The sun., 1909-11-14
TALES THE BONGU TELL
4, PETULANT CAsSOWARY AND
MS JEALOUS DEPOSITION.

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The oman VINO Had the Moon. and Other
OFT Repestcd stories That while
v Away the Evenlnn1Iours In New Ger
many's Coleny I'm savage New Guinea.
These are tales the Bongu tell. When
the moon sifts through the tracery Of
the cocoannt leaves. when the pleasant
chill of early evening has followed upon
tao neat Of the s.ssming Gay. change
n temperature very welcome when one
lives but i've degrees from the equator.
the women sit smoking and looking out
TO the island dotted sea. The children,
Welding TO a timor OF the things OF night
which their elders feel within. come
docking boisterous to the mother side.
n Looking wistfllly out to sea they yield
p 10 the charm OF silent night. silsnces with
but the soft accent Of the rattle Of dry
cocoanut leaves in the gentle drift OF the
evening air OF the sharper squeak Of the
vampire hunting fruit.
Soon a voice mingles with the silences
and the touch OF life 10 felt. The other
women move closer the better TO hear.
the childrsn ind new resting places. the
story telling has begun.
From the bodo. the great house In which
the men I've Ia solitary state In club life
uuon whlch no woman may intrude and
live. theeyodnGer warriors come shesp-
ishly forth, After than come one by one
the elderA Of the village and form . ring
about hegroup. each with spear and bow
as one who would show himseK upon the
watch against the coming OF tho enemy.
But really 10 hear the story telling.
If voice should fail the teller Of the
tale each of the elder hearers could pick
up the narrative In the middle, Of . word.
for all stdries have been told and retoid;
never a hsw story since the memory OF
man. Wikh such people = new story
would paks belief. II ever new story
could como to life; but the story remsm-
bered through the often telling OF all
ones life. that story is canonioal. The
novelists have fixed a faith for savage
folk.
~ The first white man to form the aoquain-
stanoe of Bongu was the great Russian
explorer az New Guinea, Baron Miolocho
Maclay. n ASIA he passsd,t three months
In and abont this little town,and Ave years
later he cskne again aud tarried more
than tw&veuonth.
Il 10 httls unit OF savage life on As
trolsbe BAY. pcrhaps . hundred folk In
their independent life. now q tiny out
lying village neighbor OF Stephansort.
the capital Of German New Guinea Sinos
1894 it has been q station Of tho Rhenish
mission under Pfarrer Hanke- One result
Of his lAbors has just appeared In the
publication OF . grammar and vooabu-
larry Of the Bongu speech. OF far more
general interest is the faot that the pains
taking missionary has had tho kindness
to incorporate with his work brief COL
. jsction Of the tales which he has heard
his people tell.
Much Ia due the missionary. The Ian.
grage Of those savases is exiguous. much
II the things which are necessary In
higher languages have not yet come into
lrng. for the need has not arisen. thos<
9 ronts which show Relationships. time
Ilaos. manner. all tho varying degrees
II dependence. Here is q sample Of ths
crudity OF these stories In bald and
. ,i;sral translation:
Mamie they-both his-wiFe also sol
aS-up about-to. Dig up. dig up. night
.oming mamie his-wifs says: 'O.d-nsl6
in goin q village go-tho,i. bath will-go.'
II il were not for Pfarrer Hsnke's notes
Of exphcation and expansion Of the mean,
ing ii would be hard to find ssnss in this
y sort Of narrative. But ssnss there H.
for this In q speech Of man and thsrefors
must carry senss. Utilizing these TO
sources and a familiarity with tho land
and tho conditions OF life thsrsin. here ars
offered few specimens OF the ART oi
these savage story telsrs.
The first involves an idea that 10 world.
vide, tho life under earth. Man walkl
and lives upon . solid surface: bsnssth
it IL ono could but gs< there he would
find another Life. Elysian Fislds. He'll
TannhAuser and the venusberg. A ia
the mannsr OF reachtng this undsr life
the way which Bongu found. ono nseds
but recall the tales Of Scyila and Charyb.
dis, the Maelstrou. Avalon and King
Arthur Bongu reaches II through watsr
q as this tale will tell.
Gemar the Gsd.
A man and his wife were toiling In ths
field break king up the soil. Thcy worked
until evening caue. Then said the mar
to his wife: when you have reachec
the old plantation 60 you homo. l vii
go to bathe.'
The man went away. In the pool q
bird was swimming around and around
When the man saw It he made up his minc
to shoot 1t. When he had grasped hi
bow. had selected an arrow with many
harbs. had drawn the bowstring taut
he shot.
He had shot and was going TO retriev,
the bird when hole opened in the mids
Of the water and then he went down tn,
hole. When he had finished going h
saw a great snake. Jambambu. and wher
he saw him he shook with fear.
Jsmbsmbu said to him Stop shaking
with fear! Why have you shot my hent'
Thereupon the man replied: -Beoaus,
! thought it was just any bird; that,
why | shot it
Its not a bird: it's my hem
While they were thus together came
men They changed themselves int
serpents and laid their men skins on a rack
After this they cooked their meal. Afte'
the cooking and the eating night fell
on them and they slept.
They built fire and when it was burn
ing bright they slipped themselves or
wooden spits and slept over the fire
\ when their fat dripped into the fire II
Missed and sputtered- The man was
wakeful and the great snake asked him
A-, n