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respective! taboos (Tora) if they want to practise the magic. 

 Again, Pikana and his brother MdrUy who share the same 

 house, have the same rights to the dugong and turtle magic, 

 and they both observe the same taboo. 



Omdga communicated to me the text of his incantation, 

 as well as the magical substances and procedure, which I will 

 give here, with certain omissions immaterial from the ethno- 

 logical point of view, which will prevent the charm from 

 being misused by divulgation among the natives through some 

 white man. ^^2) 



The taboo of Omdga' s own magic is a fish called Urd'o, 

 which he is permanently forbidden to eat. The magical sub- 

 stance used by him consists of leaves of one of the native trees 

 growing on the island, the name of which is taboo (G6ra) to 

 Omdga. A coconut about to be planted, with the young leaves 

 sprouting, is then doctored by the magical leaves, the latter 

 being wrapped round the young sprout of the coconut (comp. 

 planting of coconuts in sec. 1, chap iv.). Then a handful of 

 the magical leaves is taken, and the spell is chanted into them. 

 In a free translation, this charm runs thus: — 

 "Many coconuts they come out ; 

 The blossom is breaking forth ; 

 The fruit is swelling ; 

 The fruit is breaking forth." ^^■5) 

 After that the palm will grow very quickly and bear 

 many fruits. 



Again, the banana spell, belonging by title to Kdvanai, 

 but used by Om^dga, is performed in a very similar manner. 

 The taboo to be observed with this spell also refers to a fish, 

 called Bde. Leaves of a special kind of tree are also used in 

 this magic. They are put into a bamboo, which is tied to the 

 mother tree of the banana sucker about to be planted, and 

 remain there over night. The next morning the man comes 

 to the garden and digs a hole for the young plant. Holding 

 this in his right hand and some of the leaves in the palm of 

 the left, he chants a spell into the latter, then puts the charmed 

 leaves into the hole and plants the banana sucker over them. 



(82) This may seem an unnecessary precaution. Nevertheless, 

 this pamphlet might fall into the hands of a white man passing 

 through the district, and unscrupulous enough to divulge the 

 charm among the natives. There is a class of white men only too 

 eager ''to put down the native superstitions," I remember myself 

 a man boasting of having spoilt the results of a series of important 

 magical ceremonies by publicly violating the drum taboo in an 

 inland village. He was firmly convinced that he had thus done a 

 great deal for the cause of the enlightenment of the natives. 



(83) I am in possession of the original Mailu text, but I only 

 give the translation for the reason just mentioned. 



