Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 24, 1913.djvu/326

 304 ^rh,c Poetry of the Kiwai Papuans.

2. " Madia bubua ivapa geseget-ey (" Good wapa [grass skirt] belong girl [Sagaru] he move him now along lasa.")

3. " Bertiberiio kurua Uuoito vioriodoro Sido mo upiirii toio" (" Oh, kurua, ladder belong Sido he go back now along Uuo.")

After Sido and Sagaru have been married for some time, she once gets angry with him, according to the tale, and goes away. Another man, Meuri, who wants her, causes a tree, iiabea, standing in her path to become quite small ; and when Sagaru sits down on it to rest, the tree resumes its natural height, and she is lifted high up. Sido, in pursuit of Sagaru, finds her in the tree, which he tries in vain to cut down with his stone axe. Finally he summons the winds, which blow the tree over, but Sagaru is hurled to Meuri's place and received by him.

The songs relate the same incidents in the following way : —

1. ''Sagaru lasa dariino oroinaro rcviovogiir ("Sagaru come wild now place belong lasa.")

2. " lasa nebea moroba Sagaru ioto titi saragova norodoror (" Along lasa Sagaru, good woman, he go on top along nabea!'^

3. " Sido nabea mabuo ibuo ipisiava rarao." {" Sido close to uabea he think : " What side I go cut him .^ " ")

4. " Sie susuo nouro nabea xvaubaira waubaira nabea." (" Sido he sing out west wind : " You can knock him down nabea^")

5. " Nabea inorobo d'laruo diarn nabea inorobo" (" Wind he take him go nabea and my woman.")

6. " Meuri lasa nabea tau zvowca ro aibi biabia riaibia." (" Meuri from canoe he see that lasa nabea he come, he pull strong.")

Sido sends some small birds to look for Sagaru, they find her and are sent back by her with a message to Sido. He goes after her and has a fight with Meuri. The latter falls