216 Gunnar Landtman. 



ornaments like an ordinary dead person. After attending to the remains the girls ornamented 

 themselves carefuUy. „No good, you me (we) cry all time, „they said, more better you me go 

 dead." The people thought that the girls were looking after something in the house or making 

 mats indoors and therefore did not pay anj- attention to their absence. The girls rolled up the 

 boy's bones in a mat, vvhich they placed on the verandah. They tied the ends of two ropes to 

 the rafters över the verandah and passed the other ends in a loop round their necks. Slackening 

 the loops they called a little girl and said to her, „What me two speak, you proper hear, by and 

 by you learn (teach) him people. You speak like that, 'Two girl sing out that boy, that's why 

 he no go Mi'bu. Night-time boy he come that empty house, tihinm he kaikai him, me hear that 

 noise.' You go learn people ail same, 'Devil (spirit) been kaikai boy, people come see.'" While 

 the little girl was running away, the two women jumped off the verandah hanging themselves. 



The small girl ran and told the people, and ail came to see: „Oh, two girl he hang now. 

 Oh, man hère along delà (verandah), ail he dead now." The familles of the girls and the boy 

 had gone to Mi'bu, and those who hadremained at home took care of the bodies. The tongue 

 of a person who has hanged himself protrudes from the mouth, and people are an.xious to eut 

 off a pièce of it which they administer to their dogs as a „medicine"; the dogs will then sieze 

 the pigs flercely by the throat, causing their tongues to hang out in the same way. This effect 

 is also produced by a fragment of the rope with vvhich a person has hanged himself. 



The girls and the boy were buried in the same grave, the latter lying between the former 

 on their arms. A small hut was erected över the grave. 



Some of the people at Mi'bu, seeing the roof of the hut across the water, wondered, 

 „What name (what is) that white one? He all same house belong dead, I think somebody dead. 

 Me no been leave somebody sick." They ran and asked the others, but none knew of anyone 

 left at home ill. At night-fall the lasa people lighted a torch with which they signalled over to 

 Mibu, and the people there answered by lighting a similar one. Tiie torch on the låsa side was 

 quickly lowered towards the ground, and then the Mi'bu people knew that someone was dead. 

 They kept their own fire-brand burning for a moment and then threw it in the direction of låsa, 

 thereby signalling that they would come over the next day. 



The parents of the dead boy and girls were anxious to get home quickly, „To-morrow 

 me go," they said, „my throat he long (I am longing to) go back. No plenty man he stop along 

 låsa, me want go quick." They started before daylight and on arriving at låsa heard from the 

 people there what had happened (abbrev.). The parents began to wail and „everybody help him 

 cry", and they went on to the burying ground and wailed there. At last they returned to the 

 village, and summoning the child to whom the girls had entrusted their message, questioned her 

 as to what had taken place. The child repeated what the two girls had said, „Me two fellow 

 sing out (summon) boy he come, no teil him that proper house. Fault belong me fellow, (that) 

 husband belong me he dead, that's why more better me fellow no more life, by and by mother, 

 father he too much growl." 



When the matter was cleared up, the family of the two dead girls laid down a quantity 

 of things by way of compensation for the death of the boy, and his family did the same in 

 payment for the two dead girls („ail he square ail right"). (Nâmai, Mawâta). 



Tom. XLVU. 



