Ulithian

Rumel tarmal, Buuch mo Repii. Re bisbis rechokla. Semal le ye buuch mo semal ye repii. Rema mel wol feliyai (Fedrai). Re sa pai, pai, ye- la ral we seral.

Ie Repii sa kangur sibis tarmal bo, “Walsu siyalog Yaw, sibla kak halach Gangaw.” Iewe ngo ye      Buuch sa sor bo, “Ila ngo ngang ibe dabogmi.”

“Ngack, hotowe dabogmem bo ho buuch ngo sibe log ngo hobe hacharog, hacharog Yaluslep we (ma mel semel Yaluslep wol Yaw) ye budog dorfi gich sa hangi gich.”

“Ila myla retemai.” (yal Buuch sor).

Iwe rela masor log ngo ye (Buuch) sa bidi sa paay ichul melwe waar. Sa haotut ifal sew tophaw. Lamiral chog ngo Repii sa sor bo, “Hami siya log bo be mat chog Buuch, sa dabey gich.”

Molwe reaa kekarep ngal Yaw, ngo ye (Buuch) sa beyuy mo fal ie taphaw we.

“Yaay, melo yarmat rekanglug bo hotowe dabogmem ngo hosa hamo dii hobe mel ichul wal faluyach we?”.

“Ngo ngang ye depli bo ibe dabogmi, ngo hami ha sor bo itowe dabogmi.”

Resa terag dii ye rela hola Yaw. Resa yuru dog melwe waar. Yesa haragdog ye Repii ichul ie mogwe, ngo ie Buuch sa mel ifal.

“Buuch hotowe ma hachrong. Iewong, ibele pepedi mal ka ngo hosa rerugu. Ngo hotwe hachrong bo Yaluslep we de wiri gich.”

Sa pepe dii ie tot mal kawe ngo, “Ie wer sew, ngo ietower sew.”

“Hale Buuch, myla yam hachrong.”

Te teleya ye melwe.

“Ie wer sew ngo ietower sew”.

Sa log log melwe ye – ie Repii sa pepe dii ie mal kawe ye la mol sa dugadi chog ral ye mog we sera sa kak chog halar ie mal kawe yemel ifal ye mog we, re sa log. Relif logchog luwul welwo     l kawe resa rol chufengal mo mekwe cholwal resa tefal dog, resa tagche dii ye Buuch. Ngo ye sa logchog ye hachrong we yal, “Ye wer sew,” ngo, “Tower sew.”

Yaluslop we sa rongrong sa budog budog ye –, “Aey, iya lebusle hosla moch budog miyang, bo sa kal yai fahog logchog, iefefaglug fedaleg.”

“Ack siya log mo Fedrai siya mach bidy, ngang mo isa wol fahog. Budog bo sibe susul helach mal”.

“Aey ila”.

Sa budog resa taludag yaaf kawe yar, resa sulmi mal kawe ye—la moal, resa mongoi. Buuch sa kangalu bo, “Hobe ma wiri mel kawe ye weii, ngo hosa fang bo helai.”

Yaluslop sa sor, “Bo meda?”

Buuch sa sor, “Mil mela hobe la hangi yei, ngo ibe wii.”

“Aey ila”.

Iewe yi yebe wiri semel malka we ye weii, sa ngaley. Resa mongoi ye rela maad.

Yi Buuch sa kangalu bo be mol yar mongoi resa faru sew mo kakom ngo moach liyei.

“Yebe fasengal?”

“Sibe yalus, gel hobe log soelbus ngang ibe moel, ngo hosa fagliyei.”

“Ila”.

Sa log Buuch sela habaroy sew lu sa fargu fedalei bo yal tafich. Yadewe sa moal sa fesung Yaluslop we. Leywe hole budog. Ye budog chog yaluslop we, sa tefich log irel yimolwe, yal wel log iy lu we sela chechengug log irel lu we. Sa daer Buuch sela rur padul sa hatey long irel chapil lu we sa hapecha ngal yaaf. Sa bolbol dag iymolwe. Yaluslop we sa bul.

“Hosa fedeyei le isa bichikar.”

Buuch sa sor bo, “Yak, widiyei.”

Yewe sa wulpi yi Yaluslop wu sa pungpungdi toeg mao tael. Buuch sa sor bo “Tugutale, tugutale, farwechale pung pung pung.” Ngo ye pungpungdi toet. Yadwe la mes log Yaluswe, sa toto dag yi wulpi kawe le toeg moa tael. Yewe sa pungdi, sa fisingeg log.      

Sa budog Buuch sa sipy sera paol sa hapsi log, tepis. Sa wol sipy iewe sera, hapsi log te wol pis. Sa wol sepi mekawe pechel hapsi log, te wol pis. Sa sipy sera mekawe dul hapsi log, te wol pis. Sa sipy molwe seyal hapsi log tewol pis. La sepy molwe tagrul, ye pis. Sa budog, sa hadae ngal wulpiy kawe yal Yaluslop wa, sa log, sa hasi se paley bo yal fedol, sa bidag. Sa fefadol yalusal waye sa bibidag ye refal yei resa rongrong. Yiir sa sor bo, “Aey sew farmel ila ma sor bo, ‘Yalus.’ Widiyi sebe talnga, aey tugla hare yalus we mela le sa li Buuch ila yesa bibidag bo yebe li giich.”

Resa rol dar, sibis relog Felamel, ngo sibis log Chuchu, ngo sibis remol luwul welwol.

Buuch sa fadol dog ye—metalfal sa hachowradag yimekawe hasialdog. Wol piyal fal we sa y     uru dag moelwe tagrul Yaluslap we. Yewe sa log, yesla hangungu tawi we, ela leflefdog yarmat. Rebe kemogoi hare yaluswe. Sa tomol Chichi mo Hamarragd mo lal mekawe talngar. Resa budog ye—resla hola bo te yalus we, bo Buuch. Yiir sa kasi, “Yai, Buuch meda melwe?”

“Yak! Ie fofos bo habe powunu meka hasiye dag mowal Yaaw. Iesa li yalus we, ngo yeka meka ye yog ngaliyei mo wol Yaaw, iesa hasidag.”

Iewe resa budog, sa pown helar mekawe. Yewe sa yi mele tamol bo yi sa yog yebe li Yaluslap we.

English

Once upon a time there were two brothers, named Buuch and Repiy. They were well named – Buuch was a little “off,” while Repiy was wise and sensible. They lived on Fedrai. They had been living there for a while when Repiy told some boys that they would be visiting another island called Yaw to get some birds.[1] Buuch wanted to go with them.

“No, you can’t come along because by running your mouth you might wake up the Yaluslap[2] that lives there. If the Yaluslap catches us it will eat us up,” said Repiy. (A Yaluslap is a kind of feared spirit or ghost.) Buuch did not want to be left behind, so that night he hid himself in the canoe under a woven coconut palm mat. Very early the next morning, Repiy asked that they leave before Buuch woke up and joined them. As they approached the island of Yaw, Buuch came out from underneath the mat. “Jeez, we told you not to tag along! But you just went ahead and hid in the canoe before anyone arrived,” scolded Repiy.

“I told you I wanted to come along,” answered Buuch.

On reaching Yaw, they secured the canoe. Repiy climbed a tall tree while Buuch waited underneath[1] . “Buuch, keep quiet while I throw these birds down. Collect them, but keep quiet,” cautioned Repiy. As Repiy was throwing birds down from the top of the tree, Buuch called up, “I can see one! I can’t see the others!”

Repiy kept telling Buuch to keep quiet. Repiy collected as many birds as they could eat and left. He snuck through the shrubs and met up with the others. Meanwhile, Buuch was still at the bottom of the tree singing “I can see one! I can’t see the others!” [3]

The noise woke the Yaluslap, and it came upon Buuch.

“Where have you been, my son? I’ve missed you. I’ve been looking all over for you!” exclaimed the Yaluslap.

“I have been to the island of Fedrai and have returned. I have missed you too,” said Buuch. “Come over here, and we will build a fire, cook up these birds, and eat them.”

They started a fire, cooked some birds, and ate. Buuch told the Yaluslap, “If you see any particularly fatty birds, give them to me to eat.” “Why?” asked the Yaluslap. “So that when you eat me, I will be fat and delicious.” replied Buuch. The Yaluslap agreed. They ate and ate until they couldn’t eat another bite.

Then Buuch asked the Yaluslap “Would you play a game with me before you kill me?” “What kind of game?” asked the Yaluslap. Buuch told the Yaluslap that they would play hide- and-seek. Buuch would hide and the Yaluslap would look for him. Buuch went and set a trap, bending a coconut tree down to the ground and setting a snare in the leaves. Then he called out to the Yaluslap that he was ready to be found. The Yaluslap stepped on the trap, and the coconut palm sprang upright with the Yaluslap hanging from the top. Buuch ran and collected dried coconut leaves. He piled them under the tree and set them alight. The Yaluslap twisted and turned, trying to escape from the heat of the flames and calling for Buuch to let him down.

“Hang on a second!” called Buuch.

Bunches of yams and taro began to fall out of the Yaluslap as it burned up. Buuch chanted, “Fall, yams, fall!” and more yams fell. When the Yaluslap finally died, there was big pile of yams and taro on the ground.

Buuch cut an arm off the Yaluslap and tried to set it afloat, but it sank. He did the same with the other arm, but it did not float either. Next, he cut off the Yaluslap’s legs to set them afloat, but they sank. Then he cut the stomach, but that too sank. Finally, when he cut the Yaluslap’s back open it floated, and so he filled it with the yams and taro that had come out of the Yaluslap. He made a paddle out of coconut palms and started paddling toward Fedrai. The people heard the sound of someone chanting “Come out, come out, and meet the Yaluslap!” The people assumed the Yaluslap had killed Buuch and was now coming to kill them too. They scattered; some went to the north end of Fedrai called Felamel, and some to the south called Chuchu, while others ran into the jungle to hide.

Buuch landed in front of the men’s house and brought the yams and taro onto the shore. He then pulled the Yaluslap’s back up onto the beach. Next he blew the trumpet and people started gathering warily. They wanted to see if it was the Yaluslap. Some of them had ferns growing out of their ears, they had been hiding for so long. Once they saw that it was really Buuch, they asked him, “Hey, Buuch what’s going on?” Buuch replied that he had called them to distribute the food he had brought from Yaw island. He had killed the Yaluslap on Yaw and brought home the food he had collected. The people distributed the food, and Buuch became the new Chief for killing the Yaluslap.

[1] Ha'ngaw (Anous minutus/ Black Noddy".) Usually nestlings.

[2] Yaluslap or Legaslap translates to Biggest Ghost, which can be in the form of he, she, or even animals or objects. This is a general term used in other stories, so there's an understanding that this is a feared spirit of some kind (Lessa translates it as ogre). This story’s message is that uninhabited islands which we rely on for food should be used carefully with respect and fear of the unknown spirits that dwell on them, This teaches youngsters to respect both the creative and destructive powers of nature.  

[3] In Ulithian this phrase has a singing rhythm and is chanted. This is a story for young children and introduces chanting to them. Outer islanders use many chants as memory aids, including for the early basics of navigation routes.