The Folk-Taks of tlie Kiwai Papuans. 213 



the bird brought them water from the bush. One day Emobäli saw the tracks of the cassovvary 

 close to the vvater-hoie and lay in vvait for the bird. He shot it vvhen it came to fetch water 

 and bathe in the vvell. Pullinj? out a quill he showed it to the people and said, „One cassowary 

 I heen kill him, big one." The people vvondered among themselves, „Where mother belong him ? 

 I think he been shoot him." Emobdii's sister went to see and found her mother dead, and she 

 and all the other vvomen began to vvail. „What name (vvhy) you feilow cry.'" the boy asked 

 them, and they said, „Oh, that's mother belong you, you been shoot him." Émobåli was sorry 

 and vexed, and said to the people, „What for you feilow no been teil me, '\'üu no belong man, 

 you belong cassowary?' I no been savy. Suppose you been teil me, 1 no shoot him." And they 

 all wailed for the cassowary. 



The cassowary was carried to the village, and Émobåli asked the people to cook it. He 

 went alonc to the men's house, which he cleaned carefuUy, he also cooked and ate some food 

 and prepared black paint from the a.shes of a coconut-skin with which he rubbed himself. Car- 

 rying all his belongings in a bündle he came nut and again said to the people, who were there 

 eating the cassowary, „What name (why) you no been teil me before, '\o\x no belong man, you 

 belong cassowary.'"' They wanted to stop him from going away, but he left them. He sang 

 on the v\'ay, 



„Je Monguaro iriruo eli wiakornmo ntiilttiuodjc mopowodjc elt Ddgidoyo. — Along MrJnguaro, 

 Dùgidoro, blood he come out from head belong cassowary, my mother." 



Émobåli went to Duga and from there to Müdji where there is a creek (the Binatiiri 

 river). He threw his dögs and all his things into the water, he himself plunging in after. There 

 is still a large hole at the bottom of the river close to the bank, and it was made by Émobåli 

 when he Jumped into the water. Once more he came to the surface and said to his sister and 

 the other people who were there, „You no been teil me first time I belong cassowary, that's why 

 I been kill him mother. I no want come back. Suppose you feilow sleep close to house belong 

 me, I give you good dream what fashion you shoot him pig and plant him garden."''" 



Émobâli's sister thought to herself, „What's way 1 do.'" She took a bird-ol-paradise 

 feather, put it in her mouth and sucked it in. This made her turn into a bird-of-paradise, and 

 the people tried to catch her, but she flew away crying out in the fashion of these birds, „Kou, 

 kou, kon." Perching in a large tree she took out the feather and once more became a girl; and 

 she said to the people, „You feilow stop. Me and my brother, me two no belong man, me 

 belong cassowary."*" Again she transformed herself into a bird and flew away for good. 



Sometimes the Djibu men go and sleep near the large hole in the riverbank at Müdji, 

 Émobdli's place, for he gives them instructive dreams. They do not say or do anything to sum- 

 mon the spirit, only lie down there nude on a bed of grass. Émobåli, who in the water has the 

 shape of a crocodile or fish, appears to the dreamer in his human form and gives him some 

 „medicine" useful for hunting or for planting a garden. Those who have been visited by Émobåli 

 in a dream never teach anyone eise what they have learnt from him. {Täniba, Djibu). 



A. Pevdmu, a „long-time Dirimo man", after quarrelling with his sister, jumped into the 

 Binatiiri river, making a large hole in the ground which can still be seen at low water. He became a 

 crocodile. (Surope, Dirimo). 



N:o 1. 



