Albert Maori Kiki
In 1939 Christian converts burnt down the eravo, the big men's house, in Orokolo. Even though the Christians were a tiny minority in Orokolo then, the elders decided not to rebuild the house. They had already lost confidence in the culture of their forefathers. The old ways had failed to protect them against the white man's power and their traditional world view did not enable them to interpret some of the rapid changes that had overtaken them.
The decision not to rebuild the house had far-reaching consequences. It meant that the hevehe initiation cycle could no longer be carried out. The construction of the huge hevehe cane masks ceased, and the carving of hohao (ancestral boards) was abandoned. The people of Orokolo had turned away from their traditional ways and tried to face the new world that was encroaching on them.
However, the cessation of public ceremonies and ritual did not mean that people abandoned all traditional practices in their homes. Incantations and magic rites connected with gardening and fishing, for example, have persisted until today. Among the variety of practices that have survived the social upheavals of Orokolo is the use of a magic object called a marupai.
A marupai is a dwarf coconut that has clan designs incised on it with a shark's tooth. Marupai is personal magic, and it is usually carried under the armpit of a man. The top end of the dwarf coconut is usually rugged and split so that the overall shape, even when not carved, suggests an animal head with nostrils and a slightly open mouth. The carver always adds eyes to make the image complete.
Normally, the marupai is stuck in a small string bag (okaoka) with only its mouth looking out. Tied on to the marupai are two other magic substances: the paiha, an aromatic bark; and the hepahepa, a flat red seed that is tied into a string bag of its own.
Whenever incantations are spoken to appeal to the marupai, the paiha bark must be chewed at the same time. The paiha is sometimes contained in a small piece of bamboo that is attached to the marupai. Rarely, the bark is carved into the shape of a man. A small piece of bark is usually stuck in the mouth of the marupai, and to .make the power of the object even greater a tiny piece of human bone is also kept in its mouth. This bone is usually taken from the body of a deceased magic man, who thus transfers some of his own powers to the object.
The hepahepa is used only in times of extreme danger. When a man feels really threatened, he will crush the seed and eat the soft powdery pith inside it. This will excite him and put him into a strong and belligerent mood. He will feel close to his ancestor whose name he will call.
Marupai are usually owned by adult men, though sometimes women can own them with the permission of the brother; however, women can only own the benevolent kind. Usually it is midwives who have marupai. The functions of marupai are as follows:
There is a certain bird noise sometimes heard at night—a very fast repetition of a very high-pitched tone—which is said to be the marupai flying. When people hear this noise, they lock their doors. They say that a marupai is out on an evil message and that some- one in the village is likely to die.
The carving of a marupai is in itself a magic act.
When a carver is asked to make such an object, he will select the dwarf coconut from amongst those that are scattered on the ground in the bush. He must perform a small ceremony before husking the coconut. Then he scrapes it and puts it in the mud for some days to soften it. Even then, the dwarf coconut remains extremely hard at the top, which is why most of the de- sign is concentrated in the area near the 'mouth'. The carver must incise the owner's clan design on the nut. Though all the patterns are geometric, they symbolise either a plant or an animal that is associated with the clan. Every animal and every fish and every plant is associated with one of the ten clans of Orokolo.
The carver must be in a state of acute concentration when he carries out the work. No one must disturb him. Those who bring him food must put it down by his side quietly, without talking to him. He will take no notice of the person entering, and he may some- times work without eating for long stretches of time
When the work is finished, the owner takes the marupal to a river. The marupai is suspended from .1 stick and dangled over the water. The owner must sit very still and wait. He must watch which animal passes underneath or over the marupai: a fish, a bird, a centipede, a crocodile, a flying fox, a snake and so on. Only an animal from the man's own clan would be acceptable as the future spirit of the marupai. If an animal from another man's clan passes first, it is a very bad sign. If an animal from his own clan passes—a crocodile for instance—then the crocodile becomes associated with the power of the marupai. In times of need the owner will call on the crocodile, and it is believed that his ancestral spirit will come to his aid in crocodile form.
This practice of identifying the ancestor's animal 'carrier' is used only by ordinary men. The really powerful magic men have their own methods of communicating with the ancestor.
When a man dies, the marupai will be inherited by his nephew. Only his sisters' sons can inherit them. If the nephew is still very young, the marupai will be kept for him by the string man, that is, the ritual expert of the clan. Because marupai are inherited, a man may often have many of them.
Even though many people have given up the practice of using protective or aggressive marupai in recent years, and many of them have been sold to traders, there are still many of these objects in active use in Orokolo and Arehava villages.
Marupai are a beautiful example of a miniature art form from the Papuan Gulf, and they enable us to make a detailed study of Orokolo clan designs and symbols.