came and said he could (do it). He said,—"If I come to (do) this digging, shall I be (is it) allowed to sing?" Then the father said,—"What, is the farmer prevented from singing?" Then he (Spider) said "Right. To-morrow morning I shall come," so said the Spider. So he made the female spider, his wife, mix flour and water and put (it) inside his quiver. Then he picked a stalk and put it in the quiver. It was like an arrow. When he had come, the father said,—"Right. Here is the dung-heap which you must clear." He said,—"Right. I have a word (to say)," he said. "While I am digging I shall not take off my quiver. In these times it is not meet that a man[1] should be without his arms (should separate from his quiver)." Then the father said,—"Oh, good, does a man go without his arms?" Then he said,—"There is nothing that will be denied to you except spitting (and) except eating." Then he said,—"Right." He seized his hoe (and began) to dig. He was expectorating spittle on the sly. He was singing,—"I am a spider of spiders." He said,—"Upp tupp tupp, Upp tupp tupp,"—he was expectorating. So, when the sun got (hot), his mouth was dry. He pulled out the stalk from the quiver, and said he was going to dry the poison. Then he put his mouth to the mouth of the quiver, and filled his stomach with fura. Then he arose and began digging (again). So he cleared the dung-heap right away. Then the girl came out and said,—"Arururururuwi, this is my husband." Then the father said,—"Praise be to God. He is my daughter's husband." So it was presents of good things were prepared (pots of butter, salt, cakes, rice, and beans). So the girl was taken to the Spider's house. Soon the girl conceived and bore a daughter. Now, when she was going to the stream to get water, the Spider would take the child and dance and sing,—"Through (having) fura in my quiver I won your mother. I was cunning. I made plans." Once an old woman,—(put down your head, sword[2], "You kill my lice and I'll destroy your marriage"[3])—heard. When she returned from the
- ↑ Namijji is used here to signify a real man, not merely a male. A common title of a good soldier is Mijjin mazza, i.e. a man of men.
- ↑ Referring to an old woman's sharp tongue.
- ↑ When one woman does another's hair, the latter perhaps tells the former little anecdotes of her husband's attentions to others, and so in return for having the live stock cleared out of her head she does her best to clear her
