Papuan Fairy Tales/How a Man found his Wife in the Land of the Dead
HOW A MAN FOUND HIS WIFE IN THE LAND OF THE DEAD.
When our dead leave us none knoweth whither they go, nor by much searching hath any man found the way to Ioloa, the land of the dead, save one, and of him will I tell thee.
This man lived in the hills where riseth the Uruam, the river which flows into the sea between Wamira and Divari. It came to pass that the man's wife died, and he mourned for her many days. But when it was time for the death feast to be made for her, he went forth with his dog to hunt for a cuscus that it might be eaten at the feast. (This tale doth my father tell, and I who have heard it tell it now to thee.)
Now a cuscus sleeps all day, but in the softness of the evening it comes forth to seek its food. Therefore, it was at this time that the man set out to hunt. In a little he had found one, which he killed, and having no one with him who might carry it, he hung it upon a tree and went on. Once more he found one, which also he killed and hung on a tree. Then he saw a third, and the dog ran after it to catch it. But the cuscus ran also, and went down a hole in the earth. Now it went to its home in Ioloa, for it belonged to the Dead.
When the man reached the hole, he found that his dog had also gone down, and he feared lest it might lose its way and come not back to him. Therefore he rolled away the great stone which lay over the hole, and looked down. There far below he saw coconuts growing, so he said within himself, "This is a village."
Then he too went down the hole far into the earth. His dog was before him, and he caught him in his arms. Now so it is in Ioloa that all the day the bones of the Dead lie on the ground, but at even each takes his own bones, and lives thus till the dawn. And as the man drew near, it was the time that the bones should live. It so befell that his wife was already walking, and was coming towards him. When she saw him, she said in her heart, "My husband hath died on the earth, and hath come to me."
Then she went to him, and with her fingers pinched his arm until the blood showed on his skin. Then said she, "Thou art not dead. Wherefore hast thou come hither?" And when he had told her how it had befallen him to find the hole in the earth, and that he had followed his dog, she said, "Hold thy dog closely lest he go after the bones of men which lie upon the ground, and come thou with me while I hide thee, for it may be that the Dead will slay thee if they find thee here."
Then she took him to her house and bade him lie still nor let the voice of the dog be heard, for it was now time for the Dead to arise. The man did as she bade him, and he watched as the Dead laid hold of each his own bones. "This is my thigh," and "Here is my arm," he heard them say. Now it was night, and the Dead began to dance, while some of them beat also upon drums. And the man was much afraid as he watched from the house. But his wife remained with him, and he cared not for fear nor any other thing while he had her with him once more. "Ah, my wife," he cried, "how hot was my heart with grief till I found thee!"
But his wife feared for him that the Dead would find him in their land and would work him some evil; therefore she said, "Thou must not tarry here, for the Dead if they find thee will certainly fall upon thee. Therefore go now, I pray thee."
Then said the man, "How can I leave thee when I have but now found thee?"
"Ah, my lord," answered the wife, "of a truth thou must not linger here. Yet if thou wouldst see me once more go now, and after three nights are past come again to me, and I will be here."
Then the man, after she had thus spoken, rose up to go. But on the way he stayed to pick coconuts, and scented herbs, and wild limes, that he might show them to the people of Uruam. And as he thus did, the Dead saw him and made haste after him in great numbers, and seized from his hands the coconuts, the scented herbs, and the wild limes, and he being beset by them could but escape with his life. And when he had come up to the face of the earth, the Dead closed the hole with a great stone that no man might lift. Therefore when the man returned after the three nights were past, he found no place where he might enter, and he saw his wife no more. Nor since that day have any found the way to Ioloa. But if the stone had not been placed over the hole we might even now have seen and talked with our dead after they had left us for their own land.