over, the intervening bush and other land. The boundaries between
what is regarded as the preserve of one community, within which its
members may hunt and fish, clear for garden purposes, cut timber, and
collect fruit, and that of an adjoining community are perfectly well
known. The longitudinal boundaries along the valleys are almost always
the rivers and streams, which form good boundary marks; but those
across the hills and ridges from stream to stream are, I was told,
equally defined in the minds of the natives, though no artificial
boundary marks are visible. These boundaries are mutually respected,
and trouble and fighting over boundary and trespass questions are,
I was told, practically unknown, the people in this respect differing
from those of Mekeo.

A community comprises several villages, the number of which may vary
from, say, two to eight. But the relationship between all the villages
is not identical. There is a clan system, and there is generally more
than one clan in a community. Often there are three or more of such
clans. Each clan, however, has its own villages, or sometimes one
village only, within the community, and two clans are never found
represented in any one village, [56] or any one clan spread over two
or more communities.

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic illustration of a typical Mafulu community,
the circles representing villages of one clan, the squares those of
another clan, and the triangle being the sole village of a third clan.

I have said that the entire community is for many purposes a composite
whole. In many matters they act together as a community. This is
especially so as regards the big feast, which I shall describe
hereafter. It is so also to a large extent in some other ceremonies