172. 
H. AuFENANGER 
Anthropos 57. 1962 
Here is a ceremony in which the Mondono ereva is used for an entirely 
different purpose: My father made a lot of little holes with a digging stick in 
the ground around a piece of land on which he and his forefathers used to 
make their garden. Now another man had taken that piece of land and begun 
to make a garden. So my father threw some dust from the Mondono’s excre 
ments into all the little holes and poured in some water. This should cause 
the soil to be washed down the slope into the creek, but the new owner of the 
garden noticed the trick. He trod with his foot on all the little holes in the 
ground, saying : “Do not break away before I have married my young daughter 
to a man.” After that he planted a lot of red and black cordylines between 
all the holes in the ground. It was all in vain. When a heavy rain poured down, 
the whole garden slid down the slope. (Reported by Yonduai.) 
kondelxka (Upper jimmi) 
Sometimes, when an earthquake occurs, people say : “The sun is walking 
about and causing the earth to tremble”. Here is another version of the origin 
ot the earthquake: The Kondelxka believe that the earthquake is caused by 
the Imem animal under the ground turning from one side to the other. The 
I mem looks like a pig. The term for earthquake is magimp pungga ndi “the 
ground shakes.” Women strew Imem ele “excrements of the Imem” on ropes 
of sweet potatoes which they are about to plant. The same Imem ele is strewn 
on cooked sweet potatoes and given to the male pigs in order to make them 
fat. - The Kondelxka put Imem ele into a hole [or several holes ?] to cause 
the soil of a garden to break away in an avalanche if it had been taken 
unjustly. - Here is another use of the Imem’s excrements : When men have 
built a new gerua house, a magician will light a new fire in it, using the fire- 
saw. Then he will put some dust from the Imem’s excrements into the hand of 
the official announcer of news. These excrements look like white ashes and 
are carried in a bamboo tube by the magician. Now the announcer and all 
the other men stand outside the new house and the announcer will sing out 
with a loud voice : Hua, hua ... Then all the others will fall in. All the people 
who hear this shouting will shake and be induced to bring many valuable 
things to these men. (Reported by Teine.) 
pala (Upper Jimmi) 
My parents have a little bamboo tube which is filled with Kovo nde 
“excrements of the Kovo”. Mar kovo means “earthquake”. Another expression 
for earthquake is mar ngguru nim. - We got the Kovo nde from Tapipogal 4 . 
Together with the Kovo nde we received a little liana called kongo. My parents 
put all the vegetables which they intend to plant, in the middle of a new 
garden. On top of this heap they lay the Kovo nde and the kongo liana. After 
some time they take the Kovo nde and the liana away and hide them in the 
garden in a little hollow in the stump of a tree. Later on, when everything 
4 A place on the left side of the Jimmi River. There is now a Government station.