surprise that Muralug should be the reputed home of the culture-heroes, for, as I have elsewhere shown, the natives of that island, or Kauralaig, are lower in culture than the other islanders in some respects, and approach the Australians. I suspect that Malu and his brothers really came from Nagir; the legends of Naga and Tabu certainly support this view.
(1) It is difficult to find an equivalent for the term zogo of the Eastern tribe. On a future occasion I shall have more to say on this and other "religious" matters. A zogo appears to be a sort of charm, or fetish, and the same name is apparently applied to its shrine or location. It may have great or small powers, and may belong to one or more clans, or even to a single individual. (2) This part was very obscure. (3) There is some confusion here between the octopus, ati, and the mask, Bomai, which subsequently represented it. On a later occasion I shall describe the sacred initiation masks and ceremonies. In Mer one mask was named Bomai and the other Malu. These were the hidden names which it was not lawful to mention, save to those already initiated, and never to any woman under penalty of death. The masks were, I believe, collectively known as Agud, and this general term was known to men and women alike. I take it that Agud is the same as Augŭd of the Western tribe, and thus it would mean a totem, using that term in a general sense. (4) The village of Las was the main scene of the initiation ceremonies. (5) This weapon was occasionally used in fighting. I believe it was formed by simply fastening to a stick the cartilage of a shark's jaw with the teeth attached. (6) No women were allowed at the real initiation ceremony.
xix.—The Myth of the Tagai Constellation.
