ABSTRACT
This chapter examines how the knowledge of a myth is brought to bear on the interpretation of experience. It shows that there is a living connection between myth and experience in the Trobriand Islands. The experiences to be interpreted are those surrounding an encounter between a Trobriand Island village and the spirit of one of its recently deceased members. Myths form one of several classes of oral tradition in the Trobriands. Although the historical link is emphasized by Trobrianders, an examination of the implicit link based on shared structure shows the myth to be a transformed description of repressed thoughts about contemporary relations between the living and spirits of the dead. Modern-day Trobrianders agree that Malinowski's description is an accurate depiction of the behavior of kosi in the past, but times have changed. Malinowski is surely right that when Trobrianders consider the invisibility of the spirits of the dead they do so with apprehension.
