Page:The sexual life of savages in north-western Melanesia.djvu/85

Rh called tauva'u who bring epidemics and various evils upon the people (see ch. xii, sec. 4). By them they are further instructed in the art of harming, and such women are greatly feared. Several of my personal acquaintance were definitely pointed out as having a leman from the sphere of tauva'u, notably the wife of the headman of Obweria, a very intelligent and enterprising character, who is seen, as the main performer, on plates 77 and 78.

From the point of view of the investigating sociologist, the most important difference between male and female sorcery lies in the fact that the wizard actually carries on his trade, while the witch's activity exists only in folklore and in the imagination of the native. That is to say, a sorcerer actually knows the magic of his trade; when called upon he will utter it over the proper substances; will go out at night to waylay his victim or visit him in his hut; and in certain cases, I suspect, may even administer poison. The witch, on the other hand, however much she may be believed to play the part of a yoyoya, does not — needless to say — really fly or abstract the insides of people, and she knows no spells or rites, since this type of female magic lives merely in legend and fiction.

There are a number of minor ailments, among them toothache, certain tumours, swelling of the testicles and genital discharge (gonorrhoea?), which woman can inflict on man by means of magic. Toothache is exclusively a female specialty, and one woman will be called in to cure it when some other has caused it. A witch can produce it through her magical power over a small beetle Rh