The Folk-Tales of tite Kkvai Papuans. 181 



THE WHITE MEN AND THE SPIRITS OF THE DEAD." 



85. The white men, it is believed, have not themselves manufactured the things they 

 possess, steam-boats, tomahawks, calico, etc, hut have obtained them from the spirits of the dead. 

 This is evident from the fact that, if for instance a tamahawk is broken, a white man cannot 

 make it intact. The spirits bring the \'arious things from their land on steamers, and when the}' 

 arrive, the white men go out to meet them and seize all the things, steamers and all, carrying 

 them off. The natives at first connected my constant inquiries as to their ideas about the dead 

 with this belief. They thought that 1 wanted through their hejp to get into contact with the 

 spirits in order to obtain some boat load or other of beautiful things. 



The first white men vvho arrived in the country were thought to be returning spirits of 

 the dead. The word used for a white man is nmnakai or nuirkai, which like öboro means „spirit 

 of a dead person". Clothes are called öboro-lama, or „skin of a spirit". (Nåmai, Mawäta). 



D. SPIRITS OF THE DEAD WHO ENTER INTO CONNECTION WITH LIVING PEOPLE 



(no. 86-101). 



THE RESENTMENT OF A DEAD MAN WHOSE GRAVE HAD BEEN NEGLECTED. 



86. Once while the Turtle ceremony (ef. Introduction to no. 283) was going on at Old 

 Mawäta, the people as usual decorated their canoës and attended to the graves of their dead be- 

 fore going out to spear turtle. They cleared the burying ground, ornamented the graves with 

 coconut-leaves rolled up into a kind of rings (gogöbe), put down food for the dead, and finally 

 poured out some coconut-milk on each grave saying, „You come look out turtle, give me fellow, 

 I give you plenty kaikai, make place nice." The people also performed other rites which belong 

 to the turtle ceremony. These duties to the dead were only neglected by the kinsfolk of an 

 important man named Bidja who had died some time before. 



The canoës sailed out, and almost at once many turtles came in sight and were speared 

 one after another. After a time some canoës had no room for any more turtle and returned home 

 loaded with four, five, or even as many as seven of the animais. But Bi'dja's clansmen did not 

 get a single turtle. They sailed as far as the point of Bobo Island, whence they followed the 

 edge of the large reef, and at night they slept at one of the reefs. 



In the night, when some of the crew were keeping watch while the rest dozed, Biza's 

 spirit appeared and addressed the men, saying, „You hear my talk? You proper sleep?" The 

 people started up and thought, „That something he talk. He stop along canoe? He stop inside 

 along water.'" The voice went on, „Oh, my friend, no fau!t belong me (that they had not got 

 any turtle), you no been make him my burying ground good, where I sleep. You fellow no can 

 find him turtle. Next time you fellow look out my burying ground good, take out grass, next 

 time you fellow see." The people understood what the spirit had said, and thought, „Oh, good 

 talk, this time you me (we) sa vy now." They could hear the voice distinctly, but did not know 

 where it came from. On arriving home they left their things in the canoe and went straight 

 N:o I. 



