"MALIRA." 713 



" Paraparau " and " malira " are local ordinances relating to marriage. The former, 

 as I understand it, corresponds to a betrothal, but does not involve the appearance of 

 the prospective bride. If a man is in a position to marry, he makes or observes 

 " paraparau," going into retirement for a time, organising festivities and leaving the 

 question of a bride to the last. It is defined by Mr Rickards, the author of the 

 dictionary from which I have previously quoted, as the native custom of concealment 

 during the preparation of marriage. 



" Malira " is a term applied to substances employed as love-charms, and it also 

 appears to be the more general name for a marriage festival or fair 1 . At all events 

 towards the end of May (1895) a "malira" was held at Karavia close to my house. 

 All through the night on the eve of the fair, natives were coming in from the bush, 

 shouting at intervals in a loud monotone, blowing conchs and beating garamats. When 

 day came the company sang chants. 



At a "malira" which I attended at a place called Pal-a-kulau (literally, house of 

 cocoa-nuts) behind Karavia, the natives sang chants in a specially erected spirit-hut 

 which was surmounted by feathers, rattles and coloured leaves and filled with carvings 

 of human figures and birds. Scores of natives attended, marching in procession and 

 carrying wooden effigies of pigeons suspended from long switches. One man came 

 wearing a ' skull-mask (" a lor ") made from the facial portion of a human skull plastered 

 over with " tita," hair and beard being ingeniously glued on, in true semblance of 

 humanity. The carvings were all on the flat except the pigeons. There was also 

 a distribution of " bue " (betel-nuts) and diwara, but the latter was presented to certain 

 people only. The food, contributed from different quarters, was wrapped up in banana 

 leaves and was all paid for with diwara. The dancing, in which the women joined, 

 consisted in circling round a " garamat " and was accompanied by singing. 



In illustration of the working of "malira" in its quality of love-philtre I may quote 

 the following story which came to my knowledge. It seems that a man and woman 

 who are " nimuna 2 " with one another cannot eat or even carry food in each other's 

 presence, this abstention being a mark of respect. When a man desires to pay court 

 to a woman he will lie in wait for her as she is walking through the bush and will 

 then throw a " malira 3 " at her. If she knows who the man is through previous 

 understanding and if she likes him, she will pick up the charm and put it in her 

 basket. But if she intends to reject her suitor she will roundly abuse him and may 

 lodge a complaint with her husband, who will promptly demand " tambu " from the 

 offender. This is obviously a fruitful source of blackmail, and a case of the kind 

 happened near Maulapao 4 shortly before I left New Britain, a man being accused by 

 a woman who was his " nimuna." The woman stated that as she was walking through 



1 The women are soil-tillers as well as wives, and I think the "malira" is a kind of fair analogous to 

 the old sessional fairs in the provincial towns of England where farm-labourers were hired. 



2 The term "nimuna" signifies the relationship between a man and his wife's parents and with those 

 who are " tamana " with her (Rickards). "Tamana" is the relationship between father and offspring and 

 between the latter and the father's brother. 



3 Consisting of a piece of bamboo or leaf with something wrapped up in it, perhaps some bark-scrapings 

 from a particular tree with a little lime mixed in. 



4 The name of the site upon which Mr Parkinson's house stands. 



