After this preliminary festivity dancing begins in the village in which the feast is to be held and in the other villages of the same community, and this dancing goes on, subject to weather, every day until the evening prior to the day upon which the feast takes place.  The men dance in the villages, beginning at about sundown, and going on through the evening, and perhaps throughout the night.  Only men who or whose families have provided at least one pig for the feast are allowed to join in the dancing.  Bachelors join in the dancing, subject to the above condition.  The women dance outside their villages, and, as regards them, there is no pig qualification.

About a month before the date on which the feast is proposed to be held, a formal invitation is sent out to the community which is to be invited to it, and who, as above stated, have already been approached informally in the matter.  For this purpose a number, perhaps ten, twenty, or thirty, of the men of the community giving the feast start off, taking with them several bunches of croton leaves—­one bunch for each village of the invited community.  These men, if the invited community be some distance off, only carry the croton leaves as far as some neighbouring community, probably about one day’s journey off, where they stay the night, and then return.  During their progress, and particularly as they arrive at their destination, they are all singing.  Then the men of this neighbouring community carry the croton leaves a stage further; and so on till they reach their ultimate destination.  This may involve two or three sets of messengers, but occasionally one or two of the original messengers may go the whole way.  These croton leaves are delivered to the chiefs of the several clans of the invited community, and they are tied to the front central posts of the village emone, the true emone of the chiefs village, and, as regards other villages, the emone of the sub-chiefs. [69]

The exact date of the feast depends upon the guests, who may come in a month after receiving the croton leaves, or may be later; and the community giving the feast do not know on what date their guests will arrive until news comes that they are actually on their way, though in the meantime messengers will be passing backwards and forwards and native wireless telegraphy (shouting from ridge to ridge) will be employed.

As soon as the formal invitation has been sent the people of the community giving the feast begin to bring in the yams from the gardens, which they do day by day, singing as they do so; and these yams are stored away in the houses as they are brought in.  When the yams have all been collected, they are brought out and spread in one, two, or three long lines along the centre of the village open space.  The owner of each post knows which are his own yams, and they will go to his post.  When the yams are laid out on the ground, the chiefs inspect them, and select