Ulithian

Muswe muswe, ngo ye mel sew Raang le ye paey log Haplim sa loah ngal Falol le toar le ma loah iyang. Loeboe lae ilae ye taab. Boa moeloe ye budoh fedeg we ngoa remarikan, rete hatawsi loeboe lae boa ye soeg poel doh, leng, mo meyal le paey Loeboe lae. Boa ralkawe ngoa re soer boa makla chaepdoh moem wol Hadiyar mo Falmey rete ma mongooy Giit bo yir re soer boa re chap Giit.

Yemel semal Giit le ma paey lal yi raang lae – tugula hare semal yarmat hare halngol semael Giit. Iewe ngo ilae mala idal. Rema soer boa “Giit.” Yemel mel semael faefel lol le Dilaplap. Iwe ngo Dilaplap ye mel sew, sibe soer boa, ye foar sew rungrung le liliyel moelwe loal. Toar le ma budoh lebowe. Ir chog mo moelwe loal mele re paey iyang. Sa paey, paey hasigsig ye – halwe Lugeleng sla bidiy. Sa bidiy, sa budoh irel ie yiim we. Sa mael be loah lol iy rungrung we, ngo ie sa kangalu boa, “Ai, hotwe loah Loeboe lae, boa Loeboe lae ilae liliyel yai dudu mo pangal mekala hamaley ngoa ima loh igla iyang.” Ye te talngae. Ye hasi loah, sla wiri yi moelwe loal, sa paey loah irel. Sa paey, paey, paey hasigsig ye-. Ye sulay yar paey hasigsig ye la siyal ie Dilaplap. Iewe ngo sa bidiy Soaloleng mo wol laeng sa kaengalu Lugeleng boa, “Ai, soer boa ho bele bidah boa ila relble hafor Faremwal le re dengag gel hobe bidah.”

Ngo iy sa soer boa, “Hole buyoey bo ngang ible buyoey.” Iewe yi yesa kaengalu moeloe ril we Dilaplap, idal, bo be le loah ngoa be la hola yodl a hobe moloaw iyang. Iewe ngoa hosa hasi sew lohol tegirgir hobe fed ngal mala metal yelachomom, iwe ngoa hosa daefngiy. Ilae ngoa yebe pung wey mala loamw. Iewe ngoa bla budoh mala loam, ngo hotwe ma bingiy lemal lu. Hobe ma hotfaediy choeg.”

“Oey.”

Iewe sa bidah Lugeleng, iewe ngo sa chap faorul yengaeng irel faal we. Yolfad yi mala layur.

Sa paey, paey, ye – la yodwe yesa temai, ngo sa teydoh yarmat. Sa tomai, tomai, yete molow. Resa kasiyae hare toar mele Lugeleng ye kangalu. Ngoa ye soer boa, “Ye kaengaliyei boa ibe hasi sew Lohol Tigirgir; isa hamaela ngal mele metal yelachemey; isa daefngiy.”

“Yak- ilae ngo sa ilae lepal yodol yam baereg ngoa hote soer?” Iewe moeloe re faoru. Ye daefngi choeg moelow, ngo sa pung moeloe loal.

Ye pung choeg, ngoa ye dedaer fedal. Sa daer, sa loah irel chaepil lu kawe – tepel mekawe hama wiri we ye bech mo irel chaepil Lu. Ikla mekla sibe soer boa ma paey wor yalwich we rebe subdoh. Sa yi choeg yal yiri fedaeley mekawe u wol ye la chuy loah.

Iewe sa budoh, resa paey. Resa paey hasigsig ye – la seral, sabidiy dudu leted, ngo yela ser laong se wal Potrongras, sa bidiy ye la yoah ngali sew Lu boa yal tepang. Sa bidah, ngo yi moeloe sil ye doedoer. Iewe ngo yi yesa tang boa yebe haragdiy boa yebe faoru lu we lemal, ngo yi yete taelngae. Yi moelwe boa ye doedoer loah chog, ngo yiyesa gees fedaeley. Ie Lu we lemal ye la ttaar, yi Lu we sa siik dah yi moeloe chael Lu we, ngo ie yesa hoaraedah. La hoaraedah, sla kal fangal moa Lugeleng mo wol Laeng. “Temay ho Lugeleng, ngo selay ho Lugeleng!”

“Ay, ifa mala tamom Lugeleng? Ifa mala sulom Lugeleng?”

Sa buyoey, sa toalu sew yaef, sa hasi sew dingil yaar sa itliy dah wol yaefwe, sa bidoh moeloe berahol, Yolfaed sa fidiy, sa bidah.

Sa loah irel sedael Laeng.Yela budoh re koakom irel Lew. Re rol koloaloey fedal Lew yir yalwichil Laeng kowe. “Ai, ible koakom iremi retemai?” (Wolmol moeloe yebe loah ngo ye hasi sefas fas kowe ye checha, hasi choeg, sa iteliy laong irel moelwe hapil, sa bidah.)

“Hotwe koakom iremoem gel yalwichil talop la lae semat daerlaog la yam.”

“Ay, ilae ible loah, ngo hami Lew kala ha dowu mekla paeyur rechoakla.”.

Ye loah ngo re nganga loah, ir yaelwich kawe bo resa dowu yi mekawe paeyur.

Iewe ngo ye loah mo woal sedal lang, yela budoh ngo sibis ike rekokom irel toas. Yela kanglur boa yebe koakom irer, ngo yir resor bo, “Yab, hotwe koakom boa teykof mala wululum.”

Iewe ngoa ye wol kaengalur yir mael kawe bo dowu yi mekawe paeyur yir yaelwich kawe. La budoh, sa wol loah wol sedael Laeng, resa lili wool. Yesa soer boa yebe daber irel lilil wool, iewe ngo yir re wool soer bo, yab.

“Hami wool kla, towe chal mo foedoeg uwoami.”

Rela hemadra yi wol kawe te chal mo foedoeg. Puel choeg ir wool kawe. Iewe ngo, ye bidiy, sla dodoer li kawelwel, ngo sa kaengalur boa rebe liy. Rela liey, ngo chaloap foedgoel yir li kawelwel kawe. Iewe ngoa ye ligdir yesa loah.

Yela budoh irel yi laeboewe ye paey yi moelwe tamal iyang, ngo resa kekasu yi faal we.

“Ay, ibe dabohmiy irel yengang re temaey?”

“Ay, towe dabohmoem boa gel yaelwichil talople e ye hataereng mal wululum.”

Sa loah irel iekawe sibis. “Ay, ibe dabohmiy irel hayefral irae?”

“Ay, towe dabohmeom!”

Iewe noga reble hayefra irae kawe ngoa reble budoh ngo wol moal mala rebe pedaediy ngoa rebele soer bo, “Yai ya wo!” Ngo sa tapoldi irae kawe mo wol mekawe yefrar. Iewe ye daber reble hayefra ie irae kawe rebla pedadiy, “Yai ya wo! Yai ya wo!”

Tey pung yi irae kawe, sla pach chog wol mokawe yefarar. Iewe ngo ye loah mo irer sibis, ay ngo iewe ie yeble moch soer boa, “Yai ya wo!” Iewe ngo yeble moch pungdiy irae kawe mo wol yefrar. Iwe sa kael yar song ngali irel ie moelwe. Resa meariy chog solboy le rebe liy mo iyang. La kekelel lebel yi suur kawe ngo yi sa soer boa yebe dabey kelel.

“Ai, ngoa ilae.”

Milal moeloe rebe kel lebel suur we boa moal ngo resa halifdiy diy suur we uwoal boa yebe mes. Sa bidiy, sa chaep yal kekel ngo ye hasi faes we sa cheap yal lusuy. Ye lusey faes we, ngoa ye kekel lebel sur we, ngo ye kekel liliyal mo israe libwe. Haisgsig ye rela soer boa sa yoah moelwe, ngo resa faesul hafle yi moeloe boa rebe pedaediy iwol. Resa hasi halifdidiy uwol, ngo yi ye mid loah loebowe sa faesul kilngiy sa gusfa dah yi faes we ye lusy.

“Mmm, sa mes.”

Iewe ngo resa sor bo chaal moelwe, sa bidah. Sa kil long, sa bidah, sa paey.

Yela moelwe bungul faal we, sa tey doh sew mo sew baelel laeng. Resa budoh faoru moeloe bungul faal we. Ie sa bidah sela mel wol moelow wungchigil faal we, sela kekaladiy. Sa kangalu halwe Taolgeech boa, “Hola bidiy, hobe hasi dah sugefed mo irel pel lae hal Lugeleng.” Sa bidi Taolgeech, sa hasidah. Sa pigriy ye la mel boa sew Lu, ngo sa yulmiy. La moal, sa kaengalu Leong, “Bidiy hosa yilsiy dah sefaes piay, ngo ho gusu mala hapil Lugeleng.” Sa bidiy, sala ie les ie piy wey, ngoa ye gusy moelow hapil Lugeleng, sla lut fedal luwul yarmat. Ieong sa hasidah yi piy we. Sa pigiry, pigriy ye la mel boa sew faes, sa hota yi pel we. Chobol hotatol pel we mele Lugeleng la kaldah, “Ay, haragdiy, haragdiy, Layi!” Itey le ye kaengalug hobe bidah irel mala falar tamol? Haragdiy!”

Iewe ngoa ie yebidiy. Yesa kaengalu boa, “Budoh hobla liglig yildir rechoaka re tadohdoh”.

Iewe yesa kaek Iewe sa loah, sa itoal yildir, ngo yesa kaengalu derer. Iewe ngo ye ligdir. Sa loah irel Ppar: “Iye – yildim iye ngo hachrongol mala yewam le yarmat re chorong irem irel yam ma tawul loah chog, tawul loh chog.” Iewe ngo ye loah irel halwe Fela. Yesa kaengalu boa, “Ieye yildim, iye bo hotebudoh dabey gubul we. Iewe ngo lelayael mala metal yewam.” Sa song ie Fela yong yehasi chog, sa dowu ie molwe siyal sala mes. Sa keleng fael dederal ie molwe imal (Iewe ngo ye mwarmwar irel sew Yongchig), sa lebwe diy iyang.

Taitefal. Ie Lugeleng sa loh mo israe lang ngo yela kasi, ngo yeloh mo israe lang ngo yela wol kasi. Hasigsig ye – la budoh. “Fela, hotuwri molwe layi?”

Ngo ie, “Iy tuwri. Bele ye budoh chog sa kangalyei bo, ‘Yildim iye ngo lelayel mala metal yewam.’ Iewe sa loh.”

Le ye memel beleloh, sala wiri ye Yongchig we sa tumul dah mo fal dederal yiimw we. Sa loh, sa kelngi. Sa kekelngi, ngo ye yesa, “Mmm, mmm, hotwe hamagdu yei, bo iehadol.”

“Ho hadol hare lal mala falham?”

Sa hamela dah iemolwe pol, sa tagul chog, sa wudaloh iemol we metal yewal ie Fala, sala halserae loh chog ie molwe metal yewal Fela. Sala lelai iewe serae, ngo ye mochoch iewe serae.

Iewe ieye chog siyal mele ngang iegula mo iyang. Tugula hare yor tabol, ngo ngang mele ie taihola…

Titimata mayomayo, ok.

English

Long, long ago there was an area of land here that went from Haplim to Falol. No one went there because it was taboo to go near the well on that land. Even during World War II, the US forces did not disturb that well. It was covered with a variety of large sea shells. It was said that our ancestors did not eat Octopus because they believed they were descended from Octopus.

There lived an Octopus in the well[1] . I wasn’t told if it was a human or an actual octopus, but that was its name, “Giit” (Octopus). Giit had a daughter named Dilaplap, who had a small secluded area with the well that was off-limits to the public. It was Taboo. They lived there, and one day the spirit Lugeleng came down from the heavens and went to the house. As he was about to enter the sacred area, he was told not to go there because it was the area where Dilaplap bathed. He didn’t listen and entered the area. There he met the daughter of Giit and lived with her. After they lived together for a time, Dilaplap got pregnant. Another spirit, Soaloleng, arrived and told Lugeleng that he was being called back up to heaven. They were building a big men’s house, and he was needed.

The Spirit Lugeleng, told Soaloleng to go back and that he was coming. He told his wife, “I have to leave, but when it is time for your delivery, find a coconut midrib (the skinny stick-looking part of the leaf), entangle it with a hair from your forehead, and pull it out; the baby will come out easily.” He also told his wife that when the baby was born, she must cut the back of coconut for the baby to drink from and not to poke a small hole in the front for the baby to suck on. Lugeleng went into the heavens, and the work on the men’s house began.

When her time came and she went into labor, people gathered to help her. The labor period went on for some time, and finally they asked her if Lugeleng had told her anything.

“Lugeleng told me to entangle a coconut midrib to a hair on my forehead and pull it out,” she explained.

“Why didn’t you say so? We could have minimized the labor pain,” they said.

And that was what they did, and the baby was born. The baby’s name was Yolfad.[2] As soon as the baby was born, he was able to walk. He wandered around until he came to a coconut tree. He started rubbing himself to get rid of the thick membrane covering his skin.

One day he went down to bathe in the ocean, and a canoe from the island of Potongrus arrived. From the canoe he was given a coconut. He took the coconut home to his mother, who was weaving a lava lava on a loom. He cried for her to open it, but she was busy with her work and ignored him. As he was walking around with his coconut, somehow a hole was poked in the front, causing the juice to squirt up at him. This made him look up and away from the stream. Gazing upward, he looked into the eyes of Lugeleng, and called, “Father Lugeleng! Mother Lugeleng!”

“Where are your Father Lugeleng and your Mother Lugeleng? I am up here alone,” replied Lugeleng.

Yolfad made a fire, and when it was burning, he chose a young branch of a plant used for medication (yaar), and threw it on the fire. The smoke went upward, and he started to climb.

He came to the first layer of the heavens, where there were children playing with poisonous stonefish.

“May I play with you children?” he asked. They said, “No,” and that he was mortal and he walked funny. He said, “Very well,” and as he left, he told the stonefish to poke their hands and fingers. Then he left, and the children started weeping and crying. (Before he had left the Earth, he took with him a red rock and tucked it in his clothes at his hip.)

He left and went to the next level. There the kids were playing with porcupine fish. He asked if he could play with them, and again he was rejected. The kids didn’t like the way he looked. Leaving the kids, he told the porcupine fish to sting them. And that is what happened. He left for the next level, and when he arrived, they were butchering turtles. When he asked if he could participate, again he was rejected. Before he left, he said, “Let there be no meat on those turtles.” When the turtles were killed and opened, there wasn’t any meat on them, just hollow shells. He told them to go and kill sand crabs for food. When they did, there was more meat on them than on the turtles. He left and continued on.

When he came to where his father was, they were building the men’s house.

“I want to help,” he said to the first group.

They said no because he was mortal and looked funny. He offered to help the other group of men with the woodwork, but was rejected. The men agreed that when they carried the logs to the proper spot, the signal to drop them would be “Yai ya wo!” As they lifted the heavy logs together onto their shoulders and were carrying them, Yolfad cried out, “Yai ya wo! Yai ya wo!” but the first group did not drop the logs and kept them firmly on their shoulders. So Yolfad went over to the other group and again cried out “Yai ya wo!” and caused the men to throw down the logs too early in the wrong spot. Everyone was angry, and they planned to kill him. When they were digging holes for the posts, Yolfad asked to help. Their plan was that when the hole was deep enough and Yolfad was at the bottom, they would drop the post on him and kill him. Yolfad began digging the hole while chewing on the red rock he had brought with him from earth. As he dug down, he also made a tunnel going out sideways from the bottom of the hole. When the men said the hole was deep enough, they had the post ready to throw down into the hole and on top of Yolfad. As they threw the log down to hit Yolfad, he zipped into the tunnel he had dug, and at the same time spat up red juice from the rock he had in his mouth. Thinking it was blood, the other workers said, “He must be dead,” and left. Then Yolfad dug his way up and out of the ground and hid where he could look out and see what was happening at the men’s house.

People came from all across heaven to celebrate the completion of the men’s house. Yolfad went and sat at the very top of the roof, on the ridge, looking down. He told the ant spirit Toelgech[3] to go bring him a small piece of the ground coconut meat from Lugeleng’s coconut. Toelgech did as instructed and brought back a piece of coconut. With a little black magic, while tapping the coconut meat, Yolfad turned it into a coconut. and drank it. Yolfad then told Toelgech to go back and get him another piece of coconut, and this time also to bite Lugeleng on his hip. Toelgech did as instructed and cut away a piece of coconut, bit Lugeleng on his hip, jumped down, and ran through the crowd of people back to Yolfad. Again with a little black magic, while tapping the small piece of coconut meat, Yolfad turned it into a coconut. When he cracked it open, Lugeleng looked up and saw him.

“Climb down, Son! Who said you could climb up on the men’s house? Get down here!” When Yolfad got down, his father told him to deliver the shares food from the celebration to all those who were not present.

So Yolfad took the food and delivered it, criticizing those who had not come to the celebration. He took Thunder’s share of food to him and told him that people were tired of him making so much noise all the time. He also took the share for the swordfish spirit, Fela, and said to him, “Here’s your share from the party, and by the way, your mouth is much too long.” This angered the swordfish, who poked Yolfad in the stomach and killed him. He then dug a grave beside his house and buried Yolfad there, marking the spot with a lei made of ginger.

When Yolfad did not return, his father Lugeleng went back and forth across the heavens asking for his son. When he came to the house of the swordfish and asked if he had seen his son, the swordfish said no, and that Yolfad had just brought food, criticized his bill, and left. However, Swordfish had buried Yolfad beside his house, and the ginger marking the grave had begun to sprout. When Lugeleng saw the flower, he started digging knowing his son was buried there. Digging deeper and deeper, he heard a voice.

“Mmm mmm, stop moving me around. I am still sleepy,” said Yolfad.

“Sleepy? Or are you just a weakling?” Lugeleng replied. He pulled his son out of the ground, and turned around and whacked the bill of Swordfish, breaking the bottom one off partway down. This is why the swordfish has one bill longer than the other.

Titi Mata, Mayomayo!

[1] Another story about an octopus in a well, stealing a baby in a basket is recorded on the Pacific Worlds website. This is about a well on Asor, It explains that an octopus grabs things—fish, stones, etc. —and goes back into its hole. They thought that perhaps an octopus was in that well then, and it grabbed the baby and went to the Underworld, which we believe is at the very bottom of the well. This story made children scared to play in the well.

[2] Other spellings of this name include Olifat, Yelafath, Orofat, Iolofath and Wolphat.

[3]“Toelgech” is the local name for a particular kind of small black ant, which is known for its painful bite. It serves Yolfad in this story to bring him small pieces of ground coconut from which he goes on to make entirely new mature coconuts. This is another example of the demigod Yolfad’s power to command nature, even down to something as small and seemingly insignificant as an ant or piece of ground coconut. Additionally (and humorously), as with when he told the stonefish to sting the children or the turtle to have no meat on it, Yolfad’s command for Toelgech to bite Lugeleng further highlights a more mischievous side of his character and establishes him as a trickster. (Magul)