Note 6 — Religion and Superstitious Beliefs and Practices

It will have been noticed that the mode of rendering the inedible food remnants of a grown-up person immune from sorcery, and one of the methods of making the infants’ excrement immune, is that of throwing them into the river; and even as regards infants’ urine, which apparently is not, and as a rule hardly could be, actually thrown into the river, the protection is obtained by pouring water upon it. I think that the belief among the islands of the Pacific in the power of water to protect against the machinations of spirits or ghosts is not confined to the Mafulu natives, or indeed to those of New Guinea. Dr. Codrington mentions its existence as regards human excrement in Melanesia.6 I would also refer to a custom of the Mafulu women after childbirth of throwing the placenta into the river, a practice which is similar to that of the Koita women, who drop the placenta into the sea.7 Probably these practices relating to placenta are also based upon some idea of protection from sorcerers and spirits, although I was informed that among the Mafulu there is no superstitious fear connected with the matter now. If the custom is in fact superstitious in origin, the list of media for the use of sorcery already given by me requires enlarging.8