The Tomog Zogo was also consulted if a man was very ill, in order to find out whether he would recover. If a dead lizard was seen, he would be expected to die, and it is pretty certain he would do so.
It was the custom to attend the zogo every morning to discover if anything was going to happen. If a spider’s web was seen hanging on the bushes, it would foretell the appearance of a white man’s ship coming from the direction in which the web was hanging.
The appearance of a certain wild fowl would foretell the approach of a canoe from that particular quarter whence the fowl emerged from the bush, and its behaviour would indicate how soon the canoe might be expected.
If a red spot was seen on a leaf it would mean a fight, and its position would show whence the danger would come.
When an evil-smelling fungus sprung up within the area of stones there would be a famine, or a scarcity of yams.
Should a stream of ants come from the bush to the northward of the zogo, the diviners would expect a visit from the natives of the mainland of New Guinea, and if the ants carried their cocoons (the so-called “ants’ eggs”) in their mouths, it would mean that the men would bring some sago with them.
If there was no “news,” nothing would happen.
Supposing the zogo was consulted for a definite purpose and no answer was vouchsafed. The men would sit watching patiently till the sun was high, then they would consult together, and probably would agree that the silence indicated a “big sick,” and that some sickness or epidemic was in store for the island.
As an illustration of the power of Tomog Zogo I was told the following story:—
The first missionaries to this island were Mataika and his wife; they had been brought from Lifu, in the Loyalty Islands, to Erub in 1872. Towards the end of that year, in a canoe of his own making, Mataika crossed from Darnley to convert the Murray Islanders. After Mataika had been there for some time, he wanted fresh stores, and so he went to the headquarters of the Mission, which were then at Somerset, Cape York.