Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1903-09-22
MANAHIKI SOUL SNARERS.
HOW THE SOUTH PACIFIC 49,
ANDERS GET EVEN WITH
ENEMIES.

A Small Circle of Fine Cane T...:. was
Apparently Harmless, Yet Was an
Object of Deadly Terror-An Tn.
canny Ceremony.
A little while ago. while turning
over some mementos OF many years
spent in the Pacific Islands, I came
across small circle of fine cane about
two inches in diameter; from the sides
toward the center a delicate network
OF the fibers of some plant was con-
structed, leaving small hole in the
center large enough for, say, bee to
crawl through The article weighed
less than quarter of a ounce, yet,
small and harmless as it appeared. it
is not so very many years ago that it
and others like it were objects of
deadly terror to the natives of many
OF the Pacific Islands, particularly
those of Manahiki Humphrey ISL
and) for the simple-looking thing was
a soul catcher''-that is, destroyer
of human life.
Manahiki is one of a group of low
lying atoll islands to the north north
west of Samoa, and it's people to-day
are about the best educated of all the
Malayo-P olynesian people. They elect
a king and Parliament, have one of
the most beautifully adorned churches
in the Pacific Islands and nearly all
the younger members of the commun-
ity can now not only speak, but read
and write English. The island is-for
an atoll-unusually fertile, and the
people a fine stalwart, handsome cop
per-colored race. The main Industries
are the making of "copra" (dried CO.
coanut) and diving for pearl she'll.
Soul catching" in the heather days
(prior to 1859 could be and was prac-
ticed by any one who desired revenge
or the life of an enemy. Indeed, al
though the people were nominally
Christians in 1873, it was still in
vogue. The modus operandi is very
simple: Say that two men, Rika and
Tetoro, quarrel. Rika accuses Tetoro
of going out into the lagoon at night
time, lifting his (Rika's) fish traps,
and abstracting the contents. He
therefore demands compensation. Te-
toro denies the theft The relatives
of both men take sides, and the quar-
rel assumes all the elements Of feud,
with bloodshed. 1t may be that Te-
toro is man of means, or chiefly rank
and influence, and treats his accuser
with scorn.
Every WELL" the injured Rika cries.
"if l cannot get justice from you,
shall snare your soul and you will die
of a wasting sickness"
Tetoro. even if he is innocent, be-
gins to feel uneasy at this threat, and
while vigorously denying the theft,
offers Rika a present of pig. to end
the matter. Rika's relatives at once
clamor, not only for their original de-
mands, but for the pig as well. Pos
sibly a free fight ensues, and Rlkas
people get badly used, and threats OF
"soul sharing" are heard on all sides.
Then Rikas wife makes the snare
for Tetoro's soul. Taking her mat out
into the village square, or upon a we'll
frequented road or path, she suspends
the snare from the branches of trees,
or sticks placed in the ground in such
a position that she can closely watch
the orifice in the center of the square
Rika's fTiends-male and female
come with her. They bring food and
eat it and throw fragments immedi-
ately under the snare to attract the
flies with which the island is infested.
If but one fly crawls through the hole
Tetoro is a dead man, unless he sud-
denly give in and allows himself to
be bed. Forpot only do Rika's people
watch the snare, but his own as well.
No one of them would dare attempt to
destroy the snare-tne death of the
the interferer by occult power would
certainly follow.
And SO for hours and hours-some-
times for days-many pairs of eyes
watch the little circle of cane, and
Tetoro and his friends are-now ready
to yield, but feel that still more ex-
tortionate demands may be made.
Then at last fly is seen to crawl
through, and a shout goes through the
village.
"Ua hopo te lago! Ia hopo tie
lago!" "a fly has passed through.
Tetoro hears the cries, and immedi-
ately imagines he feels i'll. His wife
and relatives crowd about him and try
to cheer him up, but his face assumes
a melancholy look, and as the time
passes on he refuses his food. Per-
maps he may confess that he did steal
Rika's fish and tremblingly offers to
make full restitution if Rika will catch
a fly and make it go through the cir
Gle from the reverse side through
which the first one entered voluntar-
ily. Usually this is done, and what
might have become a lasting family
feud had Tetoro died of funk,
through being bewitched, ends up by
the payment of so much property to
Rika. and feast for which both par
ties provide the viands.-Pall Mall
Gazette.