duk-dukn.
/ˈdʊkdʊk/ Among the Tolai people of New Britain, Papua New Guinea: a secret male society which practises sorcery and mysterious rites, and executes justice on the rest of the community; (also) a member of this society.
ΚΠ
1883 W. Powell Wanderings in Wild Country 61 The Duk-duk..may be spoken of as the administration of law, being judge, policeman, and hangman all in one.
1884 Encycl. Brit. XVII. 372/2 Justice is executed, and tabus, feasts, taxes, &c., arranged, by a mysterious disguised figure, the ‘duk-duk’.
1896 A. J. Butler tr. F. Ratzel Hist. Mankind I. 133 The weak chiefs of Melanesia, in order not to be quite powerless, apply the mystic Duk-Duk system to their own purposes.
1908 Athenæum 11 Apr. 444/2 The Dukduk of Melanesia.
1929 E. A. Weber (title) The Duk-Duks. Primitive and historic types of citizenship.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1933; most recently modified version published online March 2018).
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n.1883