The Folk-Taies of thc Kiwai Papuans. 467 



man Struck the snake with his digging stick but to no purpose, and equally fruitless were his 

 attempts to shoot it, for the snake was as hard as stone. AU the woman's bones were crushed. 

 The men were tired, and their wives brought them food. and when they had eaten they ail 

 attacked the snake, and at length the reptile simulated death. The people carried home the dead 

 woman vvhose body was quite „slack", and she was buried close to the house. The snake too 

 was brought home and showed to the people. But in the night the reptile revived and made its 

 wa\- into one of the houses, and there it caught and crushed an old man dragging his body 

 outside. Then it killed an woman in the same waj', and after her the rest of the inmates of that 

 house. A man from another house on going out for a certain want '* noticed the snake and 

 roused the people, and they discovered what had happened. The snake remained in the house 

 where the dead people had been, but the rest of the villagers launched their canoës and fled to 

 another place where they founded a new village. (Bi'ri, Ipisia). 



426. The younger brother of a great Kiwai hunter was encouraged by his brother's 

 example to go out hunting, and once he had started to kill pigs he did not miss a single day to 

 roam ahout in the bush. One day he was attacked by a large snake which coiled itself round 

 him completely, passing the end of its tail into the man's anus, and the hunter was killed. After 

 a long search the man was found with the snake still curling round him, and his brother 

 managed to kill the reptile. The dead man was freed from the coils of the snake and buried. 

 (Bi'ri, Ipisi'a). 



427. The following incident happened once long ago when the narrator's father stayed 

 at Dirimo. While hunting in the bush a certain Dirimo man named Gabia was attacked by a 

 snake which coiled itself round his body and passed the end of its tail into his anus. He called 

 out to his wife, who happened to hear him and ran out. At the same time the snake broke Gabi'a's 

 bones, and he feil down. The terrified woman started to run home and fetch some people, but 

 in the act of turning round she was caught and pinned on to a sharp twig from behind and 

 could not free herseif. At sundown the people came to look for the missing man and woman, 

 and they were both found dead. The people killed the snake and carried the two dead bodies 

 home, and there they were buried in the same grave, the snake still coiled round Gabia, for it 

 could not be taken away. (Dagüri, MaWcita). 



VARIOUS INCIDENTS WITH SNAKES (no 428-430). 



428. Three Dibiri women once when paddling in a canoë were attacked by a snake 

 which killed two of them while the third woman escaped. The people were- called in and came 

 with their weapons to kill the snake. The reptile had devoured the one woman and was eating 

 the other when it was attacked and killed. The people eut it in pièces with their stone axes and 

 roasted it on the fire. „More better you me (we) eat that snake," suggested some men, but some 

 others said, „Oh, no good, by-and-by you me (we) dead." „You fellow wait little bit, I try," 

 said a certain „strong man", and he tasted a little of the snake. They waited a good 

 N:o 1. 



