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

i 48
MALEKULA
authoritative powers. Of the political organization of Seniang,
Deacon wrote :~— '
" It would I think be true to say that there is no chieftainship.
Authority is vested in the higher I/imanglu ranks, and is a corollory
also oi the prestige conferred by the higher Nalau/ans 1 and the
Nzvinbur.“ It may be noted, however, that a man may occupy
a high Nimangki rank because his father, a rich and powerful
man, paid for his entrance to the ranks while he was yet a boy.
Thus I have met small boys who have made Nimew 3 or rather
whose fathers had had Nimew made for them. In such cases ‘the
King may be a weakling ’ and authority may pass to the most
forceful personality. The transmission of traditionally recognized
authority is, however, through the higher Nimangki ranks."
Another factor which is doubtless very important in preventing
anyone from deviating in his conduct too far from the approved
norm is the dependence of the members of the community upon
each other. No man can exist entirely independent of his
fellows; in the cultivaï¬Åon of his garden, the building of his
house, in hunting and ï¬Åshing, and in defending himself against
his enemies he needs the co-operation of his kinsfolk and clans-
folk. If he fails in his obligations towards them, they will do
likewise by him. It seems, however, that on certain occasions
this “ sanction of reciprocity " is reinforced by something in the
nature of promissory oaths, To swear such an oath is called
ti navar, the preposition ngm being added to signify to “ swear
by " anything. Four characteristic oaths of this kind have been
recorded: iii mom ngm mbimar, that is, " he swears by the
nivimar dove,â€ù for which the formula is: “ nivimar ho langlong
saw â€ù ; iii mzvur ngm nisilengk, whose formula is " iil nisilengk
lm ninal ", signifying that if the swearer break his promise he will
dig an irrigation channel in the sun; iii mwar ngm tivh/tmai,
tivhainai being an unidentiï¬Åed red flower ; and iti mwar ngen
mtzis. As regards this last, nims is the word used by the people
of Seniang for the geometrical ï¬Ågures which they and, other
Malekulans draw in the sand, but on which particular ï¬Ågure the
oath is taken has not been recorded. Apart from the second of
1 The Nalawam is a graded secret society similar to the Ndmawgki, but more
hi S Ch XIV
sacred than t s. ee ap. .
I The Ne!/i'nlm1 is a secret society of even greater sanctity than the Nalau/an,
which is found apparently only in S0uth—West: Malekula. See below, Chap. XVI.
' The Nimew is a grade in the Nimangki, and one which is fairly high in the
sedes. Deacon uses the word " make " to signily the CELEBRATION oi the entrance
rites by the candidate for membership.-—C. H. W.
l 1
f