Excerpt from Reports of the Cambridge Anthropological Expedition to Torres Straits, Vol. 1: General Ethnography In 1888 I went to Torres Straits to study marine zoology and had no intention of paying attention to ethnography; indeed, before I left England, I consulted Sir William Flower about taking measurements of natives and he dissuaded me from doing so, and others seemed to think that there was little worth doing as regards the natives. All this fitted in very well with my inclinations, for I had not paid any serious attention to ethnology and was relieved to find that I might neglect it. After a preliminary cruise in the Straits, I stayed at Mabuiag during the month of October in 1888 and spent five months at Mer in 1888 - 9. I also paid short visits to various islands. Throughout this time I was in close contact with the islanders, especially when dredging and collecting plankton. I found them a cheerful, friendly and intelligent folk, and soon became friends with many of them. Naturally, when opportunity offered, I spoke to them about their past and soon found that the young men knew extremely little about it and they always referred me to the Old men. I had previously found that practically none of the Europeans in the islands knew or cared anything about the customs of the natives or their former beliefs, and I also discovered that all that was known about them was contained in the accounts given by Jukes, by Macgillivray, and in the sketches and Often inaccurate notes by Wyatt Gill and a few others. I therefore considered it my duty to record as much as was possible in the circumstances, so I induced the Old men to come in the evenings and talk about old times and tell me their folk-tales. In this way, without any previous experience or knowledge, I worked single - handed among the Western islanders and amassed a fair amount of information. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Excerpt from Reports of the Cambridge Anthropological Expedition to Torres Straits Perhaps a few words are necessary to explain why we visited a district apparently so insignificant as Torres Straits. As explained above, I had a good deal of unpublished material on the ethnography of the people and it would naturally take less time to gain a good insight into the life of a people about whom a fair amount was known than to begin afresh on a new people. From what I knew of my old friends and acquaintances I was sure that we could at once get to work instead of having to lose more or less time while entering into friendly relations with a people who, after all, might prove to be suspicious and refractory. Our experience fully justified the good impression I had formed of the Willingness of the Torres Straits islanders to impart information and to render personal assistance. For the special work we had to do it was necessary to visit a people who were amenable and with whom communication was easy; but, on the other hand, who were not far removed from their primitive past. This peculiar combination was found in these people. This region has some ethnological importance as it is on the frontier between two large land areas inhabited respectively by Papuans and Australians, and it was a matter of some interest to determine whether any mixture had taken place there and also to endeavour to find out if any traces could be found in the islands or on the adjacent coast of New Guinea of a migration of the Australian stock from North to South. The islanders are as a matter of fact distinctly Papuan. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Excerpt from Reports of the Cambridge Anthropological Expedition to Torres Straits, 1907, Vol. 3 Lines 7, 8 from bottom, for shell' read 'coco - nut.' Line 6 from bottom, for 1890 - 1 read '1889 After No. 33, add 'nissan, Sir Charles Hardy Island, North East of Solomon Islands.' After No. 37, add 'ponape, Ascension Island, Caroline Islands.' Line 21, add In Waima syllables are often inverted: Icai-inata'a or ta'akaima, sweet potato ancpalut or one/capa, old. The village of Waima is called Maiva by the Motu people.' 2 of Note 2, for 'case' read care.' 3, for 'dhaka.' read 15 from bottom, for reciprocal' read 'instrumental.' About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.