What the true explanation is of the existence of these “pigmean” women, differing in colour, in features, and in physique from those of the surrounding tribe, I do not know. It is possible of course that the few whom I saw were merely anomalies--dwarf individuals of the tribe in the midst of whom they lived. But this would scarcely account for the difference in colour, still less for that in the character of the hair, even if it did for the more infantile type of cranium and of general physique. It must be remembered that these individuals referred to live in a zone through which the Tropic of Cancer runs; consequently they may be exemplifications of the theory sometimes put forward that every race living in the tropics has its duplicate pigmy race. Or it may be--and to me this seems more probable--that these few very small and dissimilar women living among the Taiyal represent the remainder of a pigmy people, now almost extinct, of whom all the men have been killed, and of whom but a few of the women still survive. And as these few (certainly those with whom I came into contact) seem childless, it is obvious that within the very near future there will be no representatives remaining--that is, if this last explanation which I have suggested be the true one. This is one of the many points in connection with Formosan ethnology which would well repay further investigation. It may be added that the speech of the women referred to--when they can be induced to speak at all--seems more filled with guttural “clicks” than is that of the full-blooded Taiyal men and women. [Illustration: MAN OF TAIYAL TRIBE, AND WOMAN LIVING AMONG THE TAIYAL. _This woman is suspected of having a strain of pigmy blood. Note difference of features, and difference in the shape of head and face._] [Illustration: AUTHOR’S SECRETARY MAKING NOTES OF TAIYAL DIALECT.] FOOTNOTES: [48] See Part I, p. 29. [49] The Taiyal tribe is the same as that which Swinhoe, who spent a few days among them in 1857, calls the Tylolok (see _Hastings’ Encyclopædia of Religion and Ethics_, vol. vi. p. 85). [50] Stakes driven into the ground, extending upward to a height of six feet, or more (see illustration of Yami house). [51] See Part I, p. 70. [52] The colour of the skin, the shape of the features, and the occasionally curly hair of certain members of the Yami suggest that the people of this tiny island--Botel Tobago--have in them an admixture of Papuan blood, which modifies the predominant Malay strain. This admixture is also suggested by certain features of their arts and crafts. [53] During the days of the Chinese government of Formosa when there was a British consulate at Takao. [54] See illustrations from snapshots taken by the author, showing how these very small women keep their heads covered--bound with cloths--as much as possible, in order to conceal their hair. CHAPTER VI SOCIAL ORGANIZATION