to have a domestic chat with some of his wives and children. Had any strangers been there, he would have received them at his place of official reception, in front of his lisiga, the extremely large and high chief’s house, standing in the inner row of yam houses, and facing the main place, the baku (see Plate II). On that occasion he went to the hut of Kadamwasila, his favourite wife, the mother of four sons and one daughter. She is quite old now, but she was the first wife married by To’uluwa himself, that is, not inherited, and there is an unmistakable attachment and affection between the two, even now. Though the chief has several much younger and one or two really fine looking wives, he is usually to be found talking and taking his food with Kadamwasila. He has also a few older wives, whom, according to the custom, he inherited from his predecessor, in that case, his elder brother. The eldest of them, Bokuyoba, the Dean of the Body of the chief’s wives, has been twice inherited; she is now a source of income—for her male kinsmen have to supply yams to the chief—and an object of veneration, and is now even relieved of the duty of cooking the chief’s food.
To’uluwa sat, ate, and talked about his journey to myself and some of the village elders assembled there. He spoke of the amount of mwali at present in Kitava, told us from whom and how he obtained those at which we were then looking, naming the most important ones, and giving bits of their histories. He commented on the state of gardens in Kitava, which in one respect, in the production of the big yams (kuvi) are the admiration of all the surrounding districts. He spoke also about future Kula arrangements, expeditions to arrive from the East in Kiriwina, and of his own planned movements.
On the afternoon of the same day, people from other villages began to assemble, partly to hear the news of the chief’s expedition, partly in order to find out what they could obtain themselves from him. Headmen