Custom Stories from Epi, Vanuatu

Origin of Burukuruki (Island  Chestnut)
/ told by Supabo, Epi, New Hebrides.

A man waded into the sea at the outer edge of the reed intending to shoot a fish.  Afterwards when he saw a fish he shot it.  ( It was not really a fish, but a sow.)  The fish was hit by the long pointed arrow and sank.  The man dived down and went into a habitation.  When he was the man, the men at this habitation asked him,

“ What do you seek?”  He said, 

“I am trying to find my arrow.   I shot a fish with it but it has vanished.” 

They spoke to him and said, 

“ I saw an arrow someone had shot out sow.” 

When they had brought it they knew that I was truly his.

 Then he wished to return, but they forbade him, and as long as he stayed with the, they gave him no hot food ; they said,

“ If we give hot food to you, you will eat it, and you will not return again,” 

So they gave only cold food to him to eat.  He remained with them many days, and afterwards they consented to his going back again, but he did not return by way of the place where he first dived down.  They offered him a kuruki ( Island chestnut) seed ;  he took it, and they told him to go up, and he appeared on the shore at Mapwopwemie ( at the boathouse, Nikaura, Epi).

 His friends who remained were weeping over his death, and when they saw his face again they asked him,

“ Where have you been?”. 

And he told them about

"[…………….] shot a fish and it took my arrow down,  I dived for it and I went down and saw a village.  The fish was no fish it was a sow belonging to the village.  The people there forbade me to go.  I stayed with them until they gave this kuruki seed (chestnut) to me, and they told me to go up again, and appear at Mapwopwemie, so I came like this.  I appeared at Mapwowemie, and still have the chestnut seed.”

 Some of them argued with him saying,

“ It is just lies,”

until he called them to go down to the sea at Mapwopwemie.  They took a Ginger flower (sign of war) and so sent it by the way of the place he had appeared in, and the ginger flower went by this way and appeared out on the reef at the place where he had dived.

 (They say this chestnut, which the man planted, is the one with the dark fruit at the Mission house at Maielu, Epi.)