Chapter IV · MYTHS AND LEGENDS

The Andamanese have a number of stories which are told to the younger people by their elders and relate to the doings of their ancestors in a time long ago. Some of these stories are recorded in the present chapter. A difficulty in the way of giving any clear and readable account of them is the fact that there are many slightly different versions of one and the same legend. To some extent the variations are local, each tribe, and even each portion of a tribe having its own set of legendary stories. Besides these local variations there are also individual variations. Two men of the same tribe may relate what is substantially the same story, yet each chooses his own words and gestures, and to some extent they may even arrange the incidents differently.

In the last chapter it was mentioned that there are certain individuals, known as oko-ǰumu in the North Andaman and oko-paiad in the South, who are believed to have special knowledge as to the spirits and as to the magical efficacy of remedies for sickness. It is these oko-ǰumu also who are the authorities on the legendary lore of the Andamanese. In the case of magical remedies there is a certain common stock of beliefs as to the efficacy to be attributed to different substances, such as leaves of different plants, and on the basis of these beliefs the oko-ǰumu elaborates the remedies that he uses in particular cases. Each oko-ǰumu, however, prides himself on being, to some extent, original. An example of this has been already mentioned. When a great storm arose an oko-ǰumu of one of the Northern tribes succeeded in stopping it (in the belief of the natives) by placing a piece of the crushed stem of the Anadendron creeper under a particular stone in the sea. On a later occasion another storm arose, and the successor of the first-mentioned oko-ǰumu was appealed to that he might exert his powers. He did not simply imitate his predecessor, but he placed a piece of crushed bark and twigs of the Ficus laccifera in the sea under a different stone. In very much the same way there is a common stock of beliefs as to the events that took place in the time of the ancestors, but each oko-ǰumu builds up on this basis his own particular set of legends, so that it is rarely that two of them tell the same story in the same way. An oko-ǰumu may obtain for himself a reputation by relating legends of the ancestors in a vivid and amusing way. Such a man would be able to invent new stories by combining together in his own way some of the traditional incidents. The desire on the part of each oko-ǰumu to be original and so to enhance his own reputation is a fertile source of variation in the legends.

This lack of traditional form, which is a very important characteristic of the Andamanese mythology, may be compared with their lack of traditional songs. Just as every man composes his own songs, so, within certain limits, every oko-ǰumu relates in his own way the legends of his tribe. But whereas every man is a composer of songs, only a certain number are regarded as having authority to speak on the legends.

Underlying the legends of any tribe there are a certain number of beliefs or representations with which every native is familiar. It is on the basis of these that the oko-ǰumu elaborates his own doctrine, if we may call it so, which he hands on to his followers, who in turn may become oko-ǰumu and produce further slight modifications of their own. Thus the legends are continually being changed, though in any one generation the changes introduced are slight, and it would take a long time for important changes in belief to be brought about. There is evidence, however, that a succession of leading men in the A-Pučikwar tribe have succeeded in introducing a new doctrine as to the weather, making Bilik the name of a class of beings instead of the name of a single being, and that this doctrine, while it has not entirely ousted the former beliefs, has yet succeeded in gaining currency not only in the A-Pučikwar tribe, but also in the Aka-Ko̱l and O̱ko̱-J̌uwo̱i tribes.

At the present time it is only possible to recover a small part of the many different legends with their variants. The introduction of many new interests into the lives of the natives, through the European settlement and the many changes it has produced, has caused the ancient legends to be neglected. Most of the old oko-ǰumu have died without leaving any followers to take their place. Many of the legends recorded here are merely what some of the men not specially skilled in legendary lore can remember of the stories told them in former days by oko-ǰumu who are now dead.

One feature of the legends that must be pointed out is their unsystematic nature. The same informant may give, on different occasions, two entirely different versions of such a thing as the origin of fire, or the beginning of the human race. The Andamanese, to all appearance, regard each little story as independent, and do not consciously compare one with another. They thus seem to be entirely unconscious of what are obvious contradictions to the student of the legends. It is necessary to emphasise the fragmentary and unsystematic nature of the Andaman mythology because Mr Man, in his work on the Andamanese, has brought together a number of legends from the tribes of the South Andaman and has combined them into a continuous and fairly consistent narrative, and has thus, undoubtedly not intentionally, given a wrong impression to the reader of what the nature of the disconnected stories really is. While each of the stories included in Mr Man’s account is derived directly from the natives, it would seem certain that the arrangement of them into a more or less consistent narrative is due to Mr Man.

In recording the legends in this chapter, only the English translation is given. In some cases the legends were translated on the spot and written down in English. In other cases they were written down in the native language and then translated. When I was recording the legends I very frequently had to ask what was meant by a particular statement, the meaning of which might be quite clear to a native, but which was obscure to one not accustomed to thinking in the same way as the natives. In some cases I could obtain no satisfactory explanation, and such legends are given in this chapter in as nearly as possible an exact literal translation of the original. In other cases the explanations given by the natives have been incorporated in the translation itself.

In order to give the reader a fair idea of the nature of the legends as they are told, one is here given in the native language (Aka-Čari) with a word-for-word translation.

A Maia Dik iǰokoduko; Sir Prawn makes fire; o ko̱nmo teč inǰukte̱rto̱ia; yam leaf catches fire; ko̱nmo teč bi ikterbie; yam leaf is dry; kete uiǰoko; that one it burns; uiǰokobiko; he makes a fire; Maia Dik ubenoba; Sir Prawn slept; Maia Totemo emato; Sir Kingfisher takes; uǰokil uektebalo; he fire with he runs away Maia Totemo ǰokobiko; Sir Kingfisher makes a fire; Maia Totemo taǰeo ubiko; Sir Kingfisher fish (food) cooks; upetil ubeno; his belly in he sleeps; Maia Mite ǰuktebalo uemato. Sir Dove runs away taking.

The above translation is hardly comprehensible without a little explanation. The word iǰoko means “something burns,” the word ubiko means “he cooks (by roasting).” The compound iǰokobiko may mean either “he makes a fire and cooks something at it” or it may simply mean “he makes up a fire (by adding firewood).” The word iǰokoduko has a quite different meaning, “to produce fire.” The derivation of inǰukte̱rto̱ia is uncertain, as I am not sure of the proper use of er-to̱ia; it is translated on the basis of the explanation given me by the man who told the story. The word ikterbie is descriptive of the dryness of dead leaves.

A free translation would be as follows: “It was Sir Prawn who first produced or obtained fire. Some yam leaves, being shrivelled and dry by reason of the hot weather, caught fire and burnt. The prawn made a fire with some firewood and went to sleep. The kingfisher stole fire and ran away with it. He made a fire and cooked some fish. When he had filled his belly he went to sleep. The dove stole fire from the kingfisher and ran away.” It is implied that it was the dove who gave the fire to the ancestors of the Andamanese.

Mr Man has evidently not realised that the term čauga cannot be applied to any living Andamanese, but may be applied to every dead one. The Čauga are the spirits of dead natives, and new Čauga are continually coming into existence by death. Any person who is of such importance when alive as to form the subject of legends or stories after his death may be distinguished (after his death only) as a Čauga tabaŋa. The name may thus be applied to the purely mythical ancestors of the legends, and also to the spirits of men recently dead whose memory is preserved owing to fame acquired in some way when they were alive. It is thus possible that some of the natives with whom Mr Man formerly conversed are now Čauga tabaŋa, i.e. big spirits, having been “big men” when they were alive.

Among the ancestors who appear in the legends there are a few who bear names that are used as personal names of men and women at the present time, and who appear in the legends simply as men and women. The larger number of the ancestors, however, bear names that are those of species of animals. In each case the ancestor is identified with the species which bears the same name. Yet others of the mythical ancestors have names that are neither personal names at the present day, nor names of animals. It may perhaps be supposed that in all such cases the name has some sort of meaning, but in many instances it was not found possible to discover the meaning with certainty.

When speaking of the ancestors, the natives generally add to the name the appropriate title. These titles are, in the North Andaman Maia (Sir) and Mimi (Lady), in Akar-Bale Da (Sir) and In (Lady), and in Aka-Bea Maia and Čana.

There are legends as to the origin of mankind, i.e., of their own race, for they did not recognize, until recently, the existence of any men of other races than their own, calling aliens Lau (spirits). There is, however, no unanimity in their beliefs as to how mankind originated, even in any one tribe. An Aka-Bo legend is as follows:

The same story was told me by Aka-J̌eru men, the only difference being that they gave the name of the place where J̌utpu lived differently, mentioning a spot in the Aka-J̌eru country.

From the Aka-J̌eru I also obtained what is really another version of the same legend, though the name of the first ancestor is given differently. “The first man came out of the buttress of a po̱ičo (Sterculia) tree, and was called Po̱ičotobut (Sterculia buttress). He had no wife, so he cohabited with an ant’s nest (ko̱t) and thus obtained a large number of children. These were the first Andamanese, and Po̱ičotobut taught them all their arts and customs. Po̱ičotobut lived at Bo̱ro̱ŋ Buliu (in Aka-J̌eru country).”

I could not obtain any Aka-Kede legend as to the origin of mankind. One informant of that tribe said that it was Bilika (the north-east monsoon) who made the world and the first men and women, but he could give me no detailed legend.

Another A-Pučikrwa account of the origin of the first woman Ko̱lotat, is as follows: “At first there were no women, only men. A man called Ko̱lotat came to live in the A-Pučikwar country. Ta Pe̱tie (Sir Monitor Lizard) caught him and cut off his genitals and made him into a woman. She became his wife. Their children were the first of the ancestors (Tomo-la).”

In disagreement with this story, another man of the same tribe said that Tomo was made by Bilik. He (i.e., Tomo) had a wife Mita (Dove), and they were the ancestors of the Andamanese. Yet another informant said: “Ta Tomo was the first man. He made bows and arrows and canoes. His canoes were made of the wood of the Pandanus tree. Mita (Dove) was his wife. It was she who first made nets and baskets and discovered the uses of red paint and white clay.” When I asked how Tomo and his wife originated my informant replied that he did not know.

A species of bird (perhaps a woodpecker), called Po̱i in A-Pučikwar and Ko̱io in Aka-Ko̱l, is often said to have been the son of Tomo. I was once told that Ko̱io was the first of the Andamanese, from whom they are all descended, and that his wife was Mita. Another informant said that Pe̱tie (Monitor Lizard) was the first man and Mita was his wife, while still another stated that Ta Mita (Sir Dove) was the progenitor of the race, making the dove male instead of female. These different versions will give some idea of the contradictory nature of the statements of the Andamanese. All of them come from only two tribes, the A-Pučikwar and the Aka-Ko̱l.

Another Akar-Bale version is that the first man was Da Duku (Sir Monitor Lizard), and that his wife was In Bain (Lady Civet-cat).

Mr E. H. Man, in his account of the South Andaman, says that there are a few discrepancies in their accounts of the creation and origin of the human species, but in the main features all the natives with whom he spoke are agreed. The world was created by Puluga, who then made a man named Tomo, the first of the human race. Tomo was black, like the present Andamanese, but was much taller and bearded. Puluga showed him the various fruit-trees in the jungle, which then existed only at Wota-emi, a spot in the country of the A-Pučikwar tribe. The wife of Tomo was Čana Elewadi (Lady Crab), and as to her origin there are different legends. According to some, Puluga created her after he had taught Tomo how to sustain life; others say that Tomo saw her swimming near his home and called to her, whereupon she landed and lived with him; while a third story represents her as coming pregnant to Kyd Island, where she gave birth to several male and female children, who subsequently became the progenitors of the present race. Tomo had two sons and two daughters by Čana Elewadi; the names of the former were Biro-la and Bo̱ro-la, and of the latter Rie-la and Čo̱rmi-la.

In some of the preceding legends reference is made to Biliku or Puluga. There is a very general belief, in all parts of the islands, that in the time of the ancestors, Biliku or Puluga lived on earth. Each tribe has at least one spot in its territory that is pointed out as the place where Biliku (or Puluga) lived. In some tribes there are three or four such places, each of which is claimed as the original home of Biliku by the people living in the neighbourhood. In many cases the name of the spot contains a reference to the legend, as Puluga l’od-baraiǰ (the village of Puluga) in Akar-Bale or Biliku era-poŋ (the cave of Biliku) in the North Andaman.

I was able to obtain a few legends relating to the time when Biliku lived on earth, though there were probably many more that I was not fortunate enough to hear.

The following is an Aka-J̌eru legend:

“In the time of the ancestors Biliku lived at Ar-ko̱l. One day the people caught a turtle and brought it to the camp. Biliku was sitting there. They asked her if she would eat some of it. She said ‘No.’ They put the meat in the roof of the hut and went away. When they had gone Biliku ate the whole turtle. Then she went to sleep. The people came back and found the turtle gone. They said ‘Biliku has eaten it.’ They left the camp and all went to Tebi-čiro. They left Biliku asleep. Some of the people went to hunt for turtle. Their canoe passed near Ar-ko̱l. Biliku saw the people in the canoe. She called to them and asked to be taken with them. The people refused saying ‘You ate up all the turtle.’ Biliku had a round stone and several be shells (pearl shells). She threw the shells at the people in the canoe. The first shell did not hit them but came back and fell at her feet; and so also with the second. Then Biliku got very angry and threw a third time. The shell struck the canoe and killed all the people in it. The canoe and its occupants became a reef of rocks that is still there. The other people at Tebi-čiro called across to Biliku saying ‘Come over here.’ She answered ‘Very well! I am coming.’ She took the stone that she had and put it in the sea, and it floated. She got on to it to cross over. When she had got half way across Biliku and her stone sank in the sea. They became two big rocks that are there still.” This legend refers to the west coast of the North Andaman. The pearl shells that Biliku throws seem to be lightning, and the round stone the one that she rolls about to make thunder.

A few other statements about Biliku and Tarai from the four tribes of the North Andaman are given below just as they were taken down in my note-books.

(1) “Biliku lived at Pura-’ra-poŋ in the time of the ancestors. Her husband was Pe̱rǰido and her children Totaimo, Mite (cicada) and Tarai. She made the sun and the moon. It was she who first invented all the things that are now made and used by women, such as baskets, nets, etc., and it was she who discovered fire, and who first discovered the use of edible roots such as ko̱nmo and mino (two species of Dioscorea).”

(2) “Biliku used to live at Čaura. She had a husband Tarai and a son Pe̱rǰido, and a daughter Mite. She used to live only on certain vegetable foods, lo̱ito, pata, bui, čo, ko̱nmo and mino and others. It was Biliku who made the earth (the forest, ti-miku). She began at Čaura.”

(3) “Biliku lived at Ar-Ko̱l in the time of the ancestors. Her husband was Tarai and their children were the birds, To̱ro̱i, Taka, Čoto̱t, Poruatoko, Kelil, Mite, Čo̱pčura, Benye, Biratkoro, Čereo, Milidu, Bobelo, Ko̱lo, and Teo.” (Aka-J̌eru.)

(4) “Biliku lived at Poroket. She was unmarried. She had a son Pe̱rǰido, and her other children were To̱ro̱i, Čelene, Čoto̱t and Čerei. (These four are the names of birds.) It was Pe̱rǰido who invented all the arts of the Andamanese such as their bows and arrows, etc.” (Aka-Bo?)

(5) “Biliku used to live at Peč-meo with her husband To̱ro̱i (a bird). She used to eat lo̱ito, and when anyone else ate that root she was angry. Tarai lived at Čaroŋa with his wife Kelil (a bird). He ate only mikulu.” (Aka-Ko̱ra.)

(6) “Tarai has very long legs and a short body. He used to live on a small island beyond Interview Island, which is now submerged. When Tarai goes to sleep he breathes very heavily and this makes the wind.”

The next is an Aka-Kede legend. “In the days of the ancestors Bilika lived at Purum-at-čape in the Aka-Kede country, with her husband Po̱ro̱kul. One day Po̱ro̱kul was out hunting. He returned with a pig that he had killed and came to the creek on the other side of which was his home (Co̱ti-te̱r-buli Buliu). Laden as he was with the pig he could not swim across the creek. Bilika was sleeping, but her children were playing near and saw their father on the other side of the creek. They ran and told their mother that their father was coming but could not cross the creek. Bilika went and lay down on one bank of the creek and stretched out her leg so that it reached the other bank. Po̱ro̱kul walked across her leg and so reached home.”

While it is clear from this legend that Bilika was of super-human size, the same was also true of her husband, if we may judge from another legend. “Po̱ro̱kul made for himself a bow (of the large southern pattern), with which to shoot pig. At this time the sky was low down near the earth, only just above the tops of the trees. When Po̱ro̱kul had finished his bow he lifted it upright. The top of it struck the sky and lifted it up to its present position where it has remained ever since.”

In another legend from another part of the Aka-Kede tribe Bilika is spoken of as being male. “Bilika lived at Po̱ro̱ŋ-et-čo with his wife Mite. They had a child. The ancestors ate Bilika’s food, lo̱ito and kata and other plants. Bilika was very angry. He used to smell their mouths to see if they had eaten his food. When he found a man or woman who had done so he would cut his throat. The ancestors were very angry with Bilika, because he killed the men and women when they ate his foods. They all came together and killed Bilika and his wife Mite. Maia Burto (a species of fish) took the child (of Bilika) away to the north-east.”

Owing to my lack of knowledge of the Aka-Kede language there are some points of the above legend that remain obscure. I think that the child of Bilika is also named Bilika, and that it is he (or she) who now lives in the north-east and sends the storms. The plants (lo̱ito, kata, etc.), called here the “food” of Bilika, are those mentioned in the last chapter as specially belonging to Bilika, who is angry when the natives eat them. As regards the name, Mite, of Bilika’s wife, I do not know whether this is the name of the bronze-winged dove, or of the cicada. In some of the Andamanese languages the names of these two are very similar, the only difference being a very slight one in the way of pronouncing the two vowels.

The A-Pučikwar people who live on the east coast of Baratang Island say that in the beginning the ancestors lived at a place called Wota-emi, and Bilik lived opposite to them across the strait at a place called To̱l-l’oko-tima. In a rock at Wota-emi there is a large peculiarly shaped hollow. This is said to be where Bilik used to sit when he was on earth.

An Akar-Bale legend is as follows. “In the days of the ancestors Puluga lived at J̌ila off the east coast of Henry Lawrence Island and the ancestors lived at Puluga l’od-baraiǰ (the village of Puluga) on the main island just opposite to J̌ila. Puluga was always getting angry with the ancestors, because they dug up yams and ate čakan (Entada scandens) and barata (Caryota sobolifera). When he was angry he used to destroy their huts and property. So the people sent him out of the world, saying ‘We do not want you here. You are always angry with us.’ Puluga went away to the north-east.”

It is worth while to note that J̌ila is north-east from Puluga l’od-baraiǰ, just as To̱l-l’oko-tima is north-east from Wota-emi. In both cases there is a narrow strait between the place where the ancestors lived and the home of Puluga or Bilik.

“Biliku had a red stone and a pearl shell (be). She struck them together and obtained fire. She collected firewood and made a fire. She went to sleep. Mite (the bronze-winged dove) came and stole fire. He made a fire for himself. He gave fire to all the people in the village. Afterwards fire was given to all the places. Each village had its own.”

The next is an Aka-J̌eru version.

“In the days of the ancestors they had no fire. Biliku had fire. While Biliku slept Maia Lirčitmo (Sir Kingfisher) came and stole fire. As he was taking the fire Biliku awoke and saw him. Lirčitmo swallowed the fire. Biliku took a pearl shell (be) and threw it at Lirčitmo and cut off his head. The fire came out (of his neck). The ancestors got the fire. Lirčitmo became a bird.”

The next is also, I believe, an Aka-J̌eru story. “Maia Tiritmo (Sir Kingfisher) lived at Tolepar Buruin. He had no fire. When he caught fish he had no fire with which to cook it. He went to the place where Čo̱kčura (heron) lived. There was no fire there. Tiritmo took some rotten wood of the piń tree and hit it on a rock, and thus made fire. He gave fire to Čo̱kčura. Čo̱kčura gave fire to Totemo (a species of kingfisher). Totemo gave it to all the others.”

A slightly different and less detailed version of the same story is as follows:

“Tiritmo made fire. Totemo stole fire (from Tiritmo) and gave it to Mo̱ičo (Rail). Mo̱ičo gave fire to all the people.”

The next version, which was taken down in Aka-J̌eru, I did not fully understand.

“Some one shot an arrow. The arrow hit the hill of fire. Tiriń (a species of kingfisher) found the arrow. It was on fire. He took the fire to his camp. He would not give fire to any one. The others asked him. They went to their homes. At night they came to Tiriń’s hut and stole fire. They went away, each to his own place.”

There is a certain amount of obscurity about two other versions, which are given in a translation as nearly literal as possible. “Maia Dik (Sir Prawn) made fire. Some ko̱nmo (yam) leaves caught fire, being dry. Maia Dik made a fire. Maia Dik slept. Maia Totemo (Sir Kingfisher) stole fire and ran away. Maia Totemo made a fire. He cooked fish. When he had eaten, he slept. Maia Mite (Sir Dove) stole fire (from Totemo) and ran away.”

The other is as follows. “Piribi got fire from a stone. He threw fire at Bilika. It set some ko̱nmo (yam) leaves on fire. Čo̱rolo (Parrot) got fire (from the burning leaves). He gave it to the ancestors.”

These two legends were taken down in Aka-Čari, but they are perhaps really Aka-Ko̱ra or Aka-J̌eru stories. I have the word piribi in my notes as meaning a storm, but the translation is doubtful.

The next is an Aka-Kede version of what is the most widespread of the legends.

An Aka-Kede legend of the origin of the sun may conveniently be given in this place, as it is connected with the possession of fire by Bilika. “Bilika made fire of purum wood. One day, when she was very angry, she started throwing fire about. One large fire-brand she threw into the sky, and there it became the sun.” This legend explains the name of the place Purum-at-čape, at which Bilika is said to have lived when on earth. Purum is the name of a tree, not identified; at means either “fire” or “fire-wood,” and čape means a village or a hut. The whole word therefore means “Purum fire village.”

Mr Portman’s Aka-Ko̱l story is somewhat obscure. “Bilik was sleeping at To̱l-l’oko-tima. Luratut (Kingfisher) took away fire to Oko-emi. Ko̱lotat went to Min-to̱ŋ-ta (taking with him fire from Oko-emi). At Min-to̱ŋ-ta the fire went out. Ko̱lotat broke up the charred firewood and made fire again (by blowing up the embers). They (the people there) became alive. Owing to the fire they became alive. The ancestors (Jaŋil) thus got fire at Min-to̱ŋ-ta village.”

From the A-Pučikwar tribe I only obtained one version of the fire legend. “When the ancestors lived at Wota-emi, Bilik lived at To̱l-l’oko-tima across the strait. In those days the ancestors had no fire. Bilik took some wood of the tree called pe̱rat and broke it and made fire for himself. Luratut (Kingfisher) came to To̱l-l’oko-tima while Bilik was sleeping and stole some fire. Bilik awoke and saw Luratut. He (Bilik) took up a lighted brand and threw it at Luratut. It hit him in the back of the neck and burnt him. Luratut gave the fire to the people at Wota-emi. Bilik was very angry about this and went away to live in the sky.”

The kingfisher of the story (Alcedo beavani?) has a patch of bright red feathers on its neck. This is where it was burnt by the brand thrown by Bilik.

From the Akar-Bale tribe I obtained the following legend: “The people had no fire. Dim-do̱ri (a fish) went and fetched fire from J̌ereg-l’ar-mugu (the place of departed spirits). He came back and threw the fire at the people and burnt them, and marked them all. The people ran into the sea and became fishes. Dim-do̱ri went to shoot them with his bow and arrows, and he also became a fish.” This story is supposed to account for the bright colouring of certain species of fish.

Another Akar-Bale legend is that fire was given to the first ancestors (Da Duku and In Bain) by Puluga. Still another is that fire was obtained by the ancestors from Aga, the skink (Mabuia tytleri). The mist that is often seen hanging over the jungle in small patches, after rain or at dawn, is said to be the smoke of Aga’s fire. An island in the Archipelago is called Aga l’od-baraij, Aga’s village.

“Puluga was asleep at To̱l-l’oko-tima. Luratut came, stealing fire. The fire burnt Puluga. Puluga awoke. Puluga seized some fire. Taking the fire he burnt Luratut with it. Luratut took the fire. He burnt Tar-čeker (another kind of kingfisher) with it in Wota-emi village. The ancestors lit fires. They (the ancestors) were the Tomo-la.”

We may now consider a group of legends that relate how a great catastrophe overwhelmed the ancestors. In many of the versions the legend relates how the ancestors were transformed into animals. Some of the legends are connected with Biliku or Puluga and others are connected with the first discovery of fire. Beginning with the North Andaman, the following is, I believe, an Aka-J̌eru version. “Mimi Čara once broke some firewood in the evening (while the cicada was singing). A great storm came and killed many people, who were turned into fishes and birds. The water rose up till it covered the trees. Mimi Čara and Mimi Kota took the fire and went up the hill to the cave at Ŋaram. They carried the fire under a cooking-pot. They kept the fire alight in the cave, until the storm was over.”

Another Aka-J̌eru legend was taken down hurriedly and the full details were not obtained. “The people made a noise in the evening when Mite (the cicada) was singing. Mite went to see her mother Biliku. Her mother saw her eyes and face. She looked bad. Her eyes were red (with weeping). Biliku was very angry. There was a big storm and heavy rain. Biliku threw her pearl shells (lightning). She went mad. She destroyed the whole world. Biliku went up to live in the sky. The earth was bare (literally, empty). One day Biliku dropped a Dipterocarpus seed from the sky. Out of this all the different kinds of tree grew, and the earth was again covered with forest.” There was more of the legend, which I was unable at the time to understand, and which I did not hear again. My informant added “It was on this occasion that Maia Taolu saved the fire.”

An Aka-J̌eru version is very similar. “The people were all asleep. Maia Ko̱lo (Sir Sea-eagle) came and threw fire amongst them. They awoke in a fright and all ran in different directions. Some ran into the sea and became fishes and turtle; others ran into the jungle and became birds.”

The Aka-Kede version of the catastrophe that overtook the ancestors is as follows. “It was at the place called Čilpet. The people collected a lot of honey. They refused to give any to Ko̱po-tera-wat (a bird, not identified). The latter got very angry, and in the evening, when the cicadæ were singing he made a great noise and disturbed their song. Then there arose a great storm, and it rained very heavily, and the sea rose over the land. It rose very rapidly till only the top of a big Dipterocarpus tree showed above the water. The people took refuge in the branches of this tree. Mima Mite (Lady Dove) managed to rescue some fire and keep it alight under a cooking pot. The waters at length subsided. Then the people did not know how to get down from the tree. Mima Čarami-lebek made a long piece of string and with this she lowered the people safely to the ground.” The čarami-lebek, which was not identified, is a species of bird that lives, so the natives say, only at the top of the very tallest trees of the forest.

An Aka-Ko̱l version of the same legend is as follows: “At first there were no birds in the jungle and no fish in the sea. The ancestors were playing one evening and making a noise while the peti (cicada) was singing. Then Bilik got angry and sent a great cyclone. All the people were turned into birds and fishes and turtles and jungle beasts.”

There is an A-Pučikwar legend that, in the days of the ancestors, there was a big cyclone. There was a flood at Wota-emi and the water rose up over the trees. Some of the ancestors climbed up into a big Dipterocarpus tree and remained there till the waters had subsided. I was not able to hear any more detailed version of the legend.

The following legend explaining how the ancestors were turned into animals was told me by an A-Pučikwar man, but it is probably really of Akar-Bale origin.

“It was in the days of the ancestors. Ta Ko̱lwo̱t (Sir Tree-lizard) went over to a big meeting at Teb-ǰuru (in the Archipelago). There was a lot of dancing. Ko̱lwo̱t decided to give a big dancing party of his own. He invited everybody and they all came to his place. Ko̱lwo̱t danced a great deal. He began to get wild. All the people were afraid, because he was very strong. They caught hold of him by the arms. Ko̱lwo̱t got very angry. He threw the people from him. He threw them so violently that some fell in the sea and became fishes and turtle. Others fell on different islands and became birds and animals. No one could hold Ko̱lwo̱t. At last Berep (a species of crab) caught hold of his arm and would not let go. And thus Berep stopped him. Before this there had been no birds in the jungles nor any fish in the sea.”

Mr Man records another version of this legend.

Mr Man gives still another version of the same story. “One day, at the commencement of the rainy season, a tomola named Berebi came to visit Ko̱lwo̱t’s mother, Čana Erep, with the express intention of seeing her son, of whom he was extremely jealous. When he appeared Berebi treacherously bit him in the arm, but his teeth became fixed in the flesh and he was therefore unable to detach himself from his victim, whose friends promptly avenged his murder, and disposed of the corpses by throwing them into the sea. (Ko̱lwo̱t, after death, was transformed into a species of tree-lizard, which is still named after him, and Berebi became a fish called Koŋo, which is armed with a row of poisonous barbs in its back.) The bereaved mother, in her rage, grief and despair, committed various acts, against which Tomo had been warned by Puluga, and while so doing incited others to follow her example by the following words:—

e, e, e, dia ra-gumul l’ab-dala,

e, e, e, ŋul kaǰa piǰ pugatken,

e, e, e, ŋul čoaken toaiken,

e, e, e, ŋul boarato aga-kolaken,

e, e, e, ŋul gono boaŋken,

e, e, e, ŋul toŋ čoara boaŋken,

e, e, e, ŋig arlot pulaiǰoken.

The translation of which is:—

e, e, e (sobbing)— My grown-up handsome son,

e,,, e,,, e,, (sobbing),, Burn the wax,

e,,, e,,, e,, (sobbing),, Grind the seed of the čakan (Entada),

e,,, e,,, e,, (sobbing),, Destroy the barata (Caryota),

e,,, e,,, e,, (sobbing),, Dig up the gono (yam),

e,,, e,,, e,, (sobbing),, Dig up the čati (yam),

e,,, e,,, e,, (sobbing),, Destroy everything.

Thereupon Puluga was exceeding wroth, and sent the flood, that which destroyed all living things with the exception of two men and two women.

“This tradition is preserved in the following lines:—

Keledoat ibaji lar čora,

Ra-gumul ab-gorga en ig-boadi

Ra-gumul le liga koarna

Ra-gumul ab-gorka

Toala arbo eb dagan čoarpo.

The meaning of which is:—

Bring the boat to the beach

I will see your fine grown-up son,

The grown-up son who threw the youths (into the sea)

The fine grown-up son,

My adze is rusty, I will stain my lips with his blood.

As the songs given in this legend are in the Akar-Bale language (Southern dialect), it is probable that the legend is an Akar-Bale one. It is really another version of the legend already given.

Another Akar-Bale story tells how the first ancestors Duku, the monitor lizard, and Bain the civet-cat, managed to keep the fire alight when a flood overwhelmed them. “One day in the time of the ancestors there came a great storm, and the water rose over the land. The rain put out the fires. Da Duku (Sir Monitor Lizard) took a smouldering log and tried to climb up a tree with it. He could not climb with the fire in his hand. His wife In Bain (Lady Civet-cat) took the fire from him and took it up to the top of a hill and there kept it alight till the rain stopped and the water went away. The hill is called Bain l’it-čapa (Bain’s fire) to the present day.” The hill is a rather steep-sided hill of no great height in Havelock Island.

The dispersion legend in the South Andaman is connected with the name of the A-Pučikwar tribe. The name (of which the Aka-Bea equivalent is Aka-Boǰig-yab) means “those who talk the original language,” it being believed that the A-Pučikwar language was the one originally spoken by the ancestors.

The only version of the dispersion legend that I heard was from the Aka-Kede tribe. It was to the effect that Bilika once seized all the ancestors and put them in a netted bag (such as the natives use for carrying small objects of various kinds). She (or he) took them out a few at a time and put them in different parts of the country, where their descendants have been ever since.

In the Southern tribes there is a legend to account for the origin of night. The following version was obtained from the A-Pučikwar tribe. “In the early days of the world, in the time of the ancestors, there was no night; it was always day. Ta Pe̱tie (Sir Monitor Lizard) went into the jungle to dig up yams. He found some yams. He also found some resin (teki), and a cicada (ro̱to). He brought them to the camp of the ancestors at Wota-emi. He sat down and the people came round him. Ta Pe̱tie took the cicada and rubbed it between his hands and crushed it. As he did this the cicada uttered its cry. Then the day went away and it was dark. It remained dark for several days. The ancestors came together and tried to get back the day. They made torches of resin, and danced and sang songs. First Kotare (a bird) sang a song, but he could not get back the daylight. Then Bumu (a beetle?) sang, but the day would not come. Then Pecero̱l (the bulbul, Otocompsia emeria) sang, and after him Ko̱io (a bird), but both in vain. Then Ko̱ŋoro (a species of ant) sang a song and morning came. After that, day and night followed one another alternately.”

Mr Man records a different version of this story.

From the Akar-Bale tribe I obtained a legend about the origin of death. No other version of the same legend was obtained.

There is a widespread legend to account for the origin of creeks and islands. The following is an A-Pučikwar version.

“At first there was only one big island with the sea all round it. There were no small islands and no creeks. Ko̱ŋoro (a species of ant) made a turtle net and went fishing. He caught a very big fish of the kind called ko̱ro-ŋiti-čau in his net, and dived down and attached a rope to its tail. The fish got very angry and made furious plunges to get away, striking the land in its struggles, and each time knocking off a bit of the land or making a long split. This is the origin of the smaller islands and the creeks.”

In the Southern tribes there is a legend that relates how the pig first got its senses. A version from the A-Pučikwar tribe is as follows.

Another version from the same tribe is as follows.

“At first the pigs had neither nose nor ears nor eyes. They used to stand about at Wota-emi when the ancestors lived there. The people ate a great many of them. They were such a nuisance that Mita (Dove), the wife of Tomo, thought of a plan to get them out of the way. She bored holes in their heads, two for eyes, two for ears, and two for nostrils. The pigs ran off into the forest where they have been ever since.”

I did not obtain any version of this legend from the Northern tribes. The Aka-Kede have a different legend about the pigs.

“At first there were no pigs. One of the ancestors, Mimi Čau (Lady Civet-cat), invented a new game, and made the ancestors run on all fours and grunt. Those playing were turned into pigs, and went to live in the jungle. Mimi Čau became a civet-cat (čau).”

In the North Andaman there is a legend connected with the pig which explains the origin of the dugong.

In the Aka-Čari tribe there is a legend describing the origin of turtles.

“At first there was only one big turtle. He came to the camp of the Aka-Čari people and called them, saying ‘Bring your canoes and catch me.’ They got into their canoes and followed the turtle. They could not catch him. The turtle swam away and the canoes followed. When the canoes were far from land the big turtle came and upset the canoes. The men were all turned into turtles of the same kind and size as those that are seen now. The canoes (and the big turtle?) were turned into a reef.”

In the South Andaman it is supposed that the custom of scarifying the skin was invented by the first ancestor of the Andamanese, the monitor lizard. An Akar-Bale version of the story is as follows.

“Duku (Monitor Lizard) lived with his wife Bain (Civet-cat). Duku said ‘I am going to scarify myself.’ His wife tried to dissuade him. He would not listen to her. He went into the jungle and found a piece of to̱lma (quartz) and scarified himself all over. His wife was very angry and asked him why he had done it. Duku replied ‘I look very well like this, and you will see, all the other people will do the same’.”

Mr Man gives a version of the same legend.

“Maia Duku, who appears to be identical with Tomo, is said to have been the first to tattoo himself. One day, while out on a fishing expedition, he shot an arrow; missing its object it struck a hard substance which proved to be a piece of iron, the first ever found. With it Duku made an arrow-head and tattooed himself, after which he sang the ditty:—

To̱ŋ ma lir pireŋa? to̱ŋ yitiken! to̱ŋ yitiken!

to̱ŋ ma lir pireŋa? to̱ŋ yitiken!

the interpretation of which is

‘What can now strike me?

It would seem that Mr Man, or else his informant, was not very clear about the details of the legend. In the South Andaman scarification is never performed with an arrow-head, nor with any instrument of iron, but with a flake of quartz or glass. It is only in the North and Middle Andaman that an arrow-head is used for such a purpose, and even then it is only so used to make the big scars on the back and chest, the ordinary scarification being performed with a flake of stone or glass. The legend is certainly a Southern one, and the song given is in the Aka-Bea language. The accuracy of the transcription of the legend therefore seems very doubtful.

In the North Andaman the following tale is told about the discovery of one kind of yam.

“Maia Dik (Sir Prawn) discovered ko̱nmo (Dioscorea sp.). He was very hungry and went to look for something to eat. He found a very large ko̱nmo. There was only one ko̱nmo. He cooked it in the fire and ate as much as he could. He dashed the remainder on a rock, and the fragments scattered everywhere and grew into fresh plants. After this there were plenty of ko̱nmo everywhere.”

A legend is also told in the North Andaman about the first discovery of another kind of yam.

“Maia Pulimu (Sir Fly) and Maia Mo̱ičo (Sir Rail) went to hunt pig. They killed one pig. There was nothing to tie up the pig (to carry it home). Maia Pulimu went to look for a creeper (with which to tie up the pig). He caught hold of a creeper and pulled it and found it was a mino (Dioscorea sp.). Maia Pulimu was a long time away. Maia Mo̱ičo went and found some creeper for himself and tied up the pig and carried it home. When Maia Pulimu came back he found that Maia Mo̱ičo had gone and taken the pig. He followed him and went home. He showed the ancestors how to cook and eat mino.”

I believe that there is a fuller version of this legend, which I was unable, however, to obtain. Another of my informants told me the story as follows.

“Mimi Mo̱ičo (Lady Rail) had a son Pulimu (Fly). Pulimu found a mino in the forest and brought it to his mother. They roasted it in the fire.”

Mr Man gives a story from the South Andaman.

In the North Andaman it is supposed that honey was discovered by Pe̱rǰido the son of Biliku.

In the Aka-Čari tribe there is another legend connected with the frog (po̱rubi) which may conveniently be given here.

A story in which there is a connection between honey and a toad is given by Mr Man.

One of the incidents of the North Andaman story of the frog (Po̱rubi) and his son (Be̱re̱t) appears in a different story from the South and Middle Andaman. The following is an Aka-Ko̱l version of this legend.

Another version of the same tale was obtained from the Akar-Bale tribe.

“Da Bumu (a species of bird) went hunting pig with Da Berakwe (another species of bird), and they got a large number of pigs. Then Berakwe said to Bumu ‘We want some cane to tie up all these pigs. You go and get it.’ When Bumu had gone Berakwe climbed up into a big Dipterocarpus tree, taking all the pigs with him, except one very small one which he left behind. When Bumu came back with the cane he found only one small pig, and he was very angry. He went home with the pig. Bumu’s wife Yakoŋ (a species of fish) said ‘I am very hungry. We will go and get some fish by night.’ At night Yakoŋ went out to get some fish and she passed under the tree where Berakwe was cooking his pigs. Some burning resin fell on her and burnt her. She looked up and saw Berakwe and said ‘Oh! there you are; you stole all my husband’s pigs.’ She went home and told Bumu. In the morning Bumu got up very early and cut a number of pointed stakes of Areca (čam) wood, and fixed them all round the tree where Berakwe was, with the sharp points upwards. Then Bumu made the tree sink gradually into the ground. Berakwe fell from the tree on to the stakes and so was killed. Bumu and his wife got the pigs.”

Mr Man records a version of the same story.

In reference to this version it may be noted that the Čo̱l are not “spirits” if that word is used to translate the native term čauga or lau. Čo̱l is the name of a species of bird, which I believe is the racket-tailed drongo. These birds, though according to Mr Man they live on the rainbow, are to be seen every day in the jungle, and may be heard calling čo̱l! čo̱l! čo̱l!

Throughout the Great Andaman there is a belief in a huge animal that haunts the jungles, or that haunted them in the days of the ancestors. In the North Andaman this beast is called J̌irmu. In the days of the ancestors it is supposed to have lived at Ulibi-taŋ, where it attacked and killed any men and women who came in its way. No detailed legend about the J̌irmu was obtained.

In the Akar-Bale language Kočurag-boa is the name of the same or a similar monster. In the A-Pučikwar language it is called Uču. This is the name applied to two rocks of limestone which are situated about two or three miles south of Wota-emi, one being in a mangrove swamp, and the other some little way out in the sea. The following legend is told about these rocks.

“In the early days of the Andamanese, Ta Pe̱tie (Sir Monitor Lizard), the first ancestor, went into the jungle and found a čo̱ti tree, up which he climbed to eat the fruit. The other people (who lived with him at Wota-emi) came and found him, and Ta Pe̱tie threw down some of the fruit to them, which they ate. The people began to bully Pe̱tie to make him throw down more of the fruit. Pe̱tie got angry and said ‘If you bully me like that I will call the Uču, and they will kill you all.’ The people only laughed at him. Pe̱tie called the Uču, calling ‘Dire! dire!’ The Uču came, one male and one female. They caught all the people and ate them. Only Pe̱tie they did not eat because he was up in the high tree. The Uču went off to cross the strait to To̱l-l’oko-tima. They had eaten so much that they were very heavy and stuck in the sand and mud at the edge of the mangrove swamp. When Pe̱tie came down from the tree he found all the people gone. He said ‘Hallo! the Uču must have eaten them all.’ He went to look. He found the Uču stuck fast at the edge of the mangrove swamp, so that they could not move. He cut open their bellies and all the people came out, for the Uču had swallowed them whole. The Uču are there to this day.”

When elephants were first introduced into the Andamans for the use of the Forest Department, they were named Uču by the natives, and have ever since retained that name. Similarly the natives of the Northern tribes call them J̌irmu.

In the Akar-Bale tribe there is a legend to account for the origin of a rock standing in the sea at a place called Kwaičo-bur.

“Ra-gumul Kwo̱ko̱l went fishing with his bow and arrows in the sea. His bow and arrows and he himself were turned into stone, and may be seen there to the present day.”

Kwo̱ko̱l is the common tree-lizard. Ra-gumul is the term applied to a youth or girl who has just passed through the pig-eating ceremony described in Chap. II. A youth is not permitted to handle a bow for some days after the ceremony in question. A version of the same legend is recorded by Mr Man.

A reef on the east side of Ritchie’s Archipelago is said to have originated as follows.

“The people of Kwaičo went to J̌ila to hunt turtle, taking two canoes. While they were away their wives made up a big fire in the evening at Kwaičo. The hunters and their canoes were turned to stone, and formed the reefs that are now there.”

There seems to be a legend relating to a large snake called o̱r-čubi in the North Andaman, but I was not able to obtain a detailed version. The following was told me in Aka-J̌eru.

“At Dalamio, in the time of the ancestors, there used to be a big snake of the kind called o̱r-čubi. He used to catch men and women when they were gathering honey, and kill them and eat them.”

An Akar-Bale version is a little fuller.

“There was a man named Biča who went to look for honey in the jungle. He saw a big snake (wara-ǰobo) and from its neck was hanging a honeycomb. The snake was as big as a tree. ‘Why don’t you make your honey in the trees?’ Biča said to the bees. He went home and called several of the men. They took their bows and arrows. They found the snake, and shot it with a great many arrows. They could not kill the snake, which ran away and was never seen again.”

An Akar-Bale story relates how the first murder came to pass.

“Da Ko (Sir Crow) was the first of the Andamanese. He lived at Kared-čar-buaro with his wife In Mud (Lady Dove). He had a friend, Badgi-beria (Hawk). Badgi-beria had no wife and was jealous of Da Ko and wanted to get his wife. When Da Ko knew this he was very angry. He went into the jungle and hid himself. By and by he saw Badgi-beria and Mud coming along the path together. He took his bow and arrows and killed them.”

Another Akar-Bale story about the dove is as follows.

“Mud and Kulal were cooking pig and got very hot. They went to bathe and were turned into birds.”

Mud is the bronze-winged dove, Chalcophaps indica, and kulal is the teal, Nettium albigulare.

In the North Andaman there are tales about the sea-eagle (ko̱lo). One is to the effect that at first he used ko̱bo (Licuala) leaves to fly with. This was before he had wings of his own. Another story is as follows.

“Maia Ko̱lo (Sir Sea-eagle) lived at Čona in Tau-’ra-miku. He had a hut in the top of a to̱ro̱ktato tree. He was unmarried. When the men went fishing he used to steal their wives. He would only take good-looking girls. He would call out to a girl to come and catch hold of his foot, saying ‘I have a fish for you.’ If an old or ugly woman came, he would say ‘No! not you; go away.’ When a young woman came and caught hold of his foot he flew away with her to his hut in the tree.”

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