MEDICINE AND MAGIC

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXIV, Issue 80, 16 March 1934, Page 10

MEDICINE AND MAGIC

Extraordinary Practices BELIEF IN THE EVIL EYE Some idea of the primitive character of the people among whom the missionaries are working in East Arnhem Land, can be gauged by a study of the extraordinary medical practices in that remote part of Australia. The Bev. T. Theodor Webb, chairman of the North Australia district of the Methodist Mission-ary Society, who has lived among these aborigines for many years, has just revealed some of the measures adopted to heal wounds and banish internal complaints The information is contained in li paper that was prepared for the National Research Council, and it is pointed out that the operation of magie, both in causing and relieving sickness, is still largely believed in. In some cases the treatment consists of a combination of magi" and the administration of medicine, which mainly has its ongin in plants nnd ty>es. A frequent complaint is mus'ular rheumatism. For this the aid of the magician is sought. The patient is made to lie fa"e downward on the sand. After feeling carefully over the back the magician breaks from a tree a small ler.fv branch, nnd then dancer round nnd round. Presently he dashes awav for a considerable distance, ns t'rough in pursuit of something, and meanwhile swishes his branch. This is ■lone to drive nwav the evil spirit. Beturning tv the patient, the magiden selects one spot on the man's baea. which he presses and kneads thorPOWER OF SUGGESTION. The magician next massages the surrounding area, working toward the «pot selected. After a while he applies his mouth to the spot and sucks vigor,»,sly. He next blows water on the .fleeted part, and then convincingly

ejects from the mouth of the patient some foreign substance which, he claims, has been injected into tne mouth of the patient by some gross spirit of a dead person. The mattei taken from the patient's mouth might be a small stone, a piece of bone, or a piece <yf charcoal. Whatever it may be, it is shown to the patient, and he rises, cured, and willing to pay his fee. For a severe attack of indigestion a rough platform of sticks is constructed, on which is laid a thick covering of leafy branches of ironwood tree. On these leaves is placed a covering of wet grass. The sand beneath the platform is scooped out and a fire made. When the fire is burning the patient is placed, face downward, on the plat form, a covering of boughs is placed over him, and then he is left for hours to steam. He is then turned over on his back, and thus spends several more hours. At the end of the day ho is bathed with cold water, and will most certainly feel relieved, but if not the process may be repeated the following day. TREATING SNAKE BITES. For a. snake bite the man is made to sit down beside a fire while another num blows smoke through a hollow branch on to him. As the smoke emerges at the end of the tube a third mtn carefully watches, and if, in the smoke, he sees the non-material form of a snake, it is known that the sorcerer lias brought about the misfortune and that the man will die. If no form is observed the man will recover Frequently the ceremony is performed alter the man has died, and so serves to corroborate a conviction which h-.i--already been reached. For sores, boils or swollen glands, a piece of charcoal is wrapped in thin sheets of paper and bnrk and placed on the sore. This is then bitten by the man himself or by a companion. The sore, hearing the crunching of the charcoal, learns that somewhere a fight is going on, and so takes its departure. Various forms of bleeding, some extremely painful, are resorted to for a severe headache. An interest!!)"

method is used in the treatment of sores on the palms of the hands or on the soles of the feet. The suffered goes out on a reef when the tide is low and finds a sea anemone, which is lying open. He then presses the affected part in to the open centre of the creature, who tentacles im mediately contract and cause a certain amount of suction. The affected part is held there for some considerable time, and when withdrawn the raised exterior is said to have been removed. Old women are chiefly engaged in the preparation and administration of the medicines that art! used. The magician deals only with those cases where the condition of the patient is believed to be directly due to the operation of evil magic.