MAGIC AND THE KULA
I
In treating of the various customs and practices of the Kula, I had
at every step to enter into the description of magical rites and into
the analysis of spells. This had to be done, first of all, because
magic looms paramount in the natives' view of the Kula. Again, all
magical formulæ disclose essentials of belief and illustrate typical
ideas in a manner so thorough and telling that no other road could
lead us as straight into the inner mind of the native. Finally, there
is a direct, ethnographic interest in knowing the details of magical
performance, which has such an overweening influence over tribal life,
and enters so deeply into the make-up of the natives' mentality.
It is now necessary to complete our knowledge of magic and to focus
all the dispersed data into one coherent picture. So far, the many
scattered references and numerous concrete details have not furnished
a general idea, of what magic means to the natives; how they imagine
the working of the magical forces; what are their implied and expressed
views on the nature of magical power. Collecting all the material which
has already been presented in the previous chapters, and supplementing
it with native and ethnographic comments, we shall be able to arrive
at a certain synthesis, respecting the Kiriwinian theory of magic.
All the data which have been so far mustered disclose the extreme
importance of magic in the Kula. But if it were a question of treating
of any other aspect of the tribal life of these natives, it would also
be found that, whenever they approach any concern of vital importance,
they summon magic to their aid. It can be said without exaggeration
that magic, according to their ideas, governs human destinies; that
it supplies man with the power of mastering the forces of nature; and
that it is his weapon and armour against the many dangers which crowd
in upon him on every side. Thus, in what is most essential to man,
that is in his health and bodily welfare, he is but a plaything of the
powers of sorcery, of evil spirits and of certain beings, controlled
by black magic. Death in almost all its forms is the result of one of
these agencies. Permanent ill-health and all kinds of acute sickness,
in fact everything, except such easily explainable ailments as physical
overstrain or slight colds, are attributed to magic. I have spoken
(Chapter II) of the several ways in which the evil powers bring
disease and death. The tauva'u, who bring epidemics and the tokway,
who inflict shooting pains and minor ailments, are the only examples
of non-human beings' exerting any direct influence on human destinies,
and even the members of this restricted pantheon of demonology only
occasionally descend among the mortals to put into action their
potential powers. By far the deepest dread and most constant concern
of the natives are with the bwaga'u, the entirely human sorcerers, who
carry out their work exclusively by means of magic. Second to them in
the quantity of magical output and in the frequency of their exploits,
are the mulukwausi, the flying witches, which have been described in
detail in Chapter XI. They are a good example of how every belief in
a superior power is at the bottom a belief in magic. Magic gives to
these beings the capacity to destroy human life and to command other
agents of destruction. Magic also gives man the power and the means to
defend himself, and if properly applied, to frustrate all the nefarious
attempts of the mulukwausi. Comparing the two agencies, it may be said
that in every-day life, the sorcerer is by far the most feared and is
most frequently believed to be at work; while the mulukwausi enter
upon the scene at certain dramatic moments, such as the presence of
death, a catastrophe on land, and more especially at sea; but then,
they enter with even deadlier weapons than the bwaga'u. Health,
the normal state of human beings can, if once lost, be regained by
magic and by magic only. There is no such thing as natural recovery,
return to health being always due to the removal of the evil magic
by means of magical counter-action.
All those crises of life, which are associated with fear of danger,
with the awakening of passions or of strong emotions, have also their
magical accompaniment. The birth of a child is always ushered in
by magic, in order to make the child prosper, and to neutralise the
dangers and evil influences. There is no rite or magic at puberty;
but then, with this people, puberty does not present any very definite
crisis in the life of the individual, as their sexual life starts
long before puberty arrives, and gradually shapes and develops
as the organism matures. The passion of love, however, has a very
elaborate magical counterpart, embodied in many rites and formulæ,
to which a great importance is attached, and all success in sexual
life is ascribed to it. The evil results of illicit love--that is love
within the clan, which, by the way, is considered by these natives
as the main class of sexual immorality--can also be counteracted by
a special type of magic.
The main social interests, ambition in gardening, ambition in
successful Kula, vanity and display of personal charms in dancing--all
find their expression in magic. There is a form of beauty magic,
performed ceremonially over the dancers, and there is also a kind of
safety magic at dances, whose object is to prevent the evil magic of
envious sorcerers. Particular garden magic, performed by an individual
over his crops and seeds, as well as the evil magic which he casts on
the gardens of his rivals, express the private ambitions in gardening,
as contrasted with the interests of the whole village, which are
catered for by communal garden magic.
Natural forces of great importance to man, such as rain and sunshine,
the appropriate alternative operation of which makes his crops thrive;
or wind, which must be controlled for purposes of sailing and fishing,
are also governed by magic. The magic of rain and sunshine can be used
for good, as well as for nefarious purposes, and in this they have a
special interest in the Trobriands, because the most powerful system
of this magic is in the hands of the paramount chiefs of Kiriwina. By
bringing about a prolonged drought, the chiefs of Omarakana have
always been able to express their general displeasure with their
subjects, and thus enhance their wholesale power, independently of
any other mechanism, which they might have used for forcing their
will on private individuals or on whole communities.
The basic, food-providing economic activities, which in the Trobriands
are mainly gardening and fishing, are also completely magic-ridden. The
success of these pursuits is of course largely due to luck, chance or
accident, and to the natives they require supernatural assistance. We
had examples of economic magic in describing the construction of a
canoe, and the fishing for kaloma shell. The communal garden-magic
and the fishing magic of certain village communities show to a higher
degree even than the cases described, the feature which we found so
distinct in canoe magic, namely: that the rites and formulæ are not
a mere appendage, running side by side with economic efforts, without
exercising any influence over these. On the contrary, it may be said
that a belief in magic is one of the main, psychological forces which
allow for organisation and systemisation of economic effort in the
Trobriands. [80] The capacity for art, as well as the inspiration in
it, is also ascribed to the influence of magic.
The passions of hatred, envy, and jealousy, besides finding their
expression in the all powerful sorcery of the bwaga'u and mulukwausi,
are also responsible for many forms of witchery, known by the generic
term of bulubwalata. The classical forms of this magic have as their
object the estrangement of the affections of a wife or a sweetheart,
or the destruction of the domestic attachment of a pig. The pig is
sent away into the bush, having been made to take a dislike to its
master and to its domestic habits; the wife, though the spells used
to estrange her are slightly different, can be made also to take a
dislike to her domestic life, abandon her husband and return to her
parents. There is a bulubwalata of gardens, of canoes, of Kula, of
kaloma, in fact of everything, and a good deal of beneficial magic
is taken up with exorcising the results of bulubwalata.
The list of magic is not quite exhausted yet. There is the magic
of conditional curses, performed in order to guard property from
possible harm, inflicted by others; there is war-magic; there is
magic associated with taboos put on coco-nuts and betel-nuts, in order
to make them grow and multiply; there is magic to avert thunder and
resuscitate people who are struck by lightning; there is the magic
of tooth-ache, and a magic to make food last a long time.
All this shows the wide diffusion of magic, its extreme importance and
also the fact that it is always strongest there, where vital interests
are concerned; where violent passions or emotions are awakened; when
mysterious forces are opposed to man's endeavours; and when he has
to recognise that there is something which eludes his most careful
calculations, his most conscientious preparations and efforts.
II
Let us now proceed to formulate some short statement of the essential
conception of magic, as it is entertained by the natives. All statement
of belief, found among human beings so widely different from us, is
full of difficulties and pitfalls, which perhaps beset us most there,
where we try to arrive at the very foundation of the belief--that is,
at the most general ideas which underlie a series of practices and a
body of traditions. In dealing with a native community at the stage
of development which we find in the Trobriands, we cannot expect to
obtain a definite, precise and abstract statement from a philosopher,
belonging to the community itself. The native takes his fundamental
assumptions for granted, and if he reasons or inquires into matters
of belief, it would be always only as regards details and concrete
applications. Any attempts on the part of the Ethnographer to induce
his informant to formulate such a general statement would have to
be in the form of leading questions of the worst type because in
these leading questions he would have to introduce words and concepts
essentially foreign to the native. Once the informant grasped their
meaning, his outlook would be warped by our own ideas having been
poured into it. Thus the Ethnographer must draw the generalisation
for himself, must formulate the abstract statement without the direct
help of a native informant.
I am saying direct help because the generalisation must be entirely
based on indirect data supplied by the natives. In the course of
collecting information, of discussing formulæ and translating their
text, a considerable number of opinions on matters of detail will be
set forth by the natives. Such spontaneous opinions, if placed in a
correctly constructed mosaic, might almost of themselves give us a
true picture, might almost cover the whole field of native belief. And
then our task would only be to summarise this picture in an abstract
formula.
The Ethnographer, however, possesses an even better supply of evidence
from which to draw his conclusions. The objective items of culture,
into which belief has crystallised in the form of tradition, myth,
spell and rite are the most important source of knowledge. In them,
we can face the same realities of belief as the native faces in his
intimate intercourse with the magical, the same realities which
he not only professes with his tongue, but lives through partly
in imagination and partly in actual experience. An analysis of the
contents of the spells, the study of the manner in which they are
uttered; in which the concomitant rites are performed; the study of
the natives' behaviour, of the actors as well as of the spectators;
the knowledge of the social position and social functions, of the
magical expert--all this reveals to us, not only the bare structure of
their ideas on magic, but also the associated sentiments and emotions,
and the nature of magic as a social force.
An Ethnographer who, from the study of such objective data, has
been able to penetrate into the natives' attitude, to formulate a
general theory of magic, can then test his conclusions by direct
questionings. For he will be already in a position to use native
terminology and to move along the lines of native thought, and
in his questionings he will be able to accept the lead of his
informant instead of misleading the latter and himself by leading
questions. More especially in obtaining opinions of actual occurrences
from the natives, he will not have to move in abstract generalities,
but will be able to translate them into concrete applications and
into the native modes of thought.
In arriving at such general conclusions about vast aspects of primitive
human thought and custom, the Ethnographer's is a creative work,
in so far as he brings to light phenomena of human nature which,
in their entirety, had remained hidden even from those in whom they
happened. It is creative in the same sense as is the construction of
general principles of natural science, where objective laws of very
wide application lie hidden till brought forth by the investigating
human mind. In the same sense, however, as the principles of natural
science are empirical, so are also the final generalisations of
ethnographic sociology because, though expressly stated for the first
time by the investigator, they are none the less objective realities
of human thinking, feeling and behaviour.
III
We can start from the question of how the natives imagine their
magic to have originated. If we would ask even the most intelligent
informant some such concretely framed questions as: "Where has your
magic been made? How do you imagine its invention?"--they would
necessarily remain unanswered. Not even a warped and half-suggested
reply would be forthcoming. Yet there is an answer to this question,
or rather to its generalised equivalent. Examining the mythology of
one form of magic after the other, we find that there are in every
one either explicitly stated or implied views about how magic has
become known to man. As we register these views, compare them, and
arrive at a generalisation, we easily see, why our imaginary question,
put to the natives, would have to remain unanswered. For, according to
native belief, embedded in all traditions and all institutions, magic
is never conceived as having been made or invented. Magic has been
handed on as a thing which has always been there. It is conceived as an
intrinsic ingredient of everything that vitally affects man. The words,
by which a magician exercises his power over a thing or a process,
are believed to be co-existent with them. The magical formula and
its subject matter were born together.
In some cases, tradition represents them literally as being 'born'
by the same woman. Thus, rain was brought forth by a woman of
Kasana'i, and the magic came with it, and has been handed on ever
since in this woman's sub-clan. Again, the mythical mother of the
Kultur-hero Tudava gave birth, among other plants and animals, also
to the kalala fish. The magic of this fish is also due to her. In
the short myth about the origin of kayga'u magic--the one to protect
drowning sailors from witches and other dangers--we saw that the
mother, who gave birth to the Tokulubweydoga dog, also handed the
magic over to him. In all these cases, however, the myth does not
point to these women's inventing or composing the magic; indeed, it
is explicitly stated by some natives that the women had learned the
magic from their matrilineal ancestors. In the last case, the woman
is said in the myth to have known the magic by tradition.
Other myths are more rudimentary, yet, though less circumstantial
about the origin of the magic, show us just as unmistakably that
magic is a primeval thing, indeed, in the literal sense of the word,
autochthonous. Thus, the Kula magic in Gumasila came out of the rock
of Selawaya; the canoe magic out of the hole in the ground, brought
by the men, who originally emerged with it; garden magic is always
conceived as being carried from underground by the first ancestors,
who emerged out of the original hole of that locality. Several minor
forms of magic of local currency, such as fish magic, practised
in one village only, wind magic, etc., are also imagined to have
been carried out of the ground. All the forms of sorcery have been
handed over to people by non-human beings, who passed them on but
did not create them. The bwaga'u sorcery is due to a crab, who gave
it to a mythical personage, in whose dala (sub-clan) the magic was
carried on and from it distributed all over the islands. The tokway
(wood-sprites) have taught man certain forms of evil magic. There are
no myths in Kiriwina about the origin of flying witch magic. From other
districts, however, I have obtained rudimentary information pointing
to the fact that they were instructed in this magic by a mythical,
malevolent being called Taukuripokapoka, with whom even now some sort
of relations are kept up, culminating in nocturnal meetings and sexual
orgies which remind one very strongly of the Walpurgisnacht.
Love magic, the magic of thunder and lightning, are accounted for by
definite events. But in neither of them are we led to imagine that the
formula is invented, in fact, there is a sort of petitio principii in
all these myths, for on the one hand they set out to account for how
magic came, and on the other, in all of them magic is represented as
being there, ready made. But the petitio principii is due only to a
false attitude of mind with which we approach these tales. Because,
to the native mind, they set out to tell, not how magic originated,
but how magic was brought within the reach of one or other of the
Boyowan local groups or sub-clans.
Thus it may be said, in formulating a generalisation from all these
data, that magic is never invented. In olden days, when mythical
things happened, magic came from underground, or was given to a
man by some non-human being, or was handed on to descendants by the
original ancestress, who also brought forth the phenomenon governed by
the magic. In actual cases of the present times and of the near-past
generations whom the natives of to-day knew personally, the magic is
given by one man to another, as a rule by the father to his son or by
the maternal kinsman. But its very essence is the impossibility of
its being manufactured or invented by man, its complete resistance
to any change or modification by him. It has existed ever since the
beginning of things; it creates, but is never created; it modifies,
but must never be modified.
It is now easy to see that no questions about the origins of magic,
such as we formulated before, could have been asked of a native
informant without distorting the evidence in the very act of
questioning, while more general and quite abstract and colourless
inquiries cannot be made intelligible to him. He has grown up into a
world where certain processes, certain activities have their magic,
which is as much an attribute of theirs' as anything else. Some
people have been traditionally instructed how this magic runs, and
they know it; how men came by magic is told in numerous mythical
narratives. That is the correct statement of the native point of
view. Once arrived at this conclusion inductively, we can of course,
test our conclusions by direct questions, or by a leading question,
for the matter of that. To the question: "where human beings found
magic?" I obtained the following answer:--
"All magic, they found long ago in the nether world. We do not
find ever a spell in a dream; should we say so, this would be a
lie. The spirits never give us a spell. Songs and dances they do
give us, that is true, but no magic."
This statement, expressing the belief in a very clear and direct
manner, I had confirmed, reiterated with variations and amplifications,
by ever so many informants. They all emphasise the fact that magic
has its roots in tradition, that it is the most immutable and most
valuable traditional item, that it cannot leak into human knowledge
by any present human intercourse with spirits or with any non-human
beings such as the tokway or tauva'u. The property of having been
received from previous generations is so marked that any breach of
continuity in this succession cannot be imagined, and any addition
by an actual human being would make the magic spurious.
At the same time, magic is conceived as something essentially human. It
is not a force of nature, captured by man through some means and put
to his service; it is essentially the assertion of man's intrinsic
power over nature. In saying that, I, of course translate native
belief into abstract terms, which they would not use themselves for
its expression. None the less it is embodied in all their items of
folk-lore and ways of using magic and thinking about it. In all the
traditions, we find that magic is always in possession of man, or at
least of anthropomorphic beings. It is carried out from underground
by man. It is not conceived as having been there somewhere outside
his knowledge and then captured. On the contrary, as we saw, often
the very things which are governed by magic have been brought forth
by man, as for instance rain, the kalala fish; or disease, created
by the anthropomorphic crab.
The close sociological association of magic with a given sub-clan
emphasises this anthropocentric conception of magic. In the majority
of cases indeed, magic refers to human activities or to the response of
nature to human activities, rather than to natural forces alone. Thus,
in gardening and in fishing, it is the behaviour of plants and animals
tended or pursued by man; in the canoe magic, in the carver's magic,
the object is a human-made thing; in the Kula, in love magic, in
many forms of food magic, it is human nature on to which the force
is directed. Disease is not conceived as an extraneous force, coming
from outside and settling on the man, it is directly a man-made,
sorcerer-made something. We may, therefore, amplify the above given
definition, and say that magic is a traditionally handed on power of
man over his own creations, over things once brought forth by man,
or over responses of nature to his activities.
There is one more important aspect of the question of which I have
spoken already--the relation of magic to myth. It has been stated
in Chapter XII, that myth moves in the realm of the supernatural, or
better, super-normal, and that magic bridges over the gap between that
and present-day reality. Now this statement acquires a new importance;
magic appears to us as the essence of traditional continuity with
ancestral times. Not only, as I have emphasised in this chapter,
is it never conceived as a new invention, but it is identical in
its nature with the supernatural power which forms the atmosphere
of mythical events. Some of this power may have been lost on its
way down to our times--mythical stories relate how it has been lost;
but never has anything been added to it. There is nothing in it now
which has not been in it in the ancient, hoary times of myth. In
this the natives have a definitely regressive view of the relation
between now and before; in this they have their counterpart to a
Golden Age, and to a Garden of Eden of sorts. Thus we fall back upon
the recognition of the same truth, whether we approach the matter by
looking for beginnings of magic, or by studying the relations between
the present and the mythical reality. Magic is a thing never invented
and never tampered with, by man or any other agency.
This, of course, means that it is so in native belief. It hardly needs
explicitly stating that in reality magic must constantly change. The
memory of men is not such, that it could hand over verbally exactly
what it had received, and, like any other item of traditional lore, a
magical formula is in reality constantly being re-shaped as it passes
from one generation to another, and even within the mind of the same
man. As a matter of fact, even from the material collected by me in
the Trobriands, it can be unmistakably recognised that certain formulæ
are much older than others, and indeed, that some parts of spells,
and even some whole spells, are of recent invention. Here I cannot
do more than refer to this interesting subject, which, for its full
development, needs a good deal of linguistic analysis, as well as of
other forms of "higher criticism."
All these considerations have brought us very near to the essential
problem: what does magic really mean to the natives? So far, we have
seen that it is an inherent power of man over those things which
vitally affect him, a power always handed over through tradition. [81]
About the beginnings of magic they know as little, and are occupied
as little as about the beginnings of the world. Their myths describe
the origin of social institutions and the peopling of the world by
men. But the world is taken for granted, and so is the magic. They
ask no questions about magiogony any more than they do about cosmogony.
IV
So far we have not gone beyond the examination of myths and of what
we can learn from them about the nature of magic. To gain a deeper
insight into this subject, we must study more closely the concrete
data about magical performance. Even in the foregoing chapters a
sufficient material has been collected to allow of correct inferences,
and I shall only here and there have to allude to other forms of magic,
besides that of canoe, Kula and sailing.
I have spoken so far about "magic" in a wholesale manner, as if it
were all of one piece. As a matter of fact, magic all the world over,
however rudimentary or developed it might be, presents three essential
aspects. In its performance there enter always some words spoken or
chanted, some actions carried out, and there are always the minister
or ministers of the ceremony. In analysing the concrete details of
magical performances, therefore, we have to distinguish the formula,
the rite, and the condition of the performer.
These three factors stand out quite clearly and definitely in the
Trobriand magic, whether we examine the facts themselves or the
natives' way of looking at them. It may be said at once that in
this society the relative importance of the three factors is not
quite the same. The spell is by far the most important constituent
of magic. In their linguistic use, although these natives have a
special word, yopa, they very often use the word magic, megwa, to
describe a spell. The spell is the part of the magic which is kept
secret and known only to the esoteric circle of practitioners. When
a magic is handed over, whether by purchase, gift, or inheritance,
only the spell has to be taught to the new recipient, and as already
once said before, it is usually taught in instalments, while the
payment is received in that manner. When one speaks about magical
knowledge, or in inquiries whether an individual knows some magic,
this invariably refers to the formula, for the nature of the rite
is always quite public property. Even from the examples given in
this book, it can be seen how simple are the rites and how elaborate
often the formulæ. To direct questions on the subject, the natives
always reply that the spell is the more important part. The question:
"where is the real strength of magic?" would receive the reply:
"in the spell." The condition of the magician is, like the rite,
essential to the performance of the magic, but it also is considered
by the natives as subservient to the spell.
All this must be made clearer by the examination of actual facts. First
of all, let us examine the relation between spell and rite; and to
this purpose it will be best to group the various magical performances
into several classes according to the complexity of the concomitant
rite. We shall begin with the simplest rites.
Spells uttered directly without concomitant rite.--We had one or two
examples of such magic where the performer simply utters a formula
directly into space. For example, the communal magician of the kaloma
(spondylus shell) fishing performs the first act by walking on the
beach and reciting his spell towards the sea. In the moment of actual
shipwreck, before abandoning the canoe, the toliwaga launches his
last kayga'u directly into the elements. Again, he lets his voice
float over the waters, when invoking the marvellous fish, who will
bring the drowning party to some friendly shore. The final spell
of the Kula, by which the approaching canoe 'shakes the mountain,'
chanted by a trio of magical reciters, is thrown directly towards
the Koya. The clearing of the sea in the kaloma fishing is also done
this way, and many more examples could be adduced from garden magic,
wind magic, and other classes not described in this book.
The natives have a special expression for such acts; they say that
the formula is recited 'by the mouth only,' 'o wadola wala.' This
form of magic with such a rudimentary rite is, however, relatively
uncommon. Although one could say that there is no rite at all in such
cases, for the magician does not manipulate anything or perform any
action beyond speaking, yet from another point of view, the whole
performance is ritual in so far as he has always to cast his voice
towards the element, or being, which he addresses. Indeed here, as in
all other cases, the voice of the reciter has to be somehow or other
conveyed to the object which he wishes to becharm. We see, moreover,
that in all these instances, the nature of this object is such that
it can be directly reached by the voice, whilst on the other hand,
there would be some difficulty in applying any substance or performing
any action over, let us say, wind, or a shell growing on a distant
reef or the Koya (mountain).
Spells accompanied by simple rites of impregnation.--A large number
of the cases described in this book falls under this heading. We
saw quite at the beginning (Chapter V, Division II and III) how
the magician charms the blade of his adze, the ropes by which the
canoe had been pulled, the lashing creeper, the caulking, and the
paint of the canoe. Among the Kula rites, the initial magic over
the aromatic mint, over the lilava (magical bundle) over the gebobo
(central part of canoe); all the beauty magic on Sarubwoyna beach,
over coco-nuts, over the facial paints as well as the conch shell
magic, belong here. In all these performances an object is put well
within reach of the voice, and in an appropriate position. Often, the
object is placed within a receptacle or covering so that the voice
enters an enclosed space and is concentrated upon the substance to
be charmed. Thus, when the lilava is chanted over, the voice is cast
into the mats, which are afterwards carefully wrapped up. The aromatic
mint is charmed, lying at the bottom of a bag made of baked and thus
toughened banana leaf, which afterwards is carefully folded together
and bound with string. Again, the adze blade is first of all half
wrapped up in a banana leaf, and the voice enters the blade and the
inside of the leaf, which subsequently is folded over and tied over
the blade. In the magic of the conch shell, I drew attention to the
fact that immediately after the charm has been spoken, both holes of
the instrument are carefully stuffed up. In all cases where an object
is going to be used immediately, not so many precautions are taken,
but always, without any exception, the mouth is put quite close to the
object medicated (see Plate LVII) and wherever possible, this latter
is placed in some sort of cavity, such as a folded piece of leaf,
or even the two palms of the hand put together. All this shows that
it is essential to a correct performance of magic, that the voice
should be conveyed directly to the substance, if possible enclosed
and condensed round it, and then, imprisoned permanently there by
means of some wrapping. Thus, in this type of rite, the action serves
mainly to convey carefully and to retain the spell round the object.
It may be noted that in almost all cases described, the substance
harmed in the rite is not the final aim of the magic, but forms only a
constituent part of the object in view or is an accessory of it, or an
instrument used in its making. Thus the wayugo creeper, the kaybasi
(caulking), the paint, the prow-boards, all these are constituent
parts of the canoe, and the magic performed over them does not aim
at giving them any qualities, but aims at imparting swiftness and
lightness to the canoe of which they are parts only. Again, the herbs
and the colours of the coco-nut ointment medicated in the Kula are
accessories of the final end of this magic, that is, of the personal
beauty and attractiveness of the performer. The adze, the breaking
stone in kaloma magic are implements used in obtaining the object,
towards which the magic is directed. There are only a few instances
in which the simple rite of impregnation is directly performed on
the object in view. If we compare this type of rite with the one of
the previous category, we see that the difference lies mainly in the
size of the object. If you want to cast a charm over a mountain, over
a reef, or over the wind, you cannot put your object into a little
bag made of banana leaf. Nor can you put there the human mind. And
as a rule, the final objects of magical rites are not small things,
which could be easily handled. In the magic described in this book,
there is, I think, not one single instance, in which the substance
handled in the rite and impregnated by condensing the charm upon it
artificially, is the final object of the spell. In war magic the points
of the spears are made effective and the shields are made spear-proof
(see Plate LVIII) by magic uttered over them. In private garden magic,
the planted yams are made fruitful by a spell, and a few more examples
could be adduced from other types of magic.
Spells accompanied by a rite of transference.--When we compare the
rite of medicating the adze blade with the rite of medicating some
dried grass, with which the canoe is afterwards beaten, we see that,
in the second case, the magic is uttered over a something, which has
no intrinsic connection with the final object of the magic, that is,
with the canoe. It is neither to become a part of it, nor to be used
as an implement in its manufacture. We have here the introduction
for purposes of the rite, of a special medium, used to absorb the
magical force, and to transfer it to the final object. We can therefore
call rites where such mediums are used rites of transference. When a
stick is charmed to be used afterwards for the magical knocking out
of a canoe; or a mussel-shell, with which the canoe will be scraped;
or a piece of coco-nut husk, which will be thrown into the water to
remove the heaviness of the canoe; or a pandanus streamer, which will
give it swiftness, there is introduced into every one of these rites a
substance which has to play a magical rôle only. The rite, therefore,
is not the simple charming of a part or of a constructive implement,
which will enter into the composition or be used in the making of
an object. The rite here is more autonomous, possesses more of its
own significance. The beating of a canoe with two bunches of grass,
one after the other, in order first to extract its heaviness and
then impart to it lightness, has a meaning parallel to the spell
but independent of it. So has also the throwing down of the coco-nut
husk. The flutter of the pandanus streamers has direct association
with speed, as the natives explicitly state. As the bisila streamers
flutter in the wind, so should the canoe and the sail shake with the
swiftness of their going. In the case of the ginger, which is spat over
the Dobuans feigning hostility, the inherent quality of the substance,
which our pharmacopæas describe as a stimulant, makes the meaning of
the rite plain. We can easily see that some of the rites are rather
more creative than others. That is, the very act performed produces,
according to native ideas, a more definite effect than in others. So
it is with the spitting of the ginger, and still more directly the
spilling of the lime, in order to produce a mist, and shut the eyes
of the mulukwausi. These two, for instance, are more creative than
the hanging up of the pandanus streamer.
Spells accompanied by offerings and invocations.--In the very first
rite described in this book, we saw an offering being laid before,
and an invocation being addressed to the wood-sprite, tokway. There
are a number of rites, accompanied by offerings given to ancestral
spirits, whose participation in the offering is solicited. Such rites
are performed in garden magic (see Plate LIX) in fishing magic, and
in weather magic. It must, however, be said at once that there is no
worship and no sacrificial offering involved in these rites, that is,
not of the usual description, because the spirits are not imagined
to serve as agents of the magician, in carrying out the bidding of
his magic. We shall return to the subject presently. Here it will be
enough to notice that the only instance of such a spell we have come
across--that is, the invocation of the tokway--has its concomitant
offering made only as a sort of compensation for having chased him
out, or as a means of persuading him to go. Probably it is the first
rather than the second, because the tokway has no free choice left,
after he has been exorcised. He must obey the bidding of the magician.
This survey shows clearly that the virtue, the force, the effective
principle of magic lies in the spell. We saw that in many cases,
the spell is quite sufficient, if directly breathed upon the
object. Again, in what may be called the prevalent type of ritual,
the action which accompanies the utterance of the formula serves
only to direct and condense the spell upon the object. In all such
cases the rite lacks all independent significance, all autonomous
function. In some cases, the rite introduces a substance which is used
for magical purposes only. As a rule, the substance then intensifies,
through a parallel action, the meaning of the spell. On the whole,
it may be said that the main creative power of magic resides in the
formula; that the rite serves to convey, or transfer it to the object,
in certain cases emphasising the meaning of the spell through the
nature of the transferring medium, as well as through the manner in
which it is finally applied. It is hardly necessary to state that in
the Trobriand magic, there are no rites performed without the spell.
V
It is also evident in studying the manner in which the force of
the spell is conveyed to the object, that the voice of the reciter
transfers the virtue. Indeed, as has been repeatedly pointed out,
in quoting the formulæ, and as we shall have to discuss later still,
the magical words are, so to speak, rubbed in by constant repetition
to the substance. To understand this better we must inquire into the
natives' conceptions of psycho-physiology. The mind, nanola, by which
term intelligence, power of discrimination, capacity for learning
magical formulæ, and all forms of non-manual skill are described,
as well as moral qualities, resides somewhere in the larynx. The
natives will always point to the organs of speech, where the nanola
resides. The man who cannot speak through any defect of his organs, is
identified in name (tonagowa) and in treatment with all those mentally
deficient. The memory, however, the store of formulæ and traditions
learned by heart, resides deeper, in the belly. A man will be said to
have a good nanola, when he can acquire many formulæ, but though they
enter through the larynx, naturally, as he learns them, repeating word
for word, he has to stow them away in a bigger and more commodious
receptacle; they sink down right to the bottom of his abdomen. I made
the discovery of this anatomical truth, while collecting war magic,
from Kanukubusi, the last office holder of the long succession of
war magicians to the chiefs of Omarakana. Kanukubusi is an old man,
with a big head, a broad, high forehead, a stumpy nose, and no chin,
the meekest and most docile of my informants, with a permanently
puzzled and frightened expression on his honest countenance (see Plate
LVIII). I found this mild old man very trustworthy and accurate, an
excellent informant indeed, within the narrow sphere of his speciality,
which he and his predecessors had used to make 'anger flare up in the
nanola' of Omarakana men, to make the enemy fly in terror, pursued
and slaughtered by the victorious warriors. I paid him well for the
few formulæ he gave me, and inquired at the end of our first session,
whether he had any more magic to produce. With pride, he struck his
belly several times, and answered: "Plenty more lies there!" I at
once checked his statement by an independent informant, and learned
that everybody carries his magic in his abdomen.
There exist also certain ideas about stratification of magic, namely,
that certain forms of magic have to be learnt first, so that they
sink down, while others come on top. But these ideas are vague and
contradictory, whereas the main idea, that magic rests in the belly, is
clear and definite. This fact gives us a new insight into native ideas
about magic. The force of magic, crystallised in the magical formulæ,
is carried by men of the present generation in their bodies. They
are the depositories of this most valuable legacy of the past. The
force of magic does not reside in the things; it resides within man
and can escape only through his voice.
VI
So far, we only spoke of the relation between spell and rite. The
last point, however, brings us to the problem of the condition of
the performer. His belly is a tabernacle of magical force. Such a
privilege carries its dangers and obligations. It is clear that
you cannot stuff foreign matter indiscriminately into a place,
where extremely valuable possessions are kept. Food restrictions,
therefore, become imperative. Many of them are directly determined
by the contents of the spell. We saw some examples of this, as when
red fish, invoked in magic, is tabooed to the performer; or the dog,
spoken about in the Ka'ubanai spell, may not be heard howling while the
man eats. In other cases, the object which is the aim of the magic,
cannot be partaken by the magician. This is the rule in the case of
shark fishing, kalala fishing, and other forms of fishing magic. The
garden magician is also debarred from partaking of new crops, up to a
certain period. There is hardly any clear doctrine, as to why things
mentioned in magical formulæ, whether they are the aims of the magic
or only cooperating factors, should not be eaten. There is just the
general apprehension that the formula would be damaged by it. There
are other taboos, binding the magician, some of them permanent, some
of them temporary, during the season of his magical performance. We saw
some permanent ones, as in the case of the man who knows Kayga'u magic,
and is not allowed to eat while children make noises. The temporary
ones, such as the sexual abstinence during the first rites of the
Kula, could be supplemented by numerous examples from other forms of
magic. Thus, in order to bring about rain, the magician paints himself
black and has to remain unwashed and unkempt for some time. The shark
magician has to keep his house open, to remove his pubic leaf and
to sit with his legs apart, while the fishing and the magic last,
"so that the shark's mouth might remain gaping." But we cannot enter
too much into enumeration of these taboos and observances, and have
only to make it clear that the proper behaviour of the magician is
one of the essentials of magic, and that in many cases this behaviour
is dictated by the contents of the spell.
The taboos and observances are not the only conditions which a man must
fulfil in order to carry out certain forms of magic. In many cases
the most important condition is his membership in a social group,
for many forms of magic are strictly local, and must be performed
by one, who is the descendant of the mythical, original owner of
the magic. Thus in every case of garden magic, a magic which to the
natives ranks first among all the other types of beneficent magic,
the performer must be genealogically related to the first ancestor,
who locally emerged from the hole. Certain exceptions to this rule
are to be found only in cases where a family of high rank has come
and usurped the headmanship of the group, but these exceptions are
rare. In the case of the several systems of local fishing magic,
the office of magician is hereditary, and associated with the
locality. The important rain and sun magic which have been 'born'
in Kasana'i, can only be performed by the chiefs of that spot,
who have usurped this important privilege from the original local
headman. The succession, is of course, always matrilineal. A man
may make a gift of such a magic to his son, but this latter may be
obliged to relinquish the privilege at his father's death, and he
never will be allowed to hand it over to his son, unless this latter
belongs again to the local group, through cross-cousin marriage. Even
in transactions where magic is sold or given away from one clan to
another, the prestige of certain local groups as main specialists and
experts in a branch of magic still remain. For instance, the black
magic, though practised all over the place and no more localised, is
still believed to be best known in the villages of Ba'u and Bwoytalu,
where the original crab fell down from the skies, and brought with
him the magic. The Kula magic is also spread over the whole district,
yet it is still associated with definite localities.
To summarise these sociological observations, We may say that,
where the local character of magic is still maintained, the magician
has to belong to the dala (sub-clan or local group) of the mythical
ancestor. In all other cases, the local character of magic is still
recognised, even though it does not influence the sociology of the
magician.
The traditional character of magic and the magical filiation of the
performer find their expression in another important feature of the
spells. In some of them, as we have seen, references to mythical events
are made, or names of mythical ancestors are uttered. Even more often,
we find a whole list of names, beginning with the mythical founder
of the magic, and ending with the name of the immediate predecessor,
that is, of the man from whom the magic was obtained by the actual
performer. Such a list links up the present magician by a sort of
magical pedigree with all those, who had previously been using this
formula. In other formulæ again, the magician identifies himself
with some mythical individual, and utters the latter's name in the
first person. Thus, in the spell uttered whilst plucking the mint
plant, we found the phrase: "I, Kwoyregu, with my father, we cut
the sulumwoya of Laba'i." Both the actual genealogical descent of
the magician from the mythical ancestors, and the magical filiation
expressed in the formulæ show again the paramount importance of
tradition, in this case acting on the sociological determination
of the performer. He is placed in a definite social group of those,
who by birth, or what could be called 'magical adoption', have had the
right of performing this magic. In the very act of uttering the spell,
the magician bears testimony to his indebtedness to the past by the
enumeration of magical names, and by references to myth and mythical
events. Both the sociological restrictions, wherever they still exist,
and the magical filiation confirm once more the dependence of magic
on tradition. On the other hand, both show, as also do the taboos,
that the obligations imposed on the magician and the conditions he
has to fulfil, are largely derived from the spell.
VII
Closely connected with the questions discussed in the preceding
division, is the subject of the systems of magic and the distinction
between 'systematic' and 'independent' magical rites and formulæ. As
we saw in the beginning of this chapter, the whole body of magic
naturally falls into several big divisions, each of them corresponding
to a department of nature, such as wind or weather; to some activity
of man, such as gardening, fishing, hunting or warfare; or to some
real or imaginary force, such as artistic inspiration, witchcraft,
personal charm or prowess.
There is, however, an important distinction to be made within each
such division of magic; some of the rites and spells are isolated
and independent, they can be used by themselves, whenever the
need arises. Such are almost all the incantations of wind magic;
some spells of individual garden magic; formulæ against toothache,
and minor ailments; some spells of hunting and food collecting; a
few rites of love magic and of the magic of carving. When a man, for
instance, paddles along the Lagoon in his canoe and an unfavourable
wind sets in, he will utter a spell to make it abate and change. The
same spell would be recited in the village, when there arises a wind so
strong as to be dangerous. The incantation is a free, individual act,
which may be performed and is performed in any of the circumstances
which require it.
It is quite another matter with the spells belonging to what I have
called here systematic magic. Such magic consists of a connected and
consecutive body of incantations and concomitant rites, no one of
which can be torn out of its sequence and performed by itself. They
have to be carried out one after the other in a determined order, and
the more important of them, at least, can never be omitted, once the
series has been started. Such a series is always closely connected
with some activity, such as the building of a canoe or an overseas
Kula voyage, a fishing expedition or the making and harvesting of
a garden. It will not be difficult for us to realise the nature of
systematic magic, for in this book almost all the rites and spells
described belong to this class. In general, in the Trobriands, the
independent uncorrelated rites and formulæ are quite an insignificant
minority, both in number and in importance.
Let us consider one of the forms of systematic magic previously
described, whether canoe magic or that of the Kula, whether the
kayga'u formulæ, or the magical ritual of kaloma fishing. The first
general fact to be noted here is, that we are in the presence of a
type of enterprise or activity, which is never embarked upon without
magic. No canoe will be built, no uvalaku started, no kaloma fished,
without its magic ceremonial. This ceremonial will be scrupulously
observed in its main features, that is, some of the most important
formulæ will never be omitted, as some minor ones might be, a
fact which has been previously noted. The association between the
practical activity and its magical concomitant is very intimate. The
stages and acts of the first, and the rites and spells of the latter,
correspond to each other one by one. Certain rites have to be done in
order to inaugurate certain activities; others have to be performed
at the end of the practical work; others again are part and parcel
of the activity. But each of the rites and spells is to the native
mind, quite as indispensable for the success of the enterprise,
as is the practical activity. Thus, the tokway has to be expelled,
or the tree would be entirely unsuitable for a canoe; the adze,
the lashing creeper, the caulking and the paint have to be charmed,
or else the canoe would be heavy and unwieldy, and such an omission
might even prove dangerous to life. Going mentally over the various
cases quoted in the previous chapters, it can be easily seen, how
this intimate association between enterprise and magic imparts to
systematic magic its specific character. The consecutive progress
of work and of magic are inseparable, just because, according to
native ideas, work needs magic, and magic has only meaning as an
indispensable ingredient of work.
Both work and magic are directed towards the same aim; to construct
a swift and a stable canoe; to obtain a good Kula yield; to insure
safety from drowning and so on. Thus we see that systematic magic
consists in a body of rites and spells associated with one enterprise,
directed towards one aim, and progressing in a consecutive series of
performances which have to be carried out in their proper place. The
point--the proper understanding of what is meant by systematic
magic--is of the greatest theoretical importance because it reveals
the nature of the relation between magical and practical activities,
and shows how deeply the two are connected with one another. It
is one of these points, also, which cannot be properly explained
and grasped without the help of a Chart. In the appended "Table of
Kula Magic and of the Corresponding Activities," I have prepared
such a Chart, in which has been summarised the substance of several
of the foregoing Chapters. The Table allows of a rapid survey of
the consecutive activities of the Kula in their relation to magic,
beginning with the first act of canoe-building and finishing with
the return home. It shows the salient features of systematic magic in
general, and of the mwasila and canoe magic in particular. It shows
the relation between magical, ritual and practical activities, the
correlated sequence of the two, their rolling off, stage after stage,
and side by side, towards one central aim--a successful Kula. The Table
thus serves to illustrate the meaning of the expression 'systematic
magic,' and it provides a firm outline of the essentials, magical,
ceremonial and practical, of the Kula.
TABLE OF KULA MAGIC AND OF THE CORRESPONDING ACTIVITIES
I--First Stage of Canoe-Building (Chapter V, Division II)
Season and Place Activity Magic
approximate
duration
Beginning: Raybwag. Felling of inaugurated The Vabusi
June--August. tree, (done by Tokway
by the (offering and
builder and spell) aiming
helpers); at the
expulsion of
the
wood-sprite
from the tree
(performed by
owner or
builder).
Immediately Same Trimming of No magic.
afterwards. place. the
log-canoe
(done by
builder with
helpers).
A few days Road. Pulling the Helped out double rite of
later. log (done by by lightness
all (Kaymomwa'u
villagers); and
Kaygagabile).
On morning Main The log is until The magical
after arrival place in left as it act
at village. the is; (Kapitunena
village. Duhu)
ceremonially
inaugurating
the work over
the canoe.
Evening of Main Working out No magic
the same day. place in of the accompanying
the outside of it.
village. the log.
Several days Main Scooping out inaugurated Ligogu spell,
or weeks place. of the by over the
following. inside of havilali, the
the canoe; adze with the
moveable
handle.
Towards the In the Other parts No magic.
end of the village of canoe
foregoing before made ready
period. builder's by builder
house. and helpers.
After all Concluding
work is over. rite:
Kapitunena
Nanola Waga.
All the magic of this stage is canoe magic. It is performed only when
a new canoe is built and not when an old one is renovated. The spells
are uttered by the builder and not by the owner, except the first
one. Work at this stage is done by one man mainly, the builder and
carver, with the help of a few men; except for the pulling of the log,
in which many men assist.
II--The Second Stage of Canoe Building (Chapter V, Division III)
Time Place Activity Magic
First day On the Fixing the inaugurated Katuliliva
of work. sea-front prow-boards; by Tabuyo rite,
of a performed over
Lagoon the ornamental
village, prow-boards by
or on a the toliwaga. It
beach of belongs to the
one of mwasila (Kula
the magic).
Eastern
villages.
The inaugurated Vakakaya rite. A
following by magical,
activities ceremonial
are cleansing of the
canoe, performed
by the owner or
builder to
remove all evil
influence and
thus to make the
canoe fast.
(At times, Lashing of associated The Wayugo spell
the lashing the canoe; with (lashing
cannot be creeper) rite;
done in one the most
day and has important of the
to be magical
continued performances in
into the second
another stage. Done by
session.) builder or owner
to make canoe
swifter and
stronger.
Second On the Caulking of associated Kaybasi
sitting: sea-front the canoe; with (caulking)
during this of a magic; spell
the Lagoon uttered over
caulking is village caulking by
done and or on a builder or owner
the three beach of to make canoe
exorcisms one of safe.
performed the Vakasulu, an
afterwards. Eastern exorcism.
villages. Vaguri, an
exorcism.
Kaytapena waga,
an exorcism.
Painting of associated Magic of;
the canoe; with Kayhoulo (black
paint)
Malakava (red
paint).
Pwaka (white
paint).
III--The Ceremonial Launching of a Canoe (Chapter VI, Division I)
Activity Magic
The launching and inaugurated by Kaytalula wadola waga rite,
trial run belonging to the mwasila cycle
of magic.
After this, there comes the interval, filled out by the Kabigidoya
(ceremonial visiting,) by the preliminary trade and other preparations
for the expedition overseas.
IV--The Magic During, and Preparations before the Departure (Chapter
VII)
Time: some three to seven days before setting sail.
Activity Magic
Preparing the canoe inaugurated Yawarapu rite over the coco-palm
for sailing (placing by leaves, done by the toliwaga to
of the mats on the ensure success in the Kula.
platform, and of the
frames in the body); Kayikuna sulumwoya rite over the
aromatic mint.
Kaymwaloyo rite over the mint
boiled in coco-nut oil, performed
by the toliwaga.
Packing of the trade associated Gebobo rite (called also: Kipwo'i
goods; with sikwabu), made over four coco-nuts
by a friend or relative in law of
the toliwaga, to make all the food
last (the spell expresses only the
desire for a good Kula.)
All this magic belongs to the mwasila, and it has to be performed by
the toliwaga, with the exception of the last spell.
V--Canoe Magic, Performed at the Final Start on Overseas Voyage
(Chapter VIII, Division III)
The series of rites starts at the moment when the canoes are ready
to set sail on the long voyage on Pilolu. They are not associated
with a progressive series of acts; they all refer to one aim: canoe
speed and reliability. They are all performed by the toliwaga.
Activity: overseas sailing, Kadumiyala, ritual rubbing or cleansing
inaugurated by a Series of of the canoe with leaves charmed over.
Magical Rites.
Time: morning of the second Bisila magic; pandanus streamers,
day of the expedition. previously chanted over are tied to the
mast and rigging.
Kayikunaveva; swaying the sheet rope
uttering an incantation.
Vabusi momwa'u; "expelling the
heaviness" out of a canoe by means of a
Place: the beach of Muwa. stale potato.
Aim of Magic: imparting of
speed to canoe. Bisiboda patile; a rite of evil magic
Performer of the Rites: the to make other canoes slow and thus
toliwaga. achieve relative speed.
VI--The Mwasila, Performed on Arrival at the Final Destination
(A) Beauty Magic (Chapter XIII, Division I)
Activity: washing, anointing and Kaykakaya--ritual washing and
painting. rubbing with charmed leaves.
Luya (coco-nut) spell--over the
scraped coco-nut used for
anointing.
Sinata (comb) spell--over the
Place: the beach, on or near which comb.
the party rest before starting on
the last stage (on the way to Dobu; Sayyaku--aromatic black paint.
Sarubwoyna beach. On the way to
Sinaketa: Kaykuyawa). Bowa--ordinary charcoal blacking.
Performers: the spells are uttered
usually by the toliwaga, sometimes Talo--red paint of crushed
by an elder member of the crew. areca-nut.
(B) Magic of the Final Approach (Chapter XIII, Division II)
Activity: the fleet are paddling Ta'uya--the ritual blowing of the
(on the approach to Dobu) or conch shell, which has been
punting (to Sinaketa) in a body. charmed over before.
Kayihuna-tabuyo--the swaying of
the front prow-board while the
spell is being uttered.
Performers: in each canoe, Kavalikuliku--the spell by the
simultaneously, the toliwaga and toliwaga.
two members of the crew.
Aim: to "shake the mountain," to Kaytavilena mwoynawaga--the
produce an impression on the incantation uttered at the stern
partners awaiting on the beach. towards the Koya.
(C) Magic of Safety (Chapter XIII, Division III)
Activity Magic
Entering the Dobuan village Ka'ubana'i, charm uttered over
(This magic is performed only ginger, which is then ritually spat
when Boyowans come to the over the Dobuan village and the
Koya). partners, and makes their hearts
soft.
(D) Magic of Persuasion (Chapter XIV, Division III)
Activity Magic
The wooing in Kula (wawoyla) of Kwoygapani--a spell uttered over a
the of the overseas partner by piece of areca-nut, given
the visitor. subsequently to the partner.
VII--A Canoe Spell, Uttered on the Departure Home (Chapter XIV,
Division III)
Activity Magic
Loading of the canoe with the its gifts Kaylupa--a spell to make the
received from overseas partners, with canoe lighter, to "lift" it
the trade gain, and with the provisions out of the water.
for the home journey.
Within each department of systematic magic, there are again various
systems of magic. Thus we saw that, although the type of rite and
formula is the same in all villages, the actual details, let us say,
of the wayugo magic, are not identical, but vary according to the
system with which a given reciter is acquainted. The differences are,
as a rule, less pronounced in the rites, which are generally very
simple in the Trobriand magic, and are identical in all the systems,
but the formulæ differ completely in their wording. Thus, in the wayugo
magic (Chapter V, Division III) we found only a slight difference in
the rite, but one or two wayugo spells, which I have also recorded,
differ essentially from the one given in the text.
Each system of magic has a more or less developed mythological
pedigree, and in connection with it a local character, a point which
has been elaborated in the previous Division. The wayugo spell given
in Chapter V, and all the spells of canoe-building quoted in this
book belong to the Kaykudayuri system of canoe magic. This system is
believed to have been known and recited by the mythical builder of
the flying canoe, and to have been handed down to his descendants,
that is, as we know, in an incomplete form. As has been said in the
previous Division, the knowledge and the use of this magic and of
other systems does not abide strictly within the original clan, but
it spreads outside of it, and it becomes known to many people who
are connected with the original owner by a sort of magical filiation.
According to native belief, all these people know identical formulæ. In
fact, in the course of years and of repeated transmission, considerable
differences have been introduced, and nowadays many of the 'real
Kudayuri' spells differ from one another completely.
A system of magic is therefore a number of magical formulæ,
forming one consecutive series. The main system of canoe magic
is that of the Kaykudayuri, which is associated with the place of
the same name in Kitava. This system comprises the whole series of
canoe-building spells, from the expelling of the tokway to the final
exorcisms. Another comprehensive system is called Kaykapayouko, and
is localised in the island of Kayleula. An important system called
Ilumte'ulo is nowadays claimed by Sinaketa, but probably hails from
Dobu. The mythological data of some of these systems are not known to
me, and some of them seem to be exceedingly rudimentary, not going
beyond the assertion that such and such a system originated at such
and such a place, and was originally the property of such and such
a clan. Of the systems of mwasila, the best known in South Boyowa is
that called Monikiniki, to which belong the majority of the formulæ
here quoted. This system is sometimes loosely associated with the myth
of Tokosikuna, who is sometimes said to have been the original owner
of the system. According to another version, Monikiniki is the name
of the original owner. The Dobuan mwasila is called Kasabwaybwayreta,
and is ascribed to that hero. From Muyuwa, hails the Momroveta system
of Kula magic, while in Kiriwina the system of Monikiniki is usually
recited, and only a few formulæ are inserted into it, belonging to
a local magic, called Kwoygapani (a name not to be confused with
the name in a formula quoted in Chapter XIV). In the light of these
remarks, the many references to 'magical systems' given in the text,
will become clear, so there is no need to add more here.
VIII
We saw before in the chapter on mythology that magic bridges
over the cleavage between the super-normal world of myth and the
normal, ordinary happenings of to-day. But then, this bridge itself
must necessarily touch the super-normal, it must lead into that
domain. Magic surely, therefore, must partake of the supernatural
character? There is no doubt that it is so. The effects of magic,
although constantly witnessed, and although considered as a fundamental
fact, are regarded as something distinctly different from the effects
of other human activities. The natives realise quite well that the
speed and buoyancy of a canoe are due to the knowledge and work of
the constructor; they are well acquainted with the properties of good
material and of good craftsmanship. Yet the magic of swiftness adds
something more to even the best constructed canoe. This superadded
quality is regarded very much like the properties of the mythical
canoe which made it fly through the air, though in the present day
canoes these properties have dwindled down to mere surpassing speed.
The language of spells expresses this belief through the constant
allusions to myth, similes in which the present canoe is invited to
imitate the mythical one. In the explicit comments on the Kudayuri
myth, the natives also state definitely that the prodigious speed
which well-charmed canoes develop is the legacy and counterpart of the
old flying speed. Thus the effects of magic are something superadded
to all the other effects produced by human effort and by natural
qualities. The same is to be found in love magic. The importance of
a fine face and figure, of ornaments, decorations and nice scents,
is well recognised as being of attractive value, yet almost every man
ascribes his success to the perfection of his love magic. The force of
magic is considered as something independent of, and surpassing even,
the power of all other personal charms. A statement very often met
with expresses this quite well:
"Look, I am not good looking, yet so many girls want me. The
reason of that is that I have good magic."
In garden magic, soil, rain, proper work, are given their full
due. None the less, no one would dream of making a garden without the
full magical performance being done over it. Garden magic is thought
to make just this difference, which a man hopes for from 'chance,'
or 'good luck,' when he sees everybody round him working as hard
as he can, and in all other respects under similar conditions to
himself. So we see that, in all these cases, magical influence runs
parallel to and independently of the effects of human work and natural
conditions. It produces these differences and those unexpected results,
which cannot be explained by any of the other factors.
So far, we see that magic represents, so to speak, a different
sort of reality. When I call this different sort 'super-natural'
or 'super-normal,' one of the criteria which I use here lies in the
emotional reaction of the natives. This, of course, is most pronounced
in the case of evil magic. The sorcerer is not only feared because
of his bad intentions. He is also feared as ghosts are feared by
us, as an uncanny manifestation. One is afraid of meeting him in
the dark, not so much because he might do any harm, but because his
appearance is dreadful and because he has at his bidding all sorts
of powers and faculties which are denied to those not versed in
black magic. His sweat glows, night birds run with him to give him
warning; he can become invisible at will and produce paralysing fear
in those he meets. In short, the same hysterical dread, associated
amongst ourselves with the idea of haunted places, is produced by
the sorcerers in the minds of the natives. And it must be added that
the natives have no such emotion of dread at all with regard to the
spirits of the departed. The horror which they have of the bwaga'u is
even stronger in the case of the mulukwausi, to whom all sorts of most
uncanny properties are attributed. Their ghoulish feasting on corpses,
their capacity of flying, of making themselves invisible, of changing
into night birds, all this inspires the natives with extreme terror.
The other magicians and their art do not inspire such strong emotions
in the natives, and of course in any case the emotion would not be
that of dread. There is a very great value and attachment to systems
of local magic, and their effects are distinctly considered as an
asset for a community.
Each form of magic also has its associated magical portent,
kariyala. When a magic formula is spoken, a violent natural upheaval
will take place. For example, when garden magic is performed, there
will be thunder and lightning; with certain forms of Kula magic,
a rainbow will appear in the skies. Others will produce shower
clouds. The portent of a mild storm, accompanying the opening of
the magical bundle (lilava) has already been quoted. The kayga'u
may produce a tidal wave, whereas an earthquake will be the result
of other forms of magic. War magic, in an unexpectedly bucolic way,
affects only some plants and birds. In certain forms of magic, a
portent would take place whenever the formula is uttered, in others,
this will not be so regular, but a kariyala will invariably occur
when a magician dies. When asked, what is the real cause of any of
these natural phenomena enumerated, they will say:
"Magic is the real cause (u'ula); they are a kariyala of magic."
Another point, where magic touches the super-normal or supernatural,
is in the association of spirits with certain magical performances. A
special type of magical payment, the ula'ula, is at the same time an
offering to the baloma (spirits). The magician will detach a small
bit of the large quantity of food brought to him, and put it down on
some special place, with the words:
"Partake, O spirits, of your ula'ula, and make my magic thrive."
At certain ceremonies, the spirits are supposed to be present (see
Plate LIX). When something goes wrong with magic, or it is badly
performed, 'the spirits will become angry,' as it is often expressed by
the natives. In some cases the baloma will appear in dreams and advise
the magician what to do. As this is the most active interference of
the spirits in human affairs, as far as magic is concerned, I shall
quote in free translation some statements obtained on the matter.
"The owners of fish magic will often dream that there is plentiful
fish. The cause of it is the magician's ancestor spirit. Such a
magician would then say: 'The ancestral spirit has instructed
me in the night, that we should go to catch fish! And indeed,
when we get there, we find plenty of fish, and we cast the nets.'"
"Mokudeya, the maternal uncle of Narugo," who is, the main fishing
magician of Oburaku "comes to his nephew in a dream and instructs
him: 'Tomorrow, cast the nets for fish in Kwabwawa!' Narugo then
says: 'Let us come, the old man instructed me last night.'"
"The kaloma (spondylus shell) magician of Sinaketa dreams about
a plentiful patch of kaloma shell. Next morning, he would dive
and knock it off on the reef. Or he dreams of a canoe, and he
then paddles and casts the anchor at that place. To'udawada,
Luvayam, Sinakadi dream that they knock it off in plenty. When
next morning we go there, it is plentiful."
In all these examples (except the last) we see that the spirits act as
advisors and helpers. They fill the rôle of guardian of the traditions
when they get angry because of a bad performance, or as associates
and sympathisers when they share the magician's ula'ula. But they are
not agencies which get to work directly. In the Trobriand demonology,
the magician does not command the spirits to go and set to work. The
work is done by the agency of the spell, assisted by the accompanying
ritual, and performed by the proper magician. The spirits stand
in the same relation, as the performer does, to the magical force,
which alone is active. They can help him to wield it properly, but
they can never become his instruments.
To summarise the results of what we have learned about the super-normal
nature of magic, it may be said that it has a definite character
of its own, which differentiates it from the non-magical actions
of man. The manner in which the magical force is conceived to act,
parallel to the ordinary efforts but independent of them; the emotional
reaction to certain types of magic and magician; the kariyala; the
intercourse with spirits during the performances, all these properties
differentiate magic from the ordinary activities of man.
In native terminology, the realm of the magical is called by the word
megwa, which describes the 'magical performance,' the 'spell,' the
'force' or 'virtue' of magic, and can be used as adjective to describe
in general everything which presents a magical character. Used as a
verb, the words megwa, miga-megwa, miga, all of which are variations
of the same root, mean: 'to perform magic,' 'to utter a spell,'
'to carry out a rite.' If the natives want to express that certain
actions are done in connection with magic, and not with work, and that
certain effects are due to magical forces, and not to other efforts,
they used the word megwa as a substantive or adjective. It is never
used to describe any virtue residing in a man or a thing, nor for
any action which is independent of a spell.
The associated concept of taboo is covered by the Kiriwinian word
bomala (with suffixed possessive pronouns). It means a 'prohibition,'
something which a man is not allowed to do under any circumstances. It
is used for magical taboos, for prohibitions associated with rank,
for restrictions in regard to food generally considered as unclean,
as, for example, the flesh of lizards, snakes, dogs and man. There
is hardly any trace of the meaning of 'sacred' attached to the word
bomala. If anywhere, it can be found in the use of the word boma,
for a tabooed grove where men usually are not allowed to enter, and
where traditional spots, often original holes where men came out and
whence magic issued, are to be found. The expression toboma (to-,
prefix denoting personal noun) means a man of high rank, but hardly
a sacred man.
IX
Finally, a few words must be said about the sociological or ceremonial
setting of magic. Reference has often been made to the simplicity of
rites, and to their matter-of-fact character. This has been mentioned
with reference to canoe-building, and in garden magic we would have
found equally simple and purely businesslike performances. In calling
a magical action 'ceremonial' we imply that it was done with a big
public attendance; under the observance of definite rules of behaviour
by the spectators as well as by the performer, such as general silence,
reverent attention to what is being done, with at least a show of some
interest. Now if, in the middle of some work, a man quickly performs
an action whilst others talk and laugh and leave him entirely on
one side, this gives a definite sociological stamp to the magical
actions, and does not allow us to use the term 'ceremonial,' as the
distinguishing mark of the magical acts. Some of them, it is true,
do have this character. For instance, the initial rite with which the
kaloma fishing begins, requires the assistance of the whole fleet,
and a definite type of behaviour on the part of the crews, while the
magician officiates for all of them, but with their assistance, in the
complex evolutions of the fleet. Similar rites are to be found in two
or three systems of fishing magic, and in several rites of the garden
magic of certain villages. In fact, the initial rite of garden magic
is everywhere connected with a ceremonial performance. The garden
rite, associated with the ceremonial offering of food to spirits,
and attended by a body of villagers, a scene of which is shown on
Plate LIX, has been elsewhere described. [82] One or two rites in
war magic imply the active assistance of large numbers of men, and
take the form of big ceremonies. Thus we see that magical rites may
or may not be ceremonial, but that the ceremonial is by no means an
outstanding or universal feature of Trobriand magic.
X
We found that taboos are associated with magic, in so far as it is
the magician who has to observe them. There are, however, certain
forms of restrictions or prohibitions, set up for special purposes,
and associated with magic in a somewhat different form. Thus, in an
institution called kaytubutabu we find a ban made on the consumption
of coco-nuts and betel-nuts, associated with a specific magic to
make them grow. There is also a protective taboo, used to prevent
the theft of ripening fruits or nuts, too far away from the village
to be watched. In these cases a small parcel of medicated substance
is placed on the tree or near it, on a small stick. The magic spoken
over such a substance is a 'conditional curse,' to use the excellent
term introduced by Professor Westermarck. The conditional curse
would fall upon anyone who would touch the fruits of that tree, and
would bring upon him one form of disease or another. This is the only
form of magic, in which the personal agency is invoked, for in some
of these spells, the tokway (wood-sprite) is invited to take up his
abode on the kaytapaku, that is the stick, with the substance on it,
and to guard the fruit. Some such small divergencies from the general
trend of native belief are always to be found. Sometimes they contain
important clues, and a deeper insight into the facts, sometimes they
mean nothing, and only emphasise the fact, that it is not possible to
find absolute consistency in human belief. Only a deeper analysis, and
a comparative study of similar phenomena can decide which is the case.
XI
In order to complete the survey of all the characteristics of magic,
I shall rapidly mention here the economic aspect of the position
of magician, although the data referring to it have already been
given, scattered through the previous chapters. I have spoken of the
matrilineal inheritance of magic, and of the deviations from it which
consist in inheritance from father to son, and in the transmission
of magic by purchase (Chapter II, Division VI, and Chapter VI,
Division VI under (5)). This latter transaction may take place under
two names, which really cover two essentially different operations;
the pokala or payment to a maternal kinsman from whom one is going
to obtain the magic, and the laga, which is the purchase of magic
from a stranger. Only certain forms of magic can freely pass from
one clan or sub-clan to another, and are purchasable by the laga
system. The majority of magical systems are local, and can descend
only in the same sub-clan with an occasional deviation to the son of
a member, from whom, however, the magic must return to the sub-clan
again. A further economic feature of magic is the payment, which the
magician receives for his services. There are many types of payment;
some given occasionally by an individual for a definite act of magic,
as in the case of sorcery or healing magic; others, paid at regular
intervals by the whole community, as in the case of garden and fishing
magic. In some cases the payments are considerable, as in sorcery,
in rain and fine weather magic, and in garden magic. In others,
they amount to little more than a mere formal offering.
XII
In all this, we have been dealing with general characteristics of
Boyowan (Trobriand) magic. This has been done mainly on the basis of
the material presented in this volume, with only a few examples from
other branches of magic. The result so far can be set down thus: magic
to the natives represents a special department; it is a specific power,
essentially human, autonomous and independent in its action. This power
is an inherent property of certain words, uttered with the performance
of certain actions by the man entitled to do it through his social
traditions and through certain observances which he has to keep. The
words and acts have this power in their own right, and their action is
direct and not mediated by any other agency. Their power is not derived
from the authority of spirits or demons or supernatural beings. It is
not conceived as having been wrested from nature. The belief in the
power of words and rites as a fundamental and irreducible force is the
ultimate, basic dogma of their magical creed. Hence we find established
the ideas that one never can tamper with, change or improve spells;
that tradition is the only source from which they can be derived;
that it has brought them down from times lying beyond the speculation
of man, that there can be no spontaneous generation of magic.
We are naturally led now to inquire one stage further into the manner
in which the magical words and rites act. Obviously the only way to
obtain correct information on this point is to analyse and compare
a great number of well authenticated formulæ, and minutely recorded
rites. Even the collection of Kula magic here partially given in
free translation, would allow us to arrive at certain interesting
conclusions. But we can go deeper still with the help of linguistic
analysis, and we shall proceed to this inquiry in the next chapter.