314 Gunnar Landtman. 



The wailing began at sunset and went on all night. The brothers tried to draw out 

 their hands and dragged the tree along the ground this way and that. Some sharp sticks and 

 thorns speared their bodies, the rain wet them, and they were cold. At runrise their heads drooped 

 down över the tree at which they were fettered. 



About the same time Made bore her child, a boy, and sent Sonäre to fetch some food 

 from the bush. On hearing his footsteps the six brothers called out, „Brother ! That's you?" 

 But he did not answer. „Oh, brother," said they, „me no make him proper thing, me no make him 

 along proper place, me humbug grass (petticoat), that's all." Sonare did not say anything and 

 went home with the food for his wife. In the night the six brothers again sang the same song, 

 and Sonäre heard them. One of the brothers said, „You me (we) pull him this way, I think 

 house here," but another said, „No, no, you me pull him this way." „My foot he feel him road 

 now," said a third, „you me pull him this way." At daylight they heard the cry of ^he birds 

 and knew that it was dawn. 



The boy grew up and learnt to speak. Once again Sonäre came near his brothers in 

 the bush, and they called out to him, but he did not reply. They sang the same song every 

 night. The little boy heard them and said, „Mother, pigeon (bird) there he sing out?" „No that 

 no pigeon," she replied, „some people there stop along bush." She did not want to let 

 the boy know. 



The next day Sonäre and Made took their son to the garden, and on hearing them the six 

 blind men called out. „Oh, that no pigeon, some man he sing out," said the boy. „That's all 

 my six brother," said Sonäre, „all he humbug you (j'our) mother, grass belong him, all he make 

 you. Me wild, that's why I humbug my brother, shut him all hand inside along that tree.", 

 „Father, more better you take him out," begged the boy, but Sonäre did not listen. 



While they were in their garden Sonäre collected some kinds of sweet-scented plants and 

 brought them home in a bowl, and there he mixed them with coconut-oil and prepared a medi- 

 cine. The next day he went to the bush taking the bowl and his stone axe with bim. „Sonäre !" 

 his brothers called out. „Me here." „Oh, you come take me out!" Sonäre went up to the tree, 

 lifted his stone axe, and saying, „You fellow look out hand belong you fellow !" he split the tree, 

 and the men were released. They all wept. The blind men caught hold of each other by the 

 hands forming a long line, and Sonäre who placed himself at the end of the Une asked them, 

 „You ready?" and then he lead them home. There he brought them to the water, washed them, 

 and rubbed their bodies with the sweet-scented ointment. Lastly he took six pairs of a certain 

 red flower called mümu and pressed them against the eyes of his blind brothers, which restored 

 the use of their eyes. They all shouted out in surprise on seeing the landscape round 

 them, „What name (what is) that thing? what name that thing?" and Sonäre explained, „That 

 (is) big water, belong canoe sail about. Suppose you hot, you go swim along that water. That 

 (is) salt water, you no can drink that water. That (is) sand-beach. Where house he stop, that 

 (is) ground, belong make him garden. That's heaven here. That side wind tiro (south-east), 

 that side /ii/nriim (north -west)." Thus Sonäre showed them feverything. 



When they went home Sonäre said, „That's boy here, you fellow been make him." 

 They all remained there and worked together. (Adägi, Mawäta). 



Tom. XL V II. 



