402 Gunnar Landtman. 



Once more after much palavering a great settlement was made, and the cause of the 

 trouble was to be buried for ever. But if the government and mission had not been established 

 in the country, said the narrator, the feud wold probably have been kept alive to the present day. 

 For every man who was killed there was another to take up his cause, „AU same plant him 

 garden: take away head, root he grow again." (Nâmai, Mawâta). 



A. Three Tûritûri men once „stole" two Mawâta women in the bush, and in revenge six 

 Mawâta men went and did ihe same to four Tûritûri woman. The Tiiritiiri people were in a rage and 

 challenged the Mawâta men to corne and fight, saying, „You no man, you woman!" Three Mawâta 

 men Gâribu, Pâi, and Yânga started the fight. Gåribu first shot iwo Tiirhiiri men. Yânga was vvounded 

 by Irlgi of Tûritûri and died a few days later. Wâiru, Irigi's brother, shot an arrow through Gâribu's 

 temples, and anoiher man named Sônai shot Pâi in the leg, and the two died. The Mawâta and 

 Mâsingâra people went to take revenge, and finding Tûritûri village deserted burnt the houses down 

 and destroyed the gardens. The nightly attack is related in the same way as in the first version, only 

 the names of the people differ somewhat. The barbed arrows could not be drawn out from the people 

 who had been shot through with them, only the shafts were broken off and the victims were buried 

 with the weapons sticking through their bodies. At length the fight was ended, and both sides gave 

 payment for the people they had killed. At the conclusion of peace the Tûritûri people came to 

 Mawâta to „put out the fire", as the saying is. The Mawâta people did not want to go to Tûritûri to 

 make peace there, for in that case there would have been peace at Tûritûri but Mawâta would have 

 remained the scène of continuai fighting, so the people believed. (Gaméa, Mawâta). 



B. The Mawâta men used to steal Tûritûri girls and marry them and vice versa, which caused 

 much fighting between the villages. Once a Tûritûri sorcerer put on a large wooden mask and kept 

 on dancing till he feil down in exhaustion and thereby caused the death of a Mawâta man. This was 

 repeated several times. The Tûritûri people were compelied to move their houses further and further 

 away from Mawâta, till they settied down in their present village, and much fighting took place. 

 (Gaméa, Mawâta). 



FIGHTS BETWEEN THE MAWATA PEOPLE AND THE BUSHMEN no 340-348) 



340. A certain Mawâta man named Jângâna, his wife Säratnådo, and some other people 

 were once making sago at a place on the Ùriômu river, and with thein was a bushman named 

 Paivére. Sâramâdo was a beautiful woman, and Paivére thought to himself, „Oh, good (good 

 looking) woman, amo (breast) he stand out," nice, fine body, very young yet, he no been born 

 pickaninny." Whereupon he pushed Jàngâna's foot with his own, and the latter understood that 

 the bushman wanted his wife, but he did not give way to his wish. 



The disappointed Paivére ieft the camp returning to his own village, and there he asked 

 his people to make ready for war. Then they went to attack the Mawâta people. The latter 

 did not suspect any danger, and it was only when Jängäna's old mother noticed the fine arrows 

 and new bow-strings of the bushmcn that she understood. „Oh, fight he come, that fight that!" 

 she called out. The others did not beiieve her, but presently Paivére seized his bow and shot 

 Sâramâdo and after her Jångåna. They were not dead and managed to get into the river and 

 swim over to the other side, but their companions were all killed. 



Tom. XL VU. 



