166 Gunnar Landtman. 



river, Nûgugâbo, Kura creek, 4ugaromûba, Mâhudavâne, Büiaimüba, Sårpauwagäto, Büdji, Tödji, 

 Ni'boni'bomûba, Båuda, Pâbo, Aräka, and Djârai (abbrev.). 



The master of the spirits at Wöibu, the same who bad sent the cassovvary, was standing at 

 the ladder of his house and saw the bird returning: „Oh, that's my thing he come now." The 

 cassowary went into the dâriino (men's house) vvhere his master rolled him up in a small mat. ^^ 

 Wiobäri feil down close to the ladder in a faint. The spirits all sprang out and caught hold of 

 him saying, „Oh, pcina (friend) belong me." .\ female spirit came and rubbed his eyes with the 

 string of her grass skirt, and Wi'obâri came round. They gave him water to drink, and one spirit 

 after another came and greeted him, saying, „Oh, my prina ; oh, my pdna!" The spirit-girls said, 

 „Oh, my husband," and gave him food and water. The girls were all standing in a line, and 

 Wiobäri was told to choose whom he wanted for a wife. He said, „What girl ämo (breast) he 

 been break, he hang down, I no want him. What girl ciiito he stand up, I take him." *' Wiobäri 

 married two girls. In a short time they both became pregnant and bore him a son and a daughter. 

 Once when the two mothers went to work in the garden, Wiobäri took the children to the water, 

 vvhere he bathed them. The nigöri, (east wind) was blowing, and Wibäri said to himself, „Oh, 

 wind he come from my born-place (birth-place), nigöri, he straight from Måo that wind he come. 

 Oh, poor mother I been leave him behind." And the children asked, „Father, what you say, that 

 you place?" „I speak, that wind he come from my born-place, poor mother he stop there." " 

 The two children began to cry, and said, „Father, you me (we) go iVlâo now, you, me 

 go Mäo now." 



Then the spirits came and asked, „What for that two pickaninny he cry?" But Wiobäri 

 did not teil them. The children were offered food and water, but would not takeanything. The 

 two mothers came and put them to their breasts, but the children kept on crying. Then the 

 father said, „Oh, I been speak, nigöri, he come from my born-place, poor mother he stop. That's 

 why two he cry." And the spirits said, „You go you (your) place, me no can stop you now." 



The spirits took a small mat and a pelican's feather and put them on the water, and they 

 became a canoe. The same was done with feathers of a hawk and of two other birds called 

 avania and gimae, and more canoës were floating on the water. Wiobäri was asked to choose 

 which canoe he wanted, but he did not like any of them, saying that they were too slow. Then 

 the people stuck a cassowary feather in the ground, and it turned into a real cassowary. Wiobäri 

 was asked, „You go along cassowary?" „No, no much (not sufticient) room." Next a man 

 fixed a pièce of a bamboo in the ground, and it became a large clump of bamboos. The people 

 said, „You me (we) make him race now. What thing he go more quick, he take him Wiobäri 

 go." A race was arranged, and the people chewed manababa, hirivdre, and other „medicines" 

 and spät them on the things which were going to compete. The canoës started off, and the 

 cassowary ran, but the bamboos stietched themselves high up from the ground with a whizzing 

 sound, „brrr", and bending down their tops reached Mäo, the goal, straight off. The cassowary 

 and canoës were left far behind. „More better me take that bamboo," said the people, „leave 

 him canoe and cassowary," and so the cassowary and canoës were made quite small and stowed 

 away in mats. ^^ Wiobäri's things were hung on the bamboo stems, where he himself and his 

 two wives took their place. The people spät ntânabàba and hirivdre at the bamboo, which 

 extended themselves with the sound, „u-ti-ii", and reached Mäo at the same moment. " 



Tom. XLVU. 



