Tlie Folh-Tcilcs of llif Kiwai /'tipnans. 495 



having dealt the rtrst blows at thc tree, „he (she) show him road". While makins the canoë the 

 girls vvere singing, 



„N/'mo hûrai lipi hûrai urge/iddii. — AU you me woman eut him canoë now." 



The white héron walked about close to the tree while bis t'riend among the girls was cütting. 

 The girl thought, „That same pigeon walk about. That time I catch him crab he corne, this 

 time he come again." 



In one day the tree was felled, and the girls began to hoUow it eut with stone adzes, 

 burning the inside aftervvards to make it smooth. They decorated the canoe in the bush where 

 the tree had stood, and finally launched it in a creek close by. It was brought out to the sea 

 and provided with one outrigger. 



The one girl watched the heron continually. Once when the others went away in the 

 canoe to catch crabs, she stayed behind, hiding herself in the bushes close to the house. She 

 wanted to find out the secret ol" the bird, for looking at its eyes she had been thinking, „That 

 good man inside that skin, I think all time he make fool you me." The others did not know 

 where she had gone and did not wait for her. 



The man got up and looked round; „Nobody here!" and the girl, peeping into the 

 house, saw him: „My word, he come now!" He stripped off the bad skin, and the woman said, 

 „Oh, he take out skin. He good man. Oh, my husband! Plenty woman no tind him out, 1 

 find him now." Seeing the bird's skin he was putting on, she said, „Oh, he take that white 

 pigeon now! Oh. he fly now!" The boy flew to the place where the other girls were in 

 the canoe. 



The girl went into the house and found the human skin full of .sores. She thought, „I 

 burn him, no good he take him put him on, gammon all time," and she put it into the fire. She 

 brought her bed and placed it alongside that of the boy, made a fire and sat down to wait. 

 She feit well pleased at having taken possession of the place hefore anybody eise : „No good 

 other woman take that room, that man helong me." She kept her digging stick close to her in 

 case the others wanted to fight. 



The other girls talked among themselves, „Where small sister belong you me.'" One 

 said, „That pigeon he (she) been run behind him all time, I think he go along him," and another 

 suggested, „Come on, you me go back along house, look." 



The bird tlew back to the house 'where the girl was waiting. All unsuspecting he mounted 

 the ladder, took off the bird's skin, and carrying it in his hand entered the house in his proper 

 shape. The woman took hold of his hand and snatched away the feather dress, saying, „What 

 name (why) you all time stow away along bad skin? No good this place stop no man (is 

 without a man), you man belong me." The man, without sajäng anything, sat down on the 

 floor with bent head: „He (she) find me out now!" He looked round; „All cloth helong me he 

 been burn now, that cloth belong pigeon he been pull out along hand." 



The girl rolled up the bird's skin in a small mat and hid it in front of herseif under 

 her grass skirt. Ever since the women of her kin have hair growing in that place (pdfm or pdsa 

 is the same word used for hair and feather and also for leaf); the women belonging to another 

 kin have no hair there. The same is the case with the men. Similarly the hair of some men 



N:o 1. 



