The Folk-Taks of the Kiwai Papuans. 163 



up good," directed a blow at the bird with his stone club, but it flew away and he hit the man, 

 kiiling him.^" Again the bird perched on somecne, who was hit and killed in the same way, and 

 this was repeated a great many times. When a large number of men were dead, Sésere flew up 

 onto a dnni tree, touk off the bird's skin, so that everybody recognized him, and said,*" „Look 

 here, people, you see me, you fellow listen. No my fault. Two fellow gammon all time, how 

 much fish I spear him, two fellow take him ; all time he fight me. I catch him dugong — two 

 fellow come along dog (in the shape of dögs), steal him meat. Strong (rage) belong me he come 

 out, that's why I kill two fellow, no fault belong me. That's my name, Sésere. You go back 

 place belong you." 



Then the survivors went home. In Mäbuiag, Bädu, and Möa only old men, young bovs, 

 and women remained alive. Men came över from Ita and settled down in the three Islands to 

 take the place of those who had been killed, some of them marrying five women and others ten. 

 Sésere's two sisters and all the Mäbuiag women who had no husbands came to him, and the 

 sisters said, „Sésere, all woman here he no got man, you take him, you man belong altogether 

 woman." „All right," Sésere said, „I take him." He took the young girls, whose nipples had 

 not vet turned black, and also those women who had only one or two children, but not the older 

 women. *' His house was full of dugong meat which he had roasted and kept, and he divided 

 it among his wives. The old women said, „Me fellow no want go back, no got no people, me 

 want stav here look out," and Sésere said, „All right, you stop." Since then the Mäbuiag people 

 live at Sésere's place Däbangäi, not at Gömu as before. (Nâmai, Mawäta). 



A. A boy named Sésere livad with his parents in Boigu. He was once angry with his father 

 and mother, because they scolded him for not iistening to their warnings, and he speared them. The 

 mother was transformed into a sting-ray and the father into a shark. "" The fish which Sésere used 

 to spear was taken from him by his two brothers-in-law who fought him, and when he harpooned 

 dugong, they transformed themselves into dögs and came lo steal the meat, hut he killed them. When 

 the people wanted to take revenge, he killed them too. After the fight all the women came to him, 

 and he married the young girls, l)ut not the older women. But afterwards he thought, „No good I 

 marry altogether woman," so he threw himself down from a tall tree and was killed. On learning this 

 his wives put on all their ornaments, shut themselves up in their house, to which they set flre, and 

 perished in the fiâmes. (Adjöbo, Mawäta). 



B. Sésere ol Mdbuiag was the first man who used a dugong harpoon. The spirits of his 

 father and mother, as in the first version, taught him in a dream how to spear dugong. His two 

 brothers-in-law, who lived in Bädu, came in the shape of dögs and stole the dugong meat, but were 

 killed on coming again. Sésere fought the Badu people, who came to take revenge, but had to save his 

 life by turning into a kekesia or scsere bird and hiding in a trumpet shell. The Bädu people fought 

 and killed each other in their attempts to hit the bird. A certain man with a sore leg alvvays went 

 behind the others. Sésere has remained a bird ever since. It is since his time that the people have 

 known how to make harpoons for spearing dugong. (Amùra, Mawåta). 



C. A Mäbuiag boy, Tiai, whose father was dead, lived with his mother, who speared fish 

 for both of them. When Tiai had grown up he was sent by his mother to find a harpoon handle, 

 which had been left in a swamp by his father, and a harpoon line. She also taught Tiai to make a 

 harpoon-head. He erected a platform on the reef, and when his mother was sleeping in the night 



N:o 1. 



