PAPUAN SORCERER'S DILEMMA.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 168, 9 April 1908, Page 11

PAPUAN SORCERER'S DILEMMA.

■ '' :c' ■', .' '■ ; ■ An interesting debate on Papuan' affairs took. place in the Commonwealth House of , Representatives the, other day. . During the discussion- of the.Estimates, -'Mr. Mahon, of West .Australia, asked why the. natives .-were punished fori such alleged offences as sorcery ■ and adultery. The Primo Minister replied that to a degree almost inconceivable the whole lifo of Papua was permeated; by pracappertaining to sorcery. "Some extra.r. ordinary ..matters • cropped -up in that' cxtr.-f. : ordinary-: country for an Administration to deal with," said Mr. Dealrin. " For instance, .'one', sprco-er put his case to the pojicetnan who went to. warn.him'that ho would bo dealt with.- Ho said: " What's the .position? I have an established reputation as a sorcerer. I caii-t get rid of it. Someone comes -to me and asks me, to use my. sorcery against/ his enemy. If ; ,I won't, he waits for mo with a cluh. If 1 -• t the policeman comes and runs me in; so what's.a .poor sorcerer to do?" Problems like that, continued Mr. Dentin prnsentcd themselves at almost every stage—a weir of superstitious and beliefs, which pre-vented-tribes from uniting." : 'liio Natives formerly kept themselves exercised with war exorcises, whereas now they learned a little agriculture, taught their wives to do it, and looked about. Therefore they suffored by their idleness.' , Hid other matter referred to was connected ,with the marriage customs and could /not bo detailed. Tho problems' however, were being dealt .with by instruction. Mr. Deakin had to admit that tiio administration had someweak spots, but lie prophesied that the development of the territory .would advance now more rapidly than heretofore. ~