THE POWER OF WORDS IN MAGIC--SOME LINGUISTIC DATA
I
The aim of this Chapter is to show by a linguistic analysis of
two magical texts, and by a general survey of a greater number,
what sort of words are believed to exercise magical power. This,
of course, does not mean that we are under the delusion that the
composers or inventors of magic had a theory about the efficiency
of words, and carried this theory into practice by inventing the
formula. But, as the moral ideas and rules prevalent in society,
though not codified, can be found out by analysing human behaviour;
as we reach the underlying principles of law and social propriety
by examining customs and manners; as in the study of rites, we see
some definite tenets of belief and dogmas--so, in analysing the direct
verbal expressions of certain modes of thinking in the magical formulæ,
we are justified in assuming that these modes of thinking must have
somehow guided those who shaped them. The exact manner in which we
must imagine the relation between a typical way of thinking in a
society on the one hand, and the fixed, crystallised results of this
thinking on the other, is a problem of Social Psychology. For this
branch of science we are, in ethnography, under the obligation of
gathering material, but we need not encroach upon its field of study.
Thus much may, however, be put down, that, in whatever manner we might
imagine a spell to have come into existence, it cannot be considered as
the creation of one man; for as has been said before, if we examine any
one of them, not with the eyes of the natives, but as outside critics,
each spell shows unmistakable signs of being a collection of linguistic
additions from different epochs. There is in practically every one
of them a good deal of archaic material, but not a single one bears
the stamp of having come down to us in the same form in which it must
have presented itself a few generations ago. So that it may be said
that a spell is constantly being remoulded as it passes through the
chain of magicians, each probably leaving his mark, however small,
upon it. It is the general attitude in matters of magical belief
common to all of the successive holders which will be at the bottom
of all the regularities, all the typical features found in the spells.
I shall adduce a formula of canoe magic and one of the spells
belonging to the mwasila, choosing two texts of which a translation
and a commentary of average quality have been obtained, and which show
clearly the several characteristic features of verbal magic. Those
who are not interested in linguistic technicalities and details of
method, may omit the following division, and take up the trend of
our argument at division XII.
II
The following text is the wayugo spell, obtained from Layseta, the
headman of Kopila, one of the sub-villages of Sinaketa. The commentary
was obtained from himself, and from another informant, Motago'i,
a man of exceptional intelligence, and a very straightforward and
a reliable informant. This spell has been given in free translation
before in Chapter V, and, as has been said there, the rite consists
simply in chanting the words over five coils of the wayugo creeper
put on a wooden platter between two mats.
WAYUGO SPELL
A. U'ULA (INITIAL PART)
1 Kala bosisi'ula, kala bomwalela.
1 His ritual eating of fish, his tabooed inside.
2 Papapa, siliubida, monagakalava.
2 Flutter, betel plant, leaving behind.
3 Tubugu Kalabotawosi, Tubugu Kwaysa'i,
3 Grandfather Kalabotawosi, grandfather Kwaysa'i,
Tubugu Pulupolu, Tubugu Semkuku,
grandfather Pulupolu, grandfather Semkuku,
Tubugu Kabatuwayaga, Tubugu Ugwaboda,
grandfather Kabatuwayaga, grandfather Ugwaboda,
Tubugu Kitava, Bulumava'u Nawabudoga,
grandfather Kitava, new spirit Nawabudoga,
kaykapwapu Mogilawota.
immediate predecessor Mogilawota.
4 Kusilase onikola, bukwa'u'i kambu'a.
4 You sit on canoe slips, you chew your areca-nut.
5 Kwawoyse bisalena Kaykudayuri
5 You take his pandanus streamer (of) Kaykudayuri
Kusaylase odabana Teula
you place (it) on top (of) Teula.
6 Basivila, basivitake'i Kitava miTo'uru,
6 I might turn, I might turn on Kitava your Touru,
mimilaveta Pilolu.
your sea-arm Pilolu.
7 Nagayne isipukayse girina Kaykudayuri.
7 To-day they kindle festive fire (of) Kaykudayuri.
8 Kumwam dabem Siyaygana, bukuyova.
8 Thou bind together thy skirt Siyaygana, thou fly.
9 Bakabima kaykabila, bakipatuma
9 I might clutch the adze handle, I might grip
yogwayogula
the component sticks.
10 Baterera odabana Kuyawa.
10 I might fly on top (of) Kuyawa.
B. TAPWANA (MAIN PART)
11 Odabana Kuyawa, odabana Kuyawa ...
11 On top (of) Kuyawa, on top (of) Kuyawa ...
(repeated several times)
bayokokoba odabana Kuyawa;
I might become like smoke on top (of) Kuyawa;
bayowaysulu odabana Kuyawa;
I might become invisible on top (of) Kuyawa;
bayovivilu'a, etc.; bayomwaleta, etc.;
I might become as a wind eddy, etc. I might become alone, etc.;
bayokarige, etc.; bayotamwa'u, etc;
I might become as dead, etc. I might disappear, etc.;
bayogugwa'u, etc.;
I might become like mist, etc.
12 The verses 9, 10 and 11 are repeated, substituting Dikutuva
for Kuyawa.
13 The verses 9, 10 and 11 are repeated, substituting La'u for
Kuyawa. After this, the u'ula is repeated, and then a
secondary tapwana follows.
14 Bakalatatava, bakalatatava ...
14 I might heel over, I might heel over ...
(repeated several times)
ula sibu bakalatatava ulo koumwali
my keel I might heel over; my canoe gunwale
bakalatatava uli sirota, etc.
I might heel over my canoe bottom, etc.
ulo katukulu, etc.; ulo gelu, etc. ulo kaysuya, etc.
my prow, etc.; my rib, etc. my threading stick, etc.;
uli tabuyo, etc.; uli lagim, etc.; ulo kawaydala, etc.
my prow-board, etc.; my transverse board, etc.; my canoe side, etc.
The u'ula is repeated again and the spell is closed by the dogina
(concluding part).
C. DOGINA (CONCLUSION)
16 Wagam, kousi, wagam, vivilu'a,
16 Canoe (thou art) ghost, canoe, (thou art) wind eddy,
kuyokarige Siyaygana, bukuyova.
thou vanish Siyaygana, thou fly.
17 Kwarisasa kamkarikeda Kadimwatu; kwaripwo
17 Thou pierce thy sea-passage Kadimwatu; thou break through
kabaluna Saramwa; kwabadibadi Loma.
nose his Saramwa; thou meet Loma.
18 Kuyokarige, kuyotamwa'u, kuyovivilu'a
18 Thou become as dead, thou disappear, thou become as a wind eddy,
kuyogugwa'u.
thou become like mist.
19 Kusola kammayamaya, kwotutine kamgulupeya; kuna,
19 Thou mould the fine sand, thou cut thy seaweed; thou go,
kugoguna kambwoymatala.
thou put on thy butia wreath.
We have here the native text, translated word for word, each expression
and formative affix being rendered by its English equivalent. In
obtaining such a verbatim translation and subsequently putting it into
a free, intelligible English rendering, there are two main difficulties
to be overcome. A considerable proportion of the words found in magic
do not belong to ordinary speech, but are archaisms, mythical names and
strange compounds, formed according to unusual linguistic rules. Thus
the first task is to elucidate the obsolete expressions, the mythical
references, and to find the present day equivalents of any archaic
words. Even if we obtain a series of meanings corresponding to each
term of the original text, there is often considerable difficulty
in linking these meanings together. Magic is not built up in the
narrative style; it does not serve to communicate ideas from one
person to another; it does not purport to contain a consecutive,
consistent meaning. It is an instrument serving special purposes,
intended for the exercise of man's specific power over things, and
its meaning, giving this word a wider sense, can be understood only
in correlation to this aim. It will not be therefore a meaning of
logically or topically concatenated ideas, but of expressions fitting
into one another and into the whole, according to what could be called
a magical order of thinking, or perhaps more correctly, a magical order
of expressing, of launching words towards their aim. It is clear that
this magical order of verbal concatenations--I am purposely avoiding
the expression 'magical logic' for there is no logic in the case--must
be known and familiar to anyone who wishes really to understand the
spells. There is therefore a great initial difficulty in 'reading'
such documents, and only an acquaintance with a great number makes
one more confident and more competent.
III.
In the ordinary routine of working out such texts, I tried to obtain
from the magician the equivalents, word for word, of the more cryptic
expressions. As a rule the magician himself knows a good deal more than
anyone else about the mythical references, and about certain esoteric
expressions contained in the spell. There are some unintelligent old
men, unfortunately, who rattle off a formula, and who evidently never
were interested about its significance or else forgot all about it,
and are no good as commentators. Often a fairly good informant, quite
capable of reciting a spell slowly and intelligibly, without losing his
thread, will be of no use as linguistic informant, that is in helping
to obtain a definition of a word, in assisting to break it up into its
formative parts; in explaining which words belong to ordinary speech,
which are dialectic, which are archaic, and which are purely magical
compounds. I had only a few informants who could help me in this way,
and among them the previously mentioned Motago'i was one of the best.
The analysis to which I now proceed can be given only in an approximate
manner, for in a full one, a long disquisition on grammar would have
to be given first. It will be enough, however, to show in broad
outline the main linguistic features of a spell, as well as the
methods which have been used in constructing the free translation
given in the previous chapters.
The formula here quoted, shows the typical tripartition of the
longer spells. The first part is called u'ula. This word means the
'bottom part' of a tree or post, the 'foundation' of any structure,
and in more figurative uses, it means 'reason,' 'cause,' or, again,
'beginning.' It is in this last sense that the natives apply it
to the first strophe of a song, and to the exordium of a magical
formula. The second part of the spell is called tapwana, literally:
'surface,' 'skin,' 'body,' 'trunk,' 'middle part' of a tree, 'main
part' of a road, and thus 'main part' of a spell or song. The word
dogina, literally the 'tip' or 'end,' used for the 'tip' of a tree
or the 'end' of a tail, is used to designate the 'final part' or the
'conclusion' of a spell. Sometimes the word dabwana, 'top,' or 'head,'
(not human head) is substituted for dogina. Thus the spell must be
imagined turned upside down, its beginning put at the basis, the u'ula,
its main part where the middle trunk would be, and its end at the tip,
the dogina.
The opening words of the u'ula in this spell are short, cutting,
pithy expressions, each standing for its own cycle of ideas, for
a sentence or even a whole story. In this they are typical of the
beginnings of Kiriwinian spells. They are also typical, in the great
difficulty which they present to the interpreter. Out of the seven
words contained in phrases 1 and 2, four do not belong to ordinary
speech, and are obscure compounds. Thus the words bosisi'ula and
bomwalela are made up first of the prefix bo-, which carries with it
the meaning of 'tabooed,' 'belonging to magic,' and of the two roots
sisiula and mwalela, neither of which is a complete word. The first
is the root part of the word visisi'ula, which designates a custom
associated with this magic. At certain times, in connection with the
performance of the wayugo rite, the magician has fits of trembling
and then he has to be given some baked fish, and after partaking of
it his trembling fit passes. The natives say that he trembles like a
bisila (pandanus streamer) and that this shows that his magic is good,
since the trembling of the pandanus is a symbol of speed. Mwalela
is derived from olumwalela which means 'inside.' With the prefix bo-
the word can be translated 'the tabooed inside.'
It is even more difficult to interpret the general meaning of these
two expressions, than to find out their literal equivalents. We have
an allusion to a ritual eating of fish, associated with a trembling
which symbolises speed, and we have an expression 'tabooed inside.' The
custom of eating fish after trembling has a magical importance. It adds
to the efficiency of magic, as all such observances do. The force or
merit of this observance, which, dissociated from the spell and the
rite can have no direct effect, is made available by being mentioned
in the formula; it is so to speak, magically discounted. This is the
best way in which I can interpret the two words of ritual eating and
of tabooed interior of the magician.
The three words of sentence 2 have each to tell its own story. The
word papapa, 'flutter,' stands for a phrase: "let the canoe speed so
that the pandanus leaves flutter." Of course the word expresses much
more than this sentence, because it is intelligible only to those
who are acquainted with the part played by the pandanus leaves
in the decoration of canoes, with the native ideas about magical
association between flutter and speed, and with the ritual use of
pandanus streamers. Therefore the word has a meaning only if taken
with the context of this formula, in connection with its aim, with the
various associated ideas and customs. To the native, who knows all this
and in whose mind the whole context rises, when he hears or repeats
'papapa' the word quivers with magical force. The word silubida,
an especial magical transformation of lilobida, stands for a certain
variety of the betel pepper plant. The word monagakalava is again an
elaborate compound carrying the meaning 'to leave behind.' The betel
plant is a common magical ingredient, and in this spell, the ancestral
spirits will presently be invited to chew betel-nut. 'Leaving behind'
undoubtedly refers to the other canoes which will be outrun by that
of the reciter. Both these words, therefore, can be placed without
much difficulty into the context of this spell. It is quite clear,
as has been said, that each of these expressions stands alone and
represents a self-contained cycle of ideas. The two expressions of
sentence 1 probably do belong to one another, but even they represent
each one-half of a complex story.
Then, in 3, there comes a long list of names of ancestors, all of
whom are said to be real men who had lived in Kitava, the home of this
magic. The words kwaysa'i, 'stormy sea,' and pulupolu, 'boiling up,'
'foaming up,' suggest that the names are significant and therefore
mythical. Nawabudoga, a Kitavan man, was father of the last-mentioned
one, Mogilawota, a maternal relative of the present owner. We see here,
therefore, a good case of 'magical filiation,' by which the present
owner, a man of Sinaketa, is connected with the mythical district
of Kitava.
The following two sentences, 4 and 5, are linguistically much clearer
and simpler, and they present connected sequences of words. They
are an invocation to ancestral spirits, asking them to join the
magician at the canoe, which is called here Kaykudayuri, 'the craft
of the Kudayuri,' and to place the pandanus streamers on the top of
Teulo. This, in an exaggerated and figurative speech, expresses an
invitation to the spirits to follow the man on his trip. It must be
noted that, according to the present belief at least, the spirits are
not conceived as agents or forces which carry the canoe at the behest
of the magician, but as passive companions only. Sentence 6 contains
a scornful address to his companions; the magician in prospect sees
himself sailing ahead towards the mountains; as he turns round, the
Kitava men, that is his companions, are far behind on the beach of
To'uru, and the whole sea-arm of Pilolu still lies before them.
In 7, the same trend of ideas is followed; the custom of kindling the
fire by the first canoe is alluded to, and the magician sees himself
carrying out this privilege. It is to be noted that he speaks always of
his canoe under the name of Kudayuri, that is of the mythical flying
canoe of ancient times. In 8, the canoe is addressed as a flying
witch, who is asked to bind her skirt together and to fly. In 9,
the magician verbally retraces an incident from the original myth
of Kudayuri. He takes the adze handle, gets hold of the canoe, and
strikes it, whereupon the canoe flies.
Thus the u'ula begins with archaic, condensed compounds each carrying
a self-contained cycle of magical meaning. Then follows a list of
forbears; then more explicit and, at the same time more dramatic
sentences; an invocation to ancestral spirits, the anticipated victory
in speed, the reconstructed mythical incident.
IV
Let us pass now to the tapwana. This is always the longest part of a
spell, since we have a whole list of words which have to be repeated
with several key expressions, of which in the present case there are
three. Moreover, the magician can ad libitum repeat the same words over
and over again with a key word. He will not go in any fixed order over
all the words of the list, but is allowed, in this part of the formula,
to return and repeat with one key-word the various items of the list.
It will be best to say here a few words about the manner in which the
magical formulæ are actually recited. The opening words are always
intoned with a strong, melodious cadence which is not permanently
fixed, but varies with the magician. The first words are repeated
some several times. Thus here, kala bosisi'ula would be reiterated
three or four times, and so would be the following two words (kala
bomwalela). The words of No. 2 are recited slowly and ponderously
but not repeated. The list of ancestors is run over quickly and
perfunctorily. The rest of the u'ula, its dramatic part so to speak,
is spoken with less melody, more with the ordinary speaking voice
and more rapidly.
Then comes the last sentence of the u'ula, which in almost all
spells links it up with the main part. This is always intoned slowly,
solemnly and distinctly; the voice drops at the end by the interval of
a tone. In the tapwana, the key word, or key expression, which forms
always the concluding part of the u'ula, is taken up again. It is
repeated several times, as if to fix or rub it well in. Then, dropping
into a quick, continuous stream of utterance, the magician runs over
one word of the list after the other. The key-word is inserted between
each of them, said sometimes once, sometimes two or three times. It
gives an effect as if the key-word were being rubbed in into every
one of the other expressions. They as a rule spoken more slowly, mark
the rhythm of this part. The reciting of the last part of a spell,
the dogina or dabwana, is more perfunctory, usually it is rather
spoken than chanted.
After this digression, let us return to the analysis of our spell. It
is a rule that the tapwana, the main part of a formula, is easier
to translate, expressed in less archaic and less condensed terms,
than the u'ula. The tapwana of this spell has quite easy key-words,
both in its first and in its second part. In the first one (phrase
11) the key-words are of mythical nature, referring to localities
associated with the flying of one of the Kudayuri sisters. In the
second tapwana, the key-word means: 'I might heel over' or 'I shall
heel over,' that is with speed. And this expression stands here for:
'I shall overtake,' and the list of words pronounced with this verb
denotes the various parts of a canoe. The second part of the tapwana
(phrase 14) is much more typical than the first, because the key word
is a verb, whilst the list words are nouns. It is typical also, in
that the verb expresses, in a simple and direct manner, the magical
effect of the spell (the overtaking of the other canoes) whereas the
sum of the words of the list gives the object of the spell, that is,
the canoe. Such tapwana, in which the magical action is expressed as
a verb, while in the list of words we have mentioned the various parts
of a garden or of fishing nets, or weapons or parts of the human body,
are to be found in all classes of magic.
The first part of the tapwana (phrases 11, 12, and 13) is less
typical, in so far that the verbs depicting various magical actions are
relegated into the list, while the key-words are adverbial expressions
of locality. The verbal links of the long chain express all and one
in a metaphoric manner the speed of the canoe. 'I shall fly, I shall
become like smoke, I shall become invisible, I shall become as a
wind eddy, etc,' are all rather picturesque, concrete descriptions
of surpassing speed. They present also a linguistic symmetry and
singularity. The prefix ba- is the form of the future or potential
tense, which I have literally translated 'might,' but which stands here
for 'shall.' The formative prefix yo- is a causative, and stands for
'become as' or 'become like.' Then follows the root: kokoba- 'smoke
which trails in clouds above a burning garden.' Hence the expression
bayokokoba, in its full concrete meaning, could be translated:
'I shall become like clouds of trailing smoke.' Again, boyowaysula
in its full meaning could be translated: 'I shall become invisible
as distant spray.' The only abstract word in this list is tamwa'u,
which literally means, 'to disappear.' So, in this tapwana, the list
consists of a number of formally similar words, each expressing the
same general meaning in a concrete metaphorical manner. The length
of the whole tapwana (main body) of the spell can be imagined, since
in the middle between its two sections the u'ula is recited once more.
The last part of this spell, the dogina, contains an explicit
allusion to the Kudayuri myth and to several geographic localities,
which are mentioned in that myth. It also shows the usual crescendo,
characteristic of the conclusions of a spell. The final results are
anticipated in exaggerated, forceful language.
V
So much about the wayugo spell. I shall adduce now another spell of
a somewhat different type, belonging to the mwasila (Kula magic). It
is distinctly a more modern formula; there are hardly any archaic
expressions; words are not used, as independent sentences each;
on the whole it is easily understandable and has a consecutive meaning.
RAYIKUNA SULUMWOYA (ALSO CALLED SUMGEYYATA)
A. U'ULA (INITIAL PART)
1 Avayta'u netata'i sulumwoyala Laba'i? Yaygu, Kwoyregu,
1 Who cuts the mint plant of Laba'i? I, Kwoyregu,
sogu tamagu, katata'i sulumwoyala Laba'i.
together with my father, we cut the mint plant of Laba'i.
2 Silimwaynunuva, inunuva; silimwayniku,
2 The roaring sulumwoya, it roars; the quaking sulumwoya
iniku; silimwayyega, iyega;
it quakes; the soughing sulumwoya, it soughs;
silimwaypolu, ipolu.
the boiling sulumwoya, it boils.
B.--TAPWANA (MAIN PART)
3 Ipolu, ipolu ipolu ... agu sulumwoya ipolu;
3 It boils, it boils, it boils ... my mint plant it boils;
agu vana, ipolu; agu kena ipolu; agu
my herb ornaments, it boils my lime spatula it boils; my
yaguma ipolu; agu sinata ipolu; agu mo'i ipolu;
lime pot it boils; my comb it boils; my mat it boils;
agu pari ipolu; agu vataga ipolu;
my presentation goods it boils; my big basket it boils;
agu kauyo ipolu; agu lilava ipolu.
my personal basket it boils; my magical bundle it boils.
Dabagu ipolu; kabulugu ipolu; kaygadugu ipolu;
my head it boils; my nose it boils; my occiput it boils;
mayyegu ipolu; tabagu ipolu; kawagu
my tongue it boils; my larynx it boils; my speaking organ
ipolu; wadogu ipolu; ula woyla ipolu.
it boils; my mouth it boils; my Kula courting it boils.
C.--DOGINA (CONCLUSION)
5 Avaliwo koya-- isikila koya;
5 I kick the mountain--it tilts over, the mountain;
imwaliku koya; ikaywa'u koya;
it subsides, the mountain; it opens up, the mountain;
isabwani koya; itakubile koya;
it jubilates, the mountain it topples over, the mountain;
itakubilatala koya.
it topples down, the mountain.
6 Avapwoyma dabana Koyava'u; avapokayma
6 I breathe (a spell over) the head (of) Koyava'u; I charm
lopoum Siyaygana; akulubeku wagana
thy inside (of) Siyaygana (canoe); I drown the waga
akulisonu lumanena.
I submerge the lamina.
7 Gala butugu, butugu pilapala; gala valigu,
7 Not my renown my renown thunder; not my treading,
valigu lumwadudu tudududu.
my treading noise made by flying witches(?) tudududu.
The opening sentences of the formula are so clear that the translation
word for word explains itself without any closer commentary, except of
course as far as the names are concerned. Laba'i is a village in the
North of Kiriwina, and it plays a considerable part in the mythology of
the origin of man, since several of the principal sub-clans emerged
there from underground. Laba'i is also the home of the mythical
culture-hero Tudava. The mythology of the Kula, however, does not
include Laba'i amongst the places, on which it touches. Perhaps this
somewhat anomalous features of the formula may be connected with its
obvious linguistic modernity? The other personal name mentioned in
this spell is Kwoyregu, on which Layseta, who gave me this magic,
commented in the following manner:
"A man, he lived in Laba'i, the master of the magic. It was not
this man who first knew the magic of Monikiniki. That magic was
partly found by Tokosikuna, partly in olden days in Sinaketa."
In explaining this commentary it must be noted that the informant
was a Sinaketan man, hence his local patriotism, for there is no
definite, mythological version connecting the early practice of the
mwasila with the village of Sinaketa. As we saw, Tokosikuna is indeed
one of the mythical heroes with whose story the magic of mwasila
is associated. Monikiniki is the name of one of the systems of the
mwasila magic, which usually is said to come from a man of that name.
Phrase 2 of this spell contains four couples, each consisting
of a compound and a verb. The substantival compounds have all,
according to the alliterative symmetry so dear to Kiriwinian magic,
the prefix silimway-, derived from sulumwoya, the mint plant. Such
play on words, especially on what is the leading word in a spell,
as sulumwoya is here, shows that the purely phonetic handling of
words must be associated with the idea or feeling of their inherent
power. The keyword of the tapwana (phrase 3), has been translated,
literally 'it boils.' Perhaps it might have been translated in its
other slightly different meaning 'it foams.' Probably it has both
meanings to the mind of the native reciter. I think that the use
of a word fraught with two meanings at the same time is one of the
characteristics of native language. In this spell, for instance, the
word polu appears as one in a series of such verbs as 'to roar,' 'to
quake,' 'to sough,' all carrying the meaning of 'noise,' 'commotion,'
'stir,' a meaning which is in harmony with the magical effects to be
produced by the mwasila magic. In this context the obvious translation
of the word would be: 'to foam.' On the other hand, this spell is said
over a piece of mint, which will be preserved in boiled coco-nut oil,
and the double meaning here contained might be paraphrased in this
manner: "as the oil of the sulumwoya boils, so may my renown (or the
eagerness of my partner?) foam up." Thus the word polu would link up
the meaning of the rite of boiling with the context of this spell. This
explanation, however, has not been obtained from a native informant,
though it is undoubtedly in keeping with the general type of current
explanations. What I have called before the magical concatenation
of magical ideas consists in just such connections of words and
their meanings.
The dogina (final part) contains one or two typical features. For
instance, in phrase 4, the maternal uncle of the present reciter is
asked to breathe the spell over the head of Monikiniki. In this,
the present owner of the spell identifies his canoe with that of
the mythical hero. In 5, 6 and 7, we have several grandiloquent
expressions such as that referring to the commotion on the mountain;
that comparing his renown to thunder, and his treading to the noise
made by mulukwausi; and that describing how the waga will sink, through
being overfilled with valuables. The last part would, as usual, be
recited in a much more perfunctory and quick manner, giving it the
effect of piling up words, one forceful phrase following another It
ends with the onomatopoetic sound tudududu ... which stands for the
roll of the thunder.
VI
The two specimens of magic here given in the original with a verbal
translation, show how the linguistic analysis allows us a much
deeper insight into the magical value of words, as it is felt by the
natives. On the one hand, the various phonetic characteristics show
the handling of words when these have to convey magical force. On the
other hand, only an analysis word for word of the spells could give us
a good insight into the frequently mentioned magical concatenation of
ideas and verbal expressions. It is, however, impossible to adduce here
all the spells in their full original version with linguistic comments,
as this would lead us into a treatise on the language of magic. We may,
however, quickly pass over some of the other spells and point out in
them the salient features of magical expression, and thus amplify the
results so far obtained by the detailed analysis of these two spells.
Of course these two examples belong to the longer type consisting of
three parts. Many of the spells previously quoted in free translation
contain no main part, though it is possible to distinguish their u'ula
(exordium) from their dogina (finale). The very first spell quoted
in Chapter V, the formula of the Vabusi Tokway (the expulsion of
the wood-sprite) is an anomalous one. It is an invocation, and it is
not even chanted but has to be spoken in a low persuasive voice. It
consists of two parts: in the first one the word kubusi ('thou comest
down') used as an imperative, 'come down!' is repeated with all sorts
of descriptions and circumscriptions of the woodsprites. In the second
part, several sentences are repeated to make the wood-sprite feel
that he has been chased away. Both the keyword of the first part,
kubusi, and the sentences of the second part have a direct force of
their own. It must be realised that, for the natives, it is a great
insult to be told to go away. Yoba, the 'expulsion,' the 'command to
go,' stands in a category of its own. People are yoba'd, expelled from
communities in certain circumstances, and a man would never dream of
remaining, when thus treated. Therefore the words in this spell possess
a force due to social sanctions of native custom. The next spell,
given in Chapter VI, the Kaymomwa'u, is also anomalous for it consists
of one part only. The word kubusi, 'come down' is also repeated here,
with various words designating defilements and broken taboos. These
qualities are, however, not thought of as personified beings. The force
of the word is probably also derived from the ideas about the yoba.
The second spell, which is a pendant to the Kaymomwa'u, the
Kaygagabile, or spell of lightness, begins with a typical u'ula:--
Susuwayliguwa (repeated); Titavaguwa (repeated);
He fails to outrun me; the canoe trembles with speed;
mabuguwa (repeated) mabugu, mabugamugwa; mabugu,
magical word; mabugu, mabugu-ancient; mabugu,
mabuguva'u.
mabugu-new.
The first two words are compounds with prefixes and suffixes added for
magical purposes, as a sort of magical trimming. The untranslatable
word, said by the natives to be megwa wala ('just magic') is repeated
several times in symmetry with the previous two words and then with
the two suffixes; ancient and new. Such repetitions with prefixes
or suffixes of antithetic meaning are a frequent feature of magical
trimming of words. This exordium affords a clear example of the magical
play on words, of transformations for the sake of rhythm and symmetry;
of repetitions of the same words with antithetic affixes. In the
following part of the spell, the word ka'i (tree) is repeated with
verbs:--'the tree flies' etc., and it functions as a key-word. It is
difficult to decide whether this part is a true tapwana or only one
of the not infrequent examples of an u'ula with a keyword.
Let us survey a few more of the u'ula (first parts) of the canoe
spells, and then proceed to the examination of the middle parts and
ends. In the next spell of Chapter VI, the Kapitunena Duku spell,
the word bavisivisi, 'I shall wave them back,' (that is; the other
canoes), is repeated ponderously several times. The opening of a
spell with one word, which summarises in a metaphorical manner the
aim of the spell is often found in Kiriwinian magic. In this spell
there follow the words:--
Sîyá dábanâ Tókunâ ínenâ. Sinegu bwaga'u,
Siya hill (on) top of Takuna the women. My mother sorcerer,
tatogu bwaga'u.
myself sorcerer.
These words are pronounced with a heavy, thumping rhythm, as indicated
by the sharp and circumflex accents. The second line shows a rhythmic
and symmetrical arrangement of words. The remainder of the u'ula of
this spell is similar to the same part in the wayugo spell, which has
been given here in full native text (compare the free translations
of both spells in previous Chapters).
In the ligogu spell of the same Chapter, the u'ula opens with another
juggling of words:--
virayra'i (repeated); morayra'i (repeated); basilabusi
female rayra'i; male rayra'i; I shall penetrate
Wayayla, basilalaguwa Oyanaki; basilalaguwa
(at) Wayayla, I shall emerge (at) Oyanaki; I shall emerge
Wayayla, basilabusi Oyanaki;
(at) Wayayla, I shall penetrate Oyanaki;
This part of the u'ula has not been translated in the text, as its
meaning is 'magical' and can be better grasped in connection with the
native text. The word rayra'i is a magical word only. It is first given
with the antithetic opposition of the male and female prefixes vi-
and mo-. The following phrase is a typical example of a geographical
antithesis. The two names refer to the promontories facing one other
across the sea passage Kaulokoki, between Boyowa and Kayleula. Why
those two points are mentioned I could not find out.
In the kadumiyala spell, given in Chapter IX, we have the following
opening:--
Vinapega, pega; vinamwana, mwana;
nam mayouyai, makariyouya'i, odabwana;
nam mayouya'i, makariyouya'i, o'u'ula.
In the first line, we have the symmetrically uttered and prefixed names
of the two flying or jumping fishes, pega and mwana. The prefix vina-
is probably the female prefix and may convey the meaning of flying's
being associated with women, that is with the flying witches. The
second and third verse contain a play on the root yova or yo'u
'to fly,' reduplicated and with several affixes added. These two
verses are brought into a sort of antithesis by the last two words,
odabwana and o'u'ula, or 'at the top,' and 'at the bottom,' or here,
probably, at the one end of the canoe and at the other.
In the Bisila spell, given in the same chapter, we have the
beginning:--
Bora'i, bora'i, borayyova, biyova;
Bora'i, bora'i, borayteta, biteta.
The word bora'i seems to be again a purely magical one. The prefix bo-
carries the meaning of tabooed, or ritual; the root ra'i suggests
similarity with the above quoted magical word rayra'i, which is
obviously merely a reduplicated form of ra'i. This is therefore a
rhythmically constructed play on the magical root ra'i, and the words
yova, 'to fly,' and teta, 'to be poised,' 'to soar.'
The Kayikuna veva spell presents the following rhythmic and symmetrical
exordium:--
Bosuyasuya (repeated); boraguragu (repeated).
Bosuya olumwalela; boyragu akatalena.
The exact meaning of the two words is not quite clear, except that they
represent magical influences. Their arrangement and the antithesis
of olumwalela ('middle part,' 'inside'), and katalena ('body' or
'outside') is in keeping with the features observed in the other
beginnings here quoted.
VII
The tapwana (main parts) of the spells, though they take a much
longer time in reciting, are simpler in construction. Many spells,
moreover have no middle part at all. The first regular tapwana we find
in our spells is that in the Kapitunena Duku. There, we have a series
of key-words recited with a list of complimentary expressions. The
key-words are verbs, spoken in the form:--
mata'i, matake'i, meyova, etc.
cut, cut at, fly, etc.
These verbs are used in this spell with the prefix ma- or me-, which
represents the tense of indefinite duration. This prefix, although, as
far as I know, found in several Melanesian languages in full vigour,
has in Kiriwina a distinctly archaic flavour, and is only used in
certain locutions and in magic. Some of the verbs used in this spell
are metaphorical in their meaning, describing the speed of the canoe
in a figurative manner. The list of the complimentary words repeated
with the key-words contains the enumeration of the different parts of
the canoe. It is typical that the key-words are in their form archaic
and in their meaning figurative while the complimentary terms are
just ordinary words of everyday speech.
Another regular tapwana has been given in the Kadumiyala spell in
Chapter IX, where the only key-word, napuwoye, has been translated:
'I impart speed magically.' The prefix na- is that of the definite
tense. The formative pu- I was unable to translate, while the root
woye means literally 'to beat' and in a somewhat more remote sense,
'to impart magic.' In the Kayikuna veva spell, the pair bwoytalo'i,
bosuyare, meaning 'paint red in a ritual manner,' and 'wreathe in
a ritual manner,' are given formal resemblance by the alliterative
prefix bo-, which carries with it the meaning of 'ritual.'
We see that the number of the tapwana is smaller, since only three
spells out of seven have got it. In form, the tapwana are simpler
than the u'ula, and an examination of a greater number of key-words
would show that they also express directly or figuratively the
magical action or its effect. Thus, here we had a verb denoting the
imparting of magic, that is the direct expression of the action;
then two words figuratively expressing it, and the series of verbal
key-words enumerating the effects of the magic, such as flying,
speed, etc. In other canoe spells, not given in this book, there
could be found similar types of key-words such as: 'the canoe flies';
'the buriwada fish is poised on a wave'; 'the reef-heron wades';
'the reef-heron skirts the beach...' all of them expressing the aim
of the spell in accordance with the magical trend of thought.
VIII
From the linguistic point of view, the final parts of the spells, the
dogina, present, as a rule, fewer remarkable features. Phonetically
the most outstanding trait is the purely onomatopoetic sound complexes,
such as sididi or saidididi, or the three words sididi, tatata, numsa,
found in the Kadumiyala spell. From the point of view of meaning,
there are in some of the dogina interesting metaphorical turns of
speech, such as the descriptions of time in the Kaygagabile spell,
where the difference in speed between the magician and his companions
is expressed by allusions to the morning and evening sun, couched in
figurative speech. Some mythical allusions also find their way into the
dogina. These parts of a spell are undoubtedly the least important in
the natives' eyes; very often the same dogina is used with a number
of formulæ belonging to the one cycle, as we have noticed. Other
spells have no dogina at all, for instance, that of Kapitunena Duku,
where the onomatopoetic sound sidididi stands for the whole dogina. As
said above, the manner of reciting these parts is more perfunctory,
with fewer melodic modulations and phonetic peculiarities.
IX
I have given so far a short linguistic survey of the canoe spells,
dealing first with their initial parts, u'ula, then with their main
parts, tapwana, and lastly saying a few words about the dogina. In a
still more summary manner, I shall give a short survey of the mwasila
(Kula magic) spells, quoted or mentioned in this book, beginning with
the u'ula.
In the Yawarapu spell (Chapter VII) we have the beginning:--
Bu'a, bu'a, bovinaygau, vinaygu;
bu'a, bu'a, bomwanaygu, mwanaygu ...
Here the word bu'a (areca-nut) is repeated and used as a prefix bo-,
with the antithetic roots -vinay- (female), and -mwanay- (male)
and with the suffix -gu (first possessive pronoun).
The Kaymwaloyo (Chapter VII) begins:--
Gala bu'a, gala doga, gala mwayye ...
This is spoken in a solemn manner, and then follows the play on the
root mwase, described above in the free translation of this spell.
Another rhythmic beginning, spoken with regular, strongly marked
accent is to be found in the Kaykakaya spell (Chapter XIII):
Kaýtutúna íyanâ, márabwága iyanâ ...
Symmetrical arrangements of words, with alliterative prefixing of a
particle and with antithetic uses of word couples are to be found in
several other spells.
The Talo formula (Chapter XIII):
Talo, talo'udawada, udawada
Talo, talomwaylili, mwaylili ...
The Ta'uya spell (Chapter XIII):
Mwanita, monimwanita;
Deriwa, baderideriwa;
Derima, baderiderima ...
The Ka'ubana'i spell (Chapter XIII):
Mose'una Nikiniki,
Moga'ina Nikiniki ...
The Kwoygapani spell (Chapter XIV):
Kwega, kweganubwa'i, nubwa'i;
Kwega, kweganuwa'i, nuwa'i;
Kwega, kweganuma'i, numa'i ...
I have written them down here without full comment, to show their
formal phonetic characteristics, which are indeed in all essentials
quite similar to the samples previously quoted and analysed.
X
The main parts of the spells in the magic of the Kula do not
essentially differ in their characteristics from the tapwana of the
canoe magic. In their form, some key-words are simply verbs used
without any transformation in their narrative tense. Thus in the
Talo (red paint) formula, the pair of verbs ikata ('it flares up'),
inamila ('it flashes') is used with various nouns describing parts
of the human head. The key-words of the Kayikuna Tabuyo (Chapter
XIII) are also grammatically simple: buribwari, kuvakaku kuvakipusa
('fish-hawk, fall on thy prey, catch it')--the verbs being in the
second person of the narrative tense.
In other cases we find the key-word transformed by reduplication,
composition or by affixes. In the Yawarapu spell (Chapter VII)
the pair boraytupa, badederuma repeated as key expressions is a
compound which I did not succeed in analysing completely, though the
consensus of my informants makes me satisfied with the approximate
translation:--'Quick sailing, abundant haul.' In the Gebobo spell
(Chapter VII) the expression tutube tubeyama is a play on the root
tubwo used as a rule verbally and meaning 'to be full in the face,'
'to be fine looking.' In the Ta'uya spell (Chapter XIII) there is the
reduplication munumweynise of the root mwana or mwayna expressing
the 'itching' or 'state of excitement.' In the ka'ubanai the first
key-expression ida dabara is an archaic or dialectical couple (the root
is dabara, and ida is only a phonetic addition), which signifies 'to
ebb.' The other key-expressions 'ka'ukwa yaruyaru,' 'ka'ukwa mwasara,'
'ka'ukwa mwasara baremwasemwasara' have all the verbal part irregularly
reduplicated and in the last expression repeated and transformed. The
last formula of the mwasila (Kula magic) given in Chapter XIV, has a
pair of expressions used as key-phrase: 'kwoygapani, pani; kwoyga'ulu,
ulu.' The word kwega, a variety of betel plant, is used in a modified
form as a prefix and compounded with the verbal roots pani (seduce)
and ulu (enmesh).
As to the final parts of this class of spell, I have said before
that it is much less variable than the initial and main parts of a
formula. Within the same cycle or system, the dogina often varies
little and a man will often use the same one with all his spells. The
sample given with the sulumwoya text will therefore be sufficient to
show the various characteristics of this part of the mwasila spell,
and there is no need to say anything more about it.
XI
A very rapid survey of the phonetic characters of the kayga'u spells
(Chapter XI) must be sufficient and we shall confine ourselves to
their tapwana. The word gwa'u or ga'u means 'mist' or 'fog'; verbally
used with the meaning 'to make mist' 'to befog,' it has always the
form ga'u. In the main parts of some of the formulæ of this class,
this phonetically very expressive word is used with very great sound
effect. For example in the giyorokaywa spell No. 1, the key-words
are aga'u ('I befog'), aga'usulu ('I befog, lead astray'); aga'uboda
('I befog, shut off'). Spoken, at the beginning of the tapwana slowly
and sonorously, and then quickly and insistently these words produce
a really 'magical' effect--that is as far as the hearers' subjective
impressions are concerned. Even more impressive and onomatopoetic is
the phrase used as key-expression in the Giyotanawa No. 2:
Ga'u, yaga'u, yagaga'u, yaga'u, bode, bodegu!
This sentence, giving the vowels a full Italian value, such as
they receive in the Melanesian pronunciation, does certainly have an
impressive ring; fittingly enough, because this is the dramatic spell,
uttered into the wind in the sinking waga, the final effort of magic
to blind and mislead the mulukwausi. The causative prefix ya- is
used here with a nominal expression yaga'u which has been translated
'gathering mist'; the reduplicated one yagaga'u I have rendered by
'encircling mist.' It can be seen from this example how feebly the
equivalents can be given of the magical phrases in which so much is
expressed by phonetic or onomatopoetic means.
The other spells have much less inspired key-words. Giyotanawa No. 1
uses the word atumboda, translated 'I press,' 'I close down,' which
literally renders the meanings of the verbs tum, 'to press,' and boda,
'to close.' The Giyorokaywa No. 2 has the somewhat archaic key-words
spoken in a couple: 'apeyra yauredi,' 'I arise,' 'I escape' and the
grammatically irregular expression suluya, 'to lead astray.'
The main part of the Kaytaria spell, by which the benevolent fish
is summoned to the rescue of the drowning party has the key-phrase
'bigabaygu suyusayu: the suyusayu fish shall lift me up.' This
expression is noteworthy: even in this spell, which might be regarded
as an invocation of the helpful animal, it is not addressed in the
second person. The result is verbally anticipated, proving that the
spell is to act through the direct force of the words and not as an
appeal to the animal.
XII
With this, the survey of linguistic samples from various spells is
closed, and we can briefly summarise our results. The belief in
the efficiency of a formula results in various peculiarities of
the language in which it is couched, both as regards meaning and
sound. The native is deeply convinced of this mysterious, intrinsic
power of certain words; words which are believed to have their virtue
in their own right, so to speak; having come into existence from
primeval times and exercising their influence directly.
To start first with the meaning of the magical expressions, we have
seen that in this respect they are plain and direct enough. Most of
the key-words simply state the magical action, for example when in
one of the spells the key-word napuwoye, 'I impart magical virtue (of
speed),' or in another the key-words 'to paint red in a festive manner,
to wreathe in a festive manner,' simply describe what the magician is
doing. Much more often the principal expressions, that is the initial
words and the key-words, of a spell refer to its aim, as for instance,
when we find words and phrases denoting 'speed' in canoe magic; or, in
Kula magic, designations for 'success' 'abundant haul,' 'excitement,'
'beauty.' Still more often the aim of magic is stated in a metaphorical
manner, by similes and double meanings. In other parts of the spell,
where the magical meaning is imprisoned not so much in single words and
expressions, as in explicit phraseology and long periods, we found that
the predominant features are: lists of ancestral names; invocations of
ancestral spirits; mythological allusions; similes and exaggerations;
depreciating contrasts between the companions and the reciter--most
of them expressing an anticipation of the favourable results aimed at
in the spell. Again, certain parts of the spell contain systematic,
meticulous enumerations, the reciter going over the parts of a canoe
one by one; the successive stages of a journey; the various Kula goods
and valuables; the parts of the human head; the numerous places from
which the flying witches are believed to come. Such enumerations as
a rule strive at an almost pedantic completeness.
Passing to the phonetic characteristics, we saw that a word will often
be used in a shape quite different from those in which it is used
in ordinary speech; that it will show notable changes in form and
sound. Such phonetic peculiarities are most conspicuous in the main
words, that is in the key-words and initial words. They are sometimes
truncated, more often provided with additions, such as symmetrical or
antithetic affixes; formatives added for the sake of sound. By these
means there are produced effects of rhythm, alliteration and rhyme,
often heightened and accentuated by actual vocal accent. We found play
on words by symmetrical couples of sounds, with antithetic meaning
like mo- and vi-, or mwana- and vina-, both couples signifying 'male'
and 'female' respectively; or -mugwa (ancient) and -va'u (new); or ma-
(hither) and wa- (thither), etc., etc. Especially we found the prefix
bo-, carrying the meaning of ritual or tabooed, with derivation from
bomala; or with the meaning 'red,' 'festive' in its derivation from
bu'a (areca-nut); onomatopoetic sounds such as sididi or saydidi,
tatata, numsa, in imitation of speed noises, of the wailing of wind,
rustling of sail, swish of pandanus leaves; tududu, in imitation of
the thunder claps; and the rhythmical, expressive, though perhaps
not directly onomatopoetic, sentence:
Ga'u, yaga'u, yagaga'u, yaga'u, bode, bodegu.
XIII
If we now turn to the substances used in the magical rites, as means
of ritual transference of the spell, we find in canoe magic, dried
lalang grass, dried banana leaf, dried pandanus leaf, all used in
the magic of lightness. A stale potato is employed to carry away
the heaviness of the canoe; although on another occasion heaviness
is thrown away with a bunch of lalang grass. The leaves of two or
three shrubs and weeds, which as a rule the natives take to dry their
skin after bathing, are used for magical cleansing of a canoe body,
and a stick and a torch serve in other rites of exorcism. In the
rite associated with the blackening of a canoe, charred remains of
several light substances such as lalang grass, the nest of a small,
swift bird, the wings of a bat, coco-nut husk and the twigs of an
extremely light mimosa tree are employed.
It is easy to see that, not less than the words, the substances here
used are associated with the aim of the magic, that is, with lightness,
with swiftness and with flying.
In the magic of the Kula we find betel-nut, crushed with lime in
a mortar, used to redden the tip of the canoe. Betel-nut is also
given to a partner, after it has been charmed over with a seducing
spell. Aromatic mint, boiled in coco-nut oil and ginger root are also
used in the mwasila. The conch-shell, and the cosmetic ingredients,
charmed over on Sarubwoyna beach are really part of the outfit,
and so is the lilava bundle. All the substances used in this magic
are associated either with beauty and attractiveness (betel-nut,
cosmetics, the mint plant) or with excitement (conch-shell, chewed
betel-nut). Here therefore, it is not with the final aim--which is
the obtaining of valuables--that the magic is concerned, but with the
intermediate one, that is that of being agreeable to one's partner,
of putting him into a state of excitement about the Kula.
XIV
I wish to close this chapter by adducing a few texts of native
information. In the previous chapters, several statements and
narratives have been put into the natives' mouths and given in
quotations. I wish now to show some of the actual linguistic data
from which such quotations have been derived. Numerous utterances
of the natives were taken down by me as they were spoken. Whenever
there was a native expression covering a point of crucial importance,
or a characteristic thought, or one neatly formulated, or else one
especially hazy and opalescent in meaning--I noted them down in quick
handwriting as they were spoken. A number of such texts, apart from
their linguistic importance, will serve as documents embodying the
native ideas without any foreign admixture, and it will also show
the long way which lies between the crude native statement and its
explicit, ethnographic presentation. For what strikes us at first
sight most forcibly in these texts is their extreme bareness, the
scantiness of information which they appear to contain. Couched in
a condensed, disjointed, one might say telegraphic style, they seem
to lack almost everything which could throw light on the subject of
our study. For they lack concatenation of ideas, and they contain
few concrete details, and few really apt generalisations. It must be
remembered, however, that, whatever might be the importance of such
texts, they are not the only source of ethnographic information,
not even the most important one. The observer has to read them
in the context of tribal life. Many of the customs of behaviour,
of the sociological data, which are barely mentioned in the texts,
have become familiar to the Ethnographer through personal observation
and the direct study of the objective manifestations and of data
referring to their social constitution (compare the observations on
Method in the Introduction). On the other hand, a better knowledge of
and acquaintance with the means of linguistic expression makes the
language itself much more significant to one who not only knows how
it is used but uses it himself. After all, if natives could furnish
us with correct, explicit and consistent accounts of their tribal
organisation, customs and ideas, there would be no difficulty in
ethnographic work. Unfortunately, the native can neither get outside
his tribal atmospheres and see it objectively, nor if he could, would
he have intellectual and linguistic means sufficient to express it. And
so the Ethnographer has to collect objective data, such as maps,
plans, genealogies, lists of possessions, accounts of inheritance,
censuses of village communities. He has to study the behaviour of the
native, to talk with him under all sorts of conditions, and to write
down his words. And then, from all these diverse data, to construct
his synthesis, the picture of a community and of the individuals
in it. But I have dwelt on these aspects of method already in the
Introduction and here I want only to exemplify them with regard to
the linguistic material directly representing some of the natives'
thoughts on ethnographic subjects.
XV
I shall give here first a text on the subject of the priority in
sailing, which as described in Chapter IX, is the privilege of
a certain sub-clan in Sinaketa. I was discussing with a very good
informant, Toybayoba of Sinaketa, the customs of launching the canoes,
and I tried, as usually, to keep my interlocutor as much as possible to
concrete details and to the stating of the full sequence of events. In
his account he uttered this sentence:
"The Tolabwaga launch their canoe first; by this the face of the
sea is cleared."
I thereupon perceived that a new subject had been brought within my
notice, and I headed my informant on to it, and obtained the following
text, sentence after sentence:--
THE TOLABWAGA SUB-CLAN AND THEIR SEA-FARING PRIVILEGES
1 Bikugwo, ikapusi siwaga
1 He might be first he fall down (it is launched) their canoe
Tolabwaga, boge bimilakatile bwarita.
Tolabwaga, already he might be clear sea.
2 Igau kumaydona gweguya, tokay siwaga
2 Later on all chiefs, commoner their canoe
ikapusisi oluvyeki.
they fall down (are launched) behind.
3 Kidama takapusi takugwo bitavilidasi
3 Supposing we fall down, we are first they might turn (on) us
baloma; bitana Dobu, gala tabani bunukwa soulava.
spirits; we might go Dobu, no we find pig necklace.
4 Makawala yuwayoulo: bikugwo isipusi
4 Alike (lashing creeper) he (it) might be first they bind
siwayugo, iga'u yakidasi.
their wayugo lashing, later on ourselves.
5 Takeulo Dobu, gala bikugwasi Tolabwaga;
5 We sail Dobu, no they might be first Tolabwaga;
okovalawa boge aywokwo.
on sea front already he was over.
6 Obwarita tananamse kayne isakauli taytala
6 In sea we consider whether he run one (masculine)
lawaga, ikugwo.
his canoe, he is first.
7 Gala bikaraywagasi patile.
7 No they might command canoe fleet.
8 Dobu, gweguya bikugwasi, biwayse
8 Dobu, chiefs they might be first, they might come there
kaypatile gweguya.
canoe fleet chiefs.
9 M'tage Tolabwaga boge aywokwo sikaraywaga
9 Indeed Tolabwaga already he (it) was over their command
ovalu.
in village.
The Tolabwaga sub-clan belong to the Lukwasisiga clan, and live at
present in Kasi'etana. Only one man and two women are surviving.
10 Simwasila siwaga migavala, vivila boge
10 Their Kula magic their canoe magic his, woman already
iyousayse.
they grasp.
11 "Datukwasi boge kasakaymi megwa kwaraywagasi
11 "Our magical property already we give you magic you command
agayle!"
to-day!"
Thus would they say on handing their magic to their male descendants.
INFORMANT'S COMMENTARY.
Commenting on verse 3, the expression, 'bitalividasi baloma,' my
informant said:
'Bitavilida': bilivalasi baloma "Avaka
'They might turn (on) us': they might say spirit "What
pela gala ikugwo Tolabwaga, kukugwasi gumgweguya;
for no he is first Tolabwaga, you are first sub-chiefs;
kayuviyuvisa Tolabwaga!"
sweepers of the sea Tolabwaga!"
13 Tavagi gaga igiburuwasi, ninasi igaga, pela
13 We do bad they angry mind theirs' he bad for
magisi balayamata tokunabogwo aygura.
desire theirs we might watch long ago he has decreed.
The verbal translation renders word for word the individual meaning
of every particle and root, according to a definite grammatical and
lexicographical scheme which has been adopted for this text in common
with a few hundred more. In this place, I cannot give the commentary
and justification of the linguistic details, which will be fairly
obvious to a Melanesian scholar, who might, however, find some new
and even controversial features in my translation. To other readers,
these details are of small interest. I have not included in this
translation any distinction between the inclusive and exclusive first
person, dual and plural. Of the two tenses which are to be found in
this text, the narrative one is translated by the English verb in
infinitive, the potential, by the addition of the word 'might.' In
brackets underneath, the special meaning of a word in its context is
indicated, or some comments are added.
The free translation of the text must now be given:--
FREE TRANSLATION.
1 The Tolabwaga canoe would be launched first; by this the face of
the sea is cleared.
2 Afterwards, all the chiefs', the commoners' canoes are launched.
3 If we would launch our canoes first, the spirits (of ancestors)
would be angry with us; we would go to Dobu and we would receive no
pigs, no necklaces.
4 It is likewise with the lashing of the canoe: first, the Tolabwaga
would bind the lashing creeper and afterwards ourselves.
5 On our journey to Dobu, the Tolabwaga would not sail ahead, for
their priority ends on the beach of Sinaketa.
6 On the sea it is according to our wish, and if one man's canoe runs
fast, he would be first.
7 They (the Tolabwaga) do not wield the command of the canoe fleet.
8 In Dobu, the chiefs would be first; the chiefs would arrive there
at the head of the fleet.
9 But the supremacy of the Tolabwaga ends here already, in the village.
10 The Kula magic, the magic of the canoe, belonging to the Tolabwaga
clan has passed already into the hands of their womenfolk.
11 (These would say speaking to their male children): -- "We shall
give you the magic, the magical inheritance, you rule henceforward."
12 When the spirits become angry, they would tell us:-- "Why are
the Tolabwaga not first and you minor chiefs are ahead? Are not the
Tolabwaga cleaners of the sea?"
13 When we do wrong, they (the spirits) are angry, their minds are
malevolent, for they desire that we should keep to the old customs.
XVI
Comparing the free translation with the literal one, it is easy
to see that certain additions have been made, sentences have been
subordinated and co-ordinated by various English conjunctions which are
either completely absent from the native text, or else represented by
such very vague particles as boge (already), and m'tage (indeed). On
these linguistic questions I cannot enlarge here, but it will be
good to go over each sentence in succession, and to show how much
it was necessary to add from the general store of sociological and
ethnographic knowledge, in order to make it intelligible.
1. The meaning of the word 'fall down' is specialised here by the
context, and I translated it by 'launch.' The particle boge had to
be translated here by 'by this.' The words about the 'clearing of the
sea' suggested at once to me that there was a special ancient custom
in question. Then there is the name of the sub-clan Tolabwaga. In
order to understand the full meaning of this phrase, it is necessary
to realise that this name stands for a sub-clan; and then one has
to be well acquainted with native sociology, in order to grasp what
such a privilege, vested in a sub-clan, might mean. Thus, a word like
this can in the first place be understood only in the context of its
phrase, and on the basis of a certain linguistic knowledge. But its
fuller meaning becomes intelligible only in the context of the native
life and of native sociology. Again the expression referring to the
clearing of the sea required a further comment, for which I asked my
informant, and was answered by Phrase 3.
2. In this phrase the expressions 'chiefs,' 'commoners' etc., are
fully intelligible only to one, who has a definition of these words
in terms of native sociology. Indeed, only the knowledge of the
usual supremacy of the chiefs allows one to gauge their importance
and the survival character of this custom, by which this importance
is diminished for a time.
3. Here, we have the explanation of the obscure clause in phrase 1,
'A clear sea' means the good temper of the spirits which again means
good luck. The question as to whether the spirits are to be imagined
as actively interfering or helping still remained open. I asked for
a further elucidation, which was given to me in the text of Phrases
12 and 13.
4. This contains a condensed reference to the stages of ship-building,
previous to launching. This, of course, to be understood, pre-supposes
a knowledge of these various activities.
5 to 9. The limitations of the powers of the Tolabwaga sub-clan are
outlined, giving interesting side-lights on the rôle played by females
as repositories of family (sub-clan) traditions. Needless to say, this
statement would be entirely meaningless without the knowledge of the
natives' matrilineal institutions, of their customs of inheritance
and of property in magic. The correct knowledge of these facts can
only be gathered by a collection of objective, ethnographic documents,
such as concrete data about cases of actual inheritance, etc.
12 and 13. Here it is explained how far the baloma would become angry
and how they would act if a custom were broken. It can be distinctly
seen from it that the anger of the spirits is only a phrase, covering
all these forces which keep the natives to the observance of old
customs. The baloma would go no further than to reproach them for
breaking the old rules, and there are no definite ideas among these
natives about actual punishment being meted out by offended spirits.
These considerations show convincingly that no linguistic analysis can
disclose the full meaning of a text without the help of an adequate
knowledge of the sociology, of the customs and of the beliefs,
current in a given society.
XVII
Another sample of a native text may be given here, as it is of especial
interest, in that it throws light upon the previously given magical
formula of the wayugo. It is the text I obtained trying to find the
meaning of the word bosisi'ula, which figures at the beginning of
the above-mentioned spell. According to two informants of Sinaketa,
the word visisi'una refers to the belief already described, that
the owner of a wayugo charm is liable to fits of trembling, during
which he trembles as a bisila (pandanus) streamer trembles in the
wind. He then should ritually eat some baked fish, and this is called
visisi'una. Such a man would then ask somebody of his household:--
"Kugabu, kumaye, avisisi'una."
"Thou bake, thou bring, I ritually eat."
Or someone else would urge his wife or daughter:--
"Kugabu, kumaye, ivisisi'una."
"Thou bake, thou bring, he eats ritually."
Again, asked for a direct equation, my informant said:--
"Ivisisi'una -- bigabu, tomwaya ikam."
"Ivisisi'una -- he bake, old man he eat."
The following text contains a more explicit definition of the term,
which I was trying at that time to make clear and to translate by an
appropriate English expression.
EXPLANATION OF WORD VISISI'UNA
A.--FIRST INFORMANT.
1 Pela isewo wayugo, itatatuva
1 For he learn wayugo, (the creeper magic) he (it) tremble
wowola matauna, isa'u (or isewo) wayugo.
body his this (man), (who) he learn wayugo.
2 "Nanakwa, kugabu kusayki, tomwaya
2 "Quick, thou bake thou give old man (magician)
ivisisi'una boge itatatuva kana bisila,
he ritually eats, already he tremble his pandanus streamer,
kana wayugo."
his wayugo creeper."
B.--SECOND INFORMANT.
3 Tayta isewo bisila, gala bikam
3 (If) one (man) he learn bisila, not he might eat
yena, boge itatuva wowola.
fish, already he tremble body his.
FREE TRANSLATION.
(A.) 1. The body of a man who has learned the wayuga spell, trembles,
because he learned the spell. (Someone seeing him tremble, would tell
someone of his household:)
2 "Quick, bake fish, give to the old man that he might ritually eat,
his pandanus streamer trembles, his wayugo."
(B.) 3 A man who learns the bisila magic and does not eat fish will
tremble.
This text, with its foregoing short comments and with its two versions
will give an inkling of how I was able to obtain from my native
informants the definition of unknown and sometimes very involved
expressions and how, in the act of doing it, I was given additional
enlightenment on obscure details of belief and custom.
It will also be interesting to give another text referring to the
gwara custom. I have given in Chapter XIV a native definition of
this custom, and of the reception accorded to the Trobrianders in
Dobu when there is a taboo on palms there. The statement was based
on the following text, and on certain other additional notes.
GWARA IN DOBU AND THE KA'UBANA'I MAGIC
1 Tama Dobu ikarigava'u--gwara: bu'a bilalava
1 We come (to) Dobu, he die anew--gwara: areca he might ripen
usi bimwanogu, nuya bibabayse ka'i
banana he might ripen, coco-nut they might spike stick
kayketoki.
small stick.
2 Gala ka'ubana'i, takokola: ikawoyse bowa
2 No ka'ubana'i, we fright: they take (put on) war paints
kayyala, kema; isisuse biginayda
spear, axe; they sit they might look at us.
3 Batana ovalu tasakaulo, gala tanouno batawa
3 We go in village we run, no we walk. we might arrive
tamwoyne bu'a.
we (i.d.) climb areca.
4 Idou: "E! Gala bukumwoyne bu'a."
4 He cries "E! No thou mightst climb areca."
5 Bogwe ika'u kayyala, mwada biwoyda.
5 Already he take spear, mayhap he might hit us.
6 Tapula nayya ka'ubana'i: ika'ita
6 We ritually spit wild ginger root ka'ubana'i: he return
ima, igigila iluwaymo kayyala, kema.
he come he laugh, he throw spear, axe.
7 Tapula Valu kumaydona, boge itamwa'u
7 We ritually spit village all, already he vanish
ninasi ilukwaydasi:
mind theirs', they tell us:
8 "Bweyna, kumwoynasi kami bu'a, nuya, kami
8 "Good, you climb your areca, coco-nut (palms) your
usi kuta'isi."
banana you cut."
In comment added:
9 Gala ikarige veyola ninasi bweyna.
9 No he die kinsman his, mind their well.
10 Vivila kayyala ikawo, pela tokamsita'u.
10 Woman spear her she take for cannibals.
FREE TRANSLATION
1 We come to Dobu, (there) someone has recently died--there is a gwala:
the areca nut will ripen, the bananas will ripen, they will stick up
coco-nuts on small spikes.
2 If there is no ka'ubana'i charm made--we are afraid: they (sc. the
Dobuans) put on war paint, take up spear and axe, they sit (waiting)
and look at us.
3 We go into the village running, not walking; we arrive and climb
the areca palm.
4 He (the Dobuan) shouts: "Don't climb the areca palm!"
5 Already he takes the spear, so as to hit us.
6 We ritually spit about wild ginger root charmed with the ka'ubana'i
spell--he returns, comes to us, laughs, he throws away spear and axe.
7 We ritually bespit the whole village, already their intention
vanishes, they tell us:
8 "Well, climb your areca palm and your coco-nut, cut your banana."
9 If no kinsman had died, their intentions are good.
10 A woman would also take up a spear, as they (the Dobuans) are
cannibals.
These three texts will be quite sufficient to give an idea of the
method of dealing with linguistic evidence, and of the documentary
value of immediately recorded native opinions. They will also make
clear what I have said before, that only a good, working knowledge of
a native language on the one hand, and a familiarity with their social
organisation and tribal life on the other, would make it possible to
read all the full significance into these texts.
CHAPTER XIX
THE INLAND KULA
I
After the somewhat long digression on magic, we can now return once
more to the description of the Kula. So far, we have been treating only
one incident in it, the overseas expedition between Sinaketa and Dobu,
and the return visit. But in dealing with this one typical stage we
have received a picture of the whole Kula, and we have incidentally
learnt all about the fundamentals of the exchange, the magic, the
mythology, and the other associated aspects. Now it remains to put the
finishing touches to the general picture, that is, to say a few words,
first about the manner in which it is conducted within a district, and
then to follow the exchange on the remaining part of the ring. The
exchange within each Kula community has been called the 'inland
Kula.' This part of the subject I know from personal experience in
the Trobriands only. All that will be said therefore in this chapter
will apply primarily to that part of the ring. As Boyowa, however,
is by far the biggest and most densely populated piece of land within
the Kula, it is clear that in treating the inland exchange in that
island, we treat it in its most developed and typical form.
It has been mentioned before, in Chapter XVI that in April, 1918,
To'uluwa had come to Sinaketa in connection with the uvalaku visit
of the Dobuans. To'uluwa is the present chief of Omarakana, indeed,
the last chief of Kiriwina, for after his death no one will succeed
him. His power has been broken by the interference of Government
officials and the influence of Mission work. The power of the Trobriand
chief lay mainly in his wealth, and this he was able to keep constantly
at a high level through the institution of polygamy. Now that he is
forbidden to acquire more wives, though he may keep his old ones; and
now that his successor will not be allowed to follow this immemorial
custom of polygamy practised by their dynasty, the power of the chief
has no basis, and has to a great extent collapsed.
I may add that this interference, inflicted for no comprehensible
purposes, except if it be an exceedingly parochial and narrow-minded
application of our sense of morality and propriety, has no legal basis
whatever in the regulations of that Colony, and could not be justified
either formally or on account of any results it may produce. Indeed,
the undermining of old-established authority, of tribal morals and
customs tends on the one hand completely to demoralise the natives
and to make them unamenable to any law or rule, while on the other
hand, by destroying the whole fabric of tribal life, it deprives them
of many of their most cherished diversions, ways of enjoying life,
and social pleasures. Now once you make life unattractive for a man,
whether savage or civilised, you cut the taproot of his vitality. The
rapid dying out of native races is, I am deeply convinced, due more
to wanton interference with their pleasures and normal occupations,
to the marring of their joy of life as they conceive it, than to
any other cause. In the Trobriands, for instance, the chief has
always been the organiser of all the big, tribal festivities. He
received large contributions from the commoners under various
legal obligations (see Chap. VI, Division VI) but he gave away all
his wealth again in the form of big, ceremonial distributions, of
presents at festivities, of food gifts to the partakers in dances,
tribal sports and diversions. These were the pleasures in which
the natives found real zest, which largely gave meaning to their
lives. Nowadays all these pursuits have greatly slackened, because
of the lack of concentration of wealth and power in the chief's
hands. He can neither afford to finance the big pastimes of yore,
nor has he influence enough to give the same energetic initiative to
start them going. After his death, things will be worse still. There
are reasons to fear, and even natives express their misgivings,
that in a generation or two the Kula will become entirely disorganised.
It is a well-known fact that the resistance and health of a native
depend on auto-suggestion more even than is the case with ourselves,
though new developments in psychotherapy seem to indicate that medicine
has up till now largely underrated the general influence of this
factor. Even the old ethnographic observers, more in Polynesia perhaps
than anywhere else, have reported clear, unmistakable instances in
which the loss of interest in life and the determination to die
brought about death without any other cause. My own experience,
though I have no one very striking case to cite, bears this out fully
from all sorts of corroborating types of evidence. It is therefore
not going beyond what is fully granted by facts, to maintain that a
general loss of interest in life, of the joie de vivre, the cutting
of all the bonds of intense interest, which bind members of a human
community to existence, will result in their giving up the desire to
live altogether, and that therefore they will fall an easy prey to
any disease, as well as fail to multiply.
A wise administration of natives would, on the one hand, try to govern
through the chief, using his authority along the lines of old law,
usage, and custom; on the other hand it would try to maintain all
which really makes life worth living for the natives, for it is the
most precious inheritance, which they have from the past ages, and it
is no good to try to substitute other interests for those lost. It
is easy to hand over one's vices to a man racially and culturally
different; but nothing is as difficult to impart as a keen interest
in the sports and amusements of other people. Even from one European
nation to another, the last stronghold of national peculiarity
can be found in its traditional diversions, and without diversion
and amusement a culture and a race cannot survive. The application
of a heavy, indeed, crushing machinery of European law and moral
regulations, with their various sanctions, simply destroys the whole
delicate fabric of tribal authority, eradicating good and bad alike,
and leaves nothing but anarchy, bewilderment and ill will. [83]
With a mere show of his former authority, therefore, poor old To'uluwa
arrived with a handful of followers at Sinaketa. He still keeps to
all the strict observances and onerous duties with which his exalted
position was weighted in olden days. Thus, he may not partake of ever
so many kinds of food, considered to be unclean for the members of
the sub-clan of Tabalu. He may not even touch any defiled objects,
that have been in contact with unclean food; he may not eat from
dishes or drink out of vessels which have been used previously by other
people. When he goes to Sinaketa, for instance, where even the highest
chiefs do not keep the taboos, he remains almost on starvation diet;
he can only eat the food which has been brought from his own village,
or drink and eat green coco-nut. Of the honours attaching to his
position, not many are observed. In olden days, on his approach to
a village, a runner would enter first, and in a loud voice cry out
"O Guya'u," whereupon all the people would stand in readiness, and
at the chief's approach the commoners would throw themselves on the
ground, the headman would squat down, and men of rank would bend their
heads. Even now, no commoner in the Trobriands would stand erect in
the presence of To'uluwa. But he no more announces his arrival in
such a loud and proud manner, and he takes his dues as they are given,
not demanding them with any show of authority.
II
On that occasion in Sinaketa, I met him again after about two years
interval since the time when I lived as his neighbour in Omarakana
for some eight months, my tent pitched side by side with his lisiga
(chief's man's abode). I found him changed and aged, his tall figure
more bent, his large face, with its expression half of benevolence and
half of cunning, wrinkled and clouded over. He had some grievances
to tell about the offhand treatment which had been given to him
in Sinaketa, where he had received no necklaces at all, although a
few days before the Sinaketans had carried from Kiriwina over 150
pairs of armshells. Indeed, the relative change of position between
the chiefs of Sinaketa and himself is a permanent sore point with
the old chief. All coastal natives, and especially the headman of
Sinaketa, have become very rich owing to the introduced industry
of pearling, where their services are paid for by the white men in
tobacco, betel-nut, and vaygu'a. But To'uluwa, ruined through white
man's influence, receives nothing from pearling, and compared to his
Sinaketan inferiors, is a pauper. So after a day or two in Sinaketa,
highly displeased, and vowing never to return again, he went back to
Omarakana, his residence, and thither we shall follow him.
For Omarakana is still the centre of the Trobriand inland Kula,
and, in certain respects, still one of the most important places
on the ring. It is probably the only locality where the Kula is
or ever was to some extent concentrated in the hands of one man,
and it is also the capital of the important district of Kiriwina,
which dominates all the inland Kula of the Northern Trobriands, and
links up the island of Kitava with the western islands of Kuyleula
and Kuyawa. It is also an important link between Kitava and Sinaketa,
though between these two last mentioned places there are some minor
means of communication, as we shall presently see.
Previously, in Chapter III, in the definition of the fundamentals of
the Kula, we saw that the population of the Ring can be divided into
what we called Kula communities. These divisions, as we remember, were
distinguished by the fact that each one makes overseas expeditions
of its own. For example, the Sinaketans, as we saw, make their trips
to Dobu in a body, and although the Vakutans may go with them at the
same time, the two fleets sail and act as independent units. Again,
the whole district of Kiriwina sails to the East, to Kitava, as one
fleet. But no Sinaketan canoe could ever form part of it. Another
distinguishing characteristic of a Kula community is that the furthest
limits of partnership are the same for all its members. Thus for
instance, a man from any village in Kiriwina, provided he is in the
Kula, may have a partner anywhere up to the furthest limits of the
Sinaketa district in the South, and in any of the villages of the
island of Kitava to the East. But beyond that, no Kiriwinian, not even
To'uluwa himself, can enter into Kula partnership. There are again
certain differences between the manner of conducting transactions
within a Kula community on the one hand, and between members of two
communities on the other.
Kiriwina is one of such Kula communities, and Sinaketa is another. Yet
the two are not divided by sea, and the style of exchange, when this is
carried on between two Kula communities which lie in the same district,
differs also from that of overseas Kula. Our first task here will be
therefore to mark out clearly the lines of distinction between:
1. The transactions of Kula carried on overseas, from one district
to another.
2. Kula between two distinct but contiguous 'Kula communities.'
3. Transactions within a 'Kula community.'
The facts belonging to the first heading have been described at length,
and it will be enough to point out in what the second type differs from
the first. Obviously, when two districts on the same island, such as
Kiriwina and Sinaketa, make the exchange there is no overseas sailing,
no preparation of canoes, no launching, no kabigidoya. Sometimes
big joint expeditions are made by the one community to the other
and a great haul of vaygu'a is carried home. As an example of that,
we may mention the visit made by the Sinaketans to Kiriwina in the
last days of March, 1918, when a great number of mwali were brought,
in readiness for the Dobuan uvalaku visit. When such an important
visit is made from one Trobriand district to another, some of the
Kula magic will be performed, but obviously not all, for there is no
lilava bundle to be medicated, since no trade is carried; no dangerous
cannibals have to be tamed by the ka'ubana'i rite, for the hosts are,
and always have been, friendly neighbours. But some of the beauty
magic, and the enticing formula over betel-nut would be recited to
obtain as many valuables as possible. There is nothing corresponding
to uvalaku in such big visits between neighbouring districts, though
I think that they would be held only in connection with some uvalaku
visit from another part of the ring to one of the two districts,
as was the case in the example quoted, that is the Sinaketan visit
to Kiriwina (Chapter XVI). Of course there is no associated trade
on such expeditions, for there is very little to exchange between
Sinaketa and Kiriwina, and what there is, is done independently,
in a regular manner all the year round. Partnership between people
of such two Kula communities is very much the same as within one of
them. It obtains between people speaking the same language, having
the same customs and institutions, many of whom are united by bonds
of actual kinship or relationship-in-law. For, as has been mentioned
already, marriages between Sinaketa and Kiriwina take place frequently,
especially between natives of high rank. The rule is, in such cases,
that a man of Sinaketa marries a woman of Kiriwina.
III
Let us pass now to the relation between categories 2 and 3, that
is between Kula of two contiguous 'Kula communities,' and the Kula
within one of them. First of all, in the inland Kula within the same
community, there never take place big, wholesale transactions. The
circulation of vaygu'a consists of individual exchanges, sometimes
more frequent, that is, whenever an overseas expedition has come
home laden with many valuables, sometimes done at long intervals. No
magic is performed in this type of Kula, and though there is a certain
amount of ceremony accompanying each gift, there are no big, public
gatherings. A concrete description of an actual case may serve best
to illustrate these general statements.
During the eight months I stayed in Omarakana in 1915-1916, I had
the opportunity of watching many cases of inland Kula, as there was
a constant come and go between Kiriwina and Kitava, and subsequent
to each influx of armshells from the East, a series of exchanges
took place. In the month of November, To'uluwa went with his canoe
on a small expedition across the sea to Kitava, and brought back a
good haul of mwali (armshells). He arrived on an evening on the beach
of Kaulukuba, and word was sent over to the village that next day he
would come up with his trophies. In the morning, blows of conch-shell,
heard from the distance, announced the approach of the returning party,
and soon, preceded by one of his small sons carrying the conch-shell,
To'uluwa made his appearance followed by his companions. Each man
carried a few pairs which he had obtained, whilst the chief's share
was brought in on a stick, hanging down in a chaplet (see Plate LX).
The people in the village sat before their huts, and according to
native custom, there was no special concourse to meet the chief, nor
any outward signs of excitement. The chief went straight to one of his
bulaviyaka, that is, one of his wives' houses, and sat on the platform
before it, waiting for some food to come. That would be the place
where he would seat himself, if he wanted just to have a domestic chat
with some of his wives and children. Had any strangers been there, he
would have received them at his place of official reception, in front
of his lisiga, the extremely large and high chief's house, standing
in the inner row of yam houses, and facing the main place, the baku
(see Plate II). On that occasion he went to the hut of Kadamwasila,
his favourite wife, the mother of four sons and one daughter. She is
quite old now, but she was the first wife married by To'uluwa himself,
that is, not inherited, and there is an unmistakable attachment and
affection between the two, even now. Though the chief has several
much younger and one or two really fine looking wives, he is usually
to be found talking and taking his food with Kadamwasila. He has also
a few older wives, whom, according to the custom, he inherited from
his predecessor, in that case, his elder brother. The eldest of them,
Bokuyoba, the Dean of the Body of the chief's wives, has been twice
inherited; she is now a source of income--for her male kinsmen have
to supply yams to the chief--and an object of veneration, and is now
even relieved of the duty of cooking the chief's food.
To'uluwa sat, ate, and talked about his journey to myself and some of
the village elders assembled there. He spoke of the amount of mwali
at present in Kitava, told us from whom and how he obtained those
at which we were then looking, naming the most important ones, and
giving bits of their histories. He commented on the state of gardens
in Kitava, which in one respect, in the production of the big yams
(kuvi) are the admiration of all the surrounding districts. He spoke
also about future Kula arrangements, expeditions to arrive from the
East in Kiriwina, and of his own planned movements.
On the afternoon of the same day, people from other villages began to
assemble, partly to hear the news of the chief's expedition, partly in
order to find out what they could obtain themselves from him. Headmen
from all the dependent villages sat in one group round the chief,
who now had moved to the official reception ground, in front of his
lisiga. Their followers, in company with the chief's henchmen, and
other inhabitants of Omarakana, squatted all over the baku (central
place), engaged in conversation. The talk in each group was of the same
subjects, and did not differ much from the conversation, I had heard
from the chief on his arrival. The newly acquired armshells were handed
round, admired, named, and the manner of their acquisition described.
Next day, several soulava (spondylus shell necklaces) were brought
to Omarakana by the various men from neighbouring villages to the
West, and ceremonially offered to To'uluwa (see Plates LXI, LXII,
and Frontispiece). This was, in each case a vaga (opening gift),
for which the giver expected to receive his yotile (clinching gift)
at once from the store of mwali. In this case we see the influence of
chieftainship in the relation between Kula partners. In the inland
Kula of Kiriwina, all gifts would be brought to To'uluwa, and he
would never have to fetch or carry his presents. Moreover, he would
always be given and never give the opening gift (vaga); while his gift
would invariably be a yotile. So that the chief sometimes owes a Kula
gift to a commoner, but a commoner never owes a gift to a chief. The
difference between the rules of procedure here and those of an uvalaku
overseas expedition is clear: in a competitive overseas expedition,
valuables for exchange are never carried by the visiting party, who
only receive gifts and bring them back home; in the inland Kula,
the determining factor is the relative social position of the two
partners. Gifts are brought to the man of superior by the man of
inferior rank, and the latter has also to initiate the exchange.
The following entry is quoted literally from my notes, made in
Omarakana, on November the 13th, 1915. "This morning, the headman of
Wagaluma brought a bagido'u (fine necklace). At the entrance to the
village (it is Omarakana), they (the party) halted, blew the conch
shell, put themselves in order. Then, the conch shell blower went
ahead, the men of highest rank took the stick with the bagido'u,
a boy carrying the heavy wooden bell pendant on a kaboma (wooden
dish)." This requires a commentary. The ceremonial way of carrying
the spondylus shell necklaces is by attaching each end to a stick,
so that the necklace hangs down with the pendant at its lowest point
(see Frontispiece and Pl. LXI and LXII). In the case of very long and
fine necklaces, in which the pendant is accordingly big and heavy,
while the actual necklace is thin and fragile, the pendant has to be
taken off and carried apart. Resuming the narrative:--"The headman
approached To'uluwa and said: 'Agukuleya, ikanawo; lagayla lamaye;
yoku kayne gala mwali.' This he said in thrusting the stick into the
thatch of the chief's house." The words literally mean: 'My kuleya
(food left over), take it; I brought it to-day; have you perhaps no
armshells?' The expression 'food left over,' applied to the gift
was a depreciating term, meaning something which is an overflow
or unwanted scrap. Thus he was ironically depreciating his gift,
and at the same time implying that much wealth still remained in
his possession. By this, in an oblique manner, he bragged about his
own riches, and with the last phrase, expressing doubt as to whether
To'uluwa had any armshells, he threw a taunt at the chief. This time
the gift was returned immediately by a fine pair of armshells.
It was in connection with the same expedition that the little
exchange between two of the chief's wives took place, mentioned
before (in Chapter XI, Division II, under 4) and one or two more
domestic Kula acts were performed, a son of To'uluwa offering him a
necklace (see Plates LXI and LXII) and receiving a pair of armshells
afterwards. Many more transactions took place in those two days or so;
sounds of conch shells were heard on all sides as they were blown first
in the village from which the men started, then on the way, then at
the entrance to Omarakana, and finally at the moment of giving. Again,
after some time another blast announced the return gift by To'uluwa,
and the receding sounds of the conch marked the stages of the going
home of the party. To'uluwa himself never receives a gift with his
own hands; it is always hung up in his house or platform, and then
somebody of his household takes charge of it; but the commoner receives
the armshell himself from the hands of the chief. There was much life
and movement in the village during this time of concentrated exchange;
parties came and went with vaygu'a, others arrived as mere spectators,
and the place was always full of a gazing crowd. The soft sounds of
the conch shell, so characteristic of all South Sea experiences, gave a
special flavour to the festive and ceremonial atmosphere of those days.
Not all the armshells brought from Kitava were thus at once given
away. Some of them were kept for the purposes of more distant Kula;
or to be given on some future, special occasion when a present had to
be handed over in association with some ceremony. In the inland Kula,
there is always an outbreak of transactions whenever a big quantity
of valuables is imported into the district. And afterwards, sporadic
transactions happen now and then. For the minor partners who had
received armshells from To'uluwa would not all of them keep them for
any length of time, but part of them would be sooner or later passed
on in inland transactions. But, however these valuables might spread
over the district, they would be always available when an expedition
from another Kula community would come and claim them. When the
party from Sinaketa came in March, 1918, to Omarakana, all those who
owned armshells would either come to the capital or else be visited
in their villages by their Sinaketan partners. Of the 154 or so
armshells obtained in Kiriwina on that occasion, only thirty came
from To'uluwa himself, and fifty from Omarakana altogether, while
the rest were given from other villages, in the following proportions:
Liluta 14
Osapola 14
Mtawa 6
Kurokaywa 15
Omarakana (To'uluwa) 30
Omarakana (other men) 20
Yalumugwa 14
Kasana'i 16
Other villages 25
---
154
Thus the inner Kula does not affect the flow of the main stream, and,
however, the valuables might change hands within the 'Kula community,'
it matters little for the outside flow.
IV
It will be necessary to give a more detailed account of the actual
conditions obtaining in Boyowa with regard to the limits of the
various Kula communities in that district. Looking at Map IV, p. 50,
we see there the boundaries of Kiriwina, which is the easternmost
Kula community in the Northern part of the islands. To the west of it
the provinces of Tilataula, Kuboma, and Kulumata form another Kula
community, or, it would be more correct to say, some of the men in
these districts make the inland Kula with members of neighbouring
communities. But these three provinces do not form as a whole a Kula
community. In the first place, many villages are quite outside the
Kula, that is, not even their headmen belong to the inter-tribal
exchange. Remarkably enough, all the big industrial centres, such
as Bwoytalu, Luya, Yalaka, Kadukwaykela, Buduwaylaka, do not take
part in the Kula. An interesting myth localised in Yalaka tells how
the inhabitants of that village, prevented by custom from seeing
the world on Kula expeditions, attempted to erect a high pillar
reaching to heaven, so as to find a field for their adventures in the
skies. Unfortunately, it fell down, and only one man remained above,
who is now responsible for thunder and lightning.
Another important omission in the Kula is that of the Northern villages
of Laba'i, Kaybola, Lu'ebila, Idaleaka, Kapwani and Yuwada. If we
remember that Laba'i is the very centre of Kiriwinian mythology,
that there lies the very hole out of which the original ancestors of
the four clans emerged from underground, that the highest chiefs of
Kiriwina trace their descent from Laba'i, this omission appears all
the more remarkable and mysterious.
Thus the whole Western half of the Northern Trobriands forms a unit of
sorts in the chain of Kula communities, but it cannot be considered
as a fully fledged one, for only sporadic individuals belong to it,
and again, that district as a whole, or even individual canoes from
it, never take part in any overseas Kula expedition. The village of
Kavataria makes big overseas sailings to the Western d'Entrecasteaux
Islands. Though these expeditions really have nothing to do with the
Kula we shall say a few words about this in the next chapter but one.
Passing now to the West, we find the island of Kayleula, which,
together with two or three smaller islands, to its South, Kuyawa,
Manuwata, and Nubiyam, form a 'Kula community' of its own. This
community is again slightly anomalous, for they make Kula only on a
small scale, on the one hand with the chiefs and headmen of Kiriwina,
and of the North-Western district of Boyowa, and on the other hand
with the Amphletts, but never with Dobu. They also used to make long
and perilous trips to the Western d'Entrecasteaux, sailing further
West and for longer distances than the natives of Kavataria.
The main Kula communities in the South of Boyowa, Sinaketa and Vakuta,
have been described already, and sufficiently defined in the previous
chapters. Sinaketa is the centre for inland Kula of the South,
which, though on a smaller scale than the inland Kula of the North,
still unites half-a-dozen villages round Sinaketa. That village also
carries on Kula with three coastal villages in the East, Okayaulo,
Bwaga, and Kumilabwaga, who link it up with Kitava, to where they
make journeys from time to time. These villages form again the sort
of imperfect 'Kula community,' or perhaps one on a very small scale,
for they would never have an uvalaku of their own, and the amount
of transactions which pass through them is very small. Another such
small community, independent as regards Kula, is the village of
Wawela. The district of Luba, which sometimes joins with Kiriwina
in carrying on a big expedition, also sometimes joins with Wawela
on small expeditions. Such nondescript or intermediate phenomena
of transition are always to be found in studying the life of native
races, where most social rules have not got the same precision as with
us. There is among them neither any strong, psychological tendency to
consistent thinking, nor are the local peculiarities and exceptions
rubbed off by the influence of example or competition.
I cannot say very much about the inland Kula in other regions besides
the Trobriands. I have seen it done in Woodlark Island, at the very
beginning of my work among the Northern Massim, and that was the
first time that I came across any of the symptoms of the Kula. Early
in 1915, in the village of Dikoyas, I heard conch shells blown, there
was a general commotion in the village, and I saw the presentation
of a large bagido'u. I, of course, inquired about the meaning of the
custom, and was told that this is one of the exchanges of presents
made when visiting friends. At that time I had no inkling that I had
been a witness of a detailed manifestation, of what I subsequently
found out was Kula. On the whole, however, I have been told by natives
from Kitava and Gawa, later on whilst working in the Trobriands, that
the customs of Kula exchange there are identical with those obtaining
in Kiriwina. And the same I was told is the case in Dobu. It must be
realised, however, that the inland Kula must be somewhat different
in a community where, as in Kitava, for instance, the strands of the
Kula all come together in a small space, and the stream of valuables,
which has been flowing through the broad area of the Trobriands, there
concentrates into three small villages. If we estimate the inhabitants
of the Trobriands with Vakuta at up to ten thousand, while those of
Kitava at no more than five hundred, there will be about twenty times
as many valuables per head of inhabitants in Kitava as compared to
the Trobriands.
Another such place of concentration is the island of Tubetube, and
I think one or two places in Woodlark Island, where the village of
Yanabwa is said to be an independent link in the chain, through which
every article has to pass. But this brings us already to the Eastern
Kula, which will form the subject of the next chapter.
CHAPTER XX
EXPEDITIONS BETWEEN KIRIWINA AND KITAVA
I