The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1903-09-11
THE SOUL CATCHERS.
A SINGULAR CUSTOM OF THE SOUTH
SEA ISLANDERS.
The Way the Natives In the Days De-
fore Civilization Had Fully Marked
Them For Its own Used 40 Get Even
With Their Enemies.

fOre CIVILIZATION nnd fuuy mnrkeu
Them For It's own Used 10 Get Even
! With Their Enemies.
/ A little while ago while turning over
fome mementos OF many years spent
| In the Pacific islands / came across
small circle OF fine cane about two
inches In diameter From the side to-
ward the center delicate network OF
the hbers of some plant was construct
cd, leaving a small hole In the center
large enough for, say, a bee to crawl
through. The article weighed less
than a quarttf OF an ounce; yet small
Ind harmless as ii appeared, II IL not
so very many years ago that II and
others like II were objects Of deadly
terror TO the natives Of many Of the
Pacific islands particularly those Of
Manahik Humphrey islaudJ, for the
simple looking thing was n soul catch
or'-that H., a destroyer Of human life.
ManahiI r. one OF u group of low
lying atoll islands TO the north-north.
west Of Samoa. and It's people today
are about the best educated Of oil the
Malayo- pOlynosian people. They elect
king and parliament, have one pf the
most beautifully adorned churches In
the Pacihc islands, and nearly all the
younger members OF ia" community
can now not only speak but read and
write English The island s-for nm
atoll unusually fertile ana the people
fine, stalwart, handsome copper col
orcd race The main industries are the
making Of "copra' dried cocoanuD and
diving for pearl shell.
Soul catching" in the heathen days,
prior 10 1868, could be and was prac-
ticed by any one who desired revenge
or the life Of m enemy. Indeed, al
though the people were nominally
Christians in 1873. II was still In
vogue. The modus opcrandi Is very
simple. Say t~lt two men, Rika and
TctorO, quarrel Rlka accuses Tetoro
Of going out into the lagoon at night
time, lifting his Nika's) fish traps ana
abstracting the contents. He therefore
demands compensation. Tetoro denies
the theft. The relatives of both men
take sides, and the quarrel assumes all
the elements Of fcud with bloodshcd.
III llNN ]" llliN lflbIb IN u nun WI
means or chiefly rank and influence
and treats his accuscr with sCorn.
"Nery we'll" the injured Rika cries.
"If / cannot get justice from you |
shall snare your soul, and you Will die
of "A wnsting sickness"
Tctoro. even II ne is innocent, begins
TO feel uneasy at this threat and. while
vigorously denying the theft, offers
Rlka present of pig to end the mat
ter. Rilla's relatives at once clamor
not only for their original demands.
but for the pig rs well. Possibly II free
fight cnsues. ana Iika's people get
badly used and threats of "soul snar-
ing" are heard on all sides.
Then Rika's wife makes the snare for
Tctoro's soul. Taking her mat out into
the village square or upon well fire.
qurntcd road or path, she suspcnds the .
snare from the branches of trees or
sticks placed in the ground I'm such n F.
position that she can closely watch the
orhcc I'm the center OF the square
Rika's friends. male and female, come |
with her They bring food and eat II .
and throw fragments under the snare F.,
10 attract the flies, with which the Is
land IS infested. IT but one fly crawls
through the hole TCturo Is II dead man,
unless he suddenly gives In and allows
himself to bc hlcd, for not only do /
Rikn's people watch The snare, but his
own as well No one of them would /
dare to attempt 10 destroy the snare 1
The death of the lnterfcrcr by occult !
power would certainly follow.
And so for hours ana hours some |
times for days-many pairs Of eyes I.
watch the little circle Of cane, and Tc- /
toro and his fricuds are now ready TO |
yield, but feel that still more cN'o"..
tionate demands may be made, Then !
nj last a fly Is sccu to crawl through, |
and shout goes through the village.
'J'a hopo e. lago. Ua hopo t. lago" |
C"A fly Ils passed through Tctoro |
hears the cries and Immediately imag |
ines he feels ILL., Ills wife and relatives |
crowd about him and try to cheer him |
mp but his face assumes melancholy |
look. aud MS the time passes on he re- |
fuses his food. Perhaps he may con
fcss that he did steal Rika's Ash and
trcmhngly offer to make full rcstitu |
ton II Rika will catch n fly and make /
It go through the circle from the re- t,
verse side through which the first one
entered voluntarily. Usually this IL
done, and what might have become
lasting family fcud had Tctoro died of
funk" through being hcwitchcd, ends
up hy the payment or 80 much property
TO Rika and feast for which both
parties provide the viands.-Pall Mall
Gazette