There is, however, an important distinction to be made within each such division of magic; some of the rites and spells are isolated and independent, they can be used by themselves, whenever the need arises. Such are almost all the incantations of wind magic; some spells of individual garden magic; formulæ against toothache, and minor ailments; some spells of hunting and food collecting; a few rites of love magic and of the magic of carving. When a man, for instance, paddles along the Lagoon in his canoe and an unfavourable wind sets in, he will utter a spell to make it abate and change. The same spell would be recited in the village, when there arises a wind so strong as to be dangerous. The incantation is a free, individual act, which may be performed and is performed in any of the circumstances which require it.
It is quite another matter with the spells belonging to what I have called here systematic magic. Such magic consists of a connected and consecutive body of incantations and concomitant rites, no one of which can be torn out of its sequence and performed by itself. They have to be carried out one after the other in a determined order, and the more important of them, at least, can never be omitted, once the series has been started. Such a series is always closely connected with some activity, such as the building of a canoe or an overseas Kula voyage, a fishing expedition or the making and harvesting of a garden. It will not be difficult for us to realise the nature of systematic magic, for in this book almost all the rites and spells described belong to this class. In general, in the Trobriands, the independent uncorrelated rites and formulæ are quite an insignificant minority, both in number and in importance.
Let us consider one of the forms of systematic magic previously described, whether canoe magic or that of the Kula, whether the kayga’u formulæ, or the magical ritual of kaloma fishing. The first general fact to be noted here is, that we are in the presence of a type of enterprise or activity, which is never embarked upon without magic. No canoe will be built, no uvalaku started, no kaloma fished, without its magic ceremonial. This ceremonial will be scrupulously observed in its main features, that is, some of the most important formulæ will never be omitted, as some minor ones might be, a fact which has been previously noted. The association between the practical activity and its magical concomitant is very intimate. The stages and acts of the first, and the rites and spells of the latter, correspond to each other one by one. Certain rites have to be done in order to inaugurate certain activities; others have to be performed at the end of the practical work; others again are part and parcel of the activity. But each of the rites and spells is to the native mind, quite as indispensable for the success of the enterprise, as is the practical activity. Thus, the tokway has to be expelled, or the tree would be entirely unsuitable for a canoe; the adze, the lashing creeper, the caulking and the paint have to be charmed, or else the canoe would be heavy and unwieldy, and such an omission might even prove dangerous to life. Going mentally over the various cases quoted in the previous chapters, it can be easily seen, how this intimate association between enterprise and magic imparts to systematic magic its specific character. The consecutive progress of work and of magic are inseparable, just because, according to native ideas, work needs magic, and magic has only meaning as an indispensable ingredient of work.
Both work and magic are directed towards the same aim; to construct a swift and a stable canoe; to obtain a good Kula yield; to insure safety from drowning and so on. Thus we see that systematic magic consists in a body of rites and spells associated with one enterprise, directed towards one aim, and progressing in a consecutive series of performances which have to be carried out in their proper place. The point—the proper understanding of what is meant by systematic magic—is of the greatest theoretical importance because it reveals the nature of the relation between magical and practical activities, and shows how deeply the two are connected with one another. It is one of these points, also, which cannot be properly explained and grasped without the help of a Chart. In the appended “[Table of Kula Magic and of the Corresponding Activities],” I have prepared such a Chart, in which has been summarised the substance of several of the foregoing Chapters. The Table allows of a rapid survey of the consecutive activities of the Kula in their relation to magic, beginning with the first act of canoe-building and finishing with the return home. It shows the salient features of systematic magic in general, and of the mwasila and canoe magic in particular. It shows the relation between magical, ritual and practical activities, the correlated sequence of the two, their rolling off, stage after stage, and side by side, towards one central aim—a successful Kula. The Table thus serves to illustrate the meaning of the expression ‘systematic magic,’ and it provides a firm outline of the essentials, magical, ceremonial and practical, of the Kula.
Table of Kula Magic and of the Corresponding Activities
I—First Stage of Canoe-Building ([Chapter V, Division II])
| Season and approximate duration | Place | Activity | Magic | |
| Beginning: June—August. | Raybwag. | Felling of tree, (done by the builder and helpers); | inaugurated by | The Vabusi Tokway (offering and spell) aiming at the expulsion of the wood-sprite from the tree (performed by owner or builder). |
| Immediately afterwards. | Same place. | Trimming of the log-canoe (done by builder with helpers). | No magic. | |
| A few days later. | Road. | Pulling the log (done by all villagers); | Helped out by | double rite of lightness (Kaymomwa’u and Kaygagabile). |
| On morning after arrival at village. | Main place in the village. | The log is left as it is; | until | The magical act (Kapitunena Duhu) ceremonially inaugurating the work over the canoe. |
| Evening of the same day. | Main place in the village. | Working out of the outside of the log. | No magic accompanying it. | |
| Several days or weeks following. | Main place. | Scooping out of the inside of the canoe; | inaugurated by | Ligogu spell, over the havilali, the adze with the moveable handle. |
| Towards the end of the foregoing period. | In the village before builder’s house. | Other parts of canoe made ready by builder and helpers. | No magic. | |
| After all work is over. | Concluding rite: Kapitunena Nanola Waga. |
All the magic of this stage is canoe magic. It is performed only when a new canoe is built and not when an old one is renovated. The spells are uttered by the builder and not by the owner, except the first one. Work at this stage is done by one man mainly, the builder and carver, with the help of a few men; except for the pulling of the log, in which many men assist.
II—The Second Stage of Canoe Building ([Chapter V, Division III])
| Time | Place | Activity | Magic | |
| First day of work. | On the sea-front of a Lagoon village, or on a beach of one of the Eastern villages. | Fixing the prow-boards; | inaugurated by | Katuliliva Tabuyo rite, performed over the ornamental prow-boards by the toliwaga. It belongs to the mwasila (Kula magic). |
| The following activities are | inaugurated by | Vakakaya rite. A magical, ceremonial cleansing of the canoe, performed by the owner or builder to remove all evil influence and thus to make the canoe fast. | ||
| (At times, the lashing cannot be done in one day and has to be continued into another session.) | Lashing of the canoe; | associated with | The Wayugo spell (lashing creeper) rite; the most important of the magical performances in the second stage. Done by builder or owner to make canoe swifter and stronger. | |
| Second sitting: during this the caulking is done and the three exorcisms performed afterwards. | On the sea-front of a Lagoon village or on a beach of one of the Eastern villages. | Caulking of the canoe; | associated with | Kaybasi (caulking)
magic; spell uttered over caulking by builder or owner to make canoe
safe. Vakasulu, an exorcism. Vaguri, an exorcism. Kaytapena waga, an exorcism. |
| Painting of the canoe; | associated with | Magic of; Kayhoulo (black paint) Malakava (red paint). Pwaka (white paint). |