250 Gunnar LanutmaN. 



like a man he was quile Jiffei'ent IVoni nrJinary peuple, ani.1 cxxiythini; he saw was new and 

 Strange tu him. The woman asked liim, „Wiiere \ ou cume?" „I come from house belong me." 

 He asked her the meaning of the différent things in the house. At last he looked her in the eye 

 and asked her what it was. „That danidri, eye," she answered. He caught hold of her and had 

 connection with her, after which he went back into the water. When the people returned, the 

 woman kept her adventure secret from them. The next day the woman remained alone, and 

 things befell exactly as before (abbrev.). 



One day the oboiibi m.an carried off the woman into the water where she remained. Her 

 parents thought that she had been taken by a crocodile, but somebody said, „Alligator he no been 

 catch him, another man catch him, take him go along water." (Mäia, Oromo.sapüa). 



165. A Sümai woman, who used to go to the shore every day and smear her hair with 

 white ashes and water, was once seen by some male oboübi (cf. no. 132) who wanted to carry 

 her off. One day she was caught by one of them, who dragged her into the water and kept her 

 there, but she was not dead. 



The people all looked for her in vain and at last concluded that she had been taken by 

 a crocodile. One night her husband dreamt that she came and told him, „Oh, alligator no been 

 catch me, I stop house belong oboübi man." The man woke up and full of joy shouted, „Oh, 

 wife belong me I been dream! Oh, alligator no been catch him, that oboübi been catch him." 



The woman was anxious to go back to her people, and thought to herself, „No good I 

 stop there along water, I got pickaninny." Her husband found the marks where the oboiibi man 

 had dragged her into the water. He went after her into the sea and found the house of the 

 ôboùbi where the woman was. An obotibi man was standing at the door and asked the new- 

 comer, „Halloo, where you been?" ,.You no been see wife belong me?" the man asked him. 

 „Oh, he stop, he been marriêd finish." The man was angry, but just then his wife came out 

 and grasped his hand saying, „Oh, my God, no good I stop there. You me (we) two go back." 

 The ôboûbi man who had carried her off said, „No, no, you no go, you me (we) two married." 

 But the woman said, „No, I no want stop, proper man belong me he been come, you been steal 

 me." The husband and wife ran away as fast as they could and finally came up from the water 

 and back to their people. Everybody asked them „Oh, where you been?" The woman said, 

 „Oh, house there inside water, I been stop that house, one man been catch me." (Bi'ri, Ipisi'a). 



166. A Dorôpodai woman while swimming in the water was seen by a „half-devil man" 

 who wanted hei'. Once when she was bathing as usual he caught hold of her and carried her 

 into a cave which he had dug in the ground. He kept her there, and she cooked fish for him. 

 The husband and friends of the woman looked for her everywhere but to no purpose. At last 

 they concluded that a crocodile had made an end of her, so they held a mourning feast. 



One day the woman managed to escape from her captor and returned to the village. A 

 little giri there took her for a ghost and was terribly frightened. but the woman's husband and 

 friends welcomed her joyfully. Everybody asked her, „Where you been?" „I been go swim," 

 she said, „one man he stop there,' he haul me go inside ground!" „Where, where he stop?" her 

 husband asked her, and she showed him the place. The people told her to ask the man to come 



Tom XLVII. 



