Near the mouth of the Oriomu River lived a man named Iwogu and his younger brother. One day Iwogu sailed on a boat up the river. He swam and looked at the trees along the banks to see if an iguana or a carpet snake would appear there. Suddenly Pamoa, the spirit of the river, emerged from the water and climbed into Ivog’s boat. Iwogu let him in, and then they swam together. When they reached Pevoda, the inhabitants told them:
-Where are you going? There, in the forest, higher in the river, a Hiwai Abere lives, she has a hut and a vegetable garden, and her coconut palm grows on the bank.
[Hiwai-abere is an evil female mythical creature. According to the Papuans, Kiwai, Hiwai-Abere are very fat, they have a large head, a huge belly and short legs. Their fingernails are hard and so sharp that they kill wild pigs with them.]
But Iwogu and Pamoa did not listen to them, they swam further and reached another village. There were no adults there - some had gone hunting, others to garden, only children remained at home, and they said to Ivogu and Pamoa:
-Where are you going? Nobody goes there, a Hiwai Abere lives there, she is very evil and eats people alive.
But Iwogu and Pamoa sailed on and turned back only when Iwogu had shot a lot of game. When they went down to the place where Pamoa got into the boat, Iwogu said:
- Father, take as much as you want from the spoils.
“Thank you,” Pamoa said. - Give me a small piece with bones, I don’t need much.
He took a small piece of meat and dived into the river, and Iwogu swam home and shared the spoils with his younger brother.
The next day, the younger brother wanted to sail on a boat up the river, but Ivogu told him:
- Don’t swim there - they say a Hiwai Abere lives there, she can eat you.
But the young man answered him:
“I’m as strong as you, I’m not afraid of Hiwai-Abere, I’ll kill her.”
He took his bow and arrows, got into the boat and sailed up the river. He caught a lot of fish with his fishing rod and shot several kangaroos and birds. When he swam to the place where Pamoa lived, he surfaced and climbed into his boat, but the young man shouted:
-Where are you going? This boat is not yours!
He began to hit Pamoa on the hands with an oar, but he still climbed into the boat, and then they sailed together. The young man again began to fish and kill game, but when they turned back, the younger brother Iwogu did not give anything to Pamoa, and he returned home empty-handed. When he sailed home, the young man didn’t give anything to his older brother either.
A little time passed, and Iwogu again swam up the Oriom. He shot several birds and caught a lot of fish, and then he saw Pamoa - he was already waiting for him, swimming above. Iwogu took him into the boat, and then they sailed together. They climbed the river higher than the first time, and finally saw the coconut tree that people had been talking about so much. They went ashore, Iwogu tied his ankles with a rope to make it easier to climb, climbed a palm tree and knocked down several nuts. The nuts fell into the water, and the palm tree began to lament:
- Mother, they are pulling my ears!
Hiwai-Abere was working in her garden at the time and suddenly hit her foot painfully on the digger. She thought, “Oh, someone is touching my daughter, that’s why I hit my foot so hard!” She dropped the digger, grabbed a spear and ran to the palm tree.
Even the first time, when Iwogu gave him meat, Pamoa began tying the bones from this meat onto ropes - he tied each bone in the middle, and then tied the ropes to one another. It turned out to be one long rope, and now Pamoa untwisted it, threw the end to the top of the palm tree where Iwogu was, and shouted:
- Here's a ladder, don't go down the tree, go down it!
Iwogu climbed down the ladder of bones and Pamoa pulled the end of the rope from the top of the tree. They caught coconuts from the water that had fallen from the palm tree and swam quickly away. When Hiwai Abere came running, the boat was already sailing. She threw a spear after them, but missed, she couldn’t catch up with Iwoga and Pamoa, and they swam away from her.
Parting with Pamoa, Iwogu said to him:
- Father, take as much as you want from the spoils. But Pamoa replied:
“I don’t need to eat as much as people, two or three pieces are enough for me.” Keep the meat for yourself, you need it more - you are not alone, but I have no home and no hearth.
And he jumped into the water.
When the younger brother saw coconuts from the Hiwai-Abere palm tree, he also wanted to pick the same ones, but Iwogu told him:
“Don’t go there, the Hiwai-Abere will kill you.” I managed to escape, but can you?
But the younger brother did not listen to Ivoga, got into the boat and sailed away, shooting game along the way. When he swam to the place where Pamoa lived in the river, he again climbed into the boat, and the younger brother Iwogu again began to hit his hands with the oar. He hit him so hard that Pamoa’s hands were covered with abrasions and scratches and blood began to flow from them, but the owner of the river still climbed into his boat. Pamoa took the oars and sat down to row in the bow, while the young man rowed while sitting in the stern. They swam to a Hiwai Abere coconut tree, the young man tied his ankles with a rope, climbed onto the palm tree and knocked down several coconuts. Palma began to wail again:
- Mother, they are pulling my ears!
Hiwai-Abere was working in the garden at the time, but suddenly for some reason she shuddered. She thought: “I’m feeling uneasy again! Why don't people leave me alone?
She growled with rage, and Pamoa, hearing her growl, shouted to the young man, who was still on the palm tree:
- Save yourself, the Hiwai-Abere is running here!
- How can I get down, Pamoa? - the young man shouted.
“I can’t throw that long ladder to you,” Pamoa answered, “it’s not yours, but your brother’s.” I had nothing to make a ladder for you from - it was your own fault, you spared me even the bones.
Then the Hiwai-Abere ran out of the forest with a bow and arrows, pulled the string and shot. The arrow hit the younger brother in the back of the head and he fell from the top of the coconut tree to the ground.
“It’s your own fault,” Pamoa shouted to him from the boat, “you spared the bones for me!” Your brother was good to me - I was good to him too, you were not good to me - I was not good to you either.
Hiwai-abere finished off the young man and began to eat him, and Pamoa sailed on a boat downstream. Having reached the place where he lived, Pamoa jumped into the water, and the boat carried on. Iwogu caught her and saw that there was no one in the boat.
- Oh, something happened to my brother! - he exclaimed.
Iwogu again swam up the Oriom, and again Pamoa climbed into his boat. Iwogu did not shoot game this time; he only needed the hiwai-abere. To lure her, he again climbed her coconut tree, shook off several coconuts, and the palm began to cry again:
- Mother, they are pulling my ears!
Pamoa again threw the end of the rope ladder with bones instead of steps onto the top of the palm tree, which he had made for Iwogu, who quickly descended it, and when the Hiwai-Abere ran out of the forest, waving a bow, Iwogu shot at her and pierced her with an arrow from left to right, and then shot again and pierced her with another arrow from right to left. She fell, and then Iwogu ripped open her stomach with a bamboo knife and took out the body of her younger brother. He cut off the head of the dead Hiwai Abere and burned her body, and then her hut. After this, Iwogu shook off all the coconuts from her palm tree - that is why Oriomu carries so many coconuts to her mouth.
Pamoa, when they reached the place where he lives, returned to the river, and Iwogu, having sailed home, buried his brother's body and hung the head of Hiwai Abere over the grave.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru