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.Weather magic (No.1), chiefly rain magic and, less important, fine weather magic, is local and connected with a myth.The twelve spells allbelong to one locality, and they are the most powerful rain magic in the island.They are the monopoly of the rulers of the village of Kasana'i(ap.213small village, which forms practically one unit with the village of Omarakana), a monopoly which in times of drought brings an enormousincome in gifts to the magician.Again, in kaitubutabu magic (No.3) the two formulae are part of a system; they must both be said at two different stages of a period, duringwhich coconuts are tabooed, and the object of the whole series of observances and rites is to foster the growth of coconuts.http://www.sacred-texts.com/pac/baloma/bal05.htm (10 of 12)31/08/2005 17.56.47Baloma; The Spirits of the Dead in the Trobriand Islands, by Bronislaw Malinowski: Chapter VThunder magic (No.4) is connected with a tradition, in which there figures a mythical ancestor, and this is mentioned in the spell.Canoe-making magic (No.6) and muasila magic (No.7), connected with a remarkable system of trading and exchange of valuables (calledkula), form each an extremely important system of magic.No ancestral names are mentioned in the formulae recorded.Unfortunately, I havenot recorded any complete system of muasila, and though one system of canoe magic has been recorded, it could not be properly translated.In both forms of magic there are references to localities, but none to ancestors.The three spells of fishing magic (No.11) belong to one system.The other spells (Nos.12-15) do not form systems.In the love spells there is naturally no mention of ancestral names.The only formulaewhere such names appear are those designed to bring a disease upon a man or to exorcise it.Some of these charms are associated with myths.The data here given concerning the role of ancestors in magic must speak for themselves.It has not been possible to obtain much additionalinformation from natives upon this subject.The references to the baloma form an intrinsic and essentially important part of the spells inwhich they occur.It would be no good asking the natives "What would happen if you omitted to invoke the baloma?" (a type of questionwhich sometimes reveals the ideas of the native as to the sanction or reason for a certain practice), because a magical formula is aninviolable, integral item of tradition.It must be known thoroughly and repeated exactlyp.214as it was learnt.A spell or magical practice, if tampered with in any detail, would entirely lose its efficacy.Thus the enumeration of ancestralnames cannot conceivably be omitted.Again, the direct question, "Why do you mention those names?" is answered in the time-honoredmanner, "Tokunabogu bubunemasi [our (excl.) old custom]." And in this matter I did not profit much from discussing matters with even themost intelligent natives.That the names of the ancestors are more than a mere enumeration is clear from the fact that the ula'ula is offered in all the most importantsystems, which have been thoroughly examined, and also from--the offerings and sagali described above.But even these presents and thepartaking of the sagali, though undoubtedly they imply the presence of the baloma, do not express the idea of the spirits' actual participationin fostering the aim of the magic; of their being the agents through whom the magician works, to whom he appeals or whom he masters in thespell, and who perform subsequently the task imposed on them.The natives at times express meekly the idea that a benevolent attitude of the spirit is very favorable to the fishing or gardening, and that ifthe spirits were angry they would do harm.This latter negative view was undoubtedly more pronounced.The baloma participate in somevague manner in such ceremonies as are performed for their benefit, and it is better to keep on the right side of them, but this view by nomeans implies the idea that they are the main agents, or even the subsidiary agents, of any activity.57 The magical virtue lies in the spellitself.The native attitude of mind towards the baloma in magic may become more clear when compared with that obtaining during the milamala.There the baloma are participants and onlookers, whose favor ought to be gained, whose wishes are naturally respected, who, further, are notslow in showing their disapproval, and who can make a nuisance of themselves if not properly treated, though their anger is not nearly soterrible as that of the normal type of supernatural beings, savage or civilized.In the milamala thep.215[paragraph continues] baloma are not real agents in anything that goes on.Their role is purely passive.And out of this passivity they can beroused only by being put into bad humor, when they begin to show their existence in a negative manner, so to speak.There is another side to the lists of ancestral names in magic, which must be remembered here.In all Kiriwinian magic a great role is playedby myths, underlying a certain system of magic, and by tradition in general.How far this tradition is local and how far it thus becomesfocussed on the family tradition of a certain subclan has been discussed above.The ancestral names mentioned in the several formulae formtherefore one of the traditional elements so conspicuous in general.The mere sanctity of those names, being often a chain linking theperformer with a mythical ancestor and originator, is in the eyes of the natives a quite sufficient prima facie reason for their recital [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]