[Note: this transcription was produced by an automatic OCR engine]

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668 MALEKULA ,
THE RITE
Two distinct branches of private magic are recognized, the
one called nimesian, the other mwelnggil or mahmggil, in Seniang.
The former may be termed death- and sicknessmagic ; the latter
is primarily fertility- and love-magic, but is also used to cover
such rites as those connected with house— and canoe-building.
It is interesting to notice that mwelnggil is the name of the elder
son of that mythological being of Mewun, Butwanabaghap, the
ï¬Årst Kabat, but the relation between this man and the fertility-
and lovemagic of Seniang was never explained. Within each
one of these branches of private magic there are a number of
different magical " units â€ù, each of which has its own name and
special effect. Our information concerning mwelnggil is unfor~
tunately rather scanty. Most of the rites connected with the
fertility oi plants and animals are performed by clan-magicians
and come under the heading of public magic. These have already
been described. There are, however, some magical means of
ensuring the growth of yams and coco~nuts which are employed
by private individuals. Apparently there are two principal ways
of making yams grow: one is to tempt them into growing by
sweet scents ; the other is to charm them into growing by ritm-and
muttered spells. Two examples oi the ï¬Årst method have come
d0Wfl to us. In one, a coco-nut is taken, the inside scraped out, and
into the hollow shell some bark of a tree called mwelnggil is grated.
The_whole is then put on a nisivung leaf and laid on a low burning
ï¬Åre. The smoke ascends ; the yams smell it and grow. At some
stage during the performance of this rite the magician utters
the spell : “ N itamat ; nimbaai gaanew, nimbaai galamp, wut tmm
ikoh Zen neuetevst, tuan man! â€ù 1 In another, the decayed fruits
of mbam, ningei, and naai molei, with the seeds still i.n them,
are gathered in a basket and strewn over the garden. When
a ï¬Åre is raked over it, in the process of cleaning the ground,
these rotting fruits smell sweetly, and the yams, scenting them,
are encouraged to put forth shoots.“ Other more distinctively
‘ No translation has been recorded of this prayer, but the words may
probably be more or less accurately rendered thus 1 “ This is my prayer; may
the yams eat; may the yams be many in the store-houses."-C. H. W.
‘Evidently similar means are used to encourage coco-nuts to grow, for
there is a brief note which runs ; " Nisivus, . . . smell allowed to ascend over
coconut." It is also said that certain fruits are burnt to keep away possibly
hostile ghosts from injuring the crops. (See above, p. 188.) It may be that
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