A few days before the appointed date of the departure of the Kula expedition there is a great stir in the villages. Visiting parties arrive from the neighbourhood, bringing gifts mostly of food, to serve as provisions for the journey. They sit in front of the huts, talking and commenting, while the local people go about their business. In the evenings, long conferences are held over the fires, and late hours are kept. The preparation of food is mainly woman’s work, whereas the men put the finishing touches to the canoes, and perform their magic.
Sociologically the group of the departing differentiates itself of course from those who remain. But even within that group a further differentiation takes place, brought about by their respective functions in the Kula. First of all there are the masters of the canoe, the toliwaga, who will play quite a definite part for the next few weeks. On each of them fall with greater stringency the taboos, whether those that have to be kept in Sinaketa or in Dobu. Each has to perform the magic and act in ceremonies. Each will also enjoy the main honours and privileges of the Kula. The members of the crew, the usagelu, some four to six men in each canoe, form another group. They sail the craft, perform certain magical rites, and as a rule do the Kula each on his own account. A couple of younger men in each canoe, who do not yet kula, but who help in the work of sailing, form another class, and are called silasila. Here and there a small boy will go with his father on a Kula expedition—such are called dodo’u—and makes himself useful by blowing the conch shell. Thus the whole fleet consists of four classes, that of the toliwaga, the usagelu, the helpers and the children. From Sinaketa, women, whether married or unmarried, never go on overseas expeditions, though a different custom prevails in the eastern part of the Trobriands. Each toliwaga has to give a payment in food to his usagelu, and this is done in the form of a small ceremony of distribution of food called mwalolo, and held after the return from the expedition, in the central place of the village.
A few days before the sailing, the toliwaga starts his series of magical rites and begins to keep his taboos, the women busy themselves with the final Preparation of the food, and the men trim the waga (canoe) for the imminent, long journey.
The taboo of the toliwaga refers to his sexual life. During the last two nights, he has in any case to be up late in connection with his magical performances, and with the visits of his friends and relatives from other villages, who bring provisions for the voyage, presents in trade goods, and who chat about the forthcoming expedition. But he has also to keep vigil far into the night as a customary injunction, and he has to sleep alone, though his wife may sleep in the same house.
The preparations of the canoe are begun by covering it with plaited mats called yawarapu. They are put on the platform, thus making it convenient for walking, sitting and spreading about of small objects. This, the first act of canoe trimming, is associated with a magical rite. The plaited leaves are chanted over by the toliwaga on the shore as they are put on the canoe. Or, in a different system of Kula magic the toliwaga medicates some ginger root and spits it on the mats in his hut. This is a specimen of the magical formula which would be used in such a rite:
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:
Sulumwoya Spell.[1]
“Who cuts the sulumwoya of Laba’i? I, Kwoyregu, with my father, we cut the sulumwoya of Laba’i! The roaring sulumwoya, it roars; the quaking sulumwoya, it quakes; the soughing sulumwoya, it soughs; the boiling sulumwoya, it boils.”
“My sulumwoya, it boils, my lime spoon, it boils, my lime pot, it boils, my comb … my basket … my small basket … my mat … my lilava bundle … my presentation goods (pari) …” And with each of these terms, the word ‘boils’ or ‘foams up’ is repeated often several times. After that, the same verb ‘it boils’ is repeated with all parts of the head, as in the previously quoted formula.
The last part runs thus: “Recently deceased spirit of my maternal uncle Mwoyalova, breathe thy spell over the head of Monikiniki. Breathe the spell upon the head of my light canoe. I shall kick the mountain; the mountain tilts over; the mountain subsides; the mountain opens up; the mountain jubilates; it topples over. I shall kula so as to make my canoe sink. I shall kula so as to make my outrigger go under. My fame is like thunder, my treading is like the roar of the flying witches.”