Tlie Folk-Talcs of Ihe Kiwai Papuans. 147 



the ground. They attacked Morigiro and threw him into the river, apparently dead. The vvater carried 

 him to Samâri in Kiwai, where he was found by the wife of Mobinogere. The people took care of him, 

 and he still lives there in the hush. (Kâku, Ipisia). 



K. Morigiro once came up Irom underneath the ground at Yoruhi and met a man who let him 

 bave his wife. The woman became pregnant, but died before giving birth to the child. While she lay 

 dead in her grave a boy was born who broke his way up through the ground.*' Mo ri'nogere (Morigiro) 

 brought the child to the man who had given him his wife, and was persuaded by his friend to ieave 

 his home in the ground and come and live with the other people. (Tdmetdme, Ipisia). 



L. Nâbeamuro and Keàburo lived at låsa not far from each other, at a time when the Island 

 was only a sandbank without any trees except young mangroves. Keàburo had no fire and ate fish 

 which he dried in the sun. Nâbeamuro knew how to make fire but did not impart his knowledge to 

 Keåburo. Once when in the act of drilling fire Nâbeamuro was caught by Keàburo who stole his fire 

 and ran away with it, and Nâbeamuro who was an old man could not overtake him. After that Nâbea- 

 muro sent Keåburo away to Gibu. The former made a dàrimo, (men's house) at läsa and the latter 

 one at Gibu. When the posts were to be carved (ef. p. 13), Nâbeamuro lay down and bade his eldest 

 son Gumâru, „You look my face, my body, you make him post." So Gumâru carved and painted 

 the male figure with Nâbeamuro as a model, while the female figure was modelled on Nâbeamuro's 

 wife who lay down in the same way. (Gaméa, Mawâta). 



PASPAE WHO WAS BORN UNDER THE GROUND. 



58. Underneath the ground at Irue there lived a man named Pâspae who had never seen 

 the sun. His mother had born him in the ground and left him there, so that the crocodiles should 

 not catch him. He fed upon earth and got water from a well which was under the ground. 



Once he pushed the ground over him aside and got up into the open. „What's that?" 

 he wondered on seeing the sun and ran awaj' into a tree, and it was some time before his eyes 

 got used to the light. One night his parents came to him in a dream and taught him how to build 

 a house. He had no axe and broke off the posts with his hands, covering the roof with the 

 skin of certain trees. He was the first man to make a fire by rubbing two pièces of wood to- 

 gether, his parents had taught him this method in a dream. He killed birds merely by pretending 

 to throw a pièce of wood at them, this gesture causing them to fall down dead. One night he 

 lost his v\ay in the bush and constructed there a provisional shelter by cutting out a large sheet 

 of the rind of a big tree, leaving the topside intact, then he raised the lower end a little on to 

 a pole and slept underneath. 



Not far from Päspae lived a certain woman named Miirke. One day she came to him 

 and brought him some garden produce. „Eh, who you name?" said Pàspae. „Me Miirke." 

 „Where you stop?" „I look you ail time, you go kill pigeon (birds). I no stop long way. I 

 come, I woman belong you." „Suppose you woman belong me," said Pàspae, „what name (what) 

 I make along you?" „I show you by and by, I go show you fashion belong woman and man." 



Miirke lighted a large fire and cooked some food for him. Shortly afterwards they went 

 to Miirke's place, and there vvere large gardens with ail kinds of useful plants. The woman 

 N:o 1. 



