44 GuNNAK Landtman. 



AN INCIDENT FROM THE PERFORMANCE OF A TURTLE CEREMONY. 



285. While the turtle ceremony was in progress a sorcerer sent a boy to the cérémonial 

 shrine asking him to fetch some of the eggs of a female turtle which was used in the ceremony. 

 For this sacrilège the boy was killed by the people. The sorcerer too was found out and killed. 



THE INAUGURATION OF THE MIMIA CEREMONY. 



286. The stone which plays an important part in the miniia came svvimming towareis a 

 man in the water and the foUowing night came to him in a dream and taught him to perform 

 the ceremony. 



THE INAUGURATION OF THE HORIOMU OR TAERA CEREMONY. 



287. Wai'mee, a mythical being of Dâru, hoaxed a woman in the shape of a crab which 

 she was unable to catch, and the next night came in search of her but passed into the wrong 

 woman. The latter became possessed, and while in that state she was taught a ceremony which 

 she introduced among the people. The children, left by themselves, invented a ceremony of their 

 own and were thenceforth lucky in fishing, whereas the grown up people did not catch anything 

 at ail. Someone was set to watch the children's doings and discovered their ceremony. It was 

 adopted by the adults, who after that were successful in catching dugong and fish. 



THE MAN WHO WAS THOUGHT TO BE DEAD AND WHO RETURNED AFTER THE 

 TAERA CEREMONY HAD BEEN HELD ÖVER HIM. 



288. A man was thought to have perished on a harpooning e.xpedition, and the people 

 held the tåera ceremony över him. He was kept in the sea by some being and returned after a 

 time. The people found it necessary to kill him, as his death had already been celebrated. After 

 much hésitation one of the men undertook to kill him in secret. .■\ great blood-price was given 

 his relatives, who accepted the presents without knowing that he had been killed. 



SACRILEGE AGAINST THE HORIOMU SHRINE. 



289. Once during the tdera ceremony a boy thoughtlessly threw a stick över the screen 

 into the horiomu shrine. Another boy was suspected of having committed the sacrilège, and the 

 people killed him. 



AN INCIDENT FROM THE PERFORMANCE OF THE FIRST GEARA CEREMONY. 



290. The people wanted someone to hang up the tirst few yams on the gdera tree and 

 sent a cassowary to fetch a man from Kiwai for that purpose. After a while they thought that 

 someone eise could perform the office, and the wild fowl undertook to hang up the two first 

 roots on the tree, Then the people placed the food on the gdera, and the ceremony went on. 



Tom. XLVII. 



