ABSTRACT
The stick is the Christian sign of authority and power, as in the bishop's staff; it is also a traditional mark of a tsunono's status, power and authority. The hinas relationship is extended in significance by the Buka by relating the process described to the fact that in more general terms it is the Nakaripa who carry the nitsunono of the Naboen 'on top'. The implication is that the position of leadership which they held, and the necessary nitsunono that went with it, was killing them off. The least complex form of retaining and passing on nitsunono would be matrilineal succession, and no more ideal form of this was possible than for a teitahol to bear her own brother's child. The paternal and maternal nitsunono are identical in the child. The Haku complained of the mission's demands for supplies of vegetables and the monthly fee of 2 shillings required for schoolchildren.
