ABSTRACT
I n South-Eastern British New Guinea the dread of the spirits of the deceased is manifested by the avoidance of the use of their names. If common objects have the same name as the dead, then these words are dropped from the language as long as the community remembers the deceased, and new names are substituted.1 However, when the natives of the Aroma district in British New Guinea begin to plant their gardens, they take a bunch of sugar-cane and bananas, and standing in the middle of the garden, call over the names of the dead members of the family saying : “ There is your food, your bananas and sugar-cane ; let our food grow well, and let it be plentiful ” .2 After a funeral in Lepers’ Island, a meal is prepared, and the chief mourner takes a piece of the fowl and yam and calls upon the name of some person of the place who has died, saying : “ This is for you.” He repeats this until he has called all those in the district whose death is remembered.3
