[Note: this transcription was produced by an automatic OCR engine]

I84 MALEKULA
ivu, indemndemm ar hm niar. I ghalghal sa hem nemiam ngei,
he goes, he throws them into the garden. He gigs near that yam,
is/ugh mun’ ngei a'/.1
he sets up those sticks.
(1) Aim 11/mu/ur means " they clear ground by brushing the rubbish
aside with the hand " ; atnggï¬Ånggï¬Åjï¬Å is to brush away with a
stick.
(2) Alvimlm means " they unshoulderâ€ù, " they heave from off
their shoulders â€ù.
(3) Nimbwelanggu is the so-called bastardvcotton tree, the Hibiscus
tiliaceus.
(4) Attavtm = " they ï¬Åll in â€ù. The meaning is here that the men
ï¬Åll in the space between the “ legs â€ù of the fence with earth.
(5) nggï¬Ånggï¬Årah, is used for the action of raking ï¬Åre over a piece
of ground. This is done to burn off the weeds and small
rubbish.
This account of yam planting needs some explanation. The
work begins shortly before the rains. When the men have cleared
the timber and bushes from the ground and burnt the trash,
it is necessary to build a fence. It seems that usually only two
men are engaged in this task on any one plot, or that if more
than two are thus occupied, that at least they work in pairs.
The garden fences must be strong to protect the crops from
wild pigs. A number of small posts of erythrina or of bastard-
cotton wood are out to the height which it is intended the fence
shall be, and are set in pairs at certain intervals, so that they
form a double row along the line of the fence. The distance
between the two posts which form a pair is sufï¬Åcient to allow
of a log being laid between them, running parallel to these rows.
These posts, or “ legs â€ù of the fence (netalu niar), are thrust into
small holes which have been prepared for them, and the earth
is stamped dovm about them to keep them ï¬Årm. One man then
lays the logs between the posts, while his partner lashes them
in place with a cord of creeper. The logs are laid one above the
other until they reach the tops of the posts. In this way a
strong palisade is built round the entire garden. The ï¬Årst
stage of the men's work is now ended. They return to the
‘ At this point the translation oi the text breaks oï¬Å, and for the rest it has
only been possible to ï¬Ånd the meaning of certain individual words, the sense
of the passage as a whole being unattainable. The Malekulan runs as follows :
I nggvvauim mamiam ngei, isev mzui titughun, ilur an saghan naavwa mm madam
ngei, tai/an neteuim nafldam ran nrmi titughun, inmung. ltd 7| iou im/en ran
nastilaghai ngsi. Nambung teli imim Ian mar ngei, ituratm, -ilai nziaviin mmdnm
ngei man ilindi ,' iav Iieh en, dim mim Hum, Nambung, lsli 1'1/14 liah, Huh Msvzmn
nemiam imam relmi, im/m.-C. H. W. '