[Note: this transcription was produced by an automatic OCR engine]
664 MALEKULA _ _ community as a whole ; that it is social as opposed to individual and is not speciï¬Åcally directed against persons ; that it is publicly known to be performed; that it is generally beneï¬Åcial and is more or less “ altruistic “. Further, only certain people can learn it and it may never be sold or handed over to anyone other than the clan-magicians successor. The second type of magic is private, owned by any individual and able to be taught to anyone who is willing to give pigs for the knowledge. It is unlocalized and can be directed towards any single person. It is, too, essentially " selï¬Åsh ", that is, performed for the beneï¬Åt of one man, and furthermore it is often maleï¬Åoent. Generally, it seems, each man performs this magic for himself, but the following account of happenings at Liiwag, in Lagalag district, shows that wealthy men could engage the services of a powerful magician if they so wished. During Deacon's stay in Lambumhu, there was a serious drought which was attributed to magical causes. It appears that there was a renowned sun-magician of Merviin called Sesai, who was in the pay of Wulvanu, chief of Lowag. Some time previously Wulvanu had paid pigs to Sesai asking him to “ make sunshine " so that the weather might be ï¬Åne for a big feast that Wulvanu was about to hold. The sun was duly forthcoming, but it continued uninterruptedly for weeks afterwards in spite of repeated perfonnances of rain magic by the rain-magicians. Later, while the sun continued to blaze in the heavens, Wulvanu became seriously ill, and, lying on what everybody believed would prove his death-bed, he revealed that if he died the sun would remain shining for ever—that there would be an unending drought. This revelation raised a storm of discontent and anger against him. It was not clear to the natives whether Wulvanu had neglected or was unable to pay Sesai the necessary pigs for terminating the period of sunshine, or whether he deliberately did not do so out of general rnisanthropy. Most of them believed that the latter was the true reason. In former days an event such as this would have been sufficient occasion for a war against both Wulvanu and Sesai. It may be noted in connection with this drought that the reason why the arts of the rain-makers were unavailing was that sun-magic is intrinsically more powerful than rain-magic. There are two principal stones for the making of sunshine in 7 £ » z F Y ii