XVI

Comparing the free translation with the literal one, it is easy to see that certain additions have been made, sentences have been subordinated and co-ordinated by various English conjunctions which are either completely absent from the native text, or else represented by such very vague particles as boge (already), and m’tage (indeed). On these linguistic questions I cannot enlarge here, but it will be good to go over each sentence in succession, and to show how much it was necessary to add from the general store of sociological and ethnographic knowledge, in order to make it intelligible.

1. The meaning of the word ‘fall down’ is specialised here by the context, and I translated it by ‘launch.’ The particle boge had to be translated here by ‘by this.’ The words about the ‘clearing of the sea’ suggested at once to me that there was a special ancient custom in question. Then there is the name of the sub-clan Tolabwaga. In order to understand the full meaning of this phrase, it is necessary to realise that this name stands for a sub-clan; and then one has to be well acquainted with native sociology, in order to grasp what such a privilege, vested in a sub-clan, might mean. Thus, a word like this can in the first place be understood only in the context of its phrase, and on the basis of a certain linguistic knowledge. But its fuller meaning becomes intelligible only in the context of the native life and of native sociology. Again the expression referring to the clearing of the sea required a further comment, for which I asked my informant, and was answered by Phrase 3.

2. In this phrase the expressions ‘chiefs,’ ‘commoners’ etc., are fully intelligible only to one, who has a definition of these words in terms of native sociology. Indeed, only the knowledge of the usual supremacy of the chiefs allows one to gauge their importance and the survival character of this custom, by which this importance is diminished for a time.

3. Here, we have the explanation of the obscure clause in phrase 1, ‘A clear sea’ means the good temper of the spirits which again means good luck. The question as to whether the spirits are to be imagined as actively interfering or helping still remained open. I asked for a further elucidation, which was given to me in the text of Phrases 12 and 13.

4. This contains a condensed reference to the stages of ship-building, previous to launching. This, of course, to be understood, pre-supposes a knowledge of these various activities.

5 to 9. The limitations of the powers of the Tolabwaga sub-clan are outlined, giving interesting side-lights on the rôle played by females as repositories of family (sub-clan) traditions. Needless to say, this statement would be entirely meaningless without the knowledge of the natives’ matrilineal institutions, of their customs of inheritance and of property in magic. The correct knowledge of these facts can only be gathered by a collection of objective, ethnographic documents, such as concrete data about cases of actual inheritance, etc.

12 and 13. Here it is explained how far the baloma would become angry and how they would act if a custom were broken. It can be distinctly seen from it that the anger of the spirits is only a phrase, covering all these forces which keep the natives to the observance of old customs. The baloma would go no further than to reproach them for breaking the old rules, and there are no definite ideas among these natives about actual punishment being meted out by offended spirits.

These considerations show convincingly that no linguistic analysis can disclose the full meaning of a text without the help of an adequate knowledge of the sociology, of the customs and of the beliefs, current in a given society.