The "Gunga" Cure In The West Indies.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume XXXXVII, Issue 11737, 15 September 1902, Page 2

The "Gunga" Cure In The West Indies.

(Chambers' Journal.) An ingenious weed, which, grows in wild profusion in the tropics, gunga, is usually to bo found in patches; and when ripe it is often gathered by the lower classes, dried lika tobacco, and smoked. The weed is sven cultivated by those who are addicted to its use, and! they grow it without any fear of. interferaice^ for very few of the West Indian Coloniesi have a law against the habit. As a proof of this, I may add that a short time ago I saw the noxious weed being cultivated in the grounds of a Government establishment in Jamaica! Of course, gunga is never grown for mere amusement or for healthful employment. The smoking of the weed exercises a -malign influence on its devotees1, who, unfortunately, are very much on the increase in the West Indies. When a man wishes to commit some deed from which his better nature would shrink, he smokes gunga to harden himself, and to arm his soul in the darkest, passions of human nature; or he may use it to stimulate him .for the performance of a> task requiring, he thinks, superhuman physical or mental strength. It leally causes insensibility to fatigue, but it weakens the brain. The habit also induoea unnatural ferocity, which amounts to temporary in&anity of the worst kind, and inevitably BEINGS ABOUT COMPLETE DE MORALISATION. Thia was ■amply proved by the Indian Mutiny of 1857. The mutineers were much addicted to the smoking of bhang, which is practically the same as gunga— also spelt ganja—a preparation of Indian lemp- The Malays also smoke bhang. Some time ago, the question of gunga smoking was discussed in Jamaica. It "was said that the habit had been introduced by, and was confined to, the East Indian coolie immigrants, of whom ther.e ■are large numbers in the colony; but inquiries elicited the fact that the practice was also prevalent amongst the Creoles. The coolie immigrants, it was further discovered, only revived, strengthened, and encouraged the habit. The- abrigines of the West Indies—the Arawaks and Caribs— were devoted to the use of gunga, as were certain African tribes; thus it may be concluded that the objectionable haibit, which had smouldered so long, was only fanned into activity on the arrival of the East Indians. The weed is smoked in a peculiarly shaped pipe. _ Its devotees invariably congregate in an insanitary mud hut, or under ft spreading tree in the bush, and pass the pipe from mouth to mouth. This savours much of opium dens; and, as the evil habit of smoking gunga extends more rapidly than the opium habit, the West Indian Colonies certainly have'cause for alarm in the knowledge that, unless some stringent measures are adopted for its suppression, this terrib'e habit may spread widely amongst the low^r classes. It has been said that legislative measures would not eradicate the evil, but that a wider diffusion of knowledge would be helpful in doing so. I think that education would be a powerful factor in abolishing the practice; but I also think that (strict measures should immediately be taken to suppress it. Preventive measures should first of all be applied to the East Indian immigrants, as more than half the evil would thus be stamped out. I would emphasise thia by stating that a large majority of the crimes committed by East Indians are due to the 1 TEMPORARY INSANITY CAUSED BY! SMOKING GUNGA. If space .permitted, I might tell of the underlying incentives of a large number of the almost forgotten criminal offences com mitted by coolies. When the coolie smokes gunga, it affects him in much the same way as alcohol affects the North American Indians ; he is no , longer responsible for his actions; he develops an inclination for ill-treating those whom he loves best, and will even indulge in a crime notoriously popular amongst coolies—chopping at the arms of his wife. An incident in which I played a modest part will illustrate this. It is not necessary to specify the part of Jamaica in which the affair took place; let it suffice that it happened on one of the many banana properties in thia island, where such things occur almost every day. The overseer was riding through the banana "pieces" one morning, when a pretty coolie woman rushed out and extended her arms to him, with" a scream for protection. Immediately behind her followed a gunga-intoxicated Hindu, with blazing eyes, a Cuban machete glittering in his hand. The moment the latter saw the overseer he darted back into the shadows of the banana "piece," and the woman -clung, sobbing, to the astonslied witness of the scene. The overseer soon comprehended the occurrence. During the night he had heard the gunga maniac screaming, and fully expected that "So-and-bo would break out" —which is an everyday remark amongst planters who have indentured .cooliea on their estates. Sor several days the overseer and book-keeper, riding about the property, one with a gun and the other with a revolver, occasionally saw the distressing sight of a woman flying before AN INFURIATED SLAVE OF THE GUNGA WEED. Fortunately, the coolie has a wholesome i*espeet for firearms, even if they are .not loaded, and nothing happened. Peate was at length restored. The man, now perfectly ~clear-headed, came to the planter's house and begged pardon in "pidgin"' English. This is only one instance; there are others, veritable "hair-raisers," wrich almost any overseer can tell; but the foregoing will convince those who are not on the spot to see -for themselves how serious is the gunga smoking habit. Although up to the present nothing has been done in" the way of repression, the. local Press is very much aliveto the dangers of the practice. The following is an extract from one of the leading newspapers in the West Indies:—lt is a difficult question, and thero are many—especially the planters—who are better able than we are to offer suggestions for the suppression of gunga smoking. We know for a fact that the planters would be only too delighted if thia, one of the worst drawbacks of coolielabour, were removed, and we do not doubt that we shall have their support in making i the following suggestion: Let an inquiry be made into the percentage of gunga slaves amongst our indentured coolies; and if the Government is satisfied that they are required—as we know it will be satisfied—let stringent measures be taken to. suppress the practice." Up to the date of writing,-the Government of Jamaica—where the habit is, I believe, most prevalent —has not adopted the above suggestion, simple and efficacious aa it undoubtedly is. The fact has been pointed out to those in authority in the colony that in some other countries there are restrictions upon the sale of liquor to savages. It seems .plain that tlie^ local government should acquaint itselfwith the extent and effects of the habit of gunga j gmoking—which is: even more disastrous than the smoking of opium—and should enact measures for repression, instead "of resting content with merely hanging a man who has committed murder under the malign ivA^.ence of the weed. !