Last night at Cub Scout Pack meeting they had a Tongan man talk about island traditions. He and a Samoan guy showed how to do the Haka war dance. The kids had a really good time learning. The Tongan man then told the children about the legend of the Coconut.
He said that there once was a sort of Tongan Romeo and Juliet, only their names were Seena and Fata. Seena's father didn't want her to see Fata, but the young couple still found opportunities to sneak away to see each other. Seena's father decided to move her to an island far away from Fata. Fata knew that he couldn't be separated from his love, so he transformed himself in to an eel and swam to the island where Seena lived. He was able to swim in streams and see her every day.
There was no such thing as a coconut tree in the islands at that time. The islands were bare. No one in the islands had ever even tasted a coconut.
About that time there came a great drought. Because there was no rain, the rivers began to dry up. Fata told Seena that he was dying. He told her that in the morning she would find him dead. He told her to cut off his eel head and bury it in the ground. He told her that in the morning, she would find a great tree grown where she planted his head. He told her that if she would eat the fruit from the tree, she would be able to kiss him every day. Seena did as she was told, and in the morning, she found a great palm tree.
If you look at the coconut, there are three spots on the bottom of it. Two of them are closer together, and one is below. This is the face of Fata the eel. The two spots that are close together are his eyes. The one below is his mouth. If you try to poke a hole through one of the eye holes, you will not be able to because the husk is very thick there. But you can poke a hole through the spot that is where Fata's mouth would be. Inside the coconut is water to help people survive in case there is ever another drought. When you poke the hole and drink from the coconut, you are putting your mouth to Fata's....you are kissing him.
4 comments:
What a cute tale. Now I realize that I was molesting a coconut, and I feel guilty.
That was a cute little story. I think those coconuts are adorable, any directions for how to make them? There is a national pirates day.....
ARGGHHH Matey! Those coconuts be hand carved by islanders. Try google!
Fair winds
Our Pack made coconuts by buying styrofoam balls and spray-painting them brown, and we made a palm tree from the cardboard inside a carpet roll and paper green leaves with thin wires taped underneath to give them body.
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