I

When the Sinaketan fleet passes the two mythical rocks of Atu’a’ine and Aturamo’a, the final goal of the expedition has been already reached. For before them, there stretch in a wide expanse the N.W. shores of Dawson Straits, where on the wide beach, there are scattered the villages of Bwayowa, Tu’utauna and Deyde’i, at the foot of Koyava’u. This latter, the Boyowans call Koyaviguna—the final mountain. Immediately behind the two rocks, there stretches the beach of Sarubwoyna, its clean, white sand edging the shallow curve of a small bay. This is the place where the crews, nearing their final destination, have to make a halt, to prepare themselves magically for approaching their partners in Dobu. As, on their start from Sinaketa, they stopped for some time on Muwa and there performed the last act of their inaugurating rites and ceremonies, so in the same manner this beach is the place where they once more muster their forces after the journey has been accomplished.

Plate XLVIII  

A Kula Fleet Halting to Perform the Final Rites of Mwasila.

This photograph was taken in the Trobriands, and it shows the Dobuan fleet just arriving and its final halt (cf. Chapter XVI, Division II). The scene on the beach of Sarubwoyna would present an identical picture. Note the two men in the forefront, wading ashore to produce the leaves for the Kaykakaya. (See Div. I.)

Plate XLIX  

The Beauty Magic of the Mwasila.

The whole fleet are preparing for the final approach; in each canoe magic is spoken over cosmetics and every man combs his hair, anoints his body, and paints his face. (See Div. I.)

This is the place which was already mentioned in Chapter II when, in giving a description of the district, we imagined ourselves passing near this beach and meeting there a large fleet of canoes, whose crews were engaged in some mysterious activities. I said there that up to a hundred canoes might have been seen anchored near the beach, and indeed, on a big uvalaku expedition in olden days such a figure could easily have been reached. For, on a rough estimate, Sinaketa could have produced some twenty canoes; the Vakutans could have joined them with about forty; the Amphlettans with another twenty; and twenty more would have followed from Tewara, Siyawawa, and Sanaroa. Some of them would indeed not have taken part in the Kula, but have followed only out of sheer curiosity, just as in the big uvalaku expedition, which I accompanied in 1918 from Dobu to Sinaketa, the sixty Dobuan canoes were joined by some twelve canoes from the Amphletts and about as many again from Vakuta.

The Sinaketans having arrived at this beach, now stop, moor the canoes near the shore, adorn their persons, and perform a whole series of magical rites. Within a short space of time they crowd in a great number of short rites, accompanied by formulæ as a rule not very long. In fact, from the moment they have arrived at Sarubwoyna up to their entry into the village, they do not cease doing one magical act or another, and the toliwaga never stop incessantly muttering their spells. To the observer, a spectacle of feverish activity unfolds itself, a spectacle which I witnessed in 1918 when I assisted at an analogous performance of the Dobuan Kula fleet approaching Sinaketa.

The fleet halts; the sails are furled, the masts dismounted, the canoes moored (see Plate XLVIII). In each canoe, the elder men begin to undo their baskets and take out their personal belongings. The younger ones run ashore and gather copious supplies of leaves which they bring back into the canoes. Then the older men again murmur magical formulæ over the leaves and over other substances. In this, the toliwaga is assisted by others. Then, they all wash in sea-water, and rub themselves with the medicated leaves. Coco-nuts are broken, scraped, medicated, and the skin is rubbed with the mess, which greases it and gives it a shining surface. A comb is chanted over, and the hair teased out with it (see Plate XLIX). Then, with crushed betel-nut mixed with lime, they draw red ornamental designs on their faces, while others use the sayyaku, an aromatic resinous stuff, and draw similar lines in black. The fine-smelling mint plant, which has been chanted over at home before starting, is taken out of its little receptacle where it was preserved in coco-nut oil. The herb is inserted into the armlets, while the few drops of oil are smeared over the body, and over the lilava, the magical bundle of pari (trade goods).

All the magic which is spoken over the native cosmetics is the mwasila (Kula magic) of beauty. The main aim of these spells is the same one which we found so clearly expressed in myth; to make the man beautiful, attractive, and irresistible to his Kula partner. In the myths we saw how an old, ugly and ungainly man becomes transformed by his magic into a radiant and charming youth. Now this mythical episode is nothing else but an exaggerated version of what happens every time, when the mwasila of beauty is spoken on Sarubwoyna beach or on other similar points of approach. As my informants over and over again told me, when explaining the meaning of these rites:

“Here we are ugly; we eat bad fish, bad food; our faces remain ugly. We want to sail to Dobu; we keep taboos, we don’t eat bad food. We go to Sarubwoyna; we wash; we charm the leaves of silasila; we charm the coco-nut; we putuma (anoint ourselves); we make our red paint and black paint; we put in our fine-smelling vana (herb ornament in armlets); we arrive in Dobu beautiful looking. Our partner looks at us, sees our faces are beautiful; he throws the vaygu’a at us.”

The bad fish and bad food here mentioned are the articles which are tabooed to those who know the mwasila, and a man may often unwittingly break such a taboo.

There is no doubt that a deep belief in the efficacy of such magic might almost make it effective. Although actual beauty cannot be imparted by spells, yet the feeling of being beautiful through magic may give assurance, and influence people in their behaviour and deportment, and as in the transaction it is the manner of the soliciting party which matters, this magic, no doubt, achieves its aim by psychological means.

This branch of Kula magic has two counter-parts in the other magical lore of the Trobrianders. One of them is the love magic, through which people are rendered attractive and irresistible. Their belief in these spells is such that a man would always attribute all his success in love to their efficiency. Another type closely analogous to the beauty magic of the Kula is the specific beauty magic practised before big dances and festivities.

Let us now give one or two samples of the magic which is performed on Sarubwoyna beach. The ritual in all of it is exceedingly simple. In each case the formula is spoken over a certain substance, and then this substance is applied to the body. The first rite to be performed is that of ceremonial washing. The toliwaga brings his mouth close to the big bundles of herbs, brought from the shore and utters the formula called kaykakaya (the ablution formula) over them. After an ablution, these leaves are rubbed over the skins of all those in the canoe who practise Kula. Then, in the same succession as I mention them, the coco-nut, the comb, the ordinary or the aromatic black paint or the betel-nut are charmed over.1 Only one, as a rule, of the paints is used. In some cases the toliwaga does the spell for everybody. In other cases, a man who knows, say, the betel-nut or the comb spell, will do it for himself or even for all others. In some cases again, out of all these rites, only the kaykakaya (ablution) and one of the others will be performed.