Natmasses

Natmasses (singular 'natmas') were spirits worshipped in the ancient culture of the island of Aneityum, Vanuatu. They were manifested in the form of stones. "Stones were the chief fetishes, or representatives of the natmasses (spirits), these were all sizes from that of a pebble to blocks of some tons weight. About a mile inland from our station are two blocks, each as large as the roof of a small cottage; both of them were recognized as natmases. The one, the large one, was called the sun, and the other the moon. The sides of the larger rock are marked with some rude, sculptured figures of fishes and birds, and as one of the best fishing grounds could be seen from these rockes, certain incantations performed on these were believed to affect the success or non-success of the fishing. Every family had a basket containing a collection of natmasses of their own, a sort of penates or household gods, which they worshipped as a family."^[1]

References

1. ^ As quoted by Felix Speiser in Ethnology of Vanuatu. London: C Hurst, 1998, p.310.

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