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

678 MALEKULA â€ù '
steal. This magical bundle has power to injure only one person.
Should two men come to take the fruit of a tree guarded in this
way, only the ï¬Årst will be blinded ; the second will go unscathed
since the magical force is exhausted.
The people hold that formerly there was no “ poisoning "
magic in Seniang, and that this form of nimesian was introduced
from two (unlocated) villages on the south coast, Ori and Boon
Vor. This is, apparently, believed to have been a relatively
recent event, for the high death-rate which has been particularly
marked during the last twenty years or so is attributed to the
acquisition of the art oi " poisoning â€ù. Thus these two villages
bear a responsibility which should rather be borne by the
white man.
Very Little is known of any magic from Mewun, but there is
one fonn of death-magic which is regarded by the people of
Seniang as belonging to this district only. It is called naai nambal,
and it has the effect of causing a man to fall from a tree or rock
and so kill himself. The sorcerer makes a concoction of which
one of the ingredients is charcoal, and then seeks out an oppor-
tunity to touch his victim on the knee with it. This is often
managed when talking to him in a seemingly friendly manner:
the two men will joke together ; the sorcerer will slap the other
jovially and thus gain his evil ends. Although the necessary
spells for working mmi nambal are known only to the inhabitants
of Mewun, the counter~magic is not so restricted; thus when
Amanrantus had been attacked in this way, one of his friends was
able to counteract the “ poison â€ù and save him.
Death- and sickness-magic in Lambumbu is classed under the
general heading of mm’ nï¬Åh. Some of it is the same as that of
Seniang, whence it is said to have been introduced. This is called
nambangsian (cf. Seniang nmbangsei). There are four different
ways of performing it. In one the sorcerer collects some of his
enemy's refuse and wraps it up in a spider’s web (nelow). He then
makes a small hole in an Erythrina tree, puts the bundle in it
and closes it up again. When the bark has grown completely over
the opening the victim begins to grow weak. It he is out walking,
he has to halt and rest himself at frequent intervals. Gradually
he declines and wastes away, takes to his bed, and dies. Wasting
sickness is also induced by TAKING a man's refuse, wrapping it
up in the same way, and putting it in the nest of the house-ant
‘mil’
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