The Folk-Taies of Ihe Kiwai Papuans. 479 



One day the woman said to a friend, „Tsh ! I speak you other thing. I go bush, you 

 look out that house. You no open him door, no man (person) he go inside. He full up mosquito, 

 suppose he corne outside, oh, he fight man all time, no can make garden, no can sleep!" When 

 the woman came to her garden she t'ound that someone had stolen a bunch of large bananas of 

 a kind called giromi which grovv in that part of the country. She was furious and went from 

 man to man asking, „Who been steal my banana?" But they all answered, „I no savy, I no 

 been go that garden." „Oh, you gammon. you steal-man altogether! All right, you fellow look 

 out, I give you another thing!" And she opened the door of her house and said to the people, 

 „You fellow see: naåti (mosquito), you corne altogether." All the mosquitoes swarmed out with 

 a loud buzzing, „Brrr,"" and attacked the people. The woman said, „All over altogether place 

 people he no sleep, mosquito go inside house, woman and pickaninny no can sleep. People go 

 bush, werk little bit, come back again, mosquito fight him all time." 



Ever since that time the mosquitoes bother the people incessantly while the sürama (north,- 

 west monsoon) is blowing. The people cannot sleep at night and have to rest during the day 

 unable to work in their gardens. „Fault belong people," the narrator said, „he no fault belong 

 that woman. He (they) been steal banana belong that woman." (Nåtai, Ipisi'a). 



HOW THE WASPS BECAME BLACK AND VELLOW. 



447. There is a story ot the wasps (gùguârio) who are black at both ends of the body 

 and yellow in the centre. 



Once a hunter went into the bush early in the morning, and there he killed three pigs 

 and three opossums, which he hung up in certain trees close to the path. Proceeding further 

 into the bush he found a gûgiiârio-nQS\. in the ground, and thinking that it was a pig's lair he 

 trod on it. The wasps swarmed out and stung him all over his nude body till the man 

 was killed. 



The people at home waited for him, and when his dogs returned alone they thought, 

 „That man he come, all dog he there," but he did not turn up. At sundown the people said, 

 „All dog he come long time, what's the matter that man he stop long time.'" Then they went 

 in search of him and found the three pigs and three opossums which he had hung up in the 

 bush. They carried them home excepting one pig and one opossum which they did not touch. 

 For if a hunter has perished in the bush, the people always leave there some of the spoil killed 

 by him. The lower javvs of those two animais were, however, also eut off and brought to the 

 village. The people held a great feast and wailed over the man. 



In the night the hunter came to his wife in a dream and said, „You come where one 

 cocbnut he stop he got plenty fruit. You find me there. You no go close to, by-and-by that 

 gügudrio bite you." „Whafs the matter the gùguârio bite you?" she asked him in the dream. 

 „I think about that's pig-house," answered he, „that's why I go on top." The woman woke up 

 and began to wail. It was just before daybreak. When it grew sufficiently light she went 

 to the place indicated and there found her husband, but she did not go close to him, for there 

 was the wasps' nest just where he had kicked up the grass. She went back and called the 

 N:o r. 



