458 GuNNAK Landtman. 



rows, passed his vvater involuntarily, and crouched down behind his wife. But Mâigidiibu said, „Dariki, 

 you teil him that man he come, you iwo no fright, I father belong you two." And the man remained 

 there and was told of Dan'ki's adventure (abbrev.). No bush grew where Mäigidübu lived, the ground 

 was taken up with yams, sweet potatoes, taro, and oiher garden plants. Mâigioûbu taught the man 

 what „medicines" to use when planting yams. The people of the gc'm (sea snake) totem clan should 

 put a small pièce of the shell of a „bush fowl" egg into the first yam which they planted, for „all 

 same fowl make plenty pickaninny one time, all same yam he come big, go all över garden." The 

 members of the cassowary tolem dan shouid use a cassowary's egg, and those of the crocodile totem 

 clan a crocodile's egg, white the dog totem clan should use a certain leaf and in addition to that 

 paint the yam red. 



The man and woman returned home and taught the différent totem groups the garden „medicines" 

 which Mâigidùbu had given each of them. When ail the people had planted their gardens, Mâigidiibu 

 went to look at them and passed his water there, and that caused everything to grow well. On seeing 

 the track left by the snake on the ground the people e.xclaimed, „Oh, Mâigidiibu been go hère, ail 

 same haul him canoë! Oh, he been si'is/t (make water) hère!" And the taro and yams grew into a 

 dense bush („shut him road, man no can look ground"). Previously to that the people had eaten 

 only fish and bad fruit, but Mâigidiibu gave them the right kinds of garden plants. (Gaméa, Mawâia). 



B. A woman who had just given birth to a child was enticed by a hhuni-abàe (evil female 

 being, ef. no. 148) to sit down on a ndhea tree, and when she did so the wicked being caused the 

 tree to extend itself high into the air lifting up the woman. '" Her blood attracted Mâigidiibu, and he 

 brought her and the baby to his place as in the previous versions, and there he kept them. Once a 

 man came by and seeing the woman wanted to marry her, but Mâigidiibu killed him, for he did not 

 want anybody to take her away. The boy grew up, and Mâigidiibu gave him a bow and arrows with 

 ■which he shot varions animais as in the first version, bringing them to Mâigidiibu and asking him 

 whether they were edible. He also killed the hiwai-abére. Mâigidiibu invited all the people to come 

 and dance and held a great feast (the vvoman's husband is not mentioned). Once a Biidji man came 

 and „stole" the woman, but the two were detected by Mâigidiibu who assumed his human form and 

 shot them both dead with his bow and arrows. The boy did not take revenge, for Mâigidiibu was 

 his „father". Mâigidiibu asked him to eut up the body of the Biidji man, and devoured the différent 

 parts of it. (Nörima, Mawâta). 



C. A certain Biidji man named Usâri gave his wife and child bad food only, keeping all the 

 good food for himself. Once in his absence his wife whose name was Karôso gave her child some 

 of the good kaikai, and on his return Usâri became so angry that he left them both and went away 

 to Tugâgoro where he remained. One day Mâigidiibu came to the deserted woman who was horribly 

 frightened, but the snake-man did not do her any harm and stayed with her. The boy learnt to shoot 

 with Mâigidiibu's bow and came to ask his mother whether the animais killed by him were edible. 

 He was told to bring them all to Mâigidiibu. One day an evil being came to the place, and Karoso 

 who was very frightened gave him food and drink to appease him, and after a while the being feil 

 asleep.^® Then she and the boy ran away and came to T6gi where there is a wide creek. On the 

 other bank there were a number of Inihére-bubcre (also called ororårora or r7e>ige/ia-g\r\, ef. no. 133), who 

 threw a rope across the water for the fugitives. Karoso and the boy caught hold of the end of the 

 rope and were pulled across. Presently the evil being appeared and wanted to come across the creek, 

 but the hiihcrc-buhcie threw him an old rope which broke when he was in mid-water, and as he could 

 not swim he was drowned there. Then Karoso and the boy returned the same way to Mâigidiibu. 

 Another time Mâigidiibu invited all the people to come and dance, and one of the guests was Usâri. 

 The people were frightened at first when Mâigidiibu appeared in the dance. Karoso sent her son to 



Tom. XLVll. 



