Chapter XXV: Appendix: A (3)

The Gnetum edule, a climbing plant that is fairly common, is used in all parts of the Andamans for thread and string. The creeper is cut into short lengths at the nodes and is dried for a few days. The outer layer of bark is then scraped off with a Cyrena shell, and the liber layer beneath it is peeled off in fine strips and these are made into thread or string. This string is used in the Great Andaman Division for making netted bags and fishing nets. In the Little Andaman it is used for binding their arrows, as well as for netting.

The most valuable fibre of the Great Andaman tribes is that of the Anadendron paniculatum, which is used for string and thread and for bow-strings. Until recent times the method of preparing the fibre was not known to the natives of the Little Andaman, but they have now learnt it from the natives of the Great Andaman with whom they have been brought in contact, and the use of the fibre for string and thread is coming in amongst them.

The fibre is not easy to prepare. Long thin branches of the creeper are cut, which must be neither too young nor too old. To obtain these it is often necessary to climb up into high trees, for the Anadendron is a climbing plant. The creeper is cut into lengths of from 20 to 40 cm. The bark (inner and outer layers) is peeled off these in strips of from 7 to 10 mm. in width. A strip of the bark is taken and placed on the thigh, inner surface downwards, and is scraped with a Cyrena shell until the outer bark is entirely removed and the fibres remain clean and separate. These are dried in the sun or over a fire and, if not needed for immediate use, are stored for future occasion. The fibre is fine and of a light greyish brown colour. In its qualities it somewhat resembles ramie fibre. It is extremely strong.

There are a number of other trees and plants that are known by the natives to afford fibre, but they are not used, or if they are, it is extremely rarely.

The Andaman jungles have a number of different species of Calamus, and the canes or rattans of these are put to all sorts of uses, such as the making of baskets, the lashings and furnishings of canoes, and in building huts. In the Little Andaman one species of cane is used to provide the fibre for women’s belts. The outer skin is removed and the remainder of the cane is divided into fine strips or threads. A bundle of these tied together constitutes the belt worn by the women of the Little Andaman. The outer sheath of the leaf-stem of the Calamus tigrinus is used by the natives of the Great Andaman Division for making mats. Lengths of the leaf-stem are cut and the outer skin is removed in strips of about 3 to 5 mm. in width. The still adhering pith is removed with a Cyrena shell, and the strips are dried in the sun and then made into mats.

The leaf-stem of a species of palm is cut while green and is then shredded into long strips. The fibre thus obtained really consists of the leaflets of the young unopened leaves of the palm. It is used in the Little Andaman to make the tassel that women wear over the pudenda. The women of the North Andaman formerly wore a tassel of this fibre, but have now discontinued the custom, since their contact with the South Andaman. In the Great Andaman tribes this material has important ceremonial uses. It is called ko̱ro in Aka-Jeru and ara in Aka-Bea, and has been frequently mentioned in this volume. A tassel of the fibre is suspended near the grave of a dead person and at the entrance of the village at which the death took place. In the North Andaman a suspended cane hung with a fringe of the fibre is erected for the peace-making ceremony. (See Plate XIX.)

Two plants that were not identified are used in the North Andaman for making baskets. The methods of preparing these will be described later.

The natives of the Great Andaman Division make use of the leaves of the Pandanus Andamanensium for making belts for women and ornaments that are worn on ceremonial occasions. These leaves do not seem to be used in the Little Andaman.

The pods of one or more species of Dendrobium are collected by the natives of both Great Andaman and Little Andaman. They are roasted in the fire, until the outer skin turns a bright yellow, and this is torn off in strips and used for ornamenting nets, baskets, rope, etc.

The above description includes all the more important vegetable substances used by the Andamanese for their rope, string, netting, and basket-work. There are many other substances that they might use if they wished, of the properties of which they are fully aware. Their knowledge of the trees and plants of the forests and of the peculiar properties of each is very extensive. They themselves say that they use only those that best serve their purposes.

The Andamanese make rope and string or thread, but in all cases it is only two-ply. Rope is made by men only, and is used for the lines of turtle harpoons, and was formerly used for turtle nets. The ropes made from Hibiscus fibre are very strong and durable, being quite as good as the best hempen ropes of the same diameter. In rope-making the Hibiscus or other fibre (Sterculia or Grewia) is taken and twisted into a long strand, either with the fingers, or on the thigh by rolling beneath the palm of the hand, short lengths of fibre being added until a single twisted strand of sufficient length and uniform thickness is produced. The middle of this strand is passed over a piece of wood held by the toes, one half of it being wound on to a reel (kutobi in Aka-Jeru) made by tying together crossways two pieces of cane or wood each about 20 cm. long and 6 mm. in diameter. The other half of the strand is loose, and is held (near the point where it is tied to the wood held in the toes) between the finger and thumb of the left hand, the rest of it passing across the palm, over the left forearm, under the armpit, across the back and over the right shoulder, hanging down loosely to the worker’s right side. This arrangement is in order that the loose strand shall not become entangled or get in the man’s way as he works. The reel is held in the right hand and is passed first under the left hand, then back again over it, the two strands being thus twisted into a firm two-ply cord.

The natives of the Little Andaman make rope in much the same way, but they pass the reel from right to left over the other strand and back under it, the twist being thus in the opposite direction from that used in the Great Andaman.

String or thread is made by both men and women. It is put to many uses, the chief being for binding the heads of arrows, harpoons and spears and the ends of bows, and in making nets, baskets, mats and personal ornaments. In making string the man or woman sits down with legs outstretched. Thin strands of fibre, varying in thickness according to the thickness of the string required, are taken and each twisted singly by being rolled between the palm of the right hand and the right thigh, the motion being away from the body. When a sufficient number of short single strands has been thus made, two of them are taken and placed together on the thigh, being held at one end in the left hand. The two strands are rolled together beneath the palm of the right hand, the motion being inwards towards the body. A well twisted thread is thus produced. When some 10 cm. or so have been thus twisted, the thread is rolled once beneath the palm of the hand in the opposite direction, i.e. away from the body, this action rendering it more compact. As soon as the end of the two strands that are being twisted is neared, two more are taken and joined on, first one and then the other, by being rolled in with the first two. Fresh strands are thus continually added as the string grows in length. String of any desired length is made in this way, of considerable strength and of surprisingly uniform thickness.

String is made in this way from the fibre of Anadendron, Gnetum and Hibiscus scandens in the Great Andaman Division, and from Gnetum and ulu fibre in the Little Andaman. In the Great Andaman string made from Anadendron fibre is rendered more durable by being waxed with black bee’s-wax, but this treatment is not considered necessary for string made from Gnetum fibre or from Hibiscus scandens.

Ornamental rope is made for men’s belts in the Great Andaman. Hibiscus fibre is twisted into a single strand. Around this strand strips of Dendrobium skin are wound spirally so that it is entirely covered, and the strand itself is twisted into a two-ply cord.

Two other forms of cord have been already mentioned, namely the bow-string, of twisted fibre of the Ficus laccifera in the Little Andaman, and of wrapped fibre of the Anadendron in the Great Andaman Division, and the special cord used in the Great Andaman for attaching the head of a pig-arrow to the shaft. The Andamanese make very little use of plaited cord. I have only met with it in personal ornaments made of Pandanus leaf in the Great Andaman.

The mat-work of the Andamanese is very simple. The natives of the Little Andaman make bamboo mats on which they sleep. Strips of bamboo of about 120 cm. in length and ·75 cm. in width are attached by means of thin strips of cane to other strips of bamboo at right angles to the first series. The technique is illustrated in Fig. 29 which shows the back and the front of a portion of such a mat. It is that usually known as wrapped-twined work.

A similar technique is used in both the Little Andaman and the Great Andaman in making thatching of cane-leaves. There is a difference, however, the wrapping used in making thatch being that shown diagrammatically in Fig. 30.

The natives of the Great Andaman make sleeping mats from the outer sheath of the leaf-stem of the Calamus tigrinus. Lengths of the material are prepared and cleaned and are cut to a uniform length, generally about 60 to 80 cm., having a breadth of 3 to 5 mm. A length of thread, generally of the less valuable Gnetum fibre, but occasionally of Anadendron fibre, is made and is wound on to two netting needles, one half on each. With this thread the strips of cane-leaf are fastened together. The technique is different in the North Andaman and in the South Andaman.

In the North the technique, which is represented diagrammatically in Fig. 31, A is that known as wrapped-twined work. One of the two threads of which the work is composed is held taut, the needle on which it is wound being held in the toes, and the other thread is wrapped spirally round it, one of the strips of cane-leaf sheath being enclosed at every turn. Thus the method is exactly the same as that adopted in making mats of thatch.

In the South the technique is that known as twined work or fitching. The two wefts (i.e. the threads) are twisted together in the same direction one under the other, enclosing at each half turn one of the strips of leaf-sheath. This is shown diagrammatically in Fig. 31, B.

The mat is made by parallel lines of such twining or wrapped-twining. At each side of the mat the line of threading is quite close to the ends of the strips of which the mat is made. In the South Andaman the work on each side of the mat is different from that in the middle. Each of the two threads is alternately given a complete turn round one of the strips of material.

Mats may be of any length, and examples vary from 1 metre to 10 metres. When in use about a metre and a half is unrolled and the remainder serves as a pillow. If the mat be short a split log does service as a pillow instead, but the full-length mat is certainly a more comfortable bed. When a mat begins to wear or fall to pieces in some part it is not thrown away, but this part is kept rolled up, and an unbroken part of the mat is unrolled to sleep on, the remainder being kept rolled up either at the head, where it forms a pillow, or at the foot. An old mat may be continually increased in length by additions made to it. The work of making these mats is performed by women only.

The Jarawa and the natives of the Little Andaman make mats of a somewhat similar pattern, but I have not been able to secure one so as to see how it is made.

To explain the different forms of the Andamanese baskets, it is most convenient to begin by considering the way in which the natives of the North Andaman tie up their pots. The small cooking-pots of the North Andaman are fragile things and are not easily made, and it is therefore necessary to take care of them. A leaf of the Licuala palm is taken. The leaflets are plaited over one another, close to the point of their insertion in the petiole, so as to form a sort of rosette with leaflets radiating from it in every direction (Fig. 32 a). This is laid on the ground, the pot is placed on it upside down, and the leaflets are brought up all round the pot so as to meet at the point, and are there roughly fastened. Three strips of cane are then taken and are tied together crossways in the middle so as to form a sort of six-rayed star with six approximately equal angles. This is laid on the ground with the outer surface of the canes downwards, the pot is placed on it upside down, and the strips of cane are bent upwards over the pot so as to meet at the point. The ends of two opposite strips of cane are left projecting for a few centimetres above the point, and the ends of the other four are fastened firmly down. Another strip of cane is now fastened round the middle of the pot, being applied to the six canes previously mentioned by wrapping, i.e. a turn is taken with it round each of the six strips in turn. The pot is now safely tied up and can be hung in the hut or carried on a journey without much fear of its coming to grief. To use the pot it is of course necessary to untie it. A pot wrapped up in this way is shown in Fig. 32 a and b.

In the South Andaman the pots have rounded bottoms. They are not tied up in the same way as in the North Andaman, but for purposes of safety and carriage each pot is provided with a rude basket. The basket is made so as to fit the pot. Six strips of cane are taken and tied together in the middle, as previously described. A stout strip of cane is then taken and is bent round into a circle so as to be just a little larger than the outside rim of the pot. This, which is to form the rim of the basket, is placed in position and the six strips of cane before mentioned are bent round and attached to it. The manner of attaching the uprights of the basket to the rim is shown in Fig. 33. The strip of cane forming the upright is thinned down beyond the point where it reaches the rim. It is given one turn round the rim, ascending on the outside and descending inside, then a half turn round the standing part of itself, immediately below the rim from left to right, then another complete turn round the rim ascending inside and descending outside, a half turn behind its own standing part below the rim, a third complete turn round the rim, and the end is fastened with an overhand knot.

A thinner strip of cane is now taken and wound round the six uprights (the warp of the basket) being given a turn round one after another. The technique is that known as wrapped work. If the strip be not long enough another is joined to it with a reef or sailor’s knot. The weft (as this thinner strip may be called) is given five or six spiral turns, and thus leaves a very open and rather weak basket. The basket is then further strengthened by other strips of cane attached by one end to the rim and carried downwards, with one turn round each of the horizontal canes (weft) and the other end attached to the centre of the bottom of the basket. A strip of cane or bark is attached to the rim by its two ends to provide a strap by which the basket with its pot may be carried on the back. Before the pot is placed in it the basket is lined with the leaflets of the Licuala palm.

We may now turn to the baskets of the Little Andaman, of which there are two varieties, one made with more care than the other. As regards shape both varieties are the same, and the shape is exactly that of the Little Andaman pots.

The following is a description of a small but typical specimen of the better variety of Little Andaman basket. The foundation consists of twelve whole canes. A little under 80 cm. of the cane is left whole, and at each end it is thinned down to a strip. The twelve canes are taken in four bundles of three each and placed so as to cross each other in the middle. They are bent into a somewhat conical shape, and the ends (where the cane is thinned) are attached to a rim composed of a whole cane bent into a circle and tied. The method by which each of the uprights or stakes is attached to the rim is shown in Fig. 34. It is almost identical with that used in the South Andaman pot basket. The weaving is then begun near the bottom of the basket. A thin strip of the outside of a cane is taken, and is applied to the uprights (warp or stakes) by wrapped work, i.e. it is given a complete turn round each of them in turn. This wrapped weaving is continued spirally from near the bottom of the basket to near the rim. Near the top of the basket, between 4 and 5 cm. from the rim, the weaving is so arranged that for about three-quarters of the way round the basket there is a gap of about 1·5 cm. between two rows of weft (see Fig. 34). The purpose of this will be mentioned later. The basket now consists of a rim to which are attached twelve uprights forming the warp of the basket, around which a fine strip of cane has been spirally wrapped from the bottom to the top. Twelve fine strips of the outside of a cane are now taken. One end of each is fastened to the rim in between two of the stakes, the mode of fastening being shown in Fig. 34. The strip is then carried down the basket, on the outside, as far as the bottom row of weaving, round which it is doubled, and is then wound spirally, from the bottom to the top of the basket, around its own standing part, including at each spiral turn one of the wefts. Thus each of these twelve strips of cane is attached to the outside of the basket by the process known as wrapped-twined work. The basket is furnished with a handle of bark fibre which is attached by its two ends to the rim on that side where there is no gap between the rows of weft near the top.

In the less carefully made baskets of the Little Andaman there are a few important differences. The stakes of the basket are not thin whole canes, but are strips of larger canes. The weft is applied in wrapped work, as in the basket already described, but the rows of weft are not so close together and are therefore not so numerous. After the first process, when the basket consists of stakes and horizontal (spiral) weft only, vertical strengthening strips are added, but these are applied, not in wrapped-twined work as in the basket described, but in wrapped work, in exactly the same way as in the South Andaman pot-basket. Thus, apart from its shape, which is that of the Little Andaman pot, the Little Andaman basket of this kind is very similar to the South Andaman pot-basket.

The natives of the Little Andaman make pots that are much larger and deeper than those of the South Andaman, and have a more rounded bottom than those of the North Andaman. For every pot a basket is made that exactly fits it, and in this basket it is stored and carried. Every basket that is made in the Little Andaman, whether it be used for carrying a pot or for any other purpose, is made of exactly the same shape.

The purpose of the gap that is left near the top of the basket as described above is in order that strips of string or fibre may be tied across the mouth of the basket, from side to side, in order to keep its contents safe.

We may now return to the Great Andaman and consider the baskets of the South Andaman Group of tribes. These are made from the best canes. From 80 to 120 fine strips of cane are taken which are to form the stakes or uprights. A slight hollow is made in the ground, and the strips of cane are placed crossways across one another in this hollow, the inner surfaces of the canes being downwards. As the strips are being arranged, and when the weaving is begun, the centre, i.e., the point where the strips cross one another in the middle of the hollow, is pressed firmly beneath the heel so as to maintain them in position. The first few strips are sometimes tied together in the middle, but this is not always done. When all the strips are arranged evenly the weaving of the basket is begun with a length of thread, which is slewed in and out between the strips of cane, beginning as near the centre as possible, the stroke being that of ordinary wicker-work. After four or five spiral turns have been taken with the thread it is fastened. The bottom of the basket is then reversed, the stakes being bent over, and the weaving proper is begun with a fine strip of cane. This is applied by wicker-work nearly as far as the top of the basket. At the top, the weaving is finished off with three or four spiral turns of wrapped-twined work in cane (see Fig. 35). The rim of the basket is formed of a thin piece of wood (circular in section) bent round into a circle of the right size and the two ends tied together. The stakes or uprights are attached to this rim (after the weaving is finished) but a space of about 5 cm. is left between the top of the weaving and the rim. The mode of attaching the uprights to the rim is shown in Fig. 35.

The South Andaman basket is really a conical basket with the bottom reversed or dented inwards to form a “kick” like the kick of a bottle. If it were not for the kick it would be the same shape as the Little Andaman basket. The kick enables it to stand upright, although it is inclined to be top-heavy, but renders it unfit for carrying pots.

The space between the top of the weaving and the rim is to admit of strings being tied across the mouth of the basket to keep its contents safe.

A handle of Hibiscus fibre is attached to the rim and rests across the front of the chest when the basket is carried on the back.

South Andaman baskets are sometimes ornamented, in the process of making, with strips of Dendrobium skin, applied horizontally by overlaid interlacing. The strip of Dendrobium skin is laid over the weft and woven in with it for one turn round the basket. I have never seen ornamentation with Dendrobium skin applied to the South Andaman baskets by any method save this one.

Patterns of red paint and white clay are occasionally painted on baskets when they are newly made. Shells are sometimes attached to different parts of the basket by thread, for the purpose of ornament.

In the North Andaman, baskets are made that differ in several important features from those of the South Andaman. They are not made of cane but of two different materials. One of these is the stem of a creeper called čup-to̱i. Lengths of the creeper are cut and dried and then split lengthways into two or three pieces according to their size. The outer bark or skin is then scraped off with a Cyrena shell. These strips are to form the stakes or warp of the basket. The other material is another creeper called bobi. The long tough tendrils of this plant are taken and the soft outer sheath removed by drawing the tendril through a piece of split cane or bamboo bent double so that the tendril is scraped between the two inner surfaces. The fibre that remains is split longitudinally into two pieces and dried.

A bundle of strips of the čup-to̱i is taken, sufficient in length and number for the required size of basket. The bundle is divided into two equal bundles and these are tied together in the middle crossways with thread. This cross forms the beginning of the basket. The weaving is begun with thread, which is slewed in and out between the warp, from 4 to 7 spiral turns being made. During this process the centre of the basket, i.e., the cross, is pressed beneath the heel into a slight hollow made in the ground, to give it a curve which, in the finished basket, will form the “kick.” The thread is tied, the bottom is turned upside down, the stakes are bent back and the weaving is continued, not with thread but with strips of bobi, till a short distance from the top of the basket, and then three or four rows of wrapped-twined work are made, the strip of bobi being coiled round the basket and attached to the uprights with thread. A rim is made of a strip of cane bent into a circle. This is placed inside the uprights and tied to them in two or three places. The remaining portion of each of the uprights, projecting above the rim, is bent down outside and slightly obliquely, and tied down by a thread passing over each in turn and round the rim. A very rough and untidy rim is thus produced, and this is again served or bound over with thread. A handle of Hibiscus fibre is added.

In the North Andaman baskets, as in those of the South Andaman, a space of a few centimetres is left between the top of the weaving and the rim, there being for that space only warp or uprights and no weft. This allows string to be tied in any direction across the mouth of the basket, so as to keep its contents safe.

The shape of the North Andaman baskets is different from that of the southern baskets, the former having a sort of belly at the bottom and narrowing somewhat above. The result is that the northern baskets will stand more firmly, being less top-heavy when either full or empty than those of the south.

In the North Andaman baskets are ornamented as they are made with worked-in strips of Dendrobium fibre. There are several different methods of working this ornamentation, resulting in different patterns. Baskets are also ornamented, when new, with painted patterns in white and red, though this is not general, and occasionally shells are attached to them by thread.

One more form of basket-work remains to be briefly mentioned. The natives of all parts of the islands were formerly in the habit of preserving as trophies the skulls of pigs and turtle that were killed in the chase. The natives of the Great Andaman Division do not now trouble to preserve all the skulls of the pigs they kill, and they give as their reason for this that now that they have dogs the hunting of pigs is not a sport that requires any great skill. The Jarawa however still keep up the old custom, and they go so far as carefully to encase every skull in basket-work. As may be seen from Fig. 36 the basket-work in question is of simple wrapped work, the material being strips of cane.

It is of some interest to consider the different forms of technique used by the Andamanese in dealing with flexible materials. Rope and string are only made two-ply. It would seem that the Andamanese have not discovered that three-ply cord is stronger for a given diameter than two-ply. They have, in the bow-string of the Great Andaman, an interesting form of cord that may perhaps best be described as wrapped cord. The making of a rope involves the twisting of two strands of material around one another. The making of a wrapped cord involves the spiral wrapping of one strand of material round another. This is exactly the same process as “serving,” and it is one that is used by the Andamanese in all sorts of ways. In serving their arrows with thread and in serving the ends of bows and the heads of harpoons the Andamanese have several different methods of making fast the ends, and I regret that I did not take more detailed notes on this subject. Their skill in handling this technique is shown in the strength of the binding on their arrows.

This spiral wrapping of one strand round a flexible or rigid object lies at the base of much else in their technique. We have seen that they make considerable use of wrapped-twined work. In this work a strip of material crosses at right angles a number of strips of the same or other material, and a weft is wound round the former, taking in one of the latter at each turn. There are two methods of doing this, either by simple spiral wrapping, as in the mats of thatch, or by what may be called “right and left” or “zig-zag” wrapping, as in the bamboo mat of the Little Andaman. A difference is also made according as the strip of material around which the weft is wrapped is rigid, as in the Little Andaman bamboo mat or in thatching, or flexible, as in the North Andaman mat, where it is one thread while the weft is another thread.

Wrapped work, in which a strip of weft is wound successively round one after another of a number of rigid stakes, is another very simple process that is employed in a number of different ways by the Andamanese. The most important development of wrapped work amongst them is seen in the pot-basket of the South Andaman, in the baskets of the Jarawa and Little Andaman and in the pig’s-skull basket-work of the Jarawa.

Simple twined work is rare in the Andamans. There is hardly any example of it except in the mats of the South Andaman. It would seem probable that the North Andaman mat technique of wrapped-twined work is the earlier, being more in agreement with what we may call the technical habits of the Andamanese, and that the South Andaman mat technique is a later elaboration. In this connection it may be remembered that plaiting, in which also several wefts are twisted one over another, is rarely used in the Andamans.

The process of nippering, by which the natives of the Great Andaman make the cord of their pig-arrows, and the somewhat similar process used in the Little Andaman in making personal ornaments, are quite in accordance with the general trend of the technique, but when such a process is applied to a number of parallel strips of material instead of to two only it constitutes a step towards wicker-work. It is notable, however, that it is only in the Great Andaman that wicker-work is used, and this suggests that it has only been invented or adopted since the separation of the two divisions of the Andamanese.

It is very tempting to regard the different forms of basket, in the order in which they are described above, as so many stages of a process of evolution. It is, at any rate, worth while to state the argument, and to show what the differences between them exactly are. In the North Andaman pot-covering we have (1) the technique simple wrapped work, and (2) the basis six strips of cane tied together in the middle. In the South Andaman pot-basket we have both these features, but the difference in the shape of the pots allows them to be carried in a true basket and we have therefore (3) a rim, with (4) a peculiar method of attaching the uprights to the rim, (5) a number of horizontal (wrapped) wefts instead of one or two, and (6) strengthening strips applied to the horizontal wefts in wrapped work. In the rougher kind of basket made in the Little Andaman we have nearly all the features of the South Andaman pot-basket. The only differences, apart from the shape of the basket, which in each case follows the shape of the pot, are (2) more than six uprights may be used, and (5) the number of horizontal wefts, i.e. the number of spiral turns taken round the basket, is as a rule greater. In the more carefully made Little Andaman basket there are several differences. The uprights are fine whole canes instead of strips of split cane. It is undoubtedly more difficult to procure whole canes of the proper size than simply to split up larger canes, but where the technique is wrapped work the circular section of the uprights improves the quality of the resulting basket, as a strip of cane is more easily wound round a whole cane than round a split cane, and there is less chance of it breaking when a strain is put upon it. Another difference is that in the better Little Andaman baskets the rows of weft are as close together as the peculiar technique will allow. This makes a finer and stronger basket, and is an obvious improvement. The third difference is that in these baskets the strengthening strips are applied not in wrapped work, but in wrapped-twined work, which, however, we have seen is a common technique in the Andamans. In the better baskets of the Little Andaman we find a special feature of some interest in the gap that is left in the weaving near the rim, to allow of strings being tied across the mouth.

When we look at the South Andaman basket the first thing that strikes us is that it is really a conical basket of much the same shape as the Little Andaman basket, but with the bottom dented in to make a kick, so allowing the basket to stand on its bottom. This denting is only rendered possible, however, by the fact that the uprights of the South Andaman basket are thin strips of cane that can be easily bent, and this again depends on the use of wicker-work in the basket instead of wrapped work. It must be remembered that the top of the weaving is finished off with three rows of wrapped-twined work, and this suggests that there may possibly have been a stage of development between the Little Andaman basket and the South Andaman form, in which the uprights were thin strips of cane, and the weft was applied in wrapped-twined work from top to bottom. This, however, is only a surmise. It does certainly seem probable that the South Andaman basket is derived immediately from a form of basket similar to that of the Little Andaman, the great difference being the change to wicker-work technique. The method of attaching the uprights to the rim was doubtless introduced owing to the fact that the original method is unsatisfactory when the uprights are thin and easily broken strips, instead of stout ones.

The North Andaman basket seems to have been derived from one similar to that of the South Andaman by the introduction of two changes, (1) the use of different materials, and (2) the change of shape. The materials used in the north are such as to give a basket on the whole stronger and more durable than that of the south. If a heavy weight be carried in a southern basket the pressure of the basket on the back tends to crack the canes of which it is composed. In the case of a northern basket it may lose its shape, but the materials of which it is composed will give or bend without cracking so readily. The shape of the northern basket is certainly an improvement, as it avoids the top-heaviness of the southern shape. Both the northern and the southern baskets have a gap between the top of the weaving and the rim, like the basket of the Little Andaman.

Thus every step, or nearly every step, in a hypothetical process of evolution is exhibited in the different forms of basket-work. First we have the pot-covering of the North Andaman, then the pot-basket of the South Andaman, then the rougher kind of Little Andaman basket, of the same shape as the pot, then the South Andaman basket of cane with a kick and finally the basket of the North Andaman. The better kind of Little Andaman basket is simply an independent improvement of the other, involving no new technique.

However much or little probability we may attach to this hypothetical reconstruction of the history of basket-work in the Andamans, one thing does seem fairly certain, and that is that the original ancestors of the Andamanese were not acquainted with wicker-work, or had no use for it. In the Little Andaman Division only wrapped work and wrapped-twined work are used, and the wicker-work of the Great Andaman Division has almost certainly been adopted since the two divisions were separated. The consideration of the general technical bias of the Andamanese in their dealings with flexible materials supports the view that in their case wicker-work is later than wrapped work and wrapped-twined work. It seems more than likely that the Andamanese of the larger island have invented wicker-work in its simplest form on the basis of a previous technique of wrapped and wrapped-twined work. To us wicker-work seems such a simple process as almost to need no inventing. It must be recognized however that the general bias of the Andamanese is against using materials in this way. The Andaman Islander shows a decided preference for those processes in which he uses a single flexible material which he winds or wraps round other rigid or flexible material, as in nippering, or wrapped work or wrapped-twined work.

It is impossible to obtain confirmation of this view, however, from a comparison of the Andamanese with the Semang and the Philippine Negritos. The Semang make mat-work bags and wallets of check, and they make (or use) baskets of hexagonal work. Both check and hexagonal work are used by other races in the Malay Peninsula and in Malaysia generally. The present mats and baskets of the Semang cannot therefore be regarded as original Negrito productions. They have almost certainly been adopted through contact with other cultures.

The same thing would seem to apply to the present basket-work of the Philippine Negritos, of which however we know very little.

Netted bags of string are made by the women of both the Great Andaman and the Little Andaman Divisions, and are used for carrying or storing small objects such as shells, fruit, roots, etc. The string used for these is made from the fibre of the Gnetum edule in the Little Andaman, and is generally made from the same fibre in the Great Andaman, but in the latter division the fibre of Hibiscus scandens is prized for this purpose and is used instead of that of the Gnetum when it is available. Small hand fishing nets are made by the women in both divisions from thread of Gnetum fibre. In the Great Andaman Division netting is also used for personal ornaments, the thread used for this purpose being generally made from Anadendron fibre.

The mode of netting is always the same. Netting needles are used, made from slips of bamboo or cane, and varying in size according to the work for which they are intended. The netting string or thread is wound on to this needle. For the foundation of the net a short length of string is taken and the two ends tied together, the loop thus formed being placed over the big toe as the woman sits on the ground.

The knot used in netting is that known as the fisherman’s knot, in use all over the world. The needle is held in the right hand, is passed from above downwards through the loop marked a in the figure, and is drawn through far enough to leave a new loop b of the required size. This loop is held between the thumb and forefinger of the left hand, the uniformity in mesh being apparently obtained largely by the sense of touch. The needle is then passed through the new loop b again from above and is drawn out leaving a loop c, through which the needle is passed once more, forming the finished knot, which is then drawn taut.

When netting is made for personal apparel it is generally ornamented with strips of Dendrobium skin worked in with the thread in the course of the netting. Netting for personal ornaments consists of a sort of bag open at both ends. Each end is tied with a string passed through the ultimate loops, and this string serves to tie the band of net round the waist or neck or wrist or knee.

Fishing nets are attached to a handle. The handles of the Little Andaman Division and those of the Great Andaman Division are different in shape. The Great Andaman net with its hoop can be folded up compactly for carriage, while that of the Little Andaman cannot.

The nets of rope formerly used in the Great Andaman for catching turtle have been already described.

DOMESTIC IMPLEMENTS AND UTENSILS.

The Andamanese are perhaps the only people in the world who have no method of their own of making fire. At the present time they obtain matches from the Settlement of Port Blair, and a few of them have learnt, either from Burmese or from Nicobarese, a method of making fire by the friction of pieces of split bamboo. Formerly, however, they had no knowledge of any method by which fire could be produced. Fires were and still are carefully kept alive in the village, and are carefully carried when travelling. Every hunting party carries its fire with it. The natives are very skilful in selecting wood that will smoulder for a long time without going out and without breaking into flame.

The most interesting of the Andamanese domestic utensils is undoubtedly the cooking-pot. Pots are made in all parts of the Andamans where suitable clay is to be found. The clay is obtained and is freed as far as possible from stones and gritty matter with the hands. It is then moistened with water and kneaded on a board consisting of a portion of a broken canoe. It is worked very stiff and after kneading is rolled beneath the palm of the hand into long thin rolls. These are built up into a pot by coiling, the requisite degree of thickness being obtained by pressure of the thumb and first finger. When the pot has been built up to the required size and shape, the surface, inside and out, is moistened and is scraped over in all directions with an Arca shell. The pot is dried in the sun for a few hours and is then baked by placing inside and around it pieces of burning wood. The pot often cracks in the baking, and another has to be made.

In the North Andaman the pots are made with pointed bottoms, and are generally small, the largest having a capacity of only six or seven pints. They are made by women only. In the South Andaman the pots have rounded bottoms and, on the average, are larger and thicker than those of the North Andaman. They are made by both men and women, the best being made by men. In the Little Andaman the pots are larger, and, particularly, deeper than those of the South Andaman, and have somewhat pointed bottoms. The pots of the Jarawa are similar to those of the Little Andaman.

In the North Andaman pots are not ornamented, but in the South Andaman they are decorated with usually simple patterns of dots and lines made with a small pointed stick. The Little Andaman pots that I have seen were not decorated.

The pots are used for cooking, i.e. for boiling meat and vegetables. In the North Andaman small pots are specially made for melting the composition used for covering the binding on the heads of arrows.

Neither the Semang nor the Philippine Negritos make any kind of pottery. The origin of Andamanese pottery therefore is a problem of some interest. It is almost certain that the early Andamanese were acquainted with pottery before they were divided into the Great Andaman and Little Andaman Divisions. One of the very few words which is the same in all Andamanese languages is the word for pot, buču in the Little Andaman, buǰ in Aka-Bea and peč in Aka-Jeru. The most reasonable hypothesis would therefore seem to be that the Andamanese learnt the method of making pottery by coiling before they reached the Andaman Islands but after they had become separated from that part of the Negrito race from which the Semang and the Philippine Negritos are descended. Of course it is possible that the art of pottery may have been an original possession of the Negritos and that the Semang and Philippine Negritos may have lost it. A people could easily lose the art if they were compelled in the course of their migrations to spend three or four generations in a region that lacked clay suitable for the purpose.

The Andamanese make buckets of wood, which they use for carrying and holding a supply of water. A solid piece is cut from the trunk of a soft-wooded tree and is hollowed out with a chisel made by attaching the blade of an adze to a stick. The natural form of the wood is retained, only the bark being removed from the outside while the inside is chiselled out to leave sides of about a centimetre thick and a bottom of somewhat greater thickness. In order to render the bottom of the bucket water-tight the natives of the Little Andaman pour over it on the inside melted bees’-wax. The natives of the Great Andaman use for this purpose the same composition with which they cover the bindings of their arrows, which certainly is superior to bees’-wax.

A bucket of the shape used in the Great Andaman is shown in Plate VII, on the left. A strip of cane is attached round the middle of the bucket, and to this in turn is attached another strip of cane which, being passed across the front of the chest, enables the bucket to be carried on the back.

The buckets of the Little Andaman are cut with thinner sides than those of the Great Andaman. A strip of cane is fastened round the bucket near the top. From this two other strips of cane are attached by both ends, passing under the bottom, and a third strip is attached which passes over the head and supports the bucket when it is carried on the back. In the Little Andaman the outside of the bucket is charred with fire.

Occasionally pieces of the giant bamboo, which does not grow in the Andamans, are found on the shore, having drifted from the Burma coast. When a sound piece is found it is made into buckets each formed of a single joint.

Water vessels are made from bamboos that do grow in the islands. A length of bamboo of good diameter is cut, containing three joints. The partition of the lowest node is preserved to serve as a bottom, and the other partitions are broken through with an arrow. This is the usual vessel used for carrying water on a journey by land or in a canoe, and for keeping a supply of drinking water in the hut.

A single joint of the same kind of bamboo is used as a cooking vessel. It is cleaned, washed, and dried, and is then filled with meat tightly packed. The top is closed with leaves and the bamboo is placed on the fire until the meat is cooked. Meat is not cooked in this way for immediate consumption. It will keep for twenty-four hours or even longer if not opened. To obtain the contents the bamboo is split open with an adze.

Trays used for food are cut from soft wood of a species of Sterculia with an adze. They are shallow and somewhat long and narrow, with pointed ends.

A large Pinna shell is occasionally used as a tray or dish for holding food, or for mixing clay with water for painting. A Nautilus shell forms a fairly convenient cup or drinking vessel and is frequently used for that purpose, as well as for baling out water from a canoe.

Bamboo tongs are made by bending double a piece split from a bamboo, and cutting the ends to the required shape. They are used for lifting from the fire anything too hot to be taken in the hand and are chiefly of service in cooking.

Digging sticks are made from various kinds of wood, being simply pointed at one or both ends. These sticks are not as a rule preserved, but made as required with an adze and thrown away after use. They are used for digging up edible roots.

Hooks for picking fruit, such as the Artocarpus, are made by attaching a small piece of wood to the end of a bamboo. Hooks for catching crabs are made from the wood of the Rhizophora by taking advantage of the natural form where a small branch joins a larger one.

The fan-shaped leaf of a Licuala palm is made use of in many ways. The edges of the leaflets are sewn together with fine strips of cane, and the sewn leaf is then used either as a sunshade or umbrella for protection from sunshine or rain, as a sleeping mat if the proper article be lacking, as a screen to make the roof or sides of a hut more wind or rain proof, as a wrapper for making objects of all sorts into bundles, and as a winding sheet for a corpse.

Torches are made from resin, which is broken into small pieces and wrapped up in leaves of a species of Crinum (? lorifolium), a few pieces of smouldering charcoal being added before it is tied up. The torch is then parcelled by marling with a strip of cane or a length of some tough creeper. These resin torches are used in turtle-hunting and fishing expeditions on dark nights.

Other torches are made of fragments of rotten Dipterocarpus wood. They are used only in the village.

PERSONAL ORNAMENT; GREAT ANDAMAN.

At the present time the natives of the Great Andaman Division obtain from the Settlement of Port Blair cloth which both men and women wear round the loins. They also obtain beads from which they make necklaces.

The following is a list of the various personal ornaments made by the natives of the Great Andaman Division, and worn by them.

Rope girdle. Every man wears some sort of girdle round his waist, and this was formerly the only object that was constantly worn by men. The girdle may consist of a length of rope of Hibiscus fibre or a length of ornamental cord made by wrapping the yellow skin of the Dendrobium over two strands of Hibiscus fibre and then twisting these into a two-ply cord.