406 Gunnar Landtman. 



payment for him. Some of the Màsingàra men refused to take payment, and once vvhen Soråre, 

 a certain Mavvâta man, ignorant of danger, went alone to his garden a bushman wlio was climb- 

 ing a tree at a distance saw him and together with some of his friends came and shot him. 

 Soräre shouted for help, and his people came and carried him home whcre he died, but the 

 Mäsingära men ran avvay. After the dead man was buried the Mavvâta people debated whether 

 they should take revenge or claim compensation, and they decided for the latter. Tvvo men went 

 to Mäsingära and were given a gir! in payment by Soråre, and she married his brother, whose 

 name was More, and their chiid should in time come to fill Soràre's place. In addition to the 

 girl the Mäsingära people presented the family of the dead man with a great number of bows 

 and arrovvs. 



But Môre's désire for revenge had not ceased, and after a time he and some friends laid 

 a trap for one of the bushmen. They asked him to fetch down some coconuts and when he 

 was climbing down, they caught hold of him and killed him by dislocating his limbs and neck. 

 Then they left him under the coconut tree, making the people believe that he had fallen down 

 by accident. After a time the bushmen came to ask for their missing friend, and the Mawäta 

 men said that he had gone back to Mäsingära. The bushmen's attention was drawn to some 

 fresh coconuts lying on the ground and on going to investigate they heard the buzz of the flles 

 swarming över the body of their friend and smelt the sttnch, and thus found him. He was 

 carried home, but the truth was never discovered. (Säibu, Mawäta). 



344. When hunting pigs in the bush the Mawäta people once came across the tracks 

 of some Båda bushmen with whom they were at enmity. The bushmen were busy stealing the 

 coconuts of the Mawäta people. Cautiously follov\ing the tracks the Mawäta hunters stole upon 

 the enemy, and when sufficiently near they shot at them, and some they Struck with their clubs. 

 A certain Mawäta man named Kanäri shot one of the Bädu men in the eye, and in the frenzy 

 of the fight the bushman became „cranky", so he drevv out the arrow and handed it back to 

 Kanäri, and the ncxt time the latler shot him dead with the same arrow. The heads of the dead 

 bushmen were eut off. Whoever had killed many people was formcrly regarded as a „big man", 

 said the narrator. (Amüra, Mawäta). 



345. Once a certain Mäsingära man came and told the Mawäta people that some bushmen 

 were stealing their coconuts. The Mawäta men armed themselves and went to fight the bushmen. 

 Auda, the narrators elder brother, caught hold ot a bushwoman and called his brother saying, 

 „Nåmai, you come fight (strike) him that woman here." And Nåmai ran up to her with his stone 

 club but feit reluctant to kill her as she was a woman. „l no want head belong woman," he 

 said. „1 want head belong man." Another man then came and killed her and out off her head. 

 The Mawäta people returned from the fight with two captured heads. (Nämai, Mawäta). 



346. Gaméa, the son of the great Mawäta leader Mäinou, had married a Kiwai woman, 

 and Mäinou thought to himself, „1 want pay for woman belong boy, go kill bushman." He sent 

 Word to the Ki'vvai men to come and fight the Djibäru bushmen, and the Mäsingära and Säibai 

 men also joined the expedition. When they came to KiJru on the coast Mäinou leaving the rest 



Tom. XLVll. 



