“The Gumasila, their Kula is very hard; they are mean, they are retentive. They would like to take hold of one *soulava*, of two, of three big ones, of four perhaps. A man would *pokala* them, he would *pokapokala*; if he is a kinsman he will get a *soulava*. The Kayleula only, and the Gumasila are mean. The Dobu, the Du’a’u, the Kitava are good. Coming to Muyuwa—they are like Gumasila.”
This means that a man in Gumasila would let a number of necklaces accumulate in his possession; would require plenty of food as pokala—a characteristic reduplication describes the insistence and perseverance in pokala—and even then he would give a necklace to a kinsman only. When I inquired from the same informant whether such a mean man would also run a risk of being killed by sorcery, he answered
“A man who is very much ahead in the Kula—he will die—the mean man not; he will sit in peace.”
III
Returning now to the concrete proceedings of the Kula, let us follow the movements of a Sinaketan toliwaga. He has presumably received a necklace or two on his arrival; but he has more partners and he expects more valuables. Before he receives his fill, he has to keep a taboo. He may not partake of any local food, neither yams, nor coco-nuts, nor betel pepper or nut. According to their belief, if he transgressed this taboo he would not receive any more valuables. He tries also to soften the heart of his partner by feigning disease. He will remain in his canoe and send word that he is ill. The Dobu man will know what such a conventional disease means. None the less, he may yield to this mode of persuasion. If this ruse does not succeed, the man may have recourse to magic. There is a formula called kwoygapani or ‘enmeshing magic,’ which seduces the mind of a man on whom it is practised, makes him silly, and thus amenable to persuasion. The formula is recited over a betel-nut or two, and these are given to the partner and to his wife or sister.
Kwoygapani Spell “O *kwega* leaf; O friendly *kwega* leaf; O *kwega* leaf hither; O *kwega* leaf thither!” “I shall enter through the mouth of the woman of Dobu; I shall come out through the mouth of the man of Dobu. I shall enter through the mouth of the man of Dobu; I shall come out through the mouth of the woman of Dobu.” “Seducing *kwega* leaf; enmeshing *kwega* leaf; the mind of the woman of Dobu is seduced by the *kwega* leaf, is enmeshed by the *kwega* leaf.” The expression “is seduced,” “is enmeshed “by the *kwega* leaf, is repeated with a string of words such as: “Thy mind, O man of Dobu,” “thy refusal, O woman of Dobu,” “Thy disinclination, O woman of Dobu,” “Thy bowels, thy tongue, thy liver,” going thus over all the organs of understanding and feeling, and over the words which describe these faculties. The last part is identical with that of one or two formulæ previously quoted: “No more it is my mother; my mother art thou, O woman of Dobu, etc.” (Compare the Kaykakaya and Ka’ubana’i spells of the previous chapter.)
Kwega is a plant, probably belonging to the same family as betel pepper, and its leaves are chewed with areca-nut and lime, when real betel-pods (mwayye) are not available. The kwega is, remarkably enough, invoked in more than one magical formula, instead of the real betel-pod. The middle part is quite clear. In it, the seducing and enmeshing power of the kwega is cast over all the mental faculties of the Dobuan, and on the anatomical seats of these faculties. After the application of this magic, all the resources of the soliciting man are exhausted. He has to give up hope, and take to eating the fruit of Dobu, as his taboo lapses.