Motif
Communal epidemic defense against land spirits
communal_epidemic_defense_against_land_spirits
A motif of the Sacred Law and Social Order family. Every row below is a tagged passage; each rests on a quote in its source text.
1 occurrences
1 traditions
melanesian
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The Melanesians of British New Guinea ITA FEAST. / CHAPTER XV / MAGIC AND SORCERY. / SORCERY.; lines 10129-10237 confidence: medium
The author connects the incantation probably with epidemic disease and cites an 1886 Hanuabada epidemic: torches burned, horns or conch shells blew, hereditary sorcerers cursed all night, land spirits were blamed, people slept in canoes in the bay, and arrows were fired at moving objects.
In an epidemic, land spirits are identified as causing harm, and the community uses torches, horns or conch shells, cursing, sleeping in canoes, and arrows at moving objects.
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