Kaymwaloyo Spell.

“No betel-nut, no doga (ornament of circular boar’s tusk), no betel-pod! My power to change his mind; my mwasila magic, my mwase, mwasare, mwaserewai.” This last sentence contains a play on words very characteristic of Kiriwinian magic. It is difficult to interpret the opening sentence. Probably it means something like this: “No betel-nut or pod, no gift of a doga, can be as strong as my mwasila and its power of changing my partner’s mind in my favour!”

Now comes the main part of the spell: “There is one sulumwoya (mint) of mine, a sulumwoya of Laba’i which I shall place on top of Gumasila.”

“Thus shall I make a quick Kula on top of Gumasila; thus shall I hide away my Kula on top of Gumasila; thus shall I rob my Kula on top of Gumasila; thus shall I forage my Kula on top of Gumasila; thus shall I steal my Kula on top of Gumasila.”

These last paragraphs are repeated several times, inserting instead of the name of the island of Gumasila the following ones: Kuyawaywo, Domdom, Tewara, Siyawawa, Sanaroa, Tu’utauna, Kamsareta, Gorebubu. All these are the successive names of places in which Kula is made. In this long spell, the magician follows the course of a Kula expedition, enumerating its most conspicuous landmarks. The last part in this formula is identical with the last part of the Yawarapu Spell, previously quoted: “I shall kick the mountain, etc.”

After the recital of this spell over the oil and mint, the magician takes these substances, and places them in a receptacle made of banana leaf toughened by grilling. Nowadays a glass bottle is sometimes used instead. The receptacle is then attached to a stick thrust through the prow boards of the canoe and protruding slantwise over the nose. As we shall see later on, the aromatic oil will be used in anointing some objects on arrival at Dobu.

With this, however, the series of magical rites is not finished. The next day, early in the morning, the ritual bundle of representative trade goods, called lilava, is made up with the recital of a magical spell. A few objects of trade, a plaited armlet, a comb, a lime pot, a bundle of betel-nut are placed on a clean, new mat, and into the folded mat the spell is recited. Then the mat is rolled up, and over it another mat is placed, and one or two may be wrapped round; thus it contains, hermetically sealed, the magical virtue of the spell. This bundle is placed afterwards in a special spot in the centre of the canoe, and is not opened till the expedition arrives in Dobu. There is a belief that a magical portent (kariyala) is associated with it. A gentle rain, accompanied by thunder and lightning, sets in whenever the lilava is opened. A sceptical European might add, that in the monsoon season it almost invariably rains on any afternoon, with the accompaniment of thunder, at the foot or on the slopes of such high hills as are found in the d’Entrecasteaux group. Of course when, in spite of that, a kariyala does not make its appearance, we all know something has been amiss in the performance of the magical rite over the lilava! This is the spell recited over the tabooed lilava bundle.