Such was the story told me by the chief of Omarakana about the song and dance of Gumagabu, which at that time they were singing and performing in his village. I have adduced it in full, in an almost literal translation from the native text, in order to show it side by side with the song. The narrative thus reproduced shows characteristic gaps, and it does not cover even the incidents of the song.
The following is a free translation of the song, which, in its original native text, is very condensed and impressionistic. A word or two indicates rather than describes whole scenes and incidents, and the traditional commentary, handed on in a native community side by side with the song, is necessary for a full understanding.
The Gumagabu Song I The stranger of Gumagabu sits on the top of the mountain. ‘Go on top of the mountain, the towering mountain ….’ ——They cry for Toraya …—— The stranger of Gumagabu sits on the slope of the mountain. ——The fringe of small clouds lifts above Boyowa; The mother cries for Toraya—— ‘I shall take my revenge.’ The mother cries for Toraya. II Our mother, Dibwaruna, dreams on the mat. She dreams about the killing. ‘Revenge the wailing; Anchor; hit the Gabu strangers!’ ——The stranger comes out; The chief gives him the *pari*; ‘I shall give you the *doga*; Bring me things from the mountain to the canoe!’ III We exchange our *vaygu’a*; The rumour of my arrival spreads through the Koya We talk and talk. He bends and is killed. His companions run away; His body is thrown into the sea; The companions of the *Kinana* run away, We sail home. IV Next day, the sea foams up, The chief’s canoe stops on the reef; The storm approaches; The chief is afraid of drowning. The conch shell is blown: It sounds in the mountain. They all weep on the reef. V They paddle in the chief’s canoe; They circle round the point of Bewara. ‘I have hung my basket. I have met him.’ So cries the chief, So cries repeatedly the chief. VI Women in festive decoration Walk on the beach. Nawaruva puts on her turtle rings; She puts on her *luluga’u* skirt. In the village of my fathers, in Burakwa, There is plenty of food; Plenty is brought in for distribution.
The character of this song is extremely elliptic, one might even say futuristic, since several scenes are crowded simultaneously into the picture. In the first strophe we see the Kinana, by which word all the tribesmen from the d’Entrecasteaux Archipelago are designated in Boyowa, on the top of his Mountain in Gabu. Immediately afterwards, we are informed of the intentions of Tomakam to ascend the mountain, while the women cry for Toraya, for the slain chief—probably his kinswomen and widows. The next picture again spans over the wide seas, and on the one shore we see the Gabuan sitting on the slopes of his hill and far away on the other, under the fringe of small clouds lifting above Boyowa, the mother cries for her son, the murdered chief. Tomakam takes a resolve, ‘I shall take my revenge,’ hearing her cry.
In the second strophe, the mother dreams about the expedition; the words about revenge to be taken on the Gabu men and the directions to anchor and hit him are probably taken from her dream. Then suddenly we are transported right across to the mountain, the expedition having arrived there already. The strangers, the Kinana are coming down to the canoe, and we assist at the words spoken between them and the people of Buakwa.
Then in the third strophe, we arrive at the culminating scene of the drama; even here, however, the hero, who is also his own bard, could not help introducing a few boastful words about his renown resounding in the Koya. In a few words the tragedy is described: the Kinana bends down, is killed, and his body is thrown into the water. About his head we hear nothing in this verse.