The Clubfooted Children

The Clubfooted Children

(A tale from Tonga)

There was once a married couple who dwelt in the midst of the forest. In course of time the woman bore a son, whose feet were deformed. The woman abandoned the child, for she was ashamed before her husband of its deformity. Now a demon seeking food found the child, and took him home to his own abode, where he was about to devour him, when he bethought him that the infant was still very small, and noticed, too, the misshapen feet. So the demon determined to keep the child till he had grown bigger before eating him. He put him in the loft (fata) of his house, and fed and looked after him.

After a time the woman bore another child, whose feet, like the first’s, were deformed. This child, too, she cast away in shame, and it was found by the demon, who put him in the loft to be kept until he was bigger.

The woman continued to bear children, until she had borne ten, each of whom having deformed feet was deserted in the bush, and was found by the demon, who put him in the loft. So all the ten children were being kept in the loft until they should be big enough to eat. As the children grew their deformity disappeared, except that of the eldest, who remained clubfooted. The demon, in his daily visits, did not make very thorough examinations. He merely stood below their lodging, and called, “Clubfoot, Clubfoot, show me your feet, to see if you are big, or still small.” Then one by one the children used to thrust their feet through an opening in the floor of the loft, saying, “Here are my feet.” Now, since the feet of the nine had grown strong and well-shaped, the eldest brother used to thrust his deformed feet ten times through the opening, so that the demon thought that they were all still misshapen and small. Time went on; the nine younger brothers grew big and strong, and at last they determined to escape. One day after the examination was finished, and the demon had left them, they climbed down from the loft, and fled. The nine whose feet were strong were able to run easily, but they would not desert their eldest brother, and suited their pace to him. A few hours after they had gone the demon noticed a human smell in the compound occasioned by their passing through it, and went to see if his captives were safe. He stood and called up to the loft; but there was no reply. He climbed up to see, thinking that perhaps they were asleep; but they had disappeared. So he came down, and ran about to find their tracks. When he discovered the direction of flight he set off in pursuit. As he went he thought of a stratagem to check the flight of the brothers. He uttered an incantation, “Tuputupulefanua, let down a great basket of food, and a big pig, that they may carry.” In an instant the food appeared before the brothers, but the eldest brother cried, “Cut the food up at once and distribute,” and he took a piece of yam and a piece of pork, and gave it to one of the youths, saying, “Yours, eat as you run.” So he did to all of his brothers, and no time was wasted, but they still ran on. When the demon knew that this ruse had failed he called again, “Tuputupulefanua let down a great stone wall in their path.” But the nine younger brothers climbed the wall, and fled until they came to the abode of men, but the eldest hid beside the wall. Then the demon came to the wall, and, as he was climbing it the hidden brother shook it, and brought it down, killing the demon. Then he went on, and they all escaped.

Source

Tales and poems of Tonga

E.E.V. Collocott

1971

Pages: 59-61