SOME FOLK-SONGS AND MYTHS FROM SAMOA. 71 



way of accounting for it, and ere long the story becomes a traditiona 

 myth. So this menhir is the stone sinker of the fishing-net of a fabulous, 

 hero, Sa'umani. In many parts of Britain, such a stone would bear the 

 name of the ' Giant's Cast,' and the peasants near will show you the 

 mountain side, perhaps a mile away, from which the giant threw it. 

 The Samoans do not seem to know much about giants, but the sinker of 

 a fishing-net is to them a familiar object. 



Tala. — They were friends, Sa'umani and Le Fe'e ; 2 they were 

 bosom friends ; they followed the same kind of fishing, the cast- 

 ing 3 of the net. They dwelt in Malae-a-Vavau. 4 One day they 

 went down to the sea for their work ; they went to fish. Sa'u- 

 mani looked and saw a man coming up behind the crest of the 

 waves. Then Sa'umani said to Le Fe'e, ' I will throw my net/ 

 Then they two cast their nets. Le Fe'e cast his wrong, but Sa'u- 

 mani cast his net, and covered the man with the net. Then said 

 the man, 'Friend, why have you entangled me? you have covered 

 me over with your net.' Then Le Fe'e was angry 5 with Sa'umani; 

 he was jealous because he had not caught a man with his net. 

 Then they went up from their fishing, and agreed to part. Le 

 Fe'e said to Sa'umani, ' I will take my net up inland and hang it 

 along in the bush [from branch to branch] ; but you will fish in the 

 sea with your net ; go on fishing ; you won't catch a man.' 



Then Le Fe'e went into the bush and hung his net all along 6 

 [the branches], but Sa'umani remained on the shore and turned 

 his attention to the sea. Their companionship was thus severed, 

 and they did not come together again. 



Lautala was the name of the man that was caught in Sa'umani's 

 net. When he was caught in the net, he said, ' Why have you 

 thrown me into the net? I am not a fish, but a man.' Then Sa'u- 

 mani said, 'Who knew that you were swimming in the sea? I 

 thought it was a fish.' Then these two went up inland ; for many 

 nights they dwelt in the house of Sa'umani. 7 Then Sa'umani 

 asked Lautala, ' Whence came you 1 how did you come here ? ' 

 Then he answered, 'I am a man from Tonga-Samoa; 8 I came to 

 seek the family of my father here in Samoa.' Then Sa'umani 



