Till- I'olkTnlvs o/ tlic A'iwtii /'ii/>iniiis. 4\'.\ 



THE FICHT BETWEEN MIRISIA AND PURUTU ABOUT THEIR SAGO TREES. 



354. The Purütu people vvere once tishing in a creek near Mirisfa village, and in order to close 

 up the creek for this purpose they used leaves whicli they eut from the sago trees belonging to 

 a certain Mirisi'a man named Davi'o. He was \ ery angry on seeing his ruined sago trees and 

 together with some friends remained on watch there. They met some Purütu people and learnt 

 that they had eut the leaves. The Purütu people vvere scolded for damaging the sago trees, a 

 tight ensued, and a number of Purütu men and women were killed and their heads were eut off. 

 Their friends came to seareh for them and found the dead bodies. Concluding vvho the murderers 

 were the Purütu people went to attack Mirisi'a. But the people there were prepared and defended 

 themselves bravely repelling the enemy. 



After a time the Purütu people invited the Mirisia people to their village, and when a 

 number of them came they were surrounded inside the house and treacherously killed. Two Mi- 

 risi'a bo>'s who had been looking after the canoës escaped and.brought the news home. 



The Mirisi'a people waited for an opportunity to retaliate. Once a Purütu party who 

 were catehing erabs in a swamp were seen by a Mirisi'a man wiio brought word to Davi'o. The 

 Mirisi'a men armed themselves and feil upon the enemy kiUing all of them exeept one woman 

 who had separated herseif from the others in the bush, and she escaped home. The Purütu people 

 were frightened, for they had thought that the feud was over. They abandoned their village and 

 made a camp at Purio. 



Some time afterwards the Mirisia people found the Purütu village deserted, and they killed 

 the pigs and dogs which had. been left behind. Once a Mirisia man met a Purütu friend of his 

 in the bush and got to know the place where the Purütu people were encamped. The next day a 

 Mirisi'a party went there, and the Purütu people were at first very frightened, but Davio said, 

 ,Vou no fright, no more fight now. me friend." Some Purütu men went to Mirisi'a taking their 

 wives with them, and the Mirisi'a men slept with the latter in the night. After that the Mirisia 

 men went to Purütu with their wives, and the Purütu men slept with the women. That was the 

 old custom (jf concluding peace. (Biri, Ipisi'a). 



THE FICHT BETWEEN KUBIRA AND ABO. 



355. Once when the Kubi'ra men were away on a fighting expedition a parl\- of Abo 

 men came to attack Kubira. They carried with them mock heads made of wood, and the Kubfra 

 women on seeing them from a distance took them to be their husbands and brothers returning 

 from the fight, and according to custom started to dance the igoiue. Too late they recognized 

 the new-comers to be an enemy, and before they had time to escape a great number of them 

 were killed. After that the Abo men went home with the captured heads. 



A iittle låter the Kubira men returned from the fight with many heads vvhich they left 

 in the men's house. The surviving women ^came back from the bush and told them of the 

 attack of the Abo people, and a great wail was held (abbre\-.). 

 N:o 1. 



