National Affairs: Loin-Cloth Land

On the opposite side of the globe from Ireland, off New Guinea in the Bismarck Archipelago, lies New Ireland. Last year the New Irishmen—black-skinned, woolly-haired, bug-eyed—saw a sight they had never seen before: a young white woman. They envied her mightily because, while they had only loincloths, she wore a bright red dress. Her chief reaction to them, though as recently as 30 years ago they were cannibals, was curiosity. For she was Dr. Hortense Powdermaker, anthropologist. Soon she made herself popular, by the U. S....

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