Yawarapu Spell.

“Betel-nut, betel-nut, female betel-nut; betel-nut, betel-nut, male betel-nut; betel-nut of the ceremonial spitting!”

“The chiefs’ comrades; the chiefs and their followers; their sun, the afternoon sun; their pig, a small pig. One only is my day”—here the reciter utters his own name—“their dawn, their morning.”

This is the exordium of the spell. Then follows the main body. The two words boraytupa and badederuma, coupled together, are repeated with a string of other words. The first word of the couple means, freely translated, ‘quick sailing,’ and the second one, ‘abundant haul.’ The string of words which are in succession tacked on to this couple describe various forms of Kula necklaces. The necklaces of different length and of different finish have each their own class names, of which there are about a dozen. After that, a list of words, referring to the human head, are recited:

“My head, my nose, my occiput, my tongue, my throat, my larynx, etc., etc.” Finally, the various objects carried on a Kula expedition are mentioned. The goods to be given (pari); a ritually wrapped up bundle (lilava); the personal basket; the sleeping mat; big baskets; the lime stick; the lime pot and comb are uttered one after the other.

Finally the magician recites the end part of the spell; “I shall kick the mountain, the mountain moves, the mountain tumbles down, the mountain starts on its ceremonial activities, the mountain acclaims, the mountain falls down, the mountain lies prostrate! My spell shall go to the top of Dobu Mountain, my spell will penetrate the inside of my canoe. The body of my canoe will sink; the float of my canoe will get under water. My fame is like thunder, my treading is like the roar of the flying witches.”

The first part of this spell contains a reference to the betel-nut, this being one of the things which the natives expect to receive in the Kula. On the other hand, it is one of the substances which the natives charm over and give to the partner to induce him to kula with them. To which of these two acts the spell refers, it is impossible to decide, nor can the natives tell it. The part in which he extols his speed and success are typical of the magic formulæ, and can be found in many others.

The main part of the spell is as usual much easier to interpret. It implies, broadly speaking, the declaration: “I shall speed and be successful with regard to the various forms of vaygu’a; I shall speed and be successful with my head, with my speech, with my appearance; in all my trade goods and personal belongings.” The final part of the spell describes the impression which is to be made by the man’s magic upon ‘the mountain,’ which stands here for the district of Dobu and its inhabitants. In fact, the districts in the d’Entrecasteaux to which they are sailing are always called koya (mountain). The exaggerations, the metaphors, and the implicit insistence on the power of the spell are very characteristic of all magical spells.

The next day, or the day after, as there is often a delay in starting, a pig or two are given by the master of the expedition to all the participants. In the evening of that day, the owner of each canoe goes into the garden, and finds an aromatic mint plant (sulumwoya). Taking a sprig of it into his hand, he moves it to and fro, uttering a spell, and then he plucks it. This is the spell: