Legends of the Torres Straits (Folklore History Series)

By Alfred C. Haddon

A collection of myths and legends from the Torres Straits that lie between Australia and Papua New Guinea.

Alfred C. Haddon curated this mythology collection from the stories he was told by the Torres Straits islanders. The Indigenous Melanesian peoples are geographically and culturally divided into five distinct groups. This volume organises the islanders’ legends by geographical order, beginning with the islands closest to New Guinea and progressing southward towards Muralug, the island closest to Cape York, Queensland.

Legends of the Torres Straits was first published in 1870 and has been proudly republished by Read & Co. Books in the Folklore History series. This rich collection of mythology is not to be missed by those interested in the indigenous peoples of Australia.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Read Books Ltd.
• Release date: Sep 22, 2016
• ISBN: 9781473352315

Book preview

LEGENDS FROM TORRES STRAITS.

INTRODUCTION.

IN collecting these myths and legends I could not take down the actual native words, being ignorant of the language, but I have given a faithful rendering of the stories as told to me in broken English. I have nowhere embellished the accounts, and I have given most of the conversations and remarks of people in the very words my informants used; thus preserving, as far as possible, the freshness and quaintness of the original narrative. I believe that in most cases the native idiom was bodily translated into the Pigeon English.

As to the age of the legends I can form no idea. One point is noteworthy, that not in a single instance did I ever hear of any reference to a white man nor of anything belonging to white men; for example, a knife was always ‘upi’, the old bamboo knife, never ‘gi’ or ‘gi turik’ (‘knife’; turik also meant ‘iron’). I think I am safe in asserting that thirty years ago there was no intelligent intercourse with white men; this period may practically be reduced to twenty years, and in some islands to even less. I usually checked the genuineness of the legends by inquiry of other men than the original informants; not un-frequently old men were present, who were often referred to. My narrators were, almost without exception, middle-aged men, and I am always careful to impress on them the importance of giving me the story as they had heard it from the old men. Experience showed me that they were as conservative as children of traditional phrases and modes of expression. Therefore I can confidently claim that this collection of legends really represents the folklore of the last generation, and the stories may therefore be of any age previous to the influence of Europeans and South Sea men.

I have taken very great trouble in satisfying myself as to the sense of the narratives, and in appreciating and confirming incidental allusions to customs now passed away. There are, however, a certain number of phrases and customs which are obscure to me. On the other hand, one must remember that logical and connected accounts are, so to speak, unsavage, and such narratives from a savage race may justly be regarded with a certain amount of suspicion.

The legends are arranged, as far as possible, in geographical order, beginning with those islands nearest to New Guinea and passing southward to Muralug, the island nearest to Cape York, Queensland. Thus the first seventeen relate to the Western tribe. The legends of the Western tribe, The Story of Gelam, The Fightings of Kwoiam, and The Six Blind Brothers, I hope to publish shortly in a more popular form. Of the Eastern tribe, or that inhabiting the volcanic islands of Uga, Erub, and the Murray Islands, I have collected only a very few legends, having purposely left many others for my friend, the Rev. A. S. Hunt, the resident missionary on Mer, to record.

In vol. xix (Feb. 1890) of the Journal of the Anthropological Institute will be found a fairly complete record of the customs of the Western tribe of Torres Straits, and I hope to add an account of the Eastern tribe in about a year’s time. The two tribes differ considerably in their customs and language.

I have adopted the following vowel pronunciation:—a, as in ‘father’; , as in ‘at’; e, as a in ‘date’; , as in ‘deft’; i, as ee in ‘feet’; , as in ‘it’; o, as in ‘own’; , as in ‘on’; u, as oo in ‘soon’; , as in ‘up’; ai as in ‘aisle’; au as ow in ‘cow’.

The numbers in brackets refer to explanatory notes, which will be found at the end of the communication.

I.—THE BIRTH OF KUSA KAP.

(Told by Nagu (now Wairu) of Badu.)

One day Maiwasa of Dauan went along the reef looking for the feeding ground of a dugong (1); with him walked his wife, Bukari, a fine, well-favoured woman, possessing a notable pair of large ear-pendants (muti) ornamented with seeds (kusa). Now it happened that a Dorgai (2) named Gidzö had perched in a large tree (Dani) near by, and she cast longing glances at Maiwasa, saying to herself, Why, that woman go along my man—that man belong to me.

Maiwasa was successful in his search, and erected a dugong platform or ne t on that part of the reef where he found the grass eaten by a dugong; he spent that night on his ne t, but speared nothing.

The next day Maiwasa went a long way on the reef at low water to look for marks of the dugong, and Bukari took a pat, or short simple spear, to do a little fishing.

Gidzö, taking a large drum, wurup (4), and going to a dry place on the rocks, transformed herself into an octopus (sugu), and waited in this form for the coming of Bukari. Meanwhile Maiwasa wandered a long way off, and was so engrossed in his own business that he paid no attention to his wife’s movements.

Bukari, looking in crevices and under stones in her search for fish, came at length upon the octopus and attempted to spear it, whereupon the Dorgai resumed her usual form, put her big drum completely over Bukari, and, after changing faces with her, set the unlucky woman adrift on the sea in the drum.

Gidzö then went to look for Maiwasa, who called out on seeing her, Come on, we must go home now, the tide is rising, and Gidzö followed; when she moved or bent down she broke the wind. Hulloa! cried Maiwasa, what kind of woman is that? Bukari was not like that before. Gidzö lived with Maiwasa as his wife for some time, but though like Bukari in features, she differed from her in many details, and the sudden change in his wife greatly perplexed Maiwasa, who at length concluded that she was a Dorgai.

The warup containing Bukari drifted away towards Boigu, and was cast up on the sand beach of Baiibai, a small island close to Boigu; on stranding, Bukari came out of the drum, and looking round, saw Dauan to windward, and exclaimed, I am a long way off from my man. On this islet there was neither food nor water, and feeling hungry, she pulled two seeds from one of her ear-pendants and ate them.

She continued to eat two seeds every morning and evening till she had finished one ear-pendant, and she wondered what she could do next, for there was no water to drink. When commencing on the second ear