The Worthy Father Spent Some Time Chivying His
Flock About The Forest, But In Vain, And He Returned Home Disgusted,
Deciding That The Creator, For Some Wise Purpose, Had Dedicated The
Bubis To The Devil.
The spears used by this interesting people are even to this day made
entirely of wood, and have such a Polynesian look about them that I
intend some time or other to bring some home and experiment on that
learned Polynesian-culture-expert, Baron von Hugel, with them:
-
Intellectually experiment, not physically, pray understand.
The pottery has a very early-man look about it, but in this it does
not differ much from that of the mainland, which is quite as poor,
and similarly made without a wheel, and sun-baked. Those pots of
the Bubis I have seen have, however, not had the pattern (any sort
of pattern does, and it need not be carefully done) that runs round
mainland pots to "keep their souls in" - i.e. to prevent their
breaking up on their own account.
The basket-work of the Bubis is of a superior order: the baskets
they make to hold the palm oil are excellent, and will hold water
like a basin, but I am in doubt whether this art is original, or
imported by the Portuguese runaway slaves, for they put me very much
in mind of those made by my old friends the Kabinders, from whom a
good many of those slaves were recruited. I think there is little
doubt that several of the musical instruments own this origin,
particularly their best beloved one, the elibo.
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