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THE dark copper-skinned Micronesians who dwell on the coral atolls and islands astride the equator believe, and rightly so, that a shining eye and physical well-being is the result of an active life and an adequate diet. Disease or accident may cause bodily weakness, however, and then the Gilbertese man may resort to magical performances, petitions to ancestral gods or incantations with the object of acquiring once again an enlivened spirit.

When the sky is red in the east, during that pause in time between the darkness of night and the birth of a new day, the man may go to the eastern reef, to a place remote from human habitation, and there, with the roar of the surf about him, perform the urianibati, an incantation for the increasing of strength.

He will enter the sea and lave his body with the cool water, and gazing to where the sun is soon to rise above the horizon, will chant his petition.

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This incantation is thrice chanted as the man washes his body in the small waves which creep across the reef from the outer surf. He will then return to his village and his daily life with the hope in his heart that good health and physical strength will again be his.

In this chant the coming of light is likened to an incident during the mythical creation of the earth when, at the orders of the great god NAREAU, the sky was rent from the land by the giant ray, the decapod and the turtle. Turmoil surrounded their straining efforts and, as the earth and the sky were torn apart the rock of the reef was broken, coconut trees were torn from their sand-held roots, the iron-hard wood of the ngea was splintered and even the grass pulled from its grasp of the soil. And TABWENA, the personification of light, entered while TABAKEA, the turtle, remained below to support the earth on his broad back.

From this daily repetition of the coming of light, from this awe-inspiring moment, the Gilbertese believes he absorbs some of the strength of the ray, the decapod and the turtle.

But bathing in the sea may be used for purposes other than mere physical cleanliness or the gaining of strength. It may also be used for the banishing of loneliness and the gaining of friendship with a chosen woman.

The majority of magical practices are carried out in strict secrecy and, therefore, by the performer alone. In this case, however, he of the lonely heart may be assisted by a male friend who possesses greater knowledge and skill in such matters. The two friends will search the land until an uto, a young coconut tree, is found with branches bending so that the ends sweep the sand. One of these branches is cut but great care must be taken to ensure that the severed portion is of the same length as the height of the girl desired. If the man seeking female companionship is himself familiar with this particular tabunea, sorcery, there is no need for

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Tarawa, Gilbert Islands: the village of Taratai. It was here that Captain Davis (H.M.S. Royalist) raised the Flag in 1892 and proclaimed Tarawa as part of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Protectorate.

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him to be accompanied by a mentor and, therefore, there is no necessity for the coconut branch as will be seen.

When the spring tide is in full flood, as the sun sinks below the ocean, the man goes to the south-western end of the island. Making sure that he is unobserved he strips himself of his garment and enters the water until he stands breast deep. He stands and three times recites the karuonako, the banishing.

As this is thrice chanted the man laves first his right arm, then his left, and again and again until the incantation is ended. Should the man be accompanied by a mentor the latter stands behind the bather, but close to him, and while chanting on his behalf, with the coconut branch sweeps the surface of the sea away from the bather thus guiding off the undesirable characteristics mentioned in the incantation.

The Gilbertese male believes that the eating of certain foods causes him to be disliked by the opposite sex. The lower part of the body of a fish with its head, entrails and tail, or the lower half of a coconut, or food prepared by a woman during her period of menstruation, may bring about a state of ibenao, when the man finds no favour in the eyes - 20 of women. In the chant, then, the man asks that the ill-effects from his having eaten any of these forbidden foods, either carelessly or unwittingly, be taken from him.

Although in the incantation the removal of a ‘dark appearance’ is sought it must not be understood from this that the Gilbertese necessarily consider a fair skin more beautiful than a dark one. On the contrary, songs frequently praise the latter, as for example in a popular tune that begins, ‘Nei Te Ribaro, te bataro, te tikiraoi—’ or ‘Woman of the dark complexion, the black, the beautiful—’. In the chant the ‘dark appearance’ might be better translated as a ‘blank, dead expression’.

Now, having purified his person the man will commence a second chant, the kararake, the uplifting.

Karewe is the sweet sap bled twice daily from the spathe of the coconut tree, and not only in its sweet or fresh form but also when reduced by boiling to molasses, is an important item in the Gilbertese diet. The fresh toddy may be allowed to ferment naturally and when then drunk comforts many an elder and intoxicates not a few youths. In the chant, for the sake of rhythm, a male name (TABUTOA) and a female name (KAOBUNNANG) have been used but in practice the performer would use his own name and that of the woman he loved.

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While this second incantation is being chanted the man scoops the sea in his left hand and pours it over his right shoulder. If the performance is being led by a mentor he stands as earlier, behind the bather, and with the coconut branch sweeps the water towards his pupil. Just as the ‘banishing’ was chanted three times so too is the ‘uplifting’.

The man may then leave the sea but he is prohibited from towelling his body but must let it dry in the evening breeze. The garment he had formerly used must not be worn again but he must put on a new and clean waist-cloth or a riri, grass kirtle. A further restriction is the ban on conversation with, or even recognition of any girl the man might meet before he again sees his chosen mate.

If the man who has carried out this procedure is living on his home island he will go, immediately after the bathing, to the grave of an ancestor. He will call to the dead saying, ‘Te nao, aio ngai Tabutoa. Taiaoka, buokai katekeraoi i aon au makuri aei’, which is to say, ‘You, it is I, TABUTOA. I ask you to help me, to place good fortune upon this, my work’. The man will then sit and smoke a short while. If a mentor has accompanied the man the coconut branch used during the ceremony will be laid upon the grave, but it must be removed after three days have passed and be thrown into the sea.

If, however, the man is not living at the time on his native land he is unable to visit the grave of a forebear. It is possible for him in such a case to go to the eastern reef, to a place frequented by spirits, and there to call upon one of them by name and so to make his request for supernatural assistance.

As a result of this magical performance the girl will become ‘wakeful and restless’ and she will accept with readiness any advance made to her.

Just as Jezebel tarred her hair, painted her face and looked out of the window, and as the modern youth brilliantines his forelock, so have the Micronesians in the Gilbert Islands, from the times of ‘before, before’ until today, perfumed their bodies and followed superstitious beliefs to endear them to those by whose charms they are attracted. - 22 On drought ridden coral atolls, vegetated by few plants other than the coconut and the pandanus palms, the islanders have evolved numerous methods to ensure success in love.

The preparation of a charmed oil and its use, one of these many introductions to the world's oldest form of entertainment, a magical performance known as te wa n aonikie, the canoe on the sleeping mats, is described. Accurate translation of the chant has not been possible as some of the words used are in the ‘language of before’ and their meanings are not known to present day Gilbertese, but an attempt is made to interpret the romantic atmosphere of the chant into fairly literal English.

One, three or five mature coconuts are taken from the bunia or sweet coconut tree and husked. Two or four nuts are of no value as they are already mated and, therefore, an odd number is used as the extra ben will have a desire for a partner; it is loyal and lasting union of man and woman that is the object of the ceremony. Having been husked the nuts are then cracked open into two halves and the white meat, takataka, is removed by grating on a kautuai, the flakes of meat falling upon the small woven mat, or ngabingabi. The grated meat is then wrapped in a piece of the cloth-like wrappings (te ing) which grow on the base of coconut branches, and by squeezing and wringing movements with the hands the coconut ‘cream’, or te ran ni ben, is expressed. In former times this ran ni ben was collected in a coconut shell but since the advent of the trader a frying pan has been used. The pan of ran ni ben is then placed upon a fire and heated until the oil rises and is separated from sediment and the moisture is evaporated. The oil is then poured from the pan, filtered through a piece of ing to remove any further traces of sediment, or bakanutao, and collected in a coconut shell.

Near the former fire a space is marked on the ground one span of thumb to forefinger in width, the hand being turned so that four arcs are drawn in the dust by the finger and thumb. The circle is then completed by joining the arcs with the point of the forefinger marking the ground. Within the boundaries of this circle a hole is dug which must be the same depth as the length of a man's hand

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Tarawa, Gilbert Islands: Irata climbs to gather toddy from the bound spathe of the palm.

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from finger tips to wrist. The spoil from the hole is removed cleanly and placed a short distance away.

While this hole is being prepared one or two handfuls of dried pandanus fruits, already chewed and discarded and known as beti, have been thrown on the fire and, by the time the hole is completed, are burning well. The burning beti are then placed in the hole and covered with a layer of small coral stones, atama, so that no glimmer of the fire below them is seen. The coconut shell containing the oil is then stood on the heated stones and the oil is allowed to boil three times. An itu (small pieces of resin found on the ocean beaches only after severe westerly winds, and therefore possibly storm borne from Melanesian islands and, because of their rarity, considered to be of great value) the size of a small walnut, or two or three itu if they be small ones, are mashed in a small clam shell with a stone. The mashed itu are then dropped into the heated oil as it stands on the fire. The oil is then stirred with the centre rib of a coconut leaf, a sliver called te noko, and the degree to which the musky aroma of the itu has permeated the oil is tested by the noko being periodically raised to the nose and smelt.

The oil, when the itu has been thoroughly or satisfactorily infused with it, is poured from the coconut shell into a bottle (in former times a clean and smaller coconut shell was used). The bottle is then hidden in the thatch of the house but it must be closely adjacent to the centre roof beam on the eastern side of the house (as most houses are built on the western side of the island parallel to the shore one side of a house will always be to the east, the gable ends facing north and south).

The original coconut shells, those shells used during the operation, the pieces of ing, the ‘pestle and mortar’ used to mash the itu and all signs of the fires, are buried. The only materials used during the preparation of the oil to be retained are the grater, te kautuai, and the small mat, te ngabingabi, on which the coconut meat gratings fell. A skilful man, te tia rabakau, will possess a grater and mat specially for the preparation of oil for magical (tabunea) purposes and will utilize other graters and mats during the preparation of foods.

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The bottle of oil must remain, undisturbed in the thatch, for three days. After that period of time it may be applied to the body in a particular manner accompanied by words chanted in an undertone.

A little of the oil is poured on to the palm of the left hand after which both palms are pressed together. Then, to the accompanying chant, the right hand is slowly drawn up the inner side of the left arm, and across to terminate on the left breast. The procedure is then repeated, the left hand being drawn up the inner side of the right arm to terminate on the right breast. Both hands are then placed, side by side with thumbs touching, flatly on the penis and slowly drawn up the stomach, chest and face to terminate on the forehead. The chant is repeated for each of these three anointments. All parts of the body to come in contact with the body of the desired woman will have then been laved with, and will bear the odour of the oil. The application of the oil to the body, to the accompaniment of the chant, is done prior to approaching the woman. The power, maka, of the oil will remain upon the man's body indefinitely provided he touches nothing between the time of the application of the oil and his meeting with the woman. This, then, is the chant—

Nim taba nim taba
Nim kaeko nim kaeko
Nim tiku boini kabirau te aka
Bai boia bai nenea
Bai karerewe i karerewe
Ti boni ngai Teng (name of the man)
Inanoni win ao Nei (name of the woman)
Ke ngurai ni boneai ke ko Kanai
Ni kai ke tabataba
Tenatena o Nei (name of the woman)

Stay pandanus fruit stay pandanus fruit
Stay the sight of you stay the sight of you
Adhere remain scent of my oil the shining surface
Scented thing oily thing
Sweet thing with sweetness
Just me alone Teng (name of the man)
In the mouth of Nei (name of the woman)
Or chew me and discard me or you swallow me

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Of trees or pandanus fruits (?)
Biting O Nei (name of the woman).

The application of the oil to the body of the man facilitates his conquest of the woman and when the oil, by reason of the man lying with the woman, comes in contact with the woman it ensures that she will remain ever faithful.

It is common practice in the Gilbert Islands for magical performances, tabunea, to be executed on the windward eastern shores but the preparation of this oil can be done where the man wishes—even beside his house in the village. The oil may be used by another than the man who made it, as for instance a brother who might come across it in the thatch of the house and suspecting its purpose use it, with equally powerful results. The power of the oil in the bottle will last indefinitely once the three day ‘rest period’ after manufacture has passed.

The power, maka, of the oil may be shown by the story of one who, suspecting his wife was no longer faithful to him, waited one evening until she fell asleep upon their mat. He then began to anoint himself with the oil, softly chanting the while. He had no more than completed the first repetition of the chant and was about to begin the second when his wife awoke and rushed to him crying, ‘I dreamed of you. I love you. I smelled the oil and heard you call me’. The man responded to her embrace but, a little amazed at the promptness and efficacy of the tabunea, could only gasp, ‘Te wa n aonikie!’

Such lore is passed from father to son, from grandfather to grandson or, where fathers and grandfathers may be deceased, from uncle to nephew. The term ‘son’ or ‘grandson’ includes those adopted to that position in the family. Such knowledge is limited to males and cannot be passed from a man to a woman. The female sex has knowledge, passed down the generations, of similar practices and such information will never be told to males. There are the ‘ways of men’ and the ‘ways of women’. Should the secret of a particular tabunea be learnt by another not of the same family line or by a member of the opposite sex the original ‘owner’ will never again use that particular tabunea, and will consider it as no longer possessing any maka—for him it will cease to exist.

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