Page:Illustrations of China and Its People vol. II.pdf/14



THE houses of the Pepohoans are tolerably clean, well-arranged, and comfortable, and present a striking uniformity of design in the different settlements throughout the island. The entire dwelling makes up three sides of a square, of which the portion in the rear is occupied by the family, while the two wings are invariably used for sheltering cattle, pigs, and poultry. In No. VIII. the rear and right wing of one of these Pepohoan village dwellings are shown, the left wing being exactly a counterpart of that on the right. The plot of ground thus enclosed Is divided into two parts, the outer one, flanked with rough bamboo cattle-sheds, being employed for storing their simple farm implements, and for drying produce, while the inner one forms a raised clay platform for family use. On this space of hard level clay the most valuable produce is dried and prepared for the market. Here, also, the villagers meet in council or celebrate their festivals, and drink in company when the night has closed in. Whenever it has been decided to hold a feast, the firstborn son of the household, dressed in something like a bath towel, and tiara of fern-leaves, is sent to announce to the hamlet that his parents are to be at " home." Then merry guests troop in, the old and infirm to squat and cackle round the blazing logs that redden the coppercoloured group, crowning the sombre palms with golden crests, and shedding a weird reflection on the bamboo foliage around. The elders pile on reeds and wood, and the young men and women dance in the firelight to the time of a wild song, until the night is far advanced. The inner raised platform serves, however, for other purposes than these, and one of the most important is to keep the house dry during the wet season, when the surrounding fields are flooded. A number of domestic shrubs and trees are planted about the enclosure, as, for example, the papaya, shown in the right of the picture. This plant yields abundant fruit, is easily grown, and, like the cocoa-palm, reaches greater perfection, and affords more food, as well as ampler shelter, when near a dwelling, than if cultivated with the greatest care, in the centre of some pleasure-garden apart. The low, broad-leaved shrub growing against the house, above the two small baskets, is tobacco, and this they dry for smoking themselves. Their pipes, I may add, are also cut out of the roots and stems of their own bamboo. This tobacco is of a fine quality, but they frequently use it when still rather green. Another shrub, indigenous, I believe, to the island, is a description of trailing vine, known to the natives by the name of " Oigou." This yields an abundant supply of small seeds, which, when soaked in cold water, produce a firm, delicious, amber-coloured jell)".

The apartments in the rear, where the family dwell, are approached by means of a passage. This passage is protected from the heat of the sun by a walled screen of small bamboo. The entire structure, indeed, may be said to be built of the same material, for this plant nowhere grows in greater perfection than in the south of the island. A strong framework of bamboo supports the bamboo lath-work of the walls, the beams are of bamboo and so also are the rafters, while leaves of bamboo supply the thatch which covers the roof outside. The walls when completed are plastered over with mud, and sometimes also are lime-washed. The floor, as I have already explained, is formed out of hard-beaten clay. The furniture consists of a few bamboo articles of Chinese workmanship, supplemented with rough billets of wood for sitting on. One or two matchlocks, some bows, arrows, spears and fishing-nets, garnish the rafters, and depending from these, as I have noticed elsewhere, are jagged hooks of bamboo used to protect provisions from the large species of rat that