SOME FOLK-SONGS AND MYTHS FROM SAMOA. 251 



6. That little fellow; they despised him, and so also was Cinderella des- 

 pised by her sisters. 



Sina's bed ; the fine sleeping-mats are the bed. 



7. Jumping out of the water * as if eager for the hook. 



9. Imoa-salatai, ' the nibbling rat/ 



Funeral rites ; for a great chief, the people sing an extemporised hymn 

 of praise and keep fires burning before his house. 



10. Tangata, ' a human being '; the Samoan word — tagata (= kanaka} 

 — means 'man, mankind/ 



'0 Imoa, &c; he combines his mother's name with his own. 

 In the evening; an 'aitu,' like a ghost, does not care to be seen in day- 

 light. 



11. Don't forget Afi'a in his bush ; ' aua ne'i galo a f e Afi f a i lona vao'; the 

 story about Afi f a is so well known to the people that this phrase has- 

 established itself in the language as a common proverb ; when Mr. Pratt 

 was finally leaving Samoa, the natives used it in their farewells to him. 



Tonga ; ' native property ' as above, i.e., mats and other things. 

 This is for me, &c; 'si f au mea sia ; si mea a Afi f a lea ; si a'u mea sia j 

 se toga a Afi/a lea/ 

 Imoa-ma ; ' white rat/ 



12. In the space between ; ' i le va/ 



13. Renewing his youth ; a common power in fairy tales. 



Don't open the mat-sides; ' aua le pu pola '*; the ' pola* are plaited cocoa- 

 nut-leaf mats, which, as in our tents, are used as flaps to enclose the lower 

 sides of a Samoan house. 



Turmeric ; much used in the toilet of women and girls in Samoa. The 

 plant grows wild there, and the making of the powder is a common house- 

 hold industry. 



The story breaks off; like the Arabian Nights, this story about the hooks 

 admit of great expansion and has numerous ' recensions/ long and short. 



XXV.— '0 <Alo-<alo— A 'Solo.' 

 'Sun-beam,' the son of the Sun. 



1. 'Alo-'alo went to make it known to his parents, 



2. That Sina [his wife] is with child. 



3. ['Alo-'alo], the child of Manga-manga-i-fatua 



4. Sought in the heavens for his parents. 



5. He looked for them in the first heavens, 



6. Where were the images of Po and Ao ; 



7. And the house had spears for its eaves. 



