The Eitu Who Went As a Man’s Wife

The Eitu Who Went As a Man’s Wife

(A Legend from Kapingamarangi)

Eitu is a supernatural being who can take on a human form and meddle in the affairs of men...

Riuta and her husband Tuikoro were living quietly together. One day they took their fish-traps and paddled out to a coral patch in the lagoon to catch some fish. They put their traps in the water, waited, lifted one, and emptied the fish into their canoe. Said the husband, 'You can scale them. But when you wash your hands, do it on the outrigger-side, do not wash them on the open side.’ Then he dived down to the other traps to see if there were any fish in them. While he was below Riuta disobeyed him. She washed her hands on the open side.

A calm patch came on the water. Out of this calm patch an eitu-woman floated up, climbed on board, came to Riuta, threw her to the stern and took her place.

Then Tuikoro came up again, shook the water from his eyes, came with his trap to the canoe. He saw two women! Both the same. Their faces both the same.

Said the eitu. ‘I here am Riuta. That one there is an eitu who came up from below.'

Riuta said. ‘Do not believe her. I, here, am Riuta. I am sitting here because she threw me here, then took my place.’

Then Tuikoro went to Riuta his wife in anger, pushed her over- board. Thought she was an eitu.

Riuta was pregnant, and she floated. She floated away and landed on the islet Pumatahati in the south.

Map of Kapingamarangi

Then her husband and the eitu paddled off, they went to live on his land at Torongahai in the north. They dwelt there quietly together.

Riuta at Pumatahati gave birth, she had twin boys, she called them Manu tuia and Manu toa. Those boys grew up.

One day they asked their mother to hew them a canoe. Riuta felled a tree, she hewed a canoe for them. When it was finished she plaited a sail, she made a mast, a bailing scoop, paddles, booms, and rigging. When all was done that mother said to her sons: ‘You-two do your fishing here in the lagoon at Pumatahati. Do not go up north. Up there, an eitu lives.’

Those boys ignored their mother’s word. They sailed up north, went fishing there. When they reached Torongahai the eitu was on the lagoon-shore, beating coconut husks for fibre to make string. The boys sailed up, they let their sail down, chanted this:

We two, we two, Manu tuia and Manu toa,

We are just fishing on our reef,

We have left our mother Riuta behind;

Our father is Tuikoro.

That eitu who was beating fibre heard the chanting, heard the boys. She ran to her man: ‘E, Tuikoro, Tuikoro! Two boys on the lagoon are saying a chant that has your name in it.’

‘Go back and hear the words, return and tell me.’

The eitu went back, she got the chant, told Tuikoro what it said.

‘Then go and call them, call them here.’

The eitu did as she was told, the two boys came. They said their words again, and Tuikoro thought within himself: ‘These two are sons of mine. That woman whom I pushed overboard was truly Riuta.’

Then he said to the eitu, ‘You go inside the house while I speak to these two.’ The eitu went.

Then Tuikoro closed the door. The eitu complained, ‘The door of the house is shut. How can I get out?’ But Tuikoro answered, ‘It is shut indeed, it will be opened though.’ Then quickly Tuikoro fetched a burning stick, he ran around the house and set it all on fire, the flames leapt up, the whole house burned. The eitu cried inside. She died, that eitu, died in Tuikoro’s flames. Those boys were glad.

Then all three went off in their canoe, the canoe Riuta made. They sailed to the south, toward Pumatahati. Said Tuikoro to his sons, 'When we are close to your mother's land, let down the sail and put me in it. Put the fish-trap also in the sail. You-two can then go ashore to your mother and ask her to come and carry your sail because it is wet. We will make this surprise to your mother. Do not be long.’

The two boys landed, hurried to their house, to Riuta’s house. ‘E Riuta! Come and carry our sail which is wet! It is too heavy for us! Come quickly!’

Then Riuta scolded them. ‘You two are bad, you are disobedient boys. I told you that you must not sail up north‘

She went to the lagoon, took up the sail which she had made. The sail was heavy, was not wet. Then Riuta knew that Tuikoro was in the sail-Tuikoro who had pushed her overboard, had not believed her.

She carried that bundle inland, threw it hard upon the stones. Tuikoro groaned, died.

That is all. Just a tale that people tell. It is concluded.

Source:

Legends of the South Seas

Antony Alpers

1970

Pages 311-313