336 Gunnar Landtman. 



vvhen they go out to spear dugong or hunt pig. A Pârâma man speared a dugong vvith an iron 

 harpoon-head and was carried away by the animal as he hung on to the rope. He was neaiiy 

 suffocated („short wind he come") and let go the rope, swimming back to the canoe, but the 

 dugong swam and swam until it got strandad on a sandbank and died. It was eaten by sharks 

 and the harpoon-head came off, and was drifted along by the water being kept afloat by the 

 rope, until it was ultimately washed ashore near Kàtatai. 



The Mawäta people prepared to leave Pârâma, they put food in their canoe and started 

 off. Some of them went on shore near Kâtatai, among them Kagâru. While there she found 

 the end of the harpoon rope, lifted it up, and saw the iron head: „What name (what kind of a) 

 kiiior (harpoon head) that? My father he no savy that thing, my mother he no savy, all people 

 belong Mawäta no savy, that's all my eye he look. Proper thing I find him." She unfastened 

 the iron head from the rope and put it into her basket where she carefully hid it, showing it to 

 no one. „I give] my brother?" she wondered. No, she did not want to give it to her brother. 

 „More better I give my husband," meaning a boy, Médi, whom she liked. 



On reaching the point near Mawåta on their return journey Kagâru said to another wo- 

 man, „You go teil him Médi, people go sleep, Médi he come, I want give him good thing, I 

 been find him." Médi came in the night, and Kagâru gave him the iron kiiior saying, „You no 

 speak no man." At that time Médi was still too young to spear dugong, so Kagâru said, „You 

 give him kûior along Ariisa," who was his brother. Médi took the kiiior and gave it to .A rusa, 

 who was very pleased with it. He did not show it to anybody but kept it well hidden. 



The people were making ready to go to the reefs, and all dränk gâmoda together. Arüsa 

 alone could not sit down, but walked about restlessl}': „Inside me glad now, I kill plenty dugong 

 to-morrow." „He cannot sit down, he shake, no man been find that thing before, he first man." 

 He called Médi and kept him close to him lest he should talk to the people. He told his two 

 wives, Kâumâgi and Amâma, „I find him good one. To-morrow you hear, I kill him three, four 

 dugong." AU the while he laughed to himself, and sitting down a little among the people kept 

 on laughing. The people said, „What name (why) you laugh all time, before you no laugh?" 

 He said, „I laugh nothing." 



In the morning they all started. Arüsa said to Médi, „You carry my thing, dmo (rope), 

 ivdpo (harpoon handle), I glad, good thing 1 find him." They erected the platforms in a passage 

 called Kobokopovio close to theôtamâbu reef. „He shake, he glad that man: 'Good thing I find 

 him, no more humbug (bad luck)'." The platforms were finished, the sun set, the men ate a little 

 and smoked till the tide was high. Arüsa kept the iron kûior under his arm, holding a wooden 

 one in his hand („he gammon"). He mounted the platform and fastened the right kûior to the 

 rope. The dugong came, and Arüsa was the first man to spear one. He called out for the canoe 

 and caught the animal, taking it to the reef where he tied its tail to a pole stuck into the bottom. 

 One man after another speared a dugong, but their harpoon-heads came off every time. Arüsa 

 took out his ktlior himself from the dugong and went up on to the platform again. He saw and 

 speared another dugong, making tv\'o now, and tied it up to the pole. The people said, „Brother, 

 you smoke," but Arüsa answered, „I no want smoke — by-and-by." Again he went up on to 

 the platform and saw a dugong coming. He speared it and called out for the canoe, having 

 now caught three dugong. Some men shook their heads, „That man he got j^ood luck, I don't 



Tom. \LV1I. 



