VII. THE FAMILY (m.. 233— 260; ef. Index). 



CONFLICTS AND QUARRELLING BETWEEN HUSBAND AND WIFE (nu 233-241; 



ef. Index, The Family). 



233. A eertain Mawäta man used to hide his ripe eoconuts in the bush, hanging them 

 up in pairs on a branch till they vvere ready to be planted. His wife did not approve of keeping 

 them for planting but wanted to eat them, and u-henever her husband went away she stole some 

 of the nuts and ate them, throvving away the shells. The man notieed the theft and seizing his 

 bow and arrows went to the people and ealled out, „Who been steal my eoconut?" „What plaee 

 you stow away that eoconut?" said the people, „man he no savy." The stealing went on for 

 some time, and in his impotent rage the man shot some arrows at the roofs of the houses. 



At length he went and killed a large sting-ray and attached the formidable spine of the 

 hsh to the branch of the tree where the eoconuts were hanging, carefuUy measuring the height 

 so that anybody who took some nuts would run his head against the spear. Shortly afterwards 

 some of the people, the man included, went to Kiwai but the woman stayed at home. She went 

 straight to the bush in order to steal some nuts, but did not notice the spear, and it penetrated 

 her skull and stuck there, and she was killed. 



As she did not return from the bush, the people wondered where she was, and concluded 

 that she had gone to Kfwai with her husband. 



At length the party returned from Kiwai, and the man expected to see his wife on his 

 landing. His children met him with the question, „Father, where mother?" and he replied with 

 the same question, „Where mother?" „Me fellow think father been take mother along Kfwai," 

 said the children, and everybody joined in, „You no been take woman?" The man at once 

 suspected that something was wrong. „I been put that spear," thought he; „I been think som.e 

 man been steal eoconut — my woman been go all time steal him!" And he hurried direct to 

 the place, and there he saw something white hanging among the eoconuts, which was the skull 

 of his wife, transfixed on to the spear. While the people were away in Kiwai, her body had 

 decayed and her skeleton all exeept the .skull had fallen down. The man took the skull and 

 went home with it wailing. „I been find him now," he said, „my woman he been go steal him. 

 The skull and bones were buried, and the people wailed. The parents of the dead \A'oman did 

 not bear the man any ill-will, for she was the cause of her death herself. 



Tom. XXL VII. 



