C. Docina (CONCLUSION)

Kalubasist kalubayo’u ; kuvaylise mayena, (Untranslatable) flying(?) ; you hit his tongue, kuvaylise bubuwala, kulakwoyse kala sibu waga. you hit hischest, youuntie his keel canoe. Wagam, koust, wagam, vivilu’a, Canoe (thou art) ghost, canoe, (thou art) wind eddy, kuyokarige Siyaygana, bukuyova. thou vanish Siyaygana, thou fly.
Kwarisasa khamkarikeda Kadimwatu ;
Thou pierce thy sea-passage Kadimwatu ; kwaripwo kabaluna Saramwa ;
thou break through nose his Saramwa ;
kwabadibadt Loma,
thou meet Loma.
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18 Kuyokarige, kuyotamwa’u, 18 Thou become as dead, thou disappear, kuyovivilu’a kuyogugwa’'u. thou become as a wind eddy, thou become like mist. 19 Kusola kammayamaya, kwotutine kamgulupeya ; Ig Thou mould the finesand, thou cut thy seaweed ; kuna, kugoguna kambwoymatala. thou go, 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 expres- sions, 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.
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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 him- self knows a good deal more than anyone else about the mythical references, and about certain esoteric expressions contained in the spel]. 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 infor- mant, 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 ’ofaspellorsong. 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,
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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 w’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 I 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 stsiula and mwalela, neither of which is a complete word. The first is the root part of the word vists1’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 bisi/a (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 obser- vance, 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
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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 trans- formation 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, there- fore, 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 I 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, there- fore, 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 exagger- ated 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
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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. Ing, 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 formule 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.
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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 «’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 ¢apwana, 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 acanoe. 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 men- tioned 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.
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The first part of the tapwana (phrases II, 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.
Vv
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 under- standable and has a consecutive meaning.
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KAYIKUNA SULUMWOYA (also called SUMGEYYATA)
A. U’ULA (INITIAL PART)
I Avayta’u netata’t sulumwoyala Laba’t ? I Who cuts the mint plant of Laba’i ? Yaygu, Kwoyregu, sogu tamagu,
I, Kwoyregu, together with my father, katata’s sulumwoyala Laba’t. we cut the mint plant of Laba’i. 2 Silimwaynunuva, inunuva ; stlimwayniku, 2 The roaring sulumwoya, itroars; the quaking sulumwoya intku ; stlimwayyega, iyega ; it quakes ; the soughing sulumwoya, it soughs ; stlimwaypolu, ipolu. the boiling sulumwoya, it boils.
B.—TAPWANA (MAIN Part)
3 Ipolu, tpolu tpolu . . agu sulumwoya Bultyboilsy: at boils) eit, boils) e. my mint plant tpolu ; agu vana, tpolu ; agu it boils ; my herb ornaments, it boils ; my kena ipolu ; agu yaguma ipolu ; lime spatula it boils; my __ lime pot it boils ; agu sinata tpolu ; agu mo’t tpolu ; my comb it boils ; my mat it boils ; agu pan tpolu ; agu vataga my presentation goods it boils; my __ big basket tpolu ; agu kauyo tpolu ; agu it boils ; my personal basket it boils ; my lilava tpolu.
magical bundle it boils. Dabagu tpolu ; kabulugu tpolu; kaygadugu
my head it boils ; my nose it boils; my occiput
tpolu ; mayyegu ipolu ; tabagu tpolu ;
it boils ; my tongue it boils ; my larynx it boils ;
kawagu tpolu ; wadogu ipolu ;
my speaking organ it boils; my mouth it boils ; ula woyla tpolu.
my Kula courting _ it boils.
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C:—Doaina (CONCLUSION)
Bulumava’u kadagu Mwoyalova
New spirit my maternal uncle Mwoyalova kuvapwo dabana Monikiniks,
thou breathe (the spell over) the head (of) Monikiniki,
kuvapokayma dabana agu
thou breathe (the spell over) the head (of) my — touto’u.
light wood.
Avaliwo koya— istkila hoya ;
Ikick themountain— ittiltsover, the mountain;
wmwaliku koya ; thaywa'u hoya ;
it subsides, the mountain; itopensup, the mountain ; isabwant hoya ; itakubtle
it jubilates, the mountain ; it topples over,
Roya ; ttakubilatala Roya.
the mountain ; it topples down, the mountain.
Avapwoyma dabana Koyava'u;
I breathe (aspell over) the head (of) Koyava’u;
avapokayma lopoum Siyaygana;
I charm thy inside (of) Siyaygana (canoe) ;
akulubeku wagana akulisonu lumanena.
I drown the waga I submerge the lamina.
Gala butugu, butugu pilapala; gala
Not my renown my renown thunder ; not
valigu, valigu tumwadudu
my treading, my treading noise made by flying witches (?) tudududu. 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 con- cerned. 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
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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 Moni- kiniki. 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 acompoundandaverb. The substantival compounds have all, according to the alliterative symmetry so dear to Kiriwinian magic, the prefix stlimway-, 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
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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 refering to the com- motion 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 over- filled 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 com- ments, 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 con- sisting of three parts. Many of the spells previously quoted in free translation contain no main part, though it is possible to
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distinguish their u’ula (exordium) from their dogina (finale). The very first spell quoted in Chapter VI, the formula of the Vabust 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 wood- sprites. 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 com- munities 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 kubust, ‘ 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 ; magical word ; mabugu, mabugu-ancient ;
mabugu, mabuguva’u. mabugu, 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
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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 anti- thetic 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