Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 13, 1902.djvu/436

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416
Collectanea

Lamenting thus, she crossed over a great plain to the home of the Ngatani maralye, who seeing her a great way off ran to meet her and gave up the dark-skinned children to her, taking back her own.

The Ngantani-maru-maru mother went back to her camp with her little ones; and next day left them as before in the camp while she went out to gather nardoo. But at midday she came back to find again the light-coloured children of the Ngatani-maralye mother in place of her own. Finding their tracks she followed them lamenting and brought them home. This happened every day till she set out on her wanderings. She sang as she went, but from lamenting much her voice had become so weak that she had to strain her throat to sing at all.

She wandered for some distance, when leaving her children she went on alone to Pando (Lake Hope), which was dry and white, and as she crossed it she sang:

Tidnapinta-pintaralakau ngani daka-dakala wapaia
Footon the salty expanse yesI to hard earthgo.

Further and further she wandered, till coming to Bau-ung-bau-ung and Tyindi-tyindinani, when she sang:

Tyindi-tyindinanikau ngani daka-dakala wapaia.
To Tpndi-tpndiani yesI to hard earthgo

Then she looked for hard clay soil, and when she had found it she sank underground singing:

Mitanina ngato mira kalkana ngarila wapaia
EarthI clay seeking undergo
Ngadalingaruia palkala wapaia
Backwards downgo
Daka palkipalkana kau'ni ngarina palkala wapaia
Hard earth splitting yes I downgo
Pandara paru-parumana kau'ni palkala wapaia
Afterme drawing yes Igo
Kumari vuilparu kau'ni ngarina palkala wapaia
Bloodin streaks yes I downgo
Mita katiparila nganitakanapalkala wapaia.
Earth depthI back againgo

Finding a gaping cleft in the ground, she let herself slip into it and came to soil filled with daka, which she broke up; hurting