The Folk-Tales of /lic Kiwai Papuans. 21 



MESEDE AND ABERE. 



45. Mcsede, thc Great Marksiitari, and Dihiri-Sagarii. Meséde Ii ved inside a palm. He 

 did not need to walk, for the i;round mo\ed under hi.s teet of its own accord. He used to lay 

 down some game outside the hut of the girl Di'biri-Sagâru and her mother, to vvhom nobody eise 

 gave any food. One day the girl eut down his tree, and he came out, and they were married. 

 Meséde hid his wonderful bow in her vulva, and when he shot with it a fire burst out with a 

 loud report. Meséde shot pigs for the people. 



46 — 47. Abere, her Son Gadiva, and her üaughters ; Meséde and Dibiri-Sagaru. Abére, 

 a strong and powerful woman of Waboda, once went to procure ornaments for a dance. She 

 had connection in her canoe with a certain man, and the waves in the sea are caused by the 

 rocking of their craft. The man washed his penis in the sea, and since then the water is muddy 

 near Kiwai. The Wåboda people held the dance without awaiting Abére's return, and when she 

 came back she killed all the people except the girls whom she adopted. — Abére's son was taken 

 by a crocodile. She went and fetched a number of people to get him back. Among them was 

 Meséde, and he shot the crocodile. Abére kept her girls hidden, but Meséde found them out and 

 ran away with them. As Dibiri-Sagaru was very displeased at their arrivai he and the girls went 

 and lived in another place. Abére pursued Meséde but never found him. Dibiri-Sagäru induced 

 some people to kill Meséde's girls, but he recalled them tn life (or created other girls). — After 

 Abére's girls had returned to life they ran away to Manavete, and as they sat down during their 

 night they were translbrmed into anthills, and that is why there are so many anthills in Manâ- 

 \ete. — The headless body of one of the girls gradually became like a drum, and Mérave used 

 it for making his famous drum. — Pursued by Abére Meséde and his girls hid in a large tree, 

 and for a long time none of them dared to come out. But Abére did not do them any harm. 



48—50. Mesedc, Kogea, and Nagu. While Meséde and his girls were travelling in a 

 canoe they were driven by the wind to many places, and at length came to Davâne. There Kogéa 

 lived, and Meséde gave him two of his girls. Meséde went to live on a mountain in Dibiri. — 

 Meséde and his younger brother Kogéa li\ed together in Dibiri. Once the^' quarrelled, and Kogéa 

 sailed away and settled down in Davâne. Meséde came to visit him but after a short stay was 

 frightened away by Kogéa. — Once Meséde visited Nijgu of Ddudai, and the latter made him 

 drunk and stole his bow and arrows, leaving his own bad weapons instead. Since then Ihe 

 bushmen in Dâudai hâve fine bows and arrows which they prépare with „medicine". 



51. Episodes aboiil Abere. Abére travelled from Dibiri westward. She lured many men 

 to ha\e connection with her on the way. One of them was afterwards thrown into the water 

 by her. He swani ashore and pursued her. and in order to hide herself she caused a certain 

 dense grass to grow around her, and she still remains inside the grass. 



NAGA. 



52. Naga and IVaiati steal fire /roui Ikti. Nâga of Nàgir and Wàiati of Mâbuiag were 

 càrried by a hawk to Mtîre where Iku li\"ed, who had a fire burning in his hand. They stole the 

 fire and brought it to Ndgir. The use of fire spread over the Islands as far as New Guinea. 



N:o 1. 



