Note 49 — Chapter IV · MYTHS AND LEGENDS

“Pe̱rǰido was the first to eat honey. One day he went to shoot fish. He saw a nyuri (Plotosus sp.). The nyuri disappeared amongst the roots of the mangrove trees. Pe̱rǰido was looking for the fish. There was a honeycomb in a mangrove tree. Pe̱rǰido saw its reflection in the water. He took some fire and tried to get the honey out of the water49. The water put out the fire. He could not get the honey. He went home and told his mother what he had been doing. She went with him and saw the honey. ‘What a fool you are’ she said, ‘don’t you see that it is in the trees.’ Pe̱rǰido took some fire and smoked out the bees and took the honey. After that Pe̱rǰido used to go and collect honey. He ate it all himself. He did not tell the others (the ancestors) about it. Maia Po̱rubi (Sir Frog) found out that Pe̱rǰido was getting honey and eating it. He went in to the forest to look for some. He found five or six combs. He ate them all and brought none home to his children. Be̱re̱t (a smaller species of frog) was the child of Po̱rubi. One day Be̱re̱t said to his father ‘Bring us some honey.’ The children went with their father and showed him the combs in the trees. Po̱rubi went up the tree, and each time he ate the honey in the tree and did not bring any of it down for his children. Then Be̱re̱t saw another honeycomb in a very tall tree. He pointed it out to his father. Po̱rubi went up to get it. Be̱re̱t cut the creeper up which his father had climbed50. Po̱rubi wrapped up the honeycomb to bring it down. Be̱re̱t said ‘Father, this creeper is bad. How will you come down?’ Po̱rubi replied ‘How can it be bad, when I have just climbed up it?’ Be̱re̱t made some sharp stakes of čo̱m (Areca) wood, and put them round the tree. Po̱rubi jumped (or fell) from the tree on to the stakes and was killed. Be̱re̱t took the honey and ran away home.”