A TRANSFORMATION

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 173, 9 August 1937, Page 6

A TRANSFORMATION

^annibals Absorb Civilising; Influences TALES 0F OTHER DAYS A grisly, yet fasclnating, stoxy, re~ lated by Mrs Margaret Light, one oi the Papuan missionaries, to the Australian Board of Missions, illustratea strikingly the change that has come over people who. but a few short years ago, knew only the savagery of Stond Age customs, and who, with - sympathetic govemmeiital and mission guidance, have sho'wn remarkable adaptability in ab s orbing _ civilis'ihg "in-fluenc-es, says a writer in the "Sydney Morning Herald." THe story relates to a pool which,, as a place of bapiism, is now graced and adorned by the name of Jordan, but which, only 80 years ago, was the scene of^all the hideous orgies as«-, sociated with cannibalism; and abso toj a circle of stones, with an equally un4 pleasant record, in oue of the Papuan] villages. | Baek in those days — a mere yeeter-] day in the surge of timo — a New: . Guinea tribe gratified its hunger, of" perhaps lust, for meat, by maginfj raid on another tribe, and by carryinrf, off the dead for a gastronomic orgy, amid weird and fearsome tribal cere--mony. It must have been lust, rathefthan hunger, that really prompted thoraid, for it was preceded, at the circle of stones, for example, by a feast in which sorcery and magic cast their 4vih influence. In the circle of stones— -!t stHI exists — is a amall nollow stpne, shapedi like a cup, in the centre. In this receptacle, kiiown as "Wakeke's ■ Cup, was pouxed a magic and apparently stiminating potion, with a mixture of - cocoanut as one of its conptituent elements. It was with this potion that the warriors were fed before the tribal raid. Ihe eim was to make thom strong, like their ancestor, Wakeke. One of the Papnans was askod^npt long ago to point ont to Mrs Light and a party the lopation of tho . of stones and cup. After walkiflg iim-

lessly about xor some ximo, ao wwa still, and then loobed carefully rquncL The party waited his next ihove tritn some curiosity. He then nodded tP" wards some stones, and resumed, hi®j walk. It appeared to the party^ttiuo he did not waiit anyone else to xaowj what he was doing. ' He had directed them to tho rough circle of stones, with a smallish, hol-j low stone, shaped like n cup, qtand-i ing upright in the centre. Tho Papuan said nothing about the circle of stones or its history. He had pointed it ou^ to the party, and was content to leave it at that. . ^ Mrs Light relates that, when a flght, or raid, was over, the bodies of those slain were brought from the scene or the slaughter. Each body, tied to a long pole, was hoisted on the shouldera of two strong men, "just aS their*piga are carried to-day." Then came a triumphal procession. Shouting defiance to their enemies, and with pagan efles in praise of them3elves, the mexj moved in procession to the village, craily caparisoned with. plumed headdjrysseaj, with tails .of feathers, aflama with colour, and with bxanches of toees swaying in ihe wind. This was merely a curtain-raiser •to the grisly seenes of revelry that followed. The village being reached, each bodyi was placed in a pool to soak, whilarf stones were heated for roasting pur-j poses. "When the stones were deemedj sufficiently h6t, the body was cut intoj pieces, each of which. was draped int paw-paw leaves, "and then placea among the hot stones. Then came ths( horrible feast. j Mrs Light contrasts that scene—, the savages, their faces hideous with war paint, and their eyes afire — with the position to-day in Papua. . \ j "Things," she observes, "are very different here to-day. The people are so quiet and friendly. The pool which, only thirty years ago, marked such horrible scenes, is now a place for bap,tism. It is hard to believe that thes* people were ever savages, until one sees them excited over a hunt, or /a football match, or taking part in one of their old tribal dances." _ . The story recalls the difficulties which are sometimes met with in helping the natives of Papua, because of their primitive conceptions, . . — Many years ago, an epiaemle of smallpox threatened loss of native life in portion of Papua. The natives refused to submit tcK vaccination. They declined to have their arms made sore merely to satisfy some curious whim !• of the white man. A scheme was i therefore evolved under which the native police weri instructed to notify ; all the natives in the place affected ! by smallpox that a great and power- , ful sorcerer had arisen, and was benfc j on destroying them. The Government ! alone, they were advised, had power over his evil' influence. Thus, if the natives were to escape his clutches, it wquld be neeessary for them to have the "Government mark" upon their arms, for, at the mere sight of it, the sorcerer would flee. The official ruse was a complete success. The natives from far and widt eagerly sought the Government mark.