[Note: this transcription was produced by an automatic OCR engine]
10 MALEKULA estimates at 1662 mm., and he notes that they are of rather slender build, but with powerful, well-developed limbs. Their faces are characteristically rather long, with rather high fore- heads, and the nose is often somewhat hooked, The second type, found predominantly in the north, and represented par- ticularly among the Big Nambas, he believes to be akin to the natives of Central Santo, though the latter are perhaps less powerfully built. Their average stature is markedly less than that of the group which we have just considered, being only I607 mm., and they seem to be rather lighter in colouring. Their faces appear to be broader and to have heavier eyebrow ridges (Plate X). It must be noted, however, that if we accept these two types postulated by Speiser, the physical differences between the people of Malekula do not correspond altogether with their cultural or linguistic differences. Deacon, basing his distinctions upon head form and nose length, also came to the conclusion that there had been an admixture in this island of two racial strains, one with an average cephalic index of 74, and a rather long nose ; the other with an average cephalic index of from 69 to 70, with a rather shorter nose. But he too observed that the distribution of these different physical types could not be correlated with the Malekulan culture areas. THE DISTRIBUTION OF CULTURES We have already seen into how many different districts this island is divided, and something has been hinted as to their cultural filiations and dissimilarities. The division of a relatively small tract of land into a number of politically and culturally distinct units seems to be characteristic of Melanesia and in particular perhaps of the New Hebrides. It is true that certain cultural elements are apparently found throughout Malekula, as, for instance, the custom of male incision (replaced by circumcision, however, among the Big Nambas) and the wearing of a penis sheath or wrapper; the division of society into a number of local, patrilineal clans ; and as regards the kinship terms, the extension of the term used for one’s own child to the children of the maternal uncle, while, logically enough, those for the true
