The Folk-Tales of thc Krwai Papuans. 235 



Javvdna approached the large tree, and the girl heard his footfall outside. She called out, „Jawäna, 

 that's you?" „Yes, that's me. Sister, where you stop?" „I stop inside along tree, that devil- 

 woman heen put me. He no got no peoplc. He kaikai altogether taro, that woman, ne (defecate) 

 on top me." And she called to her brother, „.lavvåna, you leave hovv and arrow, you go run, 

 take stone axe, come." Jawäna ran to fetch a stone axe; the liiwai-abrre was still away in the 

 garden. He returned with his axe, and the girl said, „I been scratch him this side, make him 

 small (thin), you eut him same side." Jawäna eut a hole for his sister through which she came 

 out. She said to him, „That devil-woman gammon \'ou, he make a fool you proper." And he 

 washed her in clean vvater and rubbed her with sweet herbs. Then they returned home, and 

 Janiido said to her brother, „\'qu go sing out that devil-woman he come." Jawäna went and 

 called the hiivai-abére, „I been shuot plenty pigeon, leave him along house, you come." Janiido 

 was waiting for her inside the door with her digging stick in readiness. When the hiwai-abérc was 

 about to enter the house Jawäna shot her through the body from both sides. *^ But Janüdo said, 

 „Brother, you no more shoot that woman, I want fight him," and she hit her on the head with 

 her digging stick. And the hiwai-abére called out as she was dy ing, „I been make fool along 

 you two fellow."^" When she was dead, Jawäna eut off her head with his beheading knife and 

 kept the skull, but they threw away the body without burying it. (Amiira, Mawäta). 



FIVE HIWAI-ABERE CARRY AWAY A MAN. 



152. In Daväne there once lived a man named Koidäbo. A large stone on the same 

 Island was the résidence of tive h/wai-abirc, and when they wanted to go in or out they opened 

 or closed the stone at will by blowing on it. Koidäbo was working in his garden one day, 

 planting bananas, taro, sugar-cane, yams, and other kinds of vegetables. In the meantime the 

 other people were playing kokddi (a game rather like hockey) on the beach. The five hiwai-abére 

 watching Koidäbo thought to themselves, „Oh, he good man, he no got no wife, more better we 

 steal that man." When Koidäbo had Hnished his work he returned home and prepared his even- 

 ing meal. He told the people, „You play kokddi, I 'kopamauri' (bake, ef. p. 229, foot-note) taro, 

 I come behind (after a while)." The five hiivai-abcre came out from the stone and went to the 

 beach where the people were playing. Close by was a tree called nccre which has edible fruit, 

 and the five beings abandoned their human forms and passed into the fruit, causing it to become 

 very nice and ripe. They thought to themselves, „By and by Koidäbo come take me fellow." 



Koidäbo after a while went to play with the other people. A boy who came running 

 up, noticed the beautiful fruit on the neire tree and called out, „Oh, good fruit, necre ! Koidäbo, 

 more better you take stick, knock him down." Another man came to knock the fruit down, but 

 the boy stopped him saying, „No, I no want you, I want Koidäbo he come," for the hiwai-abére 

 had caused the boy to become „cranky" and therefore he insisted that Koidäbo should come. 

 Koidäbo took a stick and went to the tree, and the people continued to play without looking at 

 him, for they, too, had become „cranky". The man hit the fruit with his stick, and the hiwai- 

 abére feil down, at the same moment resuming their real shape. P'our of them caught Koidäbo 

 by the limbs and the fifth passed her arm round his body, and thus they carried him off into 

 jS:o 1. 



