"THE VELE."

Auckland Star, Volume LVIII, Issue 87, 13 April 1927, Page 9

"THE VELE."

CURSE OF GUADALCANAR. VICTIMS NEVER RECOVER. IS IT MAX OK DF.VIL? ll rolll <l:;r l'\\:i Correspondent 1 M VA. A pi i] 1. Mr. ( 11. I.res. ;i sjnicr mi»sitin.ir\ who ha- -.eeii all soi t ~ ~f jjf,. ,5',,. inland oi I ,uadah anar in the Solomons Protectorate. i~ \i~itiuu Suva mi furlough. Among n:anv strange tales ]~• has to tell is that most weird stoiv the \ ele or the curse of (•uad.ica u.< r. In this century with mir ( bai b-st ~ns and other signs of tin do -ii-clc aitivings. one eaniiot credit the fait thai tieHorgias are being mit-Borgiad t •» 11 -i \* in the peaceful isTland of t, nada !i .• n.ii \it -•> it is. The murder of the poli.e foi.-e there recently cannot be bl.micd people. They ale tin- iim-l p ..• . 11:1 ■ >: all the people of tin- s,\ Hebrides or other i -Li »:<1 - . 1 • h> n-•! 1 li I Western I'aeilie. But a foolish ..Hi. il. M . i'mi.i j other foolish < •tli«-:.i! -. : i ■ - n! I ■ •■! th'ii ■ i-; | customs Jind the sii:i|'li' native i.nn be blamed if he protest, d a- he pi..p. il\ : did. The custom of having mm ir than, ••lie wife is ;i, old as Solomon and should be ack 'low ledgi'd and iv-pei t Ilowcvci. Mr. Lees s;i \ s he Las In, .1 there t,-r Is veal's and -prak- the language like a n.it i \ e and walked a lone all nni the |oii. mile long island and never had the slightest trouble v ith anvone. 1 lie natives |i::\e im arms. n,.t even lmus ami arrows like the | pie of Malaita. but onlv speai's to kill wild pig lor !o.«l. But there is a power to which they bow and which i~ almost unknown to even old white residents. It is the vele (each "e" being pronounced with an accent i. Xo n.it i \ c on the windward coast will travel alone through the bi|s]i: lie must have a companion even it only a babv . It is pathetic to sec a big -iim:': bov who has been told to cany a letter ii\c or ten miles pick up a little kiddy hardiv able to walk and perhaps have to iarr\ it all the way becau~c the \ ele will never harm anvone it accompanied b\ aunt In-;. A planter will s,-t a man to cut copra ill a distant paddock, and wiil be an::o\..l when he goes there to find two nan doing the work o; one. It i- claimed that no one lias ever seen the vele. Seine have only a dim confuted remembrance of seeing "something." As a man or woman is walking along the li-ual narrow bush path, an arm suddenly shoots out and shakes a sort of native made dilly bag in the face of the victim. It is said that there is always the sound as of a stone rattling m the bag. At once the victim sjnks jo the ground in a state of collapse. As he lies he is conscious of something binding over him and saying: "The vele has vele vmi. don't die here, gi. lionie and tell vmn friends the vele has vclcd \oit and inability name The man jjoca home.

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