Page:Papuan Fairy Tales.djvu/19

Rh to-day. I have met many in different villages, and claim several as my friends. No doubt some years ago they would have been dealt with summarily by infuriated villagers, but now the law is feared, the witch is propitiated by gifts of food. All deaths, however, save those due to accident, are laid to her charge, and quite an ordinary remark on hearing of a death is "Who killed him?" meaning which witch?

Cannibalism, too, is another important feature. This practice is still indulged in by tribes out of reach of the Government, and there are many of the coastal tribes who, having had to relinquish the habit, still sigh for the good old days "when there was plenty to eat." It is not therefore surprising that many of the stories deal with cannibal practices.