224 Gunnar Landtman. 



in the night they could hear the rnuffled roar of the beast, „U-tt-n!'' and then they knew, 

 „That sugûma!" 



The next day, while Naråto was out shooting, the Kubira people all abandoned their 

 village and ran away from the sugarna. For some reason they were angry with Naråto and left 

 him behind without telling of their plan. Narâto's wife wanted to go with the rest, but everyone 

 of them, even Narâto's own brother, refused her a place in his canoe. At last she found a „half 

 canoe" (ef. p. 9), the open end of which she blocked with clay, and making herself ready she 

 waited for Naråto. Her small boy lay with his head in her lap, and she cleaned his hair from 

 lice which she put in some empty coconut-shells. 



When Naråto arrived, his wife said, „Where you me (we) go.? All people he run away, 

 he fright that sugthua. I ask all people, he no take me." Naråto brought home many pigs 

 which he had killed and placed them close to the sttgûma's hole. After a while the heast came 

 out roaring savagely, „U-ii-u!" Naråto took a pig, which was roasting on the fire, and threw 

 the legs, intestines, and other parts to the monster, who swallowed them up. The sugûma's teeth 

 were enormous. He devoured ail the méat, sago, and coconuts, whatever food Naråto tlung at 

 him. At last he was satisfied and lay dovvn to sleep. ^* 



Naråtos wife placed a coconut-shell fuU of lice in each house telling the insects, „That 

 time sugûma he sing out, you answer from altogether house, 'Ei, oi!'"^' She put her baby in 

 the canoe, they embarked and shoved off, the woman and her eldest boy paddling while Naråto 

 steered. „Go on," he urged them, „puU away, by and by sugarna catch jfou me along road." 



The sugûma at last woke up from his death-like sleep, „Hallo, where Naråto?" he shouted. 

 He looked round, calling out all the while, „Naråto ," The lice answered him from one of the 

 houses, „Oi!" and the sugûma rushed thîre to look, but did not find anybody. He called out 

 again, and the lice answered from another house, „O/.'" The sugûma ran towards the sound, 

 but there was no one. He went from house to house — nobody was there, so he hurried out 

 on the beach. Looking one waj' he could descry no one, looking the other way, „Oh, him he 

 there he go!" The sugarna called out, „You devil, I kil! you to-day," and hurried after them 

 in pursuit. 



Naråto sseing the sugûma exclaimed, „LJöu! sugûma there he come!" The monster 

 overtook them and jumped up into the bow of the cano3. „Sugûma/' Naråto begged, „you no 

 kill me, 1 friend belong you, I been give you good kaikai." „Hm, hm," the sugûma grunted. 

 They puUed on, and at last saw the place where the KubiVa people were making a new house. 



Narâto's brother on seeing him said, „Naråto, you come, house belong you me (us both)." 

 „No," Naråto answered, „I no like stop along you, you no sorry wife and pickaninny belong 

 me." One of the women asked Narâto's wife to come on shore, but she replied like her husband, 

 „No, I no want come along you." 



The sugarna, sitting all the time at the bow of the canoe, said to Naråto, „Come on, you 

 me (we) go other side along Düdi." They paddled över to Düdi and went up the Kåuåro creek 

 near Koåbu. The sugûma said, „You me stop here." They remained there together, and the 

 sugûma was not tierce any more. Naråto shared his food with him, pigs, taro, .sago, coconuts. 

 He had many children and founded a large people. The sugûma said to him, „N'ou got plenty 

 people; more better you stop along house, I stop inside along ground." He made a large hole 



Tom. XLVII. 



