The Folk-Tales of the Kiwai Papuans. 385 



After a rest the men hauled in the harpoon-line and secured the dugong. Then they discussed 

 whether they should return to the plattbrm and fetch the harpoon handle or go straight home, 

 and decided for the latter. They arrived home in the middle of the night, and the dugong was 

 eut up in the morning. (Adågi, Mavväta). 



328. A harpooner standing on the platform in the sea often sees all sorts of extraordinary 

 things and apparitions during the night. Sometimes a snake comes svvimming along shining in 

 the water like tire, and sometimes he sees one of the ôboûbi (mythical beings in the sea, ef. no. 

 132) which swim like a frog with their short limbs and stout body. On recognizing one of these 

 beings a harpooner will instantly warn his friends on the other platforms, and they all put down 

 their weapons as long as one of the spirits is about. The ôboûbi are generally foUowed by a 

 great shoal of dugong. 



Once a Mawdta man named Ariisa and his companions built a platform on the so-called 

 Mangrove reef. Arüsa mounted the platform and asked the others to keep a sharp look-out. At 

 first he speared one dugong and shortly afterwards another, and they were caught in the usual 

 way. Next came an enormous female dugong which was pregnant, and as Arüsa speared it he 

 got caught in the line which twisted itself round his waist. The people in the canoe waited 

 anxiously to hear him call out, but .'\rusa was draggad under water, and not a sound was heard. 

 The crew paddled round to look for the line, but did not find it anywhere. They kept on paddling 

 this way and that until they came out on deep water but saw no trace of .Arüsa. The tide began 

 to ebb, and the reefs appeared above the surface. The men all wailed for their lost friend, and 

 everybody was dead tired. When daylight came, the}- started to seek for him again sailing all 

 round the reefs, but there was no trace of him. When the sun had risen high al! hope was 

 over. The two dugong were secured to the side of the canoe — at that time the canoës had 

 only one outrigger — and the crew made for home. The people in the village heard their wailing 

 and understood that someone was dead. They seized their weapons, and when the canoe 

 landed, they heard of Arûsa's fate. Everybody started to wail, for Arüsa had been a great man. 

 His four wives vvent and set fire to the men's house saying, „AU time y ou fellow stop along 

 house, you no follow Arüsa along reef. Arüsa he every time he go one man (alone) spear him 

 dugong for altogether people, that's why he foui along rope." And the house burnt down. Arûsa's 

 brothers eut down his coconut trees saying, „Him (Arüsa) he no go stop hère kaikai that coconut; 

 more better eut him down." They also burnt his garden and killed his dogs and pigs. It was 

 customary before to destroy part of the property belonging to a deceased person. The two dugong 

 were eut up, and the people held a mourning feast. (Arûsa's death is also mentioned in no. 

 334; Gaméa, Mawåta). 



329. Once when the Sâibai people were out spearing dugong at a place called Àubiôni 

 a man named Gabima saw an enormous kurûpi („rock-fish") swimming towards him in the water. 

 He thought that it was a dugong and tried to spear it but failed, and the kurûpi swallowed him 

 up in one go. There were rings of water on that spot but nothing was heard from the man. 

 The people in the canoës came to look for him along the whole length of the reef, but he was 

 nowhere to be seen. In the morning when the reefs were dry the search was resumed but 

 N:o 1. 49 



