Email Nopuko Today

Written by: Patrick McMakin (This article was first published in the Guam Pacific Daily News) Sunday, May 23, 1976 In Ordot, a 31-year-old lives in half of a concrete duplex and takes care of her five children while her American husband works. In the afternoon she chats with friends at the local grocery store. Friday nights she plays bingo at the nearby church. In addition, she is a Trukese sorceress or sow roog residing and practicing a traditional Micronesian cultural activity on the most Westernized island in the Pacific. Nopuko is flexible; moving to Guam caused no interruption of  her practice. She serves local Micronesians, Chamorro-Guamanians. Statesiders and even Koreans in her clientele.
Nopuko (right) and island client, 1986.	A sorceress, like the Chamorro Suruhano curer, uses plant medicines, massage and a supernatural power to cure illness.. But she also is believed to have the power to cause illness - both physical and mental - initiate small business failures and prepare magical love potions, depending upon the wishes of the client, but more importantly as a result of a moral judgment made by the sorceress. Sorcery is a sensitive activity, especially in this predominantly Catholic community. Nopuko takes clients only on referral from close friends, relatives
and previous clients. After learning the details of a case, she judges the client's belief, sincerity and motives. She then decides whether to use her knowledge and powers to intervene and cause a change for the better or the worse depending upon one's point of view. A judgment by the sorceress is important because misuse of her power will anger the ghost of her father who passed on the practice to her. Also, the failure of a client to follow her instructions will cause the appearance of her father and cause Nopuko to become ill or crazy. As a countermeasure against a client's mistakes she casually mentions that if she detects a client's improper behavior in her visions she will turn her malevolent abilities against him and cause him to fail to achieve his goals, become crazy and possibly even die. An intense seriousness shows that Nopuko firmly believes this, and she easily gains dominance over the strongest personalities.  However, at the same time the impression is given that she sincerely will attempt to help a person if he becomes a client. Nopuko was 11 years old in 1957 when her father, a Trukese sorcerer, became seriously ill. She went to visit him and he handed a piece of paper. There were tears in his eyes as he told her that he had written down the formulas for Trukese sorcery and that it was time to give them to her and another sister and brother. Not wanting to see her father cry., she left the room. A few minutes later the wailing of her mother was heard.   Her father was dead.
Since that time, Nopuko, her sister and brother have been recognized as having the powers of Trukese sorcery. After reaching a marriageable age, Nopuko used the formula for love magic to lure her husband to her side. Now living on Guam, Nopuko makes visits to Truk but has few problems in adapting to her present home. Her most interesting and frequent activity involves the preparation of love magic. Her standard mixture contains secret ingredients - one of which is a colorful flying insect found early in the morning. She also has counter magic for love potions of Yapese and Palauan sorcerers she knows and with whom she is in competition. She is confident that her magic is the most powerful, with the magic of the Yapese posing the greatest threat.	Nopuko back on the islands with two of her grandchildren, Krystal Sheila and James Michael.
The love counter magic is a black, granulated mixture with the appearance of burnt soil and vegetation. One of the plant ingredients is a common fern. known as chichi. (This fern also is used by many Suruhano in their medical teas and is known to the Chamorros as kajlao.) The entire list of ingredients of the counter magic is known only to Nopuko and her siblings and never can be divulged without risking the wrath of her father's ghost. The recipient of the love magic or counter magic must follow strict instructions from Nopuko. The client is told that he must carry a small bottle on his body at all times until the desired mate is obtained. This bottle then never can be discarded. The instructions also involve application of the potion. The granules are mixed with an aftercare lotion or perfume that has a different scent from the one worn by the member of a love triangle who is to be eliminated when there is competition for a desired mated. The client mixes a small amount of the counter magic with the aftercare or perfume and applies it to the face or neck in the usual manner. The person wearing the potion must walk ahead of others when in public, avoiding close contact with members of the opposite sex other than the desired mate. The love potion must be applied to a place where the intended mate and the person to be removed from the love triangle - if competition exists - will smell the scent. This will cause the desired mate to return to the client and the other person will become complacent about the relationship. The love potion is best when applied to the person's bed but can be applied to a doorknob or open window at night -- anyplace where the scent will be detected. The client applies the perfumed potion only once to the residence of the desired mate but wears it daily until a close relationship is established with the person who has been lured by the magic. The application then can be discontinued but the rest of the potion is kept in the client's house. Once the desired mate is drawn to her client Nopuko advises that the client be patient and let the other speak first. The client always must let the desired mate come to him (or her). If the mate speaks negatively of the client or the future of their relationship the client must act unconcerned and never show frustration. This can be ventilated in sessions with Nopuko. If possible, encounters with the member of a love triangle to be removed must be avoided, but if they occur the client should refrain from other than casual conversations.
Nopuko working on a potion.	Once the love potion has taken effect the progress and payment is made if satisfaction has been registered. If there are difficulties a stronger potion may be prescribed. While the client is using the love potion Nopuko is aware of the names of the people involved and is concentrating on making the magic work by altered state of consciousness, visions and speaking to her father's ghost. Dealing with the spirits is a central part of sorcery, not only when using love magic but also when curing illness. In the Trukese theory of illness all affiliations are thought to be caused by spirits that inhabit various areas of the island such as the shallow reef, the deep reef, caves or jungle - areas more specific than those inhabited by the taotaomona in Chamorro belief. Also, the spirits in Trukese beliefs originally were human and have transformed into ghosts after life.
The Trukese single spirit theory is different from the Suruhano dualistic concept of spiritual and natural causes, but - as with suruhanos - massage and herbal medicines are used in treatment. Some medicines are made into tea and taken internally and other medicinal leaves are rubbed on the patient's skin during the massage. For a child who has been afflicted by an illness caused by the "sea ghost" - or spirit of the ocean - the leaves called nopur (Morinda citrofolia) are rubbed on the patient. This plant - known as Iada  on Guam - is used in many medicinal combinations of Chamorros for it's analgesic effect. Other medicinal plants used in Trukese treatment are the same species as those used by suruhanos on Guam, but usually the plants are used for different purposes. There are a few exceptions, such as use of the candlenut plant (Cassia alata) to treat ringworm and skin fungus. (The Chamorros know this plant by the names of akapulko, anodose or take bihu.) To many of the suruhano's all-purpose medicinal teas akangkang martlasa (Vigna marina) leaves are added. Nopuko knows this plant as wonu, and in Trukese treatment the leaves are crushed and applied in suppository form to alleviate constipation. Other plants used by Nopuko are uniquely Trukese in usage. The suruhanos give all patients a rigorous, pounding body massage known as malasa or matantan, but Trukese massage is known as rawan and various types are used for different ailments. Nopuko's massage is less forceful than the suruhano's and more localized in the area of the ailment. Rawan neetip is the massage used to alleviate constipation. Rawan sacug is for fatigue, rawan fefin for female uterine and menstrual problems and rawan pewtitiw for twisted ankles. Males and females of all ages are treated with these methods, but for a baby the massage is extremely light - just a rubbing of the skin with the proper leaves or having air blown on the area of pain. Sometimes Nopuko utilizes an interesting diagnostic technique. Grated coconut is boiled in coconut water by dropping a heated basalt stone into the mixture. The patterns that develop as the mixture boils assist her in a mystical determination of illness. Because she uses a system of sorcery that developed in response to the needs of Trukese islanders Nopuko did not have to alter her techniques for Guam since the Chamorro clientele is familiar with spirits, the use of massage and the preparation of herbal medicines. Her only difficulty is the scarcity on Guam of some plants found more easily Truk. In viewing Nopuko's role in society - on Truk or Guam - it is interesting to note that her position was not gained by a painstaking period of apprenticeship such as the suruhano's. Rather, her social role and status were bestowed upon her through kinship. Much practice and learning have come experience, but basically Nopuko possesses unique powers given to her by her father. ---------- If you would like more information or assistance from Nopuko, email her.