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.