Case file · Witch trials
The flying witches of the kula ring
Malinowski's 'Argonauts of the Western Pacific' (1922) records the Trobriand fear of mulukwausi, flying witches who attack sailors on kula voyages and feed on the dead.
1922 CE · -8.53, 151.08 · status: legend
The account
Sailors relied on spells to escape them when canoes were wrecked. The belief formed part of the magic surrounding the kula exchange of shell valuables between islands.
The sceptical view
Recorded belief, not an observed phenomenon; the fear reflects the real dangers of open-sea voyaging.