/lie Folk-Tales nf I he Kiwai Papuans. 465 



The next day she again asked the snake to look after her baby while she and her husband 

 were away, and after bathing in the vvater the snake completely recovered. Instead of watching 

 the baby Aböma seized his bow and arrows and ran after the two people in the bush, meaning 

 to kill his son-in-lavv. „My god, vvhal's the matter (why) you no been kill me good?" he cried 

 to the man, „you go finish to-day!" He drew his bow at him, but just as he was about to let 

 fly he thought to himself, „Oh, that my cmapora (son-in-law), I no kill him. Suppose I kill him, 

 my girl he go stop along who?" He did not shoot but said, „He no been kill me altogether, I 

 come all right now; no good I kill that man," and he vvent back. In the evening the man and 

 vvoman returned home, and the latter cooked food and gave her father some, and then the snake- 

 man betook himself into the water. But in the night he donned his feather head-dress, and 

 seizing his bow and arrows, stone axe, and beheading knife came on shore. Again he intended 

 to have his revenge and kill his son-in-law. He stood close to the man with his stone axe ready, 

 but the thought Struck him as before, „My god, suppose I eut that man, my girl he go stop 

 along who? He got no people hère." .So instead of attacking him with the axe he said, „No 

 good I take stone axe, go eut him. Good I go shoot him along bow-arrow." And he drew his 

 bow but could not let fly thinking of his daughter. ht length he returned into the water and 

 definitelj' gave up the thought of killing the man. 



.■\t tirst his abode had been a water-hole with no outlet, but the same night he eut a 

 passage to the sea, and that is the Dfbiri-o>-o;«o (river). On seeing the river in the morning his 

 daughter thought, „My god, I think my father he been go other place," and she wailed over 

 him. The snake said, „^'ou stop there along man," and he himself lived in the Di'blri-o'rov/o. 

 (Gibùma, Mawâta). 



THE MAN WHO WAS SWALLOWED BY A SNAKE. 



422. Once when a hunter at Iria was distributing the game killed by him he neglected 

 a certain man who did not get any share in the spoil. The next time when he went out hunting 

 that man secretly followed him anxious to get a pièce of meat. But unfortunately he lost 

 his way in the bush, and there he met a snake as large as a coconut tree. The reptile knocked 

 him down with its tail and swallowed him. He was, however, not dead. The people came to search 

 for him but could not find him, and he remained three days in the snake's belly. One night his 

 wife dreamt that her father came to her and said, „You go bush, you no go straight that road 

 that man (the hunter) been run, you go other road. You find him one big snake; man belong 

 you stop inside along belly." In the morning the woman summoned the people and showed 

 them the right way, and they found the snake, and it was killed. They eut off its head and 

 tail, ripped up its belly, and took out the man, who was sfill alive. Some of the people were so 

 terrified that they ran avvay, but the others took care of him, stretched out his stiffened limbs. 

 and washed him in the water. He said, „You no fright, I no öboro (ghost), you no run awa}'." 

 Then he said, „I hungry, I vvant kaikai." (Mokäne, Mawâta). 



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