The Folk-Taks of the Kiwai Papuatis. 531 



a fight, and the man was killed. The boy's father eut off his head and put it underneath his 

 son's head as a pillovv. Shortly afterwards the boy was buried, and the father kept the mur- 

 derer's skull. (Käku, Ipisfa). 



HOW THE PIGS BEGAN TO OESTRO Y THE GARDENS OF THE PEOPLE. 



486. In remote times there were pigs in the bush just as nowadays but they did not 

 damage the people's plantations, and no fences were needed. It was Auo 6ta, a certain great 

 man, who caused the pigs to come and ruin the gardens, and this took place in the following way. 



Auo Öta's wife, Bäme by name, was once making a grass petticoat on the verandah of 

 her house. Her little baby named Ôronôgu was playing underneath the same house. A very 

 strong tide was Coming in, and presently the boy tripped and feil into the water, and as he could 

 not get up he was drowned, and the waves tossed him about like a pièce of wood. The mother 

 bad no idea of what had happened. After a while a man and woman came Walking along the 

 edge of the water and on seeing the boy they called out, „Uéi! what name (what is) that? I say, 

 who belong boy? Sea knock him, he dead now! Oh, belong Auo Ôta that boy, that Öronögu!" 

 The mother jumped down from the verandah to catch her child. Auo Ota and all his brothers 

 were summoned, and there was a great commotion. 



Âuo Uta and his friends were furious, thinking to themselves, „What for people no been 

 look out?" They took a pig's tail and other ingrédients of a „medicine" with which pigs can be 

 caused to come and ruin the people's gardens, and when it was prepared they spät it out in the 

 gardens. They also carried the dead boy to the place where the tame pigs were, and rocking 

 the body to and fro they grunted like pigs, thereby calling upon the wild pigs to come, and for 

 the same purpose they sounded their trumpet-shells. The tame pigs then „taught" the wild pigs 

 to destroy the plantations, and the animais went there in pairs, one wild and one tame pig 

 together. In vain the people tried to enclose their gardens : the pigs broke through the fences. 

 Some men slept in the plantations and lighted fires there but could not prevent the pigs from 

 damaging them just the same. The Mawata people were härd up for food and had to go to 

 distant places to procure some. It lasted a long time before the bane could be „washed away" 

 by the people. 



Some time afterwards the same evil was again brought about. Onéa's dog went and 

 stole food from Möre's fireplace and was shot by the son of the latter. Onéa was very angry 

 and went and called the pigs to come and rout in the people's gardens as they had done on the 

 previous occasion. Some men took revenge and one day when Onéa was out hunting they caused 

 him to be killed by the pigs. This was too rashly and prematurely done, for Onéa had intended 

 after a time to remove the curse of which he was the author, but after his death no one knew 

 how to do it. His son Dåbu tried his best but only succeeded in part, and therefore the gardens 

 are to this day partly protected, partly not. (Namai, Mawäta). 



N:o 1. 



