The Folk-Tales of the Kiwai Papuans. 519 



them to fight, and he told them what had been done to his wife at Mawâta. The låsa men 

 made ready for war and sailed away. At Mavvåta the people were holding the mogùru ceremony 

 ignorant of the approaching danger, and when the attack was made, a great number of them were 

 killed. Among the dead was a pregnant Däru woman who was married to a Mavvåta man, and 

 the Kiwais eut off her head with the rest. After they had gone away her child, a boy, was 

 born, and he suckad his dead mother, bathed in the water, and soon learnt to crawl about. 



After a time a Dåru party arrived and among them was the father of the dead woman. 

 On seeing the boy he at fîrst took him to be a turtle crawling about on the beach, but on 

 finding that it was a boy he brought him över to Dåru. There the boy grevV up, and his name 

 was Sügudi'po. The story of his birth was disclosed to him, and on hearing of his mother's 

 death he said, „I close up big, by-and-by I kill Kfwai man." 



When he was full-grown he invited the Kfwais to Dåru where his fellow-villagers and 

 the Mavvåta people were read}' to attack them. The visitors were luUed into security, and in the 

 night the onslaught was made. „My name Sügudi'po!" shouted the boy. „Me man, me no wo- 

 man! You been kill my mother before; I pay back just now!" There was great bloodshed, 

 but afterwards peace was made and payment given for those killed. (Bäira, Sümai). 



THE MAN WHO PRETENDED TO HAVE BEEN IN A FIGHT AND WAS PURSUED 



BY AN EVIL BEING.ää 



471. A certain bushman who lived at Hawfo not far from Old Mawdta once went to 

 the sea-shore and saw there a flock of black and white vvaders. He had never seen such before 

 and said to himself, „Oh, plenty people he come, I think he want fight me. Suppose you come 

 fight me, I fight you too!" He pretended that the birds were people and sang, 



„Gôrobtibu nabdia bådu nése påbirigo. — All you fellow fly on top, I come along ground." 

 While singing he danced on the branch of a hohöme tree which tossed him up and down. After 

 a while he went down and shot off all his arrows at the root of the tree, and finally he eut off 

 his bow-string and broke the bovv. Then he ran home into his house, and called out to his 

 people, „Oh, you fellow fright, you no come help me. 1 been fight him plenty man. Plenty 

 canoe he come," by canoës he meant the birds. „To-morrow you me (we) go fight," said his 

 brothers. But the next day he prevented them from accompanying him and went alone. Again 

 he danced in the tree and said, „Yesterday no much canoe he come, to-day plenty canoe he come." 



He was heard by a hhvai-abére (wicked mythical woman ef. no. 148) who wondered what 

 the noise was and came to see. She threw her spear at him but missed him, and he fled away 

 with her in pursuit. He happened to trip and feil, roUing över on his back, and she feil över 

 him and was transfixed on to his penis which penetrated into her belly by the navel and killed 

 her. Then he got up and eut off her head. He shot off all his arrows at a tree and destroyed 

 his how. When he came home he boasted as before that he had killed many people single-handed. 

 But he had not even laid his hand on the limai-abére, and he was a „big fellow gammon-man", 

 said the narrator. (Amüi'a, Mawdta). 



N:o 1. 



