[Note: this transcription was produced by an automatic OCR engine]

THE AMBAT, KABAT, AND HAMBAT 623
the Owl had killed the clam, Ambat commanded Vin-bumba~au-
to cover up the STONES of the island, into which the clam had
turned, with good soil, and this she did. The name Vin-bumba-an
is doubtless identical with the Nevinburnbnau of Deacon's notes.
In none of the stories concerning the emergence of Tomman
Island which Deacon recorded does Nevinbumbaau play any
part; she is connected with the Ambat brothers only as an
egress who tries to capture them, and it is Ambat himself who
labours to make Tomman habitable 1 " The owl thrust the stake
into the mouth of the giant clam, and the giant clam died, and
Ambat he dug the ground about the base of the stake ; he made
an island ; its name is Our.“ 1
The stories oi the doings of the Ambat brothers as recounted
by both Layard and Deacon recall vividly some of the legends
of the Banks Islands which have Qat as their hero. For instance,
Codrington (1891, pp. 158 I62) reports a n1yth_fron1 Meta which
tells of Qat's>wite Iro Lei and the jealousy oflhis brothers who
desire to steal her and a. magic canoe from'Qat, a theme which,
though the details are not identical, recalls the story of Ambat,
Lindanda, and the perï¬Ådy of Ambat’s brothers. Another Mota
story (Codrington, p. 163). which tells of Qasavara, the ogre who
kidnaps Qatis eleven brothers, but who is eventually lured forth
and killed by Qat, is strongly reminiscent of the tale of how
Nevinbunibaau, the egress, captures the ï¬Åve Ambat brothers
one after the other, and how eventually they escape home through
thc"skill and cunning of Ambzltv himself. The only important
;liflereiice'between the Qat and the Ambat mythology is that
whereas according 'tci,tl"le former Qat always triumphs over his
enemies and in the end leaves the island in his magic canoe
(Codrington, pp. I(>6—']),ii0C0rding‘i10 thelatter Ambat is atlast
killed by his brothers, or, following another tale, all ï¬Åve, fA'n1bat
destroy each other in fratricidal‘ strife. These similarities
impressed Deacon so greatly that he wrote : “ What seems to
me very important is the almost certain identity of the‘Ambal.
with Qat. The transformation is so entirely in accord with the
rules governing phonetic changes, and the general character of
,' I Concerning the long ens of Vin-buniba-ail, it is interesting to notice that
according to one of Deacon's informants, Nevinbumbaau had in the day-time
ears like Ordinary people, but that at night she would pull chain out until
grail long, and then wrap them Mound her throat to keep hexsell wan:n.—
Al
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