Tlir l'olk-Tales of Ihr Km<ai Papuan f. 405 



his stone club, and Mainou killed the leading Tåti man named Djàru, his wife, and four other 

 people. According to custom no one was spared. 



VVhen the fight was over Mainou performed certain rites through which the bushmen 

 became „cranky", so that they should be easily killed in the follovving fights also. Certain other 

 cérémonies and „medicines" vvere caiculated to make the young men great warriors. At the 

 return of the war-party a plpi dance was celebrated, and the women held a dance called nckede. 

 (Gaméa, Maw;ita). 



343. When the Mawäta people Hrst settled in their present village (cf. no. 19) they had 

 no gardens and very little food, and therefore used to steal from the gardens of the bushmen. 

 The ov\ners did not know who the thieves vvere and accused other bush tribes of the theft. One 

 night a certain bushman sat up to watch his garden and caught a Mawâta man there in the act 

 of stealing. „Eh, I find out now!" he exclaimed, „I think about some bushman he steal; that 

 you, Mavvdta man, come humbug me fellovv." He shot the man in the small of his back with 

 a blunt arrow which is used for stunning birds. The Maw:ita man seized his bow and wanted 

 to kill the bushman, but the latter said, „No, no, you no shoot me, I pull him out taro for you, 

 give you." And he gave him some taro and said, „You take that taro, no more come steal." 

 The Mavvdta man returned home with the taro. He did not warn his fellow-villagers by telling 

 them what had happened to him. 



Therefore it occurred some little time afterwards that three Mawäta men again vvent to 

 steal food. The}' met a bushman and lied to him that they were looking for kangaroo. But he 

 did not believe them and summoned some of his friends to come and watch. The Mawäta men 

 quickly pulled up a number of taro and ran away by another path. The bushman found their 

 taro Stolen and knew who the thieves vvere. „All time them fellow come steal," said they, „good 

 me find him out. I think me kill one, suppose next time he come." On their way home they 

 said to one another, „Suppose j^ou find him Mawâta man, you shoot. „No poor people," some 

 others said, „no good you fellovv shoot. That's nevv place belong them fellow, no much garden 

 he got. You fellow leave him alone that man." 



The north-west season began, and the Mawâta people came to steal the fruit of the goro 

 and åbe trees belonging to the bushmen. It is generally the business of the women to fetch down 

 the fruit, but when stealing the men climbed up so as to do it quickly. The bushmen found 

 out that the thieves came from Mawâta and decided to try and catch one ot them and burn him 

 in the fire as a punishment. 



One of the Mawâta men had no fruit and in vain asked the rest to give him some. Then 

 he went to steal from the bushmen and was caught. They burnt him vvith a firebrand all over 

 his bod}' and head, including his nose and tongue, and the poor vvretch shrieked and struggled with 

 all his might. At length they let him go, and he staggered away groaning with pain. On arriving 

 home he told his adventure, and as he could not sit down because of his sores, the people flattened 

 out the trunk of a banana tree and made it into a bed with some leaves on the top. 



The Mavvdta people made their vveapons ready and set out to take revenge. The bushmen 

 met them on the vvay, and there was a fight with bows and arrows. After one of the Mäsingåra 

 men had been shot dead the fight ceased, and vvhen peace was made, the Mawdta people gave 

 N:o 1. 



