BURIAL AND WITCHCRAFT 
use it as a universal specific for all ailments. As soon 
as they come on a clump of this plant the women 
discard their loads and gather bundles of the leaves, 
which they carefully preserve for future requirements. 
It is also applied probably for the sheer pleasure of 
it when they have no actual disorder, and it is quite 
common for them to rub their bodies lightly with 
the leaves. ‘This causes violent irritation, followed 
by a feeling of pleasant numbness, like that which 
results from the application of menthol. For a 
mosquito bite this is a most admirable remedy, since 
the irritation of the bite is allayed and goes down 
long before the irritation of the leaf has passed. It 
is a curious example of the old medical practice of 
counter-irritation. Although we were glad to resort 
to it for mosquito bites, no Kuropean would without 
that cause risk the irritation for the sake of possible 
future benefits. 
While on the subject of Papuan sovereign re- 
medies, I may mention a curious form of bleeding 
which is in use among the tribes, especially among 
the younger men. The bleeding is performed by 
two persons, who sit opposite to each other. The 
operator takes a small drill, or rather probe of 
cassowary bone brought to an extremely fine point, 
and this is attached to the string of a tiny bow 
about 4 inches long. Holding the bow as if he were 
going to shoot, the operator aims the little probe at 
the patient's forehead, draws the bow slowly, and lets 
the string go; the probe is thus brought into sharp 
contact with the patient's skin, and the operation 
of drawing the bow and letting fly the arrow is 
324 
