"MAGIC" IN THE PACIFIC.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18711, 17 May 1924, Page 12

"MAGIC" IN THE PACIFIC.

ISLANDER'S STRANGE FEARS.

GOOD EFFECT ON HEALTH. [FROM our own correspondent.] SUVA, May 8. Dr. Lambert, who lias been commissioned by the Western Pacific High Commission to survey all islands within its sphere of authority, has just returned from a visit to the Gilbert and Ellice Colony and Ocean Island. In an interesting interview, he gave some of the results of his visit and survey. In the , Gilbert Islands _ Dr. Lambert found the hookworm infection rate to be very low, running from 5 to 20 per cent. This was partly explained by the fact that these atoll islands are formed by very narrow strips of land, the soil being very poor, with no heavy undergrowth, which, as a rule, harbours pollution. Through many generations ■ the Gilberteso have lived in fear of magic being worked upon them by enemies, who cut off ft portion of their clothing or a piece of their hair or even a piece of toenail, or portion of the food they have partly _ eaten. The dread of hostile magicians is manifested in another peculiar form of apprehension, and this has led to the adoption of a perfect system of sanitation, which is made possible by the proximity to the 6ea of all portions of the island. So the rate of hookworm infection is small in the Gilberts whose people, who are of a Melano-Poly-nesian race, are afraid of magic and evil spirits. Magic has accomplished, in this case, what native custom could never have accomplished. On the Ellice Islands however, magic does not hold sway. They are more fertile and more thickly covered with undergrowth. The people worship the cult of the ancestor. With no restraining influence of magic there is no check on their sanitary habits, and thus a heavier rate of infection was present. For instance, on the island of Funafuti, the rate was 76 per cent., which closely corresponds with the 85 per cent, reported by Dr. O'Connor, of the London School of Tropical Medicine who with much more time at his disposal very thoroughly surveyed the group. On Ocean island there are about 80 white employees and about 600 or 700 native or Chinese labourers. There are also 300 native residents. The native name of the island is Banaba. The infection here is somewhat similar to that on the Gilberts, viz 20 < 3per cent. Life on this island is pleasant. There are tennis courts and swimming baths, although boating is very hazardous, owing to the dangerous currents. About 18 months ago Dr. Hill, a friend and a native went oat in a boat when a sudden short squall came down, the current caught the boat and the party were never" seen again. The day before the Doctor arrived two men and a boy went out fishing but were never heard of any more. Evidently boating in the waters of Ocean Island is best left alone.

The, Government will carry on a vigorous campaign against the hookworm in all. tho groups, under the general direction of Dr. Lambert, whose success in Fiji with carbon tetrachloride has made him famous in medical literature. The effect of the campaign in Fiji- is most marked, tho labourers showing very marked improvement in physique and energy.