SOME FOLK-SONGS AND MYTHS FKOM SAMOA. 201 



several families, sprung from the same parents ; and how the descendants 

 of these families, if they had no common bond of union, might, in the 

 course of ages, become tribes hostile to each other. If the five sons here 

 had been named from land-animals or birds, these would have been the 

 totems of the families. — Ed. 



The land of Atafu 1 has no houses; the people sleep on the 

 ground ; the sky is their house. It was this custom that caused 

 the girl to have the name of Le-fale-i-le-langi. x This girl and her 

 parents swam from Atafu. They reached a part of the sea oppo- 

 site to Yai-tele. Fa'a-gata-nu'u 2 and Fa'a-malie-nu'u 2 are the names 

 of her parents. They approached Tau. 3 Fe'e*(' octopus') and his 

 son came down to fish at Vaitele. 3 The name of his son w T as 

 Faia, 4 and he was very handsome. The parents of Le-fale-i-le- 

 langi said to her, 'Do you see that chief?' Her answer was, 

 ' Yes, I see him.' ' If you like him, go to him ; if you are received, 

 bring us a bunch of cocoa-nuts. D The girl went ashore. Faia saw 

 her, and they fell in love with each other. Then he walked towards 

 her ; he made himself agreeable to her. But, in returning, she 

 forgot to take a bunch of nuts to her parents. Then they were 

 angry, and said, ' For this, a curse be on you ; let not your people 

 catch fish ; only get a fish now and then.' Then they went and 

 dwelt at Ofu. 3 In those days there was only one land besides 

 Tau ; Olosenga did not then exist. Afterwards the gods brought 

 up Olosenga. 3 



Then they two married ; she conceived and reached the time 

 of her delivery ; then she went into the bush, 6 and was delivered 

 there. A search was made and she was found crying gently ; 

 and she brought forth her child, and it was called Tau ('gentle 

 pain '). 



Again she conceived ; her time came on, and she went into the 

 bush to be delivered. Search was made, and the child was found 

 when it was near night. Then it was called Aua-po ('reaching 

 to night '), 



Again the time came for her to bring forth, and she fled to the 

 bush. Again she was sought, and she was seen at the bottom of 

 a precipice, down which she had fallen. Then they tried to de- 

 scend the precipice in the chain of mountains in Analuma 7 ; they 

 succeeded in descending ; they took up the child and called it 

 Fa'a-lea-sao or Tau-sao (' hardly able to get down '). 



Again she conceived, and went into the bush. They found the 

 woman panting ; then that child was named Nga-nga-nga'e or 

 A-nga'e (' panting or gasping '). 



Again she conceived, and went to Ofu. She reached the bush, 

 and there she was delivered ; then the bush was called Vao-sa 8 

 ('the sacred bush'), but the child was called Lua-nu'u ('two lands'), 



