibly be used as an arrow-head or arrow-point.

The boar’s tusk is used by the Andamanese as an implement, however, making a very efficient sort of spokeshave. The edge which is used is kept sharp by scraping with a quartz or glass flake or with a Cyrena shell. The edge is near the point (at a in Fig. 27) and the tusk is clasped at the other end between the forefinger and the root of the thumb (at b in Fig. 27), the movement being away from the body. It is used for planing bows and paddles, and in the hands of an Andaman Islander is a very efficient implement, producing a beautifully smooth and even surface.

Of wood the Andamanese formerly made knives and arrow-points. The knives were made of a slip of bamboo or cane shaped and sharpened with a Cyrena shell. Such knives were used for cutting meat and apparently for no other purpose. A knife was always attached by a short length of cord to a skewer of pointed Areca wood. The double implement was used in cooking and eating, the skewer serving to lift pieces of meat in and out of a pot, while the knife served to cut them. At the present time the cane or bamboo knife is replaced by a knife made from hoop-iron, but the shape of the original implement is retained as nearly as possible and a skewer of Areca wood is generally attached to it.

As has been already stated the Andamanese formerly used hard wood such as that of the Areca palm for the points and heads of their arrows. They do not seem to have made use of bamboo in this way.

At the present time iron is used for the blades of adzes, for the heads and barbs of pig-arrows, the points of fish-arrows, the heads of harpoons, and for knives. The method of working the metal is apparently exactly the same as the method they formerly used for working shell and bone. For the head of a pig-arrow a suitable piece of iron is taken and a fragment of about the right size is broken off by means of a stone hammer. This is then roughly broken into the required shape, no heat being used, and no advantage being taken of the malleability of the metal. The next process is to grind it on a whet-stone. The natives are always eager to obtain files which enable them to do this part of the work much more rapidly. When the arrow-head has been ground into shape the edges are sharpened. Blades for adzes are made in exactly the same way from any suitable piece of iron or steel, such as a cutlass or an old file or a piece of thick hoop-iron. The adze-blade is attached to a handle of mangrove wood by the method shown in Fig. 28.

The barbs of pig-arrows and the points of fish-arrows are made in the same way by breaking the metal into a suitable shape and then grinding it on a whet-stone. It is probable that this was the method that was formerly used for dealing with bone for these purposes.

In the case of the knife, iron or steel is now substituted for cane or bamboo, but the knife has retained its shape in spite of the change of material. The shape of a knife, whether of cane or of iron, with its attached skewer of Areca wood is shown in Fig. 28.

In the case of the harpoon the native tradition is that this implement was only made after they had discovered the use of iron.

At the present time both the Semang and the Negritos of the Philippines make use of iron. The Semang heat the iron until it is red-hot and then batter it into shape between two stones [255]. The shapes of the iron weapons and implements which they make follow fairly closely those made by the Malays.

In an attempt to reconstruct the primitive Negrito culture it would seem that the most reasonable hypothesis is that the primitive Negritos had no knowledge of iron and had not learnt to fashion implements out of stone, but relied entirely on such materials as wood, bone and shell. The Andamanese, becoming possessed of iron through wrecks upon their islands, applied to it the technique that they had developed for dealing with shell, and thereby invented their present method of working iron without heating it. The Semang and the Negritos of the Philippines probably first learnt the use of iron from their neighbours of other races. There is not at present any evidence to show that the Negritos ever had any method of working stone except the very simple one at present in use in the Andamans for making flakes.

STRING, ROPE, MATS, BASKETS, AND NETTING.

For string, rope and thread the Andaman Islanders make use of a number of different vegetable substances, but they make no use whatever of any animal substances. Some of the more important fibres, with their uses and the methods of preparing them, are mentioned below.

The bark of the Hibiscus tiliaceus, which occurs in the beach vegetation in all parts of the islands, provides the Andamanese with one of their most important fibres. By the coast-dwellers of the Great and Little Andaman Divisions it is used for making rope. In the Great Andaman Division the rope made from it was formerly used for making turtle nets, and is now used for the lines of turtle harpoons, and for hawsers to attach a canoe either to a stone used as an anchor or to a tree. No other fibre is used for these purposes. The Hibiscus rope does not seem to be much affected by salt water. The forest-dwellers of the Great Andaman have less use for rope, and at the same time are not able to obtain so readily the Hibiscus fibre. What rope they do have is therefore obtained from the coast-dwellers or is made of some other fibre. In the Little Andaman the Hibiscus is regularly used for rope. It is also used for the short cord by which the detachable head of the pig-arrow is attached to the shaft. In the Great Andaman a strip of the bark of the Hibiscus is used for the sling in which children are carried. Strips of the bark are worn by the women of the Little Andaman across their shoulders and breasts, as a sort of ornament.

To obtain the fibre young straight shoots of about 120 cm. in length are cut from the tree, those free from gnarls, and having a smooth bark, being chosen. The bark (inner and outer layers) is peeled off in strips of from 1·5 to 3 cm. in width. The inner or liber layer is then separated from the outer layer of the bark, is well scraped with a Cyrena shell and dried in the sun or over a fire. When dry it is worked in the hands until the various layers of fibre separate one from another. It is then ready to be made into rope. The fibre is interlacing, and when freshly made is a lustrous greyish brown. After exposure to salt water it turns a dark brown.

Mr E. H. Man, in his work on the Andamans, speaks of the Melochia velutina as providing fibre for rope. This is an error. The tree to which Mr Man refers is the Hibiscus tiliaceus. It is extremely common on the shores of the islands, as it is in many other parts of the tropics. It is very easily identified, as it bears its characteristic yellow flowers for a long time every year. There is no doubt whatever that this is the tree from which the natives regularly obtain the fibre for the rope they use in turtle-hunting and fishing and in their canoes. Other writers, following Mr Man, have repeated his error in calling it the Melochia velutina, for example Sir Richard Temple and Mr Portman. In Mr Portman’s collection of photographs in the British Museum there is a good photograph of a Hibiscus tiliaceus tree labelled “Melochia velutina.” I looked carefully in the Andaman jungles for the Melochia velutina but was unable to find it, and I am quite certain that in any case, even if it be found there, it is not commonly used by the natives for rope.

The bark of a number of other trees provides fibre of which the natives occasionally make use. Amongst these are one or more species of Sterculia (S. villosa?), and a tree that I identified somewhat doubtfully as Grewia laevigata. The coarse fibre of the liber layer of these trees may be made into rope by the same method as that employed in dealing with Hibiscus tiliaceus. Very little actual use is made of them however. A fibre which looks very like that obtained from one species of Sterculia is frequently used by the natives of the Little Andaman (and also by the Jarawa) for their personal ornaments. Mr Portman says that this fibre is obtained from the Celtis cinnamonea.

A species of Hibiscus, which I believe is Hibiscus scandens, growing in the jungles and not along the shore, provides a fibre that is prized by the natives of the Great Andaman tribes for making string or fine rope. The fibre is less easily obtained than that of the Hibiscus tiliaceus, but owing to its quality (it is not so interlacing) is capable of being made into finer rope and string. It is often made into string and then used for making netted bags. I did not find this fibre in use in the Little Andaman, but as it is not very often met with even in the Great Andaman, it may possibly be used in the Little Andaman.

There are several species of Ficus in the Andaman forests, and the natives know that they can obtain fibre from the bark of these trees. The only one that is regularly made use of is the Ficus laccifera. The natives of the Great Andaman Division use the bark of this tree for making their personal ornaments. In the Little Andaman it is used for bow-strings. A fibre called in the Little Andaman ulu, and said by Mr Portman to be obtained from the Ficus hispida, is used in that island, and by the Jarawa, for making personal ornaments.