The Folk-Taks of Ihe Kiwai Papuans. 169 



65. The narrator, whose name was Bfri, had dreamt this. One night he came to a 

 large village, which was Adi'ri. There were many houses, some used by men only vvhich no 

 vvoman might enter, others assigned to the women. Bi'ri arrived there at night, but he did not 

 dare to enter the village and waited on the beach. A young man came up to him and asked, 

 „Where you come?" and Bfri answered, „I walk about." „More better," the man went on, 

 „you come along house." „No, I no want come, I stop hère," for it was a large village and 

 Bi'ri feit afraid. Some men, who were standing outside the men's house, called eut, „Who man 

 there?" The young man, who had spöken to Biri, answered, „I no savy name that man," and 

 he joined the others. 



Then an oki man came to Bfri and said, „You call you name." Bfri said, „By and by I call 

 name, you call you (your) name first time." „That's my name Davôto," and Bfri recognized him 

 to be an Éinawégi man who had died some time before. He gave his ovvn name, and Davôto asked 

 him lo come into the house, but Bfri said that he wanted to look around first outside. He asked 

 Davôto, „What name (what) people make him hère?" „He do work." Davôto insisted that Bfri 

 should come in: „More better you come, you come kaikai," so Bfri went with him into the house. 

 There were no women inside but plenty of men. Bfri sat down and asked Davôto, „Where ail 

 woman belong you fellovv?" „What you talk about?" the others said. „Woman no can come 

 this house, me fellow kobôri (cohabit) along bush, no inside house." The food cooked itself with- 

 out anybody looking after it, the bananas roasted themselves, and vvhen they were done, they 

 came of themselves to the people. Bfri was asked to eat but feit afraid and said, „Oh, by 

 and by me fellow dead." „Oh, you no dead, you kaikai," and Bfri tasted a small pièce of 

 banana. 



One of the men asked the rest, „Where he come that man, he no been stop hère long 

 time?" „Him he come along sandbeach, I been call he come." „No good you call him, no good 

 that man he come." Bfri asked Davôto who the speaker was, and Davôto said, „Oh, that other 

 kind man, he too-much-fight-man." And the man who was rather short in stature ran through 

 the house shouting, „I go take stick fight that man, more better you send him go back place 

 belong him." Biri was frightened, and Davôto said to him, „More better you go." The short 

 man came running with his stone club, and some of the others shouted to Bfri, „You go run, 

 him he come!" Bfri got up and was shown out by one of the small doors, and he hid himself 

 underneath the house. 



The short man came and asked Davôto, „Where that man?" „Oh, I been send him away 

 finish." And the man said, „No good j'ou been send him away quick, I want kill that man." 

 He looked round for Bfri, but could not find him and went away. Davôto asked Bfri to come 

 back, but at the same time the short man returned at a run with his stone club. Davôto stepped 

 between them and said, „No good you fight that man, he good boy." „No, no," the man said, 

 „I finish him now this time, no more go back." At this Bfri became terribly frightened, thinking 

 himself, „Oh, he fight me, I no more go back," and he asked Davôto, „Oh, you tell him that man, 

 I go back my place, I no been come altogether (for ever)." Davôto took his stone club and said, 

 „Suppose you come, I fight you too." „Oh, Davôto," the .short man said, „I finish you two." 

 So they began to fight, and everybody grasped his stone club and joined in, but Bfri crept under- 

 neath the house and did not see the fight. He ran out on the beach and waited there in the dark. 

 N:o 1. 22 



