NEW GUINEA MAGIC

Evening Star, Issue 19892, 14 June 1928, Page 2

NEW GUINEA MAGIC

OUR MANDATED BRETHREN Magic among uncivilised people lias a very dilferc'nt meaning from that, which wc give it. With us it is used to describe merely what is more than usually wonderful; something imposing and startling. Rut in ancient _times, and even now, among what Kipling calls 44 the lesser breeds,” magic means the art of doing remarkable things by the help of supernatural powers. The savage still believes that physical resuits'can be secured through spiritual agents. A dozen failures will not outweigh a solitary lucky hit. The unseen world is still in touch with tho visible realm, and departed spirits can. work enormous mischief or confer solid advantages. All nature is personal, animate, friendly, or hostile. What is an intelligent people like tho Australians to do in face of the prevalence of magic in New Guinea? Wo have already gained a reputation for enlightened administration, but arc we to put down magic with a high hand, or simply allow the natives to play with it as they please? iii his book on ‘Orokuiva Magic Mr F. E. Williams gives us the results of long years of study, ol what ho calls 41 a primitive religious movement.” One. of the amazing statements it contains is that since onr occupation of Papua a number of new religious cults have sprung up in various parts of ibe territory. A new cult would come like an epidemic,.sweep all before it, cause the authorities much perplexity, then gradually subside, but ..always leaving some permanent, change in tho lives of those affected. The Taro cult is the one to which Mr Williams gives special attention. Taro is. the staple food of the Orokaiva people, and the new cult..came into .existence through the vision of a man who . believed himself possessed by tho spirit.! of the taro. He claimed to bo .in constant communication with them, to have received their instructions as to the proper rites for securing an ample crop in the gardens, and. these rites, with their appeal to the stomach, soon became an elaborate ceremonial. At a later stage tho cult became a means for placating not the taro spirits, but the spirits of ancestors or depared relatives, who are believed to control the

growth of the taro. It becomes, therefore, a worship of the dead with a view to securing a good crop of taro. These rites consist of singing in concert to an accompaniment of drums, feasting with new forms of etiquette, and it is scarcely necessary to add that the songs are mostly in praise of the faro. Dancing is a minor feature. Antics like staggering, reeling, and a violent shaking of the head and limbs, ending in mild contortions and paroxysms, seem to be allowed as part of the worship. The leaders claim power to cure the sick.

The Taro cult spread very rapidly until it extended beyond the boundary of the northern division into the northeastern division on tho south. It is still spreading, though more slowly. Propagandists are at work as far distant as Oollingwood Bay. The cult has been more successful and more tenacious than any other known in Papua. The. essence of the whole movement is_ the desire .to secure through the spirits of the dead a greater output of taro in the gardens. The spirits are propitiated by offerings of fond placed on little platforms. The spirit of a particular dead man is invited to partake. This is done tocauso a departed spirit is known to return quickly to his garden and play havoc with the taro in a kind of huff. At the funeral an old man will press his foot on that of the dead man and beg him. to “ send us pigs, and send us taro, and wo will make thee a feast.”

When once a man acquires the Taro religion—-that is, becomes possessed of the Taro spirit, he must ag a disciple observe certain taboos. The chief of these is against washing, and the enthusiastic convert has - been known, to forgo the pleasures of a midday dip for as long as eight months. When the cult spread into a mission school its presence was detected by the missionary’s nostrils. Apparently cleanliness is not next to this kind of godliness. The idea is that running water is supposed to cleanse away the effectiveness.of the prophet, his endowment of inspiration. Resignations .sometimes take place because the beginner is tired of the taboos, and especially because ho cannot resist the temptation of forbidden foods. One man gave up because he was .hungry, fori eels. • The most disagreeable feature of tiic cult is the uncontrollable bodily movements or paroxysms which the Taro man believes to be so important. Reeling, staggering, trembling, jerking are

all forms of what is called “jipari, or the shaking fit. It begins with a cold, a shiver, a shudder. It is tremendously infectious, and is supposed to make the taro grow; hut why it does so no native can tell. Psychologists have now instructed us as to tlie exaggerated ■ susceptibility and imitativeness ol the members of tlio crows or mob, and their unconscious or almost wilful surrender at self-control, and Mr F. M. Davenport, in his book on ‘ Primitive Traits in Religious Revivals,’ gathers a number of instances in which North American Indians, negroes, and Europeans seem subject to .something almost identical with New Guinea shaking fits. Frenzy, foaming at the month, convulsions, jerks, and contortions, accompanied “ an outpouring of the spirit.” Davenport ascribes these'phenomena chiefly to nervous instability. What is the Government to do with regard to a cult like this? Mr Williams suggests strong condemnation or ridicule of it; treatment of it as disease or madness, for which hospital treatment is necessary. In ninny eases the evil is due to mere lack of restraint. Of course, there is also the craving for excitement. Steel tools and abolition of tribal warfare have had a conspicuous effect on native life. A man’s energies are now without an outlet. Ho idles and brews mischief. The taro cult is a novelty, attracts him by its shaking fits, and a native who is bored will plunge in and make an orgy of it. What he needs is relaxation and the satisfying of social feelings. The best substitute for war is a good warlike game, like football or shinty-something with more rough play than science. Mr Williams has many valuable, suggestions to offer on many subjects this close, scientific study entitles his opinion to respect. He thinks no religion will bo acceptable to the natives unless it gives them plenty to do, a good deal of ceremonial, of dressing-up, of feasting, and of high excitement. Christianity, if- it is to conquer, must become part, and parcel of his life, and be something in winch he. takes spontaneous interest and pleasure. Closer settlement is warmly advocated by the author with a view to better methods of, gardening, a spirit of competition and the development of the idea of property. Better tools should bo introduced, proper rotation of crops, and a course of instruction, beginning with the young. Industry on intelligent principles will do much to eliminate magic. The Government finds it necessary to

oppose magic by means of conviction and punishment: but, while this keeps it in check, it will never stamp out belief in it. The only hope of eradicating it lies in education, a process slow but sure. ■ Little by little the native will find out and correct his own false and foolish ideas.