Rayikuna Sulumwoya (also called Sumgeyyata)
Project Gutenberg EPUB3 edition
Malinowski, Bronislaw
A. U’ula (Initial Part)
11Avayta’uWhonetata’icutssulumwoyalathe mint plant ofLaba’i?Laba’i?Yaygu,I,Kwoyregu,Kwoyregu,sogutogether withtamagu,my father,katata’iwe cutsulumwoyalathe mint plant ofLaba’i.Laba’i.
22Silimwaynunuva,The roaring sulumwoya,inunuva;it roars;silimwayniku,the quaking sulumwoyainiku;it quakes;silimwayyega,the soughing sulumwoya,iyega;it soughs;silimwaypolu,the boiling sulumwoya,ipolu.it boils.
B.—Tapwana (Main Part)
33Ipolu,It boils,ipoluit boils,ipoluit boils……agumysulumwoyamint plantipolu;it boils;agumyvana,herb ornaments,ipolu;it boilsagumykenalime spatulaipolu;it boils;agumyyagumalime potipolu;it boils;agumysinatacombipolu;it boils;agumymo’imatipolu;it boils;agumyparipresentation goodsipolu;it boils;agumyvatagabig basketipolu;it boils;agumykauyopersonal basketipolu;it boils;agumylilavamagical bundleipolu.it boils.
Dabagumy headipolu;it boils;kabulugumy noseipolu;it boils;kaygadugumy occiputipolu;it boils;mayyegumy tongueipolu;it boils;tabagumy larynxipolu;it boils;kawagumy speaking organipolu;it boils;wadogumy mouthipolu;it boils;ulamywoylaKula courtingipolu.it boils.
C.—Dogina (Conclusion)
44Bulumava’uNew spiritkadagumy maternal uncleMwoyalovaMwoyalovakuvapwothou breathe (the spell over)dabanathe head (of)Monikiniki,Monikiniki,kuvapokaymathou breathe (the spell over)dabanathe head (of)agumytouto’u.light wood.
55AvaliwoI kickkoya—the mountain—isikilait tilts over,koya;the mountain;imwalikuit subsides,koya;the mountain;ikaywa’uit opens up,koya;the mountain;isabwaniit jubilates,koya;the mountainitakubileit topples over,koya;the mountain;itakubilatalait topples down,koya.the mountain.
66AvapwoymaI breathe (a spell over)dabanathe head (of)Koyava’u;Koyava’u;avapokaymaI charmlopoumthy inside (of)Siyaygana;Siyaygana (canoe);akulubekuI drownwaganathe wagaakulisonuI submergelumanena.the lamina.
77GalaNotbutugu,my renownbutugumy renownpilapala;thunder;galanotvaligu,my treading,valigumy treadinglumwadudunoise made by flying witches(?)tudududu.tudududu.
The opening sentences of the formula are so clear that the translation word for word explains itself without any closer commentary, except of course as far as the names are concerned. Laba’i is a village in the North of Kiriwina, and it plays a considerable part in the mythology of the origin of man, since several of the principal sub-clans emerged there from underground. Laba’i is also the home of the mythical culture-hero Tudava. The mythology of the Kula, however, does not include Laba’i amongst the places, on which it touches. Perhaps this somewhat anomalous features of the formula may be connected with its obvious linguistic modernity? The other personal name mentioned in this spell is Kwoyregu, on which Layseta, who gave me this magic, commented in the following manner:
“A man, he lived in Laba’i, the master of the magic. It was not this man who first knew the magic of Monikiniki. That magic was partly found by Tokosikuna, partly in olden days in Sinaketa.”
In explaining this commentary it must be noted that the informant was a Sinaketan man, hence his local patriotism, for there is no definite, mythological version connecting the early practice of the mwasila with the village of Sinaketa. As we saw, Tokosikuna is indeed one of the mythical heroes with whose story the magic of mwasila is associated. Monikiniki is the name of one of the systems of the mwasila magic, which usually is said to come from a man of that name.
Phrase 2 of this spell contains four couples, each consisting of a compound and a verb. The substantival compounds have all, according to the alliterative symmetry so dear to Kiriwinian magic, the prefix silimway-, derived from sulumwoya, the mint plant. Such play on words, especially on what is the leading word in a spell, as sulumwoya is here, shows that the purely phonetic handling of words must be associated with the idea or feeling of their inherent power. The keyword of the tapwana (phrase 3), has been translated, literally ‘it boils.’ Perhaps it might have been translated in its other slightly different meaning ‘it foams.’ Probably it has both meanings to the mind of the native reciter. I think that the use of a word fraught with two meanings at the same time is one of the characteristics of native language. In this spell, for instance, the word polu appears as one in a series of such verbs as ‘to roar,’ ‘to quake,’ ‘to sough,’ all carrying the meaning of ‘noise,’ ‘commotion,’ ‘stir,’ a meaning which is in harmony with the magical effects to be produced by the mwasila magic. In this context the obvious translation of the word would be: ‘to foam.’ On the other hand, this spell is said over a piece of mint, which will be preserved in boiled coco-nut oil, and the double meaning here contained might be paraphrased in this manner: “as the oil of the sulumwoya boils, so may my renown (or the eagerness of my partner?) foam up.” Thus the word polu would link up the meaning of the rite of boiling with the context of this spell.
This explanation, however, has not been obtained from a native informant, though it is undoubtedly in keeping with the general type of current explanations. What I have called before the magical concatenation of magical ideas consists in just such connections of words and their meanings.
The dogina (final part) contains one or two typical features. For instance, in phrase 4, the maternal uncle of the present reciter is asked to breathe the spell over the head of Monikiniki. In this, the present owner of the spell identifies his canoe with that of the mythical hero. In 5, 6 and 7, we have several grandiloquent expressions such as that referring to the commotion on the mountain; that comparing his renown to thunder, and his treading to the noise made by mulukwausi; and that describing how the waga will sink, through being overfilled with valuables. The last part would, as usual, be recited in a much more perfunctory and quick manner, giving it the effect of piling up words, one forceful phrase following another It ends with the onomatopoetic sound tudududu … which stands for the roll of the thunder.